Author: Martian Joe

The hummingbirds have had their first young. There are so many little babies flying about it seems likely that they will mate again this season, cold though it may be. I am nearing the point of needing to add an additional feeder. My little diabetes factory is in full swing and is quite enjoyable during their waking hour as well as their final hour of the night. The frenzy is pleasant to enjoy, whilst not mine.

Today is a day of pressure canning, and working again upon firewood. Nothing exciting for the outside world, but exciting here nonetheless. I am gaining reserves for the coming winter and that is exciting in a very personal way. Knowing I can feed myself, sans power to store food or to provide heat? It is safety, comfort, and starting several months earlier than last year’s arrival, there is more time to enjoy the process, combined with the knowledge of how much will be enough.

This year has been full of new life. Not just my new twenty years adjusted Colorado landscape, but in what this place offers the soul. Many of you that know me know that one aspect of my arrival was to heal. To mend. To tend what needed tending in order to begin the next, balanced, adjusted, and well meaning avenue my life shall take. What can I say about this place that I have not already spoken of? It is good for the soul, the spirit, to rekindle that which we thought might be lost, or hidden so thoroughly it will never be recovered.

The Healer, that’s what this place has become for me. The space. The peace. The solitude. All of this mixed with a myriad of life, animal and human, all open, receptive, and equally pleased to be here.

If so inclined, enjoy what I was enjoying while writing the post.

I have my own acreage that survived the fire, but most did not. This means that, albeit slightly inaccessible, I have a near lifetime’s supply of firewood on my own land. Lately I have been pushing the dead back past the live trees, which opens up the views, but also makes everything feel so much richer and more vibrant. I have collected my own wood pile as such, happy to use my new little trailer rather than relying on the generosity of my neighbors.

I have several neighbors now that have been proffering wood. I have helped one neighbor clear up some dead and brought home a couple of cords now cut up, split, and stacked from that outing. More is being offered and times are good. I am getting green wood, dry wood, shorter cuts and longer cuts. Many piles now exist to sort, track and dry them all.

Two thirds of my winter store is already stacked and ready to go. The now smooth running Wrangler and my little trailer are keys to securing my winter heat. If I collect all that’s offered, I will have wood for the next two winters on the property, if not fully processed or stacked.

There is also a pack rat living in my house – me. I did a ‘supply run’ this weekend, now that the rotation cycle on the deep freeze is complete. A load of meat for the freezer, and fresh produce to begin canning soups and sauces. More long term health care supplies are on order.

I now have three types of antibiotics, several anti-bacterial and anti-fungal ointments. Two types of tourniquets, various bandages, salves, drawing agents and wraps. Toothpaste, floss and toiletry stores. Back ups of my favorite UV proof shirts, socks, boots, and extras of extras of everything I use and or like to have readily available.

It is not hoarding, it is a collection that is for the future, and for uncertainty. Items to ensure that over the long winter when roads are unavailable, unsafe, and it is unwise to travel, I can still feel safe at home, amidst my wares. Everything gets rotated, utilized, and refreshed. It is a comforting feeling, being so far ahead in regards to necessities and wanted items alike. It is security and it pleases me much. And thanks to my home builder for all the giant closets.

The folks I purchased this home from were downsizing, so their old Jeep Wrangler was included in the deal. It’s old, the Jeeperman gate bangs like a drum, it squeaks and rattles as it rolls, but it’s a rock. It turns on a dime, feels safe, and is ideal for dragging firewood out of the woods. Last week she started to act up. Running rich, little power, and a neighbor followed me home to ensure I could rise the large hills back to the homestead.

Yesterday was exploratory, a handful of obvious parts ordered to update and replace (plugs, wires, vacuum lines, PCV valves; the common items that cause such a change in power and fuel mixture). It reported no error codes or sensor issues.

The plugs were a mess – mostly burned down and the gaps were varying, but the culprit was quite easy to locate. Four of the six plug wires were chewed upon by the teeth of little rodents, with a couple spots where the shielding was completely gone. Cylinder six did not appear to be firing most of the time.

New plugs, properly gapped, then new wires and I stopped updating for a test. It starts easier than it has since I got her, and it’s running again on full power. I crawled the hill behind the lot last night and relocated a load of dead I’m pushing past the live trees. It was an easy fix, and a maintenance item overdue, but I wonder how good it tastes? Plasticine wire shielding – it was either tasty, or sampled by many over a period of time; several caps were missing material as well. Last year my neighbors warned me of such, so it was just my turn, and the damage was as minimal as the fix.

So the lesson of the day, if you lose power and start burning too rich, the rodents just might have been in your engine too. Evidently plug wires are an intriguing snack for some.

Another busy weekend in the ranch has come and gone. This was what I have been told is the busiest week of the year, our national holiday, and I do believe that very well might be true. Families, kids, dogs, wanderers on a variety of machines out exploring the park. I have company this week and we wandered from upper Schierl across to Lautenberg to Griffiths to Boothby to Floweree and then wandered back towards home. We saw no other travelers upon our route, so crowded is still a relative term in this slice of wilderness.

Roots are being put down in the literal sense. I had given away my large house plants before relocating, and am only now refilling my house with such. My guest returned a lovely elephant ear from my last home, and came with a box full of starters, so there are now seventeen live plants to share the forthcoming winter with.

I have noticed that nobody seems to have house plants, but realized they do not live here full time as do I. Plants need the heat, water and attention of a regular environment, and that I can surely provide them. I will allow them to take root, along with myself, a little deeper as time goes by.