Neighbors

John and Pat live next door. They are married and have been that way for years. They are opposites. One is a man and the other a woman. One friendly and positive. The other strains to be friendly but does not bother with positive. To her - now you know which is which - being positive would just be unrealistic. She can't lie to herself or to her young, good looking, neighbors (her inner thoughts not mine).

Every project we have undertaken at the farm has been universally admired (lauded, celebrated) by John. Pat thinks that each attempt is futile: every nail a waste of iron, every watt of electricity flowing through  the fence a waste of sun shine,  and every armed-gard a waste of food and air. No chicken coop known can keep the chickens from their inevitable demise at the jaws of Mr. Fox or Mrs. Raccoon or Brother Coyote. "You wont have chickens for long," she frowned.

Yesterday she pointed to Jenny's prized Cochin bantams and asked, "Are those special chickens of just regular chickens?" When I told her the type she said, "We had some of those once." Me: "They are cute." Pat: "Yeah, they are cute. And vicious."

Farm Log

I've been meaning to keep a daily log of life at the farm. So far it has been something closer to a monthly log. That is, if I write in it today. It is a paper log - a plog if you will.

So far today everyone has been fed. Everyone is the horses, dogs, cats, chickens, quail and goats. There is a bunny names Louis but he gets fed in the afternoon. The cats are the biggest job if not the biggest animals. The horses fill those shoes. Yesterday I had a heck of a time getting Dallas Winston to eat his Urinary SO food. He ate some but he is easily intimidated and 7 or 8 other cats wanted his food more than he did. This morning, I am happy to report, he ate all of his breakfast even with a few of his closest friends trying to share it with him. I told them, "get crystals in your pee and you can have this food too, but until then step off! Sometimes I like to talk like I am a cool tough guy when I am with the cats. Like this:"Cool it, kitties!"

Then there is our sweet (bitchy) cat Camille who is struggling with weight issues. Self esteem, blah, blah, blah. She compensates by hissing and swatting at her peers. Camille eats diet cat good. As far as we know she also eats regular cat food. This morning I dished out her 1/8 cup of food but even the sight of a tail from her downstairs neighbor, Daisy(Picture a cat tree with a fat black cat in the middle, Camille, and a genuinely sweet calico, Daisy, on the bottom) was enough to piss her off. She was happy to see me at first but, even though I was there to guard her while she ate, she started hissing a swatting at me.

Another important chore is pill distribution. Everyone gobbles up their pill-pocket incased pills with relish, except Gavin. This morning Gavin carefully chewed his medication and spit out every pill. Even the Neutrix which are basically dog treats with vitamines. He's got impressive oral dexterity. Whoever marries Gavin will be one lucky bitch. Sorry for the crassness. Gavin is a confirmed bachelor.

More from the farm

This is the view toward the neighbor's, the Boem's, house. It is black and white this time of year.

This is Danny. His is helping build a chicken coop. He helps by getting as close to me as possible and plopping down on my feet, my tools, my materials etc. Every little bit helps.

Farm

I was supposed to be on this plane on my way to Belgium, EU. But alas, there are animals to care for. If you are wondering how I got a picture of the very plane that I was supposed to take to Belgium keep wondering. If I gave away my secrets then every one would do it. 

It's not so bad staying here at Black and White Rainbow Ranch in Idaho. There is plenty of company.

Danny and Diego for example. Jenny is on her way here for the weekend. There have been a few hitches in our plan to have been all moved in by now. For example, the trailer, the one that has Jenny's tractor on it, needed a new axel. That is a very short version of that particular hitch. It is kind of like saying John F. Kennedy need burying. Another hitch was that the trailer that was bringing Jenny's horses here lost a wheel. That was another short version.

If you encounter this pit bull the best approach is to look at him and swim toward him. No, that is for sharks. Walk toward him. Then pet him. He wouldn't say no to a kiss too.

Diego is in love with Lola. 

Fiona

Morning

Tiger and Smitty (in mouth)

Red Hen. No name. Lays eggs and eats eggs. 

French Wasp

Looking through photos from last summer I stumbled upon this lovely wasp.

Tiger (Orange) and Jasmine

Gavin

Gavin is a dignified friend of mine. He hates getting his picture taken and somehow he knows when something is a camera whether it is a camera, a phone, or a secret spy ballpoint pen camera. He gets up and walks away, with all of his dignity intact. 

Yesterday I borrowed a long lens or two from an associate. I hid under the car for some of these pictures.

Be Afraid

I found this on Stopping off Place and Stopping off Place Found it here.

Missing

Her name was Kinton but we changed it to Lilly. I took her and her compatriot, Jasmine, to get spayed. This is what she looked like the day after. That was Last Tuesday. I haven't seen her since. Until a few minutes ago. I was crawling out from under a juniper bush where I was looking for her when I saw her run out of the garage. Whew.

I tilted the picture to make the horizon straight.

Cat Cabin

So far.

PCT: Perhaps Can't Trail

For those of you following the progress on my impending PCT hike it has just become less impending. I did not get the Fellowship that I need in order to take the time off. So I will get bees instead.

Building

Today we break ground on a new cabin. We are going to build it with palets, old fence posts, glue, recycled windows and good old fashioned elbow grease. And we will only use plywood inspected by Susan S. or Bobbie P. 

The occupants of the cabin include but are not limited to the below:

Many of the occupants were named for characters in this book by S. E. Hinton.

Soda Pop, Dallas Winston, Pony Boy, Cherry Valence etc.

This is Marc Antony. He will not be living in the new cabin.

Reuben

This is Reuben. So named because he is blind in his left eye like Rooster Cogburn from True Grit. I put a little patch on his eye but apparently he did not like it.

New Home New Hens New Roosters

Reuben the Rooster's smiling face. Reuben and 10 of his closest friends (mostly his own children) where left to take care of the farm by the previous owners. The new owners are Jenny and Me.

These birds have a plush coop with heat lamps, heated towel racks, big screen TV and a heated water dish.  But ever since a raccoon invasion they have chosen to roost in a couple of evergreens near the house. Apparently raccoons have also been known to invade the evergreens. So we are going to attempt to retrain the gals (Gallus gallus domesticus) and guys to sleep in the coop. Our other task is to make the coop varmint proof. The latter former to the pryer.

PCT Time Piece and interview

I will probably need this.

And here is another survey answered:

Anything you wish you had at the beginning that you did not take with you?

This is a random answer, but we'd have to say our vitamins.  We took a lot of them and tried to bounce the bulk of them, taking only what was necessary in our packs, but they still ended up being quite heavy and we're not sure that we really needed them.

Can you recommend any publications to help me prepare? I have the Jeffrey Schaffer book and the PCT HIker's Handbook and I am going to order Yogi's book.

We found that the Yogi book was the most helpful in preparation.  Mike also found "Hiking the Triple Crown" by Karen Berger to be helpful.

On trail, the Yogi trail tips and town guide had very useful information that you can't get anywhere else.  We also used the Guide Book (Schaffer et al) and Data Book in conjunction.  The maps in the Guide Book (and compass( helped us out of a sticky situation one foggy morning on Oregon's Mount Jefferson when we couldn't see more than about 20 feet ahead of us.  Having a verbal trail description is also quite helpful on trail.  The Data Book is by far the easiest way to figure your miles each day.  Take Yogi's advice and rip up the books into their sections rather than carrying the whole book.

What was the most challenging part and how did you motivate yourself to keep going?

By far the most difficult challenge right at the beginning was foot pain.  This counts as aches and blisters.  As Kat says, it's hard to walk 12-18 miles a day (as we did at the beginning) when each step hurts.  For Mike, the worst was foot fatigue.  It felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer to the bottom of our feet all day, every day.
To deal with this, first, we were very motivated to keep hiking.  Second, we took time to take care of our feet while hiking (lower miles, breaks to rest).  Third, we tried different things with our footwear, like changing our shoes and adding very padded insoles.  In sum, we were flexible with our plans, whether that was how many miles we expected to walk or what kind of shoes were best.

Did you bring any tech (GPS, Kindle, MP3)?

We brought a Pocketmail device for journaling and a SPOT device to keep our family and friends at ease and in case of an extreme emergency.  We chose not to bring music or cell phones with us and we are mostly glad that we did (other than not having a way to call for a ride when that was an option; Kat HATES hitchhiking).

What food item were you happiest that you brought?

Any item that was not dry was heavenly.  Our main choice was fruit cups.  Yes, they're heavy, but they were VERY awesome when every other food item in your pack was either dehydrated or dry to begin with.  Sidebar: taking a bottle of pop out of town and drinking it cold the next day was also a very special treat.

Stove?
We used our home made penny stove all the way.  It's an alcohol stove.  We still use that stove now.  Write us for more details is you want.

Here is one from my sister:

did you feel like you wanted to motor through or did feel you got to certain places to really experience a place?

Were were not in a really big hurry, but we still felt the pressure to keep up the miles in order to finish.  There were many places in which we wished we could have spent more time to soak them in.

Did you shave or cut your hair?

Not even once :)

What kind of shoes did you wear?

See above; be flexible.  We both ended up using Montrail Hardrocks (though that older model is no longer available) in conjunction with these amazing insoles we found at a running store; we're pretty sure they were Sof Sole brand.  

Anything else you feel like volunteering?

We hope that this is helpful.  Please feel free to ask anything else that comes up as you prepare!

Mike and Kat

Black Widow found in Black Hunger

PCT Interview Two

Thank you Funny Bone for answering some questions.

What did you bring that you wish you hadn't? Nothing, really. But there were times I carried too much water, in that I arrived at the next water source with 5-8 pounds of water on me. This was something that had a major effect on my skinny legs, as you CAN be too well prepared, too overburdened, for a thru-hike. It's best to plan accordingly, so that you're carrying the lightest load you can at all times. What did you not bring that you wish you had?  A Sherpa or a pack animal. No, in all honesty, I had honed it down to only the necessities and what I deemed a necessity: the camera, its batteries, a handheld word processor, its batteries, and a book or two. Did you talk to yourself (out loud)? Yes. Conversations were usually quite shallow but sometime quite deep, depending on circumstance and mood. Ice ax. Yes or no? In 2006 an ice axe was pretty much obligatory, because of the record snowfall throughout the spring. I self-arrested a number of times and was thankful I was prepared to do so. Had it not been for my fancy titanium ice-axe, I'd have had to use my nose. Did you think about girls you knew in high school?  Unfortunately, I didn't know any girls in high school. But yes, I still thought of them, and how. Did you bring lotion? Sunscreen had many purposes. Shoes. Yes, no?  Yes, two of them. One on each foot. Favorite food item? Generally I went with anything salty, instead of sweets. Pistachios were especially scrumptious. But who can afford to carry the shells? The truth is, almost every food item was a favorite on the trail. Food item you would not bring? I would not send myself too much of one kind of food in advance. Appetites change and instant oatmeal wasn't even appealing even during the first go-around. Stove. Yes, no? No, but there were times I wish I had, particularly on those frigid mornings. A warm cup of tea would've been nice. MP3 or any other technology (I realize a fork is technology but I mean electronics)? The camera, the PocketMail word processor and, in the desert for a short stint, an MP3 player. I tossed the thing a day or two later, as I felt too detached from my surroundings, the surroundings I sought by being out there in the first place. One function it had, however, was a voice recorder, which allowed me to record my thoughts faster than the word processor did. How did you deal with loneliness? I never really felt alone. Isolated at times, perhaps. But alone, no. I found that the trail keeps you busy enough not to think about being alone. How did you motivate to continue after particularly miserable times? The pull of the goal. I kept plowing forward toward better times and an arbitrary line in the woods they call Canada. That's the very nature of a thru-hike: you keep moving. Thru-hikers like to pretend they're easy-going types but the reality is the ones who complete their hike are all pretty driven to accomplish their goal. What shelter, if any, do you recommend? I changed things throughout but today's modern shelters are all pretty outstanding, that is unless they aren't out there or standing (due to rain or wind or snow). Bug spray. Yes or no? Yes. I'd rather die from cancer than via mosquito bites. Sunscreen? Yes, as I mentioned above, it served numerous purposes. For the most part I dressed from head-to-toe, to avoid more chemical application. Did you make up any songs as you walked? I did and pardon me for boasting, but most of them were absolute masterpieces. Of course, unless I pulled out the small voice recorder I carried for all of two days, I'd forget them the next morning. Fishing pole? No. Fish don't hike the PCT. With what historical figure do you most identify? I read plenty of Muir and Thoreau while hiking, but could not quite fully identify with either. Those gentlemen were kooks! But I could fully identify with Playboy's 1990 Miss February, a toothsome young lady who went on to become Playmate of the Year. She was my playmate throughout many of those long nights along the trail, but alas, eventually the pages got to the point where they stuck together and I could no longer turn them or open that centerfold.

Sabbatical

The good news is that I have a job that offers a thing called a sabbatical. The bad news is that I am not eligible until Fall of 2013. And as you may or may not know I am planning to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. This hike is a component of an art exhibition at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art.
I have not given up. I am applying for grants and fellowships and hiking scholarships (I made the last one up). Either that or I am going to have to hike faster.

Record

This lp cover was on the wall of Miss Lily's, a dark and lovely Jamaican restaurant in Soho or the West Village or somewhere in New York. 

Trail Names

Training for the PCT by walking all over New York City. Hopefully the trail is not as rough and steep as some of these New York streets. This morning during breakfast with the Hasidim at the Condor Hotel, my associate and I talked about trail names. Of course a nickname of any kind is out of the control of the named, but we talked about attempting to control mine. Associate said I should hand out gumi bears and say things like, "hey guys, have some gumi bears!" and, as a look at my watch,"it's gumi bear thirty!" But I do not eat gumi animals of any species (i do eat dairy and eggs). I guess I could be "Gumi Bear" ironically, like calling a vegetarian Carnivore or The Cannibal. Maybe I'll try to insert my old hobo moniker "Lobo," by howling every morning. We'll see.