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*01/29/2010 NEW Entry - go to the bottom of this blog to read the latest entry.

Beginnings and New Adventures

Decisions are being made, questions asked and answered: Where do we live? What do we live in while we build our house? Can we live on our land? What about jobs? What will life be like up in North Dakota? First things first, we will need somewhere to live in, a roof over our heads and protection from the elements while we get set up, look for jobs, and before we can start building our cabin. So, what to do? We did wonder if we could just go up and camp out, since summer is almost here and the weather should be fairly good and not too cold. The ice, frost, snow and freezing conditions are finished for this year.

However, there is the chance of really heavy rains, winds and super blazing hot heat and camping may leave us a little too exposed to the weather. There is also the animals to consider, they have been living on this land quietly and uninterrupted for the past 15 years without any humans. They rightly may consider this to be their land and we would be the intruders. We need to develop a working relationship and agreement with them to share the same land. Perhaps a canvas tent to live in might not be the safest and most sensible solution?

So, what else can we do? So we started considering if we could purchase a used RV or travel trailer. Obviously a new one was completely out of the question, so we searched for an older model in good condition. RV's come in all shapes, sizes and prices! We found many 5th wheel models, but these were no good to us as we did not have a truck to tow a fifth wheel. Eventually we found a 35' travel trailer in good, clean condition and at what felt like a very good price. The only problem was we had to drive many miles to Idaho to go and see it before we could agree to purchase it. This we decided to do, and once more a Road Trip was planned to see the trailer, and if we approved of it, to buy it and tow it back to Spokane. We were temporarily staying in Spokane, with Rick's Dad. It looked like a mansion after living in a truck for over a year, which is basically the equivalent space of a walk in closet.

We were amazed to find the trailer had been much loved, and in beautiful condition with almost all of the original parts in full working order! So, we haggled, paid, and then towed it back to Spokane. So now we have a new home, a new roof over our head and even better it could be moved as needed. It will be perfect to live in while we work on the land, get our homestead started and build our cabin. Such luxury we now have, a bedroom with queen size bed, a bathroom with half bath/shower, sink, cupboards and toilet, a well equipped kitchen with gas stove, oven, fridge and freezer and even a built in pantry! Then there is also a dinette and a living area with a pull out sofabed, and tons of cupboards and storage space. Definitely a mansion!!               
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05/24/09

Sunday of Memorial weekend, and finally I feel that enough deep cleaning has been done. I have scrubbed everything I can find and reach, vacuumed everywhere possible, washed all the cupboards, walls and wood paneling with Murphy's Oil Soap and disposed of all the old spiders, webs and mouse droppings. The mice are long gone, and we sprayed everything so new spiders will find it difficult to get established, I hope! There is a lingering smell of a mixture from the Murphy's, PineSol and bleach solution, a good, clean smell which leaves a satisfied feeling. Now the trailer is spring cleaned or deep cleaned and I know we are starting out right. However, I am exhausted and my muscles hurt especially my shoulders from all the scrubbing! But it was worth it, even though my brain kept up a continuous double conversation with itself: “Keep scrubbing, that-a-girl!”, “No! You can leave that area for another time, you don't have to be so scrupulous!” “No, I need to clean everything now!” “Nooooo, come on, no one will ever know you left a few areas!” You know the sort of thing a tired brain will do when deep down you are so tired you could sleep for days!

Clean now it is, and it is a good feeling! So, now its time to start sorting out all the boxes and stuff we packed away and left in Rick's Dad's garage over time. Clothes to be washed, everything to be sorted through and then packed into the cupboards and wardrobes in the trailer. How will I ever find anything again? It feels so close to the end, and yet there is still much work to do! But, we are nearly there, almost ready to leave and on with the next part of the journey. It seems to have taken much longer than I expected.

We have found a RV campground with a space for us on Lake Metagoshi – which is a truly, beautiful place to stay. Although it is a holiday resort, it will give us a lovely place to call home, temporarily. We will have full hook-ups there and this gives us a chance to relax and time to get the land ready for a permanent home. Right now it is just a little too wild on our land for us to just go straight there. We need to mow the meadow down, deal with all the ticks and fleas from the deer and elk bedding down in the meadow. We need to cut a roadway into our property, at present the only access is through the neighbors land, and he has fenced it in with a padlock, so obviously that is not going to be an easy access. We have to get the electricity company to switch on the electricity – luckily the electricity is already there so just needs turning on. However, there is no sewage and so we need to dig and put in a septic tank. Plus the well needs cleaning out, and checking for safe quality and then we need to pipe it to where we will be using it, and not a half mile hike to fetch water!

So work to be done, always more! Isn't that the way of life? Plus Rick will be hunting for jobs first thing, and the hope is he finds something quickly and that of course will mean, evenings and weekends will be for working on the property.
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05/26/09

Almost ready to leave! Oh boy, are we both tired out and worn muscles from all the cleaning, lifting, loading and sorting out. It is almost done now, the trailer is packed away for traveling – which is a little different to how everything will be once we are parked. Then I can put things away in drawers and cupboards for our use. We do seem to have so much storage space it is too easy to forget all of them. I hope I never complain we do not have enough space in the trailer! After living in a truck for over a year, I am so used to packing light, and packing tight that it is so wonderful to have a bathroom cupboard to put our washing stuff in, instead of a bag which is packed ready to carry into the truck stop shower. A kitchen where I can have all the cooking utensils and pots and pans handy to use. A real refrigerator and a freezer – such a blessing indeed! It is going to be heaven to keep this place neat and tidy, and to have our belongings around us again.

We even found space to put in the sewing machine and table, which will give us a desk, computer space, sewing space and storage for my sewing things. To sew again will be absolute heaven!!! I missed it very much while we lived in the truck, however, it gave me a chance to turn to other activities and practice those for a change. I knitted, crocheted, embroidered and cross stitched to my hearts content. I achieved a lot of beautiful projects while we were on the road, and hope to find the time to keep a healthy balance between the sewing, knitting, cross-stitch. In the past, I feel that quilting took over and became an obsession, rather than a pleasant hobby. I do not have all my quilting supplies, as most of the sewing fabrics, patterns and tools are packed away in storage. We will not be moving the storage up until we have a safe and solid place to put everything.

We have managed to sort through most of the stuff in the garage, even giving away a fair amount to other people. Deciding we really were not going to be needing it all, is a wonderful feeling. Slowly whittling our belongings down to just what we need and no more, although I still feel we may have too much. It is a slow process though, losing an excess of 'stuff'. It is so surprising how we accumulate so many things in life. Where do they come from? Why do we have 2 or 3 of the same things? How did I manage to accumulate so many knifes, dog bowls, kitchen towels etc.?? Being a pack rat must be a human need, a feeling of we might need that, or it will come in handy, keep it just in case! We made the decision to lose the excesses in our life, and so have parted with a lot of things already, and are trying to keep going with this decision, each time we sort through boxes we packed and left behind, we try to make a good decision and only keep the essentials.

We are very blessed to have so much, and are very thankful for a roof over our heads, clothes to wear and food to eat. We perhaps forget, just what the basics for life are. We may not always remember to say Thank You for even the simple things in life. We choose what to buy and what to spend our hard earned money on, and it is too easy to buy, buy, buy! We are bombarded daily with subliminal messages telling us we NEED to buy this lawn mower, or that washing machine, or these clothes, or just buy because the economy needs it!! In fact, when you really stop to think about it, you need so much less than we are encouraged to purchase. How come every time you go to the grocery store, you always come out with more than you originally went there for?? If you needed milk, you can be sure you rarely come out of the store with just the milk!

I feel that perhaps one of the best things in moving up to our property, will be the opportunity to SLOW DOWN and just enjoy nature and the changing seasons. We move so fast, run around so much, and pack too much into every day, that we forget to stop and smell the roses. First we must finish packing the last few items, load up the van and then get on the road for the long drive up to North Dakota.
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5/27/2009

The universe has its own sense of time and urgency, and often they conflict with your own desire for urgency in completing a task.  We were all ready to go, loaded and hooked up and while doing a pre inspection trip of everything discovered serious problems with our tires.  So we have to wait until the new ones are delivered, of course no one had them in stock for immediate use.  Patience and learning to be one with the universe and not rush things is indeed a hard lesson.  You can plan everything out as carefully as possible, check everything and yet still an unexpected problem will pop up.  Perhaps as humans we are always rushing here and there, and we certainly don't slow down often long enough to be in tune with the universe. 
Patience seems to be a continuous and ongoing learning process.  But patient we must be and soon we will be on the road.  Tomorrow, not today.....always tomorrow and luckily there is always tomorrow.  One constant in this world, is  that the sun always rises on a new day, an empty slate to achieve new things and to write new stories and adventures.  "Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." siad Lewis Carroll.  Sometimes we just need to accept those delays with grace and learn patience!!  
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06/03/09

We have ARRIVED!!
We finished the last of the packing into the trailer early on Saturday morning, (May 30th) and after checking everything was ready for the road, we left Spokane at noon and began our journey to North Dakota. We spent the first evening in Three Forks, Montana, parking in a truck stop and slept in the trailer. We then drove the rest of the way Sunday and after a quick stop in Billings, Montana to visit one of Rick's uncles and aunt, we drove on and on through what seemed to be endless countryside and many miles later, we arrived in Bottineau, North Dakota just after midnight on June 1st. We parked in the Wal Mart parking lot for the balance of the evening. Waking early we moved the trailer to Wilderness Village up at Lake Metigoshi. This is a wonderful location with a limited number of RV spots, most of which are already taken for the summer. We are completely surrounded by trees such that we can barely see our neighbors, also we are the only people staying here full time – the other neighbors leave their trailers for use on the weekends, and so the campground is empty during the week. Thanks to this it is unbelievably quiet and very peaceful here, our only neighbor during the week is a groundhog that has a den about 20 feet from our trailer. The dogs seem to think if they sit by his hole he will pop his head up to say hello! So far, they have not had much luck.

We have managed to get the trailer leveled, water, sewer, and electricity are all hooked up and we have started moving things into our storage unit which is only 1 mile away, making it extremely convenient and will allow us to access our stuff as needed. We are unpacking, and putting things away in cupboards, we can see the floor again! Everyone we have met so far is very friendly and easy going and welcoming, we have chosen a good place to call “home!”

The first night was so quiet it was a little difficult to sleep, even though we were totally exhausted. The second and third nights were easier, and we are slowly getting used to the quiet and sounds of nature which surround us. The stars are absolutely spectacular at night, as there are no lights around we can see stars galore, and will enjoy the night skies on clear nights. We discovered a small amount of ticks on the dogs and a couple on us, but nothing to really freak out about. We have treated the dogs with anti-tick medication, and we spray ourselves if we decide to go hiking through the woods. It does not seem to be much of a problem this year, and as the summer warms up the ticks will become less and less. Rick is raking up all the leaves and debris around our campsite, as no one has lived on this site for awhile. Cleaning up the area will make it easier to keep the trailer clean as we won't be tracking in so much dirt.

We found moose droppings just behind us in a small clearing, although we have not seen a moose yet. We heard geese last night, they were feeding in the meadow behind us in the dark. So today is a day for clean up chores, putting everything where it belongs, cleaning up the mess from the trip and getting straight and organized. We have a HOME again!! Bread is rising on the stove, and the smell of homemade bread is making my stomach rumble, it must be time for lunch!!
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06/07/09    
Sunday already – we have been here a whole week now and time has just whooshed on by so fast it is unbelievable. But then we have achieved a lot, put a lot of stuff away in cupboards and then taken the stuff out of the cupboards and put it into more logical places so we can actually remember where it belongs. I am having real problems remembering where everything is. If Rick asks me where something is, I remember bringing it, and know it is here somewhere. But for the life of me, I can not remember exactly where it is right now!!! This should be fun for awhile as we try to find things again right?

The weather is cold up here, and has become colder with each passing day. We are actually forecast to have snow tonight and tomorrow. SNOW and it is June??? Well, not so unusual it seems up here. They do not usually plant their gardens until the 15th of June because of the cold weather. Still when it does get hot, it will be a real treat and something to enjoy. We are still feeling the cold, and are very grateful for the heating in the trailer. It has rained most of today too, and even the dogs are shivering and not wanting to go outside unless they absolutely are busting to go potty. Rain, rain, go away and come again another day.

06/10/09

Monday morning it was still raining after a couple of days of solid rain. No, the rain was NOT solid, it had been raining solidly for 2 days, and there had been no break at all in the clouds, rain and cold damp weather. (Yes, I agree – solid is really not an appropriate word to be put in the same sentence as rain! ) Monday morning Rick went into town looking for work and hoping to apply for a couple of jobs. However, the town was pretty empty of people, and there were very few people out and about. When we asked about this, we were told: “Well, its raining! No one works in the rain.” It is so different here compared to a city where everyone is bustling and hurrying here and there. Here, it is so laid back, relaxed and everyone is happy and friendly. There is no hurry or urgency, as there is always tomorrow to do what is not achieved today. It is such a different way of life and one that will take a little bit of getting used to. We do like it though and are finding the peace and quiet of the countryside, mixed with the easy going ways of the people leaves us feeling much more relaxed and less rushed or stressed.

Don't get me wrong, everyone is very hard working here, and they do work long and hard hours all year long. Most of the longtimers are originally from Norwegian families and have grown up with good, strong work principles, morals and have put in a lot of hard work and many hours on their land and jobs here in North Dakota. The winters can be brutal here and very cold, with a lot of snow for many months. So if you are afraid of hard work, then the Turtle Mountains is not the place to be! It seems to me that although so many people are rushing here, rushing there, busy, busy and constantly on their cell phone, or checking emails and stressed out. They never really achieve everything, and waste a lot of energy in simply rushing around everywhere.
Perhaps these easy going Turtle Mountain folks have the answer?? Mother Nature moves in her own way, slow and lazy sometimes and other times so much to be done that you wonder if you can ever get it all done before the sun comes up again!! I do like the easy going and laid back, friendly way they have around here. It is a good feeling, and we sure don't mind the hard work as well.

Today, the rain has gone and the sun is shining brightly again with everything gleaming with a freshly washed look, and everyone is hard at work. A good day for running chores, baking another loaf of bread and banana bread, and cleaning after the rain and mud.
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06/14/09 

A beautiful bright and sunny day appeared and after the rain and wind of the past week it was a sweet blessing. We decided to go and work on cutting a driveway onto our property while the weather was hot and dry, Dressing in work clothes and with a good dose of anti-tick spray on ourselves and our clothes, we loaded the chainsaw, hand saw, work gloves, and other tools into the van. We waited until the day was sunny and hot, so that the brush will have dried out. We had driven by the road several times previously and chosen what appeared to be the easiest and best approach to get into our land. We chose an area with few big trees and what appeared to be a natural grassy pathway which presumably the wildlife used for their daily walks.

We walked in first, pushing through the brush and trees that were in our path. Then we hiked up to the top of the meadow and took some pictures. The trees by the road have grown in quite a way and now there is barely a view of the lake to be seen. We will probably decide to do some thinning of those trees and take down the young poplar trees which are slowly encroaching onto the meadow. The same is happening at the top of the meadow where the woods are creeping forward. The grass is high and needs cutting, and last years grass is matted underneath since it was not cut and just left to die down. It will take some work to cut down the grasses and get the meadow growing well again. You can see pictures of our work and the meadow and land in the Photos section.

Rick attacked the trees that needed to be cut down on the driveway approach with the chain saw and I dragged the cut trees out of the way. We cut smaller trees and brush by hand and cleared as much as we could dragging all the cuttings into a big pile inside. We did flick a few ticks off our clothes, but we luckily did not end up covered in them like last year. Gary remembers that occasion I am sure, as we all ended up with at least 30-40 ticks each! The next step is to get in there with a backhoe and clear out the stumps, and level the ground. A culvert will need to be installed for drainage by the road, and a load of soil bought in to cover the culvert and level off to the road. Its still a lot of work yet, but its a start and a very good one!!

View of the lake, we will be able to see this from the top of our meadow.

I was hoping we could get a garden dug and planted, however, with the on and off rain we have yet to dig the ground. Although we cannot plant beans, peas or corn now because it is probably too late, we can still get in some crops of radish, lettuce and short season plants to harvest. The soil is black and very fertile with a good loam content, so we are very hopeful for a good crop of produce in the future. The goal is to plant an organic garden to feed us, and sell the excess to other locals. However, it is more important that Rick seeks out a job and is spending most of his time chasing job ads and doing applications. We are hopeful that he can find a local driving job very soon.

Back at the campsite and the trailer we have installed a tarp over our sitting out area to protect from the sun and the rain. We seem to get a lot of both up here, it never can quite decide if it should be hot and sunny or raining cats and dogs. We have been delighted by the local hummingbirds, of which there seems to be quite a variety. They buzzed me a week ago when I was wearing a bright pink top and even flashed their red chests at me when they discovered I was not a flower to sip nectar from. Now we have dug out our hummingbird feeder and they flock to it morning and evening, and delight us with their antics and aerial acrobatics.

Yesterday while on the dogs morning walk, Titch took off after an animal and while it climbed a tree to escape him, he went crazy at the bottom trying to get to it. I have been unable to identify this animal as it was not a badger, (no white markings) and yet was not a beaver since there was no flat tail. It most definitely was not a coon nor a wildcat, perhaps it was a large woodchuck or a groundhog? It was as big as Titch and snarled aggressively. We often see deer and wild turkey while on walks through the woods.
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06/23/09 

Animals – big and small:

It is fairly obvious we would be surrounded by wildlife and animals, all of us living together but separately. Well it was my hope that they would stay out of the trailer and I figured I could deal with the wildlife outside and away from our home. So when I got up half asleep early in the morning, I went to do what most of do which is go to the bathroom before going back to sleep. What I did not expect was a mouse to run out from behind the toilet and then run over my feet before we both fled the room! I fled out through the door trying to pull my pj's up from around my ankles, and the mouse presumably fled back out the way he came in. I don't know who was more scared, me or the mouse!! Needless to say, Rick was not too impressed to be woken up with a yelp of “Mice!” so early in the morning and was not going to do anything about it at that hour. I will be honest and admit, it took me quite awhile to get back to sleep.

When the morning came, we – what's this we stuff? Well let's be honest, Rick did all the looking and I hovered fearfully in the background. He found the small hole behind the toilet they were using to enter the trailer and then filled it with foam filler which sets solid. There will be no way they can get back in through that hole unless they eat themselves a meal full of hard foam. He also discovered two other holes in the bedroom as I had complained of rustling at night coming from the night stand. Lo and behold there was one hole in the back of the night stand, and now my mind is going round and round with the question of “Just how long have we had mice running around while we slept?” and of the course the obvious one “Do they climb on the bed??” Crazy yes, but the human mind has a unique capacity for coming up with these crazy and not logical options, especially after the event has occurred! We then found another place where they had pushed up around a pipe to make a hole and enter there too. So he blocked off all the holes we could find, and even though we looked low and high for a nest or obvious signs of mouse life in the trailer- we could find none. Plus having just cleaned the trailer super thoroughly when we first got it we felt pretty sure we would have found a nest of mice if there was one. We may be wrong of course, and they could be happily tucked away in a corner laughing to themselves!

One old timer who has lived in travel trailers many years, had told us, to put lots of Downy Dryer sheets in all the cupboards and near outlets as he swore this would keep the mice away. Well, I can now tell you: IT DOES NOT WORK!! We have tried that option, and although the place always smells nice, clearly it did not achieve the end result of no mice.

It seems absolutely crazy that us big, hundred plus pounds of flesh and quick reactions, gifted with a bright and clever brain can actually be afraid of these tiny, less than a pound, little brown furry creatures who won't really hurt us. Logic does not always play a part in our reactions though. I did not even know I would react like that. I have lived in houses before where there were mice, even lots of country mice. I have chased hamsters around houses after they managed to open the closed and supposedly locked doors to their cages. I have lived in Hong Kong where the rats run around outside at night and are the size of small dogs. I guess, I hoped fervently that I would be one of those females that simply dealt with the situation, and would not run out screaming!! Well, I disappointed myself, and gave my husband a great deal to laugh about. Plus he now has blackmail material anytime he wishes to embarrass me, now he wouldn't do that would he??? Oh yes, he would!

There is healthy fear of animals such as being afraid of a large bear, wildcat, mountain lion, or a very large moose bearing down on you angrily waving its antlers. Now that is a good fear, and a healthy one, for which your survival may count on. But, being afraid of little tiny creatures that really do us no harm at all, other than being a nuisance is not logical. I knew we would be faced with all sorts of wildlife living up here out in the countryside and the woods and meadows where nature has imprinted its ownership on the land, and we are the newcomers and guests. I had hoped we would all live together peacefully, without too many confrontations. I don't mind the moose in the distance, or the coyotes howling their beautiful songs at night, or the honking of the elk over the far hill. I can read about bears and mountain lions in the hunting magazine, and that is where I prefer them to stay! I know there is a vague possibility of coming across one of the bigger animals, but I also know how to shoot, and keep up my training and so hopefully won't have to shoot any animal in self defense. I would much rather take pictures of the wildlife in their natural habitat, and we all live together happily and peacefully. So, if the mice would stay outside in their own dens underground, and leave our house to us I would really appreciate it!!!!!

Talking of wildlife, we have hundreds, and yes I do mean hundreds, of dragonflies all swooping through the air doing their mating dances to impress each other. They come from the many lakes and ponds nestled in the hills and valleys around here. At night, we sit in the dark of the evening, and watch with fascination as the fireflies dance while blinking on and off with their iridescent glow flitting through the trees and bushes. They are fascinating to watch and their acrobatics amazing. I have seen red and black spotted woodpeckers working diligently on the trees, and some upside down birds that just hang on the trees, and many others I have yet to identify. We have several different kinds of beautiful hummingbirds who visit us on a regular basis as they delicately sip the nectar from the feeder, sometimes hovering on supersonic wings and other times resting delicately on the edge. Some have fluorescent red bellies, red heads and others have red neckband's, all of them are incredibly beautiful. If you listen carefully you can hear them fly in as they sound like very large buzzing bees! Occasionally, they chirp at each other bickering for first feeding of nectar.

Today is cold and windy, after a night of heavy rainfall and we woke up to a very cold and wet morning. Slowly it is brightening up and the sun is drifting through the clouds, as the clouds slowly drift away to drop their wet load on someone else. Perhaps it will turn into a lovely sunny afternoon? It is just me and the dogs now, as Rick left for a new job yesterday afternoon, driving a Peterbilt truck and hauling grain. He will be away for periods, maybe a week at a time and then home for several days. I am awaiting the delivery of a new cell phone, as we only had one between the two of us before, and of course Rick needed that one for his work. Well, now my grandson – Patrick – will be very pleased, he informed me that everyone needs to have a cell phone, and why did I not have one??? !!! It certainly is very quiet with just me and the dogs, a little strange, and yet very restful and relaxing. We go for long walks, sit outside in the sunshine, or under the awning if it is raining and enjoy the wildlife dancing the never ending cycle of life around us. Titch is sitting, patiently waiting for his master to reappear down the road. He will get used to the cycle of coming and going, and he so enjoys keeping an eye out for stray wildlife that might come across his path. I finally gave in and succumbed to having the TV hooked up, and so the Dish people come tomorrow morning to install the dish. Hopefully they can get a signal up here in all of these trees.

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06/25/09

They came to install the Dish Satellite and the signal was blocked by 3 medium sized trees. So, after seeking permission from the owner of the campground, well they are his trees, the offending trees were removed. Immediately the signal came in clear and strong, and the TV commenced filling itself up with programming and channels to watch.

Technology, bah humbug! I had promised myself that we would not succumb to technology out here in the country, as there will be so many other and more valuable things to do with our spare time. Well, that promise was made to be broken I guess!! The evenings are awfully quiet here in the RV park where no one but me, myself and 2 little dogs are the only occupants. Okay, well I don't know just how many other animal occupants we have here, and it would be quite difficult to count them all. Hmmm....lets see, deer, elk, moose, beaver, badger, raccoon, marten, chipmunk, squirrel, groundhog, mice, birds, I could go on, and the list would be very long. So, lets assume for the sake of this conversation that we are talking about other human and dog occupants here, OK? So, its usually just me and 2 little dogs, (as I was saying before we got sidetracked!) during the week. That is until Friday when this place fills up with people, children, dogs, bikes, boats, motorcycles, trucks and a lot of other fun stuff that people bring to a resort at the lake. So, it can be very quiet here at night, and with the howls of the coyotes, and the rustling in the woods close by and then the dogs go off barking and alerting to something close by which they can hear. Well, you can see that a person might want to have TV to keep them company in the evenings?? It can be a comforting noise and something to watch while knitting or sewing in the evening hours. Sure, I could manage without it, and a lot of people do manage just fine. But I guess being on my own, it just feels more relaxing to have the TV noise going on. So now I have really broken my promise to myself as I now have a computer, cell phone and a TV. Wow what is the world coming to???

Today started out beautifully bright and sunny, the sky is bright blue and clear with no signs of clouds anywhere. The air is limpid and breaths a promise of hot and humid as the day grows on it self. The birds are busy catching insects or digging up fat grubs, there is a rustling in the underbrush near our trailer – perhaps a chipmunk or maybe something bigger. The windows are open to catch the slightest suggestion of a breeze and its time to clean up the inside and vacuum the floors. A clean house is always a good thing, and somehow is very soothing to have everything clean and tidy. So, I must say adieu for now and wish you all a beautiful day too!

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08/03/09

It has been awhile since I last wrote, as not much has been happening to our land.  Instead Rick is working hard at his new truck driving job delivering grain to various places.  This is a good thing, as we now have a chance to save up money we need to spend on doing work and hiring various and assorted tools to facilitate that work.  So, the land will wait a little while longer, and meanwhile life goes on
in the RV campsite as the days of summer pass us by.

We seem to have missed out on a hot summer up here and instead I have been dealing with a fair amount of rain and thunderstorms and cold, windy and wet - English type summer weather.  There is still the chance of getting a hot August, and I hear it can get up to the 90's in a good summer at the Lake.  At present, it is 45F when we wake up and barely gets above 70F during the daytime, so a bit warmer would indeed be most welcome!  Rick works for 10 days and then comes home for 3 days to relax and unwind and also to do some driving so I can stock up on groceries, bottled water and empty the PO box.  I manage just fine up here on my own, cutting wood for fires in the evening, going on long walks with the dogs, doing my laundry by hand and hanging it out on a line strung between two trees for the fresh breeze to dry, and keeping the RV clean, neat and tidy.  I also keep busy with sewing and so the days pass by in a blur.

Wednesday mornings, Jerry picks me up and we go to a local restaurant for a networking breakfast.  The ladies meet at one side of the restaurant and the men on the other side, and this is a good way to meet people.  Some of the ladies are "Snowbirds" who all disappear in October back to Arizona and other various hot winter spots, they only come up here for the summer.  That says a lot for the beauty of this place if people travel so far to spend every summer up here!  I am slowly meeting new people, and hope to make some new friends and meet other quilter's as well.  We have decided that we cannot stay in the RV for the winter as I would probably end up a frozen popsicle .  Plus the campground closes down at the end of October and so we need to find somewhere else to live for the winter.  We are cuurently looking into a small 2 bedroomed house, situated in a meadow and fully equipped with all brand new appliances.  It will be lovely to have a washing machine and dryer in the house to use, although I am not complaining about doing my laundry by hand or going to the laundromat.

So, we may not get as much done on the land this summer as we had hoped to, but we are here and beginning to settle in and feel we belong here.  The beauty of the Turtle mountains continues to astound us, and each new day always brings some new excitement or sighting.  We daily see deer, baby twin deer, owls, wild turkeys, ducks, groundhogs and other assorted wildlife.  At night we are blessed with the singing of the Songdogs or Coyotes, and each morning I find various footprints in the soil out front.  I do believe we may have had a wildcat visit one night, as there were some big catlike footprints there, and the dogs had been barking on and off during the night.  One day I spent several hours taking photographs of the groundhog or woodchuck as he foraged for food in front of our RV.  I have put some of them in the photo album - but please bear in mind I had to retreat inside the RV to take the photos and so had to shoot through a screen mesh over the widow.  Every time I ventured outside the groundhog would disappear down his hole and it would take another hour for him to reappear!
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08/29/09

Animals: Lions, tigers and bears, Oh my!!

Well, lions, tigers are definitely not here, but we do have black bears as I discovered for myself one night. The smell came first, a foul odorous, rancid smell of which there really is no best way to describe, then the dogs fur stood up on end, and they both started growling deep in their throats their eyes bugged out with fear. Whether they actually knew this smell was associated with bear or whether it simply implied FEAR I will never know. We sat still as I reassured the dogs and waited for whatever it was outside to pass on by. I was praying I would not have to go out and deal with it - “Just leave us alone, and keep on walking” I kept saying to myself over and over. Well, it did and eventually my heart stopped pounding enough for us to all go to bed and sleep away the rest of the night.

In the morning though, I discovered big footprints on the wet ground, impressions that could only be BEAR! I also discovered 'scat' dropped almost outside my front door, as though to say “There, I left you a big clue, don't mess with me for I am bear and people tremble at my name!” If you know bear droppings or scat as it is called, you will know it is very identifiable as no other animal leaves droppings quite the same size or shape. I honestly figured people would think I was crazy if I said we had a visit from a bear! However, it did not take long to persuade Jerry (owner of Wilderness park) and my husband that we indeed had a bear visit us in the night. Jerry had found more scat further up in the campsite. Upon goggling “bear” I soon discovered the smell is a very definite indicator of bear nearby. The article stated that if you can smell the rancid, bad smell, then you are too close to the bear for safety! Duh, you think?!! You learn something new everyday!

So instead of lions, tigers and bears, I will have to change it to say: Mountain lion, coyotes and black bear, OH MY!!! since we have had all three of those visit us over the past summer months. My, how nature never ceases to amaze me and leave me astounded with its beauty, diversity and variety of animals that share this place with us. My list of animals I have come to know grows almost daily: chipmunk, squirrel, raccoon, groundhog, mink, beaver, owl, hawk, skunk, possum, marten, deer, elk, moose, wildcat, mountain lion, coyote, bear, and of course we cannot forget the mice!

On talking to other people, it seems there are occasionally bears that pass through, probably visiting from Canada. (Do bears have passports? Or have to go through immigration and customs?!!) It must be a rare event though, because some people just simply say there are no bear in this area, and others say Oh yes, we occasionally get one or two. And always there are stories to listen to: the women who had a bear look in her kitchen window while she was cooking, or the lady who had a bear strip all of her June berries and blackberries just as they were ripe and ready for picking and jam making, etc.

When we were children, we always had a summer bet from our parents. They said that if we saw a bear – and others had to see it also to verify it was true – then we would get a whole bar of chocolate as a prize. A whole bar was a very special treat in those days! Of course I never did get my sighting verified as a child even though I thought I saw bear in the distance several times. As an adult I did see brown bears in Canada on one of our summer trips, and was not the only one to see them up fairly close. Now chocolate bars are not a big deal, yet bears are and always will be. However much they are fascinating and worth photographing, I respect them and have a healthy fear of them. I am very careful and do not leave food or trash of any sort outside the RV, and clean up every night. So, Mr. Bear – please go away and find somewhere else to forage for food!

Most nights we are serenaded by the coyotes musical singing, which is very intense. You can hear the different howls from each of the camps as one leads off, and in response other coyotes join in, and soon there is a ring of singing all around you. The cubs join in with their more childish and slightly out of tone howls, and if you listen very carefully you can just hear a slight rustling in the brush around you as a few shadows are slipping through the woods. One night, very late, or rather very early and in the wee hours of the morning, I was woken up by a coyote howling right outside the bedroom window just a foot beyond where my head usually lay on its pillow. If its possible to jump out of your skin, then that is what happened!! There was no warning, no growl or hiss, nothing except a howl that led into a song ricochetting around the trees with a fierce intensity. I felt as though I was blown of my pillow and wide awake in seconds, and although I was shaken up, it was at the same time intensely beautiful to listen to. I understand very well now why coyotes are often referred to as Song Dogs in other parts of the United States.

In the dusk of evenings, as I wander along the meadow to walk the dogs, I often see deer in groups of 2 or 3 munching the sweet grass and filling up for the coming winter. They are rather curious, and stand still, snorting at me, tossing their heads. I toss my hair back at them and stand really still and often they advance slowly towards me curiously snorting and stamping a foot at me. If the dogs have not picked up their scent they will ignore them and the deer keep advancing towards me. Otherwise, of course the dogs will start barking and wanting to chase them and off they will go in flight through the trees. It is wondrous to see the immense size of these deer, and the curious look in their eyes leaves me wondering. Is it my red hair that perhaps they mistake me for a fellow deer? Or are they just curious about all animals, humans included? The other evening I found the twin fawns who were born early summer here in the park, they were grazing on sweet grass and clover, and one of them stopped to enquire as to what I might be. I stood very still, luckily I had no dogs and my camera was with me, and I just took photos as the fawn slowly walked up to me so close I could have reached out and touched her. She kept stamping her little front foot at me, and giving a little snort every now and then. Her mom was nowhere in sight and her brother just kept on eating, uninterested in anything but his food. I was very surprised that she came so close, as my human smell must have been alarming to her. I did get some beautiful photos, and came away with a wonder and amazement at the beauty of these animals.

One afternoon, we just sat and watched chipmunks feeding on seed which had fallen from the bird-feeder. I filled a small container with seed and put it down near our chairs, and we watched in fascination as the daring, fearless chipmunk came right down to feed from the cup. Stuffing seeds into his cheeks as fast as possible, he filled up until he could get no more in. Scampering off to store his precious food in a safe place, the second chipmunk would dart out and come down to gather seeds for his use. Taking photos of them so close was delightful as I could really capture their character. Now, they come and beg for seeds when they see me outside. I hope their winter hoard will be good and supply them through the winter. They are so cute, it is delightful to watch their antics.

One night, I saw a huge white owl sitting on a fallen tree, and it was not until he took off that I saw his 6 foot wingspan as he flew away, swooping out over the grass and flowers to soar up into the trees on the other side of the fields. He was the biggest owl I have ever seen, and I did not know they could be so big! It was breathtakingly beautiful, and as I just stood there in awe and amazement watching as he slowly swooped away, the white iridescent feathers blurring into the distance as he disappeared. No camera could have captured the elegance or ease with which his wings just seemed to slice through the air carrying him silently and softly away. Beautiful would not even be an appropriate adjective to use, for he was beyond beautiful, majestic, magnificent and wondrous might describe him. I feel so honored and blessed to be sharing space and time with these beautiful creatures, and in many ways they have touched my soul and each time my life changes a little bit more.

How can we be so arrogant to feel we are the most beautiful of creatures? We who have to use aids to color, dye and stain our own skins, eyes, lips and hair! We who proclaim loudly we are lord of everything, we own this world and we are the smart ones. Stand still in a grove of trees, and just watch the deer as they graze and you might realize we are not the beautiful ones, for the animals need no colors added, no dyes, no perfumes, no plastic surgery, no teeth whitening, nothing extra would make them more beautiful than mother nature intended them to be. They shimmer in the evening light, as the light dances off the spotted, golden fur on their backs, and the white of their ears and tails is a brilliant flash as they jump and leap away to safer places.

Well enough of animals. Summer, which barely came is already slipping away and there is an occasional wash of yellow in the leaves. Winter is moving inexorably moving in as the harvest ripens and the farmers work long hard hours to bring in the crops. Summer has been wet, windy and cold, very cloudy on many days and dreary too in some ways. We seem to have had a lot of rain up here in the turtle mountains. Perhaps Autumn will bring a late summer, and I hope winter comes in slowly and is gentle on us this year. But it is obvious that the cold weather is coming, and the snows and ice won't be far away. Life goes on as usual, Rick away driving and delivering grain, and I at home with the dogs, going for long walks, keeping the trailer clean and doing my quilting, knitting and cross stitch projects. Plenty to keep us both busy.
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10/23/09

Beautiful, bright blue skies in a cloudless sky as the ducks noisily fly overhead effortlessly yet in a tight V formation. They are leaving us, summer is gone and autumn was but a blink as winter came in with the full force of ice, snow and cold, cold, cold. The few leaves that made it through are tinged with yellow and orange and are hanging on desperately through the 30 mph winds that whip across the fields. The farmers hurry in a non stop motion to try and get crops in to silos before the snow spoils their harvest and their bank accounts with spoiled crops. Mornings are bitterly cold and frosty, noon is warmer and and the evening dusk brings a chill back to the air as we move inexorably closer to the deep of winter. Winter often comes early up here in North Dakota, and although for me it is all a wonder of beauty and white winterland to the locals it simply means a long cold and hard winter is ahead. We have had snow, ice, thawing out and then more snow already and it is only the middle of October. There is of course, more snow forecast but the days in between warm up to the 40's or even low 50's. The sun shines brightly in between the storms of snow and rain and the meadow is beautiful no matter what the weather may bring. We walk everyday, with boots, gloves, hats and winter coats to keep me warm. The dogs have their fur coats, and the little Papillon has a knitted coat I knitted as she simply does not deal well with cold and snow. Sometimes, when I put her out to go potty in the snow, she simply stands there with one foot raised in the air and a look on her face that says: “And I am supposed to pee in this white stuff?? Where is my grass? Its COLD for heavens sake, take me back inside!!”

We knew we could not spend the cold North Dakota winter in the RV, and so decided to look for a house or small place to rent for the wintertime. We found a lovely, little 2 bedroomed house right nearby the RV park and up in the Lake resort area. I started moving in on the first of October, and with the help of Jerry I managed to get quite a few boxes, bags, books, kitchen stuff all moved into the house. Rick came home later to help finish up the move and put away the RV for the wintertime. The snow beat us to it, but he did a great job of cleaning and sorting, putting away in bitter cold and snow everywhere! We can now soak in a regular bathtub, wash laundry in a washer and dryer and bake bread and other goodies in a full sized kitchen!! Mind you, I am not complaining, life in the RV has been very good and I have no complaints at all. I washed laundry by hand, and hung it out to dry by the wind and sun, I managed to bake bread and other goodies in our ½ sized kitchen without any problems. We figured out how to work around everything and make the best of it all. I am a little sad to leave the wildlife and woods, and to move into a house. At the same time, I am rejoicing in the move because we will be a lot warmer and safer in a house. There will be more space for the dogs to run around in, and more room for me to spread my quilting pieces over. (There are pictures of the house in the Photo Album)

I still hear the coyotes sing their songs all around at night, the meadow is fairly big and often there is wildlife grazing around the edges near enough to the woods to dart back in if something alerts them to danger. We found mountain lion poop, small bear scat and many tracks of different animals in the soft, muddy ground left after the snow melted. The deer are often together in groups of 4 or more now, as we move into hunting season and I hope the twin fawns will make it through safely and not end up on someones dining table! They are so tame I could probably sit on the patio and pick them off one by one with a hunting gun if I really wanted to. But this is not my land, and they have become a vital part of this place as I often see them grazing up ahead as we go on our daily walks. They even stood still long enough to let me take close up photos of them!

The other night just as dusk was falling, the sky was darkening and the night was closing in fast, the dog alerted to something near by and even I could hear the rustling in the trees on the left side of the house. When to my surprise a small black bear started out from the trees and ambled out slowly, sniffing at everything along the way as he nosied his way across the meadow, up the hill and into the woods. He was oblivious to us standing in the doorway of the house, and luckily the dog kept quiet other than a low, deep growl as I kept a very firm hand on his collar in case Gizmo decided he was going to protect me from this thing! It was a small black bear if my eyes saw correctly, and he seemed uninterested in us humans, however, despite the flutters of excitement at seeing a bear I also had a deeper feeling of unquiet for they are not animals to upset or make angry, and can do an awful lot of damage to property if they are inclined. I thought for sure the bears would all be in their winter dens by now? But maybe the snow got here too early for him to fill up with enough berries and food to last through the winter? Or perhaps he has not found his own den yet to settle down in while the snows, wind and ice blow around overhead. Whatever the reason I hope he soon finds his “home” and sleeps, so I have one less thing to worry about! I would hate to meet up with him on one of our walks, or in the evenings when I let the dogs out in the dark to go potty before bed. But it sure was a surprise to actually SEE a bear!!!! (And NO I do not have photos to prove it was a bear.) 

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*NEW Entry!
01/29/2010
New Year and Winter

It has been too long since I wrote with an update on our life up here in North Dakota.  Well, winter came hard and cold as it always does in the Turtle Mountains.  We have had snow now for 2 months, with storm after storm, blizzards and lots of snow and it still beautiful as always here!  It is very cold, and has taken us a little while to get used to the cold temperatures, but now if I woke up and did not see snow outside the window I would be shocked!  The snow and cold has mean't that we no longer go for our long walks as it is too cold to go very far without freezing, and the dogs feet seem to freeze up very fast when the temperature is below 0.  Temperatures generally vary between 15 and minus 20 degrees - and we have not seen temperatures above freezing for a long time.  When the cold North wind blows down from Canada over the meadow it is really, really cold and we actually hit minus 30 with the wind chill factored in. 

Still, life goes on as always!  Rick is still driving, driving and picking up loads and delivering them as fast as the weather allows.  I stay inside most of the time with the dogs and one of the barn kittens I rescued, and they keep me company and are great companions.  So far I have not had Cabin Fever and am enjoying the solitude of the winter here in the Meadow House.  Lots of knitting, baking and cooking and quilting keeps me occupied.  Our days seem to slide on by with a relaxed routine as we feel like doing things!  I go down each day to the barn to feed the barn kitties and enjoy watching them grow up into adolescents and soon to be adult cats.  There were 4 kittens originally left to my care, and one was a runt and I took her indoors to feed her up and become our house kitty.  Then there were 3!  The 3 Mousketeers as I call them......although Mother Nature has not been too kind to them with the very cold and bitter weather we have been having.  So we may end up with just one left, or maybe two and if we are lucky all three will survive.  We named them Patrone, Jameson and Tequila and our own rescued one is called Jaeger. 

Christmas came and went, with just the two of us celebrating in our own quiet way.  New Years was a party up at The Dockside Bar with a band and a fun filled night into the New Year.  We are meeting new people all the time, and making new friends and this is definitely HOME now.  When one of the locals told me "You really are staying here aren't you?"  I realized you have to live through a winter up here to prove you mean to make this place home!  So as we come up to almost a year here in Lake Metigoshe, Bottineau, North Dakota and the Turtle Mountains we feel at peace and contented, and constantly amazed at the beauty around us, the seasons pass on by in their own time, and weeks just slide on into the next one as days pass on by.