Benjamin Scribner's Blog, page 22

Genorator troubles

Well, the diesel generator is down again. Taking it back to the mechanic tomorrow,  tell him to fix it and sell it. Not screwing around with it anymore. I need a reliable generator up here. The generator was supposed to be just a backup by this winter, I would run the cabin on solar and wind, starting the generator only when there wasn’t enough sun or wind to keep my batteries charged.  But thanks to costly breakdowns, I now will need a reliable generator for this coming winter.

I have posted the name of the company that builds these generators, I will continue to post not to purchase one, they build junk.

This week on the mountain

Well, it’s been another quiet week up here on the mountain, my little slice of heaven.

The pilgrims are getting settled in, both have jobs now, but still haven’t found a place in town to rent, so it looks like they will be up here for the winter. Which presents another problem, they have no firewood and no chainsaw. I am down two and cannot afford to loan mine.

The other thing they need to get through their heads is you can’t start working at ten in the morning and then quit a few hours later to help the wife and herd the kids. A few times he offers to help, and by the time he shows up, I have everything finished. This will not work if they hope to survive up here. I can only do so much; they have to put forth some effort.

Down in town, the old loggers have found a new hangout since Bud’s diner closed.  It is a place right on Main Street called My Kitchen. They don’t open as early as Bud’s did, but they are now planning on opening at four AM to accommodate those that head to work early. Also, three of the gals that worked at Bud’s have found employment there, so that’s been a good thing for them, no break in a paycheck.

Up here at my place, I am still getting things ready for this coming winter’s snows. I have ordered the parts I need to fix the UTV and fuel line for the snowmobiles. The UTV will take a few days to change out old bearings for new, then an oil change and grease. Plus I am building a cab out of plywood to make things a bit more comfortable on those cold snowy or freezing rain days. I plan on using the snowmobile most of the time, going from my cabin to Allen’s or checking on the pilgrims and Jack, if he’s here.

Don’t know if I mentioned this in last week’s update, but now there appears to be a guy planning on living up here, nowhere near me, in a teepee this winter. This is not the smartest idea I have heard, and as I have had my fill of pilgrims for the year, he can be someone else’s headache. Larry has been by his place a few times but hasn’t found him there, though the teepee is all set up and there is evidence that he is getting ready.

I don’t want to appear cold, but I have my own needs for this winter, and more pilgrims are not in my plans as I am already a month behind in my own preparations, and I am still dealing with the family of pilgrims below me.

Well, that’s all the news for the week. Bye for now.

Weekend update

Allen offered some firewood to the pilgrims this morning,  so I took the husband over and we loaded up some . I got eighteen pallets cut up and put the ignition switch in the diesel generator. I left the power switch on a few days ago and it wouldn’t crank, so I took the battery down to Larry’s place and put it on a charger for the night. Went into town for gas for Allen’s genorator, which I am still using, and glued the headliner back up in my truck.

Doesn’t seem like I really did much, but boy am I tired.

About half of the flooring got sanded by the oldest boy, some was wet still from the last rain, so it’s sitting out where it can dry…

Bought a new handle for my splitting maul yesterday, they had to order one in since for some reason I don’t understand, they don’t carry replacements on hand. This seems odd in a logging town.

Anyway got the head off the old broken handle and tried fitting it on the new one. It doesn’t fit, won’t go all the way down and it’s too narrow at the top to fill the space fully in the head.

I got to looking at it and it’s not even a handle from the same manufacturer.

They told me this was the only one available. If you sell a brand, maybe you should buy replacement parts made by the same brand. Now I have to go in Monday and show them it isn’t going to work. Maybe this time they will order the right brand…

This week’s news

Well it’s been another quiet week up here on the mountain, my little slice of heaven.

Last Friday, as I was going out to take down the hummingbird feeders,  I had a young bull moose hanging out just below my deck. He didn’t seem inclined to hang around long, after he saw me above him. I talked to him for a minute until he decided to head for my lower lot. I think he’s the one bedding down in a patch of wild raspberries down there.

I’ve been building a shed for my two snowmobiles, I don’t want to be digging them out of the snow this winter if I need them. I’m hoping the UTV doesn’t have any major issues this year, but you never can tell. I will be getting it and both snowmobiles ready for winter next week. I have three more sealed bearings to replace and a CV boot on the UTV. Don’t want a repeat of last year’s bearing failure.

Down in town, Bud’s diner closed right after labor day, this came as a bit of a shock since Bud never told anyone, not even his employees.

Now me and the old loggers will have to find a new place to haunt in the morning.

The pilgrims are getting settled in,  though I believe they will be living in town soon. They haven’t got the means to get in and out after the snow hits.

I did loan them my old gas genorator, because the one the husband brought in was too small to run their water pump. Mine is big enough to handle it, and he replaced the carburetor on it with the one from a genorator Ernest T had left behind that wasn’t running. Now mine starts and runs fine. They told me when they move to town they will return it so I will have a backup again.

Allen has been by a few times just to pass the time and pick up some lumber he needs to finish the addition he is building. Jack has left again, though he says he will be back later this month to finish preparing for the coming winter. He is not the most motivated person when it comes to getting firewood in. I have no idea how he will survive up there.

There is another guy that has moved in on a lot his buddy ownes, he is putting up a teepee. I don’t know much about him, so far only his name and that his plan is to stay the winter. It should be interesting if he plans on living in the teepee. My winter could be filled with mutable rescues and much work on my part helping unprepared pilgrims.

That’s all the news for the week. Bye for now.

Weekly news I missed

I should have talked about this earlier in my weekly news, for some reason I just forgot.

Kids are enjoying their last free days of summer vacation,  since after this weekend, it’s back to school. I know there are a few parents happy, and probably more than a few kids that would like to see summer hold off another few weeks.

It’s labor day weekend, and here in town,the annual Paul Bunyan days festivities will be taking place. Lumbermen will compete and there will be fireworks and a parade. I won’t be coming into town after today since I hate crowds.

This week’s news

Well, it’s been another quiet week up here on the mountain, my little slice of heaven.

A fire started last Saturday down in a valley outside of town, far enough away,  yet close enough to have been a threat if the winds had started coming out of the south. Firefighters were on it pretty quickly and planes flew overhead at nearly treetop level dropping fire retardant on it, that is was under control and out within a few days.

I’m in the final push to get things finished before snow flys. Mostly stiff and sore by the end of the day, and I can’t afford to take a few days to recover.

Some projects I have decided can wait another winter, like rainwater storage, I managed just fine last year hauling water in. One project I decided I needed was a shed to keep my snowmobiles out of the weather, so that is now as finished as it will get until next spring, it will keep both machines dry and I won’t have to dig them  out from under a few feet of snow if I need them.

More firewood is on my list of things to finish, I would much rather have more than I need, then find myself hunting it when there is snow on the ground.

I also started building a solid cab from plywood on my UTV, I have never liked the fabric cab I bought two years ago, and the zippered doors never worked right, I finally took them off when the zippers failed.

I haven’t seen the pilgrims this week, but now that her husband is here, they have a running vehicle and can fend for themselves,  though I think they are realizing they can’t spend the winter up here. With no way up or down after it snows and no way to keep the road open, they are looking to move into town.

Jack, our on again off again resident, has decided he wants to spend more time up here this winter. He showed up a few days ago and Allen has been helping him, leaving me free to finish my own preparations.

Well, that’s all the news for the week. Bye for now.

More evening thoughts

The days are getting shorter again. The foliage around the cabin is dying, and the berries that are coveted by all are now dry and falling from their branches.

Life moves so fast at times, even up here. There never seems to be enough time to get things done, yet somehow I manage.

Preparing for winter seems to be the only thing I do around here, yet I find time to do other things.

Evening is setting in now, and a slight breeze is blowing,  drawing smoke from the fire south of me across the ridge and into town.

All is quiet here, yesterday’s planes fighting the fire are gone now.

Rabbits are coming out from under the cabin looking for their evening meal, and somewhere nearby a moose steps cautiously out onto the road, looking for me or Allen to come up or down, then crossing to it’s feeding ground.

Another day has come to a close, I am enjoying tea and the radio this evening.

I wish you all well. Bye for now.