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Fall 2007
September flipped the switch up here; we went from upper 80’s and 90’s to 70’s and rain, and more days of 60’s. But while these temperatures seem like summer there was a definite bite in the air. We had our first frost on the 10th of September; it has daily reminded us we are in the fall. The leaves that can turn have; and fruit draw was absolutely beautiful with all of its reds, yellows and gold’s. When I wandered down in the draw the world closed around me and I was in a dream world of color and texture. Life’s lens closed down to the very narrow aperture and only the quiet, subtle, stillness of the draw held my focus. The larger world dropped away and it was fantastic!.
Oct, brings the hunters all vying for the trophy, the touches of florescent orange mixed in the camouflage is brilliant. For me I was busy drying, canning and enjoying the age old feeling of sense of accomplishment as I filled my shelves with nature’s bounty. The simple pleasure of pouring fresh honey into smaller more useable jars is something that seems lost to the business of our day. It truly is a simple pleasure. But I will say I also thoroughly enjoyed all of my neighbors that I only get to see at this time of year. It is a nice change to just walk or go a little way to visit with friends, and the first traffic jam actually happened up here, two of us met in the road, had to pull off so the other could get by, we all laughed about it, it was wonderful.
November is fall, Thanksgiving, a month of elections, Veterans Day and changes of color and focuses, why is it we wait until the end of the year to give thanks, count our blessings or notice the glory around us? I don’t know, but I will take this time and use it well. We still have not had any snow, ok, a light skiff? If you can call it that, this morning, but I don’t’ count it, 25 snow flakes don’t really count even in a weatherman’s book. But now that the hunters are all gone and things have quieted down. The deer and elk are coming back around, even the coyotes seem to be getting braver and coming closer to pass their calls back and forth. The flies are the last remaining vestige of a hot summer, and they are clinging to a tentative life which they know will soon end and they crowd around the doors and anywhere else they think they might find warmth. Only when they slip inside, they find a quick death at the end of my fly swatter, so long to summer!
Summer 2007 update
I know it’s been a while since I last updated this journal. Many things have happened as life went speeding by. Seasons changed, life was renewed, spent, and is now about to go back into its resting phase again. I find myself at the end of August looking back on many things. Nature has astounded me many times again this year. Family and friends have grown and changed, I have grown and changed, and as always life keeps her steady pace . . . one day at a time.
Winter in her glory brought many fierce storms, with equally as many gentle gatherings of snow. The forest quietly stood there accepting each and allowing the changes to happen. I on the other hand did not quietly accept one storm. The storm of my youngest son telling me he had joined the US Marines. While I will proudly say here, I am extremely proud of my son and back him 1000 % the idea of having my son in harms way did not set easily with the mother, and I had to take long walks in my beloved woods to finally come to terms with this fierce storm. His very sound reasoning for joining finally broke its way through my mothers need to protect. That reasoning . . . that “ This country had given him so much . . . he just wanted to give something back his way”., to be the best of the best a US Marine. I could not argue. So I have entered a new season.
Spring burst onto the scene with promise and hope of untold goodness. The spring rains were gentle and the Moe and Joe Club came back hungry for the local quiescence. May saw us the grateful recipients of 14” of rain, fast growing grass and trees perking up with open arms just soaking it all up, we were thankful. We listened to the water gurgling down the hill sides into the spring and watched as Mother Nature took a deep sigh as she gratefully soaked up all the moisture. The roads were muddy and a side of our mountain road blew out due to all the rain, but is can be fixed gradually.
Our pines trees did a curious thing this year they did not set an over abundance of pine cones on, as they did last year, and there was no pollen dispersed this year, but the trees are healthy. We will watch and see how this cycle plays itself out. Summer heated up around the end of June, we went from comfortable days and nights to hot ones with 100+ degrees, summer had arrived and thankfully not with as much force as last year.
The deer, antelope, and elk are all looking great they have had a great spring and summer with lots to eat and they are now proudly showing rich coats and heavy velvets calling out their health.
Summer has flown by, kids have come home and spent time romping through the woods and over the rocks, they have rested, laughed, explored, dreamed, worked, and reluctantly gone back to their lives, as have we now that they are all gone.
We have recently gone down to Cheyenne and picked up our long awaited new girls. This was the culmination of many years of dreaming and work, but it is finally been accomplished. We now have in residence 6 ewe Navajo Churro lambs born this last winter in Oregon. Gracia, Mimi, Panda, Lulu, Justine, Kalia have joined us here, we are ecstatic, as they are small and graceful and bring sheep back to sheep country. These 6 girls will be the foundation of our newest venture. They will provide wool to be spun and used either as rug wool which is what their wool is basically for, or I can combine it with other wools to make sweaters, if I like. But they are another heritage breed that is endangered, like our Toulouse geese which will be their pasture mates. We are slowly adding life to the hills and peace continues to gather around the place, as well as various songs of happiness from the chickens, cats, dogs, sheep, geese and people now. Music comes in many forms, and sometimes the quiet, gentle, contented sounds of cats and sheep are the sweetest music to our ear, if we only just listen.
How did our garden do you might ask? FABULOUS, we have dried over 200 lbs of Roma tomato’s, (that is about 2 gallons of dried tomatoes) we have about 1 dozen Hopi squash, we have a nice patch of Aztec blue dent corn, we grew lots of cherry tomato’s, cucumbers, dill, lemon balm, peppermint, carrots, potatoes, strawberries, onions, peppers, chili’s, comfrey and other small things. While it was thrilling to see the green house come to life after the long winters rest, it is equally as thrilling to see it being put back to bed now that the summer’s harvest is almost over. We only had to plant the dill 4 times this year due to the rain in May but we got enough to have plenty of seed for next year so we will call it a success. We gathered apples from neighbors and gratefully put them aside. We have truly been blessed this summer with a bounty that can help carry us through the winter.
I will close for now and attempt to write again soon.
November is Upon us!
Well the seasons have changed once again here and fall is upon us. Our mountain has gone from warm and inviting outside to warm and inviting inside as the cold north winds have moved in. We awake now to a world all decked out with white crystals, on the windows, the rocks and trees as well as everything else. Slowly the sun peeks over the tree line and gradually warms up the wonderland of white, and it magically disappears to hopefully reappear on the morrow. The Moe & Joe club has gone south for the winter and the antelope, deer, and elk all take their time meandering through the area searching for the last vestiges of tender greens.
I have had the privilege to watch the life cycle of pinecones this last year and can tell you it is not as dull as it may sound. Actually it is very beautiful and inspiring to watch as they slowing change from purple bud to green cone to fully open and ready to spread their seed. You know the song “the Hills are alive with the sound of music” from the movie, well they are, you only have to stop and listen. The mountains are alive in so many ways it is fascinating to watch and I count myself privileged.
We have gotten involved in our local community and have the privilege to help restore a local log hall that is 80+ years old to make it more useable. This is turning out to be quite an adventure and keeps us highly involved in the modern world with all the fund raising, grant applications, and hoops we have to jump through. But it is for a very good cause, and the building is such an important part of the community that we don’t mind at all. The things we are learning are fascinating and are changing our opinions of the civilized world. I ‘ll leave it at that.
We have had yet another encounter with the mountain pack rat. This time the little fellow brought along a friend and decided to make his home in my truck engine. Where he proceeded to remove large chunks of 4 of my sparkplug wires, as well as filling up the compartment with pine branches and twigs and other helpful things like dog food which is only left out during the day, I will gladly say, he or she and their friend no longer reside in my truck engine. But I will not hold my breath, as I am sure the word is out, there is a nice open condo available in the big red and white truck. LOL
As those of you how have ordered from us know Christmas is one of our busy seasons, Yes I am no longer guaranteeing Christmas delivery and people are unhappy with me. Well life is rough all over. But I will say I am looking forward to creating some more new memories this year, and adding to our Christmas Eve bonfire, and feeding of the wildlife that we did last year.
Well here is hoping your Thanksgiving was warm, wonderful and full of family and friends and that your Christmas will be the same.
Summer 2006
I can hardly believe summer is here and almost gone, but it is. Oh, the things that have happened so far up here on the mountain. We have seen lots of wildlife, and the Joe and Moe club ( turkey vulchers) came back to us, but not in as large of numbers as last year, they must know things we don‘t. We have watched them soar on the thermals in the evening and enjoyed their antics as they conserve their strength by gliding for great distances on the thermal and then darting in and out with each other. We have watched the new births of the spring come out for all to see, and we have an Antelope that twinned this year, we love to watch them frolic around in the meadows. Thankfully we have not seen our big cat again this spring but I hope she/he is doing great. Our baby chicks and geese that were purchased this last spring are all alive and doing great, we have not lost a one. We can still catch a glimp of the deer in the early mornings, if you are very quiet. They are so majestic that it warms the heart to see them. I must confess we have seen several snakes around, a couple of Racer snakes, they passed the book test and went merrily on their way. However the rattlesnake that came across my path was not so lucky. Although he was only 12” long and didn’t have a full rattle yet, he certainly had the fangs for it and we took no chances with him, and after beheading the booger, with a shovel, and carefully used pliers and a knife we confirmed all suspicions about him being a rattler. He was promptly skinned and after letting his body finish it’s squirming around. Amber skinned him, salted the skin and hung it up on a board as all great white hunters would do. LOL.
We started the summer lush and green and have turned brown and dangerously dry. Yes we are near enough to the Wyoming and Montana fires that we can see and smell most of the mess. We pray daily that a friendly little thundershower doesn’t turn against us by starting another forest fire. Too many people already have lost their homes and ranches to these fires. The trees will take generations to come back to their recent heights and glory. But we fully understand that this is nature that we live amidst and therefore it has a cycle and we must just live with it. Along with all of the fires we have been having we have suffered or struggled with very hot temperatures 100+’s and it has been interesting with no electricity to plug the AC into if we had one. We have managed by keeping curtains closed, leaving windows open all night, cold spring showers and staying out of the sun. It has played havoc with running the forge but we are working early mornings and later evenings with the forge so that we don’t all just melt in the intense heat.
We have been visited by the mountain pack rat that we saw last fall, only this time he has decided to make his new home in my truck engine, neatly storing dog food up inside of the engine, making the sensors and engine go crazy. Tricky little fellow thought he could get away with it, but hopefully we can out smart him, by moveing the dog food, and helping him to find another home. I know I am dreaming but we all need to dream!! LOL
The wildlife has been spectacular! We have 10 elk cow/calves down on the creek, deer, and all of their fawns out foraging for food, and antelope everywhere. The wild turkeys have even brought their little ones around to check out what food we might be willing to share. It has been glorious!
I have taken a lot of pictures of the surrounding areas on my daily walks and have so enjoyed the peacefulness of the forest, I used to take the 4 wheeler to take me farther distances, but I have found the walk in the forest much more serine and helpful so now I just walk. The pictures seem to take on a different story when I don’t have the 4 wheeler and I enjoy them more. Oh modern technologies have their places and I know how dependent we can get on them but it is nice to go back to the old ways.
Our garden has over taken us this summer, we actually grew cantaloupe in WYOMING an almost unheard of thing, but we have shared the proof with others so they can vouch for it. We have a bounty of tomatoes, peppers, squash, onions, strawberries, carrots, watermelon, beets, zucchini, pickles, cucumbers, and other items. All of which we have shared, and enjoyed putting up what we can
I have just finished canning peaches on a grill and they turned out great, it is amazing what a person can do with a little determination and sticktoitness! I now have home canned peaches for the winter. I am starting to put up other garden produce by drying it and canning it as well so we should be set for garden goodies this winter on a number of fronts. So long for now from the mountain!
April Update
Well things are moving along. We have had our April snow and rain showers so far and we are definitely beginning to see some of May’s flowers. Our wild crocus are in bloom as well as a myriad of other wild flowers some I have been able to identify as well as others I haven’t – it is time to find another or better book on local wildflowers. The bees are busy as well as the little birds all singing and nesting, I look forward to seeing their new babies. The large supply of baby bunnies that we have seen tell us they are all doing just fine, they most definitely are being bold as brass everyday. My husband and I have been busy setting fence posts along the road these last two weekends and hopefully soon we will be putting up barbed wire. The male wild turkeys are brazen this month as they strut their stuff and call to the females daily. As I write I hear them on the ridge gobbling away to any girl turkey that will listen.
Our building projects are coming along nicely and in truth we think of more daily, so I think if they all come to fruition we will be building for the next 10 years, not something we want to do, so we will have to choose the best projects and do those. We have however been enjoying a small project that will add to our outdoor living space. It will be a small garden behind and to the side of the office cabin that will provide shade and relaxing or entertaining area for the future. This space will be able to hold a picnic table, chairs, be shade and offer a breeze during the hot periods of the day, as well as a place to hang bird feeders and have garden flowers all in a rustic mountain setting. Just north east of this place we will put a cable bridge suspended over a deep ravine that is called fruit draw, this bridge will give us a wonderful view of our spring and the animals that come to visit it on a daily basis. Since I am not a big fan of free moving drop offs, I will withhold judgment on whether I will be crossing the bridge many times but I definitely like the idea and look forward to the vantage point.
Well plans are continually made and changed and things are moving along nicely here on the mountain this glorious spring so I will let you go for the moment and get back to my restful Saturday afternoon and visit with you again next month.
Crazy Branding iron people!
Well it seems every trip to town (about once a week now) sees us coming back loaded for bear with lumber, tin, gas, propane, food, or dirt as the seemingly endless building process continues here on the mountain. We go down the mountain loaded with boxes of orders to be shipped here and there, and come back up the mountain loaded with supplies. I must confess I do not know how the early homesteaders ever made it without there local lumber store or hardware store. Ours maybe only 50 some miles away but I can’t imagine traveling a week to get supplies and then hauling them all back in wagon only to turn around and do it all again, no wonder our ancestors built homes out of what ever they could find, be it sod or wood. Theirs was a life of necessity not frivolity.
The ground is still frozen and we have set posts and beams many a time by lighting a fire in the earth to heat it up enough to be able to dig it out and then set the post. Let me tell you that is not fun, but very hard work. Oh, I know we could go rent or purchase a post hole digger for a tractor or one with a small engine, but to be honest they are costly, noisy and then there is the transportation back and forth. Hand digging brings with it a simple pleasure of doing it yourself, even if your back says “just pay the money you fool”. You see my husband is a bit of a “recluse” and enjoys seeing how long he can go staying on the mountain in a continuous time frame. So as his loving wife, I do much of the travel with my daughter, and being females there are just some things better left done by a man, and man-handling machinery is one of them. Now I know there are some women out there that may say “a woman can do anything a man can” you may be right, but it is ever so nice to have a nice gentleman help you with things like loading and unloading machinery and other such heavy things. I for one intend to let them help when necessary and prudent, and it is just good common sense.
As I said earlier in “end of winter?” the water does seem to flow down the hillside on occasion these days. And in doing so, mud seems to be the rule around here as the ground is soft and slippery just about everywhere. We have brought in bucket after bucket of the shale that is all around here and created pathways and driveways all over, all in the attempt to not swim in the mud coming off the side of the mountain. I have been racking my brain as of lately to figure ways to “raise” our life just slightly off the ground and allow us to trod over the soggy earth without carrying it everywhere with us. I am working on the process but have found little to sufficiently ease the problem without massive amounts of money or time. So I will continue to let my creative juices flow and see where they lead me. After all isn’t that part of homesteading, being creative in what and how you do things?
We have finally located more of our suppliers and are making ourselves and our needs known to them. I will say the same question always comes up, “you make branding irons? There is a need for such things in today’s world?” the answer is always a resounding “yes!”. After all we are just those crazy branding iron people that live up on the mountain and do things a little differently and love doing it that way!
End of Winter?
As winter slowly looses it’s icy tentacles on the mountain, it seems to only tease us in this process. As one day tiny rivers of water flow down the mountain and into the ravines that eventually make up the causeways of our creek, and the next day they lay frozen rock hard as if to never had run before. Such is the incomprehensible mayhem of late winter early spring. Even the plants can’t seem to make up their minds whether it is winter or spring, as early small yellow flowers peek up out of the ground one day and are seemingly buried the next. But it is not to be brooded over as this happens each year all across our great land. Only the wise stop to notice it and enjoy the slow lazy dance that is taking place, each participant knowing the other so very well and being ever so patient. Therefore it is truly a blessing that I have noticed them this year as the lazy days of winter wind into the much hoped for spring days. I have enjoy watching the birds come back from their warm winter homes and begin to make their ways here in the cooler mountain meadows for the spring and summer. Mother nature is constantly on the move here.
Just the other day Amber and I saw a mountain lion go across our path, thankfully we were in the truck, and he went the other way quickly. I know from books that seeing a mountain lion is a rare treasure in the wild, and I am truly thankful for this pleasure. But as his or her majesty was magnificent, such grace, such power, I hope never to have to come into a direct power struggle with such a wonderful creature.
They say winter is the time for rest, and I must agree, as the long snowy days do make you want to stay in by the fire, all warm and safe. They also make you take stock of all that you have been blessed with, the sheer gift of life itself, your family, and friends, the beauty of your home, the many, many other blessing that you might have forgotten. Winter is definitely the time to rest and contemplate the coming days and season that lie ahead of you, not only in anticipation but in thankfulness. So as these few day wane by until the calendar and the weather can both come into agreement that spring is finally arrived I will enjoy the resting time this winter has given me and anticipate what the spring and summer will bring.
Back in the saddle again
Well we have finally gotten back on the Internet. We now have our satellite system up and running and I no longer have to travel 55 miles one way to check e-mail twice a week. That is such a blessing especially since we have had several cold snaps and snow which make the roads treacherous, but on to happier things.
We have been on the mountain for two months now and have enjoyed every minute of it. We have learned to work around power constraints and even enjoyed them. We have also learned to do so many things by hand that we now feel totally comfortable and most of the time don’t even remember to turn the power tools on, oh, I know come summer and the intense building season we will, but for now we enjoy the slower hand methods.
We have built a chicken brooder which is a wonderful octagon building about 5’ tall and has a couple of glass windows in it for us to check on our chicks and for them to see out and drive our dogs crazy. We will heat it with a Coleman lantern this spring when we get the chicks but for now we are still putting on the siding. We have had great fun figuring out this little project.
Our green house has turned out to be a real boon, as it gets nicely warm during the cold winter days and it allows us to work in it as well as take our showers down in the far end of our 8X36’ green house. We hope to start our garden it in during March but will have to wait and see what the day time temps get to be since we are currently in a subzero stretch of weather. Right now we just enjoy slipping in there during the day and warming ourselves in the subterranean little greenhouse.
I will have to say that I do not recommend baking on a gas grill outside in the subzero weather as it is rather hard to keep the proper temp in side the grill, but it can be done and is a true test of patience among other things. I have also learned a great respect for my ancestors who traveled the pioneer trails and cooked outdoors in all weather. The pioneer women and men were a very hardy stock and should be remembered as HEROS in my book as they put up with many things that were never noted in their journals. I am learning mild lessons these days.
Well I better go for now. Enjoy each day for the gifts that they bring and each person for the unique traits they share with you. Each day is truly a blessing.
First Snow Fall; Oct 2005
On the 4th of October the clouds rolled in, the temperature dropped and the moisture was heavy in the air as nature all around us showed us signs of changing weather. Since we have lived on the plains of WY for many many years, we could easily read the signs. But this time we were in for a shock. The snow fell straight down, not sideways as we have experience so many times on the plains but it actually fell straight down. WOW. We reveled in this new phenomenon and I quickly went around snapping pictures to record this historic event. We giggled and laughed and acted like little kids seeing their first snow it was glorious. As night fell the snow continued and we were curious as to whether it would continue or not. Morning brought with it the best gift of all. 15” of heavy, wet, glorious, wonderful, perfectly, white snow! What more could any one ask for. As we all got around and suited up in boots, coats, gloves, hats, and bounded out into it to explore and discover all that our perfect new world held, we saw many picture perfect postcard scenes. A world transformed in to a winter wonderland of white, you know the kind in the movies, with trees covered with snow so heavily that the branches touched the ground, perfect snow, even the bunnies were nestled safe in their homes and hadn’t ventured out. But we did, we walked, played, had snowball fights and took lots of pictures and gathered in the memories of this perfect day. The world was surely at peace, at least our world was for that brief time.
The everyday life of moving;
While we live between worlds, things are moving along. Buildings are coming together on the mountain, and irons are being made and shipped on the prairie, life however seems to be taking on a blur as we travel back and forth. Decisions of what to take with us, what we still need to get rid of, and how to move it all are so common place that, they seem to be the everyday topic. Then things like waking up and seeing 10 deer out in front of our cabin early in the morning or watching a flock of magpies come in during the day reminds us that life is not the same old thing it was on the plains by the city. So we decide to enjoy ourselves and work harder to have everything in place asap.
We have found that when we are on the mountain we are in our own world. As we don’t have a TV, and can get radio for news, we find we like our natural sounds. Things slow down on the mountain, meals taste better, evening comes sooner, and in general life is sweeter. Our desire for material things have vanished other than a few necessities. We all love to read, so we keep up with that. But I will say this, life on the mountain, is like what I used to dream life could be like when my grandparents were young, slow, ever changing, hard and easy, sweeter and bitter at times, simpler just plain better as it has it own rhythm, one not usually found in today’s fast paced, stress induced, bigger, better, more and faster world. I know both worlds are needed, and with out the one the other would not be possible. So I am thankful for the technology, and the choices we have in the USA to decide what we want and where we want it.
The Fun Continues
The other night when we left Cheyenne, we had an encounter with a very bold large fox. He decided that since it was a full moon and the light was excellent he would go a hunting. Our chicken house looked ripe for the picking, so off he went! He first showed up about 11 pm, he stirred the pot, got the girls all in a tizzy and then went in for the kill. He was run off by us as we came to investigate all the racket. But ever the bold fellow and not to get too discouraged, he came back again, and this time he was successful, our little brood of hens and 2 ducks were cut in half. Thinking that surely he would not be back again, we all rested for what was left of the night. Early the next morning we got up to leave and went out to survey the damage. As we opened the chicken yard, the gate squeaked and alerted the same bold fellow! This time with full light, he quickly bounced out of the yard over the fence and down the pasture to the neighbors fence line, where he sat for almost 5 minutes looking back at me as if to say “How RUDE”. We may have interrupted his breakfast, but he interrupted our sleep and since the girls he had killed were ours, the problem was his. I will tell you now, nothing happened to him from us, since he was on our neighbors property we did not shoot him like he deserved, but we don’t expect to have any chickens left when we get home either. That’s just the price of living in the country, we will start over again come spring.
Back on the mountain, early one morning our daughter comes in all blurry eyed and tells us of her uncomfortable nights sleep, and her frightful night adventure. It seems that during the night she had felt something small weighing about a pound or so, scamper across her feet and then across her face. After jumping up screaming and grabbing her sleeping bag, her gun, flashlight and pillow she headed for a near by truck and promptly hopped in the back and went to sleep. In the morning after gathering her wits she and her Dad were working in the same unfinished cabin when a little furry rat like creature pops up and looks around. It seems our rat like friend is really a pack rat, and was just looking for some new treasure to relieve our daughter of and squirrel away for itself for later. Unbeknownst to my daughter, her little friend was just saying hello, my daughter while she may be friendly said that our little packrat friend was no friend of hers and fixed the cabin so her friend could not get in again.
We can tell fall is definitely in the air, the trees at our place in Cheyenne, have begun to turn yellow reading themselves for loosing them. The trees up on the mountain are shedding their pinecones as the late summer storms and breezes blow through. Up here everyone watches for lightening from the storms to help prevent forest fires, or at least stop them before they get too big. We are learning to watch and be aware of our surrounding forests, which is new and different from our life on the prairie where we watched for tornados and such. Some of our days have been 98 degrees and still, others have been 70’s and breezy, but all of them have been wonderful which comes from being where you want to be.
I have been going for a little 4 wheeler ride in the afternoons and found wondrous sites and beautiful places that seem to have been hidden from man for years, I know this is not true, however it feels like it at the time when you are standing there looking out over a hillside where there are no roads, houses, telephone or power lines and just beautiful country.
Well we will be back soon in Cheyenne and back to filling orders and taking orders and visiting with customers about the fall and Christmas. It is time to finish up this part of the building phase and get the business back up and going. The forge’s work area is still an open space, that has walls and soon a roof, all we need now is to bring up the benches and tools and get our satellite going for the office and we are back in business. I will be talking to you soon.
Progress is being made!
Well another week has gone by and things are a changing up here at the land. As I am writing this I have my jacket on because it is cold, and am lighting things with an oil lamp. I love it. The weather has been the big factor this week, we have had hot, cold, rain, wind, even a tornado 75 miles away, but our spirits are not dampened. We have made progress this week. The original plan was to bring our already build office and a small bedroom up with us. However, after the first trip and the experience of pulling the trailer, camper and all the loaded down trucks up the hill, we have moved on to plan B. This week we built a small guest cabin, it is now floored, roofed with 2 windows and enclosed where just a week ago it was a knoll. This will become a bedroom and office for us to work in. The corral and barn are coming along nicely, we have to finish the back wall of the barn next week and it too will be enclosed, then we will begin putting the workshops in there so that we can do our work on the forge. We have explored our mountain, found a lot of beautiful picturesque areas and fallen more in love with the area than before. We have met a few of the neighbors and they all seem like very friendly and wonderful people, we look forward to getting to know them. The wildlife is great, there are turkey vulchers, antelope, deer, elk, and turkeys, lots of porcupines, different kinds of birds, cougars/mountain lions, bob cats, and coyotes. So the wild life should be interesting to watch this year. Life is taking on a different pace here, I won’t say it is slower because it isn’t yet, we are all still busy trying to prepare ourselves and this place to meet the winter. I do know we will follow the seasons much more up here as life will revolve around them. For instance, our day starts early when the sunlight begins to come over the mountain, and it ends early when the mountain gets dark. Believe me we all welcome the dark as our bodies are tired, we come easily to the nights rest. In between times it is work, which by the way just walking is work, it is constantly up or down some hill, over downed trees, or rocks, watching for snakes or cactus, or watching the scenery. We have very little flat land.
As I had said we had rain up here and one of our new hobbies is to watch for smoke when it lightning’s, as forest fires are very hard to stop once they get started so we are becoming a part of the watch crew as everyone is who lives around here is.
Well I better close for a while, I will be back in Cheyenne tomorrow and be getting this on the site, answering e-mails, phone calls and trying to get orders out and into the mail. Thank you all for your patience with us as we experience this once in a lifetime joy. I will enjoy visiting with you this week. Have a bless and wonderful week where ever you are!
The Adventure Begins!
Well we have made our maiden voyage up to the mountain. Five trucks, 3 trailers, 3 dogs, 6 adults, and a 7 month old grandbaby all arrived exhausted, a little sunburned, and very ready to get away from the trucks. 13.5 hours after we started we arrived, we all now have a very deep appreciation for what the pioneers went through on their journey west, for which we count ourselves very lucky our trek was only 13 hours long.
We left Cheyenne at 7 am with high hopes, a lot of concern about weighted trailers and had we double checked everything that needed it, which we had thought we had at this point. Once on the road we took it slow only being able to go 45mph to keep the camp trailer from fish tailing on us, which it did quite often when ever a big rig would go by. We took it nice and slow and were thrilled to get to Chugwater in one piece, on to the next 40 mile increment. We made it to Wheatland and were still counting our lucky stars all was well, by this time though we had thoughts of staying in Gillette for the night, if we ever made it that far, so we pressed on. Just outside of Glendo in the hilly terrain of I 25 we hear a frantic call on the radio STOP!!!!! Something is wrong! The trailer!!!! We had lost a wheel on the little trailer the last truck was pulling, my daughter was driving it and after scaring her and the rest of us nearly to death, we found out that the wheel had sheered off and was careening across the interstate into the on coming traffic. But nothing of the trailers contents were damaged. So plan B went into action. We off loaded all of the contents on the trailer, re arranged all the trucks, took apart the now damaged little trailer, loaded it on the top rack of the truck that was pulling it and started off again, an hour and a half later.
We finally got to Douglas WY, stopped and ate some lunch, recollected our nerves and pressed onward toward the rest stop just outside of Bill WY, my husband had found on the map and not knowing how big it was, we headed toward it. We made it thankfully, and found shade, restrooms and cool water to help everyone cool down, by this time even the trucks, and tires were getting over heated in the hot summer day, and stress of everything. Next stop, Wright WY, from there we were headed to Gillette and another break and hopefully supper. We pulled into Gillette at 6pm, rush hour. Traffic was nasty, and of course we had to go straight through Gillette to get to our turn off. After finding gas and a Subway shop we determined that we were not sleeping any where but on the mountain so we pushed on.
We pulled through Recluse, WY about 7:30 pm, and was never so glad to see anything like the mountains and the little Post Office in all our lives. Up the mountain we went, and we pulled trucks, trailers and tired bodies down onto the plateau to make camp for the night. It had rained earlier in the afternoon, and started to rain again as we pulled in, but that didn’t bother us we were where we wanted to be.
We woke the next morning to a beautiful sunrise and the excitement of exploration, which we all did. We found our spring still running, a place for a fire pit, downed trees for benches, stools and firewood. So we set out to deciding just where everything should be placed and started to unload materials, and supplies, and tools. We finished setting up camp and turned to ringing our fire pit, and digging holes for the barn. As I was once told when I was a younger woman, the barn should always go up first, that way the animals, and tools and us if necessary will always have a place of shelter while we build the house. So the barn is going up first.
As I write this I am back in Cheyenne, checking on orders, filling orders, and getting things ready to go back up. So if you need me e-mail me and I will be in touch next time I am down from the mountain.
~The Time is coming near for departure~
As those of you who have e-mailed know, we are moving the business, and our home North into Campbell County. We are very excited and still working hard to get all orders placed in June done and on their way to you all. We are working hard after hours getting things ready to move as we will be building our new homestead from scratch! and can hardly wait. Equipment, supplies, and attitudes have all been checked and double checked. We go with very little really, but so much more than our forefathers had when they settled this land. So while we may not be in a covered wagon, we will have the spirit of their lives to encourage us while we make this daunting move. Four adults, 3 business, 3 dogs, lots of cats, chickens,ducks and household will all wake very soon in the mountains of Wyoming, leaving the plains to those strong enough to withstand the winds and life there. Enough for the moment, I will be writing more as I can, of the progress we make and the adventures we have while we stake out a new piece of heaven for ourselves.

~Homesteading in the wilds of Wyoming~
coming soon!

www.bittercreekforge.net (western metal art)

Prairie Forge • 4 Hidden Hollow Dr • Recluse, WY 82725 • 307-640-1845• Email
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