AUGUST 2020 MOTOCACHING TRIP - DAY 1

 

 

For almost a year Yancey, Clint and I had been planning a trip to the Black Hills. The plan was for Clint and me to leave two days before Yancey and meet him in Chadron, NE, which is just south of the SD border. However, Yancey has been having such severe back problems that he could not make the trip. So at rather the last moment, Clint and I decided to make a loop somewhat closer to home and in what we hoped would be cooler weather. That part didn’t happen.

We departed July 31^st traveling up Highway 12 along the beautiful Lochsa River. As we had a long way to travel this day (our longest) and I had logged most all of the caches on past trips we made only one stop before Lolo, MT. This cache was just a short distance before Lolo and one that I had wanted to try for years but just hadn’t taken the time. It was called “Books in the Woods:Spooky Ft. Fizzle”. It was a large size (5 gal bucket) which is very rare. It took a little hike out in the woods and turned out be a repository to trade books. As we didn’t have any books we took only a Travel Bug to move it on.

We refueled at Lolo and ate our lunch. It was a beautiful day but began getting really hot. We turned down Highway 93 and didn’t stop again until picking up a cache a little south of Darby.

We veered left on Highway 43 and had a beautiful ride up Lost Trail Pass. One of the few times I’ve ridden it when it was dry. We continued on 43 to Wisdom and Hwy 278 through Jackson. This is high rather open and beautiful country and gave us a little respite from the heat. We hit I-15 a little south of Dillon and stopped at a wide spot in the road in Idaho called Dell to get gas. Clint was running on fumes. We took a break on a bench in the shade at the convenience store and had a cold drink. It was really hot now. (I wonder why I keep repeating that)

After that stop our only other one was for a cache at the Dubois Rest Stop. There was no shade at this Rest Stop and it was super hot. It was 97 degrees in Idaho Falls where we stayed. That’s incredibly hot for that mile high town. We stayed at the Super 8 which was about the worst one I’ve stayed in – never got the WIFI to work, locks of outside doors unusable due to no batteries, no screens on the windows, just to name a few unpleasantries. However, there was really cold water in the shower. We hiked over to a Jimmie John’s for dinner. This was to be our longest day having traveled 540 miles and picking up only 3 geocaches. The only picture we took was at the Dubois Rest Stop. (To be continued) M/W

                                                       

HARVEST BEGINS

Harvest commences in our Gilbert neighborhood on a hot August day

 Rattlers were numerous on this new land and we kept a sharp lookout for them. One day, 2 ½- year-old Myrtle came into the cabin and said there was a “big worm” out where Pearl was. We went to see and sure enough – we found a small rattler near where Pearl sat on a big cut of wood. – Ina’s Memoirs, 1947

Harvest began on the Miller place today. I’m so happy to be here. Now and then they come over the hill and I can see them. Otherwise, I can follow the cloud of dust.

We’re having “excessive heat” now, and it is hot! You know it’s hot when Bess doesn’t want to go for a walk with Mike. It was 95 about 4:00 p.m. yesterday. And last night was a “hot August night” – an on-top-of-the-sheets night.

A rattler in the canola

It was after 8:00 when we took our two-mile walk to the mailbox this morning, and it was already hot up on the road. On the way back, just above the “Pitch,” I heard a rattler and finally spotted it in the canola. (I am not as close as it may seem in the photo.)

Yes, Mike is in there.

“I’ll be in my shed,” called Mike after we’d watered the gardens and trees. Later he showed up with an early birthday present for me – my mother’s vintage Cosco stool, all fixed up and sturdy. It’s beautiful and I love it. 

 

Here are some before pictures of the stool. He had it sandblasted to remove the rust and grime, and then he painted it himself. He used Rust Eraser on the nuts and bolts so that everything was nice and clean, and we found the leg caps at Home Depot. Mike said it was difficult to re-assemble, but he enjoyed working at the bench in his shed. 

A new life for this old stool

The stool is so proud to be a kitchen stool again. Mother opted for a new one when her kitchen was remodeled in 1961, and this stool was removed to the farmhouse where it was better than its wooden counterpart. It became a real “work stool” and then lapsed into decrepitude. It was still here in the farmhouse when we began to remodel in 1998, but we stored it in the barn where it remained for the next 20+ years until Mike rediscovered as he stored the contents of his old shed. KW

THERE’S JUST SOMETHING ABOUT AUGUST

Canola with farmhouse in background, taken August 15

Long story short, we trapped two more mice, one of them a baby, so I fear an infestation. Nevertheless, we set traps and left for the farm on Saturday (Aug. 15). Mike volunteered to return to town in a day or two to check on things. We applied sealant under the kitchen sink last year. I think we need to do it again.

We arrived at the farmhouse fairly late in the morning, finding it pleasantly cool in the house, and what’s more – no mice! Mike set to work organizing his new shed, and I checked the raised beds. Fortunately, the two summer squash plants weathered the past week thanks to the “plant nannies.” AND, as an extra treat, I picked two cups of beautiful little strawberries. We had strawberry shortcake for dessert.

It’s August, and the change is noticeable. The sun is lower in the sky, the shadows stretch long across the yard, and the days are noticeably shorter. The high temps are still hot, but mornings and evenings tend to be pleasantly cool (some exceptions apply). It’s the first hint of autumn – harvest, “back to school,” and yes, even Halloween. It’s an enchanted time.

Canola, taken August 7

But August can still be hot. In fact, our region is under an “excessive heat warning” from noon today until 8:00 p.m. Tuesday (Aug. 18). It seems silly to warn us about excessive heat. It’s the summer! If the forecast is for temps in excess of 100, we know it’s hot. We should exercise in the mornings, says the warning, so this morning I walked up Plank’s Pitch with Mike and Bess. At the top, we saw a rattler in the ditch, and on the way back we saw a different one and heard at least one more in the grass.

The fluorescent yellow of blooming canola faded to green as the blossoms dropped, and now the green is turning brown. Our farmer isn’t harvesting in this neighborhood yet, but surely it will happen soon. I saw them harvesting on Central Ridge last week. KW

BESS AND ME IN TOWN, DAY 2 ½ -- OR, THERE REALLY IS A MOUSE IN HERE

Thursday, Aug. 13
To go back two weeks, the evening before Mike left on his motocaching trip, we were watching tv when he said, “Did you see THAT? A mouse just raced from over there to behind the tv.” No, I didn’t see it, but I was dismayed. He called Bess, and she showed only mild interest. Mike decided he was seeing things, but the fact that Bess was willing to look made me think he really did see a mouse.

The next morning as I packed for the farm, I discovered Bess on alert and sniffing around the living room. This was disconcerting. I think not only of our pantry but also the closets in my sewing room full of yarn, fiberfill, and other textiles that mice love. Our traps are on the farm, so I set out a couple of those sticky trays. I caught nothing.

Visiting my pantry late Tuesday night, I heard a slight rustling. A mouse? Nah! I convinced myself that my robe just brushed against a box. “Yes, that’s it,” I reassured myself.  

Late Wednesday night, as I approached the kitchen sink, something dark darted along the wall behind the faucet. I let out a silent “EEEEEK!” Mustering my courage, I looked among the clutter on the counter, and there it was – a mouse! From there he darted into the corner. I immediately went to the cupboard for the sticky trays, returning just in time to see the mouse disappear behind the stove. I placed a tray in front of the stove and one in front of the pantry door and then went off for a night of uneasy rest. And yes, I did trap that mouse. Honestly, I hated to deal with disposal. A killer I am not, but you don’t want these critters in your house. Damage to foodstuffs and textiles aside, they aren’t clean.

I had planned a morning of cleaning prior to Mike’s return this afternoon, but whatever I planned to do was off the list now. Cleaning the pantry must take priority. I tossed packets of instant oatmeal that had been gnawed. He had invaded an open box of brown sugar Malt-o-Meal (Mike’s favorite and hard to find), so out it went. And he gnawed a hole in the plastic lid of a can of mixed nuts. I examined every box and I even considered just tossing them all, but if I saw no damage, I put them back.

The bright spot in this day (aside from Mike’s return, of course) was that the mail lady delivered my “Christmas Cookie Outfit,” from Tea Time Fabric Panels. That’s why we have gifts. They lift our spirits.

I picked Mike up at the airport at 1:00 and told him the saga of the mouse. Never mind that he’s returning from a visit with our children. The mouse debacle takes precedence.

The question remains as to how many mice we have and how long they’ve been cavorting in our house. We just don’t know. I plan to buy storage containers for our cereal and grain products, something I’ve never bothered to do. “They’re expensive,” I complained to Mike, but he agreed we should do it. KW