At the end of December 2017, R and I (together since 2004, married in 2007) purchased 22.5 acres of raw land in Piscataquis County, Maine. It's about 300 miles from our current home; the total trip length usually amounts to about 6 hours. R and I had talked and dreamed for years about buying some land somewhere relatively remote to build an off-grid cabin, with the purpose of eventually moving there in a few years after my stepdaughter, N, graduates college. We binged watched wilderness shows and kept the dream alive with a small garden and a couple of chickens in our back yard until all the right pieces to the puzzle fell into place. Now, the adventure begins!
Our trusty sidekicks, Tyson the rottweiler and Willow the Grey Ninja *ahem* #adventurecat, are right by our side the whole way having adventures of their own. Our two other cats, Zoey and Sonny, are more homebodies but are nonetheless vital parts of our family in their own ways, and will let Willow take the lead in securing the new land until it is finally The Time for us all go start anew.
“Always remember that your present situation is not your final destination. The best is yet to come.”
Zig Zigler
I hope the summer has treated everyone well so far, and that you've had lot of adventures yourselves. *pause* Come to think of it, it's not even officially summer yet. The summer solstice is on Friday, June 21. After that, the daylight hours will continuously get a little shorter, minute by minute, each day. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news! But lets remember, we'll still have plenty more beautiful days to come, well into the fall. Fall is my favorite time of year.
This post includes below two videos I put together of highlights from our trail cameras on which we seem to have a decent amount of activity. Well...at least one of the handful of cameras we have placed around camp. The camera at the intersection of our driveway and the trail is the most active. I sometimes wonder how long I should leave a trail camera in a location that doesn't provide me with any images over the course of two weeks. Usually I'll set it in one spot for a month, and move it if it doesn't produce anything in that time.
I hope you are able to view these. I've posted them from YouTube, so if you can't see them here, please visit my YouTube Channel.
This first video is of the trail camera highlights from 2018. It's almost hard to believe we've already owned the land for over a year.
This video is the best of 2019 so far; as of June 2, 2019.
It's always exciting to arrive at camp and scoop up all the SIM cards from the trail cameras for viewing. I'm excited to share them with you all, and I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
“Some days you go bear hunting and you get eaten. Some days you come home with a nice rug to roll around on, and bear steaks. What they don't tell you as a kid is that sometimes you get the rug and steaks, but you also get some nice scars to go with them. As a child you don't understand that you can win, but that's it's not always worth the price. Once you understand and accept that possibility you become a real grown up, and the world becomes a much more serious place. Not less fun, but once you realize what can go wrong, it's a lot scarier to go hunting "bears".” ― Laurell K. Hamilton
Firstly, I want to thank everyone for your continued interest in our adventure(s). Every great idea starts as a tiny spark, and I'm excited by the prospect of sharing what [I hope!] will be a luminous journey to remember.
Secondly, before I get started, I'd like to share some warm and fuzzies with you because, y'know, I 💓cats. Willow doesn't normally like the camera, but she was in all her beautiful glory at camp.
Catnip Carrot is one of her favorite toys. While we were away, a mouse ate the green feathers off the top.
If you listen closely at the beginning of the short video, you can hear Willow make a super cute noise when I startle her awake from her cat nap.
LOVE HER. CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF HER.
Okay. Now on to everything else. Thank you for your patience.
R estimated that we'll have to collect wood for at least an hour or two every day so we have an adequate supply for the winter. Even though we don't currently have access during the harshest winter months, we still want to start stockpiling firewood for when we do move up here permanently in a couple of years. To assist with collecting firewood, my wonderful father and his better-other-half *wink* gave us a wonderful little wagon for Christmas. This thing is bad ass. The following pictures only show the test run, but after that, we loaded the wagon up to capacity and bogged it through the woods. It was quite capable; R was even pleasantly surprised!
While collecting firewood, I came across a section of tree with very pronounced tree growth rings. Tree-ring dating, or Dendrochronology, is the scientific method of dating tree rings (also called growth rings). As well as dating them this can give data for dendroclimatology, the study of climate and atmospheric conditions during different periods in history from wood.
Tree growth rings
After we collected some firewood nearby the cabin from a tree that had been taken down by Mother Nature, we went out in search of property line markers. At another point in time, we found and re-marked half of the northeastern border. The northern border is the river. Our goal this time was to find and mark the southeastern, southern, and southwestern border.
Plot map to show shape of 22 acres and compass
Typically the markers are either pink or orange tagging tape, or red paint. The video clip below shows a couple of trees with red paint indicating the property line, and then pans out to show you just what I have to look through to find a marker. Sometimes I'll stand there for minutes on end, just swaying back and forth, hoping to catch a glimpse of color between trees.
R, Tyson and I spent a couple of hours in the woods on this quest (Willow was in the cabin taking her afternoon nap, likely enjoying the solitude). It was a surprisingly beautiful day during a normally rainy New England spring. We started off near the driveway on the trail that bisects our land almost in half from east to west; where we left off last time when we tagged the NE line. Traveling south until we located the southern most corner property marker - a metal pole in the ground - we then moved west across the short southern border, but come halfway, we couldn't find any more markers. Seeking out our last placed marker - being cautious to always keep our last placed marker in sight so we didn't wander off through the woods and get lost - we backtracked to where we started, deciding to go in another way.
In looking at the plot map picture, you can visualize the missing portion that would complete a rough rectangle. That missing portion of the rectangle used to be part of our 22 acre plot, but it was separated and sold off years ago. We found the corner post on the trail which indicated the corner of the two lots, so we went into the forest from that marker to find the boundary connecting in the middle where we lost the trail going in the other direction. It paid off, too, because we were able to connect the dots and map the whole southeast corner of our land. The only boundary line we don't have our finger on is the northern western line.
As we maneuvered through the woods, we came across a total of about 10 trees, sporadic through the forest, all with similarly curious damage.
Notice the shavings on the ground underneath the tree?
See this pile of shavings at the base of the tree?
I think it might have been a black bear looking for bugs within the trees? I don't think a bobcat would scratch a tree to that extent? A black bear would be hungry having recently awoken from hibernation. The damage on this video below is not near the ground, which might indicate porcupine. Maybe a small black bear standing on it's back feet scratching with it's front paws?
Most surprising to us was the video our trail camera captured on the trail at the end of our driveway! Needless to say, we had our shotgun with us and our heads were on swivels as we traversed the woods looking for property line markers.
In addition to the black bear, the same trail camera also captured video of a fox, a coyote, and if you look closely enough, you'll see a deer's head popping in on the left side of the frame in the third video. Please accept my apologies for the poor quality. It wasn't a straight download. I took a video of the SIM card viewer with my phone for faster access. I didn't have a computer with me last time to transfer the videos properly.
Fox
Coyote
Deer (peeking in on the left)
We departed camp to head home Sunday afternoon. Our adventures for the weekend were not over yet, though. As we crawled the truck down the trail, we made it about 1/2 mile from camp to discover a tree that had come down across the trail overnight. There was no way around it.
Fallen tree blocking the only way out.
There is a ditch to R's left that we would sink in to if we tried to go around the fallen tree.
The big tree took the little tree down with it.
Despite the bump in the road, we had to stop to admire the beautiful view.
So what are we going to do? We had the chainsaw with us, but we wanted to make quick work of this. It's already after 1:30 p.m. and we still have at least 5 1/2 hours to drive. So, we pull it out of the way! R has a couple heavy duty straps that can hold a thousand pounds, so we hooked one end up to the truck and one end to the tree. Viola! Smooth like butter! Here's to another successful adventure!
It's amazing how silence can seem deafening, even amidst the soft rustling of the already partially transitioned autumn leaves. This is my absolute favorite time of year.🍁♥ Whenever I step outside the cabin, I always take a few seconds to stand and listen to the forest. "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" I understand this is meant to be a philosophical question, but I whenever I hear it, I always think to myself, "of course it does". Each tree, twig, leaf, and living being all make sounds within the forest, whether by their own volition or by the power of that lovely light breeze sweeping through the woods, so why not take a few moments to listen to those sounds and get acclimated with them? In doing so, I can learn to identify the sound of an approaching animal or person when I hear slight sounds that are out of place from the norm. It's a comfort having Tyson and Willow with us at camp for many reasons, and every once in a while Tyson will earn his keep by standing at attention while looking off into the woods, emitting a few deep "woofs" of warning to whatever lie beyond our sight that he feels is in need of attention. And though Willow is not allowed to wander the land, she keeps watch from the cabin. I think I need to expand her catio soon. The window screen placed in front of the open door won't keep her at bay for much longer. Love that tail... It's always going.
Willow is observing R working in the yard
One project on our list was to dismantle the a-frame tent we constructed for winter camping. It only consisted of 2x4s and heavy plastic poly, but we stayed warm [enough in 4℉!] with the small wood stove heating the tent. Mission accomplished! It feels good getting things accomplished. Sometimes it seems like there is always an obstacle standing between you and your ultimate goal.
R enjoys getting some sun while disassembling our winter accommodations
In the midst of disassembling the a-frame, we also disassembled some spider webs. ::shivers:: I'm overcoming many fears, and spiders is one of them. I have a hard time looking at pictures of them, never mind nearly walking through their web! It was nearly painful scrolling through pictures online as I tried to identify our creepy neighbors...
Marbled Orb Weaver
Even in the cabin, the spiders move back in quickly...
We try our best not to kill the spiders we encounter. Despite the horror I feel when I see one, I appreciate their worth. They just need to please stay out of the cabin... In addition to spiders, there are also other lovely creepy crawlies that are thriving this summer.
Cicada shell
Hickory Tussock Caterpillar
Nope Rope
Ants
creepies that sting...
slug
We hadn't been down to the river in a while, so R wanted to make the short hike down there to try and see how deep it actually is (again...his last attempt was not a success). It's a minor south shore tributary of a nearby 6,000-acre lake. Unfortunately, I didn't take as many pictures of the water as I would have liked; just a few of the magical forest heading down there.. I love this forest and can't wait to explore the rest of the land. The canoe was left behind by the prior owner and has seen many better days. Probably we'll bring our own canoe up to camp. It was a little bit of work getting the canoe out to the water, but we did it. We had to trudge through about thirty-feet of waist-height grass before it opened up to the smooth water of the small river. R had a six-foot long stick that he used to estimate the depth. The edge was a couple of feet deep, but then dropped past the six-foot mark of the stick. Plenty deep enough to canoe and fish in! Even as R was sitting there in the canoe, he saw little fish gathering around. Next time we visit camp we'll bring a couple oars so we can explore the river a little more. Mental Note: I will have to remember our Go-Pro camera and set it up on the canoe.
Once we made our way back up to camp, Tyson was exhausted from swimming. He would swim until he died, I think, if we didn't put some sense into his actions. Good thing Willow is up to the job of watching the camp while Tyson sleeps at night. #careof vitamins offer challenges or meaningful quotes on their daily packets of customized vitamins. I grabbed a couple packets randomly as I was packing before our couple-day trip, and smiled when I read that day's challenge.
#unplugging
#attackcat
Probably I've already mentioned this, but when we arrive each time at camp, we grab the SIM card out of our trail camera that is situated at the end of our driveway on the trail leading in to camp to see what has been around the last couple of weeks while we were away. This time was no disappointment! We have a freaking caravan of animals traipsing by our driveway at all hours. Here are a few of our visitors! Check out the Photo Album for moar trail cam videos!
