Ninja Squirrel strikes again

Ok, I'll admit it, he's smarter than me. Maybe I should call Ghost Hunters.

Trap is set, just waiting for him...

Maybe he heard me coming; he hadn't finished the grain yet.

Trap Set for Ninja Squirrel

After consulting with a licensed Surveillance Investigator that visited ManCamp and assessed Ninja Squirrel's antics for toying with me, we now have a plan in place to capture him on film. The feeder has been relocated so that it is directly in front of one motion activated camera. Multiple deployed cameras should eliminate his opportunities to sneak in and out of the feeders undetected. Unless he is truly prepared for Mission Impossible and drops from above like Tom Cruise in MI 3, his days of anonymity are over; he will be exposed.

 Let the little scrapper come now.

Last day of Passover at ManCamp

Passover at ManCamp has nothing to do with Egypt, Moses, Hebrews, lambs blood or an angel of death. It is simply an annual ritual I go through with Nic or Kuma on the farm where we attach fluorescent wire ties to young dogwood or red bud trees in bloom so they do not fall victim to a chain saw or bush hog. Its our way of marking the door post and it typically happens during Passover. Today, on the last day of Passover, Kuma and I made one more pass through the woods to ensure I didn't miss any in bloom.

A pine tree farm in Scioto Trails adjacent to the family farm has been naturally propagating seeds dispersed by the wind, birds and wild life and being germinated all around ManCamp. Little white pine seedlings that we call volunteers, are growing by the dozens but are at risk when the forest canopy soon robs them of sunlight. Kuma and I spent time today moving and transplanting small 2-3' trees to more open areas to give them a chance of growing into mature trees.

While refilling the feeders, a note was found under one lid, "leave more peanuts and barley - Ninja Squirrel". He continues to torment me.

Work continues on Power House

Kuma d.o.g. and I returned to the cabin today to continue work on the Power House. Lots of little things needing done before its completed. The doors are built out of left over 1"x6" treated deck boards bolted on cross members. The 8' 5/8" copper grounding rod is now about 6 feet in the ground with a stub through the floor to ground the generator. Only a copper thief fool would try to remove this rod.  The buried electrical conduit is now installed up through the floors of both the Power House and the cabin utility room about 5 feet away so the electric service is now hidden.  Security assets have been incorporated just in case a thief on a 4 wheeler would happen to show up; taking this generator will fall into the "too hard" category.  Picked up the intake and exhaust vents/louvers, a dual intake fan and internal temperature monitoring electronics. The goal is to protect it from weather, reduce the noise 40-50%, protect it from thieves and keep it cool. Actually the goal is to get it permanently mounted so I don't have to keep carrying it around since its over 100 pounds.

We tried to ignore the fact the ninja squirrel is still out there as we re-filled the empty feeders.

Ninja Squirrel says...

"You must walk on rice paper and not leave footprint to avoid Trail Camera, Grasshopper." 

Feeders empty again - but no squirrel pictures...

Wet April Saturday at the cabin

Had a few hours break in the soggy weather that allowed time to finish framing up the cabin's generator house. Didn't get the roof on before rain but it won't take much more effort as the hard part is done.

Finished the porch swing; it turned out the way I'd envisioned. Put a coat of satin poly on to help weather the elements.

Took Kuma d.o.g. for a walk and we visited Pet Cemetary where some of my favorite family friends are at rest. Our male Yorkie, Maxwell is the latest addition. Kuma wants to be interned there when her days are done so she can keep an eye on the farm too.

Kuma and I rode out the thunderstorms and a tornado warning on the porch. We could hear the distant sirens in Waverly. I kept her distracted with a box of Cheezits. Labradors are so easy!

No sign of Ninja squirrel today except his usual calling card of empty feeders and bare corn cobs.



Porch swing stained with Early American and sealed with Satin Poly.



Wet Spring Saturday. Road out a tornado warning and thunderstorms
about a half hour before I took this picture. No stress at ManCamp.



Pet Cemetary at Fosson Family Trails. Our little male yorkie, Maxwell was the last internment.



Thursday tasks

Stained the porch swing today; boring! Also worked on the Power House installing some security features and a ground rod.  No sign of Ninja squirrel today. Kuma was totally bored with our visit. She wanted to run around and since I was working on the porch, she just whined.

Stealth squirrel strikes again

Ventured to ManCamp to assess storm damage and to recover the memory card from the trail camera. As for storm damage, there wasn't a twig out of place. Couldn't even tell a storm had came through. So sorry to hear about all the people losing electric last night during the storms. At ManCamp electric is always an option and never a requirement.

 I found the feeder that I had placed under surveillance empty and the corn cob picked clean. The top door was no longer ajar and was seated in its closed position. To my delight, when I opened the trail camera, it indicated 1 picture was taken and on the disc. Anxious to return home to finally share the evidence of the monster squirrel and protect my credibility as a squirrel story teller, I was shocked at the image staring back at me. The picture tells the story...

The only picture. Stealth squirrel strikes again.

Feeder placed under 24 hour surveillance with
trail camera activated by motion

Kuma d.o.g.

Kuma d.o.g. once considered trips to ManCamp a rare treat. Today she feels its an entitlement and fully expects to go on every occasion. So today, Kuma and I jumped into Dudley and headed back to the woods for some cabin time. Dudley is a dog hauling 1993 Ford Ranger that was a hand-me-down gift to me from my youngest son, Nic; now what's wrong with that picture?

Once at the farm it was obvious how much rain had fallen from today's storms. The pond levee was full and the spillway was still raging at it's overflow. In the woods, the most pronounced sound was coming from the angry creek below the cabin; a stark reminder that the family farm is a watershed for many acres of forest.

After refilling the squirrel feeders, I replaced the Trail camera memory disc since it again had multiple pictures on it. Unfortunately, I have no idea what happened to the disc as it was missing when I returned to town. I can only assume Bambi returned to enjoy the candy apple treat I left on the stump at the edge of the porch and I lost her Kodak moments.

Few at work believe my stories of a red squirrel the size of a house cat wrapped around one of the feeders. My estimate of 8 pounds might be high but he's still pretty big when his butt is under the feeder and his head is down inside it. I need evidence. I moved a Trail camera to an adjacent tree to hopefully capture him during his breakfast feeding.

I've been shamed and have been losing sleep over accusations that I'm abusing the bottles of wine harvested on the wine bush Laura donated. Failure to move them to a cooler environment in an inverted state is just asking for skunky wine; I've been told. Thanks to Michelle Ramirez in Anchorage, Alaska, and her team mate, Kim Lund Bowdish, aka Head Taste Mistress at Hunters Moon Meadery in Severance, Colorado, the bottles have been saved. For my fellow Appalachians, Mead is honey wine. Hunters Moon Meadery is a small meadery in northern Colorado. They apparently have a wine abuse hotline that someone called Kim on and reported me. Anyway, the bush has been moved from the fireplace hearth to the bar with the bottles inverted. I'm impressed that its Tuesday and none of the corks have been pulled yet.

Before leaving the cabin, I did some more work on the Power House for the generator. Kuma is concerned. She thinks I'm building a bungalow behind the cabin for a brown dog.

A trail camera deployed to catch the red squirrel
the size of a house cat

Thanks to the Head Taste Mistress of Hunters Moon
Meadery, Severance Co, the wine has been saved

Kuma has concerns that I might be building a dog house and not
a Power House for the generator.

Each day there is much more life as the trees bud out

Road to ManCamp

The road to ManCamp can be treacherous in the winter and pretty sloppy in the spring. I usually drive Barbie Jeep but unfortunately she has a real problem with the road if its not dry. She is a fair weather Jeep that has no concept of going mudding. It was embarrasing how many times she slid off the road this past winter. The tractor was getting pretty tired of having to leave the comfort of the barn to pull her out each time she went over a bank.  Although it has dried up significantly since this past Saturday morning rain, its still a bit wet to drive up to the cabin; especially when both Kuma d.o.g. and I need the exercise. So today we once again hiked up to the cabin and left Barbie behind.

Kuma has become quite the cabin dweller lately. She loves the farm, ducks on the pond, jumping in every water hole and finally chilling on the porch while watching flocks of birds pick over scraps the squirrels discard from their feeders. Today we went to the cabin and finished the foundation for the generator building. We fed the squirrels and also replaced the flash card in a Trail camera I placed at the corner of the porch. I had put a little treat out on a stump for Bambi and sure enough, she showed up. I'm really curious who else shows up in the middle of the night and hangs out around the porch.














Passing through the wetlands















Road finally drying out



















Final hill but also the hardest for Barbie to get up in the winter





Eventually plan to put a culvert in at coyote crossing



Ohio clay drys quickly on the hill



Kuma, as a true labrador, couldn't pass up an opportunity to bath in the
creek at the crossing



Bambi at the corner of the porch

ManCamp wine bush

Most people don't know that wine grows on a bush at ManCamp. It's true, I found one growing just over the bank by some little pines.  Complete with some white merlot, chardonnay, even some riesling! Ok, didn't fall for it huh....well, thanks to Laura and her latest cabin gift, I have a little wine tree near the fireplace for special occasions. She doesn't frequent ManCamp often but she knows I like a glass of wine now and then. Laura and her Lancaster friends went shopping Saturday and she returned with 3 cabin gifts. A rustic candle lantern, a planter and the wine tree complete with 4 bottles of wine. I'm spoiled.

ManCamp wine bush growing wild in the forest

Wine bush uprooted and set on fireplace

Forest is really starting to bloom

Little Red Bud marked to protect it from my chainsaw.

Backyard view on April 17, 2011 afternoon.

Kuma d.o.g. helping clean up storm damage in front yard.

Its becoming increasingly hard to do anything productive on Sunday afternoons at the cabin. Kuma d.o.g. hiked around with me today in the forest and on the farm. We marked little dogwood and red bud trees so I won't cut them down when I'm using the bush hog or chain saw. Did finally install the brace package under the kitchen chimney, and continued to work installing stove pipe inside. Also reversed some cabinet doors (they always seem to open the wrong direction in tight quarters). Fed the squirrels and then Kuma and I took a nap on the porch while enjoying the breeze. Pretty lazy day.

Great night for sleeping

Loaded up plenty of provisions and enjoyed an evening and night at the cabin. Learned a few things from the experience that I didn't know. There is actually an order in the woods as to when nocturnal creatures start stirring. Its interesting to witness if you have the time and patience. I also found out my squirrel feeder thief, Mr.Coon does not want to be friends. I met him in the middle of the night as I ventured out on the porch to...you know. He wasn't happy to meet and let me know with his most ferocious hiss. A metal roof on a vaulted ceiling can be deafening during a heavy rain. There were some amazing downpours last night and my weather radio alerted me to the risk of high winds and heavy rains; as if I didn't know. I just pulled the covers over my head and slept harder. Also discovered there are lots of squirrels visiting the feeders, too. At dawn, there were 4 feasting and enjoying their breakfast. The red squirrel was huge, he looked like he weighed 10 lbs with his full coat and length. The other 3 were smaller gray squirrels. Standing in the window, you can watch them in their natural habitat and they have no idea you exist. The evening temperature dropped into the low 50s so I built a fire. Since the sleeping loft above the kitchen and bathroom isn't completed yet, an inflatable queen size mattress in front of the fire was more than adequate to get me through a night of April showers.

ManCamp Thief


                                                                                                                                                                                                    
Well, after a week of tracking a squirrel the size of Sasquatch that has been cleaning the feeders out during the night, I finally found the thief and it wasn't a squirrel. Mr. Coon was caught on film waddling away after his 4:30 am meal looking like he had just ate a tribe of Pygmies. I'm not going to worry about trapping or trying some innovative solution to rid the ManCamp of him; he's going to die of a heart attack due to morbid obesity and late night snacks. I refilled the feeders and went back to doing something more productive today; setting the posts for the Power House for the generator. Happy to catch the food thief and set the posts in concrete so the generator house can be built this weekend.

Belly full, heading off to bed after eating the squirrel's food





Posts set in 400# of concrete for generator Power House.



Stealth Squirrels

I was so anxious to get off work so I could visit the cabin and check the trail camera. I wanted to see the image of what has been eating all the squirrel food during the night. Upon arrival, once again I found all the feeders empty and the corn cobs picked clean. When I pulled the camera disc, it was empty; no pictures. Now I'm really puzzled. Refilled the feeders and re-set the camera to see if I can catch the stealth squirrels in action. Also sat on the porch and enjoyed the rain and the song of  a hoot owl just over the hill. I siliconed around the boards we installed Saturday to keep insects out of the cabin from above the porch area and also replaced all the batteries in window candles.

Warm and windy Sunday in April

Random activity at the cabin today and not much work accomplished. The unseasonable warmth in the upper 80s with a 20-30 mph breeze kept me returning to the porch swing to enjoy the beauty of the day. So easy to fall asleep and not even know where you are. Needless to say, I had a couple of naps today. I did accomplish a couple of tasks that I've been putting off though. I stained one of the porch chairs with Early American. I also dug the 4 post holes for the generator house aka 'power house'. I almost forgot how much I hated digging post holes in the forest where rocks and clay are encountered every inch of the way. Was missing Nic's help on this one; task completed though, 4 holes in the ground 30" deep. After about 400 lb of concrete it'll be ready for an F5 tornado or a major seismic event...or a thief on a 4-wheeler. Installed a hidden Trail Camera. I've got to try and find out what is eating all the squirrel food. The feeders are filled with corn, nuts and seeds in the evening with full cobs of corn, too. In the mornings, they are picked clean. I'm hoping to find a squirrel as big as a house cat pigging out for a Kodak moment. Of course, it could be something much more sinister like a racoon, deer or...who knows? The forest is full of life at night so I'm interested in seeing who the guilty one is.

Rainy Saturday good for inside work



A heavy April rain brought a fog into the woods.

Robbie returned to ManCamp today for our Saturday routine in the woods. We had good intentions and plans to work on the roof penetration to complete the kitchen chimney but the weather just didn't cooperate today. We had also picked up lumber to begin building the Power House behind the cabin where the generator will be maintained. The rain moved in so we re-tooled and worked inside. It was a good day to finish boxing in the rafters so we can install the finished ceiling. Rain pelting the metal roof filled the cabin with a pleasant sound making the job tolerable on a lazy day. Robbie was the ladder man while I cut all his lumber. We were also able to enjoy lunch of chicken and tuna salad polished off with fruit cocktail found in the recently stocked kitchen cabinets. Before leaving, I hung a sign on the door that was given to me as a gift from Wendy Arnett.

Wendy Arnett contributed a door sign to warn
unsuspecting guests to enter with caution







Kitchen stove pipe saga

Up until yesterday, I had a high level of confidence I knew what I was doing while installing the kitchen stove's chimney and stove pipe. There is no doubt the triple wall stainless steel chimney pipes are state of the art stuff. However, when I tried mating the section inside the wall to standard black stove pipe, I crashed and burned. There was no way the 6" elbow was going to insert into the wall pipe. Today, after trips to Lowe's and Menard's, this problem has been solved. I found that triple wall stainless does not want to mate with cheap single wall stove pipe; it likes the expensive double wall piping that has a stainless inside pipe. Once again, I pay an ignorance tax imposed on amateur builders. The good news is that combustables can now be within 6" of the stove pipe. Stove work continues.

Chimney Work

Such a great evening on the farm for a hike up to the cabin. The young mallard couple continues their honeymoon on the pond and the squirrels remain spoiled and not happy if I don't feed them daily. It was so nice today that I wasn't sure what to work on once I arrived at ManCamp. I had every intention to work inside on the ceiling preps. However, once I arrived and it was so nice outside, I decided to start assembling and installing the kitchen chimney. Triple wall stainless steel piping is almost too fancy to put up. I installed the 12" stub through the wall spool and locked it into a clean-out T-section. I was able to get two 3' sections locked in and braced onto the cabin before dark. This stuff shines so bright you can use it as a mirror. Its now erected just under the overhang leaving the hard part ahead; cutting through the roof.

Spring Rain and Winter's Memories

This evening I donned my hoodie and hiked in the pouring rain to the solitude of the cabin. This was not a trip to continue construction but one that I looked forward to all day; to enjoy a fresh spring thunderstorm in the peace of the woods. Walking up the hill through the saturated pastures, I flushed two unsuspecting rabbits out of their shelter in a brush pile. The pond spillway was overflowing from the days rain and was drowning out my steps; they surprised me as much as I surprised them. On my approach to the cabin, I realized the 6" tree Nic had cut but had been unsuccessful in bringing down last week had fallen toward the porch, missing it by inches. In fact, a few weak top branches had made their way onto the porch during the fall. Once on the porch and settled into an Amish rocker, I unpackaged a new survival radio that I had protected from the rain in my pack. I functionally checked the multiple features that included a hand cranked generator, am/fm radio, weather radio and emergency lighting. It seemed like something that might come in handy on the hill while off the grid during stormy nights. With the radio off and a few minutes of quiet time, the woods returned to life. Hearing the rain through the trees and on the metal roof made my eyes heavy. The creek below was running full and added to the background noise with the birds, frogs and wind in the pines. The evening made me realize how far the cabin had come in the past year. Memories of this past winter and the difficulties the cold weather presented while continuing the project now seemed worth every moment. It would have been different had the cabin been completed and we could have enjoyed beans on the stove, a fire in the fireplace and cornbread in the oven during a heavy snow. Instead, we continued to work in cold, unpleasant conditions so I could enjoy evenings like today's.

Seemed like every weekend we were having to pull the Jeep out of a jam.

Sometimes, Barbie Jeep was just abandoned when she couldn't make it to the cabin

One advantage of winter is that you have a natural refrigerator for adult beverages.

I often felt sorry (right) for Robbie. Many mornings the cabin would be below
20 degrees upon our arrival for work. Robbie doesn't handle cold well.

Sunday is for God, family and a cabin in the woods

Special guests arrived for breakfast today at Fosson Family Trails. Dad's two sisters, Francis and Helen and my cousin Terri Thornbury Noble drove up from Carter County, Kentucky. Aunt Helen owns the 1865 farm of our ancestors on Lost Creek outside of Willard. Aunt Francis is now under the care of Woodland Oaks Alzheimer's Unit and thoroughly enjoyed getting out for an old fashioned farm breakfast and visit. Brothers John, Tom and Mike as well as sister Sandy, niece Megan and my son Nic were also there. Freda (Vulgamore) and her sister Nonie came out, too. Afterwards, Mike shuttled the ladies to the ManCamp cabin for a progress visit.



Cousin Terri, Aunt Francis and Aunt Helen



Megan, Freda, Nonie, Sandy and Mike



Aunt Helen enjoying the cabin swing



New refrigerator and microwave

Well, I spent most of my Saturday "cabin time" doing dishes at the Waverly Lion's Ducky Derby. After getting up at 5:30 and working until noon, I took a nap until 3. I went to Menard's afterwards where I picked up a little 700 watt microwave and also locking rings for the kitchen stove chimney sections. I went to Lowe's and picked up a 4.1 cubic ft under the counter refrigerator, too. Once the ceramic tile is down, the kitchen will be complete with all the basic essentials. My dad's two sisters, Aunt Helen and Aunt Francis are coming tomorrow to visit the cabin. I'm real excited to show them winter's progress. Spring and Summer should provide weather suitable for finishing it.