A Great Get Away!

Off we go to Critter Cabin, forecast is for snow. That is ok, as we have lots of burning to do and alittle snow won't hurt anybody! We arrive and it is cold in the cabin~~burr 35 degrees, hurry and build a fire in the stove! After getting a nice fire going and unload our food and things that we brought we decide to head off to the piles to burn!  We have covered all the piles alot earlier and so they are dry! Light that baby and let it burn, so we did! This is the biggest pile to burn and will take most of the day.

 Pile number two is alot of rotten logs and sticks around in the woods. Have to clean it up for the critters to get around alot easier. We did have two more piles going also. Needless to say, it was nice to get rid of all the junk wood around the area.

This is a bird house that I made awhile ago, decided to put it up and see if someone will move it!

Photo of one of the windows that we put in. Great job Pat. Check out the great looking pictures on the wall. This is some great art work by Artist " Pretty Bird" ! He does great work. We have got a new table by the window, donated by the Browns. We will use this for a puzzle. It is just right and comes with 2 stools!

Thank you! 

 The other window is in the kitchen area. Makes a great view from the table and best of all alot more light in the area.

 Critter Cabin in the snow. We got 4 inches of snow by the morning time. Not much at all. Makes for some great pictures. Oh, remember the 35 degrees in the cabin, well it is now a toasty 70 degrees.

Not many wildlife tracks around this morning, while I was out walking around the area. Must still be in bed!


 Picture of the window from the outside. This looks great.

 Other side of the cabin, and the photo of the new window!

The one and only REBA! Wonder what she thinks of the snow? 

 On the way out we find this buck laying in the oaks. He just lays there like no big deal. This is a big deer, but little horns. Must be a old buck that has went back to small horns again.

Well we got lots of things done around the cabin, piles burned and lots of wood, sticks picked up. Cut some branches off trees and burned them also. We got lots done inside, trim back up around the window area, curtains hung up and most of all stuff put away. Now it is back to a home again, instead of a shop! Most of all I got ahead of Pat in Rummy!!!!! It is a running game, started in Feb 13, 2009.

We had lots of fun and hope that we can get back soon. I just know that we will fine a excuse to go!

Rainy Day At Critter Cabin

Sounds like the snow level is coming down very low, better get over to Critter Cabin to a put things away! Decide to stop and get a trailer load of chips for the critters, as we know that the acorns are far and few this year. We arrive at the cabin, no deer or turkeys around this trip. We dump and spread out all the chips that we brought for the turkeys, deer and the crows! Guess that it has been to long since we have been here. Have lots of things to do, drain the water tanks so that they don't freeze, put away chairs, table and most of all cover the piles so that we can burn them later this winter. Fun time for me, I love to burn!

We get all our things done, decide to take a walk around, find some wood that is easy to cut and load. Guess that we will need more wood anyway. Below are some of the things that I find to take photos of. Lots of mushrooms around this time of year. I would say that these are not the kind to eat! Sure look pretty though!

What do you think this is? Well it is a outside toilet!

These are sure interesting things that grow on the oak leaves!

Well Pat gets the camera and catches me in the trees!

Now this mushroom looks good, but BEWARE it carries a deadly punch!

Now this one could be just as BAD! Lets just look but not touch!

Well kind of a sad day, as we both love to come to Critter Cabin, but knowing that the snow level is going to drop low for several days, and that the elevation is 2500 feet here, it doesn't look good. We will have to hope that we have a mild weather so that we can make it back real soon!

Oh, Did I forget to tell you that we go the window trim up and it looks great! Rats, I should have taken a picture of it!

Till we get back to Critter Cabin, good bye for now!

Where have all the deer gone!

Looks like a good day for a trip to Critter Cabin. Overcast sky and time to get some more wood, finish the wall around the window and see what was on the game camera. We were driving in and next to the cabin were these turekys! I just bet that got there fill of chips just before we arrived here. I could hear them say Gobble ~ Gobble which means in turkey talk: Thank you! They just wandered on there way like they had some place else they had to head too.

We worked on the walls around the window for several hours, had a nice lunch and decided to cut some wood for home. There is lots of little logs that was left here from the previous owners, most of it is still good enough for firewood ~ atleast for us that is! So we cut away and load up a pickup full and also the little trailer.

Maybe we could make a fort out of these instead! They seem like the right size of logs? What do you think?

Lunch time we get out the game camera and see what is on it. To our dissapointment there are not many pictures on it. Rats! I just knew that I would get a large buck or maybe a bear ~ what did we get ~~~~ a raven!

We had a great time, as always and can''t wait to get back to Critter Cabin again! Till then, keep the smile on and be safe !

Back to Critter Cabin we Go!

We decided last minute to head over to Critter Cabin to see if the deer and the turkeys have been around. Well I guess so, all the corn and the chips that we put out are gone! And the turkeys have been roosting on the porch! Great, Turkey poop! Looks like they need some more food! I think that we will move the food from the cabin some though. Cut a load of wood to take back home, we have lots of wood piled all over the place. Pretty easy to get right now. We have several standing trees that Pat is going to cut down here soon though. Some big pines and a few Doug Fir, these are to close to the cabin for us. Sun is much needed here as we have solar power panels.

Friday evening and Saturday morning we got the last of the two windows in. It will help out for light in the front of the cabin. Of course it will be great to see all the animals that come in to check us out! Just have to finish up the outside trim and we are set!

 Well for the water~~~ we seem to have all broken pipes under the cabin! Great, now what. Fix them dear Pat, fix them! We went to Home Depot and got some pex pipe and all the fittings and will get on the job ASAP. It sure will be nice to sit on the toilet in the cabin and have running water at the sink!

We are going back sometime this week to check on the game cameras and get some more wood to bring home. I will post some nice photos of great big bucks or big giant bulls on my next blog. Well if they run in front of the camera that is!

Till then, put a smile on and enjoy the day!

We are Back!!!!!!!!

First trip back to Critter Cabin we are driving up the road and we see a sow and two cubs, drive about 2 miles and a sow and one cub. Well this little guy decides to climb and big pine and sit on a limb. Perfect for a photo! I got out snapped several photos of him or her and then we were on our way.

The cabin is  in good shape after the 3 months that we were gone. Lots of dry grass everywhere, bees busy with there nests and a mouse fell in the toilet! Great, what in the heck was he thinking! Our stay this time was to get the water going. We got out the directions that was given to us by the previous owners and started out. First was to fine all the faucets and shut off values. Well, no notes on all those places. I say just turn on the water and see what happens. Ok, we head up the the shed turn on the water, drive the 4 wheeler back down and water is going everywhere! Well guess that they forgot to drain under the house. Rats!! I was just thinking how nice it would be to use the toilet inside! Oh well, next trip we can get it fixed hopefully!

Our next project is to put in a nice big window so that there is more light in the eating area and also to see any animals coming up from the lower road. This is going to be a big project here. Have to remember that there is no electricity here and everything is by solar or generator. Measure, cut, pull staples, think! After most of the day was gone we get the window in place. Now to get some paneling or boards to finish the inside wall. That will happen the next trip over.

Of course we did have lots of time to rest, watch for deer and the evening hours were sitting out in the hot watching for stars, satellites and UFOs! I think that we might have saw one! Anyway this a photo of a doe that was eating cucumbers at the salt lick, thought that I would get a closer look and she jumped over the fence.

Saw lots of these little moths flying around the area, well you can say hundreds probably. They are white with some black on them, really pretty. Come home to fine out the they are a Pine white butterfly. They do EAT pine and fir needles! GREAT,, that is just what we need in the area! Now they aren't so Pretty to me!

This is the window that we got set in. Looks great to me. Pat and his helper did a wonderful job. 

We are anxious to get back and finish the window and get started on the other window across the room, and oh the water! Got the pvc and all the connections for that also.

Stay in touch for the final results on the water! 

JUST HANGIN AROUND THE CABIN !

New visitors at Critter Cabin over the past few weeks.

This bear is trying to get to a bag of goodies that we have hanging on the branch. Below you will see the way he decided to do it or maybe it was a different bear. After getting here on Saturday morning I decided to walk to check the game camera's. Noticed that the camera was around the back side of the tree from where I had left it, guess that the bear didn't like his picture taken or was mad that he didn't get the goodie bag! Anyway he had pawed the camera around the tree.

Pat and I got lots and lots of pine needles picked up and branches moved. It is looking great around here now! Cut some firewood also for home.

We had several visitors this weekend. Some guys that want to hunt turkeys from the Portland area. Justin and Dalton that was hunting turkeys, got close to them but nothing in the bag! They are here but know that it isn't Thanksgiving yet!

Kristy, Jeff and the kids showed up also. We had a great lunch of hot dogs and marshmollows on the campfire! Yum :) Then we headed out for a walk to look for sheds heard some turkeys gobbling accross the other side. All the kids had their try at calling for a turkey. Was a great time.

The wild flowers are starting to come out and bloom. Lots of different ones. I need to get my flower book and take a walk.

Well another fun trip to Critter Cabin, we are coming back soon!

Creepy ~ Biting Little Guys!

Another Trip to Critter Cabin on a wonderful Spring day! We begin our weekend by raking and burning needles, moving limbs and piling them. What a job that is. This ant nest is located behind the cabin~~ Wow! what a lot of little biting guys in this nest. After several hours of work, we decide to head off to look for horns around the place. I find one nice one. Check out what else we find below!!

Is it what you think it is??? A giant ant nest?  The asnwer is at the bottom of the blog. After getting the BBQ going we cook our deer steak and pork and beans, we decide to relax and then play a few games of rummy~ Pat is now ahead of me! Rats! I need a plan to get him with a lot of point cards in his hand. Got any ideas? Sunday morning we wake up to rain!! What~~ A wonderful Saturday, then we get this! Oh, well make the best of it and get some things done. Bob and his family show up after lunch and get some fire wood for their camping trip this weekend. We head home right after that. Time sure goes fast here. Oh, by the way~~ that is a huge pile of needles that I moved and piled.

Till next time~~Keep those creepy ~ biting little guys somewhere else, not around me!

Spring is coming!

Spring is coming to

Critter Cabin!

After several weeks we finally made it back to Critter Cabin. So good to see the grass green coming up and some pussy willows coming out at the pond. We had lots and lots of pictures on the game camera's. My movie didn't work out, what a bummer! Below you  will see a nice tom turkey that got his picture taken.
We did some work cleaning up around the outside, cutting some wood that was left and piling up some sticks and limbs.
Went for a walk to look for sheds~no luck. I know that they are around there somewhere though! Altough we had some bucks with horns still.

We will be back soon to get the limbs burned and lots more cleaned up. This weekend looks like it might be a good one.

Until later~~~~gobble~gobble!!!!!!

New Buck in the Area !

Off we go to the cabin this weekend! We have lots planned for this weekend, getting the limbs burned and lots of clean up done outside before the next rain, which is coming this week. Of course it is to windy to burn ,so we head off to a road that is over grown with trees, brush and down trees. We want to clean this out for a hunting trail. We clean out about half the trail, booped we head back to the cabin for a nice adult beverage and relax. Check out the game camera's and find several pictures of does! Where have the bucks gone~ did they lose their horns already? We had better start looking for sheds soon! Night comes and we cuddle down to a warm fire and play several games of rummy~which Pat is still ahead in the game. Wake up to six deer feeding in front of the cabin. Sunday brings a better day for burning,so we get started on that. After a fire gets buring we decide to cut some firewood and move the rest of the oak wood into the shed. What alot of wood to move! About 3:00 we pick up and leave for home~ knowing that we have a dinner date with some friends. We had a great time again at Critter Cabin.

Valentines Weekend Outing!

Off we go to Critter Cabin again, and the truck is loaded with stuff! We have gotten another bed to put up and some tables to set around the place. We are going to spend the weekend here this time. Ya! An overnight outing in Critter Cabin!

After a nice drive getting there we start unloading items and getting things put away. Off to check the game cameras, lots of pictures!

As dinner time arrives we decide to cook the chicken over the fire with all the leftovers that I brought! It seems that we always have this problem of getting this fire going! Finally, we have it just right for our chicken, Pat cooks the chicken while I get the stuffing and leftover deer & mushrooms in a pan. Wow, what a feast along with a Alaska Amber beer we eat it all up! Afterwards we sit around the fire, that we MUST enjoy ( after all the hard work getting it going) and have another beer, dark comes and the nice warm cabin entices us inside for the evening. Getting the oil lamps lit and trying to see, we decide that we can't even see to play the cards! How did the pioneers do this? We get the propane lantern going. Playing rummy ( Pat is winning) and listening to the radio (windup style) for several hours we decide to get the night scopes out! Nothing yet! Well time for bed? Only 8:00, oh, well. We have a big day planned for tomorrow, burning limbs and cleaning up. We wake up to rain in the morning! So much for that idea! Sitting around inside the cabin we write down lists of what to bring next time! As the day goes along, the rain stops and we take a walk to the little pond to set a game camera there. Lunch time ~ seems like we eat all the time here~ we enjoy smoked salmon, cheese and crackers. After that to late to start a fire, we get on the 4 wheeler and take a ride looking at different roads and trails that need clean out for use. Lots of work! Back to the cabin to pick up and get ready for our trip home. We had a great Valentines Day weekend!

Critter Cabin Comes Alive!!!!

A nice day coming up, we decide to take off to Critter Cabin for the day. After loading up a bunch of things to take over, we get on the road. Of course more snow there, that means "chain up for the hill again"! Seems like about 6 inches of snow fell since last time we were here, alot of the snow has melted around the cabin, but where the sun doesn't shine~ SNOW! We built a nice fire inside and unpack several tubs of things that will make this place a cozy home. The game camera's~~ We had better get to them and see what has been here visiting. Wow**** Several nice pictures. Pat wants lunch, so he heads off to get a fire going for our shrimp on the grill! After struggling to get it going, we enjoy a very nice meal! Pat trims some more limbs down while I get the great job of cleaning the "OUTHOUSE". After 5 years of no use~~it needs it! Now it is clean enough for any butt to rest on! We look at the clock ** 4:00 ** where did the day go? We get ready to head out again, knowing that we have to stop at "Chain Flat" to take off the chains again. We had a great time. We are anxious to get back soon!

Clean up, Clean up!

Today is January 23. Pat, Jeff and I, head off to Critter cabin and get some burning and wood cutting done today. Still lots of ice on the road by the pond, so that means we chain up to get up the hill and back down. Not a big deal! Good practice! After arriving at the cabin, Pat decides to make another screen for the bottom of the cabin on the other side. Jeff and I start a fire out back, after some help from pitch wood and the blower we get a great fire going. We load up the fire with lots of tree limbs that Pat has been dragging over. Have to see the video! This is a great way to move tree limbs! Off to get each other a load of wood for the truck! Lunch time brings some Johnsonville Sausage Dogs! Yummy! After seeing about 4 deer wondering around the place we decide to put out the game camera's and see just what is around in the evening hours. A good day was had by all and we all hope to return soon to Critter Cabin

Woody Woodpecker Arrives!

Well, off we go again today to Critter Cabin. Driving up to the property it is foggy, we think~ "oh great", another day in the fog! But as we get closer to the Cabin we get into the sun! After sighting 3 nice bucks eating in the oaks we move on to the cabin. When we arrive at the cabin the ice is so bad in the driveway, that we park aways from the cabin. Pat then gets to work making a screen to put on the bottom skirting so that the cabin can get air under it! He notices a rabbit running around in the big barn. I head off to get a fire in the cabin and then off to the big burn pile! Trying to get a fire going, I hear a wood pecker and notice that it is a pileated woodpecker! Not getting this close before, I run and get my camera! Several pictures later, and a movie I turn my attention back to the fire project. After several attempts, I finally get it going! Boy, did it burn after that! Getting lots of sticks, old logs and needles burning we decide to cut some limbs on the trees in the woods so that we can see through them. Lunch time brings a nice rest, then off to work again. We get lots of limbs piled and ready for the next nice day to set them on fire. We gather our things and decide to call it a day. Heading back to the main road we site 13 nice bucks and aways father 3 more bucks! Another fun day at Critter Cabin!

ICE RAIN WOOD !!!!

We decided to take a chance and see just how bad the road to Critter Cabin was today! Bob & Terry with the kids, wanted to cut some firewood for camping. Well, we have just the trees for them. After arriving through, snow and some icy road conditions, we got to work cutting. Pat fell 4 nice fir trees, while Bob & Terry cut them and cleaned up the area. It does look nice now! All I have to do is get there some day and burn it before summer's" hot weather! Not much snow around the cabin, but lots of ice was on the road way! I was always telling the kids, "Be Careful"! Only a couple of falls caught my eye! After a nice lunch and much work, some fun came~ shooting the gun! Then the rain came and put our spirits out! We got things together and got on our way! A good time was had by all, and lots of work was accomplished also. We will try again soon to get back there!

Christmas Eve Outing

Last week I asked Laura what she wanted to do for Christmas. Family was not going to be here until the weekend, so we had time to ourselves. She wanted to go on December 24 up to our “Critter Cabin” south of Mosier, and cut some wood and clean up the brush. It is over 1 mile behind a locked gate, with the closest neighbor 5 miles by road or 3 miles as the crow flies.

While it had been cold, in the 20’s during the day, there was only a few inches of snow.

She decided we would make a picnic of it, so she got some large shrimp, butter for melting, a can of pork’n’beans, homemade rolls, apples and tangerines. We built a fire cooking, and proceeded to work. About noon we sat down around the fire and cooked our lunch. (The shrimp were great, even though it was the weather was below freezing.)

After lunch we decided to go back to work for an hour or so before heading home.

Just before we were leaving, we discovered Reba was missing. We yelled and whistled (what good that would do was doubtful, as she is hard of hearing). We looked all over, but could not find her. We attempted to track her, but there were literally hundreds of fresh deer tracks, bobcat tracks, coyote tracks, and bear tracks.

Twice we headed down into the canyon where we thought she had wandered to. Each time we made a circle, trying to check as much area as we could. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack, or worse, as the needle might be moving. There were literally 1,000’s of acres to look for her.

We thought that maybe she had started sniffing a squirrel or rabbit, and had headed down hill. Next month she will be 15 years old, and she is getting a little stove-up in the back end. Possibly she was just too sore to make it back up the hill.

Finally, as night was approaching, we had to leave. On the porch we left Laura’s coat and my gloves with the hopes that is she made it back, she would stay there until the morning, when we planned to return.

Needless to say, Christmas Eve was not very cheery at Our home.


The next morning we got up and drove the 26 miles to the Cabin. No Reba.

We checked the wildlife cameras we have there, and no photo of her. I had brought my rifle, as usual, and Laura had her pistol. We brought our cork boots so we could go clear to the bottom of the canyon. Yesterday it was far too dangerous, as everything was froze.

So off into the canyon we headed, whistling and yelling. We finally made it to the bottom, and no Reba and no Reba tracks. All we saw were bobcat and 2 sets of fresh bear tracks.

So, back up the hill we went. You know a hill is steep when you can stand up, put your arm out and touch the ground!

When we finally got to the top, we decided to run the chainsaw for a bit, just in case she was in the vicinity. Maybe, just maybe she could hear it, and would come to the noise. Still, no Reba.

We decided to leave, so we put her dog bed (Laura had brought it from home), and some dog food on the porch, and reluctantly left. We would make another attempt tomorrow to see if she returned to the cabin.

I had one more spot however that I wanted to look. I figured that maybe she had just gotten confused, and decided to head down hill. About a mile and a half away, with a 1500 foot elevation drop is Mosier Creek. It is big enough you would not want to cross it, especially on a twenty degree day.

Anyway, we had brought the combination to the gate on Mosier Creek. Luckily someone lives a couple miles past the gate and they had plowed it out. As we were approaching where I figured was as far as we could drive, as we came around a corner, Laura said, “There’s Reba!” And sure enough, there she was, standing in the road.

Needless to say it was a joyous event, and probably the best Christmas gift we could have gotten.

Reba was hungry, and a little stove-up. She immediately went to sleep on the floor of the pick up. She is still gimping around, but she will probably slowly get better.

Ps: This was probably her best Christmas ever also!

This is a very nice story that Pat wrote for me!

Critter Cabin

We acquired this property in December 2009. As of now, we have 244 acres in this parcel, with lots of animals now to view and enjoy. Much hard work is ahead on cleaning up. Several piles of needles and limbs need cleaned up before the next summer season rolls along. Fire danger is a huge thing here and getting all that cleaned up takes time!

The week of 6th to the 12 the weather was really cold. Down to 0 degrees and the single numbers most of the week. We went to take a good freind up to check out the place. Stopped by the pond and this is what we found! Bears have been having a skating party!

We have bought a game camera and left it for several days here at the cabin. The first time out, there was 126 photos, here is a sample of a couple of pictures: