Wow! It’s been a long time since my last post and there has been a lot going on.

On two different occasions I’ve spent a week out in shanty town. Mostly it was a fun and rewarding experience with a few “Ah shits”, some “DOH!” and a couple “What in the world am I doing?”

As expected ice is the limiting factor. No ice, no fresh food after a day. No ice, no mixed drink. Both are show stoppers which send me scampering back to town. I have a line on an old propane refrigerator that will partially solve the problem if I can get it to work. An alternative is a small freezer that I power up twice a day at the lowest setting till it shuts off. However for now a week is a good round number to put in before a hot shower and roof that doesn’t leak.

The first week it was pretty cold at night and I kept the propane heater cranked. The second there were two cold nights which was odd since it was in the 80s during the day. Thankfully I had an extra propane bottle so I could cook. I didn’t run the heater all night so I

had to get up several times a night to heat the place up then shut down and go back to sleep. I always knew when it was time to light it off since the boy would be standing next to me nudging me.

 

When I would wake up he would sit and stare at the heater. After he got over the hissing sound it makes he fell in love with it. I have a wood burning stove out there but need to put down backer board, cut holes for the chimney, put in the chimney and seal the stove. With temps in the 80s mostly I’ll use propane for the occasional cold night and install the stove this summer.

I’ve done a lot of brush clearing. It takes at least three passes to get the brush cleared and managed. First you have to rough cut. This leaves stumps anywhere from a few inches high to about 18 inches. I just zip through waving the cutter and let it fall. Then you have to haul the brush out and burn it. After burning an area you go back and cut out the stumps. At that point you can finally tell how much fill will be needed. In a lot of cases it is further complicated by the dozens of old, rotten logs about. They all have heartwood that is still hard as rock. When you hit one of these with the cutter it goes who knows where so you quickly learn to be balanced and out of the way.

Here’s a view of my front yard. My property runs all the way to the trees in the back and then some. The swamp starts just before the trees. I want to clear all the way to the swamp which is a huge task. The small drum is my burn barrel for plastic, treated wood, left over food and anything else that I don’t want to put in the soil. I burn leftovers so as not to attract unwanted attention from potentially dangerous critters. Like bears. The brush pile is waiting on a slow rainy day with no wind. If you blow up the pic you’ll be able to see some of the logs I’ve mentioned.

 

This is a view of the side yard. More piles of brush and a couple of partially burned out areas. I fear the small pine tree has a short life expectancy. I’m not sure if I’ll put up an awning or build a screened in porch but it will be to close no matter what I do.

Here is another view of the side yard. On the right you can see a track cut that goes back about 100 yards. I’ll be making it wider and putting in a feeder at the end. I have three more tracks planned with feeders. I don’t know if and when I’ll get around to shooting anything but I’m putting in the ability if I do. The trees in the background are about 1/4 of the way across my property. I’ve still not found a way back so I’ve only seen a small portion of what I bought so far.

This is sort of the back yard. Even when finished it won’t be very big. I’m going back about another 6 or 8 feet clearing then quit. The track
 is my new driveway and under construction. Once it’s done I’ll clear several feet on either side and put in trifoliate orange, pine trees and blackberries on both sides. If an uninvited guest starts in he will have no choice but to back out unless he can defeat the gate which might prove deadly for him. The sign on the gate will be a skull and crossbones with the caption “You Were Warned.”

Here are some views of the place from the road. That’s the second floor you can see. I believe once I get it skinned and painted that it’s going to be very hard to notice. I have bamboo planted between it and the parking area which will further help shield it from curious eyes. The bamboo I’ve planted is several species and grows anywhere from 25 feet to about 70. I’m also planning on putting some tree limbs off the side with Spanish Moss to hide it even more. The parking area will be blocked off and planted soon. I’ll put another gate behind some foliage back where the pine tree is just in case I need it. All the brush along the road will eventually be cleared and replaced with blackberries, trifoliate orange and any other nasty plant I can find. I want it very evident that if I don’t know you or you weren’t invited that pulling up to the drive, getting out with hands in plain sight and shouting “Hello” until I respond is the wisest course of action. There have been shootings out here over the years and I don’t intend to become the victim of some hot headed road hunter.

While I was visiting another camp the other day a guy was out checking game cameras. We were in a nice cleared area with several buildings, grass, generator running etc. We heard a shot and looked over to see what was up. He was only about 50 feet from us at the time. When he came back he had this in the back of his ATV. That’s about a four foot copperhead or cottonmouth. I was never sure which. What freaked me was that it was in among all that activity and not out doing other snakeazoid type things. I didn’t hesitate once I got back to the shack. I put on snake boots, rigged up a snake gun and put up with the discomfort of carrying two guns for the duration. Anyone who plans on visiting needs to think about this and come equipped. I have the guns but only one set of boots an’ I’m using them.

That’s about it for now. I’m headed out tomorrow to finish up some small stuff on the roof, get a door on the second floor and maybe get the driveway finished. Then I need to paint, seal and organize. My plans change on an hourly basis and sometimes a minute by minute. But even when I’m sitting on the front porch, bone dead tired and stinking like a pig I feel good because I’m living the dream.