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Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch

Action shot from my video, of a hunk of tree falling.

So, on Tuesday, Chris and Gary of CHAMPS Handyman Services couldn’t get into the Rattlesnake house to work on it, due to the driveway suddenly being inaccessible (thanks, giant rain storm that dropped .4 inch in 20 minutes). But, that’s OK, because we had that other project, conveniently located across the road, which is “The Cabin,” located on the Wild Hermits ranch that Lee and I co-own with our neighbors, Sara and Ralph. I’m not sure if I mentioned before that it has a main building that’s the oldest one on our property, plus two outbuildings with bedrooms in them, and a beautiful, large deck that has the best sunset views on the ranch.

We’ve been working on it for a few months, painting, cleaning, making it livable, etc. And last weekend, a large group of people got together and cut down two ancient dying trees on the place. (The link is to a video of the cabin, trees, and manly/womanly workers.) We are SO grateful for Sara’s nephews, who came with all their fancy arborist equipment to do the hard stuff, and to her sons, who got very good at the log splitter and axe!

Even after all this work, the cabin is rustic, as you can see from this fun video Chris made. I hope you enjoy our precious chickens and their weird (but functional) little chicken house.

We sure appreciate that Chris is letting us share his comments! It’s fun to see someone else’s perspective, when you’ve been in a place so long you can no longer see it with fresh eyes.

You can see that the bathroom in the cabin was in pretty bad shape. The guy who lives there now and our neighbor have worked and worked on the septic system, so that’s now good. But the shower was ancient, perfect for a hunting lodge, not perfect for a young man and his fiance.

Chris and Gary are putting in a nice new shower unit, in two pieces, and have repaired the sad walls. I know our tenant will be happy to be able to shower in his own place, at last! The bathroom is at least up to the twentieth century in standards!

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Where’s That Rattlesnake Update?

Mandi hasn’t forgotten y’all, it’s just that circumstances have combined to make any Rattlesnake House renovation update rather skimpy. On the other hand, the reasons why it’s NOT had much progress are pretty interesting, so let’s talk about that. I’m qualified to update you on the NON work stuff!

The cabin is behind my attractive horse, who is scratching his neck at sunset. It’s the best picture I could find.

Actually, on Monday, Chris and Gary did get more plumbing and electric work done. That was pretty good. No one got hurt. Things went fine.

A Break for a New Project

Tuesday, though, the guys switched over to another project for the Wild Hermits Ranch (which happens to be across the street and is owned by Sue Ann, Lee, and their friends Ralph and Sara). We may have mentioned before that the old cabin on the property had bathroom issues, and we’d hoped to use the shower enclosure that had been left at Rattlesnake over there. But nope, we couldn’t get it in the house. So, Chris agreed to bid on the project to put in a two-piece shower, fix up the wall, and make a reasonable bathroom for the young man who is living there (and who currently showers at the neighbor’s house). The cabin is a COOL place, and the oldest building on the ranch. It used to be a hunting cabin, according to a previous owner, who’d lived there when what is now three properties was one. Interesting.

Animal Emergency

While working on the cabin, Chris and Mandi realized there was an issue with the puppy Chris had brought along with him. It just wasn’t acting right. So, the project had to be cut short. Lee told Chris that pets and kids always come first, so he was encouraged to go find out what was wrong with the little fellow (“little” is not a great word, since we hear it’s part Great Dane). While we were waiting word on the dog’s progress, and Mandi kept an eye out on her older puppy, who played with Chris’s. We worry about parvo. However, this morning Chris sent us an update, and while the pup is still very sick and in the pet hospital, they aren’t sure what the diagnosis is. The good news is that she’s improving and should get to come home tomorrow. Yay!

Diamondback rattlesnakes can get mighty big. This one that met its end at the Rattlesnake House is medium sized. Eek. Photo courtesy of C. Coufal.

And Then Mother Nature Struck

Meanwhile, a big ole storm front came through and gave us around four inches of much-needed rain. All our tanks (ponds) got filled up, and the creek went above its banks (but not too badly, so that’s okay; we are used to some flooding on the flood plain; that’s why it’s a flood plain). Rain is good, but it makes mud. Once Mandi realized that she almost got stuck out at Rattlesnake while driving a 4-wheel drive truck, she didn’t want Chris and Gary to get stuck in their regular truck out there. So, she officially declared a rain day.

Speaking of Nature

The house is still lives up to its name, by the way. Last week the rancher who leases the property next door found two whoppers, one in the Rattlesnake driveway, and one on his side. There’s an abandoned house next door that we think is a hotbed of snake nesting activity. So, from now on, everyone wears boots over there!

 

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