BEHIND

Q: Dave, I see that you are a few weeks behind schedule with your updates. I hope that this email finds you well and productive enough to meet your personal deadlines! How is your pick up handling the unpaved roads of your new home? Snow in March? As I read this I looked down and saw a flip flop tan line across my bare feet, are you sure your going to miss so cal? I hope everything is going good for you and look forward to your updates.
Bryan

Asked by Bryan

A: Yes, Three weeks to be exact. The fence, the wind and the cold have all taken their share of my full attention. The inside of my trailer looks like the south end of a north bound Gypsy caravan. I have vowed many times that I would take a day off to clean up around the place and sum up my activities on the blog, but something always interferes. I have spent days with the chain saw clearing the East side fence line. Because of soil erosion at the fence line we could not get secure footing for the "T" posts, so we moved the whole line 18 inches to the west. Doesn't sound like much, but lots of small trees and brush and cactus occupied the new line and had to be removed. Then I used the tractor front loader and a log chain the pull all the old fence posts that had been there since the 1930's.

The quality of the fence is important to the security of the infrastructure for our house. The well, the power panel, the excavations for our barn and house foundations, and the stacks of building materials have to be protected against the free grazing range cattle.

The wind and the cold have also slowed down the start of work each day, and the changing precipitation (rain, snow, sleet, hail) sometimes force us to knock off early and seek shelter.

The 1 ton Dodge has proven to be exactly the right truck out here. That's why there are so many of them. I have received many complements and comments of "awesome truck". The sound of power alone causes heads to turn. The suspension is stiff; 2400 pounds of water in the bed hardly causes the springs to depress, so it does ride rougher on the dirt roads, but it handles well and always starts first try. Many other diesels out here have to use starter fluid on very cold mornings.

The best thing is that the trailer stays warm and tight and I sleep like a log.

Ask David a question.