Important Lesson About Feeding Cats in the Country

"Tigger -NO, no no no no no. Get away from there, TIGGERRRRRRRR!"

I darted out to see what could possibly have Mark so scared for our kitten's well being that would not also terrify the kitten and make him dart inside to safety.

"Get back, Nicole!" Mark stormed into the house, slamming doors. It was a skunk at the outside cat food bowl. I was so relieved - I had feared a coyote mauling about to take place. We quickly resolved to not feed the outside cats after dark.

Lesson learned from this? We should have resolved to feed the cats nowhere near the house. Skunk spray smells like a mix of burning hair and burning rubber and it is so strong that identifying its source is near impossible. We have tried the following removal methods:

• Tomato Juice: Doesn't work. Here is why: http://www.humboldt.edu/~wfw2/deodorize.shtml



• Bleach: Works well - I scrubbed the heck out of the outside area. Now jut our laundry room smells like skunk contamination.

According to the above article, however, we have to wait for "Time and ventilation." Crumbs!

Christmas in the Holler

All the neighbors pitched in to help us transform our little dark house in to a holiday cheer filled home. One worked with Mark to hang some rope lights. Another leant his chainsaw and land for a cedar tree. Yet another made us a nice decoration for the table top. And then there was the candy maker...


Our table looked good, the turkey came out of the pad in one place, and a neighbor stopped by for lunch.




We did a simple gift exchange with our buddy Pat:

We went for a nice stroll along the lake shore:

And we sipped a little bourbon around the Kerosene heater...


Recipes are all up on nicolesauce.com.


Merry Christmas!

Drenched in Plumbing Issues

The fellow at the hardware store informed me that if I was tying water line grade PVC into drainage grade PVC for an incoming water line and the city found out, they could disconnect our water.

"I have a well."

"Oh."

In general, we spent the entire weekend getting the full force of water from the well pump in our faces as we tried to fix a myriad of plumbing band aids put into place by the previous owner. By Saturday evening, we had no more dry clothing to wear as the dryer could not keep up with the challenge. We would replace a car radiator hose that was held in place by hose clamps with actual PVC, then turn the system on and POW! A nearby pipe would burst because it had once been repaired with an under the sink drain pipe and no glue...

At the end of the day, we now have a new water heater, silt filter, and mostly non-leaking pump house. We also have sub standard water pressure to about half our fixtures up at the house. My guess? SAND.

The Holler Homestead Begins

Originally, we thought we would buy a weekend hillbilly fishing shack as a retreat from the whirlwind of the city.

What we ended up with was both an engineering and historical puzzle. The house was originally built to be "off the grid" by a fellow whose personal effects can still be found here.

Why did this happen? How do all the systems work? What was he preparing for?

This little blog is a journal of discovery of who built the Holler Homestead, how the whole thing works, and the story of our transition into country living.

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Here is what the house looked like before we made our offer:

The very first close up view.
Another shot of the destruction. Note the furnace clinging to the outside of the house.

From the back of the house, looking down the hill. Note - even more garbage!