Hunter-Gatherer Land

I'm going to use the "Homesteading" tag here, even though the new project is not at this time being considered as a residence. 

We had an opportunity to buy some land.  Not much on it but a garage, but there is an electrical hook up.  Other than that it is just....there.  A place for the younger generations to have adventures, and for the Hunter Gatherer demographic to, well, hunt and gather stuff.  Also of course a place where endless keep busy tasks will be available.  Hey, retirement demands things to do.

So, lets boil some maple syrup.

Let's explore some of the numerous deer stands that come with the place.

There are lots of blackberry bushes.  Some members of the tribe are hoping for edible mushrooms, although the few fungi we saw this early looked like tough, probably toxic stuff.

Hank the dog is not used to being off leash.  His opportunity to romp, roll, sniff and lift his leg freely was probably the happiest day of his life.  And the next time we make it back up it will be again.  Dogs are blessed.  They remember very little.  Sorrows, such as they experience, leave no mark.  And every time that the sun is shining and they find something stinky it is their Best Day Ever.

Naturally the trail cams have already been deployed.

Homesteading. Again?

Well, not exactly. 

Not looking to live on it, but we've recently become part owners of some land.  

So, why?  What's it good for?

Well, hunting land.  Bit of an off year 2024, in part due to a shortage of public land tags.  This location specifically, and the private land tags generally, are less problematic.  It comes with a variety of tree stands - and one hunting tree house! - already in place.

Firewood.

Blackberries.

Looks like a few spots to catch frogs.

A place for grand kids to play.  Lots of fun for them now, and when the grandies are teenagers.....hmmm, wait a minute.....  Oh, let their parents worry about parties in the woods.

A place for dogs to run around.

As an investment land has always had going for it that "they ain't makin' any more", and this should be a better bet than trying to figure our the stock market....or whatever the heck crypto currency actually is!

Not expecting to build an off grid house and live there, but maybe if the economy really tanks I could probably get by on a diet of blackberries, venison and frogs.

 

Hearth and Home - Fall 2024

 

For those who have been following the "Homesteaders" project.  Warmth and light.  Of course you can finish building your house, but you never finish building your home.

Homesteading Home Stretch

The Homesteaders have had marvelous weather here in the home stretch.  The project was delayed a bit by the rains of June, but to have weather like this in the second half of October is a blessing.  

Fall colors with off grid power, solar panels and neatly stacked fire wood.

Or if you prefer, fall colors and ongoing work...

Much of the current work does not photograph well.  Drywall finishing for instance.  But my assignment was not inside.  It was necessary to add a layer of insulation under the floor.  The house sits off the ground - but not very darn far - so one person could crawl under while the other fed rolls of insulation in to be secured.  Hot, tedious work while lying on uneven, hard ground.

It's always fun to work hard alongside your children.  Unexpected conversation topics are frequent.  Such as...why are rolls of insulation called bats?  Well, it is a delightfully obsolete word that refers vaguely to rolls of cotton that had been pounded with bats, or batons if you prefer.  The name just stuck around for rolls of insulation.

OK, then what about brickbats?  A brickbat is a partial brick.  Here a little "Stonehenge" of brick leftovers has been set up on the picnic table.

Brickbat means a partial brick.  It comes from a middle English word meaning a lump or piece.  Perhaps related to the sense of things being hit or knocked with a stick.  In more recent years it has acquired another meaning.  Severe criticism, as in things like theatrical reviews.  Evidently brickbats were popular things to throw during riots and protests.  In more recent times they have turned up in the imaginative comic strip Krazy Kat, a personal favorite of mine.

I must admit feeling a greater kinship with Ignatz than with Krazy.

Karma of the Caterpillar

What a remarkable summer.  It started early, and just kept on going. We are still enjoying warm days even as the October shadows lengthen.  The deer are grow plump, and alas, clever.  And wooly bear caterpillars are everywhere, crawling hither and yon on their enigmatic missions.

I write something about the woolies every fall, as they are said to be a harbinger; an oracle.  Their color pattern allegedly predicts the severity of the upcoming winter.  

A few days ago while out at The Homestead I saw my son's lunatic dog jumping about and snapping at something on the ground.  She's a bit like a malicious cat in this respect, she'll capture baby bunnies and such and toy with them.  I do not approve.

So I went over and found that the object of her taunting was a curled up wooly bear caterpillar.  Well, I rescued the little guy, took him off to a safe location and said: "Hey, how 'bout a mild winter?"

I knew this was a big ask from a little guy, but it is rather their forte, so what the heck.

An hour later I went for a stroll down their dirt road.  Just enjoying the day and getting some fresh air after an afternoon breathing through a respirator while installing insulation.  And right there on the road I found something extremely implausible.  This:

It's a box of ammunition.  Now you might think this is not totally implausible as there is a rifle range down the road a bit and yes, things do bounce out of pickup trucks.  But I've never found ammo laying around - other than my archaeology experience at Ypres - and to have this appear just when I'm getting discouraged about hunting prospects.....and to have it be in the somewhat atypical caliber that I actually hunt with????

Thanks Wooly.  I know one small bug does not have the power to change the climate for a continent.  But hey, a box of ammo that retails for around $37?  You've out done yourself.

---------------------------------------

Addendum.  Lest any one doubt the Power of the W-Bear it should be noted that the spot where I got a deer (albeit with the crossbow) was about 75 yards into the woods directly even with where I found this gift of the caterpillars!

Bowhunting - October 2024

Bow hunting, specifically with a crossbow, is a different breed of cat.  It's a quieter, more solitary undertaking.  No compressed 9 day season as with firearms.  No traditional "hunting camp" gatherings.  You pick a time, go out to the woods and sit.  Quietly.  Very quietly.

Many consider it more true hunting.  The deer have almost every advantage.  A rifle can do the job at 100 yards.  A bow, especially with a novice hunter....30 or 40 yards tops.  The one advantage hunters do have is that this is the time of year when the deer go crazy and chase each other around.  Sort of like a gang of distractible middle schoolers.

Here's the view from the tree stand:

Another difference between this a gun hunting is that for the latter you need to wear blaze orange garb....so you won't get shot by other hunters.  Not much risk of that with short range weapons, so the priority is on camo.  Here's the annual tree stand selfie.

Because I'm hunting on my youngest son's Homestead I have a bit of a drive in the pre-dawn hours.  I'll often stop in at a convenience store for coffee on this trip.  I guess I'd better not do this while so attired!

Warmer weather means once you - hypothetically - get a deer you need a plan.  In November just hang them up in a cold garage for a few days and process them when you have time and hands to do so.  Warm weather and without a large hunting crew.  Hmmmmm.

There is a place down the road that does this work.  They'll take it in the field dressed state and turn it into nicely packaged venison.  I stopped by the other day to ask what the procedure was.  A very pleasant young man said:  "Well, first of all you stop at the bar down the road, they'll have the paperwork".

Best Step One Ever!

My second day of hunting I did a better job of time management and was up in the stand before first light.  It was a wild, windy morning.  Plus side:  No way the deer would smell or hear me.  Negative side, if I had a shot I'd have to make some serious accommodation for windage.  

If.  I saw no deer.  So, time to change uniforms do a bit of Homestead work.  Specifically, help install insulation.  Honestly, silly costumes, doing things with modest at best results.....feels more like cosplay than serious hunting and honest labor....

 As my scamp of a grandson got the family "on the board" during today's special youth hunt weekend I can't let up.  Back in the stand tomorrow, weather permitting.

Deer Hunting 2024 - Sagitarii

Deer hunting update.....

The process for permits in Wisconsin is a little complicated.  What deer you can shoot, where and when varies a great deal.  As mentioned in my first hunting update, permits to hunt in the immediate vicinity of our cabin were in short supply this year.  So when I went into the online lottery system it was with minimal expectations.

But....you are assigned a spot in the queue to wait for your chance to sign up for tags.  This is random, and I got the lowest number any of us have ever had.  Great!  It was only a few minutes before the queue shortened.  I was number 1000.  Then 500.  But at about number 400 something happened.  The power went off in our house.

This knocked out the modem, and kicked me out of the queue.  When I logged back on with my phone I was at number 20,000, and the preferred tags were out of reach.

Evidently a guy who built a compost bin for us in the spring had hammered the corner posts down into the ground without worrying about where power lines were.  I don't know why it took so long to finally fry, but I guess it is just as well that we were not out of town for a week.

So, deer hunting will be different this year.

I have options, the one of which is bow hunting down where the Homestead is being built.  Lots of deer there.

But for assorted reasons, gun hunting is less appealing there.  So it is time to learn how to use a crossbow.

Last time I was down my son and I took turns practicing.  A ladder makes a decent approximation of firing from a tree stand with a rest.  House is coming along nicely btw.

So far I seem to be quite consistent at the ranges we'll be needing.

We also spent time putting up a tree stand that covers some promising spots.  And did a bit of brush clearing to get roughly 40 yards of clear shooting.  Later that day the trail cam we set out started to send us encouraging data.......

Sagitarii btw were archers in the Roman Army.  They used standard bows.  Something equivalent to a crossbow was known by the Romans but it was much bigger and designed to be deployed on the ramparts of forts.  I may look into getting one, but don't think I can haul it up into a tree.

Getting off of that LA Freeway

The journey of the Homesteaders has had interesting stops along the way.  Including an interlude in LA.  Now the trail leads to a new beginning that is literally along a "dirt road back street".  It calls to mind the classic song written by Guy Clark and performed by various artists starting with the one and only Jerry Jeff Walker.  

Here's the place.  As seen from the dirt road.

By the way, the song lyrics vary depending on who sings it - and probably how late in the evening it was sung! - but more or less:

Pack up all your dishes.

Make note of all good wishes.

Say goodbye to the landlord for me.

That son of a bitch has always bored me.

Throw out them LA papers

And that moldy box of vanilla wafers.

Adios to all this concrete.

Gonna get me some dirt road back street

Chorus

If I can just get off of this LA freeway

Without getting killed or caught

I'd be down that road in a cloud of smoke

For some land that I ain't bought bought bought

Here's to you old skinny Dennis

Only one I think I will miss

I can hear that old bass singing

Sweet and low like a gift you're bringin'

Play it for me just one more time now

Got to give it all we can now

I beleive everything your saying

Just keep on, keep on playing

Chorus

And you put the pink card in the mailbox

Leave the key in the old front door lock

They will find it likely as not

I'm sure there's somethin' we have forgot

Oh Susanna, don't you cry, babe

Love's a gift that's surely handmade

We've got something to believe in

Dontcha' think it's time we're leavin'

Chorus

Homesteading - Raising the Roof

Putting a ridge beam into place.  I can now scratch that off my to-do life list.  Darn things are heavy and awkward.  When it slots into place with a nice clunk it is very satisfying.

Next up, rafters.  Smart people get scaffolding for this part.  I suppose really smart ones would have had it for the ridge beam too.

Rafters have gone on since this last picture was taken.  The Joys of Roofing await.....

Framing up

Building a house from scratch.  Hand tools, wood from the Amish.  Time to call in the Old Guys.

Two walls up by the middle of day one:

 End of the second day, all four walls up.  Looks like a house now.

Homesteaders

A couple of industrious young people of our acquaintance are doing something ridiculously ambitious.  They are building a home in the wilderness.  By hand.  Basically they are homesteading.  The last people in our family lineage to do something like this were the pioneer first generation that came over in the 1850s.

I wonder what those grim faced, German speaking stoics would think of their descendants using sun powered, magical tools that came from China to clear brush??