Published via Ecency

Hello Everyone!

Making a slow start, Piddling around with stuff online, Reaching a milestone with the shop tent & Musing about being a landowner!

Alright, I am beginning my writing routine about twenty-nine minutes early this evening... for much the same reasons as I did yesterday. Mainly, I am just too wiped out to wait around... but I also did all my late day chores a wee bit early so that I could relax in the tub... and let myself unwind a bit.

Last night I fell asleep marginally earlier than I did the night before... and slept super soundly until around dawn when I awoke from some bizarre dream. Somehow I managed to drift back off to sleep again (mostly because it was chilly and I just did not want to get up yet) and then wound up sleeping for a few more hours... before waking with some peculiar phrase replaying in my mind.

I have no idea what the phrase means or even why I was thinking it... and it is assuredly not one that I have ever heard before... but it went like this: Laws, Land and Love. Like I said I have no idea what the 'meaning' might be... but I really like it nonetheless and throughout the day it came to mind repeatedly.

Anyways, today I got rather caught up in my Hive engagement routine... and this time I did more than 'scroll, vote and lurk' and did some actual engagement. I also took some time to get some of my EXODE cards (NFTs) listed... which is something that I have been slacking on... but now that the price of HIVE has been bumping upwards... the market on there has picked up some... so I figured it was worth the effort.

I really got a bit over-involved with a bunch of stuff online after that... and it was creeping towards noon by the time that I got outdoors... and began working on the pack down process. Thankfully, by then it had warmed up and it was quite sunny... which sure was a nice change compared to how the weather has been lately.

My big goal today was to get the lumber rack in the shop tent fully cleared off... and if possible also get the plywood 'table' (the one that was on cinder blocks) cleaned off as well. After lots of shuffling stuff around... I eventually got everything off the lumber rack and stacked outside... and then just when I was about to dismantle the rack I decided that it might actually come in handy as I continue the cleaning/packing process.

Basically, I drug the lumber rack outside the tent and then used it to stack everything that was on the plywood 'table' onto it... so that I could also dismantle the 'table' after cleaning up the massive pile of rat poop that was on it. To give you an idea of just how much rat poop there was on there... it took about four flat-head shovel fulls to get it all scooped up and tossed into a bin.

Once I got the bulk of the floor in the shop tent raked up (which was mainly a clutter of sticks, leaves and remnants of rat nests) I got the plywood itself hauled outside... and leaned it up against a tree... so that I could wash it down with some high pressure water. With it out of the way, I stood all the cinder blocks up (they were on their side with the openings in the vertical position) and got all the rat nests out of them... before raking the entire shop tent again... and tossing everything into that same bin as the rat poop.

The entire process was rather gross... and although I considered stuffing everything (that was in the bin) in a trash bag I decided against that... and poured it into the fire-pit instead. I then used my small battery operated circular saw (the one that I use for cutting brush) to cut up some of the poles from the destroyed outdoor 'kitchen' and tossed them atop everything in the fire-pit.

Since I did not want to dick around with a smoky fire that was mostly rat waste and rat nest remnants... I poured the small amount of mixed fuel (that I had in my one gallon fuel can) all over the debris before lighting them on fire. I had been wanting to get rid of the fuel anyways (before the move) and considering that it had been sitting there unused for the last several years... it was not good for much else besides accelerant for a fire.

Once the fire was roaring and I did not have to keep an eye on it I turned back to the cleaning process... and stood the six cinder blocks 'on end' and then laid the 'two by four' boards (that supported the plywood in its previous configuration) across them... so that I could lay the plywood back down to make a new table. Since I did not want to fool with deep cleaning the plywood... I just flipped it over and put the 'clean' side up to make the new table.

The big difference in the new way that the table is setup now is that it is at the rear of the tent, there is nowhere for the rats to make nests in the cinder blocks... and it is now sixteen inches off the ground... instead of the eight inches it was before. Essentially it no longer wastes a bunch of space in the tent... and more importantly I can see if there are any snakes under it... without having to bend over and peer beneath it before walking near it.

During all that activity today... I of course threw more stuff away, found more stuff that the rats had destroyed... and tossed more items into the barrel with the bleach water to soak. At this point, I am almost ready to begin the tedious task of washing everything (containers, tools and whatnot) before doing the final pack down of it all.

Honestly, this entire pack down process has been such a mess... and I feel rather ashamed that I let so much gear get destroyed... but given the inadequate storage scenario (and my inability to fix it) I guess that it was unavoidable. As much as I want to continue to 'bitch and moan' about it though... I know that one way or another I will eventually get everything cleaned up, salvage what I can... and do my utmost to never be in this kind of scenario again.

On a different note, today is my first day of officially being a 'landowner' so that is pretty awesome... even if I am still feeling a bit stunned over things actually working out. I definitely do not feel much like a 'landowner' and every time that my mind uses that term (in reference to myself) I correct myself and think: You are now owned by a piece of land.

I know that the distinction is probably lost on many folks... but I am really excited to see what potential the place has... and what all that I can do for it versus 'what it can do for me' per say. I know that I will eventually make a home there one way or another (after I overcome the septic hurdle that I have mentioned before) but I am super stoked just to go camp there, see what the place is like... and learn what all is there in the form of flora, fauna, natural resources and so forth.

Well, I have meandered on long enough for this entry... and am fading fast because the fatigue is catching up with me. I hope that everyone is doing well and inching closer to achieving their dreams... whatever they might be. Ta ta for now.

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