We took a leisurely trip up to Hugo last weekend to do a few things. We've been trying to get up there but again, the rain! Oklahoma has recently flooded. Arkansas has flooded. But luckily, southeastern Oklahoma, where our property is has not been hit as hard this time. It's wet. But I've seen it worse. And at least we didn't have to work in the mud.
Now that we have Oliver with us there's never a dull moment. Here is how he enjoys the ride up in the back seat.
Once there, we focused on getting the AC unit switched out in the trailer. Last time we were up it took a dump on us. Luckily, my buddy John had an extra that was the exact same one. The previous one allowed rain to get in around it. We made sure this one was water tight.
 |
| She ain't pretty to look at, but she'll get the job done. |
The AC worked all weekend like a champ and made for very comfortable sleeping, as you can tell by the pic I took of Oliver asleep at the foot of the bed one morning. He's not stretching. He's dead asleep this way.
Day two consisted of finishing up some of the trim work on the workshop and raking and back filling the electrical trench we previously dug. All the rain had made it settle in quite a bit. Luckily my dad left me a blade to use. I welded a chain on it and used one of our fourwheelers to drag it smooth.
All the rain has added another obstacle as well. There are TONS of baby frogs everywhere. That combined with the standing water makes for a pretty good chance of running into Water Moccasins aka Cottonmouths. While I was walking around the workshop spraying some poison ivy I heard a strange fluttering sound. I happened to glance down and saw a giant snake, head raised and ready to strike. I ran and grabbed my pistol and found it had moved under the edge of the shop where it again was making noise and ready to strike. I knew it was bad by the large flat diamond shape head I put a bullet through. I dragged it out, used a shovel to remove his head and saw it was indeed a HUGE Water Moccasin. You know, these things are pit vipers, just like the Rattlesnake and Copperhead and extremely venomous. Needless to say I jumped at every stick on the ground after that.
 |
| He's well over 5 feet not including the 4" of head and neck that are gone. |
Later that day we rode the trails to see what was up in the woods. We checked the cameras for the first time in a while. We have let all of the feeders run out of corn, but it hasn't seemed to stop the deer.
Or the idiot raccoons.
We also saw the blackberries are almost ready. We're taking a bucket up next weekend to collect a ton. They're everywhere!
 |
| They're relative small at the moment and there's a lot more red than black. Still delicious though! |
Later that evening we filled the air with the smell of roasted sweet potato and grilled t-bone steak over a camp fire.
 |
| It was still and the setting sun's rays pierced through the trees and the campfire's smoke. |
 |
| Damn tasty. |
The next day we finally were able to stain the workshop. Michelle did a terrific job choosing the colors! The only thing left to do on it is lay the rock around the bottom, which we won't do until we're rocking the outdoor kitchen and cabin.
 |
| Michelle gettin' it done. You can get a better idea of its size here. |
 |
| Just needs the rock at the bottom. |
 |
| None of it is paint. The gables are transparent stain. The trim and body are solid color stain. |
 |
| The back. That left corner is where I almost stepped on that big ass snake. |
 |
| Michelle chose colors that were in the trees. |
We have a long list of things to get done next time. The hard part is deciding which ones to do. Guess we'll all just have to wait and see!
And finally as you may know, we plan to rent the cabin out when we're not using it. So we're building it to be a retreat and sort of like a resort. And since we're also getting into the printing business, we've come up with a name, logo and design for the place. We plan to give out the koozies to guests. If you're nice, we might get you a shirt too.
