Finally, moved in and connected to the outside world. This stuff is nuts. It's good but, it's nuts.

Let me say much thanks to all of those who have assisted in the move in everyway. You guys are great! I must say however I felt that while unpacking the truck and finding the duck and then waking up in the morning to the turkeys in the back yard I traded one set of turkeys for another. Thanks for the great laugh though Mr. Blair and Mr. Keleher, it will be remembered for a long time to come. I also have to send out a great thanks for two fabulous Friday meals from Mr. Rayne. Yummy stuff I don't know if I could resist driving up for. Also, Mr. Thomas (hardhat Bob) rained down some marvelous gifts upon the new household that shall be enjoyed by myself, the cats and of course, the wildlife yet to visit. MUCH thanks for all of those!! (Great idea Heather). Carmen's help with packing up the kitchen and organizing it all and cleaning up did a great deal of help too. Funny to find the groceries in the entertainment center the next day. I thought we forgot them somewhere and Mark was wondering why it was heavier. More good stuff to remember. Kirk, your assistance with the misc items around and about always can never be repaid so, again, great thanks always. Gotta send a shout out of thanks to those Shelby guys down the street who made quick work of unpacking the truck too. There's a team of guys that can work the socks off everyone else!! Thanks to Mike, Maureen and all of them. And Mark well, without Mark I would have been driving the truck myself and lifting and hauling and probably be sitting in the driveway in Braintree still. Okay....onward to much more interesting items of the back woods.

http://pandafan.tabulas.com/gallery/back-country-1/

Morning one - turkeys. Giant freaking Wild Turkeys. They came back with all their friends on about day 5 and sang glorious tunes for about 2 hours. Remind how cool I thought that was when it gets on my nerves - okay?

Bluebirds. Real ones. All over. Fabulous flighty little things puffing up against the cold. Love that.

Red Hawk. He hangs out in one tree out back and then does this odd hunting thing in the front yard. He's fun to watch.

Morning two - deer. How city was I still when my first thought was -- who the heck is walking up in the back yard? Duh. Nice deer too. 3 gals just wandering around and about. Caught the tail end of them this evening too. Flushed them out of the back field on my exploration morning last week when the weather was mild. Interesting. I wonder if they're up in the field right now laughing at me through the dark. I bet they are..buggers. Too dang quick to get a good shot of yet but, I shall fix that. Dang it.

Alright, a bit of moving terror to fill your day. No internet or TV for over a week. I got to unpack and get things straight at both places so, thats good. Too much to catch up on now and I actually have to work at some point so, jeesh...glad to be back on line. Whew. Having them continue to cancel the appointments though...not so much fun. Having the landlord say they have to come back and change stuff, not fun either. Blah.

The truck. I've got to tell you that I have always loved Ryder. They're fabulous. UHaul and those others are just a nightmare in comparison but, I shopped anyway. Yeah, shouldn't have bothered. I got a new International with side door, ramp and lift gate. Picked it up on Friday night, dropped it off Sunday night and they charged me for 1 day with unlimited mileage. With every bit of insurance it was still under $100.00. Did I say I love Ryder? Now, about the pine tree in Braintree at the end of the driveway and the gouge down the side of the truck. Humm. It's okay, it was already scratched and the dang tree has always been in the way of everything. It's now 1 limb less in the way of whomever goes there now.

The inability of men to assist me with electronics is a current thorn in my side. Not one soul has been able to fix my Home Theater system. Not one will even attempt it. I have taken it apart 3 times. I'm going to take it apart once more, a bit more troubleshooting and probably just buy a new receiver. I like that guys just look at it all turned backwards in the entertainment center with the wires all snaked about about and say "Wow, you did that? Good Job. I can't help anymore than you already have done, sorry". What is that about anyway? Chickens. I thought guys were supposed to fix things. You're not fixing. I'm not happy. Blah. How hard is it anyway? LOL. Says the gal who knows it and has taken it apart 3 times already. I've also changed wires, gone through the VCR checking for bad issues, etc. I'm so screwed. Not helping doesnt help though, really. Attempt it at least. Jeesh.

What do you do in the middle of nowhere without TV or internet in the snow? You go drive around. You take pictures. It's all good. Well, when you know when the hell to go home at least. The guys parked down by the transfer station in the pick up with plow were laughing at the Mazda. They should not laugh at the Mazda. I laughed at them laughing though.

When you own property 2 hours away you should probably have people available like plumbers, electricians, etc. If you dont your day is going to be more miserable than mine. I guarantee it. The kitchen sink was a mess. I told the man this before I moved in. He didnt fix it. It was worse than I thought. I used it anyway. Took a few days for him to get here - what the heck else was I going to do? He didnt have the best time with it. He didnt know any plumbers in the area. He should find some. Just a suggestion.

Casualties. There are always casualties in a move. Mine weren't too bad but, dang they hurt the pocket. The Indian picture is all messed up. Glass is just shattered in place. I have no idea how to even begin how to remove that nevermind get it replaced. Argh. Could have been worse, could have been the Elk. Reidel wine glasses. Red wine glasses. Two didnt make it, one I broke unpacking. Two didnt make the last move. Piss me off. I also broke a hand painted wine glass while packing. Is someone trying to tell me something?

I'm sure there will be much more to share in the weeks to come and probably not as lengthy or boring but, I hope something made ya chuckle anyway.

A few things just to keep in mind that this is a big change and it's an adventure and all of that. I must remember some little things that come up to get me through some of the more interesting times.

It is SOOO cool to actually make a pot of coffee AND toast a bagel at the same time. I can even turn on the microwave just for fun. And you know what - I probably will. I may even do a silly dance when I do. No one will see me, its good.  Old houses may have their charm but newer homes certainly have their conveniences. Not having to keep a flashlight on hand for the breaker box is kind of nice.

It's great to have a garage. I have crap scattered about it at the moment but, I'm an organizer so, that will take a couple more weeks. I liked not having to clean off the snow from the car. I'm one of those people who actually DOES clean the snow off my entire car (other than that time I forgot the license plate) so, it's odd for me not to. Having someone plow the driveway is nice too. Hell if I would ever shovel that thing anyway but, still nice to have. The only real odd thing is that whole shoveling the deck. It's a big old deck man. Finding the pathway from the deck down around to the front of the house was pretty interesting too.

How fun is it to find tracks in the snow? It's all good until you come upon that of the feline or canine variety (large feline/small canine) and no one within about 100 acres has a dog. Humm. Then you go out trampling about the wild without even a freakin knife. Duh. Must fix that. Its the crazy wild though. It's good. It's refreshing and interesting. Theres LOTS of deer poo. Everywhere...wholly hell and damnation. There's two other remnants though I cant identify. One is of the unknown canine/feline and the other I found no tracks with it but LOTS of flat, round light colored leavings. It's odd. Even the "What Shat That?" book had nothing close. That one shows up around the deer, around and about the house, in around brush and trees. It's odd. Hopefuly the sun will come out and dry up bunches of stuff after this rain and maybe I can find more information out there.

The wildlife is diverse. Especially the birds. I havent seen much of the Bluebirds this week but I've got every other bird visiting. Hawk, Owl, Chickadee, Cardinal, BlueJay, Raven, Finches, and somekind of swallow/sparrow I'm not familiar with. They are all very tame. I can sit on the steps and watch them all flitter about the feeder which is about 6-8 ft away. The owl just swooped down through the trees and sat on a branch outside the window. Occassionally I hear them bump the windows though. I'd hate to go out there and find one on the ground from that. I also hear the ladybugs bumping into the screens. The cats seem to like them. Should be interesting when that gets into high gear. Ladybugs are fine though, I'll take them.

The store may be a bit of a ride but, it's still not big huge city and there are lots of quaint little things to see along the way. I found another WalMart yesterday. It has food. So strange to have that with the WalMart. Something to keep  in mind. The other odd thing was all the beer in the grocery stores. Might not be able to get anything after 8 or on Sundays or Holidays (boo hiss) but, you can pick up a variety of items in the grocery store. Funny stuff.

Dehydration. Shrivelling up like a prune. I don't know if its the well water or the fact that I dont live blocks from the ocean or both. Making me crazy though. I miss the salt air smell. The smell of the woods is a nice replacement though.

Quiet. Absolute quiet. What a difference. Sometime I find myself listening for a fog horn or traffic or something but, its not there. No damn drum player either. Yeah!

Okay, thats enough babbling for now. Hope you enjoyed. Will be adding some pictures to the back country gallery at some point today.

I'm in unfamiliar territory with unfamiliar wildlife, people, rules, etc. It's kind of like an adventure but, I dont like some surprises and I really like to know where I am and how to get places most of all. Even though I was born in this state and raised here through HS I really dont know this part of the state at all. I remember visiting here as a kid. My uncle had an AFrame on one of the local lakes. I really dont remember a whole lot though. So my idea is to go out exploring for at least a few hours every weekend. Maybe even on weekdays once the weather is nicer and I'm caught up with work and everything. This will require more than just the GPS however. The GPS can be funny in the backwoods, thats for sure. It's not bad though, I am enjoying the lovely voices I have programmed into it anyway.

It can also get pricey exploring since I am going to include State Parks and the like in the adventures. I did some research at ct.gov and the DEP/Parks Department. Not too bad for information although a lot of the parks are lacking in maps and certainly lacking in photographs.

http://www.ct.gov/dep/site/default.asp

The DEP Online store has a good variety of interesting books and is easy to naviagte and shop on. The shipping is nicely done with tracking info and quick turnaround.

http://www.ctdepstore.com/main.sc

I picked up a State Park Pass, Connecticut Gazetteer, Scat and Tracks, Tracks pocket guide and Off the Beaten Trail. It will be a good start. It's waiting for me at the post office (lets not talk about the open for business times on that one right now). It would have been great to have this weekend but we survived it all anyway.

Natchaug State Forest, Eastford

".....The name Natchaug means "land between the rivers" and refers to the land at the junction of the Bigelow and Still Rivers which join to form the Natchaug River. The Forest is popular for its horse trails, outstanding fishing, and riverfront picnic sites. Of historic interest is a large stone fireplace and chimney that are the remains of the birthplace of General Nathaniel Lyon, the first Union General killed in the Civil War......"

I would like to have a map on hand for this one for the trails and will go back here a few times since its very local. The main entrance is closed at the moment due to a bridge wash out but there is another way. You just have to find it without a street sign. If you go up Pilfershire Rd there is a Forest HQ sign at the end of one street- thats the one to take. Lots of rock walls - tall ones too. And the chimney is interesting sitting in the middle of the place.

Mansfield Hollow State Park, Mansfield

"......The damming of the Natchaug River by the Army Corps of Engineers has created a 500-acre lake for boating and fishing. No swimming is allowed since part of the lake is used for public water supply...."

This one is confusing without a map but "doable" anyway. I was wondering what the heck the people were doing walking around this rock slope at the airport. Now I know. Very cool lake on the other side. We visited the other part of it first where the boat ramp is and that was cool enough. Driving all around to the other part at the airport though...made me shake my head. It's going to take me forever to roam about that place. It'll be nice though.

Connecticut Waterfalls is going to be an interesting site to browse as well.

Diana's Pool, Chaplin

"....A section of the Natchaug River with a series of small falls and cascades. Here the water has carved out some fantastic pools. The largest being named Diana's pool. This is a very popular location for fishing or hanging out by the water on hot days. Swimming is not officially allowed, but people do swim here...."

This trophy trout spot is VERY nice. I can see why swimming isnt allowed but also why people do it anyway. Having ice still clinging to the edges was pretty cool too. It's right off the road with a small parking lot. I can't imagine the parking when the weather is nice - there were only 2 spots open when we got there. Not even a hike down to it or anything. Great stuff.

So - I am adding pictures to the gallery for these places - Enjoy!

http://pandafan.tabulas.com/gallery/lay-of-the-land/

There is also a shot of a rural Dunkin Donuts Drive Thru and some crazy mine equpiment in Eastford.

With the big gathering down in Berlin this weekend with all the old school folks we didnt have as much time to roam about but we did get to get out a bit anyway. We'll call this installment "Land of the Lost".

My little GPS is currently programmed with Boston man voice. It keeps me warm and fuzzy feeling. It irritated the heck out of Mark. I dont blame him really. When the guy keeps saying "As soon as you can bang a uie" I really wasn't surprised to hear "I'm gonna bang my foot in your a$$ if you keep telling me that guy". It was what I was thinking anyway. I really dont know how we could have gotten repeatedly lost. Really..this one is not far. There are also signs. It's odd to have ended up back at the house multiple times. I  have now however found multiple ways of getting here on some really strange backroads so I guess thats good. Never know when you might need it.

Bigelow Hollow State Park and Nipmuck State Forest

18 acre pond and 9000 acres of recreation, hiking, picnicing

Theres also backpack hiking available

Cute place. I think it will be really nice in the summer during the day to go down and enjoy lunch at. The trails are petty well marked, its clean and friendly and the water is pretty darn clear. We arrived just as a snow squall was coming through. It was freaking cold but, we made it down a couple of quick trails to the water.

Adding pics to Lay of the Land....these pics start here:

http://pandafan.tabulas.com/gallery/lay-of-the-land/191_9157a.jpg/

So this weekend was all about exploring close to home. The Hood. lol, yea, okay. Finding out what the backyard and surroundings within walking distance is all about. VERY cool actually. The property backs up to a very small portion of:

 Yale Myers Forest

The largest parcel is the Yale Myers Forest, which covers 7,840 acres (3,213 ha. 12.2 sq. mi.) in the towns of Ashford, Eastford, Union, and Woodstock, in Windham and Tolland Counties, Connecticut. This forest has the most activity in terms of education, research, and harvesting operations of all the forests managed by the School. Yale Myers is certified by both FSC and SFI. It is comprised of mainly mixed hardwoods on glacial till soils with a large component of hemlock, several scattered white pine stands (mainly of old field origin), and occasional red pine plantations started in the 1940s after field abandonment. There are numerous small ponds and most wetland areas have been created by beaver activity. The majority of this parcel is surrounded by large state (park and forest) and private forest ownerships. Most of the adjacent private landholdings are small in terms of acreage, but Hull Forest Products owns two large inholdings in the forest. Its situation makes it part of one of Connecticut's most remote forest areas, although suburban commuter dwellings are beginning to surround this area.

There's a giant swampy lake that is really just a small little pond on the maps. It's cute and the hike is easy on a nice dirt road. We found sign of deer, beaver, turkey, frog, and a cough pellet of some large bird that had a HECK of a meal. I didnt take it apart but, it's there anyway. Also took a stroll around the "yard". Found some deer rubbings. Would LOVE to see that buck but, I think he's little...or he's bending down pretty far. Also found a nice 5' snake in the new pit by the barn. It's either a racer or rat snake. I do have picture, of course. Found a dead mouse and put it in there..thats gone this morning.

Had the fire pit roaring all weekend and dglad to have gotten that done since it's rainy and chilly now. Put up the new bird feeder and both the birds and the cats are LOVING it. It's very cool. Also put up the Hummingbird feeder and we'll see how that goes for the next few weeks. It would be nice to have hummingbirds too.

Adding more pics to Lay of the Land and these ones start here:

http://pandafan.tabulas.com/gallery/lay-of-the-land/192_9202a.jpg/