..:: burn session ::..

I decided to do a controlled burn on my property yesterday. This is the first dry-sunny weekend that the valley has seen over the last month, and I really wanted to clear out some of the the old grass and weeds that had grown long in and around the creek bed that runs trough the "front yard" of my property.

The seasonal creek that flows through my property is an overflow from Trumble Creek that flows north to south down the Flathead Valley and eventually empties out into the Flathead River. Trumble Creek itself runs all year long, but the little overflow portion that flows through my property usually only lasts for a couple weeks in late spring and early summer.

This year I am expecting a better than average flow with all the snow we have gotten in the surrounding mountains and it would not surprise me if it stayed around for several weeks this year thanks to all the runoff that is expected for the valley. I remember one year, several years ago now, when the creek lasted for something like four to six weeks. That would be cool if that would happen again, that is what I am hoping for anyway.

The creek looks so much nicer when the grass and brush that lines it's bank is kept short, but it is a pain in the neck to try and cut all of last years over-growth of grass and weeds by hand, or even with a push or riding lawn mower. It is so thick it just bogs the machine down. So this year I decided to conduct a little controlled burn on my property.



I think things went pretty well considering this is the first official controlled burning I have ever taken part in. All total I probably burned about 3000 -4000 sq.ft. of grass and brush on my property, (the seasonal creek runs the entire width of my property).

It was a perfect day... warm, but not too hot... dry, but not too windy.



In a few of the places where the grass was long and thick, the flames would leap into the air six or seven feet at times... it was a bit intimidating, but I always had things under control. ;-)



I cannot believe the amount of heat that comes off of even a relatively small grass fire like this one. There were a few times when I was in the midst of the burn area, making sure the flames stayed under control, when the heat was so intense I could hardly stand it. In fact I incurred a few minor burns on my face where my skin was exposed. Nothing serious, just like a really bad sunburn, but it hurt for a little while.

I have a whole new level of respect for my Uncle who is a retired firefighter out in Orange County, CA. He put in over 30 years on the force out there... my hat is off to you "unc". Also to all the men and women who fight the forest fires up here in MT every season... the intense heat... the smoke inhalation... it is not fun.



Anyway, I dont want this post to run too long, but , the premise is, I have successfully completed my first controlled burn on my Montana acreage, and I'm feeling pretty good about it. Also, aside from the black charcoaled grass and ash that will fade-away over the next week or so, the property does look infinitely better now that all the dead brush and long grass has been burned away, and I am now ready for the river to come. Bring on the snow-melt and bring on Trumble Creek!

PS... Stay tuned for tomorrow's post ..:: avalanche hunter ::..

..:: hacked! ::..

Today was a crazy day. Someone hacked the hosting server where my companies web site is hosted and attempted to use our server as a spambot to mail out their filthy spam messages to poor unsuspecting guys and gals around the world.

The evil little parasite snuck in through a 'hole' in our software somewhere, deposited a bunch of spam garbage into our server hosting space and then attempted to blast a bunch of messages out using our mail server. The tech team that monitors the servers usage (our site is hosted with a third party company) noticed the exploit and shut down (froze-up) our email capabilities, which made my afternoon a headache-and-a-half.

The manager of the reservations department in my office was upset (understandably so) because he wasn't getting any of our online reservations. And I was working furiously to get all of our email passwords changed, and all of our potential security holes plugged so that the hosting company would clear our email server account to go active again.

Although it was a bit of a disaster, I tried not to get too shook up about it. I mean I was upset that some nasty little parasite spammer hacked our account, and that obviously made me feel more vulnerable than I did prior to today's mishap. But as far as the stress of trying to get us back online again... in a situation like that, you do what you can do as efficiently as you can, and the rest... you just have to let it roll, like water off a ducks back. You know what I mean?

One thing I do find a bit annoying, but mostly just hilarious is the way that "customer support" at the hosting companies, much like "customer support" in virtually every other industry in America seems to have little to no interest in actually providing any support to the customer. Their primary goal seems to be to sit back, do as little actual work as possible, collect their hourly rate , and offer vague rationalizations to whatever problem their customers are facing, and to point their finger at anything or anyone else other then themselves as both the problem and the cure to the issue. I really don't even know why they are there, much less why I still call them when there is a problem. I guess it just makes me feel better to be able to tell someone that there is a problem, even though I know that they are not going to do a thing about it.

..:: dogs life ::..

Would you trade places with this little gal?

I'll tell you what, some days I sure think that I would like to.

Do you think that sounds stupid? Well, hear me out first...

Let me give you a brief glimpse of Chonte's typical day:

1. Sleep in till 9:00
2. Get picked up and carried outside to take care of necessary business.
3. Get picked up and carried back inside after necessary business has been taken care of.
4. Get lavished with praises, petting, and tasty treats simply for taking care of necessary business.
5. Take another 15 minute nap on the couch.
6. Get picked up and carried to comfy bed, which has been carefully prepared on back porch where you proceed to nap comfortably in the warm sun for the next 4 hours and stare at the beautiful mountains while master goes to work to slave away for money to pay bills and put food on table.
7. Awake from nap to the sound of master entering house for lunch break.
8. Get showered with more praises, petting and more tasty treats simply because you did such a good job of lounging lazily in the sun for the past four hours.
9. Get fed a tasty mid-day meal.
10. Get another tasty treat treat for finishing your tasty meal.
11. Get carried outside to take care of necessary business.
12. Get carried back inside and showered with praises, petting and treats for taking care of necessary business.
13. Switch comfy bed from back porch to front porch because that is where the warm sunshine is shining in the afternoon.
14. Wave goodbye to poor unfortunate master who has to go back to work to slave away for another 4 hours of grueling work to pay bills and put food on the table.
    
15. Spend next three hours watching attractive neighbor dogs of opposite sex strut their stuff up and down the block and barking ferociously at the competition who is vying for "alpha dog" title.
    
16. Chew on beefy barbecue-basted, chewy treat master has left to help you pass the time.
17. Daydream until you fall asleep in the warm sunshine.
18. Wake up to the sound of masters car pulling up the driveway after a long hard day of work.
19. Get showered with praises, petting and tasty treat for doing such a wonderful job of relaxing in the sun all afternoon.
20. Go on a stimulating walk around the block a few times to get the heart pumping, and maintain that shapely figure.
21. Wag bushy tail, and bat eyelashes at sexy dog next door.
22. Pee on every fence post, tree stump, and un-mowed blade of grass in yard of evil competition who is vying for "alpha dog" status and the love of sexy dog next door.
23. Return home happy, invigorated and ready for another nap.
24. Get showered with more praises and petting... just because "your so cute"
25. Nap on couch until dinner is ready.
26. Get served tasty dinner from master.
27. Get showered with more praises, petting and tasty treats for finishing dinner.
28. Relax on couch while master cleans up and does dishes.
29. Get carried outside to take care of necessary business.
30. Get showered with... well, you know the drill.
31. Have a stimulating game of "get the doggie" before bedtime.
32. Take position in customary spot at foot of masters bed for a good nights sleep after a hard day's work.

Now do you see what I mean.

Trading places with "the Chonster" doesn't sound like too bad of a deal to me... at least for a day. Unfortunately Chonte doesn't seem to be quite as excited about the idea as I was.

..:: time for a change ::..

Yep...it is that time again... time for an oil change. I have taken it upon myself to change the oil in my Isuzu Rodeo the last few times it has needed it, not because I particularly enjoy it, not even because I am cheep and trying to save a few bucks... no, I have done it myself because Wal-Mart has refused to change my oil any more because they say my engine has a knock in it, and they are afraid to touch it, for fear that I will sue them should my engine blow-up as I am leaving the Wal-Mart parking lot. - True story! (Those 'Wal-Martians' are a bit weird if you ask me.)

Anyway, that is why I have been forced to take this dirty, time consuming, slightly annoying and all-to tedious of a task upon my own shoulders. (Although I will admit, it does satisfy some underlying masculine desire to be the master and commander of your own machine. ;-) But that's another story for another blog post.

Today I have decided to go with the low end Wal-Mart special Super-Tech brand of oil. Again, not because I am a cheapskate, but because my poor little Rodeo is old, sickly, and frankly I don't really think he would notice the difference between the $1.40 Wal-Mart brand and the $3.50 high-end brand anyway.


Ain't this a pretty view?

Darn Wal-Martians... who cares if the engine has a knock... can't I just sign a waiver or something... just change the freakin' oil people... I won't sue... I promise!


Gross...

Though there may be an understated "manly satisfaction" from changing your own oil, I am secure enough in my manhood to admit that I will NEVER enjoy the feeling - or the smell - of dirty used oil smeared all over my hands and arms.

Darn Wal-Martians!


As I unscrew the oil filter and try to remove it from the tangled web of iron that makes up the front portion of my engine, I somehow manage to get the darn thing wedged between a bolt and the metal frame of my front bumper... I struggle for 20 minutes trying to remove it!

Urrghhh!... Darn Wal-Martians!


When I finally get the stupid oil filter un-stuck, I crawl out from beneath my engine to see my dog Chonte cracking a smirk as she tries not to laugh at me. -- I'm glad to see someone is enjoying this fiasco.

Darn Wal-Martians!

I could be playing pool right now... or watching old re-runs of MASH... anything but this!!!

Oh yeah... and wipe that smirk off your face Chonte!

Finally, the messy part is over. Now all I got to do is fill the engine with the new oil, then I can call it a day.


Check out my sweet redneck oil funnel... a sawed-off coke bottle! How "redneck" is that! Shhh...don't tell anybody else about that one. But hey... it was free and it got the job done.

Mission accomplished. I feel somewhat satisfied in a job well done, but mostly I just feel like I wasted an hour-and-a-half of my life on something I really was not cut out to do in the first place...

Darn Wal-Martians!