Bears in my trees!

Daisy woke us up around 5 this morning barking like crazy.  We looked out the bedroom window and even though it was still dark, we could see big black shapes moving around and climbing the trees by the creek (about 10 yards from our back deck).  They were so close we could hear them talking to each other... they made low whiny noises, kinda like Chewbacca.  They also went "ooh, ooh, ooh" sorta like monkeys when they climbed up or down the tree.

After shutting up the dog and watching their silhouettes a while, we finally got brave enough to go out onto the deck (with the flood lights on and the pistol in my pocket).  Wish we could've taken a picture of them at the time, but the camera was in the truck, and they were closer to it than we were!  I've attached a picture that i took this morning after it got daylight.  There were two cubs in the tree just left of the stump, and the mama was walking around on the ground behind the creek.  What we didn't know was there was a third cub in the pine tree (the big tree in the left of the picture), and when we heard it move we both about jumped out of our skin!  We didn't get a good look at the mom, but we could see the cubs really well with the flood lights.  They weren't in a huge hurry, but after a couple minutes with the lights on the mama bear went back into the woods and the cubs climbed down and followed her.  We probably watched them for 10-15 minutes total.  Who knows how long they would've stuck around if we had stayed inside.

We've been hearing about "A" bear in the woods behind campus... last week a professor who lives about a mile back behind campus told me about getting up close and personal with one right next to his house a couple weeks ago, and Monday morning another professor who knows our neighbors warned me that there had been "A" bear frequenting our neighbors' yard, so we sould avoid leaving out anything that might attract them (trash, dog food, bird feeders).  So we've been on the lookout for "A" bear, but we were very surprised to see FOUR bears!

... and then some...

Thursday, July 28 -- We finally have internet!  Kept unpacking and setting up the house.  Went exploring this evening -- hiked up Brasstown Bald, the highest peak in Georgia (~4800 feet).  The hike was really easy, only about half a mile and paved the whole way.  The view was nice at the top but really hazy so we couldn't see very far.

Friday, July 29 -- More unpacking.  My family is staying with us this weekend.  Mom and Steve arrived tonight.  Also, today the truck wouldn't start again, but bypassing the solenoid worked.  Did we misdiagnose it?

Saturday, July 30 -- I didn't wake up til 10am... this has become a trend the past few days.  Mom had woken up around daylight and had sat on the porch swing all morning.  EXCITING WILDLIFE ALERT!  She saw a fox cross our front yard and go into the woods.  Also, a box turtle (less exciting).  Dad arrived early afternoon, and we went exploring.  Ended up in Helen (again)... this time all we did was go to the bar.  Steve and I drank beers while everybody else ate pretzels (which are flown in fresh from Munich).  Got back home around dark.

Sunday, July 31 -- Everybody but Rachel was awake by 6am.  We sat on the porch waiting for wildlife but none came.  We re-diagnosed the truck, and decided that the loose shifter was actually the cause of the starting problem.  Here's how that works:  vehicles with automatic transmissions have a mechanism that keeps them from starting unless the vehicle is either in Park or Neutral.  Because the shifter was loose, this mechanism would be engaged even when the vehicle is in park.  By re-installing the bolt that had fallen out (which was a bitch to get to -- Steve wins the Most Flexible Mechanic award), we fixed the loose shifter and, it seems, fixed our starter problem.  We also fixed the passenger door (by lubricating the inner workings with WD-40 and replacing the inner handle which had broken) so now you don't need two people to open it.

Dad and I explored some of the woods above the house.  WILDLIFE ALERT:  I caught a ringneck snake.  They are the smallest snakes around... this one was about 4" long.  I only saw him b/c I was wearing sandals so I was checking the ground in front of me very carefully for poison ivy before I stepped anywhere.  Lucky find.

Tonight was the New Employees Picnic.  I hadn't had a haircut in a couple months, and I kept meaning to get one these past few days but I never got around to it, so I convinced mom to cut my hair out on the back deck.  She took forever, but did a good job, so now I look less like a traveller and more like an academic, I guess. 

I hate finding a new place to get a haircut.  When I was a kid the Wolfman used to cut it and he could do it in about 5 minutes.  It took me about 2 years to find a place in Cookeville that I liked (which is when, and why, I started letting it grow out), and about 4 years in Eugene.  You gotta worry about podunk barber shops that only wanna give you the high-and-tight, and salons with crazy hairdressers (like the lady in Eugene who insisted on giving me a pompadour or the other lady who chased sasquatches in her spare time), and cheap family places with beauty school drop-outs.  I hate finding a new place to get a haircut.

The folks left this afternoon, and Rachel and I went to the New Employees Picnic this evening.  It had been moved inside due to worries about thunderstorms (although the weather remained gorgeous).  Met other new faculty, administration, school president, etc.  Hob-nobbed until my face hurt from fake-smiling.  Food was good, though, and they served beer and wine, which surprised me.

Tomorrow will be my first day as a professsor, starting with a 3-day New Faculty Orientation retreat, then about a week of planning for classes, then go time.  With a new job, a new place, and lots of new people to get to know, I'm about to be way out of my comfort zone.  I'm starting to get nervous, and as I do, I feel like I'm forgetting my chemistry knowledge, which makes me more nervous.  I've gotta break this cycle quick before it gets out of hand.  And it is now 315 am, so I've got to get to sleep.  But at least I'm finished with this damn blog.  For now.

Epilogue, Part 2

Day 15 (Wednesday, July 27) -- The landlord came over and fixed the moldy door, the hole in the ductwork, and the dryer vent.  He also took a cabinet full of stuff that they had missed when moving out and a hutch in the dining room.

We had found out when we signed the lease that the rental company isn't like the ones we had rented from with in Eugene; they had been the ones who we paid rent to, and who took care of maintenance, etc.  This company only handles advertising and finding a renter, after we sign the lease we work directly with the owner.  This had us worried b/c one of the reasons we picked this place was that the company was so friendly, and we weren't happy to find out that we would instead be working with a complete stranger.  But now that I've met him, he also seems good, and very prompt about fixing problems.

Also, we decided to go with a PO Box instead of having a mailbox installed.  So if you want to mail anything to us, don't send it to our street address.

We had planned on exploring this afternoon, but after stopping at the grocery store in Blairsville, the truck wouldn't start.  Jumping it didn't work, nor did bypassing the solenoid, so we had to go get a new battery.  Fortunately, there was an auto parts store right across the highway.  We carried the new battery about 1/4 mile in the hot sun, and installed it, but it still didn't start.  A baptist deacon stopped by and looked at it, then had us try bypassing the solenoid again and it worked.  Initial diagnosis:  bad battery AND bad solenoid at the same time.  What luck... if that had happened a few days ago we might have been stuck in the middle of nowhere in 105-degree Texas, or maybe even Death Valley!  As the deacon left he told us he hoped to see us in church at 6:30 tonight, but fortunately we didn't get the replacement solenoid installed and working until 7.  Maybe we'll visit church next week.

Day 14 -- Epilogue?

Unpacked some boxes, put together some furniture, entertainment center, etc.  Visited Helen, GA with the Holmans.  If you're ever in NE GA, Helen is the touristy place to go.  It used to be a logging town (like most other towns around here), but when the logging dried up in the 60s it decided to remake itself as a Bavarian-style village.  All the streets are now "Strasses" and all the buildings are Bavarian-style timber frame.  The three popular activities in Helen are 1) shopping, 2) tubing down the Chattahoochee River in a big neon inner tube, which only costs $3 and looks like LOTS of fun (NOT sarcastic), and 3) drinking beer.  Since we didn't bring water clothes and the Holmans generally don't drink, we were stuck with option #1. 

HOLD EVERYTHING!!! MAJOR WILDLIFE SIGHTING!!!  On the way to Helen the lead Holman vehicle spotted a bear cub next to the road.  They slowed down as they drove by it, but didn't point it out or anything so we in the trailing vehicle didn't notice it.  I explored the wilderness of Oregon for 5 years before I finally caught just a glimpse of a bear, and they see one on our first full day here.  This bodes well.

(Minor wildlife sighting... when we arrived at our new house yesterday there was a spotted fawn in the driveway.  It was seen at least 4 times that day.)

We found a few problems with our new place yesterday: 

1) The door out to the garage is half-covered in mold on both the inside and outside.  By half-covered, I mean, the lower half is literally COVERED in blue-green mold!  Gross.  The mold is probably caused by the following problems: 

2a) There is a hole in the HVAC ductwork in the garage.  Not a ripped hole, but a purposefully and skillfully-cut hole, perfectly round, where a branch should join into the main line, but there is no branch.  Instead, cold air is pouring into the garage (and surely, out the garage door). 

and, 2b)  The washer/dryer hookups are right above the garage.  The dryer vent hose runs through the floor, into the middle of the garage, and straight down onto the garage floor, meaning that the hot, moist air from the dryer just fills up the garage when the dryer runs.

3) We don't have a mailbox.  We found this out when we stopped by the post office yesterday to get money orders to pay our rental fees.  The lady said "Are you the ones who moved into the Sunset place?  We've been getting mail for you but we don't deliver to there."  Unexpected.


We were supposed to get the utilities transferred to our names today, but we didn't make it back from Helen in time.  Probably OK, since we don't have a mailing address to send bills to anyway.  We didn't let that stop us from signing up for internet service though.  They will install it the day after tomorrow (which is Thursday), so I'll finally be able to update the blog (which of course I didn't update until now, Sunday night, or really, 230 Monday Morning).

Tonight, after the in-laws left, we stayed up late and got hungry, and without having any groceries yet that means one thing... Waffle House!  It had been about 3 years since I had eaten at Waffle House, and the Texas Cheesesteak with hashbrowns scattered smothered and covered was just as good as I remembered!  On the way out, I saw a guy at the bar with a fiddle case.  I asked him if he knew anybody who repaired instruments (a peg fell out of place when I shipped my fiddle), and he said he could fix it.  He also had A LOT of other stuff to say, and I let him because I couldn't get a word in edgewise, so I stood in the parking lot listening to him for about 45 minutes.  I won't relate the whole experience, but suffice it to say I have decided NOT to have him work on my stuff, mainly because he threw up a couple red flags as he talked:  1) his friends call him "Snake", and 2) he is 24 and his girlfriend is still in high school.  More importantly, he didn't seem the least bit embarrassed or concerned about telling a complete stranger this (AND MUCH MORE!) information, so I just really don't trust him.  But I guess since he's the only person I've met, he's my new Georgia best friend.

Day 13 - Moving In

Left the farm around 5am with 2 sausage biscuits and a thermos of coffee.  Daisy did NOT want to get back into the truck, and as soon as she did she laid down and went to sleep.  She used to never sleep in the car, even on really long rides, but after this trip it has become her modus operandi.  Good for her, I guess, but I can't wait to get there so she can stay on solid ground for a while.

Got to the ABF terminal in Chattanooga around 830 AM.  Our trailer was parked where we couldn't access it, but they got it moved right around the time the Holmans showed up, so the timing couldn't have been better.  Some of the stuff had been stacked too high so we had a few pieces of broken furniture and quite a few semi-crushed boxes.  At least one sounded like broken glass when shaken.  We got the stuff transferred to the gooseneck trailer and tarped and tied down with come-alongs in less than 1.5 hours -- way faster than I expected --  then off to Georgia.  Lost one come-along right away, but the load held, so we kept going.

The new house is HUGE.  As far as we can tell, it was built in two phases:  Phase 1:  Build a chalet-type house (similar to the ones at Skiposium), with a loft/bedroom that looks over the living room.  Phase 2:  Double the size of the house by adding a new living room, 2 bedrooms, a kitchen, and another bathroom.  What was originally the living room is now a super-huge master bedroom.  Counting the loft, it could be three normal-sized bedrooms itself.  Oh, and because there is also a basement, the original basement is now a huge garage, and the new basement consists of a spare room (also big enough to be about 2 bedrooms), a hot tub room, a sauna, and a tanning bed room.  Sadly, they took the tanning bed with them, otherwise I'd be nice and bronze (and melanoma) by now.  Bottom line:  this house is WAY bigger than we need, and slightly more expensive, but it's what we could find and arrange from 2600 miles away, and I guess it's better than being too small.

So now we're here, finally.  Taking stock of the trip... Major problems: none.  Minor problems:  1) loose shifter on the truck -- annoying but not debilitating; 2) probably lost the GPS (biggest bummer), 3) some broken furniture (fortunately we don't have expensive furniture), and 4) some broken glass, which by the way, turned out to be just some cheap candle holders.

I think Rachel and I both feel a sense of accomplishment that we were able to pull off this move/trip on schedule and without any major problems.  Now we just have to settle in and, you know, start living.

Day 12 - At the farm

Yesterday I had wanted to start a project... clearing out a 300+ yard shooting lane to do some real long-distance shooting.  The first step is bushhogging, but it got dark before we got the tractor ready so this morning I woke up around 730 and started tractoratin'.  Cleared a lane up to about 200 yards, and mowed some of the area beyond.  Step 2 was to clear out some tree limbs that were in the way of the really long-distance shots, and Steve and I worked on that together, but it was slow-going because of a) the heat, and b) there was way more stuff in the way than we had thought.  Needless to say, we didn't get it done.  I went back later but some of the limbs were too high to reach even with the pole saw, so the farthest we could shoot was about 215 yards.  Will came down in the afternoon, and the three of us shot.  I had brought 2 exploding targets and Will hit one at 200 yards (with the scoped 30-06) and Steve hit the other at 100 yards with the Mauser (open-sights).  They were impressed by the big booms.  I had already tried to hit them, but I guess I took all my good shots at the beginning because I couldn't hit a damn thing near the end.  Always close, but never a boom.  Guess I'll have to find more of those exploding targets somewhere.

I had meant to reorganize the truck while I was down here, mostly to see if I could find the GPS (which we haven't seen since somewhere around Vegas or Bryce Canyon).  Started working on it around 11pm, and got done around 1am.  Didn't find the GPS, but I did find that the Nalgene bottle of milk that I had in the cooler had gotten hot and had spewed sour milk all in the cooler, so I had to clean that up. 

Tomorrow I will wake up at around 4am to head to Chattanooga, meet Rachel and the in-laws, load our stuff onto their trailer, drive to Blairsville to pick up the house key, drive to the house, check it out, back to Blairsville to sign the lease, then back to the house to unpack.  On 3 hours of sleep, it's gonna be tough.

Day 11 -- Into Tennessee

We decided yesterday to split up... Rachel is going home to Cookeville with her brother, and I'm going to the farm (with Daisy and all the gear).  Then I'll meet her and her family at the ABF terminal in Chattanooga on Monday morning, where we'll transfer our stuff onto her dad's gooseneck trailer, then take it the rest of the way to Young Harris.

I left out about 8am, took I-40 to Memphis, then US 64 to the farm.  Got there around 3pm... turns out I had missed Aunt Sue and Uncle Larry by about 5 minutes (they had stopped in on their way back from vacationing in Destin).

(By the way, Little Rock and the area about 50 miles on each side wins the award for Most Tailgaters, although OK City wins the Worst Drivers award.)

It's nice to be at the farm.  Steve was already here when I got here, and although Mom wasn't going to come down until tomorrow, she couldn't wait so she came down tonight.  Steve brought his dog (named States' Rights).  She and Daisy get along well, once again mostly by avoiding each other.  We took them to the creek, which isn't as low as it normally is in July but is still too dry to really be continuous.  Saw a box turtle... Daisy didn't care but States went nuts after it.  Also saw a snapping turtle that was probably 15" around.  It was at the bottom of a knee-deep pool, motionless among some rocks, so I felt fortunate that I saw it before I stepped on it.  Caught a tiny long-ear sunfish with my little 6' fly rod.  We ate fried catfish that Steve and Dad caught a couple weeks ago, and stargazed til about 1am.

Bug notes:  I just realized that Oregon didn't have wasps... I had totally forgotten about them.  Also, tonight there were about 8 huge sphinx moths around the porch light.  Impressive, and comforting.


Daisy is defiinitely not used to the muggy weather in the South.  She stays inside in the air-conditioning whenever she can.  Hopefully she'll get used to it soon.

Tonig