Life Renewed Ch. 01

James did not need 5000 acres nor even 5 acres as right then he no intention of ever having cattle or any other livestock save maybe for a dog as a pet and companion. A thought that he might just lease the bulk of the property that was well away from the house out to another rancher had occurred to him but he was as yet undecided. He just did not want to be around people and the idea of being isolated out on the side of a mountain for months on end had its own appeal to him. He had plenty of time and money to get as many things done as he could to ensure his comfort and then stock up on supplies for every conceivable mishap or situation he could think of before winter set in.

Early the next day, James drove out to the ranch and after deciding to save the house interior for last, he walked the whole area around the house, which was a real log cabin, and the barns and outbuildings noting that very little needed repair other than maybe some paint as it was evident that the old rancher took care of his property. As a part of the deal, he had bought everything on the ranch be it be alive or whatever. The first large barn was in fact a large equipment shed where he found tractors, heavy trucks, a ranch pickup, a small skid steer loader, a four-wheeler, and tons of other machinery, implements and tools that were required for a large ranch to operate. Most had many years of use showing on them but they all appeared to be in good shape. With his background, he knew about what everything was even if he might not know how to use it well right then. It was evident to James that the "loving" children had not visited their fathers home in years or they would have known more of what was out there. He could not believe his luck at this find but as he had little compassion for such people he shoved that thought right of his mind.

In what was actually the barn, he found a half dozen horses in their stalls. Luckily, they had an automatic waterer so they had plenty of water, but their grain buckets and hay racks were all empty. James hoped they had not gone to long without feed and after a short search found the tack room filled with saddles and other tack and some feed barrels. Knowing not to overfeed them grain and chance making them sick, he only gave a half scoop of grain and then a couple of flakes of hay to each as they could eat as much hay as they wanted without causing them problems, and told them he would see them tomorrow. He chuckled and thought that he could not believe he had just talked to a bunch of horses. He was going to have to do some thinking about the horses with winter coming on as he had not been around them since his late teen years and he had no real idea how to care for them long term during the long and hard winter. He also noticed that the barn and stalls needed cleaning (mucked) and remembered the small skid steer loader (Bobcat as it is often called) that could maneuver around the barn easily and that piece of equipment he knew well from his years in construction. James also thought he should check on a pasture for them and to let them out for some fresh green grass and a chance to run and exercise their muscles instead of just standing in a stall and getting softer every day.

James was surprised when he saw the inside of the house. It was a true log cabin with a large front room that was a combination living room and bedroom with a picture window that looked out on a million-dollar view of the valley in front and the mountains in the distance. Behind the living room was a large kitchen/dining room and another two smaller rooms off to the side that evidently had been the rancher's children's bedrooms when they were at home and were then turned into the pantry and a craft or sewing room for the rancher's wife.

Looking it all over, James wondered why had there never been a wall built separating the sleeping area from the rest of the living room. He thought the current arrangement would have been okay in a vacation cabin, but not for one's main residence. He decided to consider the bedroom situation and the possibility of separating the areas or building a bedroom. He decided to make what he had called the sewing room into an office and he would get a small wood stove for it for the winter, or maybe a propane one with a thermostat control would do better.

Also off the kitchen was a large full bathroom with a separate tub and a walk-in shower. The shower and bath relied on two infrared lights in a heat/vent/light combination box for heat like you see in lots of motels, especially older ones. He also had the thought that if he put a propane stove in the office room, he could pass a line through the wall and add a small bathroom heater there to keep the room at an even temperature and not have to depend on those expensive infrared lights for heat, only as a fill in on very cold days. The bathroom also had a large stacked washer and dryer set that was almost new.

While rustic, everything was in first rate condition showing the old rancher had taken pride in his home and ranch even if his children had not. What a shame James thought, thinking about how his own children had loved their home and family, but he figured that not everyone liked living this far out from civilization, especially young people with a yearning to party and socialize. Mostly party he thought.

About a week after settling in, James had a major but pleasant surprise when a man pulled into his yard and introduced himself as his neighbor and asked if he needed help getting his cattle to market as he knew that James had just taken over and that he did not have any cowboys on site at that time. When he inquired about it, James learned that there were several hundred head of cattle way up in one of the high pastures fattening up for market and needed to come down for the winter or for market. James and the other rancher drove up there so he could see where they were located and was shocked to see hundreds of fat cattle grazing on the lush grasses of the meadow. He remembered the sale order stating that he bought everything lock, stock, and barrel, so he never even considered telling the old rancher's greedy children anything about this windfall.

He contacted a group of cattle buyers and made arrangements for them to conduct a roundup and then load out and ship the cattle to market. He also told them to round up every head and ship it as he was not going into the cattle business, at least not right then, and for sure did not want to over winter cattle he was unprepared for. The cowboys from the cattle buyers doing the work saved James a ton of work he did not really know how to do anyhow, but he did saddle up one of his horses and rode up to the site and watched and did a bit of herding also. The first night he almost could not walk from not being used to being horseback, but he had enjoyed himself immensely, much to his own surprise, and vowed to get more riding practice in as it was not only enjoyable, but very valuable knowledge to have on a ranch. The cattle buyers are in business to make money so he naturally had to pay dearly for them to take care of the roundup and getting the cattle to where they would sell. Still though, James came out with quite a bit of extra and unexpected cash from all this, well over $300.000 after expenses. He opened a different account for these funds locally. An account that no one had access to and would be used primarily as the ranch account and not a personal account. He knew taxes was going to be a bitch this year and he hoped his new lawyer could handle it or have a CPA handy to send the papers to. He would also have to contact his attorney back home and have him forward all the paperwork from the transactions back home as well as the past several years' tax returns to the new lawyer he had here.

Another surprise James had found that first week was right behind the cabin in the form of an old abandoned gold mine that had been dug into the side of the slope of the mountain a couple of hundred yards back from the house that he had been told had long ago played out. The tailings from the mine had been removed to somewhere so the area around the mine was clear of rock and debris. The mouth of the opening was large enough for two pickup trucks to enter side by side if need be before it narrowed drastically and started to angle down at a fast rate, so James had the idea of maybe dividing the opening and closing off half of it for a secure and weatherproof storage area for nonperishable foods and such if that area did not freeze in the winter and then building a greenhouse in the other half of the opening to take advantage of the constant temperatures coming out of the old deep mine shaft and whatever carbon dioxide would filter up that would help the plants growing. Something to think on and do a bit of research and design work on this winter he thought.

James had ordered a wind generator system and solar panels and a humongous battery bank. The solar panels, battery bank, and power panel would be installed completely before winter to generate and store energy. He also ordered and had installed a water turbine generator for the creek that flowed down the mountain close to the house. James would have to wait until the next year for the wind generator to be installed due to the backlog caused by the increased sales by the generator company. He did order a huge propane tank and had it installed and hooked up to the kitchen stove, hot water heater and outdoor grill he had had installed under the back-porch roof, with stubs available for the bathroom and the office. He also decided to get a propane fired generator for backup "just in case". Once this was done, he could be almost completely off the power grid and self-sustaining when he wanted or needed to be. He chose to keep the public electricity on so he might have it available in all the outbuilding, barns, and sheds, as well as to the deep-well pump in the well house. The yard lights scattered around the building sites were leased from the power company at a flat rate per month and they did all the maintenance on them.

He found an old snow blower that was evidently used to clear pathways to and from the various buildings, but it did not start when he tried it and it looked very old and tired, so he decided to buy another on his next trip to town, but at the same time, wondered about why he might need a snow blower when he had tractors with blades and buckets. Oh, well, they did not cost that much and one would probably come in handy at times, especially for getting from the back porch to the barn and garage. Besides, after thinking about it, he realized that one would be more maneuverable in the confines of a yard than a tractor might be.

He also decided to see about having a large pond built to catch what runoff they could, or maybe several of them in different areas in case he ever got livestock. Even if he didn't, the local wildlife would still appreciate it to no end. He would have to inquire from an excavation company about how well the ponds filled with rainwater and snowmelt and how well they retained water except for evaporation. Some soils just will not retain water without a pond liner which is not very viable with animals with sharp hooves around. He thought that if they placed them properly he might be able to run some ABS plastic piping to them to help keep filled from the streams. More wells and windmills were also a good possibility and might even be the better idea so he would talk to a well drilling company and see what they might say about the local water tables and then decide on which route he should take.

The area had an abundance of deer and elk and a smattering of bears and mountain lions, which did give him pause for thought at times. Somehow, he just did not see harvesting a deer or elk just yet. Besides, he wasn't fond of venison, although he did like elk and loved moose, so he planned to buy beef in town for the winter. Besides, he just realized that the did not have a single weapon on the property and that would have to remedied quickly with some rifles, shotguns and a few different kinds of pistols and all with various loads available. He would probably keep at least a pistol and a shotgun or rifle in each out building due to the possibility of rattlesnakes and the occasional bear or mountain lion dropping by for a visit or a meal.

Knowing that at times and for varying durations that the roads were closed in the winter due to snow accumulation, but that when the sun did come out even before the snow plows could make their pass through the area, that the UV rays would penetrate the snow and bounce back off the pavement and start melting the snow away and dry the road even though the temperature might still be well below zero, so plans had to be in place for food and other necessities for when such things happened. Besides, James did not really want to go to town unless it was necessary, preferring the solitude of his ranch.

Thinking about the need for beef, he decided that he would probably get a quarter but might decide on a half when the time came. He did not want it to freezer burn and ruin so he did not want to overdo it. Also, he knew he could get to town several times during the winter when the roads were clear so he guessed a good quarter would do fine for him. He needed to do the math and see how what size he would probably need as it would only be him here all winter. He would also order some chicken and pork. There was a small building off the back of the house that would be large enough for two freezers although he knew that he could only keep frozen foods so long before they either freezer burnt or just spoiled. He realized that one freezer and the refrigerator could be put into the pantry room if the stored canned goods did not take up too much room. He would have to look at that situation after the appliances arrived that he had ordered from the Lowe's 60 miles away and were to be delivered and put into what is now called the freezer room. He would have to build the pantry shelves to suit his needs as it was just a bare room now.

The side of the old mine that was going to be used for storage was sealed up in front and on the one open side leaving the rear open so there would be an uninterrupted flow of air to keep things at an even temperature most of the time and probably prevent the dry goods stored there from freezing, not that that mattered all that much. Shelving had been built in the storage areas of the mine and electrical outlets and lights installed and he figured he would be ready for the approaching winter as soon as he bought all his supplies. All he had to do now was go to town and buy a ton or two of groceries, mostly nonperishable types, and canned goods by the case. It took him two days to make out the list that included not only groceries but towels, sheets, blankets, cleaning supplies, and all manner of household small appliances and things for the kitchen that were not present when he bought the property. Everything for a house he thought and after looking at the completed list he decided that he might ought to take a trailer with him to transport everything. He wanted everything ready for a long and quiet winter and did not want to see or talk to anyone until the Spring thaw about 6 or 7 months away depending on the weather. This area had seen almost 2 feet of snow fall on the 4th of July before so a date for Spring to start was only a guess or a date on the calendar. Truth be told, in his new county, there averaged only about 35 frost free days a year, meaning that somewhere in the county frost fell almost daily. This was rather high mountain country after all. Not a whole lot of sun tans or short sleeve shirt weather in this area.

While the state and county tried to keep the main roads open, the smaller roads, especially the gravel and dirt roads, especially those in high mountain passes could be closed from September or October until June or July. [Writers note: I have seen snow 12 feet deep on the ground in Snyder Basin, Wyoming, around the first of June before!] All this was just as James wanted it. The only change he would make was to get a dog, maybe a border collie or an Australian Shepard or perhaps a yellow lab for what company he might want and something to talk to that would not really talk back. Probably look more at the yellow lab idea as he did not need a stock dog and the longer haired dogs tend to shed more. Besides, he had heard that yellow labs made wonderful and loyal pets and companions.

James had his satellite TV set up and his high-speed internet. He had devised a way to easily remove accumulated snow from the dish whenever the snow interfered with reception. While he did not watch much broadcast TV, he did like to keep abreast of current events, news, the weather, and some sports. He did watch quite a bit of educational TV. He also had Netflix available for movies and he had an Amazon account so he could get online books to read on his Kindle. He knew he would need things to do to keep his mind occupied and reasonably sharp during that long of an isolation.

He kept a second small account open at the local bank and gave his attorney access to those funds to pay the monthly bills for the TV system, his cell phone, internet, electric, and propane bills, plus any other bills due as they came in at the lawyer's office. He only kept a few thousand in this account as he did not trust lawyers or much of anyone else for that matter these days, so there was not a lot of temptation for anyone to try to run off with his funds. He had set up a schedule where his local bank would make an automatic transfer from his ranch account into this account every month, but he could transfer more money into it online if it was deemed necessary by the bank.

Yes, James had most everything he needed, or so he thought. James did not know or realize that what he needed more than anything was some treatment for his depression and some companionship and love thrown his way. Going from the lifestyle he had had while managing construction projects with hundreds of people at times to having no contact with others at all was devastating to say the least. If he only knew.

It has been said many times that what snow falls in October was still on the ground in June. James did not doubt it but did not care as in September, he was headed to the city an hour's drive south of the ranch that had a Sam's Club to buy the items on his list, mostly enough food and supplies for 7 or 8 months. Although he did plan to buy his meat from a local butcher.

He had heard of one family that lived very far out in the mountains on a large ranch and that only came to town once a year and that was for several days as they had to buy groceries for a year, for which the lady of the house spent a whole month making out a menu for each meal for the year and then compiling the shopping list. They also had to get clothing, see their doctor, and take care of any outstanding business. What a way to live he thought, then realized that that was almost exactly what he had planned, except that family had each other for comfort and companionship, what he used to have just a few months ago. God! He missed them all so terribly and knew he always would. He wondered how what he had always considered a merciful God could cause or allow such a disaster to happen to him.

Fall was in the air big time now. Snow had already fallen in the high passes and on the mountain tops, so James figured it was time to make all his other purchases for the winter and get them stowed and double check everything and then recheck it one more time. The first thing he did was to order enough good quality horse hay and sweet feed grain mix delivered to last the horses through the winter. He had also ordered straw for the stalls. Luckily, one of the tractors was a fairly small skid steer type with a front bucket on it which would make cleaning the stalls and alleys of the barns easier. He could only imagine the pile of frozen manure and straw he would have in the spring. He had carefully checked the tack room and feed storage area and found them pretty well sealed from rats and mice. The old rancher had installed a metal silo right next to the horse barn with a chute passing through the wall of the barn with a trip lever on it to allow clean and fresh feed to be drawn for the horses inside so he had called the feed supply store and had ordered the silo filled with a sweet mix feed. This would be done the following day. The bales of hay he had ordered would be stored in a hay shed close to the barn and pens where snow would not fall on it. There was a covered walkway between the hay shed and the horse barn. Even though he knew relatively little about horses, he could appreciate that clean and fresh food and water was needed and appreciated by any creature. He would do some internet searches during the winter to learn more of what he could about keeping horses and cattle for future reference.