CH2
Alexis was awake and only thing she could figure out was that the sun was up. She was still in the clothes she had been wearing the day before.
Sitting up on the bed, on since she hadn't even made it under the sheets, Alexis noticed a few things.
She didn't smell breakfast, but what she did smell was that the sheets needed to be washed, BAD! And her suitcases had barely made it in her room. Also if the sheets smelled like this all the clothes that had been left in her closet from last year probably also needed to be cleaned.
Alexis got up and took a shower. Just like expected they had hot water, though it was probably all from the tankless units meaning she was using propane, since the solar hot water had been turned on when it was dark outside and hadn't had sun for long.
Downstairs she found her dad outside unloading the trailer. "Morning dad."
"Hi pumpkin how did you sleep?" Rick was concerned about her. She had done more yesterday then she ever had in the past.
"Like the dead. We need to do laundry, the sheets stink." Alexis tells him.
"Sorry pumpkin I didn't notice. The only thing I did notice was that I was still wearing yesterday's clothes. …. You want to take the beds apart and start a load of laundry. We'll do the rest later after the solar hot water system has had a chance to catch up.
Then you can tackle loading the pantry. I'll unload the trailer of everything I can today including the pellets." Rick asks her.
"Piece of cake dad." And Alexis heads upstairs to take the sheets off the beds. Followed by taking boxes out of the Range Rover and loading the pantry with what they brought.
The pantry was already almost half full from previous trips. They always bought more than they needed for the summer and left the rest of it behind for next year. Eventually they would reach a point where they didn't need to bring as much.
Alexis had only just started when her stomach growled. Only one thing to do. "Want some lunch dad?" Alexis asks him still unloading the trailer.
"Thought you'd never ask." Rick drops what he had just picked up off of the trailer and followed her inside.
Lunch was simple, just a sandwich and chips with water and some of the fresh fruit that wasn't going to last long if they didn't eat it.
Then back to their tasks, they still had a lot to do.
After a few hours of un-boxing and un-loading the trailer, they took a break and drank some water.
They both went upstairs to grab some of the clothes they had left behind and brought it down to the laundry and started doing a number of loads, followed by another break.
Alexis was done before Rick was done unloading the trailer. Yes, it had a lot strapped down to it, a whole lot.
"I'm going to go check the garden dad." Alexis tells him.
Rick slumps before trying to pick up yet another item off of the trailer. He was tired. "Ok pumpkin, let me know what you find." Rick tells her and picks up the next item after she leaves.
Rick wasn't going to finish unloading the trailer today. There was just too much to move. It had taken him and Alexis days to load it and strap it down. Admittedly that was the hard part, but still ….
Rick had just dropped what he was carrying. "DAD!"
Alexis sounded panicked. So he grabbed the first improvised weapon he could find and ran for the garden. The thought that his daughter was in trouble giving him new energy.
Once he reached the backyard area off to one side he saw Alexis standing all alone in what used to be their garden.
Rick slowly walked out to her thankful that she was alright. He touched her to get her attention.
"Dad?" Alexis was crying. Rick looked around after checking to make sure Alexis was alright.
The garden was a mess. It was dug up, full of holes and ripped to shreds. "Looks like we had a winter visitor." Rick offers.
Alexis turns into him and Rick wraps his arms around her and lets her cry it out.
The garden was her idea. Alexis had started it when she was 6 years old and had kept it up and even expanded it every year after.
Alexis had carrots, radish, potatoes, turnips, beets and he didn't know what all left over from last year. She had brought new plants for peas, lettuce and two different kinds of tomatoes with her this year. It looked like she was going to have to start all over from scratch.
Rick rubbed circles on her back to try and soothe her. "I'll take over laundry and start dinner pumpkin. It's probably just some wild animal looking for an easy meal over a difficult winter." Rick offers.
Alexis nods her head, her father was probably right. "I'll check everything else out back after this load. You know where your tools are."
Rick doesn't move until Alexis steps away to start touring what's left and what to do first. He felt bad for her, the garden was her baby.
Rick emptied the dryer and took everything upstairs. After this things would get hung up outside. Next he went out back finding Alexis out in the garden picking things out of what was left of her garden and dropping them into a container.
Rick went over to clear out the fire pit, then check the modern grill. After that he went over to the shell of their future greenhouse.
They had poured the slab one year and brought in the kit for construction the following year. They were going to put it together this year. Rick still had to unload the pots they were going to use off of the trailer.
Palram Mythos 6-Feet by 8-Feet Greenhouse, Silver Frame, Twin Wall
Sturdy, rust resistant aluminum, bolt together frame
Roof vent, gutter and galvanized steel base included
Excellent thermal insulation with polycarbonate twin wall panels
Virtually unbreakable, 100% UV protected twin wall panels
They also had to unload the storage bag on top of the Range Rover, but what was in it could wait.
Thule 857 Caravan Roof Cargo Bag
Stealth Titan SE 7' x 16' Ramp Door Tandem Axle
Overall Length: 17' 8" Width: 8' 6"
Between the trailer, roof cargo bag and the interior of the Range Rover with the rear seats folded down, they had lots of cargo capacity and a whole lot of stuff to unload.
Rick checked the outhouse's. They were still locked up tight and the patio furniture looked to be in good shape. While he was at the patio furniture he unlocked all the cables holding them in place.
Then he went inside to start dinner. They still had a lot to do but it was only their first full day.
Rick went out back. "DINNER." He yelled at Alexis who was still out in her garden trying to put it back together.
Once she was inside he saw the mess that was his daughter. He couldn't help but laugh at her. She was a mess. But he was thankful that his daughter had a green thumb. Getting the greenhouse had been her idea.
They still had to put it together but they had also brought an easier to construct greenhouse kit that didn't need a concrete base for it to sit on. Actually the other one probably didn't either but Rick liked the idea of it being more permanent.
STRONG CAMEL New Hot Green House 12'X7'X7' Larger Walk In Outdoor Plant Gardening Greenhouse
Size: 12'x7'x7'(365cmX215cmx215cm),135G/M2 Green checker, The cover is UV protected.
6 pcs white mosquito window, 1 pcs door with white zipper ,Easy to set up and portable ,Idea for garden & backyard.
Full closed cover maintains high humidity levels for growing tropical plants, vegetables, fruiting plants and herbs.
This greenhouse in your backyard extends your growing season no matter where you live
In addition, you can save money by starting your plants from seeds or cuttings.
Their first year out here they had planted some rather young fruit trees. Two different types of apple trees, pear trees, blue plums and sour cherries are all that had survived to date. The apricots, sweet cherries, red plums and peaches had all died over the years.
With the greenhouse's, garden and the fruit trees they had high hopes for fresh fruit instead of having to rely on freeze dried.
Alexis looked down at herself and grinned. She was going to look like this for days to come. There was a lot to do to get her garden back into shape.
After a quick shower she was back downstairs for dinner.
"How is it?" Rick didn't know anything about gardening so he wasn't going to be any help. His only help was going to be putting the two greenhouse's they now had up. After that it was going to be all Alexis.
"There are a few salvageable things, but it's mostly gone. I've only just finished getting the holes filled in and the garden back into useable planting rows. We are going to have to do without anything fresh for a little while.
Can you put up at least one of the greenhouses tomorrow? That way I can start plantings and move them out to the garden. It'll take a couple of months but we could have something eventually." Alexis asks of him.
"I can get the Camel greenhouse up in the morning. The other is going to take a little more time. Is that enough for you to get started with?" Rick still had a lot to unload off of the trailer plus the cargo bag. And he still had to inspect the water pipe at the spring as well as the pump.
Then he wanted to wash down all of the solar panels on top of the house. Make sure they were free of debris and that none of them were damaged over the winter.
"It's pretty big I just need to set up the tables. Are the pots out of the trailer?" Alexis asks needing those to get started with.
"Not yet, but I can get to those while you set up the shelves." Rick offers her.
"Thanks dad." Alexis knew he was pushing himself. Even after they had everything unloaded they still had to clean the place after its long winter nap.
The two decided to just relax for the rest of the evening except for running loads of laundry and hanging it all up outside. They only had just so much propane though they did have a few of those little propane tanks you used for grills on the trailer still or out in the carport from last year. Those were for emergency backup since they weren't going to be getting any more this year.
Just a little before they come out here Rick had arranged for the local propane company to come out with a pair of trucks to fill their tanks. At a little over $5 a gallon and two 500 gallon tanks, you do the math.
Thought technically you can only fill any propane tank to 75% to 80% of its capacity. Propane is delivered as a liquid however you can only burn it as a gas (vapor). Hence the limitation.
Alexis had enough for one day. She hadn't planned on having to replace her garden so she was mentally tired as well as physically tired. "Night dad." As Alexis headed upstairs for her bed with clean sheets.
"Night pumpkin." Rick responded.
Rick stayed up a little longer reflecting on their previous and future summer vacations out here.
It had taken a lot of work to get the house built out here in the middle of pretty much nowhere. They were totally isolated. He didn't even know of any tree harvesting trails in the area.
They didn't have city water or any other city services. They even had to pack out their own trash each year. They had no cell phone service and no satellite TV service. Even Direct TV had wanted to be able to connect to a phone line that they didn't have.
Rick had wanted to at least get a satellite phone for emergencies, however Alexis had talked him out of it. If they were going to leave the city she wanted to be out of the city and off the grid completely. No phones, no tablets, no internet.
Since Rick was a writer she had allowed him to bring his laptop to write on to write his next book with. Rick had however talked her into letting him have a 60" HDTV. They didn't have any TV service but they did have a Blue-ray player and a large selection of DVD's to watch.
They even had some new ones they had not yet watched that they had brought with them on this trip.
To be this isolated they did have weapons and Alexis had learned how to use a couple of them just in case.
Smith & Wesson revolver that fires .460 rounds though it can also fire .454 rounds and .45 long colt ammo.
Henry Big Boy firing a .44 Rem. Mag. Cartridge.
T/C Venture Predator firing a .22-250 Cartridge.
Springfield XD-S firing either 9mm or .45 Cartridge. In this case Rick had chosen the .45 model.
The T/C was the first gun Rick had given her any training on. It was only last year that he had let her fire any rounds from the XD-S. It was still just too big for her to handle properly.
Alexis didn't get to go on any of his hunting trips. Alexis had complained that she was a big girl and she could help. However Rick had put his foot down. He conceded that he might take her with him on her 16th birthday, maybe.
By morning the solar hot water system was fully functional so they used less propane this time for their hot showers.
Breakfast was filled with fresh perishables. Things like milk and cheese had to be used up quickly before they went bad. However they had a plan to solve this problem.
Ricki's Basic Cheese Making Kit
This kit makes eight delicious, homemade cheeses: Farmhouse Cheddar, Gouda, Monterey Jack, Feta, Cottage Cheese, Colby, Parmesan and Ricotta.
With this kit you will be able to make 10 two pound batches of cheese.
With a little effort and a lot of fun, you can make your very own preservative free cheeses! Start now and make this a family tradition. Our kit comes with detailed recipes, demystifying all the steps in the cheese making process.
They planned to freeze these cheese's for later, a task they were going to have to start and finish soon.
Alexis went out to her garden to finish getting it ready for planting.
Rick kept his word and had erected the Camel greenhouse for Alexis to use. Then he went back to unloading the trailer. He needed to find her pots and other stuff for the greenhouses.
By lunch Alexis was working in the greenhouse while Rick started work on unloading the roof cargo bag.
By dinner Rick was done unloading everything from the cargo bag and was bone tired. Alexis had gotten a good start on her greenhouse plantings but still needed more work.
"I'll get your other greenhouse up tomorrow if you'll start the first cheese making kit. We need to use them all up while we still have the milk." Rick offers.
"Have you looked at the outhouses?" Alexis asked him. Power was a basic need and they needed it to work properly.
"Yea, it's working fine. Whoever your winter visitor was they don't seem interested in power cables. After the greenhouse is up I'm going to go take a look at our water pipe and pump." Rick tells her his intentions.
"I'll split my time between the greenhouse's and making cheese. Couple more days and we should be able to just relax a little." Alexis is hopeful anyway.
"I'm looking forward to it. My muscles will be happy too." Rick chuckles. Getting a smile from Alexis.
The first days here were always hard on them. There was always so much to do. So many things to check and repair if necessary.