Another day. Another idea. Another project.
I know, I know, I said I was done working in the woods ’til fall, when ticks and chiggers are scarce. But what popped into my head Wednesday. morning wouldn’t expose me as much as diggin’ rocks and stirrin’ up duff would. It’d be an easy and relatively painless undertaking.
As I rolled toward Daybreak, I figured that this would be primarily a scouting mission — I hadn’t seriously considered the east slope for this project before, so I truly didn’t know if what I envisioned was even possible. In other words, I’d never looked at the landscape with it in mind.
This’d also be my first trip to Daybreak Point since springtime took over completely. The photo below shows just how thoroughly the space is transformed by greenery.
Though the vistas are hidden for now, there’s no denying that it’s still a beautiful spot.
I called on my designated hitter for the day’s woodswork — the Ontario RTAK-II (pictured), a beast of a chopper. Overall length: 17 inches. Blade: 10.5 inches. Weight: 22 ounces.
I set out from the “tent site” I’d cleared previously and surveyed the terrain to the south-southwest. I found it favorable, so I marked and cleared two narrow swaths — one 35 yards long, the other 21 feet.
A few trees still need to come down. I’ll return soon with a saw and take care of that.
The purpose? If you haven’t guessed already, these are shooting lanes — the shorter one for handguns, the longer one for crossbow and long guns. At last, I’ll have something other than an ad hoc range to sight-in firearms and keep my skills sharp.
The site is situated near the geographic center of these 20 acres. Downrange, my backstop is The Mountain and, given the shooting angles, flyers are highly unlikely. In the event of a ricochet (which is inevitable, given the rocky terrain), the closest neighbors are a quarter-mile away.
I’m thrilled about this new addition to The Mountain. It felt good to sweat, too. And I beat the rain back to the cabin.
Nothing says, “I’ll do as I damned well please” quite like having breakfast for dinner. Yesterday I fixed myself a low-effort, high-satisfaction Country Boy feast.
I made nothing from scratch. Other than baking biscuits in the oven, I used the range-top griddle for everything.
I got a chance to experiment with my egg rings. It’ll take practice to get it just right, but I was pleased with the first effort.
Scrambled eggs. Sausage patties. Hash browns. Buttermilk biscuits. Life is good.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath #Ungovernable