(Jan 19) Here kitty, kitty

Kim and I came out for the day. We wanted to mark the property lines so we knew where we were while exploring. We brought out a 100' tape and marked the front 90' width. As I was walking the front property line I met one of the neighbors. He and his wife had bought the 4 acre corner that was cut out of the original 16 as an investment. They lived across the street. When they divorced, she moved into the 4 acres and he stayed on the old property. They must get along OK since he was heading over there to get his dog that she was watching overnight for him. He told me of how his German Shepherd had been killed on our property about 5 years ago by what they suspected was a mountain lion. Said there were claw marks down the dog's side that were as wide as a man's hand. They haven't seen anything since but said there were several reports of giant cats in the area. I haven't seen any tracks or signs as of yet but will be sure to watch for them after the rains. Kim and I got to the task of finding the edges of the property. We placed survey stakes along the west and north boundaries. I'm still pretty good with a compass. We ran stakes back the entire 1000' along the north property line and we were only 3" off when we got to the back fence.  We also scouted several building sites. We will really need to spend some time here and get to know the land. How it acts when it rains. Where the winds blow through. Those kind of things. Right now we're thinking of west of the little road we found running through the middle of the property. This is west of the creek and to the north of the little road. Afterwards, we set up the chiminea and started our first fire. We took the rest of the day off and fed the fire for about 3 hours. It's amazing how hot it gets. It's not like a camp fire. The opening creates a forced draft and the chimney effect pulls in large volumes of air. After it was warmed up and going, there was never a bit of smoke. It burned very clean - much like a rocket stove. Need to remember the marshmallows next time!

Our first day with the chiminea. I am really going to like this. Well worth the investment!