Bolt Hole Report, April 20, 2010

head out of the Aerie early this morning headed northeast to pick up the trailer. It was a great and glorious day to be out and about. It would have been even better if it was spent in the garden or the woods. But, things have to get done.

The trailer was ready with a note that the battery (12V deep cycle RV/Marine type) was a little wonky with its electrolyte balance and, while working fine at the moment, would probably need replacing soon. Since Alpin Haus had some on the shelf, I figured there was no time like the present. So while they searched for the trailer's keys (too many techs and too many locations for them to put 'em!)--and for the trailer--I looked over the battery selection and made a choice of a nice new Interstate.

I have to admit, I am to blame for the old battery's failure. When not in use, you should recharge it once a month and never, ever leave it out in the freezing weather. I had two strikes against me and I wasn't about to take a chance on number three while we were on the road.

All the inspections and repairs and battery cost me a pretty penny (or closer to 10K of them) but I feel very confident in the working condition of the old girl now. And those 10K pennies? Less than one per mile of this upcoming trip.

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So, after driving 225 miles to Alpin Haus in Amsterdam to pick up the trailer, I drove another 70 miles with trailer in tow to the Bolt Hole to put it in the barn for the next five weeks or so. Come the end of May, it will be taken down to Hills Creek State Park in PA there to be a home away from home, so to speak, while we load her up for The Trip. Easier to do that when we are just 20 miles from the Aerie instead of doing it at the Bolt Hole, 225 miles away. I'd park it in the Aerie's driveway, but it's not quite flat enough nor an easy place access water or electricity. For less than $200 I can have a lakeside camp site for a week, access to a Wally World, several supermarkets and the Aerie while we make out our packing lists.

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When I got to the Bolt Hole I found that Mark was still at his cabin--and that he had parked his truck in the barn to make my place look occupied. We had a nice long talk while he showed me some new game pics of bears (Dufus, mostly) and deer from a spot behind his place. Then he came over to my place to move his truck and help me back the trailer into the barn. One pass is all it took. I'm getting pretty good at this! We also dug out some things from the garage that will go south with me including the box I built to serve as a portable kitchen when we went across country with the kids back in '93. It will be used for canned goods and cooking gear on this trip.

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I stepped outside just after dark to get a jacket I had left in the truck and was privy to the mating flight of a male woodcock. The "peent" call from the ground is followed by a tightly spiraling flight upward during which the bird is whistling the entire time. Up and up he goes until suddenly he stops and swiftly glides back to the ground--some times in the same spot from which he launched his flight, some times to a slightly more promising location--and the "peent" call is repeated. It's one awesome sight!

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The water in the small pond in front of the Bolt Hole is about six inches lower than it was a month ago but it is still host to several frogs an newts--and their masses of jellied eggs. You can clearly see that most of the eggs are already developing into either tadpoles or efts. The little black dot in the center of the jelly is no longer spherical but elongated.

There are another set of eggs in there, however, that do not belong to the common newt or the frogs. These are quite a bit larger and, while still enmeshed in jelly, are single rows about 3/4 of an inch wide. The center of the strips contains a 1/4 inch diameter, very white, orb. These probably belong to a spotted salamander which I've raked out of there in the past. Six inches long, 3/4 to an inch wide, very black on the back, white underbelly and a pale blue-purple stripe where the black and white meet. Add the bright yellow polka dots over the back and you have a very pretty little creature.

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Well, that's about it for now. Tomorrow, I'll be up early to brew a half pot of coffee, do the dishes and then head out the door for the Aerie.