Bad Neighbors, Part 5

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All was quite during the Winter months. I had completely lost contact with Alan, and in April of 2014, I took a trip to Michigan to visit family. I was there for three weeks, and toward the end of my visit I received a text message from my ex-wife. It said that the Culpeper County Sherriff’s Department had contacted her and would like me to call them. They had given her a detective’s name and phone number to call, but no other details.

The next day, I called Detective Clark as requested. "Thank you for calling us, Mr. Shilling", he said. "I’m sorry to interrupt your vacation, but there’s been an incident at your tent."

"An incident?" I said.

"We received a report that your tent was being used as a PCP lab", he continued. I immediately thought of Alan, but I didn’t say anything. "We got a search warrant and searched your place", he said. "I’m sorry about all of this. The man that made the false report is in custody in West Virginia. Your tent is fine. We put everything back in its place and I hope you won’t even notice we were there." Holy crap! My jaw dropped.

"Who was this guy?" I asked.

"He was a close personal friend of Alan, your neighbor", he said. I knew it!

"Wow. That doesn’t surprise me", I said. As soon as I heard that the guy was Alan’s friend, I became convinced that Alan was somehow behind all of this. Here it was, late April, and I was still sporting my silver tarp and hadn’t yet moved. Alan had been quiet and patient up until now, but had his patience finally worn out? I didn’t want to give too much information about Alan to the detective just yet. First, I wanted to hear what else he had to say about this other guy. "So what made this guy believe that my tent was a PCP lab?" I asked.

"Well, apparently he had visited Alan and saw your tent, and took it upon himself to check it out", he said. "He told us he went into your tent and looked around. He said it looked like a PCP lab. There were mason jars, a gas stove, firearms, and tunnels outside nearby."

"Wait, so he just saw the tent and thought it was suspicious so he took it upon himself to check it out?" I asked.

"Yeah, that’s what he said", he told me. "He said he was ‘Alan’s protector’. He’s known Alan for many years and is apparently a very close friend, like a father figure."

"Well, it doesn’t surprise me that there’s a connection with Alan", I said. "I spoke with Alan a few months ago and he doesn’t like me living next to him in a tent."

"Well, we’re pretty sure there’s a connection there, too. But we don’t have any evidence of that", he said.

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Bad Neighbors, Part 4

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Alan and I continued talking for another half hour, and things actually turned friendly. He mentioned that his ten-year-old son was interested in survivalism and would probably really enjoy my place. We exchanged phone numbers and I told him I would call him in a few days so that we could arrange an evening for him and his family to join me for dinner around the campfire.

To this day, I still believe that he was honest and sincere during that first meeting, and that when we shook hands and parted, he no longer considered me a threat. He still didn’t like me living there (indeed, I would find out later that it was still a sore spot), but I felt certain that the situation had been defused and that we might even become friends one day.

The next week, I called Alan a few times to try to arrange an evening for us to get together. We went back and forth, leaving each other messages and talking briefly sometimes, trying to find a good evening that fit both of our schedules. This went on for several days until it was obvious that Alan was no longer returning my calls. A bit disappointed, I stopped calling him, too. And that was the end of my contact with Alan. Over the passing months, I would see him drive by occasionally, but was never able to catch his eye with a wave.

During our conversation, I had told Alan that I would move in April when my lease expired. I had been thinking about moving anyway, and his attitude had tipped the scales for me. I also told him that my rain fly had to be replaced before Winter anyway, and that this time I would get a camouflage tarp instead of the bright silver one that I had always used. It seemed to please him that I would soon be disappearing.

I started my land search in October, a few weeks after talking with Alan. I was still working in Manassas, Virginia, at the time so it was difficult to find suitable property within commuting distance to northern Virginia. I ran the usual craigslist ad and started talking to friends, but after a few months it became clear that finding a nice spot near Manassas was going to be tough. During that same time, I shopped around for camouflage tarps. I found a few on the Internet that were heavy enough for my needs, but they were more expensive than the silver ones that I’d been using. I wasn’t real happy about using camouflage anyway. The dark colors would absorb more heat in Summer, and I just didn’t like the aesthetics.

Throughout all of this, I was becoming more and more troubled. Alan had convinced me that I should be hiding my home, but that ran contrary to what I truly felt. Living in a tent has been such a blessing for me. It’s a great way to live, and I naturally want to share it with others. But now, I had bought into the idea that I should hide from society because my home and lifestyle were somehow not acceptable. I knew that the real problem here was Alan’s attitude, so why was I trying so hard to legitimize it?

I continued the land search for a few more weeks, but just couldn’t bring myself to buy the camouflage tarp. In the end, the land search failed, too, so I decided that I would just renew my lease for another year and stay put, silver tarp and all.

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New Living Room Tarp

I finally replaced the small tarp over my picnic table. I lost the old one to heavy snow loads last Winter. The new one is the same size as the old one, 10' x 20', and a bit heavier at 5 mils. But it's still no match for Winter snow loads so I'll take it down in a few months before the snow flies.

Living Room, with a new tarp over the picnic table

Hurricane Lamps

I don't have electricity at my place so I light with oil lamps and candles. I have three table-top oil lamps the two hanging hurricane lamps.

I bought my first hurricane lamps from a local department store. They cost around $6 each. They'd work well for awhile, but then they'd always fail. (What do you expect for six bucks, right?) I'd usually get two or three months use out of them, and then they'd start leaking or the fuel caps would strip out or the wick mechanism would break.

I had such bad luck with those cheap hurricane lamps that I sort of just gave up on them. But a few weeks ago, I decided to break down and buy some high-quality hurricane lamps that would last for many years.

After doing a little research, I decided on the Dietz #1 "Little Wizard" lantern. It's pretty short (12" high) so I can hang it from ceiling, and it holds 36 ozs of fuel, which gives a 40+ hour burn time. The Dietz Company has been making oil lamps and lanterns since the 1840s and has a great reputation.

The "Little Wizard" seemed like the perfect lantern, so I bought two!

Dietz Brand #1 "Little Wizard" Oil Lanterns

New hurricane lamps hanging from the ceiling

Time for a New Roof

When I bought my Wilderness wall tent a few years ago, I had it treated with Sunforger water and mildew treatment. The thick, water-treated canvas repels water really well, but I've done enough camping to know that an extra layer or protection is always good, so I installed a rain fly above the canvas tent, too. The rain fly is a 20'x30' poly tarp, 10 mils thick, with heavy, reinforced grommets. It's significantly larger than the 12'x14' tent so there's plenty of overhang all around, and I mounted it a foot or so above the tent so it provides welcome shade in Summer, and helps to bear some of the snow load in Winter.

The poly rain fly protects the canvas from sun, rain, and snow. It's my first line of defense against the forces of Nature so it takes a real beating. Last Winter was a tough one in Virginia, and the heavy snow really took its toll on my two-year-old rain fly. It ripped out one of the grommets and put a few small holes in the fabric, and the poly material has deteriorated to the point where water is trickling through in a number of areas during heavy rains.





 



Original rain fly showing signs of fatigue after nearly three years of use

That first tarp served me incredibly well. It kept me safe and dry for nearly three years at a cost of around $30 per year. But now, I think it's too weak to take me through another Winter, so it's time to install a new one.

I pulled the old tarp off and dragged it off to the side. It had been a long time since I'd seen the uncovered canvas. It looked so small.

Before putting up the new rain fly, I decided to make some improvements to my installation. I have never been very satisfied with the way the rain fly sags toward the middle of the suspension rope over time. It tends to sag along the eaves, too, even though I have adjustable ropes there and can tighten them up from time to time. With the new rain fly, I want to be able to adjust it just once when I install it, nice and taught, and have it stay that way.

With my old installation, I tied a rope to a single grommet at each gable end and secured the other end of the rope to the support post. That kept the ridge line tight, for awhile, but the grommet eventually tore out. (If there's one thing I've learned about tarps, it's that you never tie a rope to a single grommet!)

With my new rain fly, I decided to lash the gable ends to a couple pieces of conduit in order to spread the tension across several grommets, like I do on the eave sides. I then tied a rope to the conduit, and secured the other end of the rope to the support post using a heavy-duty rubber tie-down (not shown). The tie-down keeps constant tension on the gable ends.

Putting tension on the gable ends

To keep constant tension on the eaves, I installed the same rubber tie-downs on the guy lines there, too. It turned the entire ran fly into a trampoline!

Rubber tie-downs keep the rain fly taught

Here's hoping I get another three years out of this new rain fly.

New rain fly with improved installation

Bad Neighbors, Part 3

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He was still anxious and angry as he started right back at me. "What are you doing out here!", he said. "You're living here, aren't you!"

"Yeah, I live here," I admitted.

"Oh I know you do! I keep track of you. I see where you park your truck and I know when you're here," he said. What? He's been monitoring my comings and goings? Now I was the one who was starting to feel uncomfortable.

I understood why he was uncomfortable with me living there. And, assuming he was a family man, I even understood his anger and aggressiveness. He was protecting his "territory", which for him I suppose included the adjacent property, so long as there was a strange man there living in a tent. But I still thought this whole situation could be defused if only he would get to know me a little and realize that I was no threat to him or his family.

"Hey look," I said, "I know this is strange, and I realize you're probably thinking the worst, but believe me there's nothing shady going on here. The landowner is a friend of mine, and I live this way by choice. It's something I've always wanted to try. And since you and I are neighbors..."

"We're not neighbors!!" he interrupted. "Do you own the property here? Do you pay taxes? No! So don't call me your neighbor! You're not my neighbor!" That statement sent alarms through me. It was dehumanizing, and that can lead to a dangerous situation. I tried to stay calm, but this guy was much more upset than I had first imagined. And now I wasn't quite sure that talking this thing out was going to work.

"Okay, fine," I said, "but I still consider you to be my neighbor, and I don't want to make your life miserable. I'm trying to live in peace here, and if you're this upset over the situation then that upsets me, too."

For the first time, I could see his face beginning to soften just a little. The deep frown was beginning to relax. Maybe I was getting through to him.

"Look," I continued, "what is it exactly that's bothering you? What can I do to help you feel better about this?" He looked at me and paused for just a moment. I got the feeling that he'd never actually thought about that question. He just knew that he didn't like me there and he wanted me gone.

"Well, why do you have to camp right here? Right next to my driveway?" he asked. "I mean, I like camping, too, but out in the woods somewhere, not on some one's property like this. And what do you do about your toilet? I mean, where do you go?" he continued.

"I compost my waste," I said. "And when I set up here, I didn't realize your driveway was so close. I was trying to get toward the back of my friend's property to get away from the road, but I guess I went in too deep and ended up near your driveway."

"Look," I continued, "I was thinking about moving next Spring anyway, and now you've got me thinking even more seriously about it. But this stuff is a bitch to move, and Winter's comin' on. Can you at least tolerate me until Spring?"

"Hey, I don't want to chase anyone away," he countered. "If you wanna leave then that's up to you." I was glad that he was showing more respect towards me now. And his anger was nearly gone.

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Skunks

I had my first close encounter with a skunk last night. Fortunately, it wasn't so close that I got sprayed.

I had just fallen asleep when I was awakened by small foot steps coming down my path. I realized from the sound that it was just a small animal. I figured it was a opossum since they occasionally snoop around my tent. I got up and grab my flashlight and shined it toward the noise.

It was a momma skunk and her three kits marching toward my tent in single-file, with momma in the lead. They were just a foot or two from my front steps by the time I got to the door. Cute, cute, cute!

Momma didn't mind the light at all and just kept right on coming, with the three kits following close behind. I made a loud "Pssst! Pssst!" noise, which stopped momma in her tracks and caused the kits to sort of bump into her back side. For a moment, they were just a cuddly bundle of black and white confusion as momma tried to figure out her next move. She turned left then right then left then around and back a few steps then started to approach the tent again. I did the "Pssst! Pssst!" again, and this time she decided to retreat altogether as she turned away and headed back down the path the way she had come. The kits tagged right along behind her, and within a few steps they were all in single-file again, marching down the path the way they had come.

I don't know whether they would have climbed the steps into the tent, but I closed the door just in case. I'll probably start sleeping with the door closed now, at least for awhile.