Month: March 2017

It takes a lot out of this Country Boy Bear, to deal with Moscow. I love the city. It is safe and cozy, but it is so busy…

I mean there are more people standing on the stairway going outside than we ever have total in the village. It is a cultural shock to go from total isolation to everything at your finger tips…

But one thing I did do was take a long shower…. Unlimited water…. Unlimited hot water to boot…. No worry that you have to make the water do several things…. Like wash yourself, do laundry and scrub the home…. All with the same liter of precious water…. Why even the toilets flush… 😉

I mean it is so crowded that you ride down the elevator with several people. I just do not see so many people for months and months at a time…

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31 st of March I have to leave. I will be back? But you never know. It is one of those issues that dwell upon the soul as you travel. It is not Russia that is the issue. It is a Western Empire that hurts the travel of good people…

Gotta go! I will write a good post tomorrow, today, I am just trying to recover. Boza is asleep at my feet and he is worn out from the trip. It was hard on Svetochka also. The roads were very icy and treacherous…

Sammy the Volga made it and she passed hundreds of stranded cars, cars off in the ditches and new cars broken down. The closer we got to Moscow the more the roads were littered with car carcasses. (Joking! Well maybe!) People and the cops were everywhere trying to deal with the wrecks…

Russians may be good and wonderful people, but they cannot drive worth a $%#@ and that means I have to be extra defensive…

What a day, yesterday was…

WtR

Last year I found two perfect tires for the front of the car. They cost about a 1000 rubles each and we finally got them put on. It is time to hit the road back to Moscow and I am getting the car ready for the trip. We then went to the Big Village and gathered what we would need for the trip and I have to say, “The Volga is running smooth as a new car!”

Due to a new engine before winter, we lost our propane usage, but we gained so much that it is incredible. Sammy the Volga is running like a top, she might be all rusty looking, but mechanically, she is in great shape. That is what counts…

The tire place is in a small village that I call, “The Church Village!”

The man who runs it is very nice, very thorough and does a good job. No sign, no idea it is there, you just find a phone number if you look and call to get help. This is the way it should be and the way it is in Russia. Inside his garage is all the modern equipment needed to work on a car. He only has a main mechanic about twice a week, but he himself does tires and such any day of the week…

I would like a shop like this, It would be busy, just as he is busy. We lucked out and he had time to change our tires to the new ones. They were balanced on a modern machine and Sammy runs down the highway smooth as silk now…

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Everyone knows us all over the small villages and this guy said, “You have lost weight and look good!”

I have lost weight and yes I feel good, maybe not looking good. For a bear is just a bear, but feeling good is looking good to me…

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The rest of the images are of a walk that Boza and Svetochka took…

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Time to head home, will be a few days and I will write again. Got to get packed today and tomorrow morning we will take off super early. Then once in Moscow, I will rest a day and then off to Europe. I will be taking a train, as I do almost 90% of the time and will do my necessary business and get back home. Then, Svetochka and I have to take Boza to the doctor for his eyes and full checkup, I need to have my teeth cleaned and checked, we have to go to a few big stores to gather special supplies and then it will be back to the Tiny Russian Village. A few weeks in Moscow, a week to travel and by the end of April, be back to start the garden…

Vova is sad. He hopes I come home. It is an issue with crossing the borders as an American and I stay calm and quiet. Trains are the best, jets are international, trains are simply country to country border crossings. Flying is terrible when crossing into the western world. Flying in the eastern world is a whole bunch better and safer from governments and idiots…

Adventure time is coming…

WtR

It is nice in the Tiny Russian Village when Svetochka is here. She helps me with the 24 hour a day care of Boza and walks him for me. He is a full time job with his eyes gone and you have to live with one eye on him at all times. You are his eyes…. It really is funny at times, except sad at the same time, when he gets into situation and has a look on his face; Where am I?

Boza follows his nose and it leads him off on exciting tangents all the time. For there is always some animal walking around all the time and their scent is attracting Boza to wander around smell their path. I tell him all the time to quit following his nose and follow me and my footsteps. He likes to follow his nose…

Thus, I get to think about what I want to think about unhindered with having part of my brain listening, watching and worrying about Boza. Boza is the best doggy in the world and he deserves the care he is given. I will say, he can sure eat and eat and eat…

That is a good thing… But how he stays so skinny is beyond me? Lucky doggy…

You would call this winter still. We call it spring…

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Boza and I got up at 3 a.m., we had bear and doggy things to do and off we went down the mountain and into the valley. It was -5 this morning and frozen hard, plus crisp. It was crystal clear and the stars sparkled this morning. I stood on the dam of the lake and looked up into the sky. This as I sighed, “This is what life is about!”

The Milky Way was so white, it looked like you could did a cup of milk out of it. What a glass of milk that would be. Creamy white, with sparkling stars floating in it. Could that be the way to immortals dreams?

I am just glad that there are places on earth that have been salvaged from the hand of man, for man destroys everything in his path, trying to make comfort from what is really comfort already…

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White Lilacs have been shipped to us here in Russia. I am excited and I was also surprised that I got the e-mail so readily. We have lots of issues getting e-mails and it is an issue related to Gmail…

I want to thank the sweet lady for the white lilacs and as with the rose experiment and pear trees experiment, lets hope everything grows and lives. I will be gone for awhile from Russia, but Svetochka will pot the little guys and gals when they come and I will transplant them when Boza and I come back to the Tiny Russian Village. Sooner the better for Boza and I…

Actions such as this and at Christmas with the candy canes, gives one hope and realization that there are decent people out there. Maybe decent people need to breed more? The gene pool is getting kinda thin with the decent people genetics. Must be a recessive and not dominant?

We will soon know if the rose and the pears survived this most harsh winter. It was rough at times, but oh so much fun…

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LuAZ has become the 4×4 to get. It will happen and I want to all to know that the donations sent for the LuAZ and or 4×4 of some type are sitting ready to be used for that purpose. There are several LuAZ around Moscow and the price is dropping, because the winter is over and demand is going away…

This is the one I want and it is time to look seriously at it. This one has a plow and top carrier, all in good shape. This is a serious vehicle and is really the “Snow Queen” as Russians say…

65,000 rubles buys such a vehicle in very good shape….

RUB Russian Ruble to USD United States Dollar Currency Rates Today: Sunday, 26/03/2017

65 000.00 ₽ = 1 141.3761 $

Inverse: 1.00 USD = 3701672 RUB
Selling 65 000.00 RUB you get 1 141.38 USD
Buying 65 000.00 RUB you pay 1 152.79 USD

It will be cheaper than that when I get done. This is only able to happen because people have donated from all over the world, funds for acquiring such a vehicle…. I will bargain and we will reach a consensus, if not, I move on to another one. It is how I did with Sammy the Volga. We cut 10,000 rubles off her price…

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America has become the country of, “Trying to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear!”

No matter what happens, black is white and white is black and this is on both sides of the field of battle. There simply is no way that 50% of the populace can see eye to eye with the other 50% of the populace. It simply is a non-unified country. America is as divided as it can be and it is getting worse. The division is all the way from the ghettos to the White House of America…

If something as simple as a stick is stuck in the mud, it seems that literally everyone thinks something different than the other as to why that stick is stuck in the mud? When it simply is a damn stick stuck in the mud and most likely the little boy or girl is sticking another stick into the mud as you ponder such great intellectual theories, as to why that stick is in the mud…

Black is black, except when someone dislikes the color black, then white is white except when white is too, well white. Then we must make black the new color white and white the new color black, but when it does not fit the situation, we must add another color and call it something else…

Humans are not interesting anymore…

Humans for the most part have become ignorant of the fact that they are part of a greater universe and actually humans are a small part of all we can see or think and or even do, but we are the center of the universe and that has been mentally true since man first walked the earth. Maybe it is time to look around and see what the hell is going on, instead of always dancing on someone else’s grave. Actually dancing on the grave would be an improvement for most humans. We like to actually dance on other’s souls as they still live and breath on this earth…

Humans are not interesting anymore…. We have sold our souls for trinkets…

* * * * *

I wish I may and wish I might, wish upon a star tonight…

WtR

Bear and Boza dance, dance and dance. Then I looked at the news and simply thought, “How stupid everything is!”

Well not everything and that is why Boza and I chose to dance and get ready for Svetochka…

Svetochka is the greatest girl in the world and we miss her. So it is time to get the Tiny Russian Village home looking like we are good bear and doggy. Yesterday I cleaned outside, for the snow has finally left and it left all trash gathered in it, right where it melted. Today, I will clean on the inside of the home, for bears and doggies are stinky compared to girls and that is important to remember when a girl comes around… 🙂

What are Little Boys made of…

What are little boys made of?
Snips and snails, and puppy dogs tails
That’s what little boys are made of !”
What are little girls made of?
“Sugar and spice and all things nice
That’s what little girls are made of!

Thus that leads us to this poem…

Sugar and Spice

Sugar and spice
and everything nice
that’s what little girls are made of

Sunshine and rainbows
and ribbons for hair bows
that’s what little girls are made of

Tea parties, laces
and baby doll faces
that’s what little girls are made of

Hmm! I think Svetochka frowns at the girls made of stuff. But she would agree that Bear and Boza fit what boys are made of…

Myself; I like Svetochka just as she is. Our girl…

WtR

Every morning Ralph the Raven follows us around as we walk the valley. This morning it was very dark, but Ralph was calling us from his perch on top the telephone pole. Boza was all excited, but as life has pits in it, he could not see Ralph. But Boza could hear him and started working his way to the pole. Boza is allowed to get right under the pole and Ralph stays put, but if I walk any closer than what I took the image at, he leaves. Boza is his buddy…

The bridge is getting a curve in one spot and that curve is where it is filling up with debris. Not gonna last much longer, but it is unusable now anyway. I suspect that the bridge will washout in the next few days…

Boza and I have walked three times this morning, the first at 3:30 a.m., then at 5:30 a.m. and just now at 6:30 a.m. This is our pattern and works good for us. Boza likes to do his doggy business early in the morning and he has better eyes, even in the dark, from having good sleep all night. I just did his eyes with his medication and now he will sleep for two or three hours and I do other things while he sleeps. Today, I will write this post and then go outside to start a fire and burn some rubbish. I have a lot of lean in the yard to do and I might as well start…

Later in the morning after Boza wakes up and is energized, we will walk our long walk. About two hours of exploring. Then we do three or four more short walks the rest of the day, until bedtime. Works for Boza and works for me…

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* * * * *

Freedom is not freedom, liberty is not liberty and justice is not justice for all, if what you do desecrates, destroys, demeans and hurts others as you do it. Some freedoms should be freedoms of silence and acceptance. For as you express your freedom and others die/wither/a fright/retreat/dread and simply despise what you are, you yourself have lost all your freedom, for your soul has been bound with liability and restriction…

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When you come to a river swollen with water. Your freedom has been curtailed? No, your freedom has been redirected and it is up to you to find the path again to that freedom…

* * * * *

Kinda of a freedom sort of day in my head…

WtR

Going to go see if the bridge is still there this morning…. I will let you know…

It will be awhile before the new bridge gets built. I like this old one and hate to see it go. Been a good friend this last winter…

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I hear the huge pump running and like last year, they will burn it up. The water is not flowing and that will be the death of the pump. I am not sure why this is the normal, but it seems to be sorta unintelligent to me. Why burn up a pump every year? This will be the third year in a row if they do…

Last year they burned up a brand new pump motor. I guess they need better followup on the workers?

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Easter is almost here…

The Pussy Willows are in bloom and used at Easter time…

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The Tiny Russian Village is very far out from the world. So to go to town is something we plan. Vova has to get his gun permit that he applied for and today he was told to pick it up. We will leave between 10 and 11 a.m. This will be a hard trip, for the ground has finally thawed and the river is very high. This means that mud is an issue, not snow or ice. Mud is terrible…

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They have almost finished putting in the lake pump. The pump is removed for the winter and soon it will be running, filling the lake. The lake is already filling from all the thaw and rain. Spring is definitely here….

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A part of graph that our weather system produces. I finally have worked out some issues on keeping records and have saved most of the winter records. This is important to me and if you look closely, you will see that green squiggle almost reaches -40 one day. The green is actual low temperature, the red is actual high temperature…

I told you we got cold and you can see that January was a rough month…

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This morning at 6 a.m. I took sunflower seeds out to feed the birdbrains. The little cute Siberian Tit (chickadee,) was sitting quietly in the top of the cherry trees. I filled the feeders and it watched me, all alone in the yard. The other birds were still sleeping I guess? Then as if on cue…. The little devil started to sing and sing and sing…

I stood and watched and listened…

It came down to a branch near me and the most beautiful music on earth was produced by this little birdbrain…

This video captures what I hear all day outside in our yard. I have heard some more than recorded and I put that to them being Russian Chickadees… 😉 They speak two languages you know! The recording does not capture what I heard this morning and I call it, “Come and eat, the bear is out!”

For within a few seconds the yard was full of chickadees and they were all singing and singing and singing…

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http://www.rm-terex.com/en/catalog/gusenichnie-snegobolotohodi/gaz34039-irbis/

For all you, “Russians do not make anything!” sorta type people…

I will tell you that no one makes all terrain vehicles like the Russians and you could only wish to have something as cheap in price and at the quality that Russians have access to. I am amazed at the specialty vehicles that Russia makes… I mean assembly line production type of vehicles…

I know, I know! Russians do not make anything, yet they really make almost everything and it is quality…

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Lets end this today with what makes Boza have a good day?

Now that cat is sitting in the tree, because Boza found it and tried to chase it. I have to upset the moment though, Boza would run into the tree. Perfect moment and the cat does not realize Boza is blind, so the cat runs for its life. This is the reason that Boza lives for…

Meow!

WtR

Snow is saying goodbye!

Boza and I are walking the whole Tiny Russian Village again and taking pictures. It is nice to be able to walk and not sink up to your waist in snow. But, it is raining and raining now…

Just an image day!

I am cooking pork chops and Boza is stuck in a nose sniffing the air mode. Me too in same mode. They smell delicious and soon will be done. Pork has dropped in price and is cheaper than chicken right now. And that is cheap in itself…

Hog farms going up all over Russia, we have two across the main highway now. They are huge and ship truck loads of hogs constantly. In fact I know of four hog farms in easy access of our area and they all are busy. Russia has assured itself of independence from outside influence…

Thank you Western Idiot Sanctions… You made Russia wake up…

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Last summer the telephone pole you see wired up was almost falling down. I helped to fix it and this is what you do in the Tiny Russian Village. The electric company will wait until the pole falls over and kills someone. Then you have a mess and in Russia, no one files lawsuit and cares to sue. We take responsibility! Better world Russia…

Enjoy the images, I will take more and hope we have a sunny day soon…

WtR

Snowing and snowing!

The ground is covered again, but since the temperature is right at freezing, the snow will go fast. (?) I hope…

Game plan…

I have to leave Russia. This is when I do my outside business in the rest of the world. Since I have to leave every six months for a day or so. I use such a time for doing business boring stuff and most of the time I go alone. This time is no exception and by this next weekend I will be gone for about a week. Not something I care to do really…

Therefore, I will be traveling to Moscow, once Svetochka comes, and of course Boza will be with us. I have things to fix and do in Moscow. Svetochka is limping the computer at home and that is one issue I must fix. 😉 My IBM computer specialist Sweetie Pie is lost with Windows OS’s and since that is my expertise, I must fix such issues…

I am sure that she has a list of what to fix, for do not most gals have such lists for their guys?

Once in Moscow and my trip to never never land is over, we must concentrate on several issues. One is to have Boza looked at again by an eye specialist. Two is for me to see a doctor and see about medication adjustments and my health in general. Three need to look a couple of 4×4’s located in Moscow and last but not least get ready for spring and summer in the Tiny Russian Village…

I have a shower house to finish and a chicken coop to build this summer. We also need to concentrate on gathering more property in the Tiny Russian Village. It is dirt cheap and if we do not scrounge for it, the Orthodox Church will get it for a song and a dance… We might as well dance too…

I am planting sunflowers this year. Well that and potatoes, onions, garlic and tomatoes. The sunflowers will be dried and left on the head and then used in the winter for the chickadees and yes the sparrows, oh and jay birds. We saved a slew of birdbrain buddies this winter and they will pay me back by pest control. Though I do have to deal with sunflower defoliation per the pest control. Chickadees just love sunflower seeds…

The potatoes will do well as the birds clean up on the potato bugs like they did last year. Yippy do dah…

Vova and I also have to rebuild the back wall of the village home and all the wood is seasoned now well enough to use. I still have a bunch of work to get the backside of the home ready and that will be my first project to get done. Then we can rebuild the wall…

We also have to concentrate upon the issue of no water in the village. Time to start pressuring the local government?

We have come to find out that it is the electric companies fault. The electric company updated the whole grid system and changed phase, the well has been ignored and instead of fixing it, they just burnout relays. Well relays are not easy to get anymore, since they are not used around here. Thus, the electric company has to rewire the system and to get that done, the local government in the nearby village has to get off their ass and care enough to push the paper work through. Yes I know, this should have been done correctly in the first place, but who cares about three people living in a Tiny Russian Village. That is our issue! 🙂

I know when it will get done!

We have several ex and current government employees that stay the summer here. They will make a few calls and they will fire up a few asses with kindling and we will have water again. That is the way the world works and that is everywhere. We even have a few ex cops that stay here for weeks in the summer, they will get the water going… Oh and yes we also have a ex government employee of the local variety and she stays all summer. I promise you she will not be a happy camper when she finds her well (which is all of our wells,) is not full of fresh clean water. She yelled at me all summer as I got water, she thinks it is her well and only her well…

She will get it fixed or else someone will pay dearly…

Time to go and walk Boza in the new snow…

Have a nice day…

WtR

Vova doing what Vova does best…

Making a life out of what you have on hand…

Fish smoking time and they are just perfectly yummy…

WtR