Last weekend (June 8 – 9) we made our first overnight stay of the season at The Lot. The visit consisted mostly of restocking The Box’s dry and canned goods, replenishing the linens that had been removed for winter storage, and getting a supply of fresh water.
Water
Getting fresh water in The Box’s storage tank is always a chore the first time each season. Water has to be hand-pumped from the community well and each round trip takes just over an hour. Two trips are required.
The storage tank hold about 40 gallons of water and the hot water heater holds another 6 gallons. With the water jugs I have, each trip will get me about 23 gallons. I use my home-built water transfer system (a 12 volt pump and two hoses, one for the jug(s) and the other for the water tank) to move the water into the storage tank. This not a fast process but works better than trying to pour the water from the jugs into a funnel to get it into the tank.
Weather
Saturday’s weather was terrific. It was warmer than expected, low 70s, but a breeze was blowing to keep us cool, even when in the sun. The blue sky was populated with white clouds, and recent snows had the mountain tops painted in white which made them really stand out against the sky.
Sunday’s weather was not so good. We awoke to a heavy mist and grey skies. This was OK with us as we had planned to return home fairly early in the day, this not being a “work” trip. Any moisture is always welcome at The Lot.
Aspen
At this elevation spring has just begun and the aspen had that “new spring leaves” look going, which is quite attractive. Young pine already have new growth on the ends of their branches.
A walk around The Lot revealed work to be done to remove some aspen that had not survived the winter. This happens every year as aspen are not long-lived trees; I generally begin the season by doing “clean up” in areas we had previously worked.
Walking through the area we call the aspen grove was an absolute delight. With all the dead wood gone a person can move unhindered through the area, taking in the sunlight filtered through the new leaves. We remarked to each other that young pine, some only a few inches tall, could now get the sunlight they need to thrive.
Plan for 2019
It became pretty clear that 2019 will be a tidy up year for The Lot. In addition to removing the trees that didn’t survive the winter, several smaller jobs need to be done. These include consolidating the pine firewood I now have scattered in several piles around The Lot, finishing cleanup in one small corner of the aspen grove, hauling logs to a central location for processing this fall, and chipping piles of brush left from clean up efforts in 2017 and 2018.
Last year we harvested around 4 cords of firewood. This year that number will be more in the 1 to 2 range, just because we are moving higher into The Lot and the dead wood is not as thick on the ground as it was in the aspen grove. That is OK with me; my left arm is improving but still not 100% and I don’t yet know how it will react to very hard labor.
Conclusion
The trip turned out well. The Box is now ready for summer use. A plan of action for the summer has been formulated. Now I just need to get my chipper, trailer, and other tools to The Lot to begin this summer’s clean up activities.
That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!
Pam’s Penny
Hard to believe we’re almost at the Summer Solstice already. I sent out a few cards to mark the occasion.
Things are heating up on the retirement house search too, with a potential road trip in the planning stages. Stay tuned.
Happy Trails.