I was on the road for 12 days, attending a motorcycle rally and working on our Colorado recreational property. I have a lot of ground to cover and many photos to share. Here, in more or less chronological order, is how I spent those 12 days.
Driving the F-150 and pulling the motorcycle behind on a trailer, I left on a Monday morning and arrived at The Lot Tuesday evening. On arrival, there were the usual “opening” chores: getting water, starting the refrigerator, making the bed, unpacking food and linens. And, this year, eradicating moths (living and dead).
I planned to work on The Lot for a day and a half, then move on to a motorcycle rally that was being held in Westcliffe, Colorado, over the weekend. A return to The Lot after the rally would give me a few more days to work before heading home.
The main goal for The Lot was to clean up the trees that did not survive the winter. Aspen are short-lived trees and there have always been some dead, or near-dead, trees that need to be removed from areas already cleaned. Usually these are smaller trees but some larger ones have also been known to die off.
Unfortunately, a walk-about revealed a large pine tree had been uprooted. We hate to loose any conifers on The Lot; the uprooting and other damage indicated a strong wind must have blown through this past winter or spring.
Wednesday was a day of various chores. I made a couple of “water runs,” where I take water containers to the community hand pump and fill them. Upon returning to The Box, I use a transfer pump to get the water into The Box’s storage tank. I had also brought along the string trimmer and used it to cut the grasses and fresh aspen that had grown in and along the driveway. A trip into town yielded fresh fruit, dairy products, lunch meat, and other supplies. To relax, I walked around The Lot and began identifying dead trees that would need to be removed. I kept busy!
Thursday morning I began cutting trees and stacking them up near the chipper. There was more work to be done than I had expected, but I made progress.
Thursday afternoon I headed for Westcliffe, about a 3-hour drive from The Lot, to meet with other members of the motorcycle club who were arriving that day. Our base of operations was a member’s vacation cabin near Westcliffe.
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday morning featured group rides to various locations around SW Colorado. I won’t go into day-by-day details, but one section was of note: Cottonwood Pass is now paved on the west side for the first time ever. Pam and I have been over it, by car, so I was familiar with the area but had never ridden my motorcycle there.
The other comment I will make is that the evenings were cool, generally in the upper 40 degree range. I was glad to have my down sleeping bag!
Sunday night I returned to The Lot. Monday I began the clean up in earnest and continued through to Wednesday. During this time I was able to get the tractor and chipper started (I brought the batteries with me from Iowa). The tractor assisted in maneuvering the trailer to various piles of brush and salvage wood, then to move the wood closer to the chipper.
I chipped a pile of brush, then put covers on the tractor and chipper. Next was to get into the upper reaches of The Nook where the tractor could not go. I cut several small and large trees and made small piles of wood here and there. On my next CO trip later this summer, tasks will include hauling – by hand – all this stuff to the chipper location for processing.
Thursday morning I began the drive back to Iowa and arrived home Friday night. In my absence two major projects received attention: prep work for the garage addition was begun and Pam worked her magic in the stairwell.
Pam had painted the stairwell to wainscot height a few weeks ago. While I was gone, she purchased new tread pads, painted the front “noses” of the steps (step areas with the most damage), added wallpaper border, and adhered decals to the risers. The result is exceptional. I could not get everything in a single photo so here are a few that show the details.
Pam spent a lot of time on this project and the result is terrific. As she says, the stairwell was long overdue for a little love and attention.
The other project, the garage addition, was originally scheduled for later in the month but Bob the Builder finished another job early and moved up the schedule. Surprise! No need to worry about the details in my absence; Bob and the cement guy Marv worked off hand-drawn sketches made during an initial walkthrough of the project this past spring.
Preliminary to building, the cement pad needed to be poured. Forms were put in place, some fill sand was hauled in, and finally the concrete was poured.
Construction will hopefully commence tomorrow, Monday. More photos will follow in future posts.
I have a few miscellaneous photos as well. One of our “mystery” plants has been identified as phlox:
Here is a sunset over South Park from Pavilion Paint on the Colorado lot:
Bru, our youngest dog, has taken to sleeping on the bolster on the back of the dog couch:
Pam has a new rug in the parlor bedroom:
Photo Archive
From July 1991: Grandpa George with Felicity and Toby
That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!
Pam’s Two Cents
I worked fairly diligently to accomplish as much as possible in the stairwell during Himself’s absence. Trying to establish a work zone when egress is needed through the work area is truly frustrating; having the stairwell to myself (except for cat races) moved this project along. I almost accomplished the ambitious amount of work I had planned.
As with most of the projects here at Heart House, implementation of any “design” comes in layers. First the actual use of the space is established, then the painting, deciding on the borders, starting to add the decorative elements, addressing the floors. There are still decorative items to add in the two-story stairwell; sadly most require a very tall ladder and Flying Wallenda skills.
In between stairwell projects I undertook some limited lawn mowing. Iowa “enjoyed” about four severe storm warnings during Himself’s trip, and the resulting wet grass basically just clogged the mower. I tried out my new head bug netting during mowing — works great at keeping the skeeters and gnats away from my face and ears. Add some DEET to the ankles and arms, and I’m ready to go.
Happy Trails.