It has been an interesting time since my last post. I took a driving trip to Colorado to shut down The Box for the winter and made a [long] side trip to Arizona to visit our good friend Hank Tourtillott. It was a long and tiring journey but satisfying on many levels.
Every fall, in late September or early October, the RV trailer we call The Box has to be shut down for the winter. This year, in addition to draining the fresh water and emptying the holding tanks, Pam suggested I bring home all food items, including all dry foods that would normally not be harmed by cold weather. In addition, I brought home all fabric items including bedding, pillows, and all other linens. The truck was stuffed on the way home!
Until the last day, I was finishing some cutting and chipping that I had set as objectives. The work was cut a bit short by rain and cold weather, as morning temperatures were often in the mid-30 degree range. Still, with the fall colors just past prime, it felt good health-wise for me to be able to get out and enjoy the weather; I completed as much as I had the energy to do.
Here are a couple of fall color photos from this trip:
I did not take many “work” photos but did get a before and after of some of the work I accomplished. In this case, I was cutting dead branches off the bottoms of pine trees on The Lot.
I do this kind of work so it is easier to walk around The Lot, it reduces fire load, and it just makes the place look better. The dead branches will be chipped. I was able to work on several trees in the upper part of The Lot, opening a potential path for the tractor and trailer to use to further clean up the area. I was also able to chip a couple of small piles of brush I had assembled on the lower part of The Lot, giving me the chance to operate all my “Big Boy” toys.
Part of the travel plan was to take 3 days out of the trip and drive to Arizona to visit Hank. It is hard to believe we met him more than 40 years ago when we moved near Nederland, Colorado. Hank (and Ellie, since deceased) were our good neighbors during that time and we have kept in touch ever since.
I did not take photos of my time in Lakeside, Arizona, but did record some strange “on the road” photos during the trip down and back. Here they are with captions.
The trip, in total, was around 3,200 miles. I was tired when I arrived home and the truck needs an oil change. Still, it was a satisfying journey.
I arrived home around dusk last Friday. Pam had a nice meal of roast beef and a fresh apple pie waiting for me. On Saturday I unloaded the truck and we took off to visit a craft and antique fair, as Pam was hoping to find some larger Christmas-themed decorations (none we liked were present). Pam did score an old heart-shaped rug beater – which will become a decoration in the house – and I bought an oil lamp (sans chimney) that caught my eye. It was a good outing.
Sunday was a day of yard work. In my absence the grass had grown and a lot of oak leaves had fallen. The work to mow and clean up the yard yielded two trailers-full of grass, leaves, and cut-back flower plants which I took to the town organic dump area and unloaded. Those loads will be the first of many for the fall leaf season; hopefully I will be able to keep up with yard work a little better with no long trips scheduled in the near future.
Finally, I have a new short video clip on my Video page. The latest covers a cannon shoot at the Ft. Atkinson Rendezvous we recently attended. The end of the clip features Greg and Annie, a duet that performs old fashioned music at events like this. The direct link is Rendezvous 2021.
That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!
Pam’s Penny
Himself is back in the house. Time to prepare bloody meats for mealtimes once again. The dogs love it when bloody meats are cooking. Me – not so much.
Happy Trails.