I spent the last two weeks at our lot in central Colorado. During that time I celebrated my 70th birthday, took some ATV rides, and worked to clear brush and dead trees. Many photos were taken and a few obstacles overcome. Due to the events that transpired and number of photos taken I will break the trip into two reports, the first this week and the second next week. I will start with my 70th birthday.
Pam set up a memorable birthday consisting of several moving parts. First she identified people in our contacts and her Facebook pages, encouraging friends and extended family to send me birthday greetings. It worked. I received more text and e-mail greetings than ever before. (Note: Cell phone and internet coverage is very poor at The Lot and text messages work best.) Thank you to all who took the time to send me greetings!
Second, Pam had contacted a friend at my old workplace, Jim Brassfield. Jim spread the word around the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office and a card was circulated for people to sign. A few people sent me text messages as well. Jim went above and beyond when he and Tim Rhodes, who had been my first assistant, took time off from work and drove up to The Lot, bringing a birthday cake and cards with them. This was a substantial commitment of time for my past coworkers, as it is a three hour trip [each way] from their Glenwood Springs base to the Park County property and back
I was flabbergasted when Jim and Tim arrived. Pam had told me to expect a “delivery” but I assumed she had arranged for flowers or a cake to be delivered. I had no idea Jim and Tim were on their way.
It was really good to see the guys again. We spent about 3 hours talking non-stop, catching up with personal and professional news. There have been many changes at my old place of work with some retirements, promotions, and even a couple weddings. Many of the people I worked with are still there and my birthday card was signed with familiar names.
Here is how Jim described the event to Pam:
From: “James Brassfield”
To: “Pamela”
Sent: Friday, August 5, 2022 7:43:10 PM
Subject: Re: 70th Birthday – Jerry Fields
Jerry was very surprised!!! We enjoyed the visit! Tim and I were busy talking all the way and forgot to take a video of his expression……which was too bad because it was priceless!! Thank you for letting us know about this special day and hope Jerry enjoyed it as much as we did!
I did indeed enjoy the day. The visit and Pam’s efforts made this a birthday I will always remember. Thank you to all involved, and particularly to Pam.
I had some worries before I arrived at The Lot as to how much work I could really get done given the medical treatments I am on and the fact that any high-altitude acclimatization I once had has long since disappeared. I found that I could indeed get some work done, with with plenty of breaks and rests thrown in. The weather helped in this regard as it rained several days, mostly in late afternoons and evenings, thus putting a halt on that day’s activities.
Most of what I did was a ‘summer cleanup’ of trees that had reached the end of their life cycle over the last few years. Aspen are not long-lived trees and some die off every year. Most are brush-sized but a few are large enough to be salvaged for firewood. In the photo above I am picking up salvageable trunks (cut with the chain saw) and hauling them to my firewood pile.
That pile was reduced noticeable this year. Pam suggested I stop at the local fire department station and offer the logs as firewood to any members of the fire crew who might be interested. This I did, and one of the firefighters came by with his truck and 14 foot trailer and hauled off about 3/4 of the pile. I will let him know when I will be back at The Lot this fall to winterize the trailer, and he will pick up the rest.
Other brush was consolidated into larger piles and was chipped.
I spread the chips up along Birdhouse Ridge. The south facing slope struggles to support much growth, although there is some. I am hoping the addition of more organic material might encourage more growth.
I usually move the chipper around to a limited number of places with the Ford 8N tractor. This year I ran into a few problems. First, one tractor tire had gone flat and the others were low. While I had brought along my little 12-volt air compressor, it was not up to the task. Luckily my neighbor was in residence for the weekend and I was able to borrow a small compressor that worked to inflate the tires.
Then the fun really began. I pulled back the tarps that cover the tractor when not in use, then opened the battery compartment door. I had to jump back in a hurry as wasps had built a nest in the battery compartment and they were NOT happy to be disturbed.
Using a long stick I was able to dislodge the nest, but I had to wait until going to town the next day to get some wasp spray and finally clear the wasps from around the tractor. Eventually I was able to install the battery and get the tractor started.
Then the chipper would not start. I tracked the problem down to a split in the fuel line where it connected to the fuel tank. The fix was simple, cut off the split end and reinstall the line. Once that was done the chipper started right up. Over the course of a few days I was able to chip several piles of brush. Most were situated where I could get close to them with the tractor and chipper, but one larger pile had to be dragged to the chipper. I used the ATV as the puller for this job by wrapping a chain around the brush and hooking the other end to the ATV. This particular pile took 3 drags and one trip with the 2-wheel cart to move everything to the chipper.
Keep in mind that all this work was accompanied with FREQUENT rest breaks. While I did not get any “new” ground cleared I was able to go through areas we had worked in the past and remove the dead trees and brush from them. I did get 4 piles (a couple consolidated from smaller piles) chipped which was my goal for this trip. I was quite satisfied with the work I was able to accomplish.
Because I spent quite a bit of my time sitting in my chair, with my feet up on the footrest and looking out the 5-foot door, I observed more critters than normal. Here are a couple of them.
I had two deer come by the trailer but did not have my camera at hand to photograph them. And, as our acreage is part of open range, I did get visits from local high range cattle.
That will about cover the first part of my trip report. Next time I will cover my ATV rides, some weather-related topics, and a few details of being on the road.
While I was gone Pam accomplished several tasks, including repainting porch floor and risers, the installation of a new bathroom floor and adding more hearts to the end of the LP tank.
These activities took much work to get done. The floor, in particular, was a challenge as there are no truly square corners anywhere in the room. Many tiles had to be custom cut and fitted to the others and/or the irregular floor moldings. The end result is a much brighter room; the flooring compliments the art deco designs Pam had previously painted on the walls.
Around the yard, the morning glories and hydrangea are in bloom.
That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!
Pam’s Penny
That bathroom floor was a real bear. Limited space to move, limited ability to move in the limited space, uneven floor and uneven walls. It took me three days to put down 28 peel-and-stick tiles to my satisfaction. It all sounds so easy on the installation instructions, but I’d “installed” one of these types of floors before and I knew what I was getting into. This type of tile is not meant to last years and years; it’s a “quickie” lightener and brightener for a dark little dated bathroom. D-O-N-E.
High humidity was definitely a factor in my inability to work on outdoor paint projects the past two weeks. Which is why various indoor tasks received attention. There were a few storms; one night at 2:30 a.m. the dogs woke me during a mighty thunder and lightning event. I learned a few days later lighting had struck the ground one house west of Heart House and the impact popped internet connections to two residences. The noise of that strike was apparently what had agitated the dogs to the point of waking me.
The Grandpa Ott morning-glories climbing the trellis on the south porch feature a new pink variant in the mix this year. I’ve been picking blackberries (a few, but more each year) from the vines, and gathering tender rhubarb stalks. The white phlox finally bloomed. Except for the Indian corn (just now tasseling), seed plants are doing well; moisture has been frequent and humidity has been greenhouse-level (humidity you can cut, cube, and stack). High summer in NE Iowa.
Happy Trails.