It has been a couple weeks since my last post, a couple of busy weeks. I drove to Colorado to winterize the RV trailer and bring home two new cats for Pam. We have had visitors and fall colors are everywhere. Here are events of the last couple weeks.
Fall colors are present everywhere this time of year. While I was taking a package to a UPS drop-off in nearby Riceville I passed a greenhouse featuring mums of all colors. I enjoyed the riot of color.
I have been working on my “new” trailer, wiring in replacement side marker lights. During this work I discovered the trailer did have ramps stored under the deck. I was able to pull them out, grease the slides, and put them back under the trailer. While I feel like an idiot for missing these on my first inspection, having the ramps will save me a couple hundred dollars, plus time trying to find a set. The ramps are heavy duty and will certainly take the weight of the 8N tractor when I get ready to bring it home. A local shop welded on “D-ring” tie downs while I was in Colorado, giving me places to secure chains and straps for transporting large items.
My trip to Colorado was a success in that I took a few ATV rides and winterized The Box. Additionally, I brought home our portable generator and fire pit. Not only can we use these items here, particularly if we have a power failure, but this begins the process of bringing home items we would not sell with The Lot should we choose to go down that path.
Here are a few fall color photos from this Colorado trip.
The return trip from Colorado found me with two passengers, kittens Stirling and Vienna. Pam had adopted this pair from the Rifle Animal Shelter and good friend (+rescue kitten foster) Kathy Powers brought them to Fairplay. Kathy and I rendezvoused in Fairplay, where we made the transfer. Stirling is a male Siamese mix and Vienna is a female black shorthair. The two enjoyed an “adventure” drive across the Great Plains to NE Iowa. They behaved well while penned.
I put together a short (1:36) video of Stirling and Vienna beginning to play in their new home. So far they have settled in nicely, but still have to come to some accommodations with the dogs and senior cats KitKat and Elmo. I suspect Elmo will accept them sooner than KitKat, but we’ll have to wait and see how those interactions work out.
We had visitors this past week. Zach Hayes and his wife Sakura were married in Seattle earlier this year but due to a number of factors we couldn’t make the wedding. Zach and Sakura are making a “meet the family and friends” tour of the Midwest for those unable to be in the Pacific NW for the wedding. Heart House made the list for the Midwest tour, and they were able to stop in and visit us for a couple of hours.
As background – Zach is the son of Mary and Jeff Hayes. Mary was Pam’s best friend until Mary’s untimely death five years ago due to pancreatic cancer (the Mary Lynn of the annual memorial garden on this blog). Zach is Pam’s godchild. Over the years Pam and Zach have kept in touch by phone. (Jeff also visited us last year, representing the Hayes family.) We were looking forward to seeing Zach and meeting his new wife, and the afternoon did not disappoint. Young people have such busy and interesting lives.
With colder weather settling in summer tasks are drawing to a close. We don’t know if we will get any more painting done, for example. Fall tasks, including cleaning out the garden of vines and corn stalks, are next up on the to-do list. I will be mulching leaves and raking the lawn. Some tasks that need to be done yet include reglazing a couple windows in the house to seal gaps that are passing cold air into rooms. There are always many projects to keep us busy!
Photo Archive
From ’74 or ’75.
That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!
Pam’s Penny
How lovely to have plenty of time to play and interact with the newly-arrived kittens! I fostered over 30 litters of kittens in my days working with rescue in Colorado. But, what with being employed and the intrusions of daily life, I never had the gift of time then to socialize babies I was planning to keep. Stirling (‘Ling) and Vienna (“V”) bring some much-needed youth into the household. And retirement makes it possible for me to enjoy their integration process. Nice.
Happy Trails.