I have three topics for today’s post. They are: Painting the east wall of Heart House, working from scaffolding to paint the gingerbread on the west wall of the laundry room, and a summary of my ATV trip over LaSalle Pass during my last Colorado visit. Plenty of phots are included.

We were able to finish quite a bit of the first floor painting on the east side of the house. This required a lot of scraping and wire brushing, much of it from ladders. Pam’s sister, Becky, had done some of the prep work when she was here visiting. Pam and I much appreciate her contribution!

East wall as of 9/10/21

In the same vein, Bob the Builder was able to deliver some scaffolding for our use this past Thursday. Pam wanted some repair work done on the trim of the west wall of the laundry room and follow that up with painting the gingerbread in the wall’s peak. The trim repair was completed and Pam has begun painting her 3-color combo in the peak. As of this writing, the work is still in progress.

Below are three photos of the west wall work-in-progress.

Overview of scaffold location
Pam begins painting of gingerbread below repaired trim
First coat of 3-color combo getting applied

I should have photos of the completed work in my next post. One side note: Pam and I are pretty stiff from climbing, scraping, and painting from ladders and scaffolding. We may need a couple days to recover from our exertions. However, the results are looking pretty good! (Also: Pam is wearing her bug repellent head net while painting. The mosquito population is ginormous after the heavy rains, and swatting at bugs while on scaffolding is not an option.)

My last “big news” item concerns the ATV trip I took over LaSalle Pass the last time I was in Colorado. This route was a pleasant ride with a couple surprises. Let’s take a look.

Start of trip
Looking east from top of pass
Smokey haze obscured distant views

Along the way I came across an old farmstead, complete with an old barn and a “soddie,” a sod home built into a hillside.

Posing with farmstead barn
A “Soddie” sod hillside home
This was a large sod home in its day

I did not try to enter the home as the roof had already collapsed in the rear and the rest of the place won’t last much longer. Nearby was the barn featured above.

The trip was a pleasant way to spend an afternoon. Located north of Wilkerson Pass on Highway 285, the trailhead is about 20 miles from The Lot. There are several more trails in the same area that I hope to explore on future trips.

Finally, a personal note. I had my latest check-up at the Mayo Clinic this past week. My blood draw indicated the Eligard treatments are doing their job of reducing my PSA levels, just what the doctor wanted to see. As a result, the doc changed my injection schedule from every 3-months to every 6-months. I will get my next injection in February, 2022, then my last injection in August of that year.

The week was busy and we feel we accomplished a great deal of work. With the days getting cooler and shorter we want to get as much work done as physically possible while the weather is optimal. I need to take one more trip to The Lot to winterize the RV trailer, bring home food that might get damaged by freezing, and just close things down in Colorado for the winter. While I enjoy the fall colors and weather, I am not looking forward to winter.

Photo Archive

Here is an assortment of family photos.

My dad, George. (Early 2000s)
My mother, Emily, with my brother Jon (2011)
Pam’s mother Lorraine in high school (1944)
Pam’s sister Becky (rear) with her daughters Caitlin (left) and Lilly (right) (2009)

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Penny

OK, folks, I am not a fan of painting 18′ up on scaffolding. Nope. Not a fan.

However, I’m intent on painting one gable with what [I think] will be the final shades of blue ginger breading. I can observe the colors over the winter — in many lighting conditions — and also have an actual example to point to when we [hopefully] find someone to paint the second story exterior next year. This is not a color choice in a location that can easily be changed in the future.

But doesn’t the first floor on the east side of 702 Main look vibrant?

Happy Trails.