Summer!

We spent our first weekend at The Lot and had visitors as well. This post is going to be long on photos and videos; I hope you read and view all of it.

I begin with a short video (3:31) of the snowfall I experienced last Tuesday morning as I was setting up The Box for the Memorial Day weekend:

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Pam and I drove up on Thursday to get ready to welcome our guests, Pam’s brother Craig and his wife Dianne:

Craig Paroubek (with Sophie)

Dianne Paroubek

Friday morning we had the first of a few “technical problems” as we developed a leak in The Box’s water system. A fitting on the auxiliary shower had broken. A trip into Fairplay’s True Value hardware store secured the necessary repair parts and the fix was in place before lunch. A second glitch was remedied when I discovered I had not completely closed a water drain valve; the omission was causing the water system to lose pressure. Completely closing the valve took care of that problem.

On the way back to The Lot after buying parts for The Box I stopped at the Indian Mountain office to pick up a burn pit pass. I learned that the burn pit would not be open this year; last year’s wood had not been burned off and the pit was full, closing  it indefinitely.  While I had not planned to use it much this year I had planned to take stumps and items too large for the chipper to the pit. On to plan B.

Craig and Dianne arrived on Friday. They are traveling in their (new) Minnie Winnie Class-C motor home. Pam and I had a tour of it and, really, it is very nice!

Friday afternoon into Saturday morning was spent eating and talking, catching up with all manner of family news, events, and walking various parts of The Lot. Pam and Dianne were both experiencing some knee problems but managed to get up to Pavilion Point (where Pam took the photo of Dianne) and to other favorite spots including The Nook, The Grassy Knoll, and Birdhouse Ridge.

Saturday afternoon Craig suggested I fire up the chipper and we get some work done. I was a little reluctant to press a guest into manual labor but Craig insisted he had been looking forward to helping us with our lot clean-up so I took him up on his offer. With the burn pit closed the chipper will be our only means of disposing of non-savageable wood this year – Plan B.

Things did not begin well; the chipper was hard to start. Once going it worked well for a while then the in-feed roller (which feeds wood to the chipper) refused to turn. After some head scratching I ‘hot wired’ the solenoid that controls the feed roller and returned to action. We managed to clear a good-sized area near the place I have begun to call Homestead Acre. (I would ultimately like to park an RV trailer on Homestead Acre as this spot offers some of the best views to be had on The Lot.)

Sunday we again took up chipping wood. The chipper ran very well and I suspect Saturday’s problem was due to old gas that had been in the bottom of the tank. Now running on fresh fuel the chipper perked along as nice as could be.

Craig loaded my truck with material while I chipped with Pam’s help. Having an extra person made the operation more efficient as I was chipping almost as fast as Craig was getting the truck filled. Pam and Dianne were making great food during this time and the meals they  prepared were both delicious and very much appreciated! (Craig also grilled the best burgers I have had in a very long time. Many talents, that guy.)

Here is a video (4:30) of us getting one of the loads of wood chipped:

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By late Sunday we had chipped several loads of material and decided to call it a day. The work was not over yet, though, as Pam had plans for the chips…they would be spread out on the Birdhouse Ridge footpath. (Spreading the chips was finished Monday morning before we left for home.)

Jerry and Craig dumping chips

Pam raking chips on Birdhouse Ridge footpath

Craig and Dianne headed for Estes park on Monday morning (Memorial Day!) and we headed home after spreading the last of the chips and shutting down The Box. The four of us completed more work than I was expecting and the cleaned areas look great. I really appreciated Craig’s offer and Dianne’s willingness to spend some of their vacation clearing brush for us!

Here are a few more photos taken around the lot:

Craig and Dianne Paroubek

Looking out over South Park

Craig gathers brush while Jerry runs the chipper for the first time

The weekend went very well with good company, good food, and a lot of chipping. The weather was a bit cool at times (with some snow flurries and near-freezing temperatures at night) but I would have to rank this weekend as one of the best we have ever spent on The Lot.

Finally, a Memorial Day tribute to those who have served our country:

Cost of Freedom

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

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

Hosting guests forced us to slow down and really enjoy the property. It was lovely. Our guests needed to drink plenty of fluids and rest a bit (which is how one handles elevation), making an enjoyable pace for everyone.  Quite a comfortable first weekend for Sanderling Season. The five dogs managed to co-exist without a hitch, maybe because each dog has no clue she is not a human.

Good to see Bro Craig again (it has been years) and always enjoy talking to sister-in-law Dianne. I appreciate neither one commented on how gray my hair has become, or how much I resemble our Aunt Angela (now departed) as I age.

Happy Trails.