No one item dominated this last week so here are updates on a variety of topics including the chipper, an ATV ride, work, and around the house chores.
I’ve picked up a few more of the small bits and pieces needed (or wanted) to bring the chipper into full operating condition. I changed the hydraulic fluid filter, have oil and filter on hand to change engine oil, did some touch-up painting (more to do), and purchased a battery hold down kit that I hope to install later today.
Doing some further research into getting a title and plate, I found this unit will be titled as an SMM – Special Mobile Machinery. This applies to trailers that cannot be used for general-purpose hauling. (Think of large air compressors such as those used at construction sites.) This adds a new wrinkle: I now need to get a “certified weight slip” and fill out a form DR 2698. The nearest public certified scale is about 45 miles away. At some point in the near future I will have to take a couple of half-days off in order to get all the paperwork done. The paperwork will prove to be more frustrating and time consuming than getting the chipper to run!
Unnamed rock formation along an ATV trail
Yesterday I participated in another group ATV ride. The weather was not great, but the morning mist did create some interesting views of the canyons and rock formations through which we rode.
Group ride 4-1-17
We reached the Colorado River and the Dolores River which flows into the Colorado, near the Utah border. Most of the day was spent on roads passable by regular vehicles (when dry) but a couple of the cross-connect trails were a little more challenging. It was a good outing despite the cooler temperatures and mud (plenty of mud).
My ATV after one muddy stretch
Turning to other topics:
I finally have a new assistant at work. His name is Jim, an internal hire with quite a bit of previous experience in the IT field. We began Jim’s training last Monday and he appears to be catching on quickly. After almost 6 months it will be good to have another IT person available to help support the four locations for which I am responsible.
Pam’s boss [the Assistant Registrar at the local community college] was scheduled to retire in May, but has agreed to stay on through June to help train her replacement. Hiring was comical – the Assistant Registrar had told management of her retirement plans over a year ago. A last-minute search did not turn up any qualified “outside” candidates so the job is going to an in-house candidate (who initially had not wanted the job), almost a last minute substitution. I’m not sure I would have changed my retirement plans to accommodate management/HR. Pam will be supervised by someone younger than her daughter for the first time in her 47-year work career.
Around the house spring chores have begun. I will need to move the RV back into our yard from winter storage, take the snow blade off the John Deere tractor, and get the lawn mower blades sharpened. Our irrigation water will be turned on in two weeks and our cherry tree is beginning to blossom. Last week I spread Scotts Turf Builder on the lawn, mostly to help control dandelions. A few tulips have bloomed and trees are getting greener every day. However, the on-line forecast has below freezing temperatures for next Tuesday night so winter had not relinquished its hold completely — yet.
That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!
Pam’s Two Cents Worth:
“Pam will be supervised by someone younger than her daughter for the first time in her 47-year work career.” Need I say anything more about it being time to retire???
House hunting: I think there is a likelihood we may end up in Oregon or Washington for winters in retirement. Housing prices are a bit more reasonable than Colorado, and we are familiar with the dreary and rainy winters, having lived in the Pacific Northwest in the 1980s (Toby was born during that time). I am still looking for a stream/river/lake on or near the property; we would consider fixer-uppers. Apparently many of the fixer-upper properties are cash only sales (can’t pass the housing inspection, no doubt). Like this one: 36066 Tree Farm Road, Scio, OR. No rush on securing an out-of-state property — we can save up our money for a cash sale.
Happy Trails.
Just writing to ask if you know when you will be getting on your lot and leaving on that Memorial Day weekend..Figuring out when we want to leave here.. Thanks, Craig
Also might be swinging by your way the first or second week in October in 2018(next year)…Going to Oregon, down coast to San diego , then coming home Grand Canyon past your house to Denver….When does the first snow come on the Eisenhower pass?
We have vacation days scheduled May 25-29, could be at The Lot (Sanderling) as early as approx. mid-day on May 25.
2018 – If you are driving east from the Grand Canyon in October, you might want to see the early morning ascension -Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I think it’s usually the first or second weekend in October. First mountain snows are hard to predict, but you’re usually OK through the end of October.