Weekends

I spent the last two weekends, which included Memorial Day, at The Lot. These were the first overnighters of the season.

Memorial Day Weekend: While there I met a new neighbor and was not impressed. The guy (Greg) is camping out in a tent (no permits, one is required by the County) and was partly on our property. He reminds me of a burned-out druggie. Not politically correct, but he has a long beard, two dogs, and bought the lot without locating the corner survey markers. “I guess I’ll have to buy a chain saw” he says when talking about cleaning up the lot. And, oh yes, he says is on permanent disability with back problems. He wishes to build a full-time house on his 5 acres ( completed in 3 months.) No water, no toilet facilities, no tools, no shower….

I was not impressed and asked him to move his stuff, and dogs, off our property. We will see if he complies. If not I may have to take stronger action.

That encounter threw me off a bit but the weekend was otherwise good. I cut some wood, chipped some brush, got The Box filled with water and some provisions, walked the lot, took a short ATV ride, and generally enjoyed being in the high country again.

Here are a few photos taken over Memorial Day weekend:

Bringing ATV and chipper to The Lot

Cleaning around driveway

Vally on way to Webster Pass

ATV on Hall Valley trail

The second weekend, June 2-4, was a three-day event as I had taken the Monday off as vacation. (I plan to do this several times this summer.) Going up on Saturday, I saw that our new neighbor had moved some stuff off our property but not all. I again asked him to move his stuff to his own land. (He had set up a line between two trees to use to tie his dog leashes to when the dogs are out of the tent. The trees are on our land.) I am not happy about this development.

Still, it was a good working weekend. I began clearing part of The Lot we call the Aspen Grove. Lower on the lot, this section is not quite as steep as The Nook and other upper areas. (The Aspen Grove was one of the first places we worked and thinned trees when we started on this piece of property five years ago.) I cleared quite a bit of area but now have to haul the logs out and gather up the brush to be chipped. I estimate I cut about a cord and a half (two full trailer loads) of logs to convert into firewood. Considering we do about 3 cords of wood a year, this weekend’s work represents a good start on the summer’s activities.

Wild flowers are blooming, including wild iris. These always bring a smile to my face. They are mostly located in the ditches and fields leading up to The Lot, not on our property itself, as the deer would simply eat them. A shower on Sunday night was welcome as Colorado has been very dry and any moisture is appreciated. Monday all the flowers were out in full bloom, quite a colorful sight as I was driving home.

The same storm left a layer of fresh snow on the mountain tops. The views from The Lot were very attractive in the morning sun with the blue sky behind the peaks. I took the opportunity to walk the higher parts of The Lot and take in the scenery before I started the day’s planned work.

I stopped by the Indian Mountain Community Center and picked up my burn permit for the year. While we will chip quite a bit of wood, there are some stumps and larger pieces of wood, not good enough to salvage, that are too big for the chipper. This stuff will go to the burn pit for disposal. During my work I accumulated several more semi-rotten logs that fall into this category, which will probably justify a burn pit run next weekend.

Here are a few photos from the weekend of June 2 – 4:

The Box with fresh snow on mountain backdrop

Logs for firewood far and near

Telephoto mountain view across South Park

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

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

We knew a piece of property was for sale adjacent to our upper property line, so the “new neighbor” should not have been a surprise.  The guy is a flatlander from Kansas, and has not a clue as to how one survives at 9,000 + feet; even in the summer there are challenges.  I’m most concerned about his dogs being so close to our RV location, particularly when our dogs come up to the high country.  And, the human excrement he is no doubt leaving in all sorts of interesting places for JoJo  to find will not be an addition to our mountain experience.

There are now neighbors on pretty much all the Sanderling boundaries, with the exception of along the rock formations at the back of The Lot.  More neighbors in the area could mean additional folks who might respond in an emergency — should Fields experience one when he is operating power equipment solo at Sanderling (chain saw, chipper). Mostly, more neighbors means more noise and garbage.

Happy Trails.