Month: October 2015

It’s that time of the year again when we begin our fall chores.

I put new filters in the furnace, vacuumed out the floor vents (dog and cat hair accumulates in them over the summer), winterized the swamp cooler, removed a window air conditioning unit, put the fans away and took a couple of oil-filled heaters out of storage, started raking and mulching leaves.

Pam began winterizing a few of our windows (that are no longer double paned = plastic inserts) and helped with raking leaves and emptying the RV. (The RV has been moved to its winter location, which is behind a fence in our snow-bird neighbor’s yard. They winter in Arizona.) Pam has done a lot of work on the flower beds, cutting them back and getting them ready for mulching and winter weather. The iris bulbs for the new raised bed outgrew an existing bed; Pam had to dig them up and thin them out before planting them in their new (however temporary) home. This project required a lot of work!

New corner flowerbed already mulched for winter

There is still much to do; I need to finish winterizing the RV and there will be several more days of raking and mulching leaves. What we don’t use on our flower beds gets hauled off to a compost area the town has set up.

Other fall projects are on the docket; I varnished the stake bed sides for the trailer and I have a section of fence to install behind the garage (keeps out skunks – 9 trapped on our end of town this summer). Some firewood for the fire pit, which we keep on the back deck, has been cut but a small pile remains to be processed. After that I will need to put the snow blade on the John Deere garden tractor and make sure it is ready to run when needed. We saw snow on the top of the Mamm Range as we drove home from work yesterday. Winter is coming!

Varnishing the stake bed trailer sides

I upgraded the tires on my Generac generator; this project required me to make an axle. The problem with the old tires (kludged on by the previous owner) was they would not traverse gravel very well. Installation of the new tires, which are pneumatic instead of solid rubber and much larger, make the generator far easier to roll — I am confident the new tires will handle gravel and uneven terrain of The Lot. This will be important, as I plan to move the generator often this coming summer when cutting firewood with the electric saw.

Old wheel (left) and new wheel (right) on generator

All-in-all our weekends are busy with fall chores and winter preparation. The last big project, as mentioned, will be the installation of that skunk fence. After that there will be more raking and mulching as needed. But the bulk of my fall prep will be over, at least until it is time to put up Christmas lights…. 🙂

Our daughter, Felicity, is in England at the moment doing a house-sit. She hooked up with the local ladies singing group, the Crystal Chords, a UK group similar to the US Sweet Adeline chorus that Felicity joined several years ago. The Crystal Chords recently won first place in their division at a regional contest, quite an accomplishment, and Felicity was able to be part of that effort. Here is a photo of Felicity, taken on their return bus trip from the competition, holding the group’s trophy:

Felicity with the Crystal Chord’s trophy

Felicity sent us these You Tube links to videos of the Crystal Chords singing in concert at a local guild hall in Yorkshire.

Happy + Contest Package (All the Way & Let’s Do It) – https://youtu.be/lCfZMoFM-nw

Let’s Do It – https://youtu.be/n11E4HozIsw

Go the Distance – https://youtu.be/ZgvT54hln18

The videos are a bit fuzzy but the sound is pretty good so take a look/listen.

I’m keeping busy and I’m looking forward to a break once the chores have been completed. (Don’t know if that will ever happen; there always seems to be another project on the horizon!)

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

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

Busy. Yes.

Happy Trails.

There is not a major news story this week so this post will be a collection of short topics, including the new stove, The Lot, a few animals, and a few miscellaneous photos.

Our new stove arrived and I installed it this past Wednesday. It sure is nice to have a working stove again! Pam has tried the oven and reports it appears to be more evenly heated than the old one, and the top-side burners light quickly and have very even heat distribution. Pam hated to have to replace any more appliances here, since we don’t plan on staying that many more years.  It is what it is – you don’t mess with gas.

Our new GE stove

The last of the firewood has been picked up; it’s good to have it gone from the edge of the driveway but I do miss the woodsy smell that was present every time I walked past the pile.

There are a couple of miscellaneous photos from trips to The Lot. We took Tabitha’s advice and spent some time enjoying our visits from time to time.

Jerry enjoying a campfire

Pam viewing fall colors from Pavilion Point

Pam and Jerry look out over South Park

We will miss our mountain visits (eight weekends in a row late August through October), but the night time temps are getting below freezing on a consistent basis in the high country and, with the leaves fallen, the scenic views are not what they are in the spring and summer. Besides, there are plenty of projects to work on around the house.

On my last trip to the lot the free-range Llamas were pretty close to the road and I could not pass up this photo of a young one:

Young Llama in South Park

We have squirrels (and chipmunks) on The Lot and the dogs enjoy trying to find them. Although we see them often I’ve not gotten a good photo of one. Here is a bit of info about pine squirrels:

Pine squirrel info

One aspect of Colorado that I like is the history of the state, particularly the narrow-gauge railroads that were built during the gold mining days. South Park had the Denver, South Park & Pacific line that came out of Denver, crossed Kenosha Pass to enter South Park, and served Breckenridge by way of Boreas Pass. At the top of Kenosha Pass a bit of the line has been reconstructed. Here is one informational sign from that stretch:

A bit of rail history in South Park

For the time being our lives will settle into the cold weather routine, mostly work and chores around the house related to fall activities such as raking and mulching leaves, prepping the house for winter, and other low-level activities. Just as well; with sunsets coming earlier and earlier it is hard to get much done after we get home during the work week, usually around 6:00 PM.  We do have a couple of real estate property viewings scheduled for later in the month; more on those as they occur.

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

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

Fairplay property visits scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 8.  Hope to set up Lake Vallecito property visits for Nov. 10-11 (taking some annual leave).  All dependent on weather – light snow already in the forecast for higher elevations.

Happy Trails.

During September I took some video clips of different events but did not have time to put them in my posts. Here are 4 short movies depicting events and outings from that time.

The first (1 minute) is a view of fall colors taken from The Lot on September 12th.

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This next clip (3:10) is of the delivery of 15 tons of gravel for the lower end of The Lot’s driveway. This occurred on September 24 and was the last major project for the year.

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These next two clips are from ATV trips. The first, North Twin Cone Peak, (1:06) is silent as the wind noise over the microphone rendered the audio track unusable. It is a visual record that I was there (elevation of 12,600 feet) but otherwise is not significant.

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This last clip, the longest of these 4 at 6:22, is of scenery (mostly mine tailings and mountains) along Forest Road 290 near the old mining town of Montezuma. Again, it is mostly a record of “I’ve been there” rather than any cinematic masterpiece. The second half of the clip was taken from Handcart Gulch, the trail leading up to Webster Pass, also in the Montezuma area. This part of the clip has a bit more color and a couple of Jeeps in it.

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These short takes are, as I mentioned earlier, more for documentation than entertainment, but I hope you enjoy some parts of them.

Finally, one photo of all the firewood cut up and stacked along our De Beque driveway before Kathy and Doug come and start taking it away. Kathy uses the wood to heat her 1-car garage, converted to rescue cat house, in the winter.

All firewood has been cut

(The cat in the background is Sunny, one of our indoor-outdoor cats.)

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

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

I looked back at the summer calendar – Fields and (less frequently) myself + the dogs were at Sanderling eight straight weekends from late August through early October. Which is what happens when there’s a late, wet spring and all the projects push forward to the end of the season.  Accomplished this summer: retaining wall and gravel work on the driveway, clearance of the future carport area, down and standing wood removal (includes larger trees) in The Nook, septic pumping system operational, components purchased for the cistern system.

Happy Trails.

It has been a couple of weeks since I last posted. We have been very busy with a range of activities that includes The Lot, the “new” utility trailer, a couple of ATV rides, fall colors, and wood cutting. Here is a bit of an update on all these topics.

I had wanted to add stake bed sides to the utility trailer to increase it’s carrying capacity, particularly for hauling slash to the burn pit. It took me a few night’s work, but the stake bed is finished and working very well for my intended use(s).

Stake Bed sides help load capacity – burn pit wood, in this case – from The Nook area

In a bit of an unusual design, both the front and end panels can be removed giving me great flexibility in loading stuff. At the burn pit I can remove either side or end and unload the trailer right from the deck, a much appreciated feature.

Over the last few weeks I have taken several loads of wood to the burn pit and brought home two loads of firewood with this trailer and am very pleased with the way it has worked out.

One thing left to fix; the tailgate of the truck won’t drop down if the trailer’s tongue jack is in place. This is not a major problem but is inconvenient. Back in the day truck tailgates were not as tall as they are now and there was no clearance problem but the newer Ford F-150 tailgates are pretty tall, causing interference. I will either buy a bolt-on jack and mount it further back on the tongue or weld up a plate and re-use the original jack in a different location.

The trailer upgrades are tied in with work on The Lot, which pretty much ended last weekend due to encroaching cold weather. (Last weekend you could see a white tint on the top of Boreas Pass and other high peaks. Good thing we already “visited” Mtn Laurie up there for this year.)  We finished clearing The Nook to our satisfaction; the last of the firewood from this area is in the trailer and waiting for me to finish cutting it up later this week.

Last load of wood for 2015

Firewood waiting for delivery

It is always sad to shut down The Lot for the year and bring The Box home. It means summer is really over and signals an end to our weekends in the high country. I’ll miss my campfires under the stars.

Last campfire of 2015

Speaking of campfires…

Our gas range, 21 years old and original to the house, developed a leak and is not worth repairing. We have a new GE unit on order with expected delivery of October 13th. In the meantime we are using our 2-burner Coleman camp stove and microwave for cooking. Camping at home!

Camping at home with the Coleman stove

I did get one last ATV/Fall Color trip completed a couple weeks ago, a re-visit of Webster Pass and the surrounding area.

Old cabin along Forest Road 290

Gold Aspen along Handcart Gulch

I can say I am tired. August, September, and early October — a very busy time, including nights and weekends. Once we get the last of the wood cut and delivered, get The Box home from The Lot, and complete a few chores around the house (Pam wants a new raised flower bed and some fence work done) I will be ready for a break. By that time fall chores will have started, mostly raking leaves and mulching flower beds so we will see how much of a break I actually get!

A couple of miscellaneous notes…

KitKat has decided she wants to be an indoor-outdoor cat and has taken to coming into the house for long stretches of time, including overnight. She was the most anti-social kitten we fostered, and after Pam put KitKat outside I didn’t think she would even stay around. Surprise! KitKat even lets me pet her while she is in the house. Unbelievable.

The Honda turned over 377,000 miles last week. We are aiming for 500,000 miles. There are signs the transmission (automatic) is not what it used to be, particularly when cold, and we are just hoping it hangs in there through the winter.

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

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

With the conclusion of the work on the Sanderling property for the year, we commence the winter project – our search for a retirement house.  Actually, the realtor who sold us the Sanderling property has already shown us several houses in the Fairplay area, so the search has begun.  Two schools of thought about a retirement location – we are attracted to the water and recreational aspects of Vallecito Lake near Durango.  But, their internet situation at the moment is not good and I need reliable internet to work at home.  An alternative would be finding a retirement home near the mountain property in the Fairplay/Alma area.  Internet is somewhat more established in Park County, and of course it would be nice to be a half hour drive away from Sanderling rather than four hours.  Homes everywhere in Colorado are expensive; it will take us a bit longer to put together the [outrageous] down payment needed, so the search will continue. If it takes as long to find a house as it did to settle on the Sanderling property, we are in for a two year run.

Clover Court home for sale near Fairplay

Happy Trails!