Mid-September

Pam and I went to The Lot this weekend but, for once, didn’t have any major projects planned. We had driven the truck with the idea of taking a couple of loads of slash to the burn pit. We’re working Birdhouse Ridge, so named as Pam has put several birdhouses up in trees along the top of this ridge. As you are standing on the driveway looking up toward The Box, Birdhouse Ridge is to your left.  The ridge borders our neighbor Jessie’s property.

We had cleared the lower slopes of this ridge earlier this year but had left several small piles of wood on top. Of the 4 piles up there, 3 were removed this trip and the 4th was substantially reduced. There are quite a few old pine logs in play that I will sort through, keeping some as firewood and trashing the rest.  While not in line-of-sight of The Box, these piles of slash date back to our early days on the lot as this area was where we had begun our lot clean-up. We used the ridge as an entry way into the saddle and had cleared a nice trail and removed a number of dead aspen up there. We felt good about getting a start on clearing this area.  More work on Birdhouse Ridge will be on next year’s list.

A secondary project, begun on Sunday, was to clear the Pavilion Point path. This necessitated cutting a number of dead aspen and moving wood from the path we normally use to get  to the point. Pam raked the trail as well, making it far easier to walk (no pine cones rolling under your feet) and stacked quite a bit of old wood along the outside edges. This really defined the pathway and, as Pam likes to say, “brings order out of chaos.” The path is not completely done, as I need to create a few bench/resting places and remove quite a bit of dead wood that lies on either side of the path.  Another one for the project list next year. Our goal was to make the walk to the point easier than it now is.  Pam’s observation is when we create something – a fire pit, a path, a bench – we use it.  Otherwise, it’s just dreams.

Speaking of benches…

I did work on my first bench which overlooks the proposed cabin site. I found it is not easy cutting a flat surface with a chain saw, but I did manage to get the bench into a functional state. I lifted one end with a jack while Pam slid the resting block under the main log. (Teamwork is a great thing.) Then I cut the flat area with the saw. I’ll need to bring up a plane to really finish it off, but the bench is now a part of the landscape. Eventually I’ll move it to a different location but for now it is a nice place to sit and enjoy the view over South Park, a view I hope to enjoy from my living room in the not-too-distant future.

Jerry on bench #1

Bench has a view “down valley”

We did a few other small chores. I took my chain saw and cut a number of low-hanging branches from some of the evergreen trees near the walking paths. Many of these branches were dead and didn’t look very aesthetically pleasing, so pruning was in order. I also loaded some lengths of pine logs in the truck bed to bring home to cut into firewood, splitting a few small pieces to use in our Sanderling fire pit. The pit was fired up a couple of times, including Sunday morning; I was able to sit near the fire and enjoy the morning light while sipping on a cup of hot tea and eating a muffin. It made for a very pleasant start to the day.

Morning campfire

All in all it was a more relaxed weekend than is normal for us. We knocked off earlier in the day on Saturday, then took our leisurely time getting started on Sunday. The weather was perfect and the furnace didn’t have to run very often over night.

However, for the first time in two weeks we did have a mouse in the trap — the mouse wars are not over. Reduced, yes, but not over. I didn’t catch any mice overnight (Saturday into Sunday) but I’m not ready to declare victory.  All the retail and hardware stores in our area are out of mouse traps, apparently hunters are buying them in quantities this time of year as mice have moved into their hunting cabins.  So we are not alone in the mouse wars.

The fall colors are starting to become evident and peak color will be in two weeks or so. We plan to make a couple more visits and hope to hit the peak color on The Lot before we finally shut down for the winter. One night was already below freezing but the 10 day outlook for Como shows night temps going up slightly to near 40. If this continues we may have more than two weeks left in the season. Two weekends of beautiful fall weather would be amazing!  We’ll just have to keep an eye on the forecast and watch for when temps consistently drop below freezing — letting the RV water and sewage tanks slush up is not an option.

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

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

I’ve been viewing the future Sanderling house location from different aspects recently.  Factoring in defensible space around the building itself, there will be a fair number of evergreens visible from the dwelling windows (in addition to the ever-present aspen).  A real house in the woods! With a view!

Twilight in the aspen grove was magic last weekend.  The fading light on the golden leaves will highlight even more color this weekend.  Nice.

Happy Trails.