Category: General (Page 3 of 64)

Today’s post will cover several unrelated topics, kind of a “catch all” of news and photos that don’t have a common theme. There are some photos of the yard, news on the new house across the road, some weather related notes, and a few miscellaneous photos from my recent trip to Colorado. Enjoy!

Pam’s sunflowers are doing really well this year and the hydrangea, morning glories, Grandpa Otts, and phlox are in full bloom. These bright and cheerful plants add color and enjoyment to the yard.

In weather related news, we had a flood watch a few days ago due to getting nearly 6 inches of rain overnight.

Thankfully we did not experience any problems, other than some moisture in the lower basement, but a large branch fell out of dead oak tree a few days prior. (We have contracted a tree service to remove our huge dead oak, at a cost of nearly $4,200. Sadly, the tree is too rotten to save the squirrel branches into surrounding canopy.)

Removing the oak will be a project, as the dog run fencing must come out to allow equipment access to the tree. Pam plans a revamping of the run to make it a bit smaller when reinstalled; given that only Grayce uses it much any more we don’t need to have it as large as it currently sits. The removal will happen in about a month and will be the topic of another post.

The house across Main Street from us appears to be finished except for on-going yard work. Recent finishing touches include the installation of gutters and front steps. Best news for us: The Porta-potty has been removed! Actually, it has been kind of nice not having the workmen around; they have left, taking their early morning/blaring radios with them.

Heart House projects will pick up again now that the weather is entering a cooler phase. This last week I repaired a front porch handrail and a section of rail on the east porch. Rot in the rails, particularly the bottom rails, is an ongoing issue.

Fall is approaching and acorns are beginning to fall. We hear them hitting the roof and garage and see them on the lawn and sidewalks. As we have done in recent years, we are harvesting some of the acorns to feed the squirrels during the winter. Eventually we will have saved a couple bushels of acorns.

Finally, a few miscellaneous photos from my Colorado trip.

Wood bridges are unusual; I know of only one other still in service, located in the upper peninsula of Michigan. (Photo below.) Given Colorado’s traditionally low humidity I expect this bridge will have a long service life.

I know this has been a somewhat eclectic post, but I wanted to cover several topics this time.

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

Pam’s Penny

It is property tax and homeowners insurance payment time again. Yippee. Property tax has somewhat leveled out this year, at a rate we consider high for a dinky town with limited-to-no services. (The local municipal sewage rate has doubled to address updates to the aging facility, but that is of course in addition to the property tax.)

Our homeowners insurance company’s five year audit [last year] significantly increased our homeowners insurance, and this year several hundred more dollars were added to the total due. The informational chart below was added to our billing to illustrate the impacts of climate change on the insurance industry. Government legislators, at both the local and national levels, can deny climate change all they want — the proof is in the billings.

Sidebar: We can only laugh at the “replacement cost” valuation on our homeowners insurance. How can you replace a historic house? The value is in the age, not something you can (or could afford to) recreate.

Rock on!

Today’s Humor:

I made two trips into the old mining town of Tin Cup, one over Cumberland Pass and the other over Tin Cup Pass. I am combining both trips into one post, so be ready for a load of photos! (Note: Most signs have “Tin Cup” as two words while other references spell it as one word. I will use the two word version.)

Pam and I had mad a trip to Tin Cup decades ago, in our early years of living in Colorado. I was interested to see what had happened to the town since then.

The first trip was over Cumberland Pass, a previously county maintained road that has fallen into official disuse but is still quite actively used by off-road travelers. It is not a difficult trail and offers scenic views of the Rockies. And, common with these old roads, there is old mining activity along the way.

Here are some photos of this outing.

Tin Cup is now a happening place with many rebuilt cabins, a store, and a restaurant.

I returned to my starting point, the town of Pitkin, and then back to the lot for the night.

A few days later I resolved to make another trip to Tin Cup, this time by going to the town of St. Elmo and over Tin Cup Pass. Again, this is a scenic trip with mining activity in the area.

For me, trips like these are the reasons I enjoy Colorado so much. Mining history, ATV trails, long scenic views, and ghost towns that are now making a comeback; I enjoy it all. I put 138 miles on the ATV during my two weeks this time, a record for me.

While I was away from Elma there were things happening, and I will cover those in my next post.

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

Pam’s Penny

Pam says this post is long enough already and she does not have any additional comments.

Today’s Humor:

The first ATV trip on my recent Colorado trip was to the Cloverdale Mine, located west of the town of Silver Cliff. One of my friends, Howard Bonser, had a personal connection to the mine owner and had visited the area several times. He recommended this trip.

Known locally as Trail 198 or the Rainbow Lake Trail, this route is very rough and rocky as are most of the western Colorado trails. Although only about 9 miles long, low-range operation is the rule of the day and getting up to 5 mph makes you feel like you are flying. Most of the route is 2 – 3 mph tops.

Here are a few highlights from this route.

This was one of a few old mine structures in the area, but not part of the Cloverdale Mine which is a bit further up the trail. Other mine ruins were in the area as well.

I rode to the end of the trail before heading back to stop at the Cloverdale Mine.

These next few photos were taken at the Cloverdale Mine site, still privately owned. The mine was active until about 1960. Copper, silver, and lead were the main products although there was a small amount of gold taken out as well.

A few cabins remain at the main camp located downhill and across from the mine portal.

While I have several more photos of the area, I think I better quit while I am ahead.

Returning back to The Lot, I took this after-the-rain photo looking across South Park.

This concluded my full-day riding of trail #198 to the Cloverdale Mine. In my next post I will combine two trips, the first over Cumberland Pass into the town of Tin Cup, and the second a visit to St. Elmo and my trip over Tin Cup Pass into Tin Cup.

I do have a sad note to add. JoJo, our second-oldest dog, passed away in the early hours of Saturday, August 9th.

JoJo (Auburn Jo) had joined our family in the fall of 2011. A rescue dog, she had a great heart and loved to run. RIP.

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

Pam’s Penny

Two of my rescue friends, who knew JoJo throughout her life, summed up Jo’s personality very well. One said Jo was always a pup at heart. The other observed Jo was a great sister dog to the rest of the pack. Both comments are so true. Jo lived to be 14.5 years, a good lifetime for a (mainly) springer spaniel.

While Jo was in some distress, her final hours of discomfort were limited; her symptoms progressed quickly. Jo was as comfortable as I could manage (without after-hours vet care, rarely available in rural Iowa and certainly not during fair season, when the vets are working with fair stock). One of my wishes for all our animals is to have them die peacefully at home. Jo was with us and the other dogs and cats, a comforting place to be. We buried her in the garden.

Happy Trails, JoJo.

I was in Colorado for two weeks, working around The Lot and riding my ATV on new trails. A few repairs to The Box were undertaken, one successful, the other not.

I will cover these events through this and the next few posts, starting with a few around-the-lot photos and an ATV trip to Hermits Pass. There will be many images!

There were a few repairs I had to make to The Box: Replace the A/C cover and repair the refrigerator. The old A/C cover had been damaged in a hail storm last year, and I had found a replacement on-line. That chore went fairly well, but I do not relish working on top of the RV.

A second chore involved the refrigerator. Last fall it would work on electrical power but not on LP gas. Research indicated the gas burner was not lighting for some reason. I had purchased a new “flame tube” (which is what manufacturer Norcold calls the burner) and a new igniter. With these parts installed the refrigerator ran on LP, a great relief for me as I had not wanted to be running the generator on and off to keep my food cold.

Unfortunately, during a heave rain storm I found I have a leak somewhere in the roof. This I tried to fix with a can of FlexSeal, but I must have missed a spot as a second storm showed me a leak was still present. I pulled a tarp over the front half of the trailer before I left, but it looks like the next trip out will have to include a new roof sealing kit. Look at the top of The Box and you will see the blue tarp.

Other work around the lot included cutting some brush and a few dead trees. The ATV was pressed into service to haul salvageable trees to my stack of logs to be cut into firewood at some future date.

With nighttime temps in the upper 40s and daytime temps in the upper 60s to low 70s, I was quite comfortable. Humidity ranged from 17 to about 40 percent. I spent time under my canopy, sitting at my table with chairs enhanced with some red cushions I had brought along. (ATV is under the black cover.)

The first few days I was in Colorado were spent with a couple friends based out of Westcliffe, SE of Salida. While they did Saturday and Sunday rides on their motorcycles I took off to ride trails with my ATV. One of these trails was to the top of Hermits Pass, elevation 13,037 feet.

This trail was originally a supply route between the San Louis Valley and the Wet Mountain Valley. There are no mines or any sign of human activity along the way. I did see lakes, flowers, butterflies, and marmots.

The trail was rough and rocky but not technically challenging. I was fortunate to have good weather for this scenic trip as you can see in the following photos.

While the trail was rough it was a good outing and I was pleased to have made the trip. Later that evening my friends and I had a dinner of barbequed chicken, veggies, and good companionship. It was a very good day.

In my next post I will document my trip to Rainbow Lake and the Cloverdale Mine plus an excursion from Pitkin to Tin Cup.

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

There is no Pam’s Penny this time around.

Today’s Humor:

Lately I have not done back-to-back posts, generally preferring bi-weekly updates. However, I will be in Colorado for a couple weeks and wanted to get a post published before I leave.

Topics this time include our local celebration, Elma Trail Days, and a trip north to attend my 55th class reunion. Read on!

Elma used to be a railroad town, with the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad having a large roundhouse here that repaired locomotives and rolling stock. After the railroad left, in the early ’80s, the road bed was converted to a hiking / biking path that connects with others trails in the area. Trail Days celebrates the town’s role in using these trails and is held the weekend following the 4th of July.

A parade is the centerpiece, along with a free concert, vendors, and other local events. Here are a few photos of the types of entries one will see in an Iowa small-town parade.

Old tractors are common.

Agricultural equipment is often showcased.

Classic cars, such as this early Thunderbird, are common.

Hoses and mules are always included.

Water cannons and thrown candy are a staple.

This year’s parade was one of the better ones we have seen. One thing we miss, however, is the absence of bands or musical groups. They just don’t show up in Elma.

We watch the parade from our front porch, as the route comes down Main Street, right in front of our house. The weather was very good with cooler than average temperatures and a light breeze that helped keep the bugs at bay. I enjoyed the morning’s event; Pam was in-an-out watching Grayce.

The other news of the week centered around my 55th class reunion. Held in conjunction with the class of ’68 and ’69, there was not a massive turn out. My class of ’70 was only about 63 people and the other classes had similar populations.

Held near Medford, Wisconsin, I drove up and stayed overnight. Of my classmates, I recognized only a few and had to guess or be re-introduced to others. The conversations were similar: Where do you live now, what was your occupation, have you kept in touch with so-and-so?

The event lasted about 3 hours (3:00 – 6:00 PM) and I enjoyed touching bases with the guys and girls with whom I had gone through high school. I was sorry to learn that many of my old friends have passed away or have very serious health issues. We are all getting old.

While I have no photos to post of the event, I do have a couple photos of odd (unusual?) things I saw on the way there and back. Take a look.

Keeping with the chainsaw theme, here is a collection presented in an unusual way.

There were several more posts in the lineup that I could not fit into the camera’s field of view. Me, I would have tried to restore these relics instead of turning them into yard art, but whatever floats your boat!

Another place had some interesting yard art, including this piece.

I guess one needs something to do during those long and cold northern Wisconsin winters.

In a few days I will be heading out to Colorado for a couple weeks so my next post will be somewhat delayed. I will be meeting up with a few friends near Westcliffe (in south central Colorado) before returning to The Lot. There happen to be several ATV trails in that area, all new to me, and I am looking forward to the trip.

A brief note: I have created a new Gallery consisting of photos from various ATV trips taken in Colorado and Utah. Please check it out!

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

Pam’s Penny

One objective for returning to the Midwest to live was reconnecting with people known while living here previously. This July has certainly been active in that regard – my brother’s visit, the funeral of Himself’s aunt, and the aforementioned class reunion. Added to these — one of Himself’s college friends recently read this blog and made a connection that had lapsed for over a decade.

Rock on.

Today’s Humor:

There were two major stories of the last week: 4th of July and a funeral for my Aunt Gina. Expanded comments below.

The 4th of July is always a big event for us. This year we had guests consisting of Pam’s brother Craig and his wife Dianne (plus Sully, their dog) and Pam’s sister Becky. A good July lunch was consumed, consisting of boiled-in-beer bratwurst, potato salad, chips, fruit, lemonade, vegetable tray with dip, and rhubarb desert with ice cream topping.

We spend a few hours in good conversation, catching up with family news and events that had happened since our last meeting. We stayed indoors for the most part as temps were at the 88 degree level and it was quite humid. Not the hottest day of the year, but among the top 5 so far.

Sully and Grayce (the two dogs) had a good time playing with each other as Sully’s activity level is quite a bit higher than our older dogs. They played outside for a while and inside as well. I think Grayce enjoyed the visit as much as we did.

We enjoyed the visit, the company, and the good conversations around the table.

The other major event was the funeral of my Aunt Gina. She passed away at the age of 104. Of that family of 4, including my father, my Uncle Frank is the only one left, and he is 100. Due to rehabilitation efforts Uncle Frank was not able to attend, but some of his family was there.

it was interesting to reconnect with some of my cousins. Some I recognized, some I did not. It really hit home to me how old my generation is getting, however. Many of my cousins had their grandchildren in attendance, a generation I know almost nothing about.

The funeral was held in Withee, Wisconsin, at the same cemetery where my parents are buried. The Catholic mass was held in Chippewa Falls, west of Withee, in a quite nice (and air conditioned) church.

I had to get suits out of the closet and try them on to see if I had one that still fit. Luckily, one did, and a few others were donated to the resale shop here in town. Of my few remaining good shirts, Pam had to move a top button so I could fasten the shirt to put on a tie.

While it was a somber event, I still enjoyed getting out and reconnecting with some extended family. The day was long, on the road at around 8:00 A.M. and getting home just before 10:00 P.M., but I had chosen a couple routes not previously traveled and enjoyed seeing parts Minnesota and Wisconsin new to me.

I’ll post one photo of the event, taken at the cemetery just before internment.

As I mentioned, my parents are buried in the same cemetery:

Yes, my brother and I both had our last name legally changed to Fields before each of us was married. Dad used to tell us the original name translated into “field of flowers” or “field of violets” which is where the name Fields came from.

Around the yard, day lilies are blooming and new grass is coming in on the bare spot left after the sidewalk repair. Good to see it filling in. I will be heading to Colorado in a few weeks, meeting up with a few friends before taking some ATV rides and working a bit on The Lot. Looking forward to that trip. Also have a class reunion coming up in about a week, don’t know how many of my high school classmates (class of ’70) will show, looking forward to that as well.

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

Pam’s Penny

July 4th is THE holiday where Heart House really shows off, with bunting and flags. The relatives saw the place in its glory, with the lawn and plantings at their peak. NE Iowa delivered its trademark heat-plus-humidity summer combo.

Be cool and rock on.

Today’s Humor:

Summer is here; temperatures this weekend are predicted to be in the upper 90 degree range with “feels like” ratings of over 100. The peonies bloomed and I attended a No Kings rally. Details below!

We have three varieties of peonies in the front yard. They include a deep red, white, and traditional pink. The deep reds bloomed first, followed by the pink and white varieties.

Unfortunately, a heavy rain and high winds did a number on the peonies and their blooming days were cut short. We enjoyed them while they were at their finest!

Note: I have added flower photos to my Gallery page. A few are from Colorado and the rest from around Heart House.

I attended a No Kings rally, held in Cresco, Iowa. The crowd was small, just over 60 attendees in this very small town, but we received many honks and thumbs up from traffic going by (in addition to a few thumbs down).

There were some really good signs from other protests as well. I liked these from Buzzfeed:

At any rate, it was good to get out and express my feelings with others of a like mind.

I have a few unrelated comments regarding some odds and ends. The first concerns replies to my blog posts.

A few weeks back I had changed a setting on submitting comments, removing the need to add a user name and e-mail address. I immediately saw a dramatic uptick in spam and advertising, so I have put the requirement for name and e-mail back on.

I hope this change back to the original settings does not make a problem for regular commenters.

Here is a photo that shows off a Christmas gift from Becky, a phone holder for my truck. I used the holder on my trip to visit Felicity and Peter in New York. The holder, which attached to the AC vent, worked fine and I was glad to have it.

A medical note: I had a routine eye exam this past week and it appears I have small cataracts developing, particularly in my right eye. Two more exams are scheduled to do advanced diagnostic, but it appears I may be having surgery sometime in October. This is a developing story.

Speaking of developing, here is a recent photo of the house going in across Main Street from us. Progress appears to be slow, but I believe the electric service has been installed and the porches have been framed in. Roofing should follow shortly.

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

Pam’s Penny

The local weatherman predicted the weekend weather: NE Iowa would have humid “air you can wear.” An accurate prediction (this time). Elma is experiencing Midwest humidity at its most oppressive. These conditions are hardest on the dogs and outside cats; long hair and fur obviously are not an advantage in hot summer conditions.

Be cool.

Today’s Humor:

Flowers come and go this time of year. The lilacs and butterfly bush are done, but other flowers are blooming. Here is a short photo tour of our yard as of June 6th. Please click on the image(s) to open a larger version in a new tab.

We are nearing the end of another project: Sidewalk renewal is nearly complete. We received and spread a load of dirt over the mess caused by the tearing up of the old sidewalk when replacing the water line. I put down some grass seed a few days ago and hope the new grass comes in OK.

A part of the same project included a reconfiguration of the dog run. Part of it had been removed to let the equipment have access to the old sidewalk, and the fencing had to be reinstalled. We decided to place the fencing and gate nearer to the back steps, granting easier access to the water hose and making the area a bit easier to mow.

This was a multi-day project as I needed to let the concrete set up around the posts before stringing the fence and hanging the gate. Pam had a section of temporary fence in place during this time.

It has been an active time since my last post, with work on the yard, planting flowers in baskets and hanging them, finishing the dog run, and doing other yard work. I received a new lawn blade sharpening fixture, pulled the blades off the rider and push mower, and sharpened them. (Previously I had sharpened them ‘freehand’ using an angle grinder.) Both units are now cutting very well and the yard is looking good; the recent rains helped keep everything green.

One other change affected my stereo system. My old Pioneer receiver had been having a channel cut out every now and then; it finally died altogether. I replaced it with a used Denon DRA-425R found on eBay. It is nice to have both channels back again, particularly on Saturday mornings (when I usually do my blog) with American Top 40 oldies playing on the radio in the background.

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

Pam’s Penny

Grayce Update: Dare I say I think she may be toilet trained? Hard to say definitively, because she’s been spending so much time outside. I still don’t trust her to run free (unsupervised) in the house. Besides which, that pup is a destructive chewer; she could easily take out a few pieces of furniture left unattended. Grayce will be spayed this coming Tuesday.

Rock on.

Today’s Humor:

A major project began this week: Replacement of broken sidewalks. I have many photos of the action plus a Gallery of photos.

Lilacs make another appearance as they are at peak this week. I hope you enjoy the pics.

We knew we needed to replace the sidewalk that had been taken out when the water line was replaced. Mervin, the cement guy, came out to give us a quote for the work. To meet the minimum amount of cement that needed to be ordered, we expanded the scope of the work to replace a section of the Main Street walkway and another section around the south end of the house. (This section runs between the east porch and the south walk that goes out to the garage.)

Work began this week. While not yet fully completed, the cement has been poured and all that remains is to remove the rest of the forms and cut the expansion slots. Here are a few photos of the action.

We are now looking at a fair amount of work to clean up around the new walkways, but are pleased to have the new walks in place.

If interested, I have created a new Gallery with these and other photos of the project.

I have a few more photos of lilacs and other plants from around the yard. A recent rain and few days of strong winds have done a number on the lilacs but their fragrance is still strong.

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

Pam’s Penny

Those damn outside cats walked across the wet cement at least four times. One of them actually waded into a freshly-poured section with ALL four legs. (I had to grab that cat, scruff him, and wipe down his legs with a soapy wet towel. Idiot.) The work crew was patient about repairing the damage every time.

Mervin, the cement contractor, is one of my favorite Iowa people. He is such a pleasure to work with; his crew of young people is a well-oiled machine of worker bees. His team does have the unfortunate habit of showing up around 7:00 a.m. however. After retirement, we rarely “do” 7:00 a.m. anymore.

Rock on.

Humor corner:

This will be a very short post, consisting mostly of a 1:30 video of Grayce trying to play with Elmo. (Elmo was not buying into it.) Also included: A couple shots of lilacs blooming around the yard.

Grayce continues to try and play with Elmo with very mixed results. Sometimes Elmo will join in and chase Grayce around the laundry room. Other times Elmo will just ignore Grayce, as is the case in this video.

Grayce also tries to play with the outside cats when they come around the dog run. So far, these cats won’t join in but that does not stop Grayce from trying to find a play partner. One cat, Cookie, does get close to Grayce but keeps the fence safely between himself and the dog. I will try to get videos of these interactions if I can.

The lilacs are in full bloom — I sit on the porch and enjoy the delightful aroma of the blooms. Here are a couple photos of the blossoms.

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

Pam’s Penny

I guess if the resident dogs don’t want to play, Grayce will settle for cats. Grayce’s “ah-roo” bark seems to be developing.

Rock on, Grayce,

Today’s Humor: