Category: General (Page 37 of 64)

This post covers events of May 21, 22,and 23: I pulled the chipper and The Box (two trips) up to The Lot on Sanderling Court. Snow was a factor, as you will see.

The first trip, with the chipper, was a day trip on Sunday, May 21st. Taking the chipper would get it to The Lot, first, so I could get The Box set up OK on the second trip.

I stopped in Frisco with the chipper on the Sunday trip. The town of Frisco has a small rest area which is a frequent stop on the way to The Lot. You can tell by the snow  that winter is not over yet.

Chipper at the Frisco rest area, May 21st

The Lot, however, was clear of snow on Sunday, and in the middle of an early spring that comes this time of year to 9,600 feet elevation.

The Lot’s driveway on May 21st

On Monday I towed The Box up to The Lot and set it up for the summer. When I went to bed it was Spring. Overnight it snowed:

Tuesday morning snow, May 23rd

I was not expecting the white stuff but it did make for some interesting photos.

Flag flying agains the late spring snow

Spring aspen leaves capped with fresh snow

The flag holder is new this year. Also new is a better way to add water to The Box’s water tank. In the past I had to use a funnel and pour water into the tank one gallon at a time. This year I bought a 12-volt RV water pump, made up a long power cord that plugs into the truck’s power socket, and added a couple food-grade hoses. The result was a water transfer system that made it much easier to get water into the tank. When dealing with around 46 gallons, still pumped by hand, anything that makes this chore easier is appreciated!

New water transfer system is an improvement over hand-pouring

It was a long and busy three days getting both chipper and RV to the high country, but worth the effort. The Box is set up and has a full tank of fresh water and the chipper is on The Lot where we can begin using it in the clean up effort. The fresh snow proved to be more of a visual delight than a hinderance (it was mostly gone by lunch on Tuesday) and I had a good time walking around The Lot taking pictures and enjoying the sight of the snow-capped  mountains around South Park.

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

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

Our youngest dog, Jo, ended up in the local paper. Our dog grooming place (in Glenwood Springs) was the subject of a write-up for Best Local Groomer, and Jo happened to be on the grooming table when photos were taken for the article. Here is Jo being groomed by Nancy (AKA Aunt Nan):

“Celebrity” Auburn Jo in local paper

Sanderling Season is about to happen.  Bro Craig called – he and his wife Dianne have arrived in Colorado Springs already.  We will rendezvous at Sanderling this Friday. Let the Summer begin!

Happy Trails.

Looking forward on the calendar to next week, I had scheduled a few days off so I could tow The Box (RV trailer) up to our Sanderling lot and get it set up for the season. However, the latest forecast features below-freezing temps and snow for Thursday and Friday, the days I had planned to make the trip.

Next week’s forecast in Como

In light of road conditions, I have to re-think my timing and schedule the drive to the high country the following Monday – Tuesday, if I can get my boss to agree to the switch in vacation days. I wouldn’t mind the colder temperatures – The Box has a furnace for the overnight stay –  but I am reluctant to try to get up the driveway if it’s covered in 3 – 10 inches of new snow. Actually, the ground at elevation is already warm enough so snow wouldn’t accumulate, but slush on the driveway is just as difficult to travel through.

We continue to prepare The Box for summer use. Pam bought a few new rugs to replace the old ones we had been using and, during the last grocery shopping trip, we began buying the consumables needed to restock the pantry. I took the one empty propane tank and had it filled, so now both tanks are full and ready to go. The tanks are 7 gallon (30 pound) tanks; cost to fill one tank (6.8 gallons) came in at $21.53 with tax. Last year we used about 14 gallons – two tanks worth – through the summer. That was a bit less than average as we did not get up to The Lot until June due to using the RV for housing during a visit from the kids.

Technology Update: This may sound a bit odd, but we have never owned a family cell phone. Really. I have carried a cell phone for years, but it’s a company-issued phone. This year, for Mother’s Day, I signed Pam up for a plan that included an iPhone 6s. Now comes the learning curve…

Pam’s new iPhone 6s

Given the time we’ll be on the road this summer, often in different vehicles, a cell phone seems like a good investment. I will have my “official” phone and Pam will carry the family phone. So far Pam has set up a couple contacts, taken a photo and e-mailed it to herself, sent and received text messages (to and from me) as well as changing a few settings (ring tone and background screen) to begin personalizing her account. It will take a bit to get everything set up the way she likes but the process has begun.

The account was set up through Verizon as they offer a government employee discount. This makes Verizon competitive with T-Mobile, Sprint, Consumer Cellular, and other carriers. The 400 minutes (plus a suite of other services) came in at about $48.00 per month with no charge for the phone. Contract is month-to-month, which has both some pros and cons; Pam will see how this plan works out for her. The main thing is having a phone. The other services will get occasional use but I doubt if she will use it to view movies, stream data, or do video chatting to any great degree.

Locally here in town, the free dumpster has arrived.  Woo-hoo! The arrival of the roll-off dumpster is an annual event that is supposed to encourage home and lot clean-up. This generally helps; the dumpster, a large commercial-size unit, always gets filled to capacity. Each year we find a few things to dispose of. This year it was an old office chair [that we replaced a couple months ago] – we purchased the original office chair in Hillsboro, OR (1986?) at a sidewalk sale for $5, think we got our use out of it.

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

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

I’ve resisted the expense/hassle of a cell phone for years.  I don’t find their operation particularly intuitive.  However, I also don’t fancy myself stuck on the side of a mountain road with three dogs and no way to contact assistance. Guess I’m losing the sense of adventure as I age.

It’s Mother’s Day.  Did your children remember?  Likely not.  Another one of those manufactured Hallmark holidays.

Crazy Cat Lady Update: I did manage to capture the petite black cat [I think is pregnant] from the back deck feeding station.  Led me a merry chase, that one.  Now to see if the animal actually is pregnant, or even is female.  I follow my instincts and observations (rapid weight gain, interaction with male toms), but I’ve been known to be inaccurate in identifying gender for feral cats.

Happy Trails.

Weather in this part of the country can be uncertain. Not long ago we had snow; last night into this morning we had a good soaking rain. A check of the Como weather (nearest town to The Lot) shows night-time temps in the high country to be above freezing on a consistent basis. This means it is time to prepare The Box (our RV trailer) for summer use.

While there are few repairs that need to be done, unlike last year when several maintenance items were needed, preparing The Box still takes some work. Bedding and clothing needs to be put in place, cleaning after the winter, including washing all surfaces, and checking all lights and mechanical systems. Each little bit takes time. I have one propane cylinder to get filled and have yet to flush the RV antifreeze out of the water lines; the preparations will continue for a while yet.

Still it is progress to see the bed made and clothing in the closets, as anticipation builds to get the summer season underway. Pam has a list of groceries to restock what food items we need; over the years we have cut back on the quantity of food stored, instead we bring more with us on weekend visits.

More flowers are beginning to bloom; we have peony, flax, and iris right now but the lilacs are not doing much. I think this may be due to a late freeze. There are some buds on the white lilac so we will have to see if we get some flowers or not.

Tree peony has more blossoms than usual

Honey Locus tree (center) greening out for 2017

I worked on another annual spring project, getting the evaporative cooler (swamp cooler) ready for the season. A new water valve had to be purchases and installed; the old valve would no longer shut off completely and was leaking around the valve stem. Water to the house was shut off during this repair but not for more than about 10 minutes. We have already had a few mid-80 degree days, well above average for this time of year, so it was time to get ready for more hot days.

It’s spring at the feral cat feeder, too. Pam is trying to trap a cat that may be preggers; while not eager to take on another feral mom cat and litter, it’s hard not to take some action to try to save newborn kittens in this neighborhood. However, this particular petite black cat –whom Pam has named Rambler — seems to be very aware of the attempts to trap her and so far has not been caught. The game goes on.

Sometimes small events just happen. The city has re-opened a dump site for organic materials, such as cut grass and tree limbs, so I no longer have to make trips to an old gravel pit to get rid of the grass clippings. Our old screen door (I had replaced it with a new one a couple weeks ago) is gone. Placed on our corner with a “Free” sign on it, a neighbor picked it up a few hours later. Saves me the cost of a trip to the dump and maybe the door will see some additional use. Or maybe it will show up in a yard sale; who knows?

I put a link to our 2017 Easter card on my E-cards page. The card is just a reminder that the “treasure at the end of the rainbow” is most often our friends. We hope everyone had a good Easter celebration.

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

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

Spring explodes around here, and with it comes yard work and cleaning projects. And kittens, yes, always kittens.

Happy Trails.

There has not been a lot going on this week so this is likely to be a quick post. Most of what we have been doing is just a normal routine. There are a few bits of news, though.

Health for both of us has been an issue; Pam’s bursitis in her left knee has been acting up making it painful to walk. Cold compresses and her TENS machine have helped, along with an anti-inflammatory drug, but getting around is still both slow and painful. Thankfully this episode seems to be on the decline but full recovery seems a way off yet.

I am getting over a nasty cold which has sapped my energy and leads to fits of coughing. As of today I am getting better but let’s just say the last couple weekends have seen little activity outside the minimum necessary to take care of the yard and grocery shopping. Hopefully, by next week, this will be past and I can get started on preparing The Box to take up to The Lot.

Commuting to work has become more difficult due to road construction around Glenwood Springs. A major project to replace the aging bridge over the Colorado River has been on-going for over a year now and will continue for another year. At the moment various access routes into town are being rebuilt or modified to accommodate the new bridge and intersections. The ongoing traffic delays are impacting our ability to get to work.

Typical construction affecting our commute

Access will get much worse starting in August of this year when the physical bridge gets removed and the new bridge installed  (a 90-day process at best) forcing all traffic to get into Glenwood Springs through a 2-lane option that was never designed to handle large trucks and a high volume of traffic. Pam and I are exploring alternate work schedules or other ways to mitigate the construction clog. This will be an on-going topic in future posts!

Other short takes:

Our property assessment came in much lower than we had hoped, pretty much ending our idea of refinancing the place. Biggest problem is comparable properties; there are not many in town that have sold in the last 18 months. Our comparables include a couple of repos that were sold at very low prices, knocking down the value of our place. The property tax valuation from the county shows us losing value in the house since last year’s statement. This part of the country is not recovering from the 2007 – 2008 recession and while this makes buying a house a better deal, refinancing or selling a place means we take a major hit (since we bought in 2006). Bad timing, for sure.

The weather turned cold with fresh snow at our work places this past week. Vail Pass and Eisenhower Tunnel both closed a few times due to the number and severity of accidents attributed to the late snow storms. I emphasize that snow in late April is not at all unusual for us but it has been lovely seasonal weather for quite a while — and people forget it is still winter in the high country.

Pam has located a couple more “interesting” properties through on-line searches:

Hazel Grove Road house in Clatskanie, OR

North 5th Avenue in Stayton, OR

The listing for the Hazel Grove house (listed @ $187,000) had few inside photos, not normally a good thing (it is a bank repo), but there may be a background story to it. The North 5th Ave place (listed @ $199,000) is fairly well upgraded inside and has a detached garage, both appealing aspects of the property. One is in the “boonies” on acreage, one in town on a corner lot.  No water feature or views in either location.

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

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

Gonna need to schedule that road trip to Oregon for a retirement house “look-see.” Maybe sometime this Fall, after bringing The Box down from Sanderling, we’ll pack up the dogs in our replacement Honda and do a Pacific Northwest loop. (Still need the replacement Honda…)

Regarding the low appraisal on our present digs (a loss of $43,000 in value over ten years), you were maybe thinking I was overly dramatic in saying De Beque is a dump?  Sad validation.

Happy Trails.

SMM = Special Mobile Machinery. That is how my chipper is now registered and plated.

It took most of a day, last Wednesday, that I took off as vacation. First I had to get a temporary permit so I could pull the chipper to a weigh station. No fun waiting at the DMV – only one office in all of Mesa County, population 146,723 – for over an hour until my number was called. $7.10 later I had my temp permit.

Since I was in Grand Junction, I stopped in at a Honda dealership to take a look at an Accord that Pam had seen on-line. (We are leaning toward replacing our Accord, with 411K miles on it, with a newer vehicle.) The Honda that Pam had seen – a 2008 model with under 100K on it – already had a pending offer so I looked at what else the dealership had on hand. There was a 2010 Accord on the lot but with more miles on it, about 138K. Asking price for either vehicle was just under $10K which is what we think it will take to get a decent daily driver. This was just a scouting trip to get info so I took the salesman’s card and moved along.

Next stop was grocery shopping. The grocery list was substantial and finding everything in a relatively unknown store took some time. Then it was off to home to unload the groceries, get lunch, put the temp tag on the chipper, hook up to the Ford F-150, and head back to Grand Junction to get the chipper weighed and complete the registration.

I needed a “weight slip” to complete the paperwork and, while in Grand Junction in the a.m., I had scouted the location of two certified scales located at truck stops. When I turned up at the weigh station, I was in for a bit of consternation; the scale would not register a vehicle as light as the chipper. The 2nd truck scale gave me the same news.

By this time I was getting frustrated and a call to the DMV did not help. They claimed either of those scales should be able to weigh the chipper, and if not, the recommendation was to “…get a Yellow Pages and start looking for a scale,” which was of no help to me. I was driving back through Grand Junction on the business loop when I spotted a scrap recycler off a side road. Figuring they had to weigh “stuff” I made my way over to them. Inside the office I was greeted by a middle-aged lady who said sure, they would weigh my chipper for me (after I explained I needed a “weight slip” to title the unit).

The lady showed me which scale to use and I drove the truck and chipper onto it. The scale was in three sections so the chipper could be isolated on one section and thus get an accurate weight. (Chipper weight = 1,700 pounds; the manual had it listed at 1,680 but for some reason the DMV would not accept the manual’s stated weight.)

The process took only a few minutes, and when I went back to the office the weight slip was ready to go  – made my day! – at no charge. My mood brightened considerably.

Soo it was back to the DMV, another hour+ wait, and finally my number was called. I turned in all the papers, forms, and temp permit, answered a few questions, then we had to go outside to do a VIN inspection on the chipper. The chipper had no VIN number, only a model number and serial number. The serial number became my VIN.

At long last, after a payment of $124.95, I was handed my license plate and registration. (The title will come in the mail in about a month.) I was one happy camper at that moment. Back into the truck and home. The first thing I did when I got there was put the SMM plate on the chipper. It had been a long day but I can now legally pull the chipper to and from The Lot, or to other small jobs if something comes up.

My SMM plate

In other news…

We are looking forward to seeing Pam’s brother Craig and wife Dianne when they are in Colorado over Memorial Day weekend. We plan to meet at The Lot and spend a few days in the area. Looking at the local forecast for The Lot the rest of April, temps are still dropping below freezing but not every night. Hopefully in a few weeks (early-May?) I will be able to tow The Box up to the lot and start getting set up for the season.

Otherwise our lives are into the fair weather routine; mowing and watering the lawn, more painting of the decks, auto maintenance. I did go on another ride with the Grand Junction ATV group yesterday, which is interesting as I get to meet more and more people. (The new ATV tires worked very well on this ride.)

One evening, while I was sitting in my new recliner, I noticed KitKat had taken up her usual spot on the back of the couch:

KitKat on the back of the couch

All the pets (inside and outside) made it through the winter OK and are appreciating the warming days and nights.

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

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

I know it’s Spring cause my bursitis is acting up again.  This year my left knee has taken the hit.  With meds and time the swelling will go down, but it’s really boring to wake up every day and have to take an inventory to see what is working – and what is not.

Retirement House Hunt:  I’ve been scoping out several towns in Oregon that feature historic houses.  Brownsville and Scio offer some interesting options; they’re located in the center of the state along Oregon’s I-5 corridor.  Bigger cities close by the smaller towns would offer the medical and retail services we’ll need.  Other small communities like Mt. Angel and Amity are on the radar too, since we’ve been to both of them.  I recently located a hamlet off the coast (slightly inland from Florence) called Mapleton that intrigues.  A road trip to the Pacific Northwest is likely in order before “getting serious.”

This house in Brownsville recently sold for about $100K

Happy Trails.

This post looks to include a lot of maintenance items; some done last week and others done this weekend. I needed to take the snow blade off the John Deere lawn tractor and mount the mowing deck, change oil and filter on the Honda, mow the lawn, and work on other around-the-house chores. This is a typical “at home” weekend for us (before Sanderling season, that is).

Pam is baking a pie for our Easter dinner; she has the makings for a pumpkin pie. With my Type 2 diabetes we don’t have desserts as often as we used to and that is a missed pleasure. Pam bakes excellent pies.

Speaking of pleasures…we bought a new recliner for the living room. You might remember we had taken the old chair up to The Lot and used it there but brought it home for the winter. The old recliner will go back up to The Lot and be left there now that I have a replacement.

During the week I did replace our main entry screen door. The old door, original to the house, was beginning to sag as the hinges were getting worn. We picked up a new door at a lumber yard and proceeded to install it. That was interesting as I had never hung a screen door before and the instructions were not all that clear. None the less the door is now in place and working quite smoothly.

The door has a screen section, something Pam wanted, so we get a bit more air flow inside the house. The door looks good particularly after Pam painted the frame around it. This represents one more “update” project completed!

New screen door installed

This last week saw the ATV get a new set of tires. I had been running the original 2011 set until now and they were getting pretty worn. I found a full set on sale on Amazon for $245.00 including shipping. The tread pattern is based on a better-known brand (Maxxis) but this brand  (Sun F) was considerably less expensive. I had the tires mounted at Walmart who had the least expensive charge for this work, $32.98 for the set of 4.

Here is a photo of an old front tire (left) and a new tire. (Rear tires are the same except a bit wider.)

Left: Old tire. Right: New tire.

The rear tires were more worn than the front. I will be glad to have the extra traction when on a  trail or pulling the chipper or trailer around the lot.

Pam has been working in the flower beds, cleaning them out and getting them ready for the growing season.

Pam working in a flower bed

Of the two of us, Pam is more of a gardener than I am. She works with the flower beds and plantings; my roll is more helper than planner.

This time of year always includes a variety of projects I can work on. Keeps me busy and active, I guess. This afternoon will see me working a bit more on the back deck and, if time permits, getting a little more paint on the chipper.

Happy Easter to everyone!

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

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

The appraiser surveyed the property this past Wednesday, report due later in the month.  Refinance on hold until results are in.

The Honda, at 410,000 miles, needs $1,000 worth of tie rods etc.  This type of expenditure puts us at the point to consider replacement rather than repair. Fields wants to shoot for 450,000-500,000 on the odometer.  I’m not convinced this makes economic sense. Perhaps Felicity has the right of it – forget the expense of vehicle ownership and maintenance, and live near adequate public transportation.

Happy Trails.

Now that spring is mostly here (below freezing likely for tonight) we have started some home clean up chores (primary repainting our deck). We have an appraiser visiting on Wednesday morning as part of a refinancing scheme, so we want the place to look “spruced up.”  The forecast is 70s and 80s at the end of the week; I sure hope the freezing weather will be past us for good after tonight.

Deck painting: The main deck is 12′ by 16′ and has railings and a ramp that provides access from the driveway and garage. The deck is wood but the ramp is steel. It had been several years since I last painted the ramp and part of the deck; weather and use have taken their toll and it’s time to paint again.

I began by wire brushing and scraping the ramp to remove the loose paint. The ramp features a tread pattern so this job takes a while. After a wash with warm soapy water and letting the ramp dry off I began painting with an oil-based paint.

Oil- based paint sure takes longer to dry than latex paints. While the ramp was drying I used a ladder to get to and from the main deck and accessed the front door. When we let the dogs out we had to hand-carry them over the deck railing; Pam handed them to me from the house side and I stood on the lawn side to receive them and put them on the ground. (The dogs apparently thought this transfer was a novelty and didn’t object much.)

Pam worked on the deck sides and railings. Using a two-tone approach on the rails, the tops  were painted red and the boards painted grey. These boards also had to be scraped and wire-brushed to remove the flaking paint, so the precess was not very fast.

We kept at it and by 6:30 or so had most of the work done. Given our tired shoulders and arms, we called it a day. Some detail still needs to be done but the bulk of the work is complete. The ramp and deck look much nicer now after all our effort.

We know the before/after difference may not seem substantial and this is the type of maintenance that does not draw a lot of attention. It just makes us feel better that the place is neat and tidy. It’s more a matter of what you don’t see (flaking paint) than what you do see.

Pam’s two-color paint scheme

Ramp after paint job

We’re looking at replacing the deck planks with Trex-style material; this would cost around $1,000.00 but is needed as the existing wood planking is getting splintered and cracked. (Pam doesn’t want a vet bill for removing a large splinter from a dog’s foot at some point.) I’ve already replaced the wood in certain spots where it was getting pretty soft. We have tried to paint the deck but – due to the original stain used when the deck was new – a paint job does not stick for more than a season or two. Replacement is the best solution. It’s on the list, hopefully to be accomplished before Sanderling season starts.

Another project I plan to tackle is adding steps to the rear deck; the original steps were in bad condition and I had removed them a few years back. Municipal code requires that a house have at least two exits; adding the replacement steps will bring our second exit back into compliance.

Yard work: I mowed the entire lawn last week and found the hose and sprinklers. Our irrigation water has been turned on for the year and much of the lawn needed some extra water. Until recent rains came through it’s been pretty dry and the lawn responded well to getting some extra moisture.

High country prep: The RV needs to be opened up and we will begin to get it ready to take up to The Lot as soon as the weather cooperates. Only a few items to take care of this year; fill one of the propane tanks, check the awning mechanism, new light fixture for the dining area, general check of all systems, restocking with food, bedding, and clothing items and we should be good to go.

Chipper: I had called PowerTek with the serial number of the chipper to see if I could get a date of manufacture (which turned out to be September 26, 2002). I needed this information to fill out the request-for-title paperwork. (I hope to move forward with the title work this week.) I then did some more minor work on the chipper by removing the hydraulic motor and greasing the splines. This was recommended by the manufacturer; the guy at PowerTek suggested I grease the splines even though the procedure is not mentioned in the manual.

At work: My assistant, who had come from the Sheriff’s Office Patrol division, decided he wanted to return to Patrol after two weeks in IT, so I am again without a helper. This is kind of a PITA as I now have to reverse a lot of paperwork and reorder my work plans. Bummer.

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

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

In preparing a set of maps for my brother (so he could find the Sanderling lot for a Memorial Day visit), I realized yet-again the challenges of accessing that location. Three maps and some copy machine time later (maps for state/local/neighborhood), the route should be clear.

Send us some positive vibes for a successful appraisal.  We are trying to determine if our mortgage is still under water; this part of Colorado has not fully recovered from the great recession.

Happy Trails.

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.

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This last Saturday morning I cleaned and rebuilt the carburetor on the chipper. Using a new battery I had purchased, I crossed my fingers and turned the engine over. As you can see, the repair work was successful and the chipper came to life. Yes! (Video clip is 2:41, not long.)

The items I chipped were a few small branches that had fallen out of trees in the neighborhood during spring wind storms, plus the trunk of our past Christmas tree. I was very pleased that everything worked the way it should!

There are a couple more small items to take scare of — a battery hold-down kit and a hook for one of the safety chains need to be acquired — but for all practical purposes the chipper is ready to go to The Lot and begin helping with the clean-up. I don’t expect that to happen until May, depending on weather. Nights at The Lot are still consistently below freezing.

Colorado requires all trailers to have a license plate. It turns out Texas doesn’t have this requirement for trailers under 4,000 pounds, so I didn’t get a title or registration at purchase, just a Bill of Sale. To get a Colorado title and plate I’ll need to schedule a “certified VIN inspection” with the State Patrol, which includes more paperwork (and fees). Combining that with my Bill of Sale, I will need to go to the DMV and apply for a title, registration, and license plate. I will need to supply the DMV with the rig’s weight, a number I found in the service manual (1,680 pounds.) The weight will figure into the cost of getting the license plate as Colorado charges more as the trailer weight goes up. And, of course, to legally pull the chipper to the inspection place I will need to go to the DMV and get a 3-day temp permit. They don’t make the process easy…

Around the house, I am digging up dandelions and have mowed parts of the lawn. Our tulips are beginning to bloom and a recent small rain has helped “green up” grass and trees. Spring has arrived.

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

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

(The chipper sure is loud.)

Happy Trails.

Almost, that is. Some repairs are needed.

This post may not be of interest to most people, but I had been looking for a chipper for several months and I am going to outline how I came to get this particular rig.

An on-line auction was based out of Canyon, TX which is about 12 miles south of Amarillo, TX. I had seen this chipper in the auction catalog. On the day of the live auction I bid; my winning bid was $2,000.00 but with internet buyer’s fees and taxes the total came to $2,455.25, plus there would be the cost of getting the chipper home.

Auction house in Canyon, TX

I drove to Canyon on Sunday and stayed overnight, planning to tow the chipper home on Monday. Monday morning I arrived at the auction site office, took care of the paperwork, then went to their lot to hook up to the chipper. That is when the difficulties began.

Hooked up to chipper. Note almost flat tire on chipper

One of the tires was flat and would not hold air after it was inflated. Luckily there was a tire store on the other side of the interstate from the auction house. I was able to – slowly – drive over to the shop and get a used tire mounted…another $33.00 and a delay in getting on the road home.

Getting tire replaced

The trip home was uneventful but long, 11 hours of driving. I arrived late Monday evening. (I had arranged to take Monday and Tuesday off as vacation days.)

Tuesday I began making repairs. First, the ball coupler, part of the hitch, had been incorrectly assembled – it was a replacement for the original – and this had made hook-up difficult. I was able to reassemble the coupler correctly. Then on to the next project – the trailer jack.

The handle had been bent making its operation very difficult. I was able to remove the handle and straighten it out with the help of my shop vise and a hammer. Jack mechanism was cleaned and lubricated and the jack now works very well.

Then on to the lights. I had used my magnetic light kit to provide tail, running, turn, and brake lights on the way home but I wanted the original lights to work as they were intended. Repairs were made to the wiring harness and now all the original lights work OK.

Having downloaded a service manual from PowerTek, the manufacturer of the chipper, I went though the maintenance check list and did a preliminary examination of all the working parts, including the chipper blades, or knives as they are known. All components look to be in good condition.

The chipper was missing a battery so I used jumper cables and the Ford F-150 truck to provide battery power. The chipper engine fired but would not keep running. I removed the carburetor top plate and quickly came to the conclusion a carb cleaning and rebuild would be needed. Parts are on order (two separate kits, one for the carb, one for the choke) and I hope to complete the rebuild next weekend. Combined total for the two parts kits came to about $85.00 with shipping.

So now I have my chipper…if I can rebuild the carb and get the engine running! I still need a battery but will hold off buying one until I have the engine repairs completed. I hope to report, in my next post, that the rig is ready to go to work.

The chipper, a Power Tek model 727, is still in production. A link to the Power Tek chipper page is here. The rig has the specifications I was looking for, and I really hope it proves to be of value when we again resume the clean up of The Lot later this spring.

Chipper at home. (Yes, it will get some paint.)

ATV News: Yesterday, Saturday, I went on my first ATV club ride of the year. Twenty-two machines met just west of De Beque and we put in an all-day, 69 mile ride. That doesn’t sound like a lot of miles but trust me, this is a long ATV trip! (Particularly riding in the dust thrown up by 22 ATVs.)  Small white flowers are in bloom and it won’t be long until full spring arrives on the high desert.

We visited two lookout points, one over the Colorado River and the other over a wide canyon. The trip gave me the opportunity to introduce myself to many more club members and see local country I hadn’t visited before. Below is a photo of me taken at one of the frequent rest stops. I am in the blaze yellow vest.

Jerry with ATV group on Saturday, March 18 riding in Wild Horse Mesa

Over the spring I hope to attend more of these group ATV rides. Most are held on weekends.  Over the summer I plan to be at The Lot which will limit the number of rides I will be able to attend  but until then I’ll make the rides I can.

Later today I get to tackle the job of replacing the hood over the stove. Oh Joy! Then off to do grocery shopping.

Last weekend we took the winter mulch off the 5 flower beds. Neighborhood apple trees are in bloom and our lilac bushes are sprouting green leaves. Spring is certainly on the horizon.

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

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

First the purchase, then the parts.  The regular “machine routine,” always expensive.

Happy Trails.