The Box nearly ready….we think.

I keep saying the trailer (The Box) is nearly ready, but then we keep finding small things to do. This week we have:

Filled the water tank. Turned on the water pump and tested all water lines. Fired up and tested the hot water heater. (Hot water really is hot.) Flushed the toilet. Acquired a used weight-distribution hitch. Bought trailer mirrors from eBay. (Hope they get here soon.) Tested all the outside running lights. Bought a high-pressure tire gauge  and checked / inflated all the tires to 65 psi. Cleaned and sealed all battery connections. Hooked the trailer to the F150 and took a short drive to check the electric brakes. (They work fine.) Pam started putting together a food kit to leave in the trailer. I replaced a broken door stop. Tested the stove top burners. Had the empty propane tank filled. (The other is about 2/3 – 3/4 full so we left it alone.)

The last two things to be checked are the furnace and making sure the refrigerator runs on propane. The refrigerator has  been tested on electric and works fine. Add a few clothing items, a bit of food for us and some dog supplies, and we will be ready for our first outing.

The plan is to pull the trailer to the lot next week, set it up, then return for a longer stay over Memorial Day weekend. I figure getting the trailer positioned, leveled, and set up will take an hour or so. After that we will enjoy the lot for a few hours before we head home.

Yesterday we drove over to the lot to  plant our 30 Douglas Fir tree starts and determine where we want the trailer to sit. I had not been to the lot since the drive was put in and Pam hadn’t been there since last fall.

The tree planting went OK. Twelve of the starts went in along the driveway, beginning at the entrance of the lot and moving inward. The remainder went into the upper end of the drive into the slope created by the driveway install. We hope these trees, if they survive, put down roots and keep the slope from eroding. Over time we think native grasses will take root -we’re actually counting on the native grasses more than the trees.

I didn’t take many photos of this outing, but Pam did take this snap of me balancing on the slope and planting one of the Doug Firs::

Jerry planting a Douglas Fir start.

Closer to home, we have a large Cottonwood tree in our front yard. Pam had seen a couple birds fly into the tree on a regular basis but couldn’t initially see a nest. Surprise for us: the tree has a hole in it apparently suitable for a nest. Blondie, our oldest dog, finds this very interesting and frequently looks up to watch the birds fly in and out. Here is a short video of the parent birds at work:

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

Pam’s two cents worth:

A big ole thunderstorm rolled in just as we were finishing our tree planting in the high country. The booms of  thunder echoed across South Park quite loudly and scared Bru (who has storm anxiety) quite a bit.  Storms rolling in across both the Collegiate Peaks range and the Mosquito range — quite an impressive sight.  On our way home, there was snow in the air all the way to and over Vail Pass.  Snow on May 18th.  Bummer.