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<\/a><\/a><\/a>I enjoyed my time in Wescliff. The sight of blue Columbine in bloom always lifts my spirits as does time spend with my friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Back at The Lot, a mix of good and bad awaited me. The good: My roof repairs from last fall were successful and there were no leaks in The Box. I was able to run the chipper and chip several piles of brush, some from last year and a few new ones from this year.<\/p>\n\n\n
<\/a><\/a>The bad news: Pine beetles have killed a couple of the lodgepole pine. While there are several approaches to controlling pine beetles, once a tree is dead the only recourse is to cut it down and wrap it in black plastic so the heat will kill the beetles and their larvae.<\/p>\n\n\n
<\/a><\/a>This may cause us to list The Lot for sale. I am not close enough to manage a pine beetle infestation and dead trees will decrease the value of The Lot. A final decision has not been made, but we are leaning strongly to selling the place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If we did sell, I would miss sunsets like this:<\/p>\n\n\n
<\/a>Returning to Elma, two weeks worth of tall grass waited for me. Just as I was getting started, however, the fuel pump on my John Deere quit. I have a replacement on order, but in the short term I was reduced to using the Torro mower. It works fine but the catch bag needed frequent emptying and was prone to clog due to the tall grass and clover mix that makes up our lawn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elma is celebrating its annual Trail Days celebration, and today was parade day. Nothing special in the parade, but I did take these two photos to show what a typical small-town parade looks like in 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n
<\/a><\/a>Finally, the hollyhocks and day lilies are doing very well in the yard. The hollyhock featured below is a self-seeded plant from one of our original plantings.<\/p>\n\n\n
<\/a>Day lilies in this area are akin to weeds, but they do add color to the yard!<\/p>\n\n\n