IT RAINED!
I was nervous last night as the lightning flashed. The last thing I would want to do at ten o'clock at night after a long brain-drain day is don my wildland gear and head out to a fire in the dark. Gratefully, the sound of the pager was never heard, but the waves of big fat raindrops on our tin roof were a soothing sound.
The rain came in sporadic waves. I can't say how much actually fell, but there were still puddles this morning on the drive in to work. The ground at our house was soft and damp. How refreshing!
Yeah God, thanks for the rain!
Friday, April 26, 2013
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Trickle down irrigation
Our water came! It feels a little like a short lived excitement, as the drought has limited the water we received. In the past couple years, we receive water for about 24 hours. This year we got less than 10 hours, I think. And it started at 4 AM!!
Thomas and I were out with our shovels and headlamps early, early, early this morning, traipsing along the snow covered ground. (It snowed Tuesday - not enough that the ground noticed.) We checked the ditch to make sure everything was looking good up the line from our diversion, then moved the diversion at our neighbor's property line to send the water down to us. After a few hours of sleep and then a chilly and energetic burst of activity, it was difficult to get back to sleep. Late morning we checked on the water and moved our diversions before a late breakfast of blueberry pancakes, eggs, sausage, and fruit smoothies. Already the snow was gone, and my layers were too many. We went back to sleep after breakfast for a couple more hours before checking on the water again, more layers shed. By the afternoon I was in cut-off pants and flip-flops, a hope I didn't think would be realized when it was snowing on Tuesday. But by then, the water wasn't flowing anymore, and our efforts to keep the water on our property and flood the fields were over. Hopefully we got enough to recharge our well some. And we'll pray for more rain to refill the lake!
Despite the snow yesterday, the ground was dry - no mud except in the fields. After seeing to some chores, we headed down to the firehall, so I could get a little time in behind the wheels of our wildland trucks. When we keep busy on the weekends, it can sometimes be tough to find time to do things like this, so I was grateful it worked out.
And the kitty caper of the week - Tuesday I came home a little early. When the snow was coming down so thick, I figured there was no harm in getting home, in case the roads got slick. The snow was more wet than icy, so the roads stayed clear, but still - no harm. I was in the bathroom when I heard a loud crash from outside. Hoping it was just the cat house lid/roof, I went outside to check. The snow was evenly covered over the lid/roof, but I couldn't figure out what else it could have been. Looking around, things seemed to be in place. Then I heard a meowing like I'd heard the night before. I thought maybe Felix finally brought her kittens to the house, but it sounded more like Buttermilk. The meowing was also really loud - as if it might be reverberating from the walls of Tom's shop. She didn't readily come out from underneath it - and she isn't the shy one. So I opened the door to the shop, and there she was, perched atop a high shelf. Sadly, Thomas has been too preoccupied with house stuff to work on cleaning up his shop, so it was a little hard to tell what the cat mess was and what was the way it was before. Oddly enough, I had to practically pull her out. Not sure how long she was locked in, but Tom thinks she learned her lesson. (I don't.)
Thomas and I were out with our shovels and headlamps early, early, early this morning, traipsing along the snow covered ground. (It snowed Tuesday - not enough that the ground noticed.) We checked the ditch to make sure everything was looking good up the line from our diversion, then moved the diversion at our neighbor's property line to send the water down to us. After a few hours of sleep and then a chilly and energetic burst of activity, it was difficult to get back to sleep. Late morning we checked on the water and moved our diversions before a late breakfast of blueberry pancakes, eggs, sausage, and fruit smoothies. Already the snow was gone, and my layers were too many. We went back to sleep after breakfast for a couple more hours before checking on the water again, more layers shed. By the afternoon I was in cut-off pants and flip-flops, a hope I didn't think would be realized when it was snowing on Tuesday. But by then, the water wasn't flowing anymore, and our efforts to keep the water on our property and flood the fields were over. Hopefully we got enough to recharge our well some. And we'll pray for more rain to refill the lake!
Despite the snow yesterday, the ground was dry - no mud except in the fields. After seeing to some chores, we headed down to the firehall, so I could get a little time in behind the wheels of our wildland trucks. When we keep busy on the weekends, it can sometimes be tough to find time to do things like this, so I was grateful it worked out.
And the kitty caper of the week - Tuesday I came home a little early. When the snow was coming down so thick, I figured there was no harm in getting home, in case the roads got slick. The snow was more wet than icy, so the roads stayed clear, but still - no harm. I was in the bathroom when I heard a loud crash from outside. Hoping it was just the cat house lid/roof, I went outside to check. The snow was evenly covered over the lid/roof, but I couldn't figure out what else it could have been. Looking around, things seemed to be in place. Then I heard a meowing like I'd heard the night before. I thought maybe Felix finally brought her kittens to the house, but it sounded more like Buttermilk. The meowing was also really loud - as if it might be reverberating from the walls of Tom's shop. She didn't readily come out from underneath it - and she isn't the shy one. So I opened the door to the shop, and there she was, perched atop a high shelf. Sadly, Thomas has been too preoccupied with house stuff to work on cleaning up his shop, so it was a little hard to tell what the cat mess was and what was the way it was before. Oddly enough, I had to practically pull her out. Not sure how long she was locked in, but Tom thinks she learned her lesson. (I don't.)
Monday, April 22, 2013
Something borrowed, something blue, something old, and something new....
Our house, not just our wedding, is a reflection of the borrowed-blue-old-and-new saying. We have been doing a lot. I never posted a March into April report, and now April is nearly up. In large part we've been doing the prep work for the bigger projects. I have been busy with church work the last six weekends - one weekend left till programs are over for the school year. Thomas has also been busy with out of town trainings. I'm grateful for the opportunities he can take with his "big city" travel to pick up some of our supplies.
We've been borrowing Pop a whole lot. He and his tractor have been hanging out at the house, plus his occasional sidekick Andres. Pop's been working on the trench for our electric service cable. That tractor has logged more than a few hours at our place. I enjoyed getting to help Pop and Tom with maintenance on it a couple weeks ago when a nut popped off inside a chamber of hydraulic fluid. We fished out washers and pieces and managed to put it all back together again with no extra pieces. I was grateful to contribute - my magnetic wand for pulling canning lids and rings out of boiling water came to the rescue pulling the nut out of the dark.
And I mentioned that we found an old claw foot tub in March. Gratefully, we amassed enough manpower this past Saturday morning, and it left its home of five weeks - the back of the truck. This will go in the guest bathroom and add a nice bit of character.
We've also started on the siding. We got the flashing in in March, but the winds have been so strong. We also learned after getting up the first board, that we didn't have the right equipment. We're now the proud owner of a roofing nail gun - which fires a wider head nail for holding up the siding. As a bonus, the color finish on the boards has really caught our eye, so we may have ended up with a house color to boot!
On the inside, we installed electrical boxes for some of our outlets, switches, and ceiling fans. We also added fire-blocking on our walls over 8 feet. The progress never ceases to excite me.
We've been borrowing Pop a whole lot. He and his tractor have been hanging out at the house, plus his occasional sidekick Andres. Pop's been working on the trench for our electric service cable. That tractor has logged more than a few hours at our place. I enjoyed getting to help Pop and Tom with maintenance on it a couple weeks ago when a nut popped off inside a chamber of hydraulic fluid. We fished out washers and pieces and managed to put it all back together again with no extra pieces. I was grateful to contribute - my magnetic wand for pulling canning lids and rings out of boiling water came to the rescue pulling the nut out of the dark.
The dark gash along the driveway is where we will lay the conduit.
In April thus far we've been doing a bunch of door work. In addition to trimming out the rest of the front door and the cellar-to-outside door, we hung our bedroom and guest bathroom doors. These new doors were a great find at the Habitat ReStores. I particularly like their rough look.
These doors are made with a knotty alder - very beautiful.
We also pulled this blue dutch door that was on the wood porch (original to the property). It has certainly weathered through a lot, but will actually become an interior door once the mud porch makes the move across the property.
The floral decorations came with the door - not sure who painted them, but they are sealed on with silicone. They'll probably stay.
And I mentioned that we found an old claw foot tub in March. Gratefully, we amassed enough manpower this past Saturday morning, and it left its home of five weeks - the back of the truck. This will go in the guest bathroom and add a nice bit of character.
I haven't decided if I am sold on the brass finish fittings, but this was a definite score - great condition, not chipped up or anything.
We've also started on the siding. We got the flashing in in March, but the winds have been so strong. We also learned after getting up the first board, that we didn't have the right equipment. We're now the proud owner of a roofing nail gun - which fires a wider head nail for holding up the siding. As a bonus, the color finish on the boards has really caught our eye, so we may have ended up with a house color to boot!
Before we can install any more on the south side, we will be adding foam and nailing strips to boost the R-value on the south wall.
On the inside, we installed electrical boxes for some of our outlets, switches, and ceiling fans. We also added fire-blocking on our walls over 8 feet. The progress never ceases to excite me.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Good Neighbors
Out here in the middle of nowhere, there are two kinds of people, or so I'll say for over-simplification and gross generalizations. There are the people who live away from the big cities and tons of people because they want to be left alone, want to be secluded, want to live a private life. And then there's everyone else. Sometimes it is hard for me to tell who is who, unless they clearly state they want to be left alone, because being isolated as we are sometimes just means we keep busy with work and the chores of the land and the animals, etc. That "everybody else" category is vastly diverse, in truth. Some live out here because of ranching - can't live in downtown Denver with a hundred head of cattle in your backyard; some like the wide open spaces; some grew up here or have family here; some want to live in a small community where you actually can know all your neighbors; some married into it. And most probably have multiple reasons, certainly more than I can discern from my vantage point.
Aside from the highway, I live on one of the more heavily populated roads. Not all our neighbors are year round residents, but including us, there are eight households on our road and then one more just across the highway. Mind you, we are spread out over hundreds of acres, but we share a road off the highway and a cluster of mailboxes at the end of it.
The past week has subtly revealed the strength of our little "west-side" neighborhood, if you could call it that. At the end of last week, a car appeared to have been abandoned on our road right at the highway. With all the bad news replayed over and over, it is no surprise that my first instinct was suspicion. Actually it was my second instinct - from a distance I thought it was our mail carrier very early on his route. But when I approached it in my car and realized it was unfamiliar, I circled back and drove up the road looking for someone on foot, possibly visiting a neighbor. When I didn't see anyone, I started calling neighbors (and Pop). I reached one neighbor who confirmed they didn't have company, but would check it out - I was a little nervous to approach it if there was a hostile person inside waiting for me. Our neighbor found it unlocked and empty, and while he was checking it out, another neighbor came down the road to check on it, too. After calling Thomas I learned it hadn't been there long, as it wasn't there when he left for work. On my way home from work that evening, I saw two people driving in it heading towards Philmont/Cimarron. It turned out to be an out-of-gas situation on the morning commute. One neighbor was grateful for my call and grateful to know that our little 'hood is looking out for each other.
A few days later that neighbor called me about having their vehicle stolen down south in the big city. Their concern was that someone might try to gain access to their home while they were away. Another neighbor locked the front gate, and I was happy to keep an eye out for any strange vehicles (or their own). They felt relief knowing that even in such a wide open space, neighbors help each other out.
Clearly, I am not the kind of country dweller who wants to be left alone. I took some cookies over to the neighbors after they got back, and Buttermilk, our social kitty, followed me. It may have been more because once away from the house, the turkey vultures flying in to roost about a half mile down the road unnerved her, and with no other shadow to hide in, she stuck with me. But she followed along right up to the front door. The neighbors made me laugh so hard when they wanted to bring their big basset hound out to meet Buttermilk. Buttermilk was a little shaky and clearly nervous, but the dog three or four times her size was just as concerned. He kept trying to back away from the screen door and never made it outside. Our neighbor kept saying how exciting for the neighbor pets to meet, but the pets weren't having it. I held Buttermilk close to the screen door and pet her, but I could feel her heart racing. Guess not all neighbors are destined to get along! That wasn't the last laugh, though, because as we walked back out the drive to the road, I saw a dark shape emerge from the shadow of a chamisa about 100 yards from their house. It was Spooky, Buttermilk's scaredy-cat sister. She's the kind of neighbor that does want to be left alone.
Aside from the highway, I live on one of the more heavily populated roads. Not all our neighbors are year round residents, but including us, there are eight households on our road and then one more just across the highway. Mind you, we are spread out over hundreds of acres, but we share a road off the highway and a cluster of mailboxes at the end of it.
The past week has subtly revealed the strength of our little "west-side" neighborhood, if you could call it that. At the end of last week, a car appeared to have been abandoned on our road right at the highway. With all the bad news replayed over and over, it is no surprise that my first instinct was suspicion. Actually it was my second instinct - from a distance I thought it was our mail carrier very early on his route. But when I approached it in my car and realized it was unfamiliar, I circled back and drove up the road looking for someone on foot, possibly visiting a neighbor. When I didn't see anyone, I started calling neighbors (and Pop). I reached one neighbor who confirmed they didn't have company, but would check it out - I was a little nervous to approach it if there was a hostile person inside waiting for me. Our neighbor found it unlocked and empty, and while he was checking it out, another neighbor came down the road to check on it, too. After calling Thomas I learned it hadn't been there long, as it wasn't there when he left for work. On my way home from work that evening, I saw two people driving in it heading towards Philmont/Cimarron. It turned out to be an out-of-gas situation on the morning commute. One neighbor was grateful for my call and grateful to know that our little 'hood is looking out for each other.
A few days later that neighbor called me about having their vehicle stolen down south in the big city. Their concern was that someone might try to gain access to their home while they were away. Another neighbor locked the front gate, and I was happy to keep an eye out for any strange vehicles (or their own). They felt relief knowing that even in such a wide open space, neighbors help each other out.
Clearly, I am not the kind of country dweller who wants to be left alone. I took some cookies over to the neighbors after they got back, and Buttermilk, our social kitty, followed me. It may have been more because once away from the house, the turkey vultures flying in to roost about a half mile down the road unnerved her, and with no other shadow to hide in, she stuck with me. But she followed along right up to the front door. The neighbors made me laugh so hard when they wanted to bring their big basset hound out to meet Buttermilk. Buttermilk was a little shaky and clearly nervous, but the dog three or four times her size was just as concerned. He kept trying to back away from the screen door and never made it outside. Our neighbor kept saying how exciting for the neighbor pets to meet, but the pets weren't having it. I held Buttermilk close to the screen door and pet her, but I could feel her heart racing. Guess not all neighbors are destined to get along! That wasn't the last laugh, though, because as we walked back out the drive to the road, I saw a dark shape emerge from the shadow of a chamisa about 100 yards from their house. It was Spooky, Buttermilk's scaredy-cat sister. She's the kind of neighbor that does want to be left alone.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
I'm dreaming of a white Thursday...
How wonderful to see snow falling! I thought it wasn't supposed to start to later; maybe it will snow all night - here's to hoping. It is fun to build a fire and get all cozy again. As the weather warms, we really haven't been starting a fire every evening.
The timing for snow is good, I hope. Despite the rocks visible above water, our irrigation run began on Monday. It was exciting to see the water running through the ditches because I anticipate the fun and delight of the day it is our turn to get water. Squishing through the mud and watching the water divert around the property is exciting. Our parched ground will be grateful, and the ground water will hopefully renew our well. At the same time as that excitement, I felt a knot of anxiety in my belly because the lake is really low to be running water. I know the ranchers are anxious to have water for their animals and their fields, too, but it can be risky to drain a lake when we don't know when it will refill. It takes faith to trust that the rains will come this summer and help to replenish our supply.
So many of the surrounding villages (yes, these towns, cities, or what have you were generally founded as villages back in the day) have already put water restrictions into effect. I think Maxwell has water brought in and even has to boil water. So the snow, as little as we may get, is a sign of hope. And I hope to wake up to a late start...
The timing for snow is good, I hope. Despite the rocks visible above water, our irrigation run began on Monday. It was exciting to see the water running through the ditches because I anticipate the fun and delight of the day it is our turn to get water. Squishing through the mud and watching the water divert around the property is exciting. Our parched ground will be grateful, and the ground water will hopefully renew our well. At the same time as that excitement, I felt a knot of anxiety in my belly because the lake is really low to be running water. I know the ranchers are anxious to have water for their animals and their fields, too, but it can be risky to drain a lake when we don't know when it will refill. It takes faith to trust that the rains will come this summer and help to replenish our supply.
So many of the surrounding villages (yes, these towns, cities, or what have you were generally founded as villages back in the day) have already put water restrictions into effect. I think Maxwell has water brought in and even has to boil water. So the snow, as little as we may get, is a sign of hope. And I hope to wake up to a late start...
Thursday, April 11, 2013
It's Still Easter for a Few More Weeks
The candy companies celebrate Easter from Valentine's Day to the actual day - March 31st this year. But the church celebrates it from Easter to Pentecost - a whole season of celebration. This is mu justification for not calling it too late to post a couple Easter pictures.
This year was a whirlwind - a working holiday for sure. The days building up were stressful and not so celebratory, but it is always good to be in the company of family to lessen one's cares.
The annual egg dyeing was more entertaining this year as Sofia learned the ropes.
We all enjoyed much laughter as Sofia progressed from dunking the eggs, dyeing her hands, and finally drinking the dye. She quickly learned that the vinegar was not at all appealing, though maybe she'll come around in her later years to discover the tasty pickled eggs her mom makes. Her tub of dye was swapped out for a tub of water, which she continued to drink from all evening. However, she already inspired her siblings to try drinking the dye, which only revealed where they needed to do a little more tooth brushing.
We enjoyed a great night of coloring. The crayons and the paint trays led to some fanciful designs. I brought a dozen eggs I bought from the neighbors, and the brown shell added an interesting coloration to some of them. And Marie had a dozen for making deviled eggs for Easter lunch. But Mom takes the cake with more than four dozen eggs. She takes them to the Knights of Columbus' Easter Egg Hunt in Springer, so there were plenty of eggs for everyone.
Easter itself was a good day. Thomas and I arose earlier than normal and made our way to Philmont in the dark to participate in the Easter Sunrise Service that all the churches put on - I sang and Thomas read. Then we went to Mass. Thomas can't complain that I'm always the last one out because we snuck out the side door and headed home before the cars started leaving the parking lot. We got home and got our contributions to lunch prepared before heading to Daniel and Julie's for a delicious meal and fun egg hunt. The Easter Bunny cleverly hid items all over the property and flagged them on Daniel's GPS. We took turns wandering through the chamisa and cactus looking for our gift. I laughed because mine was wrapped in a wrinkled up lunch sack, that at first glance I thought was a big rock. And I love rocks and collect them everywhere. I thought it would be funny to pull out the big rock from under the sagebrush and bring it back, but then I discovered it wasn't a rock and was the gift.
Our early party meant we made it home early with plenty of time to digest and relax before starting a new week! And plenty of time to gorge on malted Robin Eggs!
This year was a whirlwind - a working holiday for sure. The days building up were stressful and not so celebratory, but it is always good to be in the company of family to lessen one's cares.
The annual egg dyeing was more entertaining this year as Sofia learned the ropes.
Clearly concentration with the tongue sticking out...
Balancing the egg on the dipper is tough work.
We all enjoyed much laughter as Sofia progressed from dunking the eggs, dyeing her hands, and finally drinking the dye. She quickly learned that the vinegar was not at all appealing, though maybe she'll come around in her later years to discover the tasty pickled eggs her mom makes. Her tub of dye was swapped out for a tub of water, which she continued to drink from all evening. However, she already inspired her siblings to try drinking the dye, which only revealed where they needed to do a little more tooth brushing.
These two hogged as many pots as possible, letting their eggs marinate in the dye and prolonging the night of coloring as long as possible.
Evidently coloring eggs is hard work for teenagers!
We enjoyed a great night of coloring. The crayons and the paint trays led to some fanciful designs. I brought a dozen eggs I bought from the neighbors, and the brown shell added an interesting coloration to some of them. And Marie had a dozen for making deviled eggs for Easter lunch. But Mom takes the cake with more than four dozen eggs. She takes them to the Knights of Columbus' Easter Egg Hunt in Springer, so there were plenty of eggs for everyone.
Post egg dyeing, we celebrated Daniel's birthday. Marie decorated a delicious cake, and no body's hair was singed with all that fire!
Easter itself was a good day. Thomas and I arose earlier than normal and made our way to Philmont in the dark to participate in the Easter Sunrise Service that all the churches put on - I sang and Thomas read. Then we went to Mass. Thomas can't complain that I'm always the last one out because we snuck out the side door and headed home before the cars started leaving the parking lot. We got home and got our contributions to lunch prepared before heading to Daniel and Julie's for a delicious meal and fun egg hunt. The Easter Bunny cleverly hid items all over the property and flagged them on Daniel's GPS. We took turns wandering through the chamisa and cactus looking for our gift. I laughed because mine was wrapped in a wrinkled up lunch sack, that at first glance I thought was a big rock. And I love rocks and collect them everywhere. I thought it would be funny to pull out the big rock from under the sagebrush and bring it back, but then I discovered it wasn't a rock and was the gift.
Our early party meant we made it home early with plenty of time to digest and relax before starting a new week! And plenty of time to gorge on malted Robin Eggs!
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