Easter Weekend

Life at almost 9000 feet.

The neighbors wanted to talk for a while on Saturday. I took a break from splitting kindling and we had a nice visit. It was a one sided conversation but this is the closest they have been in 2 years. The horse on the right actually got close enough to sniff me but none of them let me touch them. I want to get some treats but need to talk to the Amish about what's ok to give them. Some people have told me carrots and apples but I want to check first, they might not want me giving them anything.

Sunday rolled in and they had plowed the roads in the early AM. I was surprised but then I remembered it was Easter and everyone in the county was going to church (except us select odd balls). We took Rock out for a nice hike once the sun broke over the ridge.

Our little damns are holding fine and we have more water in them than expected. I need to gather up more rocks (not an issue, they are everywhere) and build it up another couple of feet tall and wide. Once that's done I'll shovel a bunch of dirt over the entire contraption to help seal it up. The water looked so clear I wanted to dip a cup into it and take a drink.

The wind at the cabin and in the plains was non existent for a change. We both had a really nice run, I got a slight sunburn because that's just how I operate (who wears shirts anyhow?). It was the perfect temperature at about 55 degrees and the views were inspiring. The wind up on top of the peaks was fierce all day but it never materialized down low.
Back in the city we had received a foot of snow and it's already half gone, the sun is doing a good job of melting everything. The weekend was amazing, just what we both needed before I head off to Vegas for a few days of work.

I hope everyone had a great weekend.

Cake by the ocean!

Part of my job is to make sure I stay up to date on trends, apps, music, whats popular, buying cycles, etc. Sometimes it's annoying and I have a hard time wrapping my head around much of the crap that people like. Other times I get to really enjoy what I do.

So in a nod to the trending song 'cake', here is a photo of cake by the ocean.

What am I doing at the beach?

How about a private concert by Jewel... yup I'll take that, she is one of my favorite artists.

I had to hang out in Miami for work, south beach to be specific. The humidity was brutal and the weather was in the mid 80's. A shock to my system but I loved it and enjoyed the challenge of running in that humidity. I learned a lot of work stuff and enjoy a few hours on the beach.
Views from the room:

Unfortunately while I was flying back home we had a key manager delete everything on his computer and walk out. Didn't bother to tell anyone he was quitting, he just left. I've been filling in and still managing my workouts and cabin time. Unfortunately that's all there is, no time for several projects that we need to work on. I am heading to Vegas next week for work so it's only going to become more hectic at work. We've also started construction on our expansion after a year of hold-ups based on city planning and codes and crap.

We are healthy and happy and it's great to be needed and leaned on when times are tough. Between pushing my limits working out and everyone else pushing my limits at work, I am learning new things every single day. Thats how it should be.

Cheers (and snacks)!

Early spring

I know we will get a few more storms and some more snow but when it's in the 60's you get as much done outside as you can. Before we know it the temperature will be in the 80's or more. Comparing photo's from last weekend to this, the snow amounts are down at least 50% so there is a lot of work that got exposed with the sun.

We are reloading the woodshed from whats under the tarp, we didn't make a big dent this year so we definitely will have to add an expansion. This will keep our total cordage, on site, at about 10. This year we will get a few loads of hardwood to offset all of the pinion. The softwood burns fine but it does require more chimney cleaning (in my opinions, others say no) and we want to keep a mix of 50/50 hard/soft.

I grabbed a rake after my afternoon run and have about 10 piles of pinecones and pine needles that we will back up tomorrow. I still probably have 2 more bags of just pinecones that will  be picked up. The can wreck a dogs paw and shoot out of the mower like missiles so we pick them up each spring. There are sprouts of clovers and grass coming up and the tree's are starting to but at both houses. The garden is ready to be put in but we know better, the plants are getting big and anxious.

We tightened a lot of screws down on the metal roof, the wind vibrations cause some of them to back out. A barn a few miles down the road lost almost exactly half of it's metal roofing sections. It's interesting to note that the screwed the metal down onto the rafters directly. While it certainly can work it seems to me that if you put plywood down and screw into that you can get 2x as many screws in and make it twice as secure. This is something I've been thinking about since we need to redo the woodshed roof (they screwed into the rafters directly and it's not holding up well). The barn was finished this past fall and it's either a sloppy Amish roofing job or a testament to how the winds have been so far.

Not much going on in the blogs, some have closed and some haven't been updated in ages. I'm trying to post a few times a month, it's a nice record of our lives for the last few years. It's pretty boring but just going back and seeing the pictures is enough reason to keep on posting up. All things end but we shall endure to keep this little journal going.

Rock and I have gotten in about 5 miles hiking today plus my run. There have been some nasty storm clouds around but most of the day it's been incredible. Some would even break out sunscreen.