You Ain’t Much Fun

This summer has really flown by. Then again, I can’t remember one that hasn’t. As busy as I keep myself, there hasn’t been much to write home about. Just the daily grind of little projects that seem to get closer and closer to being finished but never really cross the line. It isn’t even like there is a big list of projects either. The Covid closures and resulting supply chain constrictions and price increases have left a light check list of projects to work on. Even so, there is plenty to do. Nothing too big on the project board though, this year given the high price of lumber and everything else for that matter.

• The covid quiet and limited availability of supplies have kept my chores limited to making a dent in the junk piles that I acquired when I bought the place and yes, some I made since then. I still haven’t gotten to the worst of the piles; the open coal mine scar filled with junk. I had a junk removal company come up and estimate their effort to just get rid of it. They just shook their heads and said they had no idea how to even start let alone predict a cost.
  

  Wintershed

• I have really focused on finishing up the Wintershed to a point that it will be a comfortable sleeping space. A separate blog will review the final version in a few weeks, hopefully.
• The high cost of lumber this year has forced me to reuse some of the lumber that has been lying around for years. It isn’t the prettiest lumber and far from the straightest but I have been able to use it to build a small side cabin on the trailer cover I built last year. It is does a good job as a wind break but not much else since it has become storage all the junk that it has accumulated in and around the trailer since the walls went up.
  

  The Ex-Coffee Deck

• The fire season lit the proverbial fire under my ass (hoping to keep it proverbial too) to start clearing out the decades of undergrowth, fallen trees and accumulated tinder. So I have been swinging a chainsaw around trying to get it under control. Not sure how much benefit there is other than getting some good exercise. Otherwise, I am just creating piles and piles of dead and dying brush and weed trees spread out all over the property. At the very least, its good exercise.

Here is a section of the property before I got after it

This is the same view but after clearing. Hopefully you can see the difference.

 

Speaking of exercise, Beyond toiling on the property, 3 days a week, I head over to the resort like community of Suncadia and take advantage of a steep 325 step outdoor stairway they put in. I just hit 8 laps up and down the thing. Another couple of laps and it will surpass the incline in Colorado Springs that I like to do. The only downside is knowing that all that exercise will fade away just a few weeks after the weather turns and they shut it off.

So that’s pretty much how I am spending my summer. I know, it is starting to sound like a job. It isn’t so bad though. No time sheets, no status reports or crappy office coffee. And the best thing is management is pretty lenient. Afternoon naps are no problem and they leave me rested for the long wait towards bedtime.

My summer days start pre-sunrise which comes before 5am with our long summer Northwest days. It is a long day even with a nap so it is just best to shut everything down in late afternoon before fatigue induced mistakes happen. I keep my medical bills low due to this wisdom.

The downside is besides waiting to go to bed, there isn’t much to do up here in the evenings.

My little transistor radio is limited to a classic rock station specializing in the top 20 hair bands of the 80’s. A top 40 country station featuring the today’s pretty boys of country singing songs inspired by Taylor Swift. And of course the strongest station I get is the Catholic network. I admit that I do enjoy listening to their call in advice shows.

There is a nice flat screen that came with the trailer. At least it looks nice. I don’t get any channels. Even with my 70 mile TV antenna.

So instead, I have been watching Amazon Prime shows on my little phone screen. I am not a conspiracy pusher but it is strange that as soon as I paid off my phone this summer, my phone’s internet bandwidth sank to the tiniest little bar of service. Videos buffer frequently, to a point where I stick around for the credits to see if Spinning Hourglass gets top billing.

I could go old school and just read a book but the library has been closed for Covid. Kindle books put me right to sleep. All that’s left is beer.

And that’s another problem. Mostly to be a Covid Contrarian, I took a break from drinking back in October of 2020. And haven’t had any alcohol since. It was way too easy and don’t miss it other than after a long sweaty day working the chainsaw. Giving up the beer was helped along by the bars being closed for a good bit of the time since this all started. Now that things are open in town, I still don’t see the point. My little town of just over 2100 people is growing quickly but it still rolls up its sidewalks and turns out the lights before the street lights come on. I will be a bit miffed if I find out that there is a 9 o’clock party crowd that tears up the town as my head hits the pillow.

And let’s not talk about the cost savings even though that is kind of my favorite thing to talk about. Alcohol is expensive and sitting up here at camp drinking by myself seems like an unnecessary luxury if not a bit sad. Being a bit long in the tooth, I have noticed the hangovers come easier and leave harder than they used to and I don’t have the time or patience for the downtime. Some would say don’t get drunk. So then, what’s the point? Might as well just have a big glass of home brewed iced tea. Which tastes better and costs muuuuch less.

So in short, I am as boring as it gets. And I don’t mind.