It’s hard to believe that it
is already July. The summer is just
zipping by here in Monument Colorado.
This is our fourth summer working here and for the second year in a row,
we have been close to a major forest fire.
The Black Forest Fire started on June 11 and was about 14 miles east of
the RV park. We could see the clouds of
smoke billowing up over the hills and at one point we were on the edge of a
pre-evacuation zone. At the height of
the fire, over 41,000 people had been evacuated. It was sort of ironic that we had people
checking in to the park because they had been evacuated and we had people
leaving the park because they didn’t want to be that close to a fire. By the time the fire was out, it had burned
14,280 acres, destroyed 509 homes (some of them multimillion dollar places) and
left two people dead. Below are some
pictures a friend took of some of the smoke.
There have been about six other fires in the state as well, but none of
them quite a destructive. Very sad way to start the summer.
Every summer our boss usually
gives Clay and I a large project to work on in addition to our regular duties. This year it is to pressure wash the deck and
bridge that are on the two fishing ponds.
I’m not sure he realized just how big a project this would turn out to
be. It took us almost three days just to
get the deck pressure washed. To do the
outside, we had to get the parks little row boat out. We started out with me on the deck and Clay
in the boat. But the pressure washer
acted like a little motor and I had a hard time holding onto the boat. So next we tried with me in the boat with
Clay. (See pictures below!) That was somewhat better, but it still put a
pretty good strain on my arms. So then
we got two pieces of rope and tied the boat to the dock at each end and that
worked much better. After letting the
dock dry for a couple of days, we then began staining it. That also took about three days and required
the use of the row boat once again. But
it was finished at last and looks pretty good.
Now we are starting on the bridge and it will take awhile to get it done
as well. Plus, there is not much room to
work on the bridge and you get soaking wet from the back spray of the pressure
washer. But eventually it will be finished!
Perhaps it’s not all the odd for two people who’ve lived
together for 35 years to be in sync on things, but banana peppers…come on! If you don’t know, banana peppers come in a
jar suspended in brine much like
pickles. And it seems so strange that
both Tami and I would, at the same time, discover the unique, albeit different,
qualities about banana peppers.
It came about because Tami likes onions and I do not, which
makes this whole affair my fault. At
least I think it’s my fault. (Of course it’s your fault.) Anyway, Tami hates buying onions because she
won’t usually get the whole thing eaten before it goes bad. (Yes, I know onions aren’t expensive, but I
just hate throwing away food!) But
by some strange inspiration she decided to put banana peppers on a sandwich
instead and discovered it was the perfect substitute for onions. Wow! (They don't really taste like an onion, but somehow they are just a good substitute!)
It was about this same time that I discovered, quite
accidentally, that if a person (a person not-to-be named) places the jar of
banana peppers with an untightened lid (the
lid WAS tight, but the jar fell over because someone hit one too many bumps in
the road!) in the fridge directly above the fridge light, a spill might
short out the light and cause a catastrophic failure. Thanks goodness banana pepper juice isn’t
flammable or this blog would be about roasted banana peppers.
But not to worry.
After a bit of disassembly, copious amounts of hot water followed by
blasts of compressed air the shorted switch is all clean. Reassembly is a snap and as I demonstrate the
properly functioning light to the love of my life she makes the comment I’ve
heard throughout our married life, “Wow, you fixed it!!!” It’s the astonishment in her voice that gets
me every time.
Now I know some of you think I make stuff up from time to
time but really, could I have made this up?
I don’t think so.
Anyway, we hope things are going well for you where every
you may be. Take care and have a great
rest of the summer!!
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