Mobile Studio

We temporarily moved the recording studio from The Homestead to 420 Grand.  After she got set-up, EDO laid down a rockin' version of John Hiatt's Lift Up Every Stone.  Listen here.

Into the Creek

We went to Janesville for the Koslowskis and then to Standish for Jacob and Candice.  We drove out through Belfast and the whole gang hiked into Willow Creek.  It was a beautiful place and everyone seemed to enjoy the hike.  Until, that is, I suggested that we could cross over to walk on the other side.  I might have made it, but each of the three girls that I tried to help—VSO, EDO, and Candice—ended up slipping into the water.  Eventually four or five of us were wet to our knees and it was time to go home.  Bad planning on my part.

Passing Through

I may have mentioned that Rural Ways has split time between California and Utah during 2019.  In between those two states is Nevada.  Nevada may be empty, but it's not small.  To cross it requires a lot of driving.  I do most of the driving, so I wrote most of these lyrics.  EDO turned it into a nice country song.  Listen here.

Eight Cords

The shed on the back of the garage at 420 Grand is ten by ten by six and a half.  Or 650 cubic feet.  I decided to turn it into a wood shed.  If a cord of firewood is 128 cubic feet, the shed should hold about five cords.  As you can see from the picture (above), it is nearly full.  Call it four cords.  In the meantime, The Homestead needs at least three cords to make it through the winter, so I hauled eight pick-up loads during my trips to Utah this fall.  Processing the wood is a lot of work, but EDO has taken over the task there.  She has developed a powerful swing (below).  Call it four more for The Homestead.  Eight cords.

Facia

There have been clogged gutters on 420 Grand for many years.  They have become so bad that they are actually wetland habitats, growing moss, bryophytes, and tadpoles.  Well.  Maybe not the last one, but certainly all the rest.  I don't really see the need for gutters where the roof drains into flower gardens and no one needs to walk there.  So, instead of repair, I've opted for removal.  Which leaves the rotted facia.  That should be replaced, but the house also needs a new roof, and I don't want new facia without a new roof.  So, I've simply scraped and Kilzed.  Stopping the rot for now.

Forty Days and Forty Nights

I know that my reader is probably tired of hearing about this, but I continue to be amazed at the length of these seasonal droughts.  This summer we went more than one hundred days without a wetting rain.  When that dry spell finally broke at the end of September, I assumed that it was the beginning of an autumn cycle that would include a few clouds.  No.  It hasn't rained since.  We passed the forty day mark yesterday and I have begun watering the shrubs at 420 Grand because I can see that they are desiccated.  Oh, but the Susan River is still flowing.

Surfing the Slide

After spending the morning bringing in a heavy load of firewood, EDO wanted to take me to one of her favorite hiking places in Center Creek.  Of course that meant we were going for a steep scramble.  Sure enough, we climbed 500 feet out of the canyon on a slope of loose rock (above).  On the way we stopped for a picture in a small sandstone keyhole (below).  The return trip required surfing the rock slide.