The weeks news, or, If it weren’t for bad luck we’d have no luck at all.
It’s been a quiet week up here on the mountain. My little slice of heaven in the great northwest.
It’s the first week of March, spring starts soon, and winter’s last hurrah has come and gone in the form of a storm that dumped a couple of inches on us yesterday. Things are warming up, and snow is melting off. I am a little concerned about the lack of snow this year. The last time this happened we had a really bad fire season. Hoping for a rainy spring and summer.
The puppies are growing and learning every day. They are starting to find their place in our home here, though there are times I swear that Kiyo’s spirit is egging them on to more and more mischief. He is still missed here.
My son has had a run of bad luck this past week. First, the 4-wheeler he bought broke down on him near the spring. It was a “new” one he got with his tax return, a bigger machine that he needed for his family since his boys are getting bigger. It appears to be a fuel issue, and he has been talking to the local shop trying to figure out what is wrong and how to fix it. The next thing that went wrong was with the bigger snowmobile he bought the same day. It is a more powerful machine for towing his boys and hauling in supplies. I rode it up past the areas of dirt to the spring, where the snow is still deep, parked it, and set the “parking brake” because that area has a bit of an incline. When he caught up to me, he didn’t realize there was a parking brake and took off (they will move if given enough gas, which he did). Almost home, the brake overheated and burst into flames. Fortunately, the machine isn’t a total loss. Some wiring, the oil line, and the recoil starter rope, were all burned but nothing else looks badly damaged. However, I don’t have the time to repair it, and since it is almost the end of the season, it will wait until summer for repairs. He will have it up and running by next winter.
I have talked in the past about a few of the people who have tried, and failed, to live up here. Some have even had nick names that aren’t very flattering. There is one group that comes up some weekends during the summer, and a few times during the winter, that I call the Weekenders. They bought land up here a couple of years ago, built a rather nice cabin, and enjoy weekends there when they’re not busy elsewhere. We have met a few times, them stopping by here as they did today, or me running into them on the road. Nice bunch of folks; they aren’t up here to hide from the law, nor are they here to cause trouble. They just want to hang out, and have fun. I can understand that. They have some heavy equipment and have told us that they are planning on bringing some up this summer to fix this terrible road. I hope they do, and will toss them a few bucks to help out with fuel. They are the kind of neighbors anyone would love having. If only there were more like them up here, things would be peaceful.
I was in town this past week and wanted a latte, and started missing my favorite barista, Sam. Things just haven’t been the same without her around. Oh, there are a few coffee shops here, including one the lovely wife and I have started going to, but it’s just not the same as going in, having a seat, and being able to listen to music, drink latte’s, and work on your laptop. No other shop has that here. We still keep in touch with Sam, and try to see her when we go north to the city, but we miss her here.
Haven’t seen much of the old loggers lately, the diner where they hang out now opens at 7, so they go in later, and since the lovely wife’s schedule is all over the place, getting into town when they are there is difficult at best. I did manage to make it in for breakfast last week while the lovely wife was out of town. Unfortunately, I was there after everyone had left. However, Lynn, the waitress, welcomed me, poured the coffee, and we chatted, updating each other on anything new in our lives.
Well, that’s all the news for the week. Bye for now.
