Cute they may be, but after the 4th time that they stole my bottle of hand soap, that was it. Seriously, they have some kind of affinity for plastic bottles, I don't get it. I had a small bottle of soap that I kept by the well to wash my hands- the first time it was gone I figured the wind took it. I couldn't explain how it traveled uphill but there wasn't any other explanation. The second time it was gone I figured something had taken it, but how? Then, caught red-pawed I saw that little chipmunk with the entire bottle in it's mouth! Sucker! I don't know how it carried it away, but it did it again, and that was the last time I saw my soap. So of course, I bought a bigger bottle. Chipmunks are little, there's no way they could carry this one away. Well, carry away probably not, but chew through it- duh, I should've known!
They've also grown quite a bit fatter in the last several weeks. Hmmm, what exactly are they stealing from our food cache? We thought we did a pretty good job of keeping all the food secure. But every so often someone forgets to shut the trailer, and there they are, running away with a bag of chips in their mouths. Or an apple as seen here. Well, I know that I've had enough of this. And so have the Haynie brothers. (We're very fortunate that Helaman's younger brother Bryson has come to work with us for several weeks!) So the brothers decided that purchasing a Beebee gun was in order.
The boys were successful, in only two days they snagged two chipmunks. We haven't seen any since. Obviously they now know better than to mess with the Haynies.
We were also introduced to the Utah tradition of roasting Starbursts. I'm serious, like most Americans, roasting marshmallows and making smores was my families tradition, but Starbursts?? Well, the boys showed us how it was done, and I must admit, they were much tastier than I imagined!
We've also had some expert campfire builders among our volunteers. After the days work is done, we're graced with the luxury of time (sans internet, televisions and cell phones!) Some things tend to get creative. Here's volunteer Scott making an exceptional campfire. And don't you know the thing burned like a champ!
We also run into the occasional unexpected delay when traveling about on these forest service roads. Last week, after buying groceries in Gunnison I headed up the road to the Guard Station much later that I would've liked. I don't like getting on that road after dark. I thought I had just enough time to get to the top before the sun was completely down. Well, of course I wasn't planning for obstacles in the road- obstacles such as fallen trees (that I attempted to saw out of the way with a hand saw), and a few hundred cows leisurely taking their time meandering down the road.
Ah, the little surprises in life, that's what makes it all worth it right? Just like looking forward to a shower all day when working so hard in the dirt. Oh there's no better shower than after a hard day of work in the hot sun. Thank goodness for solar showers! Uh, ones without big gaping holes that is!
Oh the joy of getting ready for a shower at the end of a long day. Oh the AGONY of all the warm water pouring out of the shower after it acquired this big old hole. I wanted to cry. The shower is dead. BUT, there is a light at the end of this tunnel. The brutally hot weather hit us with perfect timing. This past week the weather was just hot enough that I was able to bathe in the creek each day. The cold water actually felt pretty amazing. I love bathing in the creek when it's hot enough, so in this case, the busted shower turned out to be a good thing. Don't think I'm not shopping for a new one as soon as possible though!
Ah such is life, the ups and downs and the good times and bad. But it always works out in the end!
This reminds me of what it might have been like to be a pioneer. It looks as if all of you are enjoying your work. We will soon be roasting starbursts!
ReplyDelete