I'm a Lumberjack, Yes Indeed...

Labor Day Holiday. That’s an oxymoron, right? I mean, how many of you actually spent all three days doing nothing but relaxing, enjoying the holiday that honors your labors for the other 364 days of the year? I don’t know about you, but I spent most of my “holiday” doing what I do every Labor Day weekend – getting ready for winter.

Getting ready for winter really means that I spent most of my time cutting, cleaning, logging, blocking, and splitting firewood. My wife enjoyed the holiday too – she spent most of her time hauling one load of slash after another over to the County slash pile. She spent so much time there this weekend that’s she now on a first name basis with the fellas from Road & Bridge that work in the slash and dirt yard. They’re the ones that make sure no stumps, truck hitches, chains, or any other “stuff” goes into the slash pile that might break our new fancy-schmancy chipper. They even have a “wall of shame” that shows off all the stuff some folks have dumped into the slash pile over the years. Road & Bridge dudes - thanks for helping my wife unload the trailer with the big bucket thingy; keep up the good work!

Is it just me or do we spend our winters wishing it was summer and our summers getting ready for winter? This year I made sure to order my hard wood early so that I’d have it stacked well in advance of the first snow storm that’s sure to come on opening day of elk hunting season. So far I pretty sure I’ve at least one cord of pine blocked with another cord worth of logs stacked and ready to cut sitting next to my sawbuck.

Over the past twelve years since I moved to Gilpin County I’ve never made it through a winter without having to order another cord of wood in the spring. No matter how much wood I think I’ve got, I always end up a cord short. I was so far off the mark last winter that I was cutting, blocking, and splitting the standing dead in my yard during a snowstorm in March. That stunk big time. Of all the things I’d rather do during a snowstorm, cutting firewood isn’t one of them. Adding insult to injury, my chainsaw decided to quit on me, forcing me to get out the trusty old hand saw for the last few block cuts. That stunk more.

This year I’m bound and determined to have all my firewood cut and stacked before elk hunting season. I’m sure all you hunters out there know why. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is more frustrating than getting ready to go hunting and all you hear is that tiny voice in the back of your head saying “Ha! You’re in trouble now. There will be a foot of snow on the ground before you’re a mile back on your hunt and your family will be cursing your name because you didn’t finish cutting all the firewood.” Or maybe that’s what my wife keeps saying, starting in May after the last snowfall until late September/early October when the first snow falls. Regardless of who says it, I want to go hunting without a care in the world – just me, my rifle, my buddies, and lots of hope that the sun will shine long enough for me to get back home and finish splitting that last cord I hid under the big blue tarp.

Other matters – I hope you all had the opportunity to get to the County Fair or the Rodeo. I want to say “thank you” to all the folks that worked hard to put on those events. I can attest from the smiles on my kids’ faces that they had a great time. I mean, who wouldn’t have a great time eating funnel cake, playing in the bouncy castle, and being shot into the air tied to bunch of recycle underwear waistbands. I thought about trying my hands at the bull riding (mechanical bull riding), but I was still a bit sore from cutting firewood. I did make sure to acquire an “adult beverage” (a.k.a. amber malted drink) and toast all the candidates running for commissioner. Good luck to them all. If you need to get a reminder of who’s running, stop by the general store next to the Stage Stop. Every poster for every candidate is tacked up on the wall. That’s what I call equal opportunity.

Finally, I managed to finally repair my dirt bike and get out for a ride yesterday. After grabbing a juice and some cookies at the general store in Rollinsville I drove up the Tolland Road and hooked a left up towards Mammoth Reservoir. From there I went past Elk Park and up over Apex (on public property!) down into Moon Gulch and back to Rollinsville. I ran into a couple from Denver sitting along the trail overlooking Jenny Lind Gulch. I stopped and sat with them for a while, soaking in the clear blue skies, the luscious green forest, and the deafening silence. We traded stories about trails we’d hiked and ridden. They told me that they were from Denver and that they wished they could live up here. I told them that I was from “here” and that sometimes, in the late spring, when I ran out of firewood, I wished I lived in Denver.