Posse vs Poop - Part Deux

OK - it's Thursday and I'm just now finishing up on last weekend.  My apologies -- it's been a busy week. 

Yesterday Hunnyman (Roger) had a day off in mid- week, which is rare.  We had the load in this picture ready to go to the landfill from Sunday.  I played hookie from work for the morning and we kicked BUTT on the trash.  It's all gone now!  We took this load  including filling the bed of the Dodge Dominator (it's a U of A thing).  Then we took two more loads!!!  What this picture doesn't show is the HUGE pile of mesquite trimmings to the left of the trash bags.  BTW - those bags may look innocent, but bags of sticks, twigs and Ratatouie (sp) poo ain't light.  Plus, there's all sort of broken glass and things waiting to puncture you.  Can you say tetanus shot?  Hunnyman did step on a rusty nail (everything's rusty out there), but it didn't go through his foot, just his shoe.  I had to go to work at 1 PM just to get some rest!

We hauled off the rest of the old corrals and all the RR ties (old, and termite ridden), 20 foot 2 x 12s (no worries - too rotten to use), and then raked the ground and filled 4 more 40 gal trash cans with sticks.  I think it may be time to invest in a chipper - that's some really good mulch, according to Kevin the Dump Dude.  So, that was all Wednesday.

OK - now jump back a few days with me.  All that trash and trimmings came from the hard work the Posse did on Sunday.  Remember -- Sandy burned up her chainsaw and we had to get Roger's out!  So on Sunday, Sandy, Bob, Deuce, Ace (Barbara S), Karen, Hunnyman and Yours Truly rocked on that shed and surrounding overgrowth.  Sandy had to wrestle bed springs and an entire chicken wire fence out of mesquite trees during the trimming.  There was so much debris out behind the shed that you couldn't even see the bed spring or wire!  It's like we gained 12" of  vertical real estate!  This picture is the before of all the brush.

We were so tired by the time we quit that I'm not sure we have a great picture of the after, but that area next to the shed is where Sandy unearthed the mattress springs and fence.

Now all that stuff you see in the picture is gone except the camper shells and the railroad tressels.  The tressels are a story in themselves.  A friend of my Dad's had a contract with the railroad and they cleaned up and replaced bridges for the trains.  Dad mentioned to him that we could use any spare RR ties he might come across (although I'm not sure why).  So he drags out five friggin pieces that are each 40 ft long and weigh about a million tons!  There's no way we can move them.  Then the guy died so I can't even call him up tell him to come take them back.  (No, he didn't die moving them, but I about did when I saw them.)  So I'm stuck with them.  If we can find someone to dig a trench and drop them down and use them as part of the road I will be happy.  But I won't hold my breath on that one.

So the culmination of the weekend was a fabulous dinner al fresco (I used to think that meant you ate naked but it just means eat outside).   We couldn't get a picture of everyone because Wyatt doesn't have thumbs and he can't operate a camera.  So Sandy took one picture and Karen took the other.  I know Karen.  She would rather I use the picture she took.  We all have full bellies and smiles of satisfaction.  The sore muscles came the next day.  For some reason, I look like Randy Jackson without a tan.

We did have some fun in the evenings, playing Rummikub or Cranium and even managed to get a little quilting in.  That's what we usually do when we get together.  We give Bob and Roger a 'to do' list and the girls sew (and eat).

I am truly blessed to be surrounded (and loved) by extraordinary people.  All of these souls came ready to work because they  knew what we were going to do and they still showed up, respirators and work gloves in hand.  The amount we were able to accomplish was pretty amazing.  It would have taken Roger and I two months of weekends just to get to this point.  And I know they will be back.  I love them all fiercely.  I will try not to  make it two workdays in a row, though.  One day of work and one of fun - that should be the reward.

I can actually see our glass studio coming true....