What is that noise???

It's been a busy bugling season so far.  I asked Jim to describe the bull elk's call to gather a harem and announce his territory so I could make sure I knew if I was hearing the right noise.  He described it as someone playing the recorder, badly.  Yes!!! That's what I had been  hearing, wondering what the terrible noise was.  We hiked in a canyon to catch the aspens in full fall color and we could hear bugling on both sides of the canyon around us.  We finally caught a glimpse of a group of females through the trees, but never caught sight of the bull that day.
During the rut, or mating season, bulls are so overloaded with hormones that they become quite aggressive toward anything they see.  We have a friend whose horse was minding it's own business in a pasture near us and was gored by an elk who came out of some willows and apparently thought the horse was competition he needed to get rid of.  The horse is recovering well, but I think that elk needs to get some glasses.
Animal sounds are interesting.  When I look at a huge elk bull and then hear this high, off pitch squeal I wonder if something went wrong in the genetic code along the way.  Or perhaps God just decided to have some fun with this big bully!  The females like it and we'll look forward to new calves next May.

Dumpster Divers....Raccoon Rescue

These little rascals got left behind after the family raided the garbage dumpster during the night last week.  They couldn't get out.  Jim propped a board in the dumpster so they could climb out.  Two of this trio were back this morning to the delight of our guests.  Everyone was heading out to the dumpster to take a peek.  Later, when it was quiet, I opened one of the flaps and propped a board.  I stepped away and waited.  I could here them chattering away in there and then the first little head popped up, followed by the second.  They weren't sure how to get down from the dumpster and then one of them grabbed hold of a gate pole, expecting to climb up and out of the enclosure, but to it's surprise, started sliding down.  The sibling followed suit and slid into the other causing them to land in a heap on the ground.  They were just about to head out the open gate when they saw me, so they turned and scurried under the fence.  Jim said they should be big enough to get out by themselves in a couple of weeks.

Septic Sorrows

Between 20-25% of Americans, mostly in rural areas, have no connection to centralized sewage systems and utilize septic systems on their property to manage waste.  This summer I learned a lot about how they operate, or DON"T, during the week that Jim and Lauren were having a father-daughter hiking trip.
After a busy weekend of guests I got rooms cleaned and turned over.  Wednesday afternoon I headed down to the basement to tackle the mountains of laundry.  There was brown water standing in one of my washing machines.  Hmm.  So, I started a cleaning cycle on that machine and used the other to take the peak off the mountain of laundry.  I was folding load 4 when I realized water was running all over the floor.  The drain pipe to the sewer was spewing soapy rinse water.  Hmm....don't think any more laundry is getting done tonight.  I got hold of our plumber early the next morning and he bumped other appointments to get out to the lodge.  In the mean time I was trying to find a property map to locate the septic tank.  I came up with two maps that placed it in different locations...hmm.
The plumber and his helper started digging.  They tried different spots all day within a reasonable distance of where the maps indicated...no septic tank.  They did find the major pipe that connected two drains and it had an outlet valve that could be snaked.  The pipe was compacted with all the things people are not supposed to put down a toilet on a septic system.  They were able to clear the line, but the septic tank was going to have to be found and pumped out.
Jim's welcome home was to get to work digging.  After he was able to contact the previous owner and verify that both our maps were wrong, he started digging in the right area.  Once he hit it, we had a wonderful friend with a backhoe come dig 4 feet down and expose the whole tank.  The "honey dipper" came the next day and vacuumed out our tank.  Next we will have cement towers built up and a cover that can be driven over so we don't have to go digging again.
I ordered signs and installed them above every toilet that has a list of just about everything people do but should never flush down a toilet, especially if you have a septic tank.  You just keep learning new things all the time, but I'm ready for this summer session to be over!

All By Myself

This summer, Jim took a trip to California with our daughter, Lauren, to hike in the Sierra Nevadas.  I knew it would be challenging to be here running things ALL BY MYSELF, but I really wanted them to have this time and experience together.  The day they left, I was expecting a full lodge.  I was geared up and ready to roll.
Most all our guests are wonderful, but there are a few that can really drain your patience and hospitality meter.  Of course, this would be the time it happens, when I'm ALL BY MYSELF!  Most of the time everything is in good working order, except when I'm ALL BY MYSELF.  Usually, I make a pretty good estimate on the amount of food to prepare for breakfast, except when I'm ALL BY MYSELF.  That's when I have to eat an entire extra 9x13 pan of baked praline french toast, ALL BY MYSELF!    
There is a synergy when you are working with your best friend.  Everything that needs to get done gets done, but it is tough when I'm ALL BY MYSELF.  So the next time, Jim and Lauren were headed out, this time to attend a wedding in MO, I was determined not to do this ALL BY MYSELF! My fabulous brother and sister-in-law came up while they were gone and everything was smooth.

Super Summer

This is our second summer here in Greer and we have probably had twice the amount of guests from last summer.  Our little village was busy!  Restaurants were hopping, Rental cabins and lodges were at capacity most weekends and many weekdays.  From the end of May until now I can count the number of days on one hand that I wasn't fixing breakfast for guests in the lodge!  We are so blessed to meet wonderful people and help them relax and enjoy this beautiful mountain valley.

Drone Dummies

Technology can be great unless it is in the hands of people with no common sense, no common courtesy and no common care.  Several drones have been sighted during the fighting of the Cedar Fire.  People want to know what's going on and see it up close and personal, but at what expense? All air support fighting the fire has to be suspended and grounded when a drone is sighted.  No retardant drops, no water drops, no information to firefighters on the ground.  Hey, drone dummies...let them do their jobs, get this fire out and keep everyone safe!  Maybe we need to bring in some sharp shooters and bring em down.

Friday Night Lights

Last Friday night I was headed back to the lodge from Springerville after picking up some groceries. Back in the old days, I was taught to flash my lights to alert an oncoming driver to dim the lights.  It was considered a courtesy and a safety measure then.  I've been doing it for nearly 40 years.  So, after flashing my lights at an oncoming vehicles, I apparently alarmed a deputy sheriff, who turned around to follow me.  When I flashed my lights at more vehicles, I became a renegade.  On went his lights and I pulled over and respectfully listened to him sum up my character as an aggressive driver looking to instigated road rage.  For all of my friends over the past years of my life, you are all probably laughing at the thought.  Sorry, Dad, but I'm going to have to disregard your training and go along with the new ways of not doing things that used to be common sense so I don't ruin my reputation and land in jail for inciting road rage.