Walking the dog

We have a small dog, a miniature schnauzer who is a great companion.

Most of the time we run him attached to a leash. This is due to the many hazards for a small dog where we live.

Momma deer will stomp to death any dog that threatens their new born fawns, bears roam the area, people drive their vehicles and ATV's on the roads and don't expect to find small dogs in the right of way. So, whenever we are out he is on a leash.

There is one time of the year when no one is on the mountain, the bears are hibernating, the deer are at lower altitudes and no one is driving anything on the roads. It is these times the dog can run free, and run he does. He loves to race at top speed !

The plowed snow makes rather effective barriers to keep him in the roadway

He always keeps us in sight to make sure we are around

We walk down to where the deer bed down at night. When they are in the area they sleep in this area as it is sheltered and offers good visibility

Winter is a wonderful time here

 

Color matching the RGS Depot

 I enjoy researching the history of narrow gauge railroads in Colorado. The Rio Grande Southern (RGS) in Southwest Colorado is my favorite.

The RGS had a depot in Dolores Colorado that was lost when the railroad went out of business, however the town recreated the depot on their main street through town and did a wonderful job on the recreation. For years they sold plans for their recreation. We bought a set and used it as a guide to the proportions of our cottage in the mountains.

The Dolores Depot includes restored Goose #5 on trackage out front

The depot is a museum and includes all kinds of memorabilia of the RGS RR

This includes a very nice model of the depot as it existed during the time of the RR

The scale model shows the depot in relation to other buildings in existence at the time.

This kit image shows the red and green color scheme used in the early days of the railroad. I am modelling a later period which painted the buildings in a yellow and brown scheme.

I am building a 1/64th scale model of the Dolores, Colorado Rio Grande Southern depot and needed to paint it in the correct colors. The paint recommended by the kit manufacturer is no longer in production. 

Fortunately the entire history of the railroad is documented in an eleven volume set of books telling the story. We took one of the books from the Rio Grande Southern series to Home Depot. The intent was to get the depot image scanned, but they will not do that due to copyright, so we instead matched the image to paint sample chips and had them mix up the sample containers of paint you use to do test paints. Turned out to be a very good match.

The paint colors I came up with for the Dolores Depot are Behr colors with samples mixed at Home Depot.

The lighter color is Cork, #PPU6-05m. The paint sample card has the number OM8-4

The darker color is Ancient Root, #PPU4-20d. The paint sample card has the number YN1-7

The mixed paint is available in sample containers which will be a life time supply for modelling needs

Here is a few images of the work in process

I look forward to getting this done and made into a diorama.

Fixing the Trailer

 We have a utility trailer we purchased in the early 1990's and use fairly often. It is quite handy and is used for all kinds of tasks from moving lawn mowers to transporting firewood.

You can see in this image there is no space left between the tire and the fender and this is only 1/2 of a cord of wood.

It has been reliable, but it is kind of like the man who says he has been using Grandpa's ax for decades even though it is on its third head and fifth handle.

The trailer has had new deck boards, a new hitch coupler assembly, all new lights, new axle and wheel bearings, several sets of tires and just recently needed new springs. They no longer had the strength to support a load of firewood.

Replacements were ordered and during installation it was found one of the spring supports was worn out and a new one had to be welded in place. This is not the kind of repair you want to do in your driveway in the winter, but we had little choice and did so anyway.

The funny thing is the local deer herd is fascinated by any and all activity in the driveway and come to see what ever we are doing.

One of our neighbors has a truck mounted welder and came to do the job. We made sure to isolate the trailer from the tow vehicle as electric arc welding can play havoc with automotive electrical systems.

We used the tractor bucket to lift the trailer and place on wood stumps for access to the area needing welding.

All clamped in place and ready to weld

The repair turned out well and the trailer is back in service and ready for the next job.