The heat is on

It’s hardly spring out there right now; it’s more like the middle of July.

Spring is supposed to be a time of blooming flowers, rain showers and summer plans. This year, the fires have already begun: Black Forest near Colorado Springs, Big Meadows Fire near Estes Park and the Royal Gorge Fire all started two days ago and have left destruction in their wake. The Black Forest Fire is the most destructive fire in Colorado history with hundreds of homes destroyed and at least two people dead.

Fires are an all to common scenario in the ever-dry high mountain desert and local TV stations throw around numbers of the burgeoning mountain population. As many as half a million people live in the Front Range foothills and the supposition is all these people make the fires a more costly undertaking.

I sometimes wonder the wisdom of fixing up this house. Last week as I drove away under a Level 3 evacuation order for the Blue Bell Fire I wondered about all this work and frustration caused by fixing this place up. I’m tired of contractors, tired of writing checks, tired of my own inability to fix things, tired of wishing and hoping. I sure do miss Cove Creek.

Living with rooms filled with construction tools and half-finished projects is trying. I get fed up with the mess, the constant cleaning up of dust, leftover materials and putting furniture back in place. All this energy spent on cleaning. It’s disappointing. I could be out rock climbing or running a marathon.