We didnt need to call our weather friend Duane Holt last week because there was no precipitation and about the same situation up here as last week but I called him anyway. Turns out we received 0.66 inches Aug. 1 and three traces this past week, which totals 0.72 inches for the month of August. No rain for 20 days here. Duane checked to see what the numbers were last year at this time, and on this date in August 2010, we received 14 days of precipitation that gave us 3.72 inches that month.
It looks like we might be faced with some hot and dry conditions when bow season opens on the 26th. Weather is suited more for Bermuda shorts attire instead of hunting gear.
I mentioned the new half-pipe added to the town park last week, which we think is a fine addition to the activities that our youths can enjoy during the summer season. This is a town project, and with an OK from the Dolores County School District, because the park is also part of the elementary school playground. The Rico Center Foundation also approved a grant written by the facilitator, attorney Nicole Peterse, and our designer and builder, Patrick Berry (who knows what he is doing) agreed to do the project. With volunteers assisting, the project is nearly completed. Maybe by next week well see some expert athletes doing their thing on our new thing!
Jim Polzin of Rico and Apache Junction, Ariz., is back in the saddle again, keeping up with repairs and needs on the old family cabin in Rico. This hard work is not that much fun, but when Jim remembers that it is over 100 degrees down in Arizona, he feels the cool temperature here and the work begins to be fun!
Debra and Gary Vandergriff of Rico and Midland, Texas, are back in town, and they are doing a little fix-up work on their home one of the oldest in Rico. Sounds exciting, but there are requirements involved when you have a home built before the turn of the century. Their sons, Travis and Clayton, will arrive in a few days, and itll be hard to keep them and dad in working mode when the fishing is so good!
More: Helen Matzick, daughter of mother Margaret who passed away not too long ago, is refurbishing their home, as are the neighbors the Austins next door. The Austins have been waiting patiently for permission to add on to their cabin, and the plans have finally come to fruition. These fix-up projects sound like Rico is going along with the plan to create new jobs in our country.
The elderberries are excellent this year, and some of us are busy making the prized, best-of-all-jellies jelly! Its not easy. Pick bags of berries, shuck the berries, do the juicing with our deceased friend Dee Jones great juicer, and drive over to Mary Lou Milsteads home to deliver the juice. She is the best part of this whole project. She does the magic, and the filled jelly jars end up row after row in her cupboard, sparkling from the nectar of our mountain berries.
Marlene Hazen has lived in Rico for two decades. An active member of the community, she participates in organizations such as the Rico Womens Club and Rico Historical Society.