Mark

Davis County Windstorm Cleanup

December 3, 2011 by rickety Leave a Comment

Working on the roof Saturday with my four sons

Yesterday we only had two hours before dark on Steven’s roof. After helping pull out two tree stumps at our neighbor’s homes, we headed back to Layton to finish the repairs to the roof. We nailed the last shingle by 4pm.

Steven with his roof, good as new. The new shingles don't quite match but they will keep the rain out

Earlier in the day it seemed like the whole of Davis County was on the move. While driving to Layton we saw truck after truck filled with broken tree limbs. The line to the landfill, or rather the Green Waste Recycling Facility, was quite long.

A common sight all day along Highway 89

Notice the truck on the left carrying what looks like power cables, no doubt needed for repairs

Several trucks headed for the Green Waste Recycling Facility

As we headed towards the landfill there was a convoy of vehicles leaving, having shed their loads

A long line at the landfill entrance

Mark Reporting from Bountiful

Our power was out from 8am until 2am the next morning. Luckily the temperature was in the low 30s during the day and low 20s at night. We have experienced other East winds when it was below zero. I spent much of the day [Thursday] on my ham radio with emergency responders in the area, sharing information and keeping up to date on what was happening.

It was a good opportunity to test out emergency preparedness plans / equipment. Serious enough to warrant their use, but not life threatening. The Davis County Amateur Radio Emergency Service was the main communication system for cities, police departments, hospitals and other emergency responders. These are hobbyists volunteering their equipment and skills and they did a fantastic job. At one point one of the Centerville Emergency Communications Center responders was heard on the radio saying:

A big spruce fell on a neighbor’s house about 20 minutes ago. The whole neighborhood is there cutting it up right now. I love this community. In some places in this country, we would still be waiting for FEMA!

Connie surveying the damage in Bountiful

A dead tree in the cemetery

This tree was snapped off at the truck

Caption Competition #8 Winner

May 21, 2010 by rickety Leave a Comment

Mark and Connie hiking in Bryce Canyon last week

Judge Jake decided the winner of the latest caption competition. The competition was open to anyone but only the locals participated. Thank you everybody for the great captions. The first prize is a $100 trillion banknote.

Mark is this week’s caption winner.

First — Bryson! Check out my new hair clip! It’s all natural. I need to pick up some food for it though… Mark
Second — When Sarah went blind and deaf, instead of reverting to the Tactile Rochester Method to facilitate communication, she instead went with an Interpretive Cockatiel. Sean
Third — Sarah, when was the last time you washed your hair? I think you missed something. Melissa

Rickety signature.

Kaysville 4th July Parade

July 4, 2008 by rickety 6 Comments

A blanket and chairs were left overnight on the parade route to save our place. Jill and I put up the canopy in the morning before the parade. Left to right, back to front are Mark, Connie, Sarah, Susan, Rick, Jill, Shauna, Byron, Daniel, and Paul.

The day was hot but cooled down as the sky became overcast. We could have fared well without the canopy. Here are some photographs from the parade. One of the floats won a prize which wasn’t too difficult as there were only two in the whole parade.

There seems to be at least one rickety old car in every parade. Some of these cars look in very fine shape for their age.

The water fight takes place at the end of the parade. The water trucks follow at the same route and give a lot of people a good soaking. Of course many residents come with their own water weapons ready for a fight.

After the parade we all went back to my house for a well-deserved bar-b-q. Tonight are the fireworks and we already have our favorite spot staked out. See you there!

West Bountiful Parade

June 28, 2008 by rickety 2 Comments

It is time for the 4th July parades to begin. Today at 9am found Jill, Sarah, and I at West Bountiful.

Kent and Susan had saved seats for us. From left to right in the photograph below are Rick (me), Kent, Jill, Sarah, Shauna, Mark, Connie, and Susan. Shauna had brought candy just in case we didn’t like the parade offerings. There was also water but it wasn’t needed as I think we had the coolest spot on the parade route.

The National Guard carried the flag followed by Mayor James Behunin on a horse. Val Verda Stake, where Jill and I used to live, had a pioneer themed float. There were the usual bands, fire engines, and old cars. There were even Star Wars characters entertaining the crowd. With fifty entries the parade was over in less than an hour which is about the right amount of time for me.