Shhhh... I'm actually home for a while!

So, I am finally on the slow down for the season.  At least for a bit.

I would actually be coming home from an event today, but there was a windstorm, and we all agreed that since it was quite a ways away, might be a good idea to skip it...

So, without further ado, The Firetruck.

We have named it Nessie.  She is a ladder truck, and Husband gave her this name.  He had the ladder up and locked, to check if there were any problems with it leaking, or if the ladder would descend, if not attended for any length of time.  He left to go get some items in town, and when he returned, he saw the bucket well above the trees, and said it looked like some dinosaur in our yard.  While yes, Nessie is a lake monster, we didn't have a good name for a big land monster of that sort, Godzilla didn't fit, and Barney was right out!

There she is.  Nessie was a tiny bit longer, but Husband removed the last 2 feet or so.  It had a tailboard, where the firefighters could ride on the back.  That's no longer legal, and we didn't need it.  Tailboard was then removed, to make access to the back panels easier.  She had a generator removed, to be replaced with a water tank (I think), the rear seats are going to be removed, (possible placement for items for amateur radio, or other fire equipment.  Maybe a porta potty).  

I went up to about 60 feet on the ladder, it is odd to look down and see the TOP of the tallest tree in your yard...  I didn't manage to go up the full 95 feet, the wind was blowing, and it made me feel just a little un-nerved.  I will try again some other time.  The view is amazing, though!

That is the wind vane, on top of our garage.  By itself, it's about 2 feet tall...

We have it all wrapped in tarps where it doesn't fit in the shop, and it's all fitted out for winter. 

Now, I am sure you are probably wondering why we nutcases we people bought a fire truck...  We have lots of timber near us, and on our property.  These last few summers have been rather spooky, and we have some... Less than careful people, who throw out lit cigarettes from car windows, and burn on days where the weather is in the 90's and above.  We also are about 15 minutes from the nearest fire department.  So, we bought Nessie, and her big tank, to give us time to get things protected.

We will both be learning about this, Husband has learned quite a bit, and I am hoping I can get some of it through my head, too.  We have some books, and a couple fire fighters, past and present, that have offered to give us pointers.  So, while we aren't looking to be the local fire folk, we do want to make sure we have some preparedness, and prevention.  

And besides, I think it's really cool to have a fire truck...