"Mudslingers" Very Welcome in Colorado

I'm not sure what happened to yesterday's written post...  I wrote it, and posted it, and then started putting together the photos for yesterday.  During that time, both of my cats walked across the keyboard - and when I posted the photos, I found that the written post was missing...  Oh, well...  It was mainly about several wonderful groups of people who call themselves "Mudslingers."  Not mudslingers in the traditional sense of the word, but literally, mudslingers.
   Wednesday, after walking Rosie, I was helping the Echols' clean out their house, which had survived four feet of flood waters surging through it.  Thehouse and yard had been underwater for three and a half days, and Four Mile Creek had left mud, silt, and sand in the house, and mud and debris covered the entire yard. There were four of us to help - and we figured that it would take two to three days to carry every single item out of the house, shovel out the mud, and pull up the carpeting and padding.  The biggest problem was how slippery the deposited mud was...  One had to step very carefully and hope that the footing would hold under each foot.  We had been working diligently for 2 and 1/2 hours, when a group of 20 people showed up, seemingly out of nowhere - they stated they were clean-up volunteers and asked for directions.  Our plan was explained to them, and sub-groups were formed.  The entire house was cleared out in another 3 hours.
   It seems that hardy souls, people who were not affected by the flooding, are coming into the flood areas each day, organizing themselves, and going to any home that needs help with a clean-up.  Yesterday, as I was walking home form the bus stop, I observed planning stations set up in four parking lots - where work groups were dispersing in small buses and large vans to go out and help those who need it.  It was a wonderful sight to see - and, believe me, their help is greatly appreciated!  The group that helped Wednesday had folks from Mead, Parker, Lafayette, Longmont, Denver, and Strasburg in the mix.  I am extremely grateful to each and every volunteer who is assisting anyone with flood recovery here in Colorado.