Finished cleaning up assorted limbs and downed trees for the driveway… all 405 feet of it. A few mosquitoes about, but they weren’t hungry. Visited Kampersville Campground at the north end of Lake Dunmore to find out about their RV pump out facilities. $10 a pop to dump your poop! They also sell propane at a considerable markup over normal retail. Agway in Middlebury has much more reasonable propane prices. Delivered the balky chainsaw to Dave Bishop for further investigation and repair of the starting problems. Spent an hour, shovel in hand, taking out some of the side-slope on the path from the house site down to the lake. Put the ladder for the tree platform back up… much easier this time using Kristen’s grandfather’s block and 
tackle. (Kristen is number one son's wife.) Was raising the actual platform quite easily using said block and tackle when the platform got hung up momentarily on the ladder. So up the ladder I climbed (what’s that you say, NEVER stand under a suspended load?). About 15 feet off the ground there was a VERY LOUD CRACK! Remember that “not structural” damage to the ladder? Well it weren’t not structural. FORTUNATELY for yours truly (as in it's sometimes better to be lucky than good), only one side of the ladder fractured, so a safe retreat was made… and the camera fetched.
Another cold dark night… but boy were there a LOT of stars to be seen! With the RV furnace turned off, almost got through the night without the LPG alarm going off. However, almost only counts in horseshoes... Finished cutting trees for the driveway. Last four trees all were leaning heavily towards the power line that runs along Route 53. But as the man said, give a woodsman a come-along, a rope, a tall ladder, and a place to pull from, and any tree can be made to fall where you want it. Surely the neighbors are grateful that they still have power and phone service this evening. Right close to the road there's an the old barn foundation, which will provide some beautiful rocks for the entry stone wall! Chain saw started misbehaving again today… won’t start consistently. VERY frustrating. Saw the first no-see-ums of the season… but they didn’t see me! Reached agreement with the Glassners that their driveway could stay where it is, we would sign a permanent easement to that effect, and, in turn, they would grant permanent right for us (and our heirs and assigns, in legal parlance) to use the “common” portion of their driveway to allow access to the lower portion of our property. The Glassners will have papers drawn to that effect. [MUCH discussion left unsaid in those last two sentences!]
Coach batteries are flat, flat, flat! Two hours of running the generator made no difference to how quickly the furnace used up all power and the RV went lights out and cold once the generator was stopped. Coach batteries are on the rapidly growing repair list… Worked all day clearing trees from the driveway and from the spot where the RV will be parked henceforth. Notice the beautifully stacked firewood and slash piles on the left side... apparently someone hasn't completely lost his Type A tendencies. Late afternoon had a meeting with Sid & Shelley Glassner, Calvin Loven, and Bob LaPorte. Shelley Glassner requested that we grant the Glassners a permanent easement for that portion of their driveway that is on our property. Walked the property with Bob to show him the work that he will do in conjunction with putting in a rough driveway. Bob expected that work to take two days and be done in the second week in May.
Sid Glassner informed me that he had a problem with the RV being parked where it is… thinking its presence would negatively affect salability of his house. Agreed to move the RV to a less obvious location. Pointed out to Sid that his driveway was completely on our property for one stretch (basically the property line runs from where I'm standing to the right corner of the white garage in the far background). Showed him the septic system design survey to prove that assertion. After MUCH back and forth, he concluded that he would need to move his driveway onto his property before selling his house. Filled The Beast’s gas tank. $102. Ouch!!!! Alverta went for a ride on that excursion. Roughly staked the house site (AGAIN!) based on the FINAL (!!!!) house design. Staked out a location for less-obtrusive RV parking spot and for the wood shed / outdoor storage building. Lynne and Perry popped in for a delightful dinner… and a much appreciated morale boost.
Set up Doug’s van-camp (note the Areobed taking up the entire rear of the van). Cleared trees from the house site and (what I thought at the time would be) the car turnaround area. Only hung up one large maple, but a newly acquired peevee solved that problem in short order. Worked all afternoon in a short sleeve shirt; my how the weather doth change hereabouts. Stuck my hand in the lake; not quite ready for swimming… Dinner at Cattails in Brandon, most yummy! First overnight on the land, camped out in the van. Chilly but comfy!
