7 July 2009

Another (????) mouse was in the trap this morning; released the critter down by the lake. Secured the RV for an extended absence, then made the nine hour schlep back to Virginia. Chree says I need to take the mice at least a mile away, as I’ve probably just caught and released the same rodent four times. And hoping not to jinx things: the shower enclosure track (only "fixed" five times) seems to be holding together just fine.

6 July 2009

Woke up for the usual reason at 2:45 a.m. and heard noises emanating from the kitchen area. Another little mouse had found his/her way into the second trap… and was deposited at the Route 53 end of the driveway. Spent most of the morning cleaning the RV, including shampooing the carpets to remove doggy footprints and hair left over from Geisha’s and Shlomo’s visit. Then did a slight reorientation of the house footprint (turned 10º towards the west to better align with the land slope and the driveway terminus) and re-staked the corners. Took Delores up to Kampersville for a tank dump. Price this time was $15! Grrr… I understand that you can’t consider yourself a true RVer until you’ve had a brown bath. Yep, just as the #2 tank started emptying, the hose pulled apart from the connecter sleeve. Good thing I’ve got quick reactions. Unfortunately for my lower body, the shutoff valve was right next to where everything was spewing out. Even more unfortunate (for someone who changed nary a diaper because of a horrible gag reflex), the only way to continue the tank dumping was to hold the hose together with my hands. “TOTALLY GROSS” doesn’t even come close! Just before bedtime, checked the mousetraps and found another (?) furry creature enjoying my prized peanuts.

5 July 2009

Spent the morning and early afternoon cutting, splitting, and stacking the rest of the junk limb wood to be used in the fire pit. Ended up with a nice pallet load (about ⅓ cord). As hard as this is to believe, then took the rest of the day off for some sunbathing, swimming, and pleasure reading, as this was apparently the only non-rainy day in the last six weeks. Checked the mouse traps while preparing dinner and found a cute little furry creature needing a new home… down by the lake.

4 July 2009

Made the easy two-hour drive over to Charlestown, NH where I met Chree, Tasi, & Kristen at Anne Swanson’s house (Chree’s younger sister) for the annual Tarrio family picnic party. Chree brought with her from Virginia the two dogs, two humane mouse traps, and five Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups to serve as mouse bait. Unfortunately, when I confined the dogs to the Sienna because they were misbehaving during lunch, Shlomo ate the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and four of the five wrappers. Upon return to Fern Lake set the traps using plain ole Honey Roasted Peanuts as bait.

3 July 2009

Finished cleaning dead limbs from the white pine out of the shed cellar hole; cut, spit, and stacked about half the resulting pile to be used in the fire pit (only thing that wood is good for). Managed to break the handle of my splitting maul… but nothing a little duct tape couldn’t cure. Good thing I bought a new roll before coming north! Replaced the handle that is used to open the hood of the RV (original was broken before I bought Delores)… and while I was under there, added fluid to the radiator reservoir, which was a pint or so below the “cold” mark. Removed all of the remaining small spruce and low-hanging limbs from the house site. Spent some more time with the leveling sight and (patched up) survey rod trying to figure out what elevation to set for the shed floor. For a former Type A, this is proving to be one tough decision. Rolled up onto rocks and/or wood skids all of the logs that will be sawed into beams for the shed. Replaced the ladder from the water to the dock (old one fell apart last night as I was climbing out… must have had too many hot dogs for dinner) and moved it around the corner so that the canoe now can be hauled onto the dock MUCH more easily. Made one of the recipes from the cookbook that Alex and Katy gave me for Father’s Day, “A Man, A Plan, A Can – 50 Great Guy Meals Even You Can Make”. Took a long swim after dinner… needed the exercise after such an easy day. When the air temperature is 66º, the water just feels sooooo good! There is an ENORMOUS, and VERY loud, bull frog living next to the dock who loves to let me know when I’m trespassing in his territory.

2 July 2009

Rain off and on all day… the Leicester mosquitoes are loving this weather! Definitely a Deep Woods Off kind of day. Between showers, cleaned up some of the downed branches from yesterday’s tree pruning. Repaired the shower enclosure track, yet again. Used plain old (accent on the old) PVC cement this time. Is the fifth time the charm???? Managed to break my 10’ surveying / measuring rod, but nothing that a little duct tape couldn’t (sort of…) cure. Discovered either lots of mouse droppings or some chocolate sprinkles in two of the utensils drawers. My bet is on the former, as I can hear something rummaging around in one of those drawers as this is written. Gary Perkins brought the long-awaited cover plate and enclosure for the RV electrical receptacle. He discovered, after finishing the installation, that the RV electrical plug won’t fit in the enclosure. He left, very disgusted, and promising this will be fixed before I next visit Fern Lake. Built a fire in the pit and grilled hamburgers and hot dogs for dinner. You just can’t beat the taste of wood smoked charred beef!

1 July 2009

KNOWING that the chain saw is still acting up, arranged with Dave Bishop at Champlain Valley Equipment to have the seals inspected and the cylinder pressure tested, per a suggestion made by the Stihl dealer in Virginia. Just to avoid further embarrassment, ran the saw to replicate the flooding / stalling problem, BEFORE taking it into Middlebury. Note to self: never, ever let a piece of equipment know that it is going in for repair. The saw ran absolutely PERFECTLY, no matter what I did. Also working normally again are the Sienna air conditioner and the RV refrigerator. Installed the barrel rack (built in Virginia) and the water barrel that will be used for cement mixing activities. Pink tinge to the barrel comes from former contents: the antibiotic solution used to clean the milking part of a cow. (How’s that for a family-friendly way of not saying “udders”?) Mike and Charles from Limbwalker Tree Services (that’s Charles in the center and Mike top right and proving that you have to be young, strong, AND fearless to be a limbwalker) arrived early afternoon to remove dead branches threatening the RV and the (to be built) woodshed / outdoor storage building roof. Mike said, after climbing up 75′ and not coming close to reaching the top, that the 3′ diameter white pine next to the shed is at least 100′ tall. Went for a swim at dusk… very agreeable 74º water temperature (measured 1 foot below the surface).

30 June 2009

Uneventful 9 hour drive up from Virginia until reaching Lake George, where the roads were flooded curb high due to a severe thunderstorm headed east. After driving through that deep water the Sienna air conditioner no longer works. Grrrrrr… Got to Fern Lake 15 minutes ahead of the storm, just enough time to throw all critical items into the RV before the deluge began. Just realized that in my rush, the toilet kit got left in the van. Good thing nobody wants to kiss me tonight. Refrigerator refused to turn on. Troubleshot the problem to the brand new coach batteries being flat. I THINK I rectified that problem by running the truck engine… that is until an alarm (unknown cause) went off. The bottle of wine I opened tonight still has WAY too much left in it…