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 74ยบ water temperature (measured 1 foot below the surface).
