13 October 2009

Discovered upon waking that the back to my new cell phone has (again) gone astray. So on the “way” back to Virginia, went by Fern Lake to search for the missing piece… in the rain… and mud... as the most likely time for it to have popped off was while slithering under Delores yesterday while securing the tarp. No joy! The stump fire (finally) was out. Deliberately (this time) took US 206 through Princeton then I-95 through Philadelphia vice taking the New Jersey Turnpike. Even though that 25 mile stretch on US 206 has a zillion stoplights and low speed limit sections, still made the drive in just under nine hours… with one stop for $2.21 gas.

12 October 2009

Stump fire is still smoldering. Fall foliage is at its peak... and the weather today is perfect! Took the picture that is now the blog title screen. Spent the morning cleaning the RV interior and getting ready for the winterizing process. Lynne came over at 2:00 pm to help get everything that might freeze packed up and moved out. Then we took Delores to Kampersville for one last tank purge. Lynne’s first time underway… made even more exciting by Central Vermont Public Service (local electrical power company) tree cutting on the edge of Lake Dunmore where Route 53 is the narrowest. But by putting the RV wheels right on the edge of the road, we had a full two inches of clearance to get by the power company bucket truck. Piece of cake. The CVPS crew left a large log in the road for the return trip just to add a bit of extra challenge. Getting the 30′ x 50′ tarp draped over the RV proved to be a two person job. In the midst of that operation, Sid Glassner came over with Kate Middleton and her husband, Dan Wheeless, who will be our new neighbors to the south. We had a nice visit. Turns out Kate (who is an actress in New York) and Dan live just around the corner from where Lynne & Perry used to live in Greenwich Village when Perry was in the acting business. Small world! By 5:30 pm Delores was snugly under her tarp and (fingers crossed) secure for the winter. During my final walk-around, shoved a green unburnt stump over the area of the fire that was still smoldering. On a positive note, t'weren't much left of the pile after 5 days of burning! Dinner and a warm bed at Lynne & Perry’s. Perry reviewed the woodshed plans after dinner and made several excellent suggestions that will make the construction process easier.

11 October 2009

At sunup (and sundown) the stump fire was still smoldering. After feeding Lynne & Perry’s cats, took the pickup to the Leicester General Store for a fill up with cheap gas. (They knock a dime off their regular price on Wednesdays and Sundays.) Then spent an hour trying to get the plethora of white dog hair out of the pickup using the shop vac. That turned out to be a hopeless cause. Disconnected the battery, added fuel stabilizer and dry gas to the tank, and covered the pickup with a nice green tarp for winter storage. After lunch took the RV into Middlebury to fill up the propane tank… had used over 13 gallons in the last 12 days, mostly in running the furnace. One begins to think that maybe the RV isn’t very well insulated… Then drove up to Lynne & Perry’s to give Delores her (annual????) bath, for which an unlimited supply of water was needed. Understatement of the year: Delores is BIG… and was VERY dirty. Took 3 hours just to clean the roof (and, at that, pretty poorly), completely wearing out a brand new mop in the process. I know what I want for Christmas… someone (hint, hint Tasi & Kristen) to give me a mid-summer RV washing and waxing. Upon return to Fern Lake, used the carpet cleaner to remove copious quantities of mud and dog hair from the RV main cabin floor. Unfortunately, the Bove's spaghetti sauce stains did NOT come out…

10 October 2009

Miserable rainy morning… spent feeding cats at Lynne’s, doing laundry there, and buying a tarp at Goodro Lumber in Middlebury to cover the pickup. Alverta arrived late morning bringing a goodly supply of one of my favorite desserts – Butter Fudge Fingers. After lunch the skies suddenly went from low overcast to clear. Putting on winter jackets against the wind-chill, we walked around the property with Molly admiring recent handiwork, then took the trail down to the lake. Alas, we found that recent winds had toppled the new dock stairs into the water, the rope normally used to secure them in an upright position being used as a painter for the canoe of late. There is only one way to raise the stairs into their stowed position and that is from IN the water… which today measured 59° on the brisk-o-meter. Returning to the top of the hill, I decided to see how much of the remaining pile of junk wood would take to the still smoldering stump fire. With Alverta’s help, we quickly reduced the remaining pile by ½ and had a nice blaze going. Mid-afternoon Alverta left to return to Burlington and I realized that today would be the warmest of my remaining stay… and there was a nice hot fire... so back down to the lake Molly and I went. The dock stairs were quickly, shall we say, very quickly, raised out of the water… and it actually wasn’t too chilly… once I was back on the dock. By dog, cat, and human feeding time the junk wood pile had pretty much gone up in smoke.

9 October 2009

At sunrise the stump pile was legitimately ¼ gone. Started a second burn on the lake side of the pile (which today was the windward side) that quickly became a much sought inferno. By lunchtime the pile was half gone, but most of the largest stumps were largely unburnt. Getting 16 cubic yards of junk wood onto the fire one handful at a time takes a long time. Thought I learned earlier this summer not to wear nylon fabric running shoes when working around a bonfire. Apparently the earlier lesson wasn’t painful enough to stick. Glad I was wearing wool socks when the latest burn-through occurred. About 4 o’clock Bob LaPorte came by to retrieve his excavator and give me his bill for the retaining wall work. I tacked on an extra hour of excavator time, which he will use to bury whatever is left of the stump pile when the fire goes out. Lynne and Perry showed up the same time Bob was here to drop off Molly (their ancient canine companion) for the weekend. When all had left, it started raining, so Molly and I retreated to the RV, with the stump / junk wood pile more than ¾ consumed.

8 October 2009

Spent much of the morning raking out ruts and filling in holes made by Bob LaPorte’s excavator, then moving to the burn pile odds and ends of debris that looked like they belonged there, including much of the junk (wooden pallets, scrap wood, etc.) that we removed from down by the dock back in June. At lunchtime picked up Lynne at her office, then drove to Brandon Auto to pick up the pickup. Immediately upon return to Fern Lake struck a single match and set fire to the stump pile, which was a good 10 feet high at its peak. Fire started verrrrrry sloooooowly… but start it did. Can you see the dancing flames in the picture???? Me neither. Calvin Loven stopped by and recommended using as much used motor oil as could be found, about 5 gallons of diesel fuel, and a gallon or two of gasoline. In a slightly more eco-friendly mode, used the pickup to haul many loads of dry brush to feed the fire… only way to get the junk in the pile to even think about doing anything but smolder. Used the 4WD often, as the tires on the pickup might be good in snow, but leave a lot to be desired off road in the mud. By 9:00 pm only an optimist would say that even ¼ of the stump pile had been consumed. Looking forward to seeing how much more is gone by morning.

7 October 2009

Rained most of the night and well into the morning. Another perfect day to stay in the cozy confines of the RV. Instead, donned my 20-year old but almost never worn foul weather gear (that seems to have shrunk somewhat while in storage), and did hand work around the edges while Bob finished excavating the shed cellar hole and back-filling the retaining wall. Semi-final excavation seen here. For a sense of scale, the surveying rod in the back of the cellar hole is 7 feet tall. Rode with Bob down to the gravel, sand, and stone pit in Fernville to pick up a load of crushed gravel that will make the spur driveway down to the shed turnaround much more passable. While Bob was back at the pit for another load, a fuel truck showed up to top up the Glassner’s oil tank. Fortunately I spotted the truck as it was backing out of their driveway (again blocked by the RV, as the Glassners had assured me that they would be in New Hampshire today…) and was able to get the driver’s attention. RV quickly moved aside, the refueling (ordered by the Glassner’s real estate agent, so not known to Sid and Shelly) was accomplished in short order. Put the RV back where it had been. While Bob was leveling out the gravel under Delores' usual parking spot, he caught my eye and pointed over my shoulder at the Glassner’s driveway. Sure enough, there was ANOTHER vehicle trying to get down the driveway but stymied by the RV. This turned out to be an insurance agent who, don’t ask me why, needed pictures of the house for the file. He, at least, didn’t need the RV moved, as, in spite of the steady rain, he was quite happy to just walk down to the house. I held his umbrella while he snapped away. As the day wound down, Bob pulled the stump of the maple alongside our driveway that the Kubota had been unable to budge. Took Bob about a minute. Then I had him move to the stump burn pile the huge mound of debris that was on the property when we bought it, as the stuff in that mound was so tangled and full of dirt that pulling it apart and putting it through a chipper would have been a nightmare. Two very full dump truck loads (…and Bob has a very LARGE dump truck) and a half-hour of time did the trick. Some quality time in the shower after Bob’s departure was followed by a delightful dinner at the Lapidus’. My foul weather gear now looks like it’s 20 years old… amazing what one day of fun in the mud can do to clothing.

6 October 2009

Bob LaPorte had a previous engagement with Brad Ramsay for the morning, so puttered around doing this and that and eyeballing the work to be done once Bob arrived, which he did around noon. First on the agenda was to disassemble the unstable / collapsed part of the retaining wall and start over. Mission soon accomplished. Then we went looking for big rocks to complete the opposite end of the wall. Needless to say, we didn’t have to go far. Found another 4-tonner, too big for Bob’s excavator to pick up directly, but a quick wrap with my logging chain did the trick, though the excavator went up on its nose a few times. Once that rock was in place, Bob turned to digging the shed cellar hole longer and deeper, using the gravel and rocks from that excavation to back fill the retaining wall. By Sam Adams time much of that work was done.

5 October 2009

Figured Bob LaPorte would show up at 8:00, so was getting the RV ready to move about 7:20 when I heard noise out by the road. Sure enough, Bob was here already and starting to unload his excavator, completely blocking the driveway. We did a quick round of musical chairs so that I could get the RV out of his way for the day’s activities. Only reasonably level spot available was that portion of the Glassner’s driveway that is actually on our property. Since the Glassners are over in New Hampshire now pretty much full time, seemed like a reasonable place to temporarily park the RV. Bob and I went straight to work moving BIG rocks into place for the shed turning area retaining wall. The Leicester nugget (6 feet wide by 4 ½ feet high by 2 ½ feet thick… about 5 tons worth of granite) that Bob unearthed while digging the shed cellar hole was easily moved to a prime position in the new wall. Roger Currier, an old friend of Bob’s, showed up early on, stayed most of the day watching the fun, and lent an extra set of hands and strong arms on several occasions. Two of the nice things about Bob is that he is very precise with his bucket control (so that it is safe to be near the bucket when he is moving it) and he jumps right out of the cab to wrestle in the mud if that is what is needed at the moment. Mid-morning, while we were in the midst of horsing a rock into position, Sid Glassner showed up, asking could I please move the RV so that he and Shelley could get to their house. Ooops! The only other place to put the RV was by the pile of logs that will be sawed into beams for the shed, but that area looked pretty soft, which is why I didn’t put Delores there initially. Nothing for it at that point but to back the RV off the driveway into that spot. Early afternoon (notice I didn’t say “after lunch”… Bob and the Energizer Bunny have a LOT in common) it started to rain… just long enough and hard enough to be annoying… and to make the rocks really slippery to handle. One portion of the wall was a bit unstable because the base rock (roughly 6 feet square and 2 feet thick) at the bottom of that section had broken when another rock was placed on top. (Like I said, we were moving some truly man-sized pieces of stone!) Try as we might, we just couldn’t get that section to firm up. Finally, Bob tried placing a large boulder on the uphill side, thinking that might provide the support needed. Instead, that maneuver caused the whole section to collapse. Bigger oops! With rain again falling, time to quit for the day. Delores had to think long and hard when asked to pull out of her muddy parking spot… she almost decided to stay right there. But as they say, almost only counts in horseshoes. Safely returned to her normal, and much drier, parking spot, with all wine glassed intact, t’ was time to clean up. Literally a dozen washings of hands and they’re still stained black from whatever is in the Leicester mud. Had to clean the shower after cleaning me. A Sam Adams slid down real easy… and this pooped puppy will be early to bed tonight!

4 October 2009

Woke up to lots of fog… a sure sign that fall has fallen. More shed design drawings completed, then went into Middlebury to buy another 20 feet of tubing for the Egyptian water level and to pick up an onion at Hannaford’s. Left Hannaford’s $50 poorer… and I wasn’t even shopping hungry. Finally got the retaining wall elevations set, and discovered that the inconsistency problem with the Egyptian water level was due to the flimsy tubing I bought in Virginia. To paraphrase Junction Auto’s motto: cheap stuff ain’t good and good stuff ain’t cheap! Barbecued chicken for dinner. (Question of the day: why does everything just taste sooooo wonderful when cooked over an open fire????) Decided to go for a dip in the lake after dinner even though the water temperature has fallen to 62°, the theory being that if the air temperature is less than the water temperature, the water will feel warm. Nice theory, and call me a wimp if you will, but the swimming season is definitely over.

3 October 2009

Another rainy day… perfect for continuing shed design work. Weather cleared up somewhat mid-afternoon, so attempted to set the retaining wall elevations using the Egyptian water level. Still very inconsistent! Also the tubing wouldn’t reach to the farthest points of the intended wall. Grrr! Barbecued dinner, then went for a mentally relaxing and physically rewarding canoe around the lake. Not more than a dozen houses / camps showing any signs of life.

2 October 2009

While lying abed shortly after dawn pondering the upcoming day, it dawned on me that we hadn’t done a very thorough search of the pickup yesterday while looking for the missing wallet... and the more I mentally retraced my steps on Wednesday, the more convinced I became that that is where the wallet had been left. So after breakfast I drove back to Pittsford (which fortunately is only 11 miles from Fern Lake), where I found the mechanic to whom I had given the pickup’s keys on Wednesday. Together we went through the pickup with the proverbial fine tooth comb. No wallet. At that point the mechanic remembered that a regular visitor to the car lot had been in the pickup after I dropped it off on Wednesday. So, who knows, maybe that person found the wallet and has mailed it to Virginia. Well, you can ALWAYS hope… While talking to the mechanic, I enquired about the status of getting the 4WD fixed. “Well”, he says, “let me show you what’s wrong with it…” Seems the plastic knob for the 4WD selector switch is cracked, allowing the knob to rotate without actually turning the switch. With the knob properly positioned, the 4WD engages just fine… as we proved about 20 times on the spot. So I drove up to Brandon, saw Frankie Gomez (the Brandon Auto salesman), and within five minutes had reached agreement on a sales price. (I offered $1,000 less than the Kelly Blue Book private sale “fair” condition value; he countered with my price plus $50; I shook his hand.) Lest you think that is an outrageously good deal, as soon as I take delivery, the truck is going straight to Junction Auto for about $500 worth of repairs to known problems. Obviously, with zero identification I couldn’t go to our bank and get a cashier’s check, but Frankie took a personal check drawn on that bank with the understanding that I wouldn’t take the truck away until the check clears. Since I was in the area, stopped for a social visit with Tom Whittaker at his real estate office in Brandon. Back at Fern Lake, put stakes in the ground for the corners of the shed foundation footers. The layout checked square (equal diagonal measurements) on the very first try… which has NEVER happened before, on the first or twentieth try. Some mosquitoes about and somewhat bothersome without an application of Vermont perfume (i.e., Deep Woods Off). Lit a campfire on which to barbecue dinner… which caused the rain to start again in earnest. Barbecued anyway…


Post Script: IT’S A MIRACLE!!!!! The person who we suspected might have taken my wallet turned said wallet into the Brandon Police Department this afternoon. Wallet retrieved this evening, completely intact (money, IDs, credit cards, etc. all present).

1 October 2009

Another rainy day… great for working on shed design drawings in the cozy warmth of an RV with a full propane tank. While making pancakes for breakfast, neglected to turn on the stove vent fan, and therefore completed, a few hours earlier than planned, the annual smoke detector battery test. Of course, while dealing with the noise issue, burned the pancake. Went for a stroll around the property after lunch eyeballing rocks to be used for the retaining wall. That done, decided to go over to the Salisbury Free Library (open 2 – 5 Tuesdays and Thursdays, plus 9 – noon on Saturdays) where they have a Wi-Fi connection. While gathering up my new laptop and other implements of destruction, couldn’t find my wallet anywhere in the RV or the Sienna. “Hmmm”, I says, “I wonder if maybe I left the wallet in the pickup truck on Wednesday”, as I have a habit of putting it into a cup holder rather than sitting on the lump. So down to Pittsford I drove. Alas, there was no wallet in said pickup truck cup holder. Oh, dear! (or words to that effect) After using the Wi-Fi (a nice high-speed connection), having a lovely chat with Jennifer the librarian, and signing up as the 362nd (all time) member of the library (which actually has 5,000 titles on hand, some of which I would even want to read), I spent the balance of the afternoon and evening calling credit card companies and credit bureaus concerning potential identity theft and fraudulent use of credit issues. Oh, joy!