30 June 2010

60 degrees in the RV overnight… perfect for sleeping. Had to turn on the RV heater in order to entice Chree out of bed. Gotta love the ever-changing Vermont weather. By early afternoon had finished smoothing out the trail down to the waterfront. Proof of workmanship test cases (elderly persons) arriving Sunday. Lunch out by the fire pit drew nary a flying insect. Returned Perry’s saw to his house, then went to Taylor Rental (and local Jonsered dealer) and bought a brand new CS 2240S. Life is good, and then you get a chainsaw to die for!!!! Chree got a Taylor Rental tee-shirt… lucky girl!

29 June 2010

Perry arrived right after breakfast with his Jonsered CS 2250S (translation: a chainsaw worthy of drool). My Sthil 025C (translation: the chain saw I’ve been abusing for the last decade) bit the big one a week ago as Tasi and I were getting in next winter’s Virginia wood supply. Chree and I spent the morning using Perry’s saw to cut up the top of the large white oak that I dropped last fall in order to get a couple of logs large enough to be sawed into shed support beams. Used the pickup to haul beaucoup loads of branches and logs to upland storage piles. As the morning progressed, the pickup got increasingly persnickety about engaging the 4WD. An unplanned trip to G. Stone (local Ford dealer) is a near-term necessity. If that doesn’t work, then I’ll have to visit the local gun shop… Spent the afternoon working on the lower third of the trail down to the lake, widening, leveling, and grading the path to accommodate 86 year old ladies wanting to visit the waterfront. Deer flies were pretty fierce; mosquitoes only a minor nuisance. Dogs spent most of the afternoon swimming, chasing each other through the woods, and generally getting under-shovel.

26 - 28 June 2010

To Fern Lake with Chree and dogs via Old Saybrook, CT, abode of Frank & Fran Tarrio, father- and mother-in-law. Roundabout routing added 75 miles to the trip, which took a total of 12 ½ hours of driving time; from the NJ Turnpike toll plaza to the Pelham Parkway via the Cross Bronx Expressway, a distance of 18 miles, took 2 fun-filled hours. Discovered upon arrival at Fern Lake that the tarp structure over the shed cellar hole had suffered a major failure. One 2 x 4 broken and many others sticking up at odd angles out of the pit. Marty Lapidus came over and said all of the damage occurred during a torrential thunderstorm last night. Pulled down the trap structure. Then Chree and I started gathering and washing rocks that will be used for the shed underground roof. Why, you ask, are we washing rocks? Answer: what else is there to do when it’s 90 degrees and 90% humidity???? Actually, the rocks that will be used in the shed roof and to fill in between the concrete columns have to be washed so that cement will adhere to them properly. Dogs went swimming; after the sweating was done, I did, too. Water temp a balmy 76 degrees two feet below the surface. Wild blueberries are ripening nicely; two handfuls went down real easy. Lovely canoe around the lake after dinner. Then we turned on the RV air conditioners!

4 June 2010

Using US-202 and PA 31 vice US-206 through Princeton saved maybe 10 minutes (longer distance but mostly multi-lane highway with fewer stoplights) on the journey back to Virginia. Was making really good time until crossing the Wilson Bridge in Alexandria… where road construction caused a major bottleneck. Still, the trip only took 8 hours 45 minutes, but would have been under 8½ hours if not for the &%$!@* northern Virginia traffic!!!!

3 June 2010

Rained overnight… the tarp was a little saggy but still standing in the morning. Up to Burlington after breakfast to do a pre-move out inspection on the condo… our tenant is leaving after nine years. Lunch and a brief visit with Alverta. Stopped by Brown’s Crane and Rigging Service in Bristol on the way back south. Pouring the shed’s underground roof and then craning it into position will be quite doable and affordable. Then swung by Lynne & Perry’s to drop off Perry’s special concrete chalk line… and caught him at home. He called Lou Nop in Salisbury, who also owns several cranes. Nop’s and Brown’s capabilities and prices are about the same... and Nop is much closer. Spent the remainder of the afternoon cleaning up and battening down the work site: securely tarped the radial arm saw, properly stowed copious quantities of scrap plywood and 2 x 4’s, dried and tucked away the burlap previously used for keeping the shed footers moist while the concrete cured, put the ladders back in the dock shack, laid out treats and bedding materials for the mice, gave Delores a good scrubbing, etc. Lake temperature now 74 degrees.

2 June 2010

Josh returned to help with getting the column forms perfectly aligned and braced into position. Many adjustments, climbing of ladders, and hours later, that critically important step was done. Mr. One-Sixteenth actually settled for a ¼″ discrepancy at the end of a very hot afternoon. But, when all is said and done, that “mistake” will be buried. Then we quickly built the scaffolding around the inner perimeter of the forms that will be needed as a working platform when the concrete is poured. Just for giggles, we also rigged the monster tarp (30 x 50 feet, the one that kept the snow off Delores last winter) over a hastily constructed framework atop the pier structure. Time and a good thunderstorm will tell how effective this will be. Well after 7 o’clock we hit the lake to cool off and I lit the campfire to cook supper… a particularly nice slice of some unfortunate bovine.

1 June 2010

A miserable rainy day. Quick trip into Brandon at crack of dawn to visit one of the local gas stations to scrounge a gallon of black gold (i.e., used motor oil that we apply to the forms to keep the concrete from sticking – sort of like Pam, only messier). Fortunately it was a “light” rain so I could wear my sunglasses to drive. (Get it????) Josh showed up at 9:00, having been ill all night – said it was something he ate… he hopes. We got the first form assembled and were screwing it together when I realized we were just about out of the proper length screws. The 7-P Principle not in action! So, rather than take time away from the fun of working in the rain, we quickly put together the remaining three concrete column forms, holding them together with four screws each. Made an emergency run to Goodro Lumber for more screws at lunchtime, but saw on the way back that the rain was starting to really pour. So paid Josh for his time and took him home. An hour later the sun came out, so as soon as I finished updating the Fern Lake blog, went back to work. Took the tarp off the radial arm saw – it started to rain; put the tarp back on the saw – the sun came out. Repeated that cycle a few times until dawn came over Marblehead and started sawing things under the tarp… with no rain. By sunset, had all of the column forms completely assembled… a major milestone.