Back to Virginia in
just on 9 hours with a stop at Giddings Manufacturing and Equipment in Pittsford
to order a new driveway sign. The tire
inflation warning light came on again a mile down the road from Fern Lake,
stayed on for the next 507 miles, then went back out as I turned onto Newington
Forest Avenue, a ½ mile from the house.
Go figure!!!! Saw the extent of
Chree’s tripping-over-Shlomo injuries upon arrival home. Let’s just say that it’s a good thing I’ve
got witnesses to prove I was in Vermont last Friday, otherwise there would be a
restraining order issued in record time.
Called my Virginia
mechanic yesterday to make an appointment for the Sienna later this week. After over a month illuminating every time I
drove the van, on the way to / from the Salisbury library today the tire
inflation warning light did NOT come on.
At least the Check Engine light is still lit… for now. After rain off and on all night, the weather still
was very unsettled this morning, so kept tools mostly under cover and worked on
loading the van with anything I don’t think I’ll need between now and the end
of the construction season (…and we all know how that is going to work out!),
preparing the site for a week’s absence, and creating more footers, stringers,
and railing posts. During lunch the sun
came out and the skies started to clear… just as forecast. Hauled all my tools (seems like literally)
down to the end of the walkway and started attaching stringers to the in-ground
posts I put in yesterday. No sooner was
the first one done when a thunderstorm came rolling in out of nowhere,
necessitating a frantic scramble to get at least the electrical tools covered
up again. By the time I finally sought
shelter in the RV, was more than a little damp around the edges. A half hour later the skies cleared again,
but by then it was time for the library run… apparently on four good
tires. Returned to Fern Lake just before
3, finished putting on the stringers, the associated railing posts, and getting
everything put away and secured. In case
you were wondering, the lake temperature is still a lovely 79 degrees.
Forecast was for
deteriorating weather as the day went on, with rain likely tonight. Didn’t want to have electrically-powered
tools lying about if the rain came early, so spent the day digging holes and
planting the next four sets of in-ground posts. Only two brief rain showers
while I was working this afternoon and a third just as I was getting changed
for my cool down / clean up plunge in the lake.
After the usual 10
mile bike ride with Marty, intended to get the deck boards on the third
landing. Found out right away that the
radial arm saw will crosscut a maximum of 60 degrees and a wee bit. The first angle to be cut was 69°, which
meant having to use the Skilsaw. Uttering a discouraging word (though the skies
were sunny all day…), I loaded the generator and Sawzall into the Ranger and
tried to shorten the driveway signpost by ¼″ so the mounting bracket holes
would line up better… something I’ve had on the to do list for some
considerable time. Found out (after
ruining two metal cutting blades) that the steel in that signpost is some tough
stuff. Tried using my hacksaw with a new
blade, but it quickly became apparent that the signpost was cutting the blade
and not vice versa. Gave up and tackled
to do list item #2: removing the “floor” of the RV generator compartment so
that I can lower it 3″ using the expensive channel steel that I got from Lou
Nop last week. Using my last metal
cutting blade, the Sawzall made short work of four of the totally rusted bolts
holding the compartment floor in place.
Unfortunately, the fifth (last) bolt was in a position where I couldn’t
get at it with the Sawzall. Merde, as
they say, alors (if you’ll pardon my French)!!!! Tried a cold chisel, but
quickly gave that up as a hopeless approach.
Then remembered that I do have a diamond-tipped blade for the Skilsaw…
and diamond is pretty tough stuff so maybe…
(Can you see the light bulb glowing dimly????) Worked like a champ! Ate an early lunch, then dragged the
generator, Skilsaw (restored to wood cutting mode), sawhorses, and seemingly
every other tool I own down to the third landing worksite. Other than the cuts not being nearly as
pretty as when done on the radial arm saw, cutting the deck boards for the
landing on site was a lot easier than I was expecting… and certainly saved
countless trips up and down and up and down the walkway. Got the landing finished at 3 o’clock, put
away tools, hopped in the lake to cool off, did two days worth of dishes,
shaved and showered, and was at Lynne & Perry’s by two minutes to
four. That’s what you call gettin’ ‘er
done! The three of us then went over to
Camp Songadeewin (the Keywaydin girls camp) for the annual Lake Dunmore / Fern Lake
Association picnic. Burgers and dogs,
great potato salad, plenty of beer and cheap wine, but not nearly enough soda
considering it was well north of 80° and downright h•o•t out in the sun. The new dining hall is, as advertised,
gorgeous post and beam construction… and VERY noisy with a hundred or so people
trying to hold a conversation inside.
Keeping the string of
no emergency room visits going, Marty and I did our first PC2 bike ride… 10
miles around the Neshobe Golf Course loop.
Ended up moving three of the four posts for the third landing. Needless to say, the one that had to move the
least distance was the one that was the most difficult to get back in the
ground properly positioned. Got back to
where I started by lunchtime. In the
afternoon installed all the framing for the third landing, then put up the
landing light.
Did errands with / for
Alverta in Burlington all morning.
Returned to Fern Lake at 2:30 and promptly got back to work on the
walkway took a nap. Awhile later, somewhat refreshed, dug the last hole for
and buried the remaining two in-ground posts needed to support the third
landing. Was admiring my handiwork and
doing a last measurement check when I realized that all of the posts are in the
wrong place due to very poor prior planning on the part of this Perkins. Shortly
thereafter, while in the lake soothing my bruised foot and the footprint-shaped
bruise on my butt, Chree called to let me know about her day in the emergency
room caused by a cute little black doggie, name of Shlomo, over whom she
tripped while walking said doggie this morning.
When retrieving a bottle of wine for dinner from the man cave, found a
pile of “sawdust” on the shed footer right under one of the oak beams… a beam
that I treated especially thoroughly with the BoraCare spray. On a positive note, dinner at Marty &
Merry’s was delicious as always… and somehow my wine glass was never empty
after regaling them with tales of the goings on over the last 24 hours. After
dark we all came up the hill to admire the walkway all lit up. In spite of the rocky, root-infested terrain
and elevated BAC, none of us ended up in an emergency room…
Delivered mouse #3 to
the Silver Lake parking lot hollow tree stump.
Afterwards, spent an hour uploading 2½ weeks of blog postings to the
fernlake.blogspot.com website. Then put
the toe caps on the third walkway section.
That means that 158 feet of the walkway now are complete. Only 274 more feet to go! Started work on putting in the four in-ground
posts that will support the third landing.
Placement of the first two was very fussy… they have to be in exactly
the right position (including height above ground) for both the landing
construction and the start of the next walkway section. Got that done and was about to plant the
third in-ground post when a call from Lynne sent me to Burlington for the night
to assist Alverta, who was experiencing her first ever ambulance ride as Lynne
and I were speaking and, ultimately, again needed rescuing from the clutches of
the Fletcher Allen emergency room.
Finished putting deck
boards on the third section of walkway, then installed the railing caps and
railing for that section. Things go a
lot faster when there aren’t any funky bends in the middle of the straightaway. FINALLY found the picture editing / compression
program needed to shrink my .jpg files down to web-compatible size. Turned out to be a MS Office, not a Windows
7, program. Once I figured that out, was
a matter of minutes to load it onto the laptop from my Office 2007 CD. Captured yet another mouse in the utensils
drawer trap.
Spent a couple of
hours cutting 5/4x6x12 pressure treated deck boards into 3′ lengths and
schlepping them down to the end of the yellow brick road completed
wooden walkway. Then into Burlington I went to deliver a college beer
refrigerator being donated by Lynne & Perry to Lindsey, Steve’s younger
daughter. Stopped at Best Buy to inquire
about the picture editing / compressing software that is MIA. The Geek Squad were, again, less than no help
(two different people blew clouds of smoke up you know where… and even I, no
computer expert, could tell they were just making something up to get rid of
me). In passing, one of them said they get a lot of complaints about the
touchpad on the latest Toshiba laptops. Would have been nice if the salesperson
had mentioned that little tidbit when I was looking at replacement computers. Also
spent some time with Alverta reviewing the financial impacts of alternative
living arrangements she is considering. Check Engine light came on (in the
Sienna this time) as I was headed north.
Looks kinda pretty next to the tire inflation warning light that has
been on for a month… with the tires (including spare) checked regularly for
proper inflation. If it’s not one thing, it’s another… Back to Fern Lake by
4:30, whereupon I started putting deck boards on the walkway section between
the second and third landings, getting about ⅓ completed before swim call.
Don’t you hate it when
it starts raining when you’re swimming?
Other than that minor complaint, a good day of work. Installed the last three in-ground posts for
the walkway section between the second and third landings, their associated
stringers and railing posts, then put on the longitudinals and two of the
lights. All ready to start laying deck
boards! Tasi instructed me on how to
access hidden file folders in Windows 7, so I finally could move my Outlook
contact list file into the correct (hidden) folder so that Outlook could find
it. Life is good!!!! Now if I can just find the file that lets me
compress 5 MB photo files into a size more manageable for posting into the
blog…
Had to fire up the RV
furnace to take the chill off while having breakfast this morning. Isn’t this August, the only WARM month in
Vermont???? Spent most of the morning
scrubbing and buffing, making Delores and her environs ready for guests. Alverta and Lynne arrived at 11:30, a full
hour before I was expecting them. With some frenzied activity, got the
remaining preps done while trying to be a semi-attentive host. Lunch was served promptly at 1. Jake arrived as we were finishing our repast…
and in short order inhaled nearly as much food and drink as the three of us had
already put down our gullets. Perry
arrived (not hungry) as the four of us were finishing dessert. While Perry, Jake, and I sat around the
campfire talking about walkway engineering, the two ladies retired to the RV
and apparently spent some quality time “evening up the edge” of the still-warm
walnut-infused Ghirardelli chocolate brownies.
Least wise the baking dish was a lot less full than I remembered when
time came to put the brownies under wrap.
Guests departed at 3, a few minutes before Merry and Graham came up the
hill for a walkway tour (and to distract me from attacking the awaiting kitchen
calamity). After the dishes were done,
the rest of the day and evening was spent doing financial analysis for
Alverta. Have I mentioned yet how much I
dislike the #$@!%^! “new and improved” touchpad mouse on my new laptop?
Installed the
in-ground posts that form the transition from the walkway to the third landing.
Skipped to the end of this section because the critical measurements for the
longitudinals are from the second landing south to the first two sets of
in-ground posts and from the third landing north to the last two sets of
in-ground posts. There will be four sets of in-ground posts in this section,
with the distance between the second and third sets a non-standard distance
(should be 4′ 6″) because of where the third landing has to be to set up for
the next section. Sounds more
complicated than it is… which is not to say that I won’t find a way to screw it
up somehow, like forgetting that my tape was reading 1″ short when I measured
for one of the posts this morning, so had to dig it back up and start anew
after I had positioned it perfectly, just in the wrong spot. And, yes, a 1″ positioning error would have
significantly messed up the alignment of the third landing. And, yes, when I put a post in the ground,
it’s meant to stay there forever… digging it back up was a real female dog.
Mid-morning Marty came over to request assistance with an urgent plumbing
problem. Fortunately Perry has virtually every tool ever invented and the
vicegrip with chain device (used for rotating threaded pipe) that he lent us
proved to be exactly what was needed to solve the problem. Was just thinking to myself that the
in-ground posts in this section were going in nice and easy (mostly grey and
yellow sand with only a few small rocks and very manageable roots) when I went
down six inches (okay, maybe it was only four and a half…) and hit the big one,
which, of course, was imbedded at an inclined angle. After probing all around, determined that
that critter weren’t coming out of the ground without some serious heavy
equipment. So fired up the Skilsaw with diamond tipped blade and promptly
stalled the generator (forgot to flip the switch that keeps it revved up so
that it can handle a sudden large current draw… like trying to cut rock). Once the rock had a nice level platform
carved into it, tried to drill a ½″ diameter anchor hole with the hammer drill,
thinking that this rock looked a bit softer than the granite I failed to drill
a month ago. After beating myself and the drill to death for 10 minutes I had
achieved a ½″ cavity (okay, maybe it was only four and a half millimeters) and
gave that idea up as a lost cause.
While dropping off
many radial arm saw blades, my variable width dado (that hasn’t been sharpened
in three decades), and the much abused brush saw at Ed Minor’s Saw Shop, found
a new home for the mouse under a hollow stump on Shacklets Road… a couple of
miles from here, and the other side of the lake to boot. Called the Geek Squad no help center about
the Outlook contact list. Will have to take the laptop back to South Burlington
to have that little problem fixed. It’s only 100 miles and 2½ hours for
the round trip… but real pretty views along US 7 and you do pass right by the
Shelburne Farms Winery. Hmmm… Surveyed
the next section and discovered that the walkway will be a foot below grade
level at the fourth landing, so the constant slope plan remains in effect, even
though most of the section between the second and third landings will be 3 to 4
feet in the air. Installed the next two
sets of in-ground posts, stringers, and railing posts. Threatened rain all afternoon, but didn’t
start until just after I finished for the day.
Sometimes you just live right!
Finally finished transcribing the week’s worth of blog notes that were
hand-written while I was sans computer.
You know you’re having
a really good day when every other word, typically uttered with some
feeling and volume, starts with the letter F.
I mean, really, did I even cut one board correctly the first time
today???? Started the day trying to get
my Microsoft Outlook account set up again.
After an hour of frustration, could receive emails, the contact list
remains blank (though I know the Geek Squad imported that file from the dead
laptop), and I get an error message when trying to send an email. Started work on putting the deck boards on
the second landing. Soon thereafter was
visited by Marty and two of his grandchildren, Graham and Gabriella
Glassner. Installed the rest of the
railing cap, railing, and toe cap, completing the first 122′ of the
walkway. Surveyed the next section
(alignment and elevation). Really don’t
like how high off the ground that section is going to be… but can’t decide
whether or not to abandon the constant slope plan. In spite of the weather forecast for sunny skies
all day, a thunderstorm rolled through at 3 o’clock, giving me an excuse to
replenish my honey roasted peanuts supply in Brandon. Dinner at Lynne & Perry’s – fabulous
cuisine and over-the-top presentation, as always. There was another mouse in
the trap when I returned to Fern Lake.
Doesn’t sound like he/she/it is enjoying the honey roasted peanuts as
much as I do… Tasi provided a phone
consultation which fixed the Outlook outgoing message problem. Still haven’t been able to figure out how to
import the Outlook contact list file into the right place so that Outlook can
access it. The wise turtle completely
backed up all of his laptop files onto an SD card… and then slept very soundly
for the first time in a week.
Must have
misunderstood the NOAA weather people when they said there was a 70% chance of
rain today, ‘cause it was a beautiful day for working. Put in the other two in-ground / railing
posts that define the west side of the second landing, then installed the
landing light and the framework for the deck boards. Late afternoon, Tammy Walsh and Bob LaPorte
(who are working together to repair a portion of Marty & Merry’s driveway)
came up to admire the walkway and sample my beer supply. Got the new laptop semi-setup and spent most
of the evening catching up with the blog and swearing profusely at the
#$@!%#@!!! mouse touch-pad that seems to want to do everything but move the
mouse pointer to where I want it in the document.
Another adventuresome
bike ride with Marty. Details withheld in deference to the sensibilities of the
viewing audience. Installed the walkway deck boards for the last four feet down
to the start of the second landing. The
final board ended up exactly where it was supposed to be, i.e., I did
put the final in-ground posts for this section in the right place. Went into
Burlington after lunch to pick up my new computer from Best Buy where the Geek
Squad folks were able to retrieve and transfer all of the data from my dead
computer to the new one.
There was a mouse in
the trap this morning!!!! He/she/it now
resides under a hollow stump in the Silver Lake parking lot – two miles from
here. Bike ride with Marty, per usual. Then put toe caps on the section of walkway
currently abuildin’. Dug holes for then
planted the in-ground posts that transition from the walkway to the second
landing. Southern post was right on top
of a huge, unmovable-without-a-backhoe rock, so that post ain’t in the ground
very deep. For strength / stability, overcompensated
on that post’s northern sister, whose butt end is halfway to China. Fingers crossed that those two posts are
within ¼″ of where they’re supposed to be for the walkway / landing transition. Installed the stringers, railing post, and
final pair of longitudinals for this section.
Surveyed the elevation from from the top of the walkway to the second
landing – a distance of 122′ 9″. With a
1 in 7.5 slope, that elevation change should be 16′ 4″. Actual, as-built, elevation change: 16′
1″. Not too awful bad!!!!
Mouse (mice?) turned
up its pointy little nose(s) at the honey roasted peanuts. Spent the first two hours of the morning
undoing yesterday afternoon’s work on the walkway, fixing the railing post
alignment problem and putting everything back together again. This is exactly
why the walkway is being put together with bolts and screws, not nails. After that, carried on with installing deck
boards, railing caps, and railings sown to as far as I’ve built (4′ 6″ from the
second landing). Ripped toe cap boards
from some really junky “used but good” 2x6’s – stalling (overheating) the
radial arm saw motor twice in the process. Time to get that blade
resharpened… Went kayaking at dusk
hoping to see some the Perseid meteor shower.
No joy on that, but did see one meteor that was the biggest, brightest
I’ve ever seen!
Reset the last set of
stringers I installed day before yesterday – my slope jig said the walkway was
getting shallower than the 1 in 7.5 desired pitch. Moved a 375 lb rock that was right in the way
of the next in-ground post. Ran out of
dirt for backfilling the post holes ‘cause of all the extraneous granite that
has been removed from the holes, so had to scavenge a couple of wheelbarrow
loads of gravel from Tammy’s dredged spoils pile. Installed the next set of
in-ground posts, stringers, railing post, and longitudinals. Started to rain right after lunch, so spent
two hours repairing and reinstalling the RV bedroom blind. Then put deck boards on the walkway for a
couple of hours and realized that I’ve screwed up the placement of the last
railing post (which guides the placement of the deck boards) so all the
post-rain work will have to be undone then redone. Oh, joy!
Mouse (mice?) is back – another wine cork discovered chewed in the
utensil drawer. Set up a trap with honey
roasted peanuts this time.
To Burlington to buy a
new laptop computer – a Toshiba Satellite C855-S5206, with way more capacity
and capabilities than this fading boomer will ever use. Hopefully the Best Buy Geek Squad will be
able to recover all the data off the dead laptop and move it over to the new
one. If not, then I’ll just have to
drown my sorrows with Scotch and then drown my sorry butt in the lake… the last
resort for idiots who don’t back up their files! Did five loads of laundry at Alverta’s…
somebody has been a very dirty boy.
Again with the biking…
Installed railing post caps, lights, and deck boards down to the 25° bend. Picked a quart of blackberries for Lynne
& Perry in less than ½ hour right after lunch. Thundered and multiple gust fronts blew
through all afternoon, but no rain until 5 o’clock quitting time.
Another 10 miles of
biking with Marty to start the day. Put
in the next set of in-ground posts, stringers, and railing post past the 25°
bend. Cut the four longitudinal for
either side of the 25° bend. Swam across
the lake and back without stopping to rest on the west side (a first).
After a totally
sleepless night, Marty and I did our usual 10 miles, then I went to work
installing the longitudinal and deck boards for the next 12′ of the
walkway. Moved the ramp / walkway
connection point “out” 1½″ so that the first deck board would be in the right
position. Moved a beautiful 1,000 pound
rock (5′ long x 14″ square) out of the way of where the next set of in-ground
posts need to go. That baby (and its
sister, that didn’t have to be moved) will make fine capstones on a future
retaining wall. Proving that I’m getting
too strong for my own good: broke one of my Irwin Quick Clamps… which takes
some doing! Another delicious,
delightful dinner at Marty & Merry’s.
Called Goodro Lumber at
7:30 and was told that their truck was being loaded, soon to be headed my
way. So called Marty and took a rain
check on our oft-postponed first-since-the-crash bike ride. The Goodro truck showed up at 9, long after
we would have returned from bicycling.
You know what would have happened had I headed out with Marty at 8… As soon as the Goodro truck departed, called
McDonough’s in Brandon about getting the Ranger tire repaired. Was told to be there at 9:45, so put 40 psi
of air in the right rear flat tire and drove as fast as I dared into Brandon,
arriving at the service station 15 minutes later with 20 psi left in the
tire. Whew!!!! Unfortunately, as soon as Mike McDonough saw
the gash in the tire’s inside sidewall he said, “Unrepairable!”. But then he told me about Brandon Auto
Salvage on Route 7 in Leicester, a place I’ve driven past a zillion times and
never paid any attention. They have
scads of “used but good” tires taken off wrecked cars and trucks. Sure enough, a very nice used (but in better
shape than the other three tires on the truck) 235 75R15 tire was just begging
to be put on the Ranger, which was soon done… for a grand total of $65 (tire,
mounting, spin balancing, and old tire disposal all included). Now that’s a good deal!!!! After getting water at Lynne & Perry’s,
was back to Fern Lake by 11:30. With
time in hand before lunch, built a small ramp for the generator to sit level on
as I move it incrementally down the wooden walkway. After lunch, sawed a 25° angle the length of
a 4x6 post, then dug the holes and planted that post plus two 4x4 posts that,
together, form this slight turn in the walkway.
Then discovered that I will need 4½″ lag screws (vice the hundreds of 6″
lag screws that I have) to attach stringers to those particular posts. So dug the holes for the next two in-ground
posts, one of which will have to be wedged into a wide crack in an enormous
rock, then called it a day. And in other good news: by throwing my laptop violently
to the ground last night, a months-long problem with the computer’s video
display has been fixed. Somebody please
explain that one to me… DISASTER!!!! When next I went to use my computer there
was a zzzzzt sound, the smell of frying electronics, the
finally-working-right-video display went black, and the computer became
completely nonfunctional. Was is just
the video display that fried or was it the motherboard? News in a week… The wise turtle would have
been backing up all his files on a regular basis just in case his computer got
sick. The smart turtle would have backed up all his irreplaceable data when the
computer did get sick. Guess who’s neither smart nor wise???? Guess who’s sweating bullets right now????
With all modesty
aside, I do make an excellent, and oft requested, breakfast omelet. Except for this morning when Alex asked for some
of the leftover BBG chicken in his creation and I foolishly tried to heat it up
a bit in my only frying pan. The BBQ sauce
promptly stuck to the pan which meant that the “omelets” stuck semi-permanently
to the BBQ sauce and, consequently, became a hodgepodge of ingredients with
some bits of egg mixed in. We all
cleaned our plates, so, though unsightly, the concoctions were still tasty
enough. The stump / brush fire was still
smoldering when we finally ventured forth.
So Alex returned to fire tending while Katy and I went blackberry
picking… which was the first time in her life that Katy has ever been berry
picking. Apparently that’s not one of
the available options when you grow up in Houston, Texas. We got a couple of quarts, and many
scratches, in not much time, and didn’t even begin to deplete the stock in our
patch out by Route 53. Then Katy and I
went canoeing while Alex encouraged the last remaining stump (the one the
Ranger had had such a hard time towing into position) to become charcoal. Katy & Alex headed back to Boston at 2… in
the midst of an hour –long rainstorm. I spent the afternoon
making lasagna, swimming, and generally relaxing. While over at Kate & Dan’s catching up on
the blog postings another rainstorm started to arrive, so took shelter in their
woodshed while trying to get the last little bit done and the email sent
out. Slipped and my laptop computer went
flying. Still works, obviously, but the
cover no longer closes properly ‘cause one of the hinges is somewhat beyond broken.
Let the record show
that Katy did say, at least five minutes before calamity struck, “Doug, I think
this is a bad idea!” But that’s getting
ahead of the story. Katy and Alex
arrived just before midnight, as expected, except that I had fallen asleep on
the dinette settee that makes into a bed, and failed to hear them arrive. Consequently, we somewhat surprised each
other as they came though the main cabin door.
After dragging them out to see the walkway all lit up, we retired. Early this morning Alex and I arose and Katy
was induced to crawl out of bed. After a
quick breakfast, Alex got to indulge his pyromaniac fantasies while Katy and I
used the Ranger to drag load after load of brush from the woods over to the
bonfire site. Having removed all the
readily accessible brush piles by 11 o’clock, I figured I could snake the
Ranger down the hill a bit further to retrieve a collection of limbs that were
a long trudge from the lower “driveway”.
That’s when Katy let me know her opinion of the idea, forthrightly and
directly. Being overconfident and
stupid, I ignored her advice until she yelled, “You’re on a rock!”, and the
Ranger stopped moving. “On” a rock was
hardly an apt description. I had backed
up over an 850 pound (by later measurement) Leicester nugget and the truck
suspension (and later the driveshaft) were firmly joined to granite. That truck weren’t going nowhere without some
serious machinations… which took the next four hours and every word in my
sailor’s vocabulary (uttered silently, of course, in deference to a young lady’s
sensibilities). Have you ever had a
truck fall off a jack while you were underneath it? Katy yelled in the nick of time and then
learned that, although her father-in-law is 62 years old, he can move with alacrity
then properly motivated. Wouldn’t have
been so bad if the truck had toppled sidewise just once, but it happened four
times as we raised the rear end, laboriously, using two jacks and makeshift
cribbing, into the air so that the critical underside components were high enough
to drag the rock out from underneath the truck.
In the process “we” (I seem to have gotten a mouse in my pocket while
crawling around in the dirt) managed to poke a hole in the right rear
tire. Once again, Chris Thiel’s air
compressor saved the bacon, as we could inflate the tire (very temporarily)
when it came time to finally drive the Ranger away from the disaster site. Then it was time to prepare ourselves (lake
cool-down followed by cleansing shower), campfire, and food (BBQ chicken, homemade
baked beans infused with campfire cooked hot dogs, Kingsley’s corn, garden
salad, brownies right out of the oven topped with Ben & Jerry’s Vanilla
Heath Bar Crunch) for the arrival of Marty & Merry (bearing gifts (plural)
of wine that somehow all disappeared before a most delightful evening was
adjourned. After dark, Katy (lookout),
Alex and I took Hopea Kanootti for a spin around the lake. When we returned dockside, Katy and Alex most
generously tackled the voluminous dinner dishes while I enjoyed, yet again, the
calming waters of Fern Lake.
Awoke this morning
thinking of joints. No, not that kind of
joint! I’m talking about the connection
between two pieces of wood, specifically the longitudinals for the wooden walkway. Decided that, for maximum strength, I need to
have the lap joints fall either on (ideally) or close to the stringers that
support the longitudinals, which are spaced eight feet apart. So called Goodro’s first thing they opened
and offered to trade them sixteen 2x4x12’s for twelve 2x4x16’s (works out to
the same number of board feet of lumber).
Delivery expected Monday. Have I
ever mentioned that Perry is not only a fabulous chef, but also a brilliant
carpenter? He suggested coating the lag
bolt threads with bar soap (he uses Ivory, but all I have is Dial). Drove beaucoup lag bolts today and broke only
the one I didn’t soap! Installed
the next pair of in-ground posts (one of which had to go exactly where a LARGE
rock used to reside, until Tammy moved it out of the way with her backhoe), two
sets of stringers, and their associated railing posts. Surveyed (alignment only; elevations to
follow) the next two sections of the walkway path, as the walkway needs to veer
west 25 degrees in another four feet or people will knock their heads on a very nice, but
very hard, cherry tree that is leaning just a tad too much downhill. Can’t have that… Then, once past the cherry tree, the walkway
needs to make a precise 90 degree left turn, passing just so between a large oak and a
small beech. Trimmed the driveway
vegetation just before diving in the lake.
I’m sure Alex and Katy will be mightily impressed with the manicured
weeds when they arrive at midnight.
Pooeee! I don’t know what Delores has been eating
lately, but she sure has gotten kinda gassy… if you know what I mean. So off to Kampersville we went so she could
have a therapeutic constitutional. Back
at Fern Lake by 8:30, whereupon I spent the balance of the morning shampooing
the RV carpets. Swear I removed a whole garbage
bag of dog hair! I also noticed that the
big spaghetti sauce stain by the dining settee, dating from September 2009, is
finally gone. Heard some strange sounds
coming from the down at the lake.
Investigated and discovered the Lake Dunmore / Fern Lake Association
dive team busy removing Eurasian milfoil from around our dock. Big smiley face!!!! Preparing to run errands at noon, went up to
the end of the driveway to remove the sign bracket from the post. Did so, but then decided to get my tape measure
to check the hole spacing on the sign post.
Wasn’t gone (to the RV and back) for more than five minutes, but in that
time some ethically-challenged individual(s) absconded with my Werner 6′ stepladder. #@!%$#@!!!!!
(BIG frowning face!!!!) Though hardly fit to drive (everything seemed to
be colored red), went about my business.
A short while later was backing into Lynne & Perry’s single-lane
driveway when I met Perry, at the blind corner, exiting said driveway in his
truck. It’s a good thing we both have
good reflexes, as it would have been hard to explain to USAA how I was
rear-ended by my brother-in-law while driving backwards. On to Nop’s Metal Works to order ¼″ steel
plate for the new driveway sign, plus some 3″ channel steel for modifications I
need to make to the RV generator compartment in order to fit the new generator
into said compartment. Then to Martin’s
to get a 7/32″ drill bit to ease the lag bolt breakage problem. Returned to Fern Lake and drilled a hole
which, like magic, accepted a lag bolt just fine. Began drilling a second hole, got in a couple
of inches, and the bit broke clean in two.
Double #@!%$#@!!!!! So, to vent
my anger and frustration, dug the holes for and put in the next two in-ground
posts, then back to Martin’s I went, where I exchanged my “stubby” for a new
(and hopefully more robust) 7/32″ bit. After
that gymkhana, I REALLY needed three fingers of Scotch a swim. Apparently while I was so engaged, a State
Police trooper stopped by to take get a full report concerning the stepladder
heist. The New Haven Barracks dispatcher
says the trooper will call me later. Suspect that purloined stepladders are not
high on the investigations priority list…
NOAA Weather Radio
said today was supposed to be partly-sunny deteriorating into thunderstorms and
rain in the afternoon / evening. Woke up
to total overcast and five minutes of a rain shower at 5 minutes to 8… just in
time to cancel Marty and my inaugural post-crash bike ride. So worked in the shed all morning fabricating
an 8½′ long by 3′ wide ramp (made entirely out of wood otherwise destined for
the burn pile) to transition from the lower “driveway” surface up onto the
wooden walkway… whose deck is some 15″ above the current ground level. The ramp just sits (very securely) on the end
of the walkway, so it can easily (if you’re very strong… or have a
helper) be moved out of the way when vehicles need to get through that area. Needless to say, getting the ramp
single-handedly from the fabrication site to the installation site was a bit of
a challenge, especially negotiating the 120° turn at the first landing. By the time that was accomplished the skies
were, indeed, partly-sunny. So set to
work digging holes for the next set of in-ground posts. Got the posts in fine, but, when I broke the
fifth ¼″ lag bolt trying to attach the stringers, I called it a day. The problem is either: (a) I’ve gotten too
strong for my own good, (b) the 3/16 drill bit I’m using for the pilot holes is
just a tad too small, (c) the 20+ year old 4x4 posts I’m reusing from the old
stairway are just too dry and tough, (d) they’re using really inferior steel to
make lag bolts these days, or (e) all of the above. Ate a whole can of spinach (3½ servings if
you can believe the label) with dinner tonight.
Those lag bolts won’t have a prayer tomorrow…
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