Much as Steve would
have liked to stay… and as much as I would have loved to have him stay, the top
thing on the agenda for today was to continue with the wooden walkway
construction, which is definitely a one-person job at this point (and I wouldn’t
wish digging holes in what passes for Leicester “soil” on anyone). Consequently, Steve departed for home right
after breakfast and I spent the day building another 16 feet of walkway. Pretty brutal when working in the direct sun
this afternoon… temps were in the upper 80’s… but that just made the 5 o’clock
swim all the more refreshing. Lake
temperature is up to 71°.
Started back to work
on the walkway retaining wall at 7:30 a.m. and had finished the wall by 1:30
p.m., with a nice break for lunch and dealing with the house alarm going off at
Marty & Merry’s (who had left this morning on a three day trip to New
Jersey). Met two very nice Vermont State Troopers, one of whom rents a place at
the north end of Fern Lake. Took Steve
(with some grunt labor help from me) a total of 10 hours to build 48 feet of
wall that looks positively stunning. Did
some other small two-person chores, a little survey work down by the
waterfront, and, then, even though it was way before quitting time, we went for
a swim. In order to have the end of the dock in 6 feet of water, the dock will
have to be 24 feet long (vice the 16 feet I was planning). Oh, well, plan early, plan twice, as Steve is
fond of saying. As we returned back up
the walkway we met Perry, who had come over to renew his acquaintance with
Steve. Perry was encouraged to make suitable commendatory comments about the
quality of the walkway retaining wall construction. We three then spent some quality man-time
rehydrating and telling tales around the campfire, subsequently used to char
some beef to go along with some more rehydrating beverages. A delightful bit of
paddling Hopea Kanootti around the lake at dusk topped off a very productive
and enjoyable day.
Got up early to give
Dolores a good scrubbing and bake some special brownies to have for dessert
while Steve Osmer is here. Then grubbed
around, in the rain, removing all the leaves and branches that had accumulated
between the dirt bank and the walkway along the section where we were going to
build the retaining wall. Steve arrived
mid-morning, bringing nice gifts… fresh baked brownies, Moosehead beer, and an
end to the rain. First thing we did was
tour the premises, as he hasn’t been here for nearly two years… and there have
been a few changes in that time. Then we
pulled the 8 AWG wires from the main electrical panel over to the head of the
walkway through the existing ½″ PVC conduit.
Hooked up the wires on both ends, threw the switch and… (pregnant pause)
the light at the end of the walkway did not come on. Quick investigation revealed a burnt out bulb
and all the other lights shining brightly.
Whew! After lunch we went to work
on the retaining wall. To say that
things went well is a complete understatement.
In just a few hours we had built an absolutely gorgeous wall 3 feet high
and 23 feet long (about half the length that needs to be constructed). I even had to use the Kubota for
awhile to move some dirt and rocks around.
Life is good!!!! Went out well after dark to see that the new electrical
arrangements make a huge difference in the brightness of the walkway
lighting. Life is really, really
good!!!!
While waiting for the Fyles
Brothers propane truck to arrive, made a front license plate for the
Kubota. Dolores took just over 20
gallons of heating and cooking fuel into her 23 gallon tank, so maybe I wasn’t
as desperately low as the tank gauge indicated.
But one of the maxims that stuck with me from my aviation days is that
you only trust a fuel gauge when it says “E”.
Went back to Green Mountain Electric for two reasons: first, the
junction boxes they sold me the other day, according to NEC (National
Electrical Code) Table 10-1, weren’t nearly big enough for the number and size
of the wires that will be connected together inside; second, they sold me a
bunch of some fancy high-tech wire connectors especially made for large gauge
wire. When I looked at the invoice, I was shocked to find that those connectors
were $8.50 EACH. And they weren’t even
the right size for what I need, ‘cause Green Mountain was out of the right size
the other day. (And, oh by the way, the
right size are, choke, choke, $20.00 EACH.)
So instead I got some plain old extra large wire nuts… that cost 38
cents apiece… and will do just fine, thank you very much. Hmmph!
Stopped at Hannaford’s on the way back to Fern Lake ‘cause I was getting
pretty low on an important food group (hint: most women don’t consider this a
food group) and with Steve Osmer arriving tomorrow… Spent the rest of the day doing walkway
electrical stuff.
A chilly but not
unbearable night and the furnace provided heat for breakfast, so life is
good. The missing salt & pepper
containers have finally shown up! Opened
(what I thought was) a full box of Pop Tarts this morning only to discover the
fugitive S&P cowering inside. An
absolutely beautiful day, winter jacket (briefly) in the morning to
short-sleeve tee-shirt in the afternoon with nary a mosquito seen all day. Built
12 more feet of the walkway. As I was putting the stringers on the second set
of in-ground posts noticed that the 14″ diameter triple beech which the walkway
was about to pass by was without bark and rotten around ¾ of its
circumference. Though not dead, it
certainly wasn’t going to live much longer.
Looking at the way the tree was growing / leaning and the surrounding
canopy, there was only one direction it was ever coming down… straight across
the walkway and into the lake. Decided
to take down the beech before it caused serious damage and a monumental problem
once the walkway was done. Getting the
tree down… no problem. Getting the tree
out of the woods… not so easy. Needed
all 70 feet of my logging chains to reach from where the tree was laying in the
water to the closest I could get the Kubota to the scene of the crime. Then used the backhoe to haul the tree 8 feet
closer, then 8 feet closer, then 8 feet closer… until I finally got it to where
the skidder can get hold of it… sometime in June.
THE SHED IS
DONE!!!! If you are keeping track, the
building of this magnificent edifice only took four years and eight days… and
cost $29,561.27 out of pocket. As you
can see from the “before” and “after” pictures, many hours of neck-breaking
labor with needle gun and rock hammer made a huge difference in the appearance
of the man-cave’s rock ceiling… and don’t you DARE tell me otherwise. Thoroughly cleaned the man-cave (yes, I even
vacuumed the dirt floor) while waiting for the rain to stop. Mid-afternoon thought that blessed event had finally
happened, so went down to start digging more holes for the walkway. Returned to the RV a few minutes later
somewhat soggy. Maybe this would be a good
afternoon for reading a book… Just on a whim, checked the propane tank gauge
this evening and discovered that the tank is within a hot breath of empty! Fingers crossed that what little is left will
last ‘till Tuesday’s delivery.
Fear not, the needle
gun is back to normal operation… it just wanted some lubrication, so I broke
out my tube of… No, not that kind
of lubrication! A special pneumatic tool
oil that came with my finish nailer did the trick. Got about ¾ of the ceiling done before a
second piece of concrete grit flew into my other eye (in spite of the safety
goggles I was wearing), at which point I’d had enough. That sure is neck-breaking work! As the rain is forecast to continue through
tomorrow, will have ample opportunity to get the job done. Oh, joy... can hardly wait!
A TOTALLY cold, rainy,
nasty day. Winter jacket weather,
again. Did better today, though I see a
pattern emerging: there was a second “4” next the one on the far left side of
the digital clock display when I first awoke.
Groan!!!! But refer back to the
first sentence… and you’ll understand how I had no trouble lying abed until 7
o’clock. Went into Green Mountain
Electric Supply to pick up materials not available at Lowe’s yesterday. Discovered, to my complete surprise, that
Green Mountain’s price per foot for 8 AWG wire is 30% lower than Lowe’s, even
taking into account the military discount I get at the latter emporium. Fiddled
around with my recent electrical acquisitions for the remainder of the
morning. After lunch drove down to
Gagnon’s Lumber Mill in Pittsford to see what kind of price I could get there
for a 29″ diameter hemlock whose top blew off (into Marty & Merry’s yard)
last winter. What’s still standing is
worth between $60 – $100 delivered to the mill.
But do we want to have Toby Rheaume come in again with his portable
sawmill and make boards for use in the dock building???? Things to ponder while
not sleeping in the middle of the night.
Returned from Pittsford and, having procrastinated long enough, went
back to work on the man cave ceiling.
Got about half the alterations done, mostly using my rock hammer because
the new pneumatic needle gun crapped out (that’s a technical term that means it
stopped working properly) after only a few minutes use today. I probably should
have known that a product made in China named “Welbuilt” probably isn’t.
When you wake up at
the first hint of twilight and the number on the left side of the digital clock
is a “4”, that’s not a good sign.
Managed to stay abed until the “4” became a “5”, but then was levered
upright by thinking about all the things that needed to get done before the
outside air (according to the forecast) became water. Got the canoe and kayak down to the
waterfront in one trip using the Kubota. A bit dicey, but… After calculating
the voltage drops last night, determined that the two legs of the walkway
lighting system need to be unequal in both length and number of lights. So “broke” the circuit this morning with 22
lights in the upper leg and (what will be) 17 lights in the lower leg, which
takes into account the 200 foot wire run difference between the upper and lower
transformers. Sort of started to rain
just as that job was finished, so moved into the shed lower level to begin
making the ceiling of the man cave more manly be removing the patina left by
the plastic vapor barrier when we poured the concrete. The picture shows that we take our spelunking
seriously here in Vermont! Used my newly
acquired needle gun and trusty rock hammer to good effect. But after an hour and a half (with the sun
shining brightly the whole time…) I’d gotten maybe 1/10th
of the ceiling “fixed” and had had as much of that fun as I could stand for one
day. Had to jump in the lake to get
clean enough to take a shower. After
lunch, went out to do errands and then up to Lowe’s to spend a few hundred more
dollars on electrical odds and ends, including a second 600w transformer for
the walkway lights. Arriving back in
Leicester just before 6, saw a rainbow that seemed to have one end placed over
Fern Lake. How womantic! Took Ohm’s Law, Electrical Math and Voltage Drop
Calculations to bed with me. Alas,
the plot was not too exciting, so too soon it was lights out.
Played amateur
electrician all morning, moving the low voltage transformer over to the top of
the walkway, putting another circuit breaker into the electrical subpanel, then
moving some existing wires in the subpanel so that I can bring a ½″ conduit
into it for the waterfront electric line.
In the process, salvaged 80 feet of 12-2 landscape wire, which is more
than enough for what remains to be wired on the lower end of the walkway. Installed the deck boards on the 16 feet of
the last walkway section that were ready for same. Tammy, aka Ms. Doubting Walsh, came over late
afternoon, whereupon I had her drive my Tacoma from down by the lake up to the
top of the hill. Praise be, Tammy has
seen the light and joined the ranks of the believers! Lake temperature is 66° and it was a fairly
sweaty day, so took the first dip of the season, even though a thunderstorm
came rolling through just as I was about to get in the water. Nothing ventured, nothing zapped, that’s my
motto, i.e., the water was brisk enough that a little electrical warming would
have felt good. Survived to tell the
tale… and, after a two octave acclamation period, the swimming was delightful.
Mosquito control spray truck driver remembered to come down the Triangle Square
Circle driveway. She requested that we
install a big turnaround circle when we build the house…
Drove into Middlebury
first thing to buy a baking dish that was too big to fit in Dolores’ oven and to
not buy the sugar needed for tonight’s dinner (because what’s a dinner without
sugar?). Still nasty out when I returned
from the second trip (into Ferndale to get the sugar), so did some baking and
worked more on the sauna detailed design.
Late morning the sun came out, so finished digging the holes, planted
the posts, put on the stringers, attached the railing posts, and installed the
longitudinals for the first 16 feet of the final walkway section. Used up the rest of the 12-2 wrong-sized
landscape wire running the electrical forward to the next light. Took lasagna, a tossed salad, and raspberry
cream cheese bars down to Marty & Merry’s for dinner. Perry and his sidekick, Gimpy, brought garlic
bread to die for. Marty & Merry provided their usual outstanding
hospitality, appetizers, and an assortment of ice cream, including Gifford’s special
batch vanilla and raspberry chocolate chip, to go with the bars, ‘cause
they just didn’t have enough calories as a stand-alone dessert. Wanna bet ye olde belt won’t be on the last
notch tomorrow?
…and rained off and on
all morning, so did a number of sauna construction drawings based on
discussions with Perry yesterday about design considerations. By 1 o’clock the
sun was peeking through, so surveyed to establish the string line for the last
68 foot section of walkway. Also checked
and found that where the walkway will end up with respect to its final
elevation above the lake is within an inch of where it was designed to be. Not too shabby after constructing 333′ 3″ of
sloped walkway and seven landings using only a hand-held leveling sight and
some ancient range rods. After patting
myself vigorously on the back, started digging in-ground post holes for the
final section of the walkway. Mosquitoes
today seemed to like the taste of Deep Woods Off. Got two posts planted and had
just unwrapped the radial arm saw to cut the post for the third hole when it
started to sprinkle again. Was quitting
time anyway, so no big deal… but I was going to BBQ chicken tonight as the
forecast had been for decent weather by this evening. Instead had a very interesting (I think
that’s the right word) stir-fry with the chicken, some leftover BBQ pork, and
all the vegetables (two) I could find.
But smother anything with enough Sweet Baby Rays, wash it down with
enough gin & tonic, top it off with enough ice cream covered with enough HRP,
and, sure enough, what a feast! Belt has
been on the fifth (tightest) notch for a week now and had to tighten the tool
belt, so looks like I’m back to fighting trim for the summer. Now if someone would just call about the
Ranger…
Spent the day at Lynne
& Perry’s doing three loads of laundry and helping with post-roofing yard
cleanup. Forecast was for another
beautiful sunny day. As the third load
of clothes were coming out of the washer, Perry said, “Doug, you’d better put
that load in the dryer… looks like rain.”
I said, “But if I put them in the dryer, it won’t rain.” Hmm… So into the dryer went the clothes. And so much for out-foxing Murphy! Rained most of the afternoon…
Weather again today
absolutely glorious. Mosquitoes not too
awful bad. Framed in, electrified, and
deck boarded the FINAL landing (#7). 68
feet of walkway left to build (plus a couple of hundred feet of railings).
Dolores and I arrived
Green Mountain Garage promptly at 7:30.
Front wheel hubs were noticeably warm.
Sure enough, when Mike pulled the wheels, we found both brake caliper
units frozen due to the seals being almost completely gone that are supposed to
keep water out of the actuating cylinders.
Total cost, parts and labor, to replace the calipers (which they had to
send someone down to Rutland to get)?
(Are you sitting down????)
$200. You can’t even buy coffee
at G. Stone Motors for that much. Luckily
the brake pads were in good shape, even after 20 miles of driving with the
front brakes “on”. Mike pulled a spark
plug and said it looked brand new. We
also could see that the wiring harness looked new. Had Mike test drive Dolores to confirm, and,
sure enough, she does NOT need a tune-up, contrary to what “those other guys”
said. Hmmph! Left Green Mountain Garage at 11 with a new
Vermont inspection sticker and instructions from Mike to hit every rough bit of
pavement that I could on the way back to Fern Lake. Sure enough, the jarring reset the A/C relay,
so now the HVAC system is back to full normal operation. After lunch and delivering another raspberry
cream cheese bribe to Lynne, dug the holes for and put into place the four
in-ground posts that will support landing #7.
Even though there was only a light breeze, the mosquitoes seem to have
taken today off. Must be they’re on a
flex-time schedule.
Liam Powers called
first thing this morning to consult about the severe voltage drop being
observed in the walkway lighting system.
Seems both the “master electrician” I conferred with at Lowes and the
transformer instructions wattage / distance / wire size table were seriously
wrong in saying that 12 gauge wire would properly power forty 7-watt lights
stretched out over a 450 foot distance.
Liam gave me the voltage drop formula so I could see for myself that 10
gauge wire would be the minimum required… and even with that size wire, a 2.6%
voltage drop would still occur (3% being the generally accepted maximum
allowable voltage drop in a given circuit).
Fortunately, Liam concurred with the solution I had already envisioned,
i.e., adding a second transformer to feed the lower half of the walkway lights,
and offered other advice about how to wire everything together. Soon after hanging up with Liam, the Goodro Lumber
truck arrived with another $700 worth of our children’s inheritance. Hopefully this load will give me enough deck
boards and 4 x 4’s to finish the walkway.
Of course I said that same thing with the last load… Got the last 8 feet of this walkway section
built (minus the usual safety feature, i.e., railings). So that means (hold on to your horses there,
Nellie!) that we’re sort of done down to landing #7 (and final).
A long, eventful
day. First off, I almost never remember
my dreams. But at 4:30 this morning I
awoke from a nightmare. The creature’s
name was Alp (don’t ask me why, I didn’t name it). Think a pure white, hairless
Abominable Snowman with deep set eyes.
When it went for my throat, that started my day. Finally gave up on the
idea of further slumber at 5:30, which meant I was easily at the Hannaford’s in
Brandon just as they opened at 7. (It’s
been so cold that the ice cream just seems to disappear!) On the way back through Ferndale, stopped at
Mallory’s garage to inquire about repairs to Dolores’ front brakes. Eric (who
claims no relation to my cousin’s husband, Leigh Mallory) said he wasn’t
equipped to do that work, but referred me to Green Mountain Garage, a mile from
where I’d just been in Brandon. They can
do the work on Friday. Turns out that
Green Mountain Garage is owned by Chuck Munger, my neighbor two places to the
north on Fern Lake (next door to Marty and Merry). Back at Fern Lake by 8:30, whereupon I baked
a pan of raspberry cream cheese no-calories-whatsoever bars, suitable for
bribery in all the right places.
Installed the longitudinals for the next 16 feet of walkway and ran the
electrical forward. After lunch took a
plate of gooey delights over to Lynne & Perry’s, returning all the clothes
I’d had to borrow from Perry in order to look semi-decent for Dan Wheeless’
funeral. Unfortunately the weatherman
was all too accurate, for when I returned to Fern Lake the forecast rain
showers began in earnest. Didn’t stop me
from putting on the next stretch of deck boards, however. That work complete and just as I finished
securing the worksite for rain, Tammy Walsh arrived, for once beating Bob
LaPorte to an appointment. When Bob
arrived, we went down to the waterfront to scope out the excavation and
retaining wall building project that is on the agenda for later this summer. You’ll note the consulting “aids” in each of
their hands… The good news is that I may
be able to forego renting a track dump (a dump truck that has bulldozer tracks
instead of tires) from G. Stone (at $2,000 / week), potentially using Bob’s
1-ton 4WD dump truck instead. Though he
did say that his truck’s rental would be $3,000 / week, I’m sure he was
joking! The bad news is that Bob is booked solid until early September, so my idea
of getting the waterfront leveled out in late July is out the window. They both
thought the work I want done could be accomplished in 6 or 7 days, about what I
also had estimated / budgeted. Also,
Tammy and Bob didn’t think a cement truck could handle the slope where the old
stairs once were. So just how crazy are those Carrara drivers???? I’ve been at Fern Lake this construction
season for one month as of today. In
that time, have completed 127 feet of the wooden walkway and two landings. Mind
you, most of that construction doesn’t have railings or toe caps yet, but I
won’t tell OHSA if you don’t. There are
76 feet of walkway plus one landing (#7) still to be built.
Another cold day (30°
overnight) = no bugs! Put on 16 feet of
deck boards, then dug four more holes for in-ground posts. After the posts, stringers, and railing posts
were in place, stopped work on the walkway for the day in order to do some
surveying down at the waterfront. Quickly determined that the beautiful,
detailed, so carefully thought out plans for the waterfront that I drew up last
winter won’t fit in the available real estate, at least not without a
ridiculous amount of excavating. So
spent several hours this evening squeezing my beautiful, detailed, so carefully
thought out plans so that everything will fit with only a crazy amount of
excavating.
Amazing what you can
get done when the phone is NOT ringing off the hook with inquiries about the
Ranger being for sale. Not, mind you,
that I wouldn’t have appreciated at least one or two calls, but thus far, zilch. Very cold and blustery all day, almost like
late fall. Consequently, zero flying
insects! Had to put on the winter jacket
(over tee shirt, long-sleeve running shirt, and sweatshirt) after lunch. And a good thing, too, as it started to hail
soon thereafter. Put the deck boards on
the first 12 feet of this section, then dug holes for and inserted the next
four in-ground posts. Installed the stringers and railing posts, longitudinals,
the light, and electrical wiring for the next 16 feet of walkway. Think I may
have set a speed record today in digging the hole for one of the in-ground posts:
removed one large rock plus a little bit of dirt and, voilá, hole done… in less
than 5 minutes.
Moved the third and fourth
in-ground posts for the walkway section between landings #6 and #7 back four
feet, which solved the big rock and tap root problems encountered two days
ago. Still very rocky digging conditions…
and I found the pictured unusual object while digging the second hole. Obviously iron-age man has been here before! Mosquitoes thick in the morning but then a
nice breeze blew them away. Put the
stringers on the first two sets of posts, then the railing posts and
longitudinals. Installed the next
light. Marty & Merry invited me down
for a spaghetti dinner… delicious as always and the company even better.
Drove
down to Summit, NJ for Dan Wheeless’ funeral.
Back to Fern Lake just after 10 pm, whereupon I drank a toast to his
remembrance.
Knowing that Perry was
on his way to Fern Lake (just in case I needed an extra body to help set things
right if (when?) this next adventure turned into a disaster), took the Tacoma
over to the old stairway and backed it down the hill to the waterfront. Figured this would be a good test of how “drivable”
that slope is, as the rain showers the last couple of days have made that area
rather muddy. Sure enough, every time I
touched the brakes, the truck slid a couple of feet. Uh, oh!!!!
Stopped at the bottom (and not in the lake!), took a picture for
posterity, put the truck in 4WD low range and… (wait for it!) drove right back
up the hill like I was on a paved highway.
Was so impressed that I backed down and did it again, with no problems
whatsoever. Perry took me up to Junction
Auto to retrieve the Ranger. The body
work repairs cost less than half of what I was expecting, though the Thibeaults
will still be able to afford private schools for their kids on my account. Spent the rest of the morning vacuuming out
and washing the grime off both trucks.
Note to self: light-haired dogs and black carpeting are not a good
combination. Once the Ranger was looking
as good as it’s going to get, took some pictures, then posted a For Sale ad on
Craigslist. By the time all that was
done it was 3 o’clock, so time to go back to work on the walkway. The mosquitoes were out in swarms and
hungry. Two baths of Deep Woods Off
helped some, but it was still pretty miserable working. You can see from the picture what a one foot
deep hole yields these days. Notice the
distinct lack of dirt?!?! It’s a good
thing Bob LaPorte trucked in nine loads of gravel when we back-filled the shed
foundation, ‘cause I’ve been having to steal quite a bit to plant the in-ground
posts. Hit a BIG rock six inches down
with the third post for this section.
Figured that could be deep enough if the fourth post (to which the third
post will be tied with a stringer) was put in extra deep. Got down eight inches with the hole for the
fourth post and hit the main tap roots (note the plural) for the 5″ maple that
I’m going out of my way (literally) to save.
That ain’t gonna work! So, with
one gentle tug (and that ain’t right, neither!), pulled the third post out of
the ground and left the field of battle to the mosquitoes until another day.
Rain
showers off and on all night and day.
Finished constructing landing #6.
The railing for the 36″ offset
was a fun challenge. Used the Sawzall
with a metal cutting blade to make several cuts. Fairly precise and left a nice smooth finish
(only slightly lower quality than what the radial arm saw produces… and much
faster than hauling pieces up and down the hill.) Dug rocks out of the mud for the first
in-ground post of the next section… not so much fun. Ran out of ambition an hour earlier than
normal quitting time. Lake water temp is up
to 68°.
Got the last couple of
in-ground posts planted for landing #6, put on the framing, installed the
light, and got a couple of deck boards screwed down before the showers became
rain. While doing the electrical work a peal of thunder gave me a hint that perhaps
I should be doing something else. You’ll
notice that landing #6 is shaped differently than all the others: it has a 36″
offset to the west for the start of the next walkway section. That’s because I
wanted that next section to miss a 5″ maple and then thread the gap between a
trio of trees and a huge rock. Mosquitoes
out in force for the first time today.
Pesky but tolerable. Merry and I
took some comfort food over to comfort Lynne mid-afternoon.
Bad news and worse
news. Bad news first: Lynne broke her right
tibia when her 44 lb pound puppy crashed into her soon after I left their house
on Sunday. I took her to her orthopedist
at noon today to get the results from the x-rays and MRI done yesterday. (Perry
is completely wrapped around the axle trying to get their roof replaced before
the forecast rain gets here later this week.)
Suffice it to say that she won’t be doing any dancing for the next
8 – 10 weeks. Worse news:
Found out today that Dan Wheeless, age 36 and our next door neighbor to the
south (see the blog for 27 July 2011), had a seizure late last week and died. He will be missed!!!! This news makes today’s walkway progress seem
too trivial to mention
My least favorite part
of building the walkway has got to be cutting the railings. As a former Type A (well, okay, maybe not so
former), it drives me crazy every time I miscut a piece, which happens ALL THE
%^$#!@! TIME with the railing. In spite
of that frustration and lots of exercise going up and down the walkway, got the
railing caps, mid-span verticals, railings, and toe caps put onto the section
between landings #5 and #6, which means that section is d-u-n!
After a spate of
getting the bigger bits of dirt and grime out of Dolores, went over to Lynne
& Perry’s for the day. Helped Perry
move nine pickup truck loads of firewood from his “reserve” piles to the
ready-for-winter stacks next to his house.
It was, as is always the case when we take on that chore, the hottest
day of the year thus far. While that was
going on, Lynne washed, hung out to dry, and folded four loads of my
laundry. She also had made an Oreo
cookie, ice cream, and whipped cream delight for me to take back to Fern Lake
for tonight’s dessert. What a nice
sister!!!! She da best!!!! Marty & Merry came up the hill for
G&T’s, BBQ chicken, baby potatoes, garden salad, and 2011 Cariblanco (a
Sauvignon Blanc from their friends’ Kingston Family vineyards in Chile). Found out that Cabin Fever (maple flavored
sippin’ whiskey) goes too well with Oreos and ice cream…
Went drill / driver
shopping in Middlebury first thing in the morning. Only spent twice as much as I thought it
would cost to replace the three-year old DeWalt that died. But did end up getting a Makita special deal
set that included both an 18v hammer driver drill AND an 18v impact
driver. The latter is particularly
s-w-e-e-t for putting in all manner of lag, hex-head, and star-drive screws! Put
up the lights and put on the deck boards for the 28 foot section between
landings #5 and #6. The walkway missed
the big hemlock by exactly 1½″ … a little closer than I thought I’d planned…
After running errands
in Middlebury first thing (and forgetting to buy coffee… which was clearly on
the list!!!!), put on the stringers, railing posts, and longitudinals for this
section of the walkway. Early on in
today’s hole drilling marathon my DeWalt 18v drill / driver came to the end of
its life in a puff of smoke. Very
sad! Went over to Camp Songadeewin with
Marty, Merry, Perry, & Lynne for a spaghetti dinner benefiting the Keewaydin
Environmental Education Center program.
Entertained after dinner by the talented acapella group Maiden Vermont.
Put in six (the rest
of the) in-ground posts for this 28 foot section of walkway. Then abused my radial arm saw fabricating a
bunch of wooden footers and stringers needed for the lower half of the walkway. Discovered that Lowes’ PT “4x4’s” are really
3¼″ x 3¼″. Excuse me!!!! What nonstandard lumber mill did they come
from???? I don’t often drink (more than one) beer, but when I do, I prefer…
whatever is cold in the refer!
The idiot who designed
the controller for the RV HVAC system should be fired. In order to change the system from “heat” to
“off”, the switch has to be moved through “cool”, which sends a brief surge of
electricity to the forward A/C unit.
When turning off the heat this morning that surge turned on the A/C unit
(but not the fan), which then did NOT turn off when the switch was moved to
“off”. The A/C motor, obviously in major
distress, could only be put out of its misery by throwing the circuit
breaker. Being somewhat clairvoyant, I
see more Dolores repair $$$$ in my future.
Spent most of the morning, chainsaw in hand, clearing spruce trees from
the area that the walkway will pass through on its way to the waterfront. Cutting the trees down… easy; dragging all
the debris to a spot where the tractor can get too it… brutal! By noon I was way past whipped. Got to thinking about the stringer height
coming off landing #5 overnight, so checked and, sure enough, the stringer that
starts the next section of walkway was installed ½″ too high. Fortunately there was JUST room under the
landing for me to slither in to extract the bolts and lag screws holding that
stringer in place. Put in the next two
in-ground posts, which are right close to a huge hemlock tree that the walkway
bends around. Was just congratulating
myself for NOT having hit any major roots with the first hole (oh, foolish me!)
when I hit a HUGE root about 8″ down with the second hole. Rather than cut such a major root for a great
tree, that post isn’t buried any too deep… but don’t tell anybody I said so. Lake water temperature is up to 59° (2 feet
below the surface). The water level is
very low, 15″ below the top of the dock, which means there is only 33″ of water
depth at the outboard dock face.
