11 July 2015
James arrived about 8
and continued work adding another course of rocks to the big retaining wall
between the house and the lake. Went
into Brandon to do a couple of errands and found no James when I got back an
hour later. So backfilled the power /
telephone / TV conduit trench as far as the southeast corner of the garage,
then moved several stumps to the hole next to the supply well that was dug to
capture tailings during the well drilling operation. May they rot in peace! Also moved a pile of excess 2 x 4 x 16
pressure treated lumber from in back of the house to by the woodshed, which
necessitated trundling down, and thereby completely blocking, Fern Lake Road
between Kate’s and our driveway. I was sure
there were no cars coming when I started out… and it’s a good thing Vermont
drivers are very patient when strange and unusual things are encountered along
the highways and byways. James came
back, explaining that his absence was to gather tools to repair the
mini-excavator, which had thrown a track.
Key to that repair was my using the Kubota’s backhoe to g∙e∙n∙t∙l∙y push
the track back onto the guide wheels after James had jacked up that side of the
machine with the excavator’s front blade and bucket. James complimented my backhoe operator skills
when the job was done, which made my day, week, and month! After lunch I cut to length the supports for
the new seats for Marty & Merry’s canoe, then attempted to install them,
discovering that the grommet washers that were on the bolts holding the old
seats in place were not the correct size… and the stainless steel bolts I
procured in Brandon this morning were too short. Back to the drawing board on that little
project! After James finished adding to
the big retaining wall, he rebuilt the stone wall that bisects our property
(and through which the septic force main was run). With Ploof’s big excavator, that job
literally took 5 minutes. After James
left for the day, I put two coats of Quikrete® waterproofing sealer
on the utility room floor, then took the dogs for a swim. Kate and I went over to Mark & Karen
Evans’ for their annual Fern Lake neighbors get together. Had a nice chat with Rebecca Makkai, author
of The Borrower and The Hundred Year House, both of which I
read, and enjoyed, last winter.
