Remembered to call Alex’s voicemail to wish him a happy birthday. Me good Dad (this year)! Re-inflated the absolutely flat left front tire on the Ranger, then carefully removed said vehicle and Hopea Kanootti from winter storage in the shed cellar hole. Truck started on the first turn of the key! You’ll remember that last year it was the RIGHT front tire that went flat over the winter. Obviously the mice and/or squirrels are having a little fun at my expense during snow season. Removed all the wood and rocks that I put in place last fall to protect the tops of the shed between-column rock walls from ice damage. Amazingly, all walls, the concrete columns, and the footers were perfectly intact with nary a crack or loose stone to be found. Called Ehler’s RV to see about getting the main cabin door steps repaired (under warranty, one hopes!). Got a recording, “The number you have reached is no longer in service.” Uh, oh!!!! So, Alverta, looking for an excuse not to balance her check book, drove over to Essex Junction from South Burlington and discovered an empty building with a big For Lease sign where once was the only RV dealer worthy of the name in the entire state. The tale of the steps to be continued… After lunch, carefully took down a 9″ red maple whose top had broken off 10′ above the ground, then wedged itself between two fir trees immediately adjacent to the 55 gallon drum that holds my emergency water supply. A little dexterous work with the Jonsered, a few pulls on ye olde logging chain with the truck, and the tree was on the ground, with not a scratch on the water drum. While cutting up the carcass the Jonsered began misbehaving – refusing to start after running fine for several minutes (shades of my old Stihl during the driveway clearing saga). So into the RV gas tank went the contents of the chain saw gas can (the solution to pollution is dilution) and into Middlebury I went for a fresh supply, plus the additive needed these days to counteract the ethanol that the Vermont legislature, who obviously don’t use 2-cycle engine equipment, now mandates be blended into all gasoline sold in the state. Fresh gas plus additive to counteract the additive solved the starting problem, but the saw needs a visit to Taylor Rental for a carburetor adjustment (something an owner can no longer do himself due to EPA air pollution regulations… yet another sign that the Apocalypse is upon us). Driving down Fern Lake Road on the way into town, saw that Minor’s Saw Sharpening Shop door was open (have been trying to catch him “at home” since last summer), so dropped off eight dead saw blades for sharpening after finding out that his prices are VERY reasonable. Still a few yards of ice at the very south end of Fern Lake. Being brave stupid, took the thermometer down to the dock to establish the beginning-of-swim-season baseline temperature. Air temperature 47°. Water level 5″ below the top of the dock. Stuck my arm in the water to get the reading two feet down. Grit my teeth, cross my legs, and whimper all I wanted, could only keep things submerged for a half minute. Thermometer read 44°. “That can’t be right”, he said plaintively. So, pain being the mother of invention, found a stick and some duct tape, and tried again. Even after several minutes immersion, the thermometer still read 44°. So maybe swim season is not so far off after all.
Another cold, raw day except for the two brief occasions when the sun poked through. Alex, joined by Katy when her studying was caught up, spent the day washing and laying rock on the between-column walls while I worked in their wake parging their creations into place for all eternity. The ninth and half of the tenth courses are done. All of the east wall sections under the main part of the shed now are the height they need to be for pouring the reinforcing concrete wall behind them, i.e., no more work need be done on those five sections until after the next concrete pour. Perry came over for lunch, after which we loaded his pickup with a goodly quantity of hardwood that also used to inhabit the area where the shed is being built. Alex and Katy headed back to Boston mid-afternoon, leftover lasagna in hand. Hopefully that will be a sufficient inducement for them to return soon.
