You're probably getting tired of this same picture of my septic field. This is no April fool. I haven't yet resolved the problem of my digital camera connection. Maybe tomorrow.
Last night Erik and Brenden went out to a local dance at the community hall. Must have had a good time; it was pretty late before they got back. So there wasn't an early rising and long productive workday. But they did finish the drywalling of the garage ceiling, for which I was very grateful. We had to leave the drain tile since I didn't have the one last joint. And if we buried the pipes, I wouldn't have enough flex to join that last part in-line.
Mid afternoon I drove them to the Nanaimo ferry. I stopped in at Home Depot while in Nanaimo, and unfortunately completely forgot about the drain pipe joint that I needed. Yes, the memory is the second thing to go. I can't remember what the first was.
Anyway, it was a good weekend, (except for the soaking rain, and the mud, and the mess...). And great to see Erik and Brenden again.
Now, the drain pipe joint, and the repair of the digital camera connection, maybe tomorrow in Courtenay.
April 2, Monday 8:30 PM
The digital camera is still not in operation. But I've narrowed the problem down to my serial port, not the camera or the connecting cord. I may need some help diagnosing my port settings.
This morning I went into Courtenay to get the joint for my drain pipes, and to get the digital camera diagnosed. Half way across on the ferry I realized I had forgotten the camera. Hey, I'd been distracted by the cat; stepping in her cat feces on the laundry room floor (very unusual of her), and then watching her throw up in the kitchen. I lose my focus easily.
Finally, at a Courtenay computer dealer, I found the camera worked perfectly when the drivers were loaded on their machine.
And surprise, I remembered to get the drain pipe part too.
The afternoon was spent connecting the drain pipes and shoveling mud. I'm tired and sore and only halfway done. It's too bad Erik and Brenden couldn't have stayed one more day and help shovel the mud back in place.
Marit must be addicted. She's been working all day stripping the paint off an old nondescript magazine rack. I suspect she's hooked on the fumes of the paint remover solvent.
April 3, Tuesday 6:00 PM
I have a "work-around" solution for the camera problem. I can use the community computers at the local school; download the images to a floppy disk and bring them home. It's just a little awkward but should be satisfactory until I can bring my computer in to the depot for servicing on my synchronous port. Unfortunately it's not a simple card replacement. It's a mother-board function.
Here's a shot of Erik and Brenden that I took on the weekend. Brenden is the one with the bald (shaved) head.
Today I managed to finish filling all the drain pipes. The mud has hardened now, into very solid masses. Marit did more furniture work and painted the upstairs closet.
But the big news is that it's really, really spring. The ornamental trees are in blossom; the pheasants are looking fat; the Mason Bees have started coming out of the tubes, and the hummingbird is back. I'm going to set up a hummingbird feeder in the next couple of days. And speaking of feeders, the deer came by and took a bite out of those beautiful heather plants. I hope those deer found they didn't like the taste. Chicken wire is now being used to deter those bastards.
April 4, Wednesday 7:45 PM
This is the nature of the drain tile that we installed around the house for the roof rain water. There's another level of drain tiles below the foundation for the ground water. I'm looking forward to rain in the next couple of days just to see the drainage system working. (Yes, I'm easily entertained).
Until today, our state-of-the-art satellite receivers have been sitting stacked on a plastic box on the garage floor. Today I built some shelves to get them and the wiring better mounted on the garage wall, up out of the way of accidental damage. It'll also let me try to organize the garage a bit better.
Marit couldn't stand the dirty windows any longer, especially when the sun highlighted the patterns. So she was out washing all the glass. She even did the second floor windows by ladder. I hope her knee isn't too sore tonight.
I thought she'd manage to get through the day without using the paint brush. But sure enough, in the afternoon she was touching up the walls of the master bedroom.
After the cleaning campaign, I mounted the screens on the windows that could be opened. We've started getting flies and large bees in the house already.
There was one additional repair I had to make today. The last time I gave a ride in the truck to a hitchhiker at the ferry dock, he got in so enthusiastically that his head knocked the rear view mirror off my windshield. I hope the epoxy glue is strong enough.
April 5, Thursday 9:30 PM
After the drain tiles were filled in, here's how the patio areas now look. (This picture was taken yesterday, when the sun was still shining.)
Today a bit more development of the closet; mounting a bar for the clothes hangers. Then, on to the upstairs bathroom.
I intended to start tiling the tub enclosure. But I'm a bit leery of this, since my adventures of tiling the floors were not entirely successful (or pleasant). So I was cautious; measuring, planning, and preparing. Then I encountered a puzzle.
At the edge, when the side tiles meet the tiles along the top, an unglazed edge is exposed. How is that supposed to be covered? I phoned the store where the tiles were purchased and asked. Apparently I have two choices; use a bead of silicon sealer, or use a "schletter" strip. Has anyone ever heard of a "schletter" strip? It's an "L" shaped vinyl strip that mounts behind the tile and extends over the edge,covering it. I can envision problems and deficiencies in both approaches. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Quick!
Anyway, I did some work on the floor edgings instead.
Marit went off shopping in Courtenay today. Apparently it was raining heavily and blowing strongly. I hadn't really noticed. It was sunshining here when she got back.
April 6, Friday 9:15 PM
The wind and the waves have shifted, coming from the north. And the feel of arctic air is around. It's cooler again.
We've decided to wait a few days on the tile, and see if there isn't some corner tiling we should be using. Instead I finished off the wood trim covering off edge of the carpet on the last few steps of our stairway.
Then on to hanging curtain rods. And back to more doorway moulding on the upstairs rooms.
We've asked some of the neighbours over for dinner on Sunday. So I'm going to have to fix up our entry to the front door. They'll need a steady walkway with a railing to hold onto. My current entry, shown in the picture, doesn't do the job. Even my blind cat has problems on that one. She keeps falling off.
Maybe I should make some cat level railings too.
April 7, Saturday 6:00 PM
Black threatening clouds have been hanging over the mountains off to the east all day. But on Denman Island its been sunny all day.
This is a picture of Marit's favorite spot; a protected corner just outside the dining nook. (She's actually just inside the French doors holding some curtains, but you can't see through the glare.) We've been wondering just how this area should be finished; decking, patio blocks, lawn? At the moment, decking looks the most attractive, but also the most expensive option.
Today I've been building a new temporary access to the front door; a raised walkway with a (crude) railing. Some of my neighbours require this degree of security to access our home easily. (Marit didn't think it looked good enough to be our picture of the day).
We're getting itchy to start some gardening. Marit has planted a couple containers for colour at our entrance. And she's been up trimming some of the survivors in our pots at the cabin.
I hope we can get started on the landscape and garden by the end of the month. It's still pretty frosty in the mornings.
April 8, Sunday 9:45 PM
Here's the new entry ramp I created yesterday. My dinner guests tonight expressed their approval.
After all these months of semi asocial behavior while we've been building and developing, it felt a bit strange inviting guests over for dinner. But it was a fun evening. And Marit made a fine spread as usual, of course. Dinner and dessert was a bit complicated, since sugar had to be eliminated for two of the participants.
Accomplishments earlier today are rather uninteresting; cleaning and cutting up some of the stored scraps of lumber by the side of the house, and reorganizing the material in the garage.
Comox weather station doesn't agree with us, but today felt like the warmest day yet this year. We're really getting spoiled by the dryness and sunshine this winter and spring. It's hard not to feel smug while watching Calgary and Halifax on the news. It's not going to even itself out, is it?
April 9, Monday 8:15 PM
Here's a glimpse of the night life on Denman Island; our last night dinner party.
This morning I watched a tug slowly pulling a large boom of logs. And there was a number of sea lions lounging on the logs getting a free ride north. If that's what's necessary to send them on their was, I'm all for it.
Today I'm back on the door frame project. Phase 2 - Upstairs. Somehow I've managed to put many of these doors so close to the end of the wall that there's not enough room for a full width of trim. So it's very slow when I have to cut the molding to a narrower fit.
The toil was interrupted this afternoon by coffee across the road. Cappuccino's even. We have our own rustic sophistication.
Tomorrow, our cat's favorite treat; a trip to the vet. Fortunately I have a strong steel cage to transport her. The vet is blackmailing me. She won't give any more pills until she's checked the cat's blood pressure.
April 10, Tuesday 7:30 PM
Our cat, Ozzy, was obviously at peace with the world...until I shanghaied her to take her to the veterinarian. (Twice actually, because we didn't get on the ferry and had to reschedule.) She doesn't like the vet. They have a most indignant way of taking her temperature. And the rest of the probing is no fun either. But she passed her yearly physical. The pills are working.
We took our tuberous begonias up from the underground crawl space and potted them. I'll have to take them into the garage at night for a few weeks. Even with a beautiful sunny day like today, there's still a risk of frost for the rest of the month.
Marit is the only one who can claim some definite accomplishments today. She painted the downstairs interior doors. And that's not a simple task with the inlaid panels and grooves.
I took the door knobs off first to make it easier for her. It's a good thing I was still home when she locked herself in a small room after closing the door.
April 11, Wednesday 8:00 PM
FOR SALE!
No, not my place. This is a lot across the road.My neighbour has decided to sell his second lot.
It's a beautiful property; ocean and mountain view. Has a well, and is planted with ornamental trees, and a productive vegetable garden. No house or building.
The disadvantage; I'm your neighbour across the street. That's my house at the far centre right.
It's approximately .6 acre. And the price is $85,000. Contact me if you want more information or want additional views. (PS I'm doing this only as a favour to my friend and neighbour, not for a commission.)
Today was a very warm and sunny day; a day for shorts and T-shirts. I framed two more sides of doors, and had to go outside for some landscape planning. The yard is now staked with pegs every 10 feet in both directions, to assist in planning and charting.
Marit went into Courtenay for a shopping trip; but only after she painted the downstairs doors again for a second coat.
Say, I had an unusual experience today. While working in the front of the garage with the door up, a chickadee came fluttering in and landed on the back of my shoulder. It stayed only a few seconds of course, then flew out again. Can anybody read any spiritual significance in this?
April 12, Thursday 5:00 PM
This update is a little earlier than usual tonight. I ran out of molding for the door frames and still have a couple openings to finish. So I've been occupied with other trivia.
This morning, Wes, the main builder of this house, came by to take some pictures. I thought I'd share this one with you. This is how it looked at 10:00 this morning. (Not much rain today; just an annoying trickle.)
Marit has been painting upstairs doors today. When this house is completely finished, we'll have to find her a hobby that involves using a paint brush.
Just a word of warning. I intend to re-install windows on my PC some time in the next few days. I hope that will fix a few malfunctions that have been developing, such as my inoperative serial board. So if I appear to be off the air for a day or two, you can assume I'm having problems with the reload.
It should proceed smoothly. But somehow, I've found that every project here has involved some unexpected hindrance of varying degrees of difficulty. I expect some surprises to show up.
April 13, Friday 7:00 PM
A mixed day; sun, rain, cloud, and sleet. But as the picture shows, even mixed days have their beauty.
Our daughter came over to visit us for a few days. I met her at the ferry in Nanaimo and drove her back. Pretty much the whole day has been spent off-island. In the morning I first went over to Courtenay and Comox for supplies. Unfortunately Comox Building Supplies was closed Easter Friday; I'll have to go back tomorrow. Home depot in Nanaimo was open for some of the items I needed.
While I was away, Marit was painting more doors and trim. But maybe I can stop reporting that. It's almost a "given".
And no, I haven't tried re-loading Windows yet on the PC. That's why I'm able to post again today without difficulty. Maybe tomorrow.
April 14, Saturday 6:15 PM
It's been a beautiful day after the clouds finally moved out.
Here's what the beach looks like from the balcony when the tide is low. This isn't the lowest it can go. The mud can get further out at times.
Lise came with me into Courtenay today. She has never been there before, so I left her for an hour to explore the main street while I finished some errands. She agreed that it's an interesting area, with neat small shops and coffee bars.
This afternoon I walked along the beach and found that the Fawn Lilies (Erythroneum oregonum) along the shore and up the slopes have just come into bloom. They're a beautiful wild flower that is normally nondescript and unnoticed for most of the year. But now around Easter time they burst out in full glory. I'll try and provide a good photo of them soon.
As you can gather, not much was accomplished today. By me anyway. Marit of course painted; primed the front door, and painted the edges of the new strips of molding that I bought.
And yes, I did try reloading Windows. And I lost the ability to go online. So I had to back out the update and revert to my previous status. I'll have to try again after posting this, and try reestablishing my internet connection using the online wizard. And if I really screw up ....
April 15, Sunday 9:15 PM
Sorry. I couldn't use the school computer today to download a new image. So we'll have to leave yesterday's picture of low tide.
It's been another lazy day. Went up to a local nursery on the island; the Wildside nursery, a smaller nursery that specializes in native plants. Some plantings are needed to stabilize the slope immediately behind the house. It's a challenging situation; hot full sun, very dry in summer, and poor soil. And worse yet, it's patrolled constantly by deer that seem to have the appetite and digestion of wild goats.
I did come back with some plants, including some "Lamb's Ears", "Pearly Everlastings", and five small "Oregon Grapes". This doesn't even begin to meet total requirements. I felt rather foolish buying the Oregon Grape because its almost a major weed here. But it does have an extensive root system when it establishes.
I'm hoping for some rain tonight to help these small plants get settled and growing.
We asked our neighbours, Rudy and Anne, to join Lise and the two of us for Easter dinner. So it's been a pleasant day.
April 16, Monday 8:30 PM
Here's another view of the property for sale across the street. It was taken on the road, looking east. If anyone wants more information on this 1/2 acre site, send me a note (E-mail at bottom of page).
The picture was not taken today. Unlike Vancouver, we've been cloudy with light rain all day.
Before driving Lise down to the Nanaimo ferry, I built doorway frame for the upstairs walk-in closet. This wasn't just trim around an existing frame, this was the frame itself over bare studs. We still have a few rough edges in this place. I still have several more doors and openings with bare studs and rough drywall edges to frame properly. At least I'm getting a lot of use out of my compound mitre saw.
It's a good thing Lise wasn't driving aboard the ferry. The lineup today was huge; at least a two sailing wait. After dropping her off at the terminal, I went to Home Depot to get some "bullnosed" tile for the edge of the bathtub enclosure. And of course I had to wander through the garden section. In their Juniper section I found some "Blue Pacific" cultivars; low growing but spreading, good for sea shore sites, and tolerates drought. And at $4.48, they seemed really cheap. So I had to take five of them home with me.
Lets hope it's not raining too heavily tomorrow. We're expecting a garden designer to come up and help develop a plan for us to build upon when planting the property.
April 17, Tuesday 8:30 PM
Here's a closeup of the wild Fawn Lilies growing on the slope by the seashore. Large expanses of them bloom every year in mid April. They're not a big plant, maybe 8 inches (20 cm) high. But they're beautiful. And delicate; they can't be transplanted.
This morning we had a meeting with a lady from "Guided Gardening and Design". She looked over our property, took pictures, listened to our wish lists, and discussed our preferences. We expect a basic design of proposed landscape development to be produced in one to two weeks. We feel we need this assistance because we don't want too many false starts, flailing around. We don't have enough years left to re-do it too many times.
The day has been the kind of blustery day we'd normally expect in March; strong winds, and intermittent downpours. The designer chose to do her photography during one of the heavier showers. I hope her camera was designed for underwater use.
More framing. And painting. Enough said of that.
April 18, Wednesday 9:45 PM
I've left the erithronium (Fawn Lily) as the picture on this page. But I've updated the larger picture to show their setting. If you think these are isolated wildflowers scattered randomly in the forest, click on the large image below. This shows how they are appearing now on the seashore below me.
Earlier I'd asked my neighbours, "where is the best restaurant in Courtenay"? They told me it was the Kingfisher Restaurant on the old highway. Today we stopped there for Lunch, and I'd highly recommend it. Good decor and service, great food, specializing in seafood.
Workwise, this morning I've finished the door frames and the trim in the guest room. And Marit's been painting them. Tomorrow back upstairs I guess.
And this evening, the monthly Denman Island Garden Club meeting. I didn't win the door prize. But I did come home with some seeds of "embostium coccinium" (I think that's what our guest speaker called them). Does anyone have a description or reference? I can't find it in my Sunset book of western gardening. If your still curious, drop by in 20 years and see how it turned out.
April 19, Thursday 6:15 PM
Marit is painting the front door, making it distinctive. Here it is with the first coat. No sissy pastel or cowardly white! Unfortunately the colour requires a lot of coats to form a solid colour and completely hide the underlying hue. We should have used a tinted primer.
Framing has been done on the upstairs bathroom door; inside and out. Now only the framing left is in the second upstairs bedroom. I'm gradually forcing myself back to the tiling around the tub enclosure. My reluctance may have been obvious.
The junipers were planted on the slope this afternoon. But there's still a lot of area to plant to prevent erosion.
Finally, the hummingbird feeder was put out this morning. The Rufous Hummingbird found it at 2:15 in the afternoon. Success!
And I gave the wrong name on the tree seeds yesterday. The correct name was "embothrium coccineum". (AS if you were losing sleep over it). And it's known as the Chilean Flame tree.
April 20, Friday 10:00 PM
Oops, I'm slipping. Forgot to take a new picture today. My excuse is old age. I'm officially a year older today.
Yes, many April 20 th's ago there were some notable births. Me for one. (The only other I remember was Adolph Hitler).
So Marit let me out of the house and allowed me to putter around on whatever interested me. I dug a two foot square hole to see how compacted and difficult the area will be to begin preparing a garden. It was pretty much as I expected. Bad! All the piles of materials and heavy trucks have compressed the ground very hard.
Planted some tree seeds in pots. Painted my rusting wheelbarrows with rust paint. Started moving my pile of firewood and lumber scraps. Chopped kindling.
And Marit painted that door another coat. It'll eventually turn a solid red; I mean "burgandy".
I'll get back into the rut tomorrow; an older and wiser man.
April 21, Saturday 8:15 PM
This photo was taken to remind ourselves in future years of the first "orchard" we tried. About 14-15 years ago I bought 6 trees at a year-end sale, dug 6 holes and stuck them in. No support. Little care. They suffered wind, drought, deer, and heavy snow. Most survived but never thrived. They'll be put out of their misery this year. And we'll be much better stewards of their replacements. The tree shown here is an Italian Prune Plum.
This morning, the preliminaries were started for tiling the bathtub enclosure. Meaning... I sat and thought about it a lot. I measured, marked, and even cut the first tile. But before I could really start the project, I was pulled off onto another job.
Marit wanted the old cabin cleaned up. Or more specifically, the 16 years of accumulated storage under the cabin had to be cleaned out. Personally, I didn't think this ranked very high on the priority list but for some reason I agreed to cooperate. Maybe because the weather was too nice to work inside.
I now have another truckload to drive to the dump, and a garage much more full than before, but a lot more space under the cabin. And a bit neater.
Maybe tomorrow I can get productive.
April 22, Sunday 7:15 PM
Our "state of the art" solar powered fabric dryer. I just couldn't allow myself to string a line over to the Maple tree. It would destroy the ambiance of this refuge.
The photo was taken yesterday. The problem today has been not so much the rain, but the heavy winds. We couldn't keep the front door closed, even with a heavy rock as a door stop. You see, I'd taken the locks off a few days ago, making it easier for Marit to paint. And now the gusts kept blowing it open. I had to reinstall the dead bolt to keep it shut.
The wind also strangely snapped off a small potted rose bush that I had won at the garden club. I can't understand how it broke. But I think it has enough of a stem left to re-grow. And I took cuttings of the broken stem. Not much chance of successful propagation but may as well try.
Well I finally started the tiling. I'm doing better on this tub enclosure than I did on the floors. Still, it's a slow process. It'll keep me busy for a few days.
April 23, Monday 6:00 PM
I may have been a little too quick with my declaration of "Success" a few days ago. The Rufus Hummingbird took a drink from the feeder a few hours after I erected it. Then he flew onto a branch to think about it for a minute. And that appears to be the last time he drank my nectar. Marit saw him sit on it once, but not feed. Could it be he doesn't like our tap water? Surely I don't have to use bottled water just to attract the hummingbirds!
More tile work this morning. The "skirt" on the three walls around the tub has been completed. Next the surface and the front side.
And this afternoon, another truck trip to the dump with all the scraps from Marit's cabin cleanup. There was an interesting visitor at the dump; a large black bear. Fortunately it stayed at the far side and was no threat where I was. On the same trip, I stopped in at Fanny Bay to pick up some more jugs of bottled water.
The afternoon stayed dry enough and calm enough for Marit to wield her paint brush and give the front door its fourth coat of paint.
April 24, Tuesday 7:30 PM
More wind today, all day long. All night too. Not much rain but not much sun either.
The main project today has been the bathtub. It's been slow today because most of the tiles around the tub have required cutting. There's still another day and a half worth of work (at my pace) to cut and apply all the tiles. And then the grouting.
Tomorrow I'm traveling back to the lower mainland. Early Thursday morning my mother is going to a clinic for medical tests for the pain she has been experiencing. She wants me with her. I'll stay through Friday to celebrate my son's birthday. And Early Saturday morning I'll head back to Denman.
Marit will stay here with the cat. Since Ozzie is old and blind we prefer not to take her traveling.
If I don't have an opportunity to update the site tomorrow, I'll be continue on Saturday.
April 25, Wednesday 9:15 PM
A quick change before I leave for the Vancouver area. After all, I couldn't leave the picture of my bathroom up for four days.
Here's the current view from our sun deck on a cloudy day. Leaves on the shrubs below are developing well.
While I'm in Vancouver, I'll take the opportunity to take the computer in for servicing again. The serial port is not operative. So, a special note to those who send e-mail, especially to those in Norway. No e-mail will be received until I get back with the computer on Saturday.
Marit will not have e-mail capability while I am away.
Incidentally, I'm making every effort to get back early on Saturday. This Saturday is the annual Denman Island Garden Club plant sale, starting at 11:00 AM. Anyone in the area is invited to attend. There are some great gardeners on the island, and some interesting items are available each year.
April 28, Saturday 6:15 PM
Back again. Mom had her medical tests on Thursday but won't get the results until early next week. She seemed to be in good condition; much better than I've seen her on the previous couple of visits.
I've had almost a full day of activities on Denman today. All I had to do was get up at 4:30 AM and travel for almost 5 hours. Plenty of time for the weekly trip to the recycling depot and for the Garden Club plant sale.
Suddenly I have lots of plants. I found Home Depot had horizontal junipers on sale for $3.69, so I put 7 of them in my trunk in Coquitlam. On Thursday afternoon I had visited my sister, Sonja, and received a number of plants from her garden, including a great Sedum, "Autumn Joy". And for my belated birthday of a week ago, Lise and Erik gave me two pots of red winter flowering heather and some gardening tools. And I got a big potted rhododendron from my mom. My car coming home was a rolling garden centre. I did show some restraint at the local plant sale today however. Just a little.
The picture today is of the small vegetable garden. The back half is leeks planted last October. The front half is the stumps of 10 everbearing strawberry plants. Yes, Stumps! The deer came last night munched on the strawberries that Marit has lovingly tended for the past six weeks. She's furious. Maybe venison burgers are on the menu for barbecues this summer.
I know I'll be shopping for a deer fence very soon.
April 29, Sunday 8:00 PM
Yes, we're isolated. I just got back to the island in time. Last night during the storm, the ferry to Denman rammed the dock, damaging both the ferry and the dock. There has been no ferry traffic since. I guess that's one way to stop the logging on the island.
Unfortunately a landscape designer was coming over this morning with a plan for my property. She didn't arrive of course. She doesn't have it in digital form and can't e-mail it. If courier or mail gets through in the next few days, she'll send it to me. We'll discuss it later. I'm really looking forward to receiving it.
Speaking of gardens, here's a picture of my "garden". It's actually an area where I put the plants that I brought from the old house. And I enlarged it by burying the kitchen scraps each day. Most of the plants made it through the winter and are coming up. A couple sadly succumbed. When the deer ate my hostas, I decided it was necessary to fence it with chicken wire. Too bad Marit's strawberries were outside the fence. (I described her deer problems yesterday.)
Today has been quite stormy too; heavy rain and winds. So I've been inside continuing with the bathtub tiling. Just a bit left; the hardest part. I have to crawl behind the toilet and put tiles on the tub side. It'll be very satisfying when that project is finally completed.
Some good news. The hummingbird decided that it was easier to use my feeder than to brave the storm and go elsewhere. Maybe the bottled water I used to make the solution was the difference.
April 30, Monday 8:30 PM
Such a day. Heavy rains this morning, very strong winds. Wonderful examples of the words "blustery" and "squalls".
This morning I stayed in and finished the tiling around the tub. Here's how it looks so far. If course, I haven't been able to apply the grout yet. Marit has decided that tiles would also be appropriate on the window sill. I have enough regular tiles, but need a couple more bullnosed tiles for the edge.
When the rain stopped in the afternoon, I went out and planted all the junipers in the back slope. Then it was time to tackle the pile of wood scraps behind the house.
I've cut all the old boards and prepared them for chopping into kindling. All the other boards have been sliced into firewood lengths. I've moved, re-stacked, and cleaned so that the firewood piled out in the field can be brought in for next winter.
Just a busy enough day to be a bit tired and a bit sore.
Incidentally, a replacement ferry has been brought to the island. It takes foot passengers all day. And when the tide is high enough, cars and light trucks can be loaded. So we're semi-accessible. We don't know how long before repairs will be completed and full service restored.
Not that it matters too much.
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