Construction Journal Entry Week of 9/10/06

9/12-13/06 I went up to the property for 2 days: Tuesday and Wednesday.

I arrived at 2:00 and found a tiny green frog in the gate lock can. I tried to leave him in the can but he hopped down to the ground. Before I parked, I walked to the outcropping on the road and saw that people had taken all the medium size and small rocks and left quite a trail of footprints. I hope now they won't bring in heavy machinery and take the huge rocks, or dynamite any more of them.

After moving in, I was happy to discover all the peanuts in place and no evidence of mice. I could still hear the gnawing in the trailer ceiling, so I took the light fixture down again and sprayed ant killer through a short copper tube which I held up against the hole where one of the wires came in. Then I replaced the fixture.

The nine potted sequoia trees were looking pretty dry and droopy so I got a bucket of water from the creek and watered them all. There are two of them that are dead. No jays came around that day.

I went to work and installed one GFI receptacle pair in the kitchen. It took some doing because the EMT coupling coming into the side of the box didn't leave room for the receptacle. I removed the nylon sleeve from inside the coupling and then hacksawed about a quarter of an inch of the coupling and made if flush with the nut. Then I smoothed the inside of the coupling and replaced the nylon sleeve. That provided enough clearance so the receptacle fit in the box.

In the evening Ellen called and reminded me that I had a doctor's appointment the next day at 4:00. I had completely forgotten about it and wasn't sure what I was going to do. I figured I'd think about it over night and decide in the morning.

The gnawing was a little less during the night, but there was still some.

On Wednesday morning, I remembered making the doctor's appointment for minor surgery on my eyelid. Wednesdays were the only days I could have it done and I remembered figuring that as long as I couldn't lift much for another few weeks, this would be a good time to have it done. I decided to go home at noon and make the appointment.

Before I went to work, I called Earl and told him I was planning to leave at noon. He had told me earlier that he planned to come to visit me in the afternoon. We had a nice long chat on the telephone. He seems to be getting along OK so far with his Parkinson's.

I went to work and wired up the second GFI receptacle circuit in the kitchen. The jays came around so I fed them several times. I didn't see any activity, or any signs of previous activity, at the bird feeder I hung out the previous week. Maybe they haven't discovered it yet.

I left at 1:15 and found a tiny brown frog in the padlock can.



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