2/19-21/08 I went up to the property for 3 days: Tuesday through Thursday.

The drive over was absolutely gorgeous. All the mountains were covered with fresh new snow and the clear blue sky didn't have a cloud in it. The road was bare and mostly dry.

I arrived at 12:30 and was promptly greeted by Bert and Ernie. Then after they had their dog biscuits, a pair of gray jays came down for peanuts.

I was happy to find no trace of mice in the cabin. Unfortunately my test of whether the drain pipe was the way that last mouse got in was inconclusive. The peanut I placed inside the pipe was gone, but unfortunately the water level on the ground was up to the pipe so the water flowing out of the pipe would have floated the peanut away if a mouse didn't get it first. For now, I'll just assume that was how the mouse got in and not worry about it unless and until I know that another one got inside.

I went to work and sanded all the logs in the loft that were due for another coat of varnish. Then I went back to drilling through the column in the dining room for the electrical wires. I got through that knot after an hour or so and then finished the hole. Unfortunately, the angle wasn't steep enough so instead of coming out under the floor, the drill bit came out about six inches above the floor. I had a plan for this eventuality so it didn't concern me too much.

I started the drill bit in the exit hole and drilled a hole going the other way which did come out under the floor. Then with a chisel, I dug a channel in the wood that connected the two bored holes so that the wire could make a gentle bend to get from one hole to the next. Then I will patch up the hole with a wood plug that I will finish to blend in with the rest of the column. This won't be very noticeable because it will be low down and right next to the staircase. Plus, none of the logs is perfect, so the "scar" will just be one among many imperfections in the logs. Also, before I plug the hole, I will make a metal plate to cover that part of the wires that is within 1 1/4 inches of the surface as required by the electrical code.

Wednesday was another beautiful sunny day. The pair of gray jays showed up again. The temperature stayed just under 32 degrees so the snow stayed frozen enough that I could walk on it just about anywhere. I started out working on the dining room switch again. I assembled the handy box, the switch, and the switch plate so that I could try it in the hole and work on the fitting of the switch plate against the log surface. Of course the log is curved and lumpy so it means chiseling a flat surface to take the switch plate. I used a hack saw (because of its fine teeth) and a 1/4 inch chisel to chisel out the recess. I was very pleased with how the switch plate fit and looked when I finished.

Then I went back up to work in the loft. I planed, scraped, gouged, chiseled, and sanded on that third log, which was so difficult, and finally got the whole thing ready for varnish. That was a relief. The remaining logs look like they will be super easy compared to that third one. The end of varnishing is beginning to come into view. I swept and vacuumed in the loft before going in for the night.

I had heard on the radio that there was a lunar eclipse going on at the moment so I went outside to see it. I can normally see the moonrise from my trailer door and from the trail just beyond the door. But when I looked, I couldn't see anything but a black sky with some stars in it. I didn't know whether I really could see the moon from where I was or whether it was behind some trees. I went back in and had dinner.

Later, when I was talking to Ellen, she said she could see a light crescent at the bottom of the moon and the rest of it was dark. When we hung up, I went back outside and sure enough, the crescent she described was visible from my trailer door and from the trail just beyond. I went up to the cabin to get the binoculars and to see if there weren't a better vantage point from which to see the moon. You couldn't see it at all from the cabin because of trees. I walked all the way down to the road and out onto the road and it turned out that because of trees, there was no better vantage point than the trailer door and the trail just beyond. So I guess I can say that I saw the total eclipse. It looked just like a moonless sky to me.

On Thursday morning, I started out by gathering some tools to take home for a class and demonstration of woodcarving I was going to do for a group of scouts. Then I measured for the wire that would be needed for the dining room switch and I gathered the material I would need to do the wiring of the switch in the handy box so I could do that work at home. When that was loaded in the pickup, I went up and varnished the prepared logs in the loft. I also varnished the margins around the hole for the dining room switch. I left for home at 1:20 happy with my progress this week.