Construction Journal Entry Week of 7/31/16

8/3-5/16 I went up to Camp Serendipity for 3 days: Wednesday through Friday.

I arrived at 12:10, carried my gear up, hoisted the flag, and then had my lunch and a nap. When I got up, I opened the valve to water Brian and Paul and then made an irrigation system for the rhubarb.

I learned that rhubarb needs to be watered and the ground around mine was bone dry. No wonder the rhubarb had stopped growing. To water it, I selected a long hose, wired a cone of window screen to one end and fitted a valve on the other end. Then I went down to the creek and filled the hose with water from the discharge hose. I carried the water-filled hose up to the rhubarb plant and unrolled it going uphill with the closed valve end near the rhubarb, Then I placed the other end, the one with the screen, into a pool in the creek. That established a siphon so when I opened the valve by the rhubarb it made a nice spray which I directed to the lower side of the plant. That should keep the ground damp enough.

Next I picked some more blackberries. I thought the season was over, but there were so many ripe berries showing that I just had to pick them. I only got a medium size container-full, though. The season is about at its end.

The temperature got up to 80° and since the back staircase was in direct sun, it was too hot and too late to do any staircase work. Instead I walked up and checked on Paul and found that it was getting plenty of water and seems to be thriving. On the way back to the cabin, I dragged another tread blank down, set it up on sawhorses, and went in for the night.

On Thursday I fabricated and treated the next stair tread in the usual way. The steps are now sufficiently worked out that making one is pretty much routine. Now with just one more tread to install, I know how to do it just in time to stop making treads. I probably won't ever need that skill and knowledge again.

I didn't stop for lunch until 3:00 because I wanted to take advantage of the shade and get the tread sprayed so it could begin drying. I finally went in for a small lunch and a nap and the day was over.

On Friday morning, I stained and bolted down the new tread. Then I took the chainsaw up on the high rock and bucked up the last of the trunk of the tree that had hit the cabin in 2014. I carried and threw the wood down onto the upper roadway and used the wheelbarrow to bring it up to the stack under the eaves. It is a nice start on my wood supply for the winter. Before I left for home, I checked on my rhubarb irrigation system. It was still spraying nicely. I left for home.at 12:55 pleased with my progress for the week.



Go to Next Journal Entry
Previous Journal Entry

Index to all Journal Entries
Go To Home Page

©2016 Paul R. Martin, All rights reserved.