11/17-21/25 I went up to Camp Serendipity for 5 days: Monday through Friday.

I had a doctor's appointment that took all morning. I arrived at Camp Serendipity at 3:00. Happily, there was no rain when I parked. I brought my gear up in two trips using a packed wheelbarrow for the second one. I hoisted the flag between the two trips.

By the time I unpacked and did my exercises, it was time for my shower and dinner.

On Tuesday, the weather was sunny all day. I practiced the piano and then got a call from Robert. He said he would be working in my neighborhood and invited me to come over and watch him. He was going to fell five giant cottonwood trees.

When I got there, the first tree was already down and bucked into 8 foot lengths. Robert was in the process of clearing the bottom of the second tree getting ready to cut it down.

It wasn't exactly clear who the property owner was, but I met the guy who owns the steel house right above the trees. His name is Brad Mark. I also met the guy living across the road who I think is the property owner and is paying Robert. Anyway, his name is Paul. I chatted with both of them while Robert felled the second tree and began bucking it up.

I didn't talk much with Robert who kept working without a break. I did tell him that I had brought the chainsaw that I couldn't start and that I would load it into his truck. I left after an hour and a half and went back to the cabin for my lunch at 11:30.

After finishing my lunch, I took a nap and then walked to the grave. When I got back, I read the news headlines that I had downloaded to my cell phone.

On Wednesday morning, it looked like another nice sunny day, but it was a little cooler and overcast. After practicing the piano, I went to work on my own bucking project.

I had left the big alder log rigged up with a come-along ready to skid, so I took my new electric saw up to the log and alternately bucked a round or two off the end and then cranked on the come-along to skid the log out into position so I could buck off more rounds.

Each time, the log would get a little lighter and become a little easier to skid. Eventually, I ended up bucking up the entire trunk. I just left the rounds in a pile where they fell. The plan was to come back after I had brought out all my tools and roll the rounds down the hill to the road. From there I plan to wheelbarrow them up to the cabin and stack them under the eaves at the front of the building. That will amount to several weeks' worth of work.

Next, I went in for lunch and a nap, bringing the saw with me and sticking the battery in the charger. When I got up from my nap, I walked to the grave. The weather was clear and a cold 30 degrees.

On Thursday morning, I fertilized Tiger and then talked to Dave. We had another delightful conversation. Then I took the saw down to the hairpin turn and bucked up the two big fir ramps that I had left lying there since I brought them back from Seattle. I wheeled a couple of the pieces along with the saw back up to the cabin.

Next, I took the Trapper Nelson backpack up to the site of the bucking and loaded it with the log chain and come-along, both of which were now free. Then I brought that load back to the cabin and put the tools away.

After lunch and a nap, I walked to the grave. On the way back I had a good idea. I decided to set up my portable mortar board stand on the ground under the end of the scaffold. It would still be under the eaves and out of the rain, but I could use it as a table for working on the chainsaw. That way, I wouldn't have to oil and clean it while it was down on the ground.

On Friday morning, I practiced the piano. Then Robert called and thanked me for the saw. He said he had felled and bucked all five of the big cottonwoods and was working on another project. When we hung up, I vacuumed the cabin and then went out and cleaned and oiled the saw. The new worktable made the work almost pleasant. It turned out to be a good idea.

Next I walked to the grave and met a couple guys named Paul and Mike. They had stopped to talk because they had mistaken me for another guy named Paul Gray. It turned out that they have been interested in watching the progress on my cabin for many years. I invited them to come over and have a look.

When I got back, I had my lunch, closed up the cabin, packed up my gear and left for home at 1:00. I gave Tiger an extra dose of water and stopped the pendulum clock since I would not be back next week because of Thanksgiving and also a couple of meetings I had scheduled. It had been another fun and interesting week, and I hated to leave.