Thirty plus temperatures, packed village parking lot and long ferry lines are once again harbingers of the return of summer and our thousands of seasonal visitors.
This means the end of any rainfall for the next three months. We entered shutdown mode for construction two days ago and fire bans are in place. So naturally we have already had our first fire department response to a campfire that got out of control. It is just insane that anyone would even think about lighting a fire when the forest is so dry. Sad to think about. I’ve lost one home to forest fire and really don’t want to lose a second.
On the work front I have a few projects I am moving along. New flooring and a fresh coat of paint for a guest bedroom, sliding barn doors for a large storage shed and managed to sneak in one last lawn mowing for someone just under the wire before shutdown made that not possible.
Barn doors in progressMowing…or is this maybe haying?
I’m not sure if I will start any new work projects before the fall. I have enough in my own yard to work on without adding to the list. I still have three of four weeks of client work in cold storage so if I change my mind I can always from something to work on.
I was asked by a client a year ago to add a window to her home. Initially I said sure and wasn’t too concerned about it but as time went on I became less and less enamoured of doing the job.
It was delayed for a variety of reasons. Some health issue for me, some weather (didn’t want to open up a wall in the rainy season), and some workload.
I finally got around to it this week. She is a sweetheart and I didn’t want to back out after saying yes to it.
No, not me. We were fully vaccinated months ago. This time it’s the second round of shots for Maggie. Now she can go out and about and visit with others more freely
To celebrate the event she got her first trip to the ocean today. Quite timid about it to start then got right into it. Loved the feel of sand in her toes. Didn’t dip a foot in the water though. I guess she is saving that for the next trip
Progress has been ok on the bathroom reno. Probably close to estimate on effort but calendar-wise a week long so far. Had to leave the project sit for 5 or 6 days so far in order to attend to some personal items and a couple days helping out on other projects when an extra arm was needed.
First up was some dry rot. While we didn’t know it was there I am not really surprised to find it. The shower head nipple pretty much just fell off when I grabbed it. Corroded completely through.
The other bit of unplanned work was to completely redo the laundry plumbing inside a new half wall. I don’t have before picture, let’s just say it was “rustic”.
Lost another day to the electrician and opening up walls for him will add a half day to fix too. Hope to be tiling in a couple days, depending on how the mudding goes.
We have really noticed the days getting shorter. Soon the rains will start, marking the beginning of another puzzle season.
We have decided to try our hand at winter gardening. Nothing too ambitious. This fall it will be just some garlic. Garlic is a very popular crop around here and there are a couple of farms growing it commercially. In fact the garlic grown here is considered by many to be quite superior.
Since the summer garden is still in the ground I decided to build a new bed for this. Closer to the house and lower to the ground. COVID has driven prices up on many materials, wood and soil bing two significantly impacted items.
To make space the haskap experiment is coming to an end. They plants were not thriving or fruiting. Kelly was ready to pull the pin last summer. I convinced her to give them one more summer. That summer is now over – out they come and in goes the new winter bed.
My Elysium 