Then: The Third week of July 2008
It is Monday, July 14. The building crew and all the building materials are due Up Here today! The first to arrive is the truck with the building materials which I meet at the gate at 8:30 am. It was slow going up the road, but we got there. The driver unloaded it all with a built-in crane, while I drove back down at 11:00 a.m. to meet the building crew. Of course I am wearing my .45 as always, in a holster tucked into the back of my jeans. It has become part of my daily outfit and I don't give it much thought any more, but the truck driver noticed it and yelled out to the building crew, "Better be nice to her, boys. She's packing!"
Wasting no time, the crew measured where the 20 poles would go. They have to be sunk 3 feet into the ground and the holes filled with cement. Unfortunately the ground in that area is clay - very dry, very hard clay. There was no way the crew could dig the holes by hand. So I called to rent a Bobcat with an auger to be delivered the next day and the crew spent the rest of the day setting up camp. Since it is so far to town, the crew will be camping up here during the week and then going home to Spokane for each weekend.
My brother, RJ, came up for the week with his son, Mike. They are going to spend as much of the Summer Up Here as possible. Mike is 10 years old and very interested in watching the pole building go up.
The equipment rental company could not get the Bobcat up the road on a trailer, so two of the crew had to go down and drive it up the four miles. Even having to do that, they got all 20 holes dug in one day! There were two VERY large rocks in the way of two of the holes which had to be very carefully pulled out. At my request, Joe, the crew foreman, moved one of them to each side of the driveway. I love big rocks!
Early Wednesday morning, Joe drove the Bobcat back down to the road for the rental company to pick up. I went Down There for supplies. The crew set and braced all the poles, as the building inspector will be up early Thursday morning. He has to sign off on the poles before they can be cemented into the holes. The two cement trucks are also due tomorrow. One truck could hold the cement we will need, but due to the steep road, they cannot fill them up all the way. The cement would just run out the back as they are driving.
I met the inspector at the gate early Thursday morning and he signed off on the project with no problems. Then I met the first cement truck at the gate at 2:30 and the second one about 4:00. Three round-trips on that road in one day is just no fun.
On Friday, the crew marked the nine poles with a laser that will be cut down to the level of the floor to support it. One full row will hold the rafters for the loft and the floor built around them. Both Mike and I are fascinated, watching how all this is done.
The crew left for Spokane about 3:30 and, once again, it was just me and the critters Up Here. Over the weekend, I smoothed out the dirt floor of what will be the crawl space and dug down to the water pipe coming in from the cistern. It had been covered and marked for the work that had to be done prior to this. Then I laid the vapor barrier. I also went Down There to do laundry and get materials for the trap door that the crew will cut into the floor.
Now: June 13, 2011
We spent yesterday mowing and pulling weeds. We have a small "domestic" yard in front of our porch about the size of the house, which has greened up nicely this year. Last Summer we planted some grass seed to fill in the gaps of the grass that was already there. Plus JB's Mother gave up some iris bulbs which I planted on the east end. Everything is coming up and looking good, until I started pulling up dandy lions. There went half the green!
The yard itself isn't much to mow, but the paths and road up to and along the south ridge need to be done also. That took JB most of the day, and along with mowing the north side of the house by the grove. What a difference! With all the rain we have had, everything is growing twice as high as usual. After he mows, it is easier to see and pull out the nasty little plants we do not want around, such as Devil's Thorn.
I went for a short walk around the south ridge path that JB had mowed. So much better now. I have not been at all comfortable going on our evening walks up there lately because the grass had been getting so tall. We have not seen any rattle snakes this year, but it is definitely time for them to be out and about. Sure enough, there was a large snake right in the middle of the path. At first it gave me a start, until I realized it was just a bull snake. They are the same color with very similar markings, but they have no rattles and their head is oval, not triangular like a viper. Very good snakes to have around with their diet of small rodents.
The cement around the deck poles has set, and maybe today we can continue working there. We did take off the pole braces. It's looking good!
We were relaxing with a movie around 8:30 p.m. when I my eye caught movement outside. There was a baby bear walking into our yard! I casually got up, walked to the door, and was able to snap a couple pictures before the dogs noticed it and went berserk. Hearing them, the bear ran over to the grove and stood up as if pondering whether or not to climb one of the trees. After a minute or two, he ran down the west ridge. Meanwhile, chaos is reigning inside as the dogs try to get out after it. JB went out on the porch to see if he could spot the mother, with no luck. But it took the rest of the evening for the dogs to settle down, and for their last outing of the night, I took them on leashes.
It is Monday, July 14. The building crew and all the building materials are due Up Here today! The first to arrive is the truck with the building materials which I meet at the gate at 8:30 am. It was slow going up the road, but we got there. The driver unloaded it all with a built-in crane, while I drove back down at 11:00 a.m. to meet the building crew. Of course I am wearing my .45 as always, in a holster tucked into the back of my jeans. It has become part of my daily outfit and I don't give it much thought any more, but the truck driver noticed it and yelled out to the building crew, "Better be nice to her, boys. She's packing!"
Wasting no time, the crew measured where the 20 poles would go. They have to be sunk 3 feet into the ground and the holes filled with cement. Unfortunately the ground in that area is clay - very dry, very hard clay. There was no way the crew could dig the holes by hand. So I called to rent a Bobcat with an auger to be delivered the next day and the crew spent the rest of the day setting up camp. Since it is so far to town, the crew will be camping up here during the week and then going home to Spokane for each weekend.
My brother, RJ, came up for the week with his son, Mike. They are going to spend as much of the Summer Up Here as possible. Mike is 10 years old and very interested in watching the pole building go up.
The equipment rental company could not get the Bobcat up the road on a trailer, so two of the crew had to go down and drive it up the four miles. Even having to do that, they got all 20 holes dug in one day! There were two VERY large rocks in the way of two of the holes which had to be very carefully pulled out. At my request, Joe, the crew foreman, moved one of them to each side of the driveway. I love big rocks!
Early Wednesday morning, Joe drove the Bobcat back down to the road for the rental company to pick up. I went Down There for supplies. The crew set and braced all the poles, as the building inspector will be up early Thursday morning. He has to sign off on the poles before they can be cemented into the holes. The two cement trucks are also due tomorrow. One truck could hold the cement we will need, but due to the steep road, they cannot fill them up all the way. The cement would just run out the back as they are driving.
I met the inspector at the gate early Thursday morning and he signed off on the project with no problems. Then I met the first cement truck at the gate at 2:30 and the second one about 4:00. Three round-trips on that road in one day is just no fun.
On Friday, the crew marked the nine poles with a laser that will be cut down to the level of the floor to support it. One full row will hold the rafters for the loft and the floor built around them. Both Mike and I are fascinated, watching how all this is done.
The crew left for Spokane about 3:30 and, once again, it was just me and the critters Up Here. Over the weekend, I smoothed out the dirt floor of what will be the crawl space and dug down to the water pipe coming in from the cistern. It had been covered and marked for the work that had to be done prior to this. Then I laid the vapor barrier. I also went Down There to do laundry and get materials for the trap door that the crew will cut into the floor.
Now: June 13, 2011
We spent yesterday mowing and pulling weeds. We have a small "domestic" yard in front of our porch about the size of the house, which has greened up nicely this year. Last Summer we planted some grass seed to fill in the gaps of the grass that was already there. Plus JB's Mother gave up some iris bulbs which I planted on the east end. Everything is coming up and looking good, until I started pulling up dandy lions. There went half the green!
The yard itself isn't much to mow, but the paths and road up to and along the south ridge need to be done also. That took JB most of the day, and along with mowing the north side of the house by the grove. What a difference! With all the rain we have had, everything is growing twice as high as usual. After he mows, it is easier to see and pull out the nasty little plants we do not want around, such as Devil's Thorn.
I went for a short walk around the south ridge path that JB had mowed. So much better now. I have not been at all comfortable going on our evening walks up there lately because the grass had been getting so tall. We have not seen any rattle snakes this year, but it is definitely time for them to be out and about. Sure enough, there was a large snake right in the middle of the path. At first it gave me a start, until I realized it was just a bull snake. They are the same color with very similar markings, but they have no rattles and their head is oval, not triangular like a viper. Very good snakes to have around with their diet of small rodents.
The cement around the deck poles has set, and maybe today we can continue working there. We did take off the pole braces. It's looking good!
We were relaxing with a movie around 8:30 p.m. when I my eye caught movement outside. There was a baby bear walking into our yard! I casually got up, walked to the door, and was able to snap a couple pictures before the dogs noticed it and went berserk. Hearing them, the bear ran over to the grove and stood up as if pondering whether or not to climb one of the trees. After a minute or two, he ran down the west ridge. Meanwhile, chaos is reigning inside as the dogs try to get out after it. JB went out on the porch to see if he could spot the mother, with no luck. But it took the rest of the evening for the dogs to settle down, and for their last outing of the night, I took them on leashes.
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