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| The base for the garden house was completed on Friday |
60 degrees/clear skies/calm winds
Pentoga Road
It sure is difficult to come up with something new to take pictures of and write about every day. I was just sorting through the back blogs and this summer's news has been pretty mundane... snore.
I find that more and more, I'm using the blog as a diary, a place to record personal thoughts and mark time. Even if it weren't published, I'd probably still write and take pictures. I don't know how many times I've gone back, sometimes years and occasionally decades, to see when/what/where something happened.
Hey, it costs nothing to write or read. It's a win/win situation. As I've always said, it makes for great bathroom reading material when the daily paper or a magazine isn't handy. It'll also put you to sleep at night assuming you aren't in the middle of a good book.
Pond, dig, pond, dig, liner, garden, pond... and now, garden house, pond, garden house...
Well, that's been my life this summer and really, it's no different than anyone else's. Everyone has (or should have) his goal and/or project. I just write about mine.
Onward and upward:
I read an article in the Anchorage Daily News yesterday about the abhorrent conditions of many of the Alaskan bush villages. It described conditions which I've talked about for years and it made me sad to see that nothing's changed. I don't want to go into it, but if you'd like to see where I lived, worked, traveled, and who I worked with, for a good many years, here's the link:
Onto a happier note, I began early Friday morning building the base of the garden house.
Was I ever happy to find that my footings were pretty much level with each other!
I had nightmarish visions that I'd have to do some major ground upheaval, but luck was with me. I'd dug just the right depth and added the right amount of gravel.
Next came cutting the 2x6's to make the floor joists. Rather than use a battery powered circular saw, I opted to bring out the electric miter saw and use the blue four wheeler as a work bench.
I don't know what I'd do without my little ATV. It's served as the best pick up truck/utility vehicle/work bench I've ever owned.
The thirty-some year old Yamaha is not much for joy riding, but as a working tool, I'd have a difficult time doing without it.
The garden house frame went up without too many problems. One joist was twisted and took some innovative engineering, but in the end, the base was made ready for the 3/4's inch treated plywood.
The plywood went on fairly smoothly with the exception of one piece that was wavy on one end. I gave up after tinkering around for over an hour and decided I could live with an eighth of an inch difference in one corner.
The plywood probably should have run lengthwise for strength, but the pieces were so heavy that I was happy to nail them just as they slid off the trailer and fitted into place. There's nothing that heavy that will be in the garden house anyway.
The next step will be to put up the walls. With Sargie's help, I'll take those out from the barn using the tractor. I think if I lean them, one at a time, over the arms of the bucket, I can transport each with little trouble. It will sure be nice to get them out of the barn.
Oh, for you practical jokers, those attempting to bruise my delicate ego, there's a point to clear up here.
I am not making a she shed. That's for girls. Norriene, John, and whoever else has made that tongue-in-cheek, humorous, subtle suggestion, pay attention.
It's a garden house.
Granted, the structure might be a bit on the delicate side once it's finished, but that's only because I'm a sensitive type of guy, a musician who, down deep, still believes in Santa Claus and occasionally becomes a little teary-eyed while watching reruns of Little House on the Prairie.
(No, Scott, I don't watch Lifetime TV or read Nora Roberts.)
Just remember, there's no she in this shed.
We enjoyed fried zucchini and cole slaw for last night's supper. It sure was good.
Sargie's off today. I'm going to head out to the barn and do some odd jobs this morning before heading to town later this afternoon in preparation for tonight's demolition derby at the fair. As 50% of Jerad's pit crew, (Yooper Brother Mark's the other half) I've got my hammer and roll of duct tape already packed.
Sargie will be going in later this afternoon and meeting Sheri. The ladies will be sitting in the stands tonight cheering Jerad, last year's winner, onto victory.
Ah, I think I'll have another cup of coffee before heading out to the barn.
After all, a man's work is never done.
So are the tales from Pentoga Road...
Was I ever happy to find that my footings were pretty much level with each other!
Next came cutting the 2x6's to make the floor joists. Rather than use a battery powered circular saw, I opted to bring out the electric miter saw and use the blue four wheeler as a work bench.
I don't know what I'd do without my little ATV. It's served as the best pick up truck/utility vehicle/work bench I've ever owned.
The thirty-some year old Yamaha is not much for joy riding, but as a working tool, I'd have a difficult time doing without it.
The garden house frame went up without too many problems. One joist was twisted and took some innovative engineering, but in the end, the base was made ready for the 3/4's inch treated plywood.
The plywood went on fairly smoothly with the exception of one piece that was wavy on one end. I gave up after tinkering around for over an hour and decided I could live with an eighth of an inch difference in one corner.
The plywood probably should have run lengthwise for strength, but the pieces were so heavy that I was happy to nail them just as they slid off the trailer and fitted into place. There's nothing that heavy that will be in the garden house anyway.
The next step will be to put up the walls. With Sargie's help, I'll take those out from the barn using the tractor. I think if I lean them, one at a time, over the arms of the bucket, I can transport each with little trouble. It will sure be nice to get them out of the barn.
Oh, for you practical jokers, those attempting to bruise my delicate ego, there's a point to clear up here.
I am not making a she shed. That's for girls. Norriene, John, and whoever else has made that tongue-in-cheek, humorous, subtle suggestion, pay attention.
It's a garden house.
Granted, the structure might be a bit on the delicate side once it's finished, but that's only because I'm a sensitive type of guy, a musician who, down deep, still believes in Santa Claus and occasionally becomes a little teary-eyed while watching reruns of Little House on the Prairie.
(No, Scott, I don't watch Lifetime TV or read Nora Roberts.)
Just remember, there's no she in this shed.
We enjoyed fried zucchini and cole slaw for last night's supper. It sure was good.
Sargie's off today. I'm going to head out to the barn and do some odd jobs this morning before heading to town later this afternoon in preparation for tonight's demolition derby at the fair. As 50% of Jerad's pit crew, (Yooper Brother Mark's the other half) I've got my hammer and roll of duct tape already packed.
Sargie will be going in later this afternoon and meeting Sheri. The ladies will be sitting in the stands tonight cheering Jerad, last year's winner, onto victory.
Ah, I think I'll have another cup of coffee before heading out to the barn.
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| It's been a good zucchini year |
So are the tales from Pentoga Road...
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| The garden house will be facing the pond, a patio area in front, patio chairs and a table, planters, a tall flag pole to one side, a waterfalls to the right. |
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