Visiting journal: what to expect from a holiday with us
Michael wrote the following to a friend this morning:
On Wednesday last week the basement guys came and buried the drain tile around the basement. On Thursday Virginia and I painted pitch on the outside walls of the basement up to the point where, we hope the level of the landscaped dirt will be---dirty, hot job—temps in the low 90’s and a bunch of humidity but we got it done so that on Friday the basement guys returned and put the sand in the basement and backfilled around the basement about 1/2 way up or a little more (they dared not do more for fear of bowing the walls, where there is no house, because of the hydraulic pressure of the saturated ground. Saturday from 8-2:30 I was down in the basement under the house pulling down plastic and insulation---16 45 gallon black bags full.....it was 90°ish and 80% humidity and a nasty job but someone had to do it. At 2:30 Kenny & Tara arrived to stay for the Weekend + Monday in the cabin. On Sunday Artemis and Matt came over and Matt and I hauled and stacked firewood while Artemis and Virginia worked on house plans. OH...Saturday night and Sunday morning it thundered and rained an inch and three quarters---the farmers didn’t need the rain nor did we but it did settle the backfilled dirt so that maybe they can return and backfill some more.....someday.
Monday Virginia worked on the shutters for the chicken coop and I split the rest of the red elm that I had hauled over from the woods in 2-3 foot diameter spools. Kenny and Tara will return home this morning (Tuesday). Today I hope to help Virginia hang the shutters on the winter chicken coop then run out with my chainsaw and cut and haul brush so that I can get to the dead American Ash tree that I cut down same time as the elm and get it cut into spools so that I can haul it back to the splitting stump and make it into useable winter wood.
The shutters in action. Now to add fowl flow flaps (ie chicken and duck doors).
Two red elms have almost filled one side of the new wood shed.
Sand in the basement; plastic and insulation removed from under floor of original house.
How much wood comes from one spool of red elm.
Michael did finish splitting all these spools. We went and cut up some of the ash tree today.
I think we left Kenny and Tara a bit breathless, but they said they would like to return. Duck therapy, it's what's relaxing.
