Last day of the long weekend

It's the last day of the long weekend, and it's hot and sunny and absolutely lovely out. The weather forecast promises a more seasonable cool and cloudy week, so I've been outside as much as possible today.  Rob is up fighting with the walls of the shed, and I'm sure he'd rather be doing something else on such a nice day. The concrete is curing nicely, and this weekend we took down all the remaining wood and stuff that was in the rafters, and Rob has been washing everything down to get rid of the remaining - well for lack of any better words - old animal poo! Now he is putting up the framing and walls.  I went up to see if he needed anything, but there's not much I can do. He was really not happy with his progress when I arrived.  It's just one of those days when he could use some extra strong helping hands, and someone bigger and stronger than me!  I had been off in the woods trying to clear some paths but it soon became clear that gardening gloves and a branch trimmer were not going to get the job done. I get frustrated too, when I realise that I will have to wait for Rob to get in with his tractor to do it. I came back to the cabin and decided the best thing to do would be to go cool off in the river.  It was a brilliant idea.

The river is really low due to the drought conditions. In front of the cabin it barely reaches my ankles, and at the highest point is just over my knees. Still, it was nice to be in, and it was a bit more refreshing in the deeper parts. I watched a kingfisher go up and down the river but he's fast and there was no chance for a photo.

As I went up to the point where we will build the new house, I suddenly realised the mergansers were out, and there were eight of them! For some reason they didn't seem as worried about me coming at them from the river. If I had been on the river bank they would have flown. So even with my old camera I was able to get a decent photo.  The did eventually leave, but they were pretty leisurely about it, they just slowly swam away up the river.

Walking back I closed my eyes to listen to the river. With our bedroom window open every night we can hear it, and when I can't sleep I just focus on the sound, and before I know it I'm asleep. Even though the river is low, there is still enough of a flow for that lovely sound as it goes over the rocks.

It's nice to just stand in the river and admire the view. Watch the crows and blue jays fly back and forth. I could hear a gull and the Great Blue Heron. Watch the small fish, and hear the splash when they jump.

We were lucky to find some good river shoes when we arrived this summer at a local store. Without them the sharp limestone bottom would slice our feet. They are also useful when the rocks are a bit slippery too.

Back in the cabin I'm feeling more refreshed. Tomorrow is another day, and if I can't clear paths there's plenty of other things I can do. In the meantime, I will have to think about what to make for dinner, and get Jet out for a nice walk. Maybe bring Rob up a cool drink as well, and see if things are going any better up there!

Yesterday I meant to post a little bit about dinner plans.  While Rob is busy building, I am in charge of pretty much all of the meal planning, and most of the cooking, although Rob does all of the BBQ'ing, which we've done a lot of, due to all the fabulous weather we've been having.  I couldn't resist all of the fresh produce at the farmer's market the last week or so, and our fridge and counters are stuffed with red peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, garlic etc. Last night I cooked up a tasty dish - sauteed chicken with organic onions, organic garlic, red peppers, Roma tomatoes, and chopped chipotles. Served them over a pile of organic red potatoes. Absolutely delicious!

Unfortunately, it was late, we were hungry, and I didn't take a photo of that pretty dish. Oh well - you get the idea it was good. Tonight will probably see us having a good fresh salad, and homemade pizzas with a chipotle sauce base, and some chorizo, peppers, and blue cheese.   I just checked on Rob, things are going better, and he plans on working 'til sunset as tomorrow is calling for rain.
So I am on Jet's play duty, and need to settle the cats in with some food before I can start cooking.
With a bit of luck it will still be warm enough to sit out on the porch for at least one more night!

On the level

We are just waiting for yet more stone to arrive. I've lost count of how many truckloads we've had delivered so far, but we will tally them up when we get our next bill. We are lucky that the quarry is across the river and close by, and they deliver so quickly to us. We've had loads of larger stone delivered for the lower and upper roads, and finer stone for the finishing base. We've had stone delivered for the base in the large shed. Today we ordered more stone for the shed, and more stone for where the lower road joins in with the original cabin road. The original cabin road is more like a path now, and there is a sharp corner where it joins the new road that needs to be a bit rounder and wider so that we can actually get the truck around it. Then we will be able to use our new roadway! We tried driving it, but get stuck at the corner, or have to pull in and back all the way down to the cabin.  I'm getting pretty good at backing up the truck these days, although I could use a booster seat sometimes to see over the tailgate!

Once the final stone was laid on the upper road, Rob was back out with his level to measure the grade.  Being a bit of a MacGyver (remember that TV show?) he rigged up a way to measure it of course. 

(And just as an aside, we were in Vancouver many years ago when they were taping a MacGyver show, with our nephew Zack who was maybe 3 years old and they came out and asked if he wanted to meet the actor, but he said no so we didn't get to meet him either. At the time I thought it would have been fun! Oh well, I have my own MacGyver anyway.)

So the road measured out o.k.  There is still one little steep bit, but now that we have driven it a few times we think it will be just fine. They worked really hard to make it a bit less steep, by regrading, dropping it down, and adding more fill. Where the hill ends there is a rather good curve, so we wanted to make sure we got it right. I guess we will know for sure once winter arrives!

If I was impressed by Rob's level device for the road, I was equally impressed by his level device for measuring the levels of the floor in the sheds. When I first saw it I thought it was an odd chair setup, but of course, it turned out it wasn't a chair after all. And here I thought he was sitting down on the job... although it didn't look that sturdy. Handy place for his glasses though!

While sitting out on the porch, keeping on ear out for the sound of a truck arriving with our stone, I heard lots of splashing in the river in front of the house. I popped Jet in his crate, and ran down with my camera. I was thrilled to see that two of the mergansers were out, but as soon as they heard the click of my camera they got nervous, and flew up the river. There was a group of three hanging out earlier last month, and if these are two from the same group ones, they have grown quite a bit and their feathers are filling in with more colours.  They are such beautiful birds.

This week when I was out walking Jet I saw a lot of movement in the bush, and out popped the bobbing heads of a group of wild turkeys. I didn't think I needed the excitement of Jet seeing them, so turned around and came home at a good pace. I went back out with my camera, but they were long gone, I could only hear them somewhere in the bush. I saw them again yesterday briefly down the road, but they were off into the bush in a few short seconds.  No doubt we will run into them again at some point, so hopefully I will get a photo. I don't usually have my camera with me if I am walking Jet, as he is not one to be calm and quiet when he spots wildlife.  (Yes, he knows all too well that he is not the gentle giant that Zuni was!)  But he is getting better about the chipmunks dashing around, and the sounds of the herons and gulls and mergansers in the river so hopefully walking him and taking photos will someday be an option....