Getting Started

This is the old porch. It almost sitting on the ground at the right end in the picture and right there by the tank on the grill, the porch was 3 or 4" away from the cabin. We had leveled the porch many times over the years and there were cement block, 4X4 scraps, other various boards and rocks under there trying to hold the porch up.

Still, it was kind of cute, wasn't it?

Rural renewal

The old porch supports had frozen and thawed and heaved until the old porch floor had pulled away from the cabin. There was a gap wide enough to lose a baby through! Well, a baby cat, anyway. So a week or so ago, Himself and I braced the porch roof, took out the old porch columns and floor and then put new treated lumber back. We kept the roof so that dictated the size of the porch, otherwise it might have been nice to make it another foot or two deep. I had hoped to keep the floor boards but we ended up using 2" treated lumber. This floor will never sag!

Work in Process

The new posts are in and we have started to frame the walls. This was still the first day of the job, in July.

A new skill

Himself had never built a door before but because of the bad luck we had with the boughten ones at III, he read up on the process, borrowed his friend's dowel jig (or something like that) and went to work. Here is the frame. He has drilled, glued and braced the boards and we were getting ready to put the screen on.
We had screen on the front front the July trip. This day was pretty nice! Warm but not horrid and working in the shade with a breeze, made it all bearable.

Finishing work

Notice that we have all the latest equipment and tools! Here is Himself using a wooden chair for a saw horse! He and I make do a lot. We can't, of course, run to Menards when we don't have a tool or piece of material. This day, we figured out how to rip a 1X4 into a 1X2 by nailing a jig on the porch floor. I think this is the fun part for me -- the improvising. The figuring out how to, part. Well, and the fact that we can finish a project. That helps!



See the little metal bed head and foot boards leaning on the porch? I'm going to make a little daybed out of them for the porch so little people can nap or sleep on the porch.

I found the camera timer!

Sorry! We had a little time after finishing the porch and putting the tools away. I played with the camera and found the timer. Here we are on our new, screened porch! Using the timer might be a bit dangerous!

Trying Tony's trick

I have a long arm, well two long arms, so thought I would try taking our picture while holding the camera. Obviously, I need more practice -- and I should wait until we've showered and cleaned up after a long, hot day working outside!

You can see how impressed Himself is with the whole process!

Done Deal

And here is Himself enjoying the fruits of his labors . . .

I said that I think the (new, sturdy) porch will hold the cabin up for another 40 years!

We sat out on the porch last evening, after our day's work was done. An evening breeze came up as the day cooled off. There wasn't one wayward mosquito or fly in the porch with us! It was so nice I wanted to sleep out there!

6 feet high and risin'

This was the most water Himself and I had ever seen in the ditch. There is a culvert down in that ditch that carries water under the road and into the lake. Normally the culvert can keep up. We have seen water in there a few times. Once, in early spring, the culvert was frozen and the water backed up -- but it didn't back up this deep! That ditch in the photo is holding about 8 feet of water. I am amazed and shocked at this and simply cannot imagine what people in Iowa City, Cedar Falls and along the Missouri River feel when the water comes up and up and UP, in their homes.

How high's the water, Mama?

It has been a wet spring. No doubt about that. The pond has been full each time we managed to slosh our way into III this year. The tail end of June we managed a day and a night at III but as you can see, the pond is way high. Last week we snagged a few days at Too and on the 4th day it rained. Seven inches. We stayed until the next day and with more rain in the forecast and thunder in the southwest, we hightailed it home only to find there had been eight inches in Creston! Creston has more concrete and less clay so we didn't get muddy or stuck in the mud in Creston. We will sneak down to Too again this weekend. I'm packing. Let's see, umbrella. Check. mud boots. Check. rain coat . . .

KAMAKAZIE LAWNMOWER

The riding lawnmower I purchased from one of Craig's friends for a whopping $250.00 turned out to be a real lemon. It did last about 5 years, but it was a constant battle with the drive belt. Then this spring, it wouldn't even start, although it was the fault of field mice that built a huge nest inside the engine. I spent an entire day dis-assembling the mower, stripping down all the covers so I could get the nest out. Finally, I got it started, and all was well, except for the drive belt, so after mowing all day, and just about being finished, the engine started acting up again. I then decided it had one more chance, and only one. If it quit again for any reason, it was history. It started cutting in and out, so before it quit altogether, I decided I was going to drive it into the big ravine about 25 yards from the cabin. I put it in high gear, opened the throttle, aimed for the ravine, and prepared myself to eject when the mower went over. No such luck. It died about 2 feet from the ravine. So after a few choice words, I decided to take some of the new parts I had installed from the mower. Just then I hear the nastiest words I have ever heard from herself, cursing that damm mower. I then realized that sounded just like what I had said, and just had to laugh. We both laughed, left the mower sitting, and went back to the cabin.
boi

Volunteers and No Shows

Last summer, you may recall, I babied some cherry tomatoes along and let them go to seed so that I would have volunteer tomatoes come this summer. If your memory fails you and you want to see a picture of the little cherry beauties and the cage I constructed to keep deer and bear out, go here (I make these links only because it is fun and because I can!)

This year, there is not one single volunteer tomato at III. Not one! Not fair!

However, probably to appease me, the Larkspur has volunteered and was in good bloom this last trip to III. Isn't this a pretty view of the cabin?

Flood Stage on Sandy Creek

We had no idea. I joked earlier in here about high water at III. We had heard about all the rain in Missouri and knew that the rain in south central Iowa would end up in Missouri but we didn't realize nor even begin to imagine the amount of water that tore down the little creek that is our easterly border.

We rode the River Trail Saturday, putting up the new signs. When we got to the eastern most point of our trail, we were both shocked. Near as we could tell, about 10-15' of our property had been washed away. The flooding river took the bank, the fence and 2 or three 75' trees. We just sat there with our mouths hanging open, trying to take it all in. Our 4-wheeler trail now is just a few feet from the edge of the river bank -- with a 15 or 20' drop. That river bank and fence was still here just 3 weeks ago when we plowed in and rode the trails.

Looking across the river bed, we could see the grass just laid flat from the force of the water. It is hard to guess but the water must have been up 15-20 feet. Large trees on the other bank were also washed down. I was angry in a way. I knew there was no way to argue with Mother Nature. What is done, is done. But I yelled, anyway, "give them back! Give back those trees! and I should have just saved my breath.

There's some good logging down there in Sandy Creek if only we had a way to get those great trees up and out of there.

Trail signs

Son's family gifted Himself with more trail signs this past Christmas. As you all have probably heard us whining this Spring that we haven't been! we haven't gone! it is raining again! the lane is pure mud! you might then understand that just this past weekend we finally got most of the signs put up.

And isn't this fun! Three signs at one intersection.

The signs will be so helpful for visitors out on the four wheeler and helpful for grandchildren when they are old enough to run the trails themself. Okay. Who am I kidding, it is helpful to me! As I don't drive the 4-wheeler a lot, when I do I sometimes get misplaced. Okay, Okay. Sometimes I get lost as to where I am in the scheme of things. These signs help me and they look pretty cool too! Thanks, Craig and Traci!

the order of things

This is the right and proper way that a project should be accomplished.























The man of the house (cabin) should read the instructions . . .

then he should figure out how the instructions are wrong and make corrections so that the finished project is right on . . .

then turn it over to his wife to go out and enjoy!

Thank you, sir!

Thank you, children, for the great Christmas gift!

I will be using it often.

How high's the water, Mama?

Flood pants. Yep. Think we are going to need them. High water pants or puddle jumpers. Hipwaders? Or maybe a tractor and chains. Can't tell you how many days in the last week, the heavy rains have been just sitting over the Iowa/Missouri border. However, Himself and I have an opportunity to run to Mo for three days so we are scadaddling. We shove off tomorrow after work and we'll be home Monday.

We'll go to Too and get the mowing done and check on the new Harley and then to III to rough it in the rain and/or mud. Even if we have to walk in and cart food and supplies in on the 4-wheeler, we are going!

Maybe we'll have some high jinx and adventure. Maybe there will be stories to write upon our return. Maybe Himself will be (finally) inspired to add to this journal again. Or maybe not.

Next generation

I have been wanting one of these for the last couple of years. Here, a while back, I e-mailed my friend at Too and told her I was looking for a golf cart. I got an immediate response back that she was wanting to sell her Harley; she would keep the Cushman but she had a Harley for sale.

Sold! I screamed back at her. It is mine! Don't tell anyone else. I want it! And now I have it. 3 wheeled. 20 years old, I suppose. Or older. It was dirty inside and out. But with Himself's help and a bottle of bleach, we have that scooter cleaned up and ready to roll!

Himself took on the chore of cleaning the air filter of 10 year's worth of dirt and grime. I got a bucket of bleach water and started in and soon Himself joined me. Another neighbor brought a bottle of "BAM!" and we gotter cleaned up.

By the time we left today, she was running strong!

Oh. Then I put up a canopy to help keep her dry. I put it up yesterday too and a thunderstorm with wind came through and knocked the canopy down. I put it up again. We'll put her in the shed for the winters but hopefully she can stand out, at hand, for the summers.

After all that was said and done, Himself said, "now we have joined the older generation." I said, "don't you believe it!"

III. Finally.

We have had lawn mower trouble this year. Okay, I haven’t. Himself has had lawn mower problems. Himself has had plenty of lawn mower trouble this spring. One earlier visit to Missouri, all three riding mowers didn’tstart or gave him major trouble.

Himself prides himself on being able to coddle, cobble, coax and/or bribe a mower to run long after most people would have given up and junked the thing. It is a matter of pride with him – one that I do not understand but after 38 years I have (almost) come to accept it. However, on those occasions when he is absolutely infuriated with a machine and ranting and raving fire and brimstone, I beg him to go get a new one. I plead. I beat my chest and tear my hair – go, go! Go buy a new mower!

But then he tinkers and tickles and gets that damn mower going again and we both forget the awful frustration and the awful language and we let it go . . . again.

This time, we had good luck at Too. We came down Friday evening and Himself started my mower. Oh wait. He and I started my mower as it takes two – one to sit on the seat and turn the key and the other to apply a small hand tool somewhere inside the engine compartment -- but anyway it started and then his did too and we mowed all of Too that evening. Sigh; what a relief.

Saturday we got up and went to III. The lane has been so muddy what with all the rain but we got in and Himself got the mower started with relatively little trouble. My job was to take the 4-wheeler up the lane and pick up all the sticks and branches. I got a head start so I almost managed to keep ahead of the mower but of course I can’t pick up sticks while seated on the 4-wheeler so I was off more than I was on and at some point Himself caught and passed me. He went on and I cut and pruned and picked up branches and all was good. Then it happened. The mower threw a belt -- which it is want to do. A trip to the cabin for tools and equipment and Himself went to work putting wrong to right. I started back down the lane, continuing my clean up effort. I barely got worked all the way down the lane bending, picking up and throwing sticks when the call came on the walkie talkie. Bring the marine battery out of the cabin and the jumper cables. "Can do; over and out; roger!" (hey, I watched Sky King every Saturday morning when I was a kid!) I pull the 4-wheeler right up to the porch and “walk” the battery out the door and across the porch. One big “lift” and I have the battery up on the front rack of the mechanical mule.

(At this point, I am reminding myself that some people actually have to go to the gym and pay real money to build muscle. Not me tho! I have plenty of opportunity to build muscle in my “real” life.)

Up the hill with the 4-wheeler and Himself hooks up the battery cables. Finally with a few coaxing, creative words, the mower starts. Himself jumps on the beast and patting himself on the back is out there mowing again. I jump back on my steady steed, the 4-wheel Mule, and I am back down the hill to more brush cutting and trail clearing.

An hour goes by and Himself has mowed “the top” and here he comes down the Lane. I am still puttering around, working, when I notice the mower is acting up. It seems it is losing power. Himself stops, starts, stops again. Eventually I realize that Himself is now driving that mower down the hill in a beeline to the big ravine. Whoa! My mind takes in the series of events and I realize that, oh d_ _ _, I left the camera at Too and he is going to drive that thing over the edge into the ravine! I follow him but eventually the mower dies two feet from the edge. Himself is off the mower. He is pulling the (new) battery out, cussing and stomping. I think that he is about to push the mower over the edge so in an effort to lighten the mood, I stomp up and curse that stupid machine “You @#$*th^* *&^%e# machine, I spit out. That took Himself completely off guard because I never talk like that and he straightens up and laughs out loud. We both stand there and laugh about how he was going to literally run that mower over the edge and watch it crash to the bottom . . . then we turn and walk back to the cabin.

Showing their age . . .

Last visit to Mo, weekend of May 24 & 25, I cleaned out the top shelves of the kitchen cupboards. I took out this entertainment page. Recognize anyone? Of course not! You are all too young. But the date was July 13, 1988.

That is about a month shy of 20 years! No wonder that paper was getting a little ratty! :)

I used brown paper grocery bags to replace the entertainment page. I dated and signed the bag so that someone, in 20 years time, will have a smile when they decide it is time to clean cupboards! I hope it is me, again!

Welcome sign is out

but will we ever see it again? I want to go to Mo even if we have to walk down the drive way. Himself has taken a personal offense at the weather and seems he is going to get even with it by not going there . . .