Shaderoom, too

This is a shaderoom of a different nature. It used to be full of 1st year growth trees, tall grass and scrub. Now the sun streams in, dancing on the ground and twirling among the branches. Between me cutting the small trees, dead limbs out of bigger trees and all manner of other growing things and Himself mowing in there, we are creating a shady place for children to play. I envision the trees growing taller and sturdier with hand holds and branches to climb so that in a few years bairns will be able to play house and cowboys, climb trees, ride rocket ships, be washed up on desert islands and all sorts of imaginative pretend. . . . the other side

Nourishment

For months I planned the shade room. I sketched it out a dozen times, listed materials and calculated cost. I planned the shaderoom with an old-fashioned tin roof, cedar-trunk corner posts and a dirt floor. I planned on screening it in for a cool place to sit with my morning coffee, a shady place to serve breakfast or supper -- away from the heat of the day and the buzz of the bugs.

Himself, on the advice of those that know, talked me out of the cedar posts. They will rot and not last long. We should use treated 4 X 4 posts. Okay, I agree, but still planned the tin roof and the three, screened walls.

The day came to order the material and standing at the counter of the local lumberyard, (not a home center, mind you. a lumberyard) I am told, "You have to special order the galvanized tin; the tin is not stock material". Himself says, we may as well shingle it. "Shall we shingle it?" So, in the heat of the moment with the lumberman frazzled, tired and overworked and Himself just wanting to get the job started and done, in a matter of minutes we figure the shingles and the sheathing for the roof and idea of the tin roof ripples away.

Standing at the counter, I showed Himself the sketch I quickly drew, figuring three sheets of plywood to cover the 12 X 12 roof. It looked too good to be true; no cutting, just lay three sheets of plywood, alternate directions, up on the rafters. Look at this, I said, does this look right? Ok, he said and we recited the order, wrote the checkand hightailed it to III before the lumberman could change his mind about the delivery.

After an afternoon of hard and rewarding work setting the corner posts, it came time to sit and reflect on the afternoon's accomplishments, to admire our handiwork created from 4 X 4 posts, cement premix and pond water. You are going to be short plywood, he said, and I got my sketchpad and studied and pondered and reluctantly agreed that in those moments at the counter of the lumberyard, that while calculating our needs I did, indeed, short us on the sheathing for the roof.

So it was planned that I would pull the trailer to town the next morning, brave the wrath of the frazzled, tired and overworked lumberman and ask him to cut two sheets of plywood and "while you are at it, toss in another (60#) bundle of shingles" and, and "yes, I know you want to be out of here by noon." Himself would stay behind; he would cut and hang rafters so that upon my return we could, at full speed, prepare the roof and start to shingle.

And it was done. I pulled the trailer. I braved the wrath. I bought the material that would finish the roof of the shaderoom.

Himself executed nicely. He labored and sawed and drilled and corrected my architectural mistakes and because, in my calculations, I was south one foot there is a special corner in the shaderoom called "Nancy's corner". Because I believe that good comes of difficult situations, Nancy's corner will be commemorated. Perhaps it will be stained glass. Maybe there will be a child-sized door, a secret egress. Maybe it will just be painted differently than the rest of the cabin.

I enjoyed the planning of the shaderoom. I enjoyed the adventure of the "doing" and solving the problems and correcting the errors. I can rejoice in Nancy's corner because I dared to dream it and Himself and I dared to do it. . . . the other side

People need dreams, there's as much nourishment in 'em as food.

Dorothy Gilman

LABOR DAY LABOR - Sept 3,4, and 5 - 2005

Wow, I didn't think a Labor Day Holiday would be so busy. We stopped at II Thurs nite. Got up Friday and went to Princeton to place an order for the screen room. Can you deliver, we asked. Well, maybe, very busy, need to get done early, don't know, it would be late. Finally he said yes but late, maybe 2 or 3 in the PM. So placed our order and went on to III. I went to the neighbors and told him that the lumber yard would be delivering and where to place the materials. About 2:30 i decided to go up to the driveway and start mowing. No more than started up the lane and here comes a pickup with a big trailer loaded with our materials. Not only did he deliver right to the cabin, but he helped unload.
So we immediately started in on the screen room. We set the corner 4x4 pressure treated posts in concrete and made sure all were plum and true. Let them set overnite. Next morning, I started setting the roof trusses while, of course, "herself" went to town. There had been a slight mis-calculation on the amount of roof sheathing we would need so of course Nance went after the needed materials. Now, I am wondering, she had been planning this screen room ever since we started going down there. Spent hours measuring, planning, etc and still she came up 1 and 1/2 sheets of 4x8 plywood short. Was this planned to get her to town, as if she needed such a plan? Pretty suspicious to me. Anyway by the time she got back, all the roof trusses were installed. next step was to get the plywood up and tacked down. all went well till we got to the pieces Nance went to pick up. We had to have them cut in half so they could be hauled in the trailer. Anyway, it looked like the cuts were made in the design of a half moon. As we have no electricity i couldn't straigten out the cuts, so just slapped them on as is. Left a pretty good gap as i had to adjust for the circular cut. So, got the sheathing up, roof felt down, and shingled, in 2 days work. Not bad as the only power tool we had was a battery powered drill. Any cuts were done by hand. Now all thats left is to brace the roof and screen it in. After the screen room is done, i have a few more stumps to clear, then it will be onto the trails. It was truly a Labor Day Weekend.
And the screen room has a special corner, called "Nance's Corner". She will have to tell you about that, as I have been forbidden to even mention it. Ha . . . himself

August at III

We spent Saturday and Sunday at III (see his entry below). It was typical August weather and we did get some clearing done although it was really too humid to be doing much. We arrived Saturday morning, 8/20, and jumped right on to the hard jobs. Himself went to mowing and I went to town! I found a great thrift shop and checked out a couple of other shops in Bethany. I also filled the jeep with gas, which hurt, as I had to pay $2.57/gal. That is the most I have ever had to pay for gas in my entire life. I only record it here so that I can look back in 20 years and either say, "gee, we were still burning gas then?" or "wow! I have to pay $7.70/gal now -- that was cheap back in the olden days!" I wonder which it will be? Maybe we will be running our vehicles on soy bean oil in 2025???

While himself runs around playing commando or Rambo with the buzzing insects (we are ordering him a holster in which to carry his super-duper, wasp and hornet spray -- he's the fastest draw in the West!), I continue to make improvements. I carried a 1/2 ton of broken tile from the top of the drive to the wettest part of the driveway one weekend. Wait, to clarify, I dug them out of the brush, threw them into a trailer and carted them down the hill. No way could I have carried that much broken tile and be done already. Last weekend, I shoveled out the fire pit (2 trailer loads) and carted the ashes up to another place in the drive that has a low spot. Previously, I edged the sloping drive with cement block. I figure the blocks will allow water to run through but will hold the ashes that I have now carted up and dumped. Ashes are much easier to dig than the red, Missouri clay.

Now, to be fair, himself cooked gormet meals all weekend and maybe even washed the dishes. He also revved up the chain saw and cleared some more scrub and cut some trees. He sent me into the brush and tall grass (he really doesn't like the insects -- case you couldn't tell) to clear first year growth trees so he could mow that patch down. In addition to the cabin clearing being a fire break, by keeping it mowed we will cut down on the risk of ticks too.

So, all and all, we enjoy each and every weekend that we spend at III. We have so many plans for when it cools off, for Fall, that I don't suppose we can possibly get them all done. One project we do want to finish is to get the Shade Room up and roofed. That will make life simpler and more organized and we'll hang the hand tools in there and park the Mule and the lawn mowers there too. That will free up the front porch, now cluttered. The trails, too, are a priority for both of us. We can't wait to get some trails cut into the "deep" woods, down to the river. We disagree on which direction we need to go to get to the river -- but we will find it! And this fall we will walk in to where we want to eventually build our house and decide on the layout so that next summer we can get my barn (garage) built. We will probably put running water to it and have a stool and shower in a corner of the barn. Of course, that will mean a septic tank or leach field so there will be plenty to think about for next year. The planning is almost as much fun as the doing!

And so go our days at III . . . the other side

yellow jackets demise and other things

well, we went to Shag III last weekend 8/20/05 to complete my covert mission to search and destroy my terrorist yellow jacket nest. I waited till late afternoon to locate the nest, then marked it with spray paint so i could find it when it got dark.
about 8:30 I decided it was time, so donned my cammo gear, and my super flying insect killer that shoots a stream 50 feet, and headed out on my mission. I arrived at the nest at 8:32 P.M. and discovered a few of the yellow jackets we're on patrol. As they had not yet spotted me, i decided it was now or never. I let loose with one steady burst and totally doused the nest, walking toward it as I fired. One full can into the hole, then I ran like h___. Thats not heck, either.
I checked the next morning around 5:30 A.M. Did not see any activity, so let loose with another long burst directly into the hole. As of 11:30 A.M. there was no activity, so will assume the nest has been destroyed. I will keep my eye on it though. If i spot more, i will use gas on them this time.
I am getting my equipment gathered for a fall push on the 4-wheeler trails. I now have ammased 5, yes thats right, five chain saw blades, so when I start into the timber, I won't come out for awhile,
We have started pushing outwards from the driveway towards the timber line, clearing out small trees and scrubs and tall weeds. It will mean alot more mowing to keep it cleared, but this will be good to keep cleared for no better reason than a fire break if there ever happened to be a fire.
We seem to have cleared the herd of mice that were nesting inside and outside of the cabin. After putting about 20 boxes of d-con out, I have not seen any indications of mice in or around the cabin. I imagine when it gets colder they will be looking for a place to winter over, but they will only meet death. . . . himself

the battle goes on and on and on

We have come to find out that there will be a never ending supply of insects. Each type seems to have its own time of the year that it becomes a nuisance. I have battled the carpenter bees to a standstill, the ticks, I no longer just flick off. When i spot one crawling on me, I take a bic lighter and burn it off. I singe a few hairs, but why just flick the tick for him to attact later. I prefer to fry them. Now, the yellow jackets. I knew we had a nest, and i knew the general area where the nest was. I have never bothered them, nor provoked them in any way. However, they have attacked me for no reason. Just because I mowed over their nest is no reason, but they did. Now this nest is living on borrowed time. The next time we go down, I will wait till dark and mount a night attact. I will douse the nest with gasoline, then use some lighter fluid to make a trail from the gasoline, then i will ignite the nest. This will be a personnal attact as they have stung me several times. After 2 weeks, the stings still itch.
After visiting with my friend an co-worker Mr Ron M, I have finally convinced Nance to purchase some pressure treated lumber to use for the screen room instead of cedar trees. Although all the books and websites say cedar was used for fence posts, I will lean to the advice of Mr. Ron.
I am looking forward to this fall when the leaves have fallen and I can get started in ernest on my trails. There will be places for small bridges, and I am thinking that railroad ties my be the answer to bridge construction. There seem to be plenty around when I haven't had any use for them, but now that I do, well, we'll see.
All for now.
Boi

Peace of mind

Life is sweet, tender and complete
When you find the bluebird of happiness.
You will find perfect peace of mind
When you find the bluebird of happiness.

Our wildlife refuge houses a number of bluebirds -- or a few, very active bluebirds! I can't tell them apart so don't know if it the same birds all the time or many different ones. Whichever, they are pretty! When the sun glints off their backs, they sizzle! Bluebirds are songbirds and soon, I hope, I will know their song without seeing the bird.

ITS HOT!!!!!!!!!!

We went to Shag. II on July 15. It is a Friday and hotter than __ll. We did mow and because of the lack of rain, the grass hadn't grown much so we completed the job in record time. Of course the drive belt on my rider keeps coming off, and strangely enough it is always when I am going up the steepest part of a bank. So when the belt comes off, i go rolling down the hill backwards, as without the drive belt, the brakes alone won't stop the mower. So, full speed down the hill backwards, 95 degrees, and hoping to get the mower to stop under a shade tree. Well, that never happens either, so wherever the damm mower stops is where I get to put the drive belt back on, and its never in the shade. Anyway, I purchased new drive belts and installed them, so hopefully that will cure the problem.
Saturday: DEFIANCE. It happened in the first degree. I was shocked and MAD!!!!!All I wanted to do was get to SHAG III early while it was cool, but no. Someone had to prove how independent she was, so we lost about 3 hours.
Anyway, when we go to III, it was hot and humid. I mowed and by the time I was done, I was covered with dust and dirt. Nance watered the trees, but was taking breaks everytime I looked. The temperature inside the cabin was 97 degrees and climbed higher after we opened the windows. With no breeze to draw out the hot air, it was decided that we would go back to II and spend the nite. We could have stayed at III but when its to hot and dangerous to work its best to move on.
As there has been rain since we have been to either place there will be alot of mowing to do, and we have to go to K.C. for grandchildren's birthdays for awhile, so the pressure will be on.

Dog days: a period of stagnation or inactivity

This is a good way to spend a period of inactivity.

The brightest of the stars in Canis Major (the big dog) is Sirius, which also happens to be the brightest star in the night sky. In fact, it is so bright that the ancient Romans thought that the earth received heat from it.

according to http://wilstar.com/dogdays.htm

And now we have one theory on why the hot, humid summer days are called the dog days of summer.

Free falls and dog days

I peek in here, checking to see if Himself has posted; I haven't had time but I thought maybe he would have extra time at work. He hasn't been inspired, evidently, and since I am tired of seeing that tick in here when I bop in, I'll add a short note just to move the tick down the page.

We didn't get to Shag III this past weekend as we needed a weekend at home and because Iowa has been in the midst of a heat wave. 90 plus degree temperatures and terrific dew points result in + 100 heat indexes. (YOU look up the plural to index -- I don't know it and don't want to take the time to look it up!) Anyway, it was too bloomin' hot to be without electricity, he said. I did remind him that we come from pioneer stock but that, nor the call of the wild, would lure him away from the air conditioner.

As it was, it was good that we planned on being home as Dana took a free fall from a 20' ladder and now is laid up with an injured foot. He had to wait all weekend to see an orthopedic specialist today. He will have to ride to Des Moines tomorrow for a scan of the foot and then go back on Wednesday to consult with the specialist again. Meanwhile, he's surviving on ice packs and pain pills. Poor boy. Poor lucky boy, when you think what it might have been!

To help a little, we had the small Frey over, some. They are always good and offer plenty of free entertainment! We enjoyed every minute of their visits.

okay, the plural of index "can be spelled either indexes or indices" . . .
"Investopedia" says

A True Story. The End.

Female deer tick with dime for size comparison. (borrowed from http://www.ent.iastate.edu/imagegallery/ticks/iscapfwd.html)

Excerpt from Nance's letter, 7/05/05:

I did come home with a tick, tho. That part wasn’t good. Lanny tried to remove it for me but we didn’t have a very good pair of tweezers and he was hanging on for dear life (the tick, that is). So, today, I went to the doctor and had her remove the tick's head. The doc also gave me a one-day antiobiotic, just in case. Anyway, it’s all “behind” me now.

And after all that, I think that Himself is going to sue me for "pain and suffering". Says he has been traumatised!

Maddie Mae, secret agent

Her daddy calls her Agent 99 when she wears this outfit and I think she is adorable in it.

Madeline isn't into fishing yet but I'm sure she will be as much as Morghan and Jack love it. Another year, and we'll have Maddie's picture in here with her first fish and probably Gabrielle and Joey's too!

And PaPa. Someday, PaPa might catch his first fish and get his picture taken!

1st Visit, revisited

This photo was taken on our first visit to Shag III and believe it or not, the photo was taken on New Years Eve day 2004. Obviously, it was a mild, winter's day. Traci and Craig and the KC bairns met us there and we just hung out for a few hours. I have to admit that I enjoy it more in summer @ 90 degrees than in December but I am looking forward to fall and I would like to try to learn to snowshoe or cross country ski so I will like it in winter, too. And in winter, I won't have to worry about the ticks!

Mule

The "Mule" is another form of recreation at Shag III. Here is Craig, Gabrielle and Joey riding the Mule. Joe looks like he might be asleep in the photo; I don't think he is but more than one child has taken a nap while riding! All five of the bairns love the Mule now and fight over who's turn it is and beg and plead for rides. If the Mule isn't running, it is not unusual to find one or more babes just up and sitting on the thing. We don't dare leave the key in the ignition anymore as certain little children are very observant and know all about which things to push and which to turn and we don't want anyone under the age of 7 years driving yet.

The biggest fish to date

Tony caught this beauty (?) not too long after he dropped his line in. As far as I know, it was the biggest catch of the weekend.

Our pond

Our pond is muddy, not pretty at all. It's source is runoff down the red Missouri clay hills. Some day we may be able to clear and grass the natural waterway and clear the pond up some but for now, the brown pond does not keep the fisherman out.

Tony and Dana both caught some nice cats out of the pond (and they throw them back in to be caught again) and below are pictures of Morghan and Jack with their catches.

I have come to believe that no one is happier, more joyful, than an avid fisherman with a fish on the line. When I see that elation, that pure joy, I wish I were a fisherman.

And more fish! 

Jack Gibson Frey with his chub or his blue gill. 7/2005

There are fish in the pond! 

Morghan Grace with her nice blue gill (???) 7/2005

Watch out for the trees! 

Lanny may grumble about mowing but he enjoys it. If he didn't, he wouldn't be in this situation.

the LJ is back (Memorial Day Weekend) 2005

We had a great Memorial Day weekend at Shag III. I took the day "off" Friday and went to Shag II. I mowed all day getting the lake lots mowed and the cabin lots mowed. Then packed up and headed for Shag III. Although it was wet from all the rain, I drove the jeep in and unpacked. Then fired up the mower and started mowing all we had cleared. I don't remember what time it was, around 5:30 or so, Nance showed up. She had gotten off work early and headed to Shag III, BUT only after stopping in Bethany to shop. Anyway she brought a new grill, just a small one, but it will help in the cooking. Although cooking over a campfire is special, it sometimes takes to long for the coals to burn down, and setting a time for supper is difficult.
Saturday we got up and went to work. We installed the sink/stove combo out of the Leurene Lucille, so we now have running water and a inside stove to cook on if we need to.
Then I worked on a new trail to meet up with the one Nance had started and had come to a dead end when she came to a steep ravine. My trail started and ended up on the other side of the ravine where her trail ended. Although the ravine is steep on both sides, we decided it would be fine for the 4-wheeler. So now we have two major trails started, we now need to join them up, and will try to do so soon.
Nance also worked on putting a 2 foot high fence around her garden to keep the deer out. I'm still laughing at that.
Dana, Erica and the Small-Frey came down for the day. They we're spending the weekend at Shag II. I finally got to see Dana catch a fish. His luck usually isn't very good at fishing, but he came thru this time.
He also caught a few ticks, as did everyone, but that's life in the timber.

Weekend of June 4, 2005
I came to Shag III by myself as we had brought Granny along for a stay at Shag II.
I should say we did bring Granny to Shag III to visit as she had not been there before. After looking the place over and my dumping a mouse practically in her lap(which caused Granny to scream and kick) they left for Shag II and left me to fend for myself.
Storms were predicted for the nite, bad storms. I grilled my pork steak around 7:30 PM. I was about halfway done when in rolled the storms. The wind blew, lightning, and rain, with tornadoes all around. The tornadoes were spotted north and south of Shag III, so I spend some time wondering where I would go if one approached. My guess is it would have been to one of the deep ravines near the cabin. The storms finally ended and I thought I would have a good nites sleep, however, about 10:30 PM here comes the stupid mouse that I dumped on granny. He seen me and went back out, so I baited a trap and set it. A while later here he comes again, scurrrys along the wall, skids to a stop to check out the baited trap, and SNAP. Another one gone.
Slept good, got up next morning, made coffee and ate a roll, then went to work cutting more stumps.
Then packed up and Granny and Nance picked me up and we headed for home.
Now a word or two about the outrageous comments a certain male cousin has been making on our blog site. I want everyone to know this guy is old and senile, has not a clue as to what he is saying or talking about. If any of you ever get to meet him, I guarantee you will never forget him, although you probably will wish you could.
Actually, he is one of the most ornery people I have ever met. He actually could be a Hofmeister if he was a little better looking. I remember only good times with Clint. He made my life easier when I was stationed at Ft. Carson. He would take me motorcycle riding, sightseeing, and fed me well. For this I will always be grateful. But he still doesn't know what he's talking about.
We are heading to Shag III again this weekend, June 17. I again will take Fri. off and go mow at Shag II, then off to III. Hopefully things will dry out a little so the mowing will ease up.
Boi