Water, water everywhere
I took my plastic water tank with 25 gallons in it to put up on its blocks. This will provide us with water for several months of visits. To get it off the truck and onto its blocks, I lashed a quick tripod and suspended my little block and tackle from it. 25 gallons plus tank is over two hundred pounds, but I can raise it with one hand with the proper gear. Then it was onto cleanup chores.
Five, Six, Pick up Sticks
There is a lot of downed timber every spring. I couldn't clear every trail, but I did tidy up in a couple of places. And I dropped a big ol' dying tree that was a bit too close to the cabin. I was worried about my ability to bring it down exactly where I wanted it to go, since it was leaning more toward the cabin than away from it. So, I threw my big half-inch manilla rope through a high-up fork and tied the tree to another tree downhill and further away from the cabin. Then I very carefully started gnawing away at it with a chain saw. When it started to go, it very gently swung around at the end of its tether and smashed down right where I wanted it. A few minutes later, I had a nice woodpile stacked up as well as a few big logs for another project.
Still playing with blocks
I went into L'burg to find as many cap blocks for my retaining wall as I could find. I had six pallets of wall block delivered last week, but I needed some smaller ones, too. Lowe's is discontinuing this item, so I was hoping to find 40-60 of these left. They had 65. I bought 'em out. You'd think they'd give me a discount for ridding them of this product, but you would be wrong. Oh, well. I bought some iron rations to stock the cabin while I was in town. Returning to Wilderstead, I ate my supper and settled in for the evening. Went to bed reasonably early and got nine hours of sleep. Got up in the morning, made coffee, and began to plan today's chores.
Don't leave me in the ditch
Seasonal runoff tumbling down toward the creek has been carving a deep gash in the lower hillside. The little ravine has lengthened every spring, and now is almost up to the path that runs parallel to the creek. I wished I had had some rip-rap to fill it in; a permanent fix would require installing a pipe, which I also didn't have. So I improvised. I used logs and iron standards to fill in the ditch. This will break the force of the water coming down when the streams are in spate, and the way I've lodged them in there should prevent them from merely floating off with the water heading for the creek. Over time, of course, the wood will soften and collapse, but I can either keep filling the ditch or find a permanent solution later.
Mulch ado about nothing
The big thing I had to get done this weekend was putting something on the raw floor of the emplacement where my tractor shed is going to go. Two inches of gravel would be the best, but I didn't have the means of hauling that much stone, so I opted for mulch. The lawn and garden place I went to asked me what kind of mulch I wanted (true Hoosiers know all three colors); I didn't care. Returning to the holler, I spread the mulch over the shed site. Next time I go out, I can finally assemble the frame, stretch the skin over it, and then park my tractor in it.
Jesus wants me for a sunbeam
After all was over and done with and before I cleaned up the cabin to leave, I took a while to eat lunch. I sat in the sunshine on the cabin step and just enjoyed our little bit of Paradise. Because the holler is so steep-sided, we don't get much wind, so even cool days feel a bit warmer. And when the leaves are off the trees, even a winter/early spring sun shining down in the afternoon makes everything nice and cozy. I could have lingered there much longer, but there was plenty yet to do back home to get ready for Easter tomorrow, so it was heigh-ho, yoicks! and away.
A little conservation work
Finally ready for shed installation