Jeez… what happened to summer? One minute I’m posting about the 4th of July, the next minute it’s October. While I’d like to post a whole plethora of photos showing all the cool stuff I’ve been working on this summer, unfortunately, I’ve just been treading water with mundane maintenance projects. If I’m honest, I’ve been a bit uninspired the last few months. Whatever the version of “writer’s block” is for a tinkerer like me, I’ve got it for sure.
Work has definitely been a factor. The project I’ve been working on this year has left me mentally drained most days. Thankfully we’re on the tail end of the project and I’m hoping that I’ll be able to refocus some of my mental bandwidth back to nonwork-related activities. While I’m usually pretty good about being able to shut off work mode when I go home for the day, it’s been all but impossible this year with so much on the line. Probably the worst part is waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to go back to sleep. The finish line is in sight, at least as far as my role in the project is concerned.
It hasn’t been all work and no play. Before school started, we took a trip out to the PNW and spent a week with my Brother. This is typically a solo trip for me, but this year the whole family came along. It was actually a very relaxing and enjoyable trip. We just took a series of day trips in and around Portland – Japanese Garden, Rose Test Garden, Mt. Hood/Trillium Lake, Columbia River Gorge, Oregon coast, etc. Low key, lots of nature… just how I like it.
This past weekend was a solo trip to the farm to help my folks out with some projects in preparation for a big family get-together next weekend. We focused mostly on two-man jobs – things my Dad needed an extra hand with that were too much for Mom to help out with. It was an odd mix of tasks to say the least, but everything went about as smoothly as one could expect and we knocked out all of the items on the list. The first order of business was installing a basketball hoop. My folks had a new concrete patio and garage apron poured a few weeks ago. He had the crew install the base post while they were on the job. Sure beats the heck out of the setup I grew up with (gravel driveway, chasing the ball into the trees whenever it bounced wrong on the odd rock).
The next item on the list was to get the pergolas anchored to the patio. A lot of measuring, leveling, and checking for square and plumb. The end result was that everything ended up being within 1/8” of where it should be. More than close enough given the fact that everything will likely move a little with the seasons.
After lunch, we took apart the sliding door to replace the bottom brush seal. That door is heavy! It was also a bit scary laying it on the table to access the bottom. It was only when we were done that I admitted to Dad that I was pretty worried about cracking the glass. He admitted that he was pretty sure that we were going to end up breaking the door as well. Thankfully we didn’t.
The last big project of the day was to move a ~3000lb granite boulder from along a fence line to the corner of the new patio. This project was on the ‘nice to have’ list, not something that had to be done before the party next weekend. However, we were on such a roll, we decided to see if we could get it done. As we were gathering up chains and cables, Dad said we might as well see if we could even get the rock pulled out before hooking up the rear fork attachment to the tractor. A quick trip down the road and up through the hayfield, we were at the spot. When Dad mentioned where the rock was on the property, I had an idea of which one he was thinking of and was dreading it a bit (I used to play in that spot as a kid). Sure enough, it was one of the two big rocks I was thinking of – buried in a thick patch of trees with no good access. We threw a couple of chokers around the rock and hooked it up to the tractor with an 80’ cable that was just long enough to reach. The first attempt only moved the rock a foot or so before one of the chokers slipped off. I re-routed the chokers, added a piece of log chain to create a better basket, and wouldn’t you know it, the rock pulled out to the edge of the field without an issue.
As Dad said after we pulled the rock out out... there's nothing like red power! (XJSuperman knows what I mean...)
We headed back to the shop to install the fork attachment, and then back out to the field to see if we could get it home. Dad got it on the forks without too much trouble. Better yet, the front tires were still touching the ground (at least enough that he could still steer for the most part). We debated on chaining the rock to the forks to keep it from slipping off. I told Dad that if he could get it out of the hayfield without dropping it, it would be smooth sailing the rest of the way home. Again, no issues. The look on Mom’s face when we came rolling up the driveway was priceless. She couldn’t believe that it only took us an hour or so to get it pulled out. Interestingly, the rock we thought was gray ended up being a mix of red, orange, and black once Mom power washed it. It actually ties in really well with the house paint, cedar boards, and black brackets on the pergolas.
By that time, it was getting just late enough in the day to dig into the electrical for the pergolas. Dad and I decided that there was no sense in trying to push our luck any further, so we enjoyed the rest of the afternoon and evening with a few cold beers while he grilled chicken. No better way to end the day. Sunday went smoothly as well. In the morning, we made a trip to Menards for some supplies. Once home, I knocked out the installation of the power boxes along with making custom length extension cords to connect everything to the house. I would have liked to help with installing the lights, but I had to head home. Mom and Dad had the lights installed by the time I got home, so it ended up not being that big of a deal.
It was an awesome weekend working with my Dad. I really love spending time with him doing stuff like this… we make a great team. Mom even said that it was fun watching us work together because it was if we both knew what the other was thinking, and how we could just chat and crack jokes instead of asking for a tool or talking about what the next step should be. We’ve heard similar before after working on projects with other family members and friends. Our joke is that we’ve been working together for over 40 years now, we ought to have it figured out by now.
Hopefully more to come soon…
, only Alaska and British Columbia. Never seen a bobcat either, tbh I think that would be more exciting to me than a bear.
