4/1-3/03 I went up to the property for 3 days: Tuesday through Thursday.

I arrived at 11:15. It was 45 degrees and clear. The snow had melted to the point where I was able to drive all the way to the trailer in one shot. I was glad I got the gate put back together and closed last week. As soon as I moved in, Bert and Ernie came by for a visit. Bert ate the only apple core I had and they both wanted me to pet them for as long as I would.

I went to work cutting and fitting planks and got a few more done. It is really looking nice and it looks like I will have enough planks to do the job. I had planned to use some of the slabs if I ran out. To help conserve the planks a little, I left a hole in the deck in front of the front door where the stoop will go. I have decided to use slabs instead of planks for the stoop deck for a couple reasons. One is to help make sure I have enough planks for the porch deck, but the other is that I think it will look better to see the ends of slabs rather than planks, since those ends will be visible. I also decided to mount them on two horizontal round logs to add to the effect. That way all you will see from the porch are logs, and "hand hewn" planks, except for the door and window frames.

I could hear the gray jays in the trees so I went out on the upper roadway to see if I couldn't coax them over for peanuts. I couldn't see them but I could hear them. Pretty soon, one of them flew over to a nearby tree so I could see him and he just sat there for a long time and wouldn't come down. So I put some peanuts on a log and stepped quite a ways away from it. Then he flew to the log and took the peanuts. At the same time, a second jay made a close pass at me and I could see that it was Scruffy. He turned around and landed on my hand and took some peanuts. Then both birds flew off and didn't come back. I don't know why they are so timid now. Maybe they are getting plenty of food somewhere else, or maybe they had a scary experience, or maybe it's seasonal. Anyway it was good to see them and to see that Scruffy is still healthy. The bump above his leg is still there but it seems to be smaller and he seems to use both feet with no problem.

On Wednesday, I cut and fitted more planks. Larry stopped by for a visit and to see what I was doing. He thought the deck looked good and he especially liked the rough-hewn adze effect on the planks. He said that it adze to the rustic effect of the house. (The pun is mine). Larry is looking and feeling good after recovering from his fall off his horse. He is routinely walking two miles a day now.

On Thursday, I cut and fitted more planks and now have covered the entire deck except for six holes that I will fill in with remnants. Some of the holes are wider than the planks I have left, so I will have to rip pieces to fit in the spaces. I haven't figured it out yet, but I am going to end up with only a few square feet of plank remnants by the time I'm finished. The scraps that I got from ripping the plank edges are not much more than slivers; I don't think the whole pile of them weighs more than 10 pounds. So it makes me feel good when I think of that big 55 foot log and to know that except for that pile of slivers, a huge mound of gwiz chips, and a big pile of sawdust, the whole thing will be on the deck.

I left for home at 1:15.