7/11-13/06 I went up to the property for 3 days: Tuesday through Thursday.

I got a late start because I had a doctor's appointment in the morning and I bought 11 sacks of concrete mix. I arrived at the property at 3:40. There was no frog in the gate can and the mosquitoes were thick again. After moving in, I drove the pickup up to the cabin and unloaded the 11 sacks of concrete mix. I still had two sacks left from last week.

After getting the pickup back down the hill, I stripped the forms from the column pad I poured last week. I was pleased with the result. It looks like it will work out OK. Next I went to work making the form for the second pad. I made this one 18"x24" so it would be big enough for two CB66s -- one for the stringer and one for the newel post.

I strung a tight string over where the second stringer will go and I strung a 100 ft. tape in the same place. I made some measurements and placed the form where I thought it should go.

I went up and checked on the trees and the salt block. I could see that the deer are licking the salt. The trees look pretty healthy except for the middle one of the three Giant Sequoias up by the drainfield. That one had turned brown on the top half. I may have to replace it if it doesn't recover.

I sprayed Ben's bug juice around the door before I went in each time and that kept most of the mosquitoes out of the trailer. After I took my shower, I sprayed Tilex in the shower, as suggested by John, to see if it will eliminate the mold that grows there.

On Wednesday, I did some more measurements and calculations and looked at the form more critically. I didn't like it. The CB66 for the stringer didn't align quite right and the newel post wouldn't be out as far as I wanted. I decided to remake the form. Instead of an 18"x24" rectangle, I made an 18"x27" rectangle with a 9"x9" corner cut out of it. That left a 9"x9" projection sticking out for the newel CB66. When I put it in place and aligned it, I was a lot happier with it.

I spent the rest of the day aligning the form exactly, putting the rest of it together, excavating the dirt from inside, and making two racks to hold the two CB66s in place while the concrete was being placed and set. It rained a little off and on during the work, and I stopped to feed one scraggly gray jay once. In the evening, my stomach was distressed and I felt pretty uncomfortable. I lied down after my shower and waited a while before I fixed dinner. It gradually got better and by morning I felt OK.

On Thursday morning I mixed and poured 13 sacks of concrete plus another half-sack of mortar mix and about 4 gallons of pea gravel. I mixed it in the wheelbarrow with a hoe. As I was pouring, it looked like I might run out of concrete so I put some rocks in the form along with the concrete, and I mixed one batch using the mortar mix and the pea gravel in order to have enough. I had just enough to finish the job. I was happy with the result. The mosquitoes were as thick as ever. I left for home at 12:30.