12/19-21/06 I went up to the property for 3 days: Tuesday through Thursday.

Before I left, I cut some firewood and loaded it into the pickup to deliver to Priscilla. Her power had been out since the windstorm and she was out of wood. After dropping off the wood, I drove down to Eastside Hospital to see Gus before his pacemaker implant. The traffic was pretty slow getting there and then again getting back.

There was snow on the road going over the pass but it was well sanded so there was no problem getting over. There was a huge number of trees that had fallen across the road during the storm, and now the sawed off trunks looked in some places like stacked cordwood alongside the road. I'm sure glad I got home last week before that storm hit.

I stopped and delivered Ellen's Christmas jam to three families on the way. I finally got to the property at 3:15. The lower part of the driveway was plowed so it was easy to park. I measured 27 inches of snow on the ground. It was 25 degrees out so the snow was pretty light. I didn't need snowshoes to make the trails.

After moving my stuff to the trailer, I shoveled the snow off the steps and I shoveled a path through the snow bank in the back so I could get to the privy. Then I dragged four 12-foot 2x10s from the pickup up to the work site. I'll use these to make temporary stairs. The Boy Scouts may come up during the winter after all and I want to make sure I have stairs up to the porch this time. I can install the 2x10 steps on top of the stringers, and then replace them, one by one, with log steps as I get to them.

On Wednesday it was another clear, beautiful 25 degree day. I used Rasputin to true up the notches for the fourth tread and I lag screwed it into place. Then I cut a bunch of gussets from a 2x6 that I will use to mount the 2x10 treads on the stringers. Then I cut one of the 2x10s into three 4-foot treads and installed the first two of them. Even though the transition from log steps to the 2x10 steps isn't perfect, it will work OK. The 2x10 steps are pretty easy to install so this plan will work well.

During the work, a flock of jays came around several times for peanuts. The fluffy snow covering all the trees looked so pretty that I took some pictures of the front of the cabin with the snow covered trees. I also took some pictures with the jays on my hand in the foreground.

The power went off sometime during the middle of the night.

By Thursday morning, it was 36 degrees inside the trailer. It was 26 degrees outside and there was about 6 inches of new snow on the ground. I went down to the power pole to make sure my breakers hadn't tripped. When I was satisfied that it wasn't my problem, I got my propane torch out of the pickup and used it to light the furnace in the trailer. The pilot light doesn't stay lit in the furnace, but I can start it pretty easily with the torch. Then the furnace will run for a while before it goes out again. I kept it lit as much as I could while I prepared my breakfast in the dim light. I got it up to about 50 degrees in there by the time I was finished with breakfast and the power came on at 8:23 AM.

I got a call from a nurse who needed some information and approval for Gus' treatment. Then I went up and shoveled the snow off the privy. It was getting pretty deep and heavy up there so it was about time to do it. I also scooped the snow off the mixer and off the steps I was working on. I had time to install one more 2x10 step before I had to leave. I fed the flock of jays a few more times during the work. I left for home at 1:30.