3/24/08 Talked with Brian Kemly about how to proceed getting permanent power installed. The good news is that I can energize my distribution panel before installing any branch circuits. In fact, Brian told me that that is the normal way to do it. Brian is going to start getting the parts I need and he said he would come up and help me install the service. I need to get the trench dug, get the conduit laid, get it inspected, and then get the trench backfilled and I can do that in a couple days by scheduling things properly. He said that the inspector will approve the backfilling with the understanding that forms will be built in the areas where the bedrock and trench come to the surface and those sections will be enclosed in concrete later. I will place a meter disconnect unit right in front of my current temporary pole so that the same wire that serves my temporary pole can be used for the permanent service. Brian is going to get the meter disconnect unit along with the conduit and whatever else I need. This is a wonderful development and it allays many of my concerns and fears.

3/25-27/08 I went up to the property for 3 days: Tuesday through Thursday.

I arrived at 12:20 and was able to drive halfway up to the trailer with no trouble. The weather was a pleasant 36 degrees. After moving in, I installed a new plug on the wire to the cabin and plugged it into a receptacle at the temporary pole. It worked great.

I went to work and sanded the last two logs in the Grid 1 wall that were due for their last coat of varnish. Then I vacuumed the walls in the loft and the walls in the dining room, the kitchen, and the utility room. The chips and dust from working above those walls had made a big mess. It was sort of fun cleaning it up knowing that I was not going to make such a mess again. It is a good feeling to finally get to the end of the varnishing.

On Wednesday it snowed about an inch. I measured the seams that need to be chinked to see if I need more insulation. I have enough to do about half of it, so I will have to buy some more.

I have decided to make the project of bringing permanent power to my distribution panel the highest priority. I will work on whatever aspect of that project I can whenever I can and only work on other projects when I can't. So I devoted the day to digging part of the trench for the power line.

This is the perfect time of year to be out in the woods working on a project like this. The weather is cool and perfect for working; the snow is gone in the woods under the big trees; there are no leaves yet so you can see everything; there are no bugs; the dirt is damp so there is no dust; the birds and other animals are active and provide pleasant company. Since I love to dig, I had a very enjoyable day.

I started by choosing a route from the Grid A3 corner of the building heading west down through a very dense thicket of bushes and then turning left to go over a low spot in the outcropping. From there it will be a more or less straight line to the power pole. The first part of the route, right near the building, is still covered with a huge pile of snow that had slid off the roof. But beyond that, the ground was free of snow.

The first step was clearing the thicket that was in the way at the beginning of the route just beyond the snow pile. Since there were no leaves yet and the stems were still brittle because the sap was still down, it was relatively easy to clear a path through the brush. The ground was covered with 8 or 10 inches of duff which was easy to scrape off with the spade. The dirt was easy digging except for the roots and rocks. But by steadily picking away at it, I was able to dig a trench about 18 inches deep for about 30 feet. I need to make it deeper, but I got a good start and I was happy that digging it by hand will be no problem. That section is very inaccessible so I think it would be more work to get a machine in there than to just dig it by hand. I had a great time.

At mid day, Larry and Ted stopped by for a visit, so I interrupted my digging to show them the newly varnished walls and to chat for a while. We had a nice visit.

On Thursday I fed a couple of Steller's Jays who were bold enough to come begging and then to take the peanuts from the ground pretty close to me. They still acted indignant but they are getting a little bolder if not tamer. I varnished the last two logs in the cabin and was very happy with the result. That marked a major milestone. I have been varnishing inside walls and logs since I started on 12/4/03. It has been a long tedious project, but it has been rewarding all along. It is gratifying to see really ugly wood transform into beautiful shiny wood. But still, I'm glad it is finished. I left for home at 12:45 and got stuck trying to back out onto the road. A little shoveling and a few scoops of gravel got me out. 4WD didn't help at all.