9/7-9/10 I went up to Camp Serendipity for 3 days: Tuesday through Thursday.

I arrived at 12:50 and was promptly greeted by Bert and Ernie. The flock of gray jays also showed up as soon as the dogs left. I had my lunch and a short nap and then went up to do some work in the woods.

I got a chainsaw out and as I sharpened the chain and gassed the saw up, a chipmunk visited me. I took a break and gave him a bunch of peanuts from my hand. Then I went up to the drainfield and started bucking up the 33-foot butt log from the dead Grand Fir I had had Robert Ferrel fall for me on 8/27/09. I wanted to have a project ready for the scouts when they come up next week and I figured having them haul the firewood rounds down to the cabin would be a good project.

Since I had the saw out, I decided to go up to the high point of my trail system and cut away a log that has been obstructing the trail for several years. On the way I checked on some of the sequoias and saw that they are all thriving.

When the log was cleared from the trail, I went back down and finished bucking the log into 32 rounds. I deliberately made the rounds a little short to make them easier to split. There are a lot of knots in the wood so I don’t want the splitting to be any harder than it has to be. Smaller rounds will also make it easier for the scouts to handle them. The rounds are 18 to 20 inches in diameter.

When I quit for the day, I eagerly got ready for my shower. When I turned the tap on, I discovered that there was no water pressure at all. I was really dismayed trying to imagine what might have happened.

I put some clothes back on and went down to the trailer to see if I had forgotten to close the valve. It was closed enough so that I should have enough pressure, but I closed it all the way anyway just to make sure.

Then I went back up to the cabin and tried the hose on the porch. There was plenty of pressure there, so I figured there must be some blockage in the pex pipe plumbing. The hose bib takes off just before the pex.

I went into the crawlspace wondering how I was going to discover a blockage in the plumbing. Since pex is sort of translucent, I figured I might be able to see something from the outside. I decided to start checking at the beginning of the piping right near the hose bib.

It was clear immediately what had happened. I saw that the lid of the big wooden storage box where I keep the chainsaws was leaning back far enough to rest on the pex pipe. When I lifted the lid, I could see that the lid had hit the valve on the pipe and closed it off. I usually keep a board leaning against the wall behind the box and the lid normally rests against that board when it is open. I remembered that I had moved the board the last time I was working behind the box and I had failed to put it back. Today, when I got the chainsaw out, the lid had hit the valve and stopped my water. What a relief that the problem was so simple.

I opened the valve and proceeded on to take my shower, feeling very happy that the problem hadn’t been anything worse. No sooner than I was getting lathered up, the lights all went dark. It was a little unnerving but only for two or three seconds after which the lights came back on and stayed on. That was not my problem but simply a small PUD glitch.

On Wednesday I took the wheelbarrow up to the drainfield area and hauled three of the rounds I had cut down to the cabin. I split one into firewood and started a fire in the stove. The temperature outside was about 52 degrees. I had all the heater thermostats set to 50 degrees so none of them was on. The temperature inside the cabin was about 60 degrees so I figured a fire would take the chill off. It did.

Then I went to work and completed the wiring of circuit #8 by wiring up the bathroom receptacles and covering them. I also finished stapling to a floor joist a short run of MC cable for the heaters that I had left slack when I installed the heaters.

That was the last of the construction work I planned to do before the scouts visit. I turned my attention to getting the place ready for them. The tables were cluttered with materials and tools, as well as a fair amount of trash. I spent most of the day putting stuff away.

I also got a tarp and wrapped it around the bathroom wall and doorway to give the bathroom privacy for the scouts. I used plywood and planks to cover the openings between the bathroom and the utility room, pantry, and linen closet. It ended up being a nice private enclosed room with a light, a fan, and working receptacles, not to mention working plumbing.

As I made trips down to the crawlspace, the chipmunk and the flock of gray jays stopped by for peanuts pretty much all day long. When I went out on the front porch, the gray jays were there too. The chipmunks still don’t come near the rodent repellers I have out there.

It rained off and on all day, heavy at times, but it was pleasant working inside with the cozy fire. It’s also nice having the eaves completely cover the back staircase so I can go up and down without getting wet.

I had a normal shower without incident after I quit for the day.

On Thursday morning the gray jays came to the trailer for peanuts before I had even started breakfast. I’m glad they are so eager because I want them to show up for the scouts.

After breakfast, I split some more wood and started another fire in the stove. As soon as I got the fire going, Bert showed up. We had a big hugging session on the porch and then went back down to the trailer for biscuits. Ernie had evidently found something else to do.

I finished clearing off all the tables and putting everything away. Then I screwed three old doors up against the wall covering the pantry and linen closet doorways to make an easel for the scouts to use in their meeting. The weather was cool, pleasant, and dry so I took a broom and a lopper out and worked on clearing bushes and sweeping off the concrete staircase. Bushes had been encroaching on the parking area so I trimmed them way back to make room for about one more vehicle. I also cleared them all away from the path from the concrete staircase to the cabin. After lunch and a short nap, I left for home at 2:45.