5/9-11/17 I went up to Camp Serendipity for 3 days: Tuesday through Thursday.

I arrived at noon. The temperature was 65°. I glanced at the rhubarb before I carried my gear up to the cabin and saw that it was growing nicely. After hoisting the flag and starting a small fire in the stove to take the chill off, I had my lunch and my usual nap.

When I got up I worked on the miter joint in the porch rails and trued it up. Then I installed the diagonal bolt to fasten the joint. I think I can leave that joint fastened while I install the balusters, but if that turns out to be impossible, I can always dismantle it and fasten it again later.

After I was finished with dinner, Earl called. He said he had been back for a couple weeks and I invited him to come over for a visit when he got a chance. While we were talking, the doorbell rang. It was Byron and Barb.

I ended the call with Earl and had a nice visit with Byron and Barb. They checked out the few new developments on the cabin that they hadn't seen and I took some pictures of them. Byron told stories of dealing with the deep snow over the winter and of picking off a few ticks already this spring. Barb told about seeing two wolves right outside her window. They left at about 9:30.

On Wednesday, Dave called first thing and we had a nice conversation. After breakfast, I went out on the porch and drilled the weep holes and the baluster holes in the deck for the Grid F.5 railing.

After lunch and a nap, Earl showed up and we had a nice chat. He caught up on what I had done during the winter and he showed me some pictures he had brought along with him. He said he liked what I had done on the stair rail.

When Earl left, I got a shovel and dug out a bunch of thistles that had gotten started on the roadway just above the hairpin turn. When I finished that, I got the old transit level out and did a little surveying. It was more difficult than I had figured on. I only got two additional points done but later I discovered that I had forgotten to write down the azimuth for one of them so that one was ruined. I learned a lot about the problem, though, so I may be able to figure out a better way.

On Thursday morning, it was raining. I changed my plans to go into the woods and check the sequoia trees and worked on the porch instead. I drilled the weep holes and the baluster holes in the deck for the two rails along the Grid 3 edge of the porch. I left for home at 12:50 happy with the week.