6/27-29/17 I went up to Camp Serendipity for 3 days: Tuesday through Thursday.

I arrived at noon. The temperature outside was 75° and it was 70° inside the cabin. Just about right.

There was one mouse in the trap under the kitchen sink. I took it outside when I went out to hoist the flag. While I was out there, I turned on the valve to irrigate Paul and Brian. Then I went back in and had my lunch.

In the process, I developed a nosebleed which I had to deal with before I finished my lunch. After that, I took my nap.

When I got up, I went down to the truck, unloaded some yard waste and then whacked down the weeds on the driveway, the parking area, and the lower roadway. I didn't have gloves on so I raised a blister on my right hand. Probably not too smart, although it was a small blister and will turn into a callus.

Next, I carried my DeWalt tool bag and a small table up to the cabin and then took my shower.

When I finished my shower, and had leaned over to get a pair of socks out of a drawer, I had a dizzy spell and almost fell backward into the tub. I stood up and stayed under control as the world spun around me for 20 to 30 seconds. Having a dizzy spell was unusual for me and I wasn't sure how serious it was. But I paid a lot of attention to my balance and I was ready to call for help if it came back. Fortunately, everything went back to normal after those 30 seconds so I didn't worry about it. I was extra careful, though, when I was going up or down stairs. I also measured my blood sugar, my blood pressure, and pulse. They were all normal: 107, 124/82. and 63 respectively.

On Wednesday, Dave called first thing in the morning and we had another nice chat. After breakfast, I watered Brian and Paul again and then went into the woods to check on them. They are both alive and growing, but I can't say they are thriving. I hope the fertilizer I gave them a few weeks ago starts kicking in soon.

Next, I put on a pair of gloves and went back to whacking weeds. I whacked those on the hairpin turn, the upper roadway, and around the flagpole that were in the shade. Then I went up on the front porch and rasped and scraped some more on the vine maple rail.

After lunch and a nap, I finished rasping and scraping the rail although I didn't feel very strong or quite right. The shower felt great and I didn't have any dizziness. I think I was dehydrated the previous day.

On Thursday morning, it was a very pleasant 50° outside so before breakfast, I got the weed whacker and a pair of gloves and whacked down all the weeds that had been in the sun before. They were all in the shade now so the work was rather pleasant and fun. The results looked great.

Next, I lashed the new rail in place on the newel posts so that it would be out of the way for guests and usable on the staircase. We may have visitors up at Camp Serendipity next week when people will be in from out of town for Priscilla's memorial service.

Lashing the rail in place is also the next step in the plan to install the guard rail. The plan is to start by drilling a mortise hole in the Grid G2 column that is deep enough to take an extra 5 inches, or so, of the end of the rail. That will allow the positioning of the butt end against the Grid G3 newel post to figure out how to drill the mortise hole down there. Then, after fabricating the tenon on the butt end, that joint can be engaged by slipping the rail back out of the upper joint without disengaging it completely.

Then, just as I did for the opposite rail, I will measure, mark, and drill the holes for the balusters both on the stair treads and on the underside of the rail. Then, after making the balusters, the rail will be completely disengaged from its mortise/tenon joints, the upper half of the balusters will be installed, the top mortise/tenon joint will be reengaged, then the remainder of the balusters will be installed, and finally the lower mortise/tenon joint will be reengaged. It worked before; it should work again.

Next, I put away all the tools that were out in the living room and vacuumed the place up. In the process, I discovered what just might be the entry hole for the mice that have been getting in. In the dining room wall, there is a hole through one of the logs that I use for anchoring scaffold frames. There are many of those holes throughout the building and each one is supposed to have a wooden plug driven into it from the outside. I went outside to make sure the plugs were in all the holes, and I discovered that this particular one didn't have a plug. The hole is 1/2 inch in diameter and about 8 inches long so it seems like it would be hard for a mouse to get through it even if he could find it. But I know that they can get through some very small holes so this could be it. I plugged the hole temporarily with a 1/2" lag screw that just happened to be handy so we'll see whether or not I get any more mice inside the cabin. Time will tell. On that happy note, I left for home at 1:00.