4/16-18/19 I went up to Camp Serendipity for 3 days: Tuesday through Thursday.

On the way up, I stopped in and had a nice visit with Earl. Pam was there and she served me a fresh apple fritter, which was delicious. From there I proceeded on to Camp Serendipity.

I arrived at 1:05. The temperature was 50°. The snow had melted back far enough so that for the first time this year, I wore my regular shoes up to the cabin rather than Sorel boots. After bringing my gear up to the cabin, I hoisted the flag, built a fire in the stove, and had my lunch.

Then I painted the primer coat on the 20 balusters that I had prepared last week. Then, since the snow had melted back so far, I went into the woods to check on the trees. I brought a shovel with me thinking I would have to dig some of them out from under the snow, but I found that all of them were out and more or less standing up. I propped some of them up to get them closer to vertical. They all seemed to be healthy with Paul looking the weakest. Next week, if the weather permits, I will string up an irrigation hose for Paul and Brian. I also think I might rig up a hydraulic ram pump to irrigate Andrew. Since the tree is higher in elevation than the spring, a pump will be necessary.

While I was in the sequoia grove, I rolled down all the rest of the big firewood rounds that I had harvested up by John. They are now all down near wheelbarrow access so I can wheel them out of the woods one of these days.

Next, I went over and checked on the cedar trees that I had planted. They all seemed to be thriving. I don't think I need to irrigate or shade them this summer, but I'll check with the supplier to see what to do. Since most all the shades I had set up had been demolished by the snow, I gathered up all the damaged parts and brought them back to the cabin.

Then I finished off the day by taking a nice nap.

On Wednesday I chiseled the notch in the Grid A wall log to receive the top rail 2x4. I made a stupid mistake in measuring and started cutting the notch too high. Now I will have to decide how, or whether, to repair the mistake or to leave it as another crudity to add character to the cabin.

After the notch was cut correctly, I installed all the balusters in that section of the railing and wedged it in place under the temporary 2x4 on top that will be replaced by the final 2x6. That completed baluster installation of everything between the staircase and the Grid A wall. I took a picture of it.

Next, I went out on the porch and disassembled the broken mess of the shades I had brought down from the cedar grove. I removed the tarp material and rebar tie wire from the rebar. I stacked the rebar in my rebar supply pile, and I put the tarp material and wire in a garbage bag to throw away when I get home.

Next, I painted the top coat on the batch of balusters in the painting rack and then cut another batch of 20 balusters and wire brushed about half of them before I went in for lunch and a nap. When I got up, I wire brushed the other half.

While I was working, I noticed that many of the holes in my mason bee block had been opened. Since the temperature was 60° and the sun was shining, I figured that this would be the right time to open the bee block, clean it out, and set it back up for use again this summer. I'm not sure when the bees get active and begin looking for holes, but I want to be ready when they do.

It was interesting to open the bee block. There were quite a few new bees that had just emerged from their little cocoons and there were some cocoons that looked like they might be ready. There were also quite a few that had already been vacated.

But along with the bees, there were two different species of wasps in there and a lot of little active reddish hard-shelled bugs. There were also some kind of grubs. Lots of life forms.

I disassembled the bee block and set each board on the porch deck in the sun thinking that this would allow any of the new bees to warm up and hatch if they were ready. I left it this way overnight.

Next, I washed, with paint thinner, the batch of balusters I had brushed and then brought them inside the cabin. Then I went down and brought up the painting rack with the newly painted balusters and put them inside the cabin too.

On Thursday morning, Dave called right after breakfast and we had another delightful conversation. When we hung up, I went out on the porch, scraped and brushed each of the bee block sections clean, and then reassembled the block and set it up for the next generation of bees.

Then I went up to the loft and began working on the railing section that meets the Grid D2 PSL. I started with the top rail and after I had cut the notch and placed the 2x4 into the notch, I could see that it wasn't level. Bummer. After a lot of measurement, I determined that it was because the floor under it was not level. There would not be a problem lowering the notch because there is going to have to be another notch cut directly above it for the 2x6, but there were other considerations.

The railing continues on the other side of the PSL and I certainly want the tops of the rail on either side to be in line. If I lower the railing, then I may have to shorten the balusters, which I could also do. Or, I could raise the other end of the rail but that would leave a gap above the 4x4 post on that end which would have to be filled somehow.

I decided to leave the problem until next week. In the meantime, I can give it a lot more thought and figure out how to do it right. It's always something. I left for home at 12:30 happy about the week's progress.