4/4-8/22 I went up to Camp Serendipity for 5 days: Monday through Friday.

It was snowing in the pass when I went over but the road had been plowed. It snowed all the way to Cole's corner but then it petered out. The snow increased again on the way to Camp Serendipity, but it stopped just about the time I arrived at 11:50.

I had a lot of gear and supplies with me, so it took five heavy trips up to the cabin to bring it all up. The trail was nearly clear, so the going was pretty easy. I got the flag hoisted and everything in by 12:30. Then it started snowing again right away. Good timing.

After lunch and a nap, I put most of the stuff away and practiced the piano for a while. Robert called to check on me and to let me know about his progress.

On Tuesday it was 27 degrees and snowing when I got up. One inch or so had accumulated overnight. After practicing the piano, I listened to the radio, and I began working on the bedroom closet-to-log-wall interface by making some cardboard parts and installing them.

After lunch and a nap, the weather turned sunny, and all the new snow melted off. I went up to check on Paul and undid the rope that I had used to tie the trunk to the signpost. The trunk seemed to stay pretty straight.

Next, I took a shovel into the woods and dug John and Earl out from under the winter snowpack. Larry didn't need to be dug out because it was already out. I also used a bowsaw to cut a bunch of vine maples away from Runty, John , Larry, Bill, and Dave .

Back in the cabin I did some reading and then I called Earl. Among other things, we discussed the problem of Brian not getting any sunlight because of the big trees that shade him all day. Earl suggested that I try using a mirror to reflect some sunlight onto the tree. That sounded like a good idea.

On Wednesday the weather was 26 degrees and clear when I got up. After practicing the piano, I took a mirror outside, set it on the snow and propped it up against a couple sticks, I was surprised at how well it worked to illuminate Brian. It was very awkward to adjust the mirror to get it aimed exactly on the tree, but it was clear that illuminating the tree was possible. I spent some time trying to make a swivel mount for the mirror, but I failed. After lunch and a nap, I made periodic trips into the woods tending the mirror and realigning it. It seemed that once aligned, it would only be good for five minutes or so. I spent the rest of the afternoon reading.

On Thursday it was 26 degrees and clear when I got up. After practicing the piano, Dave called, and we had a nice long talk while he was driving from Florida to Alabama for a race. Our conversation ended when he ran into a heavy rain squall.

After going into the woods again to set the mirror, I started working on a new swivel mount idea. After lunch and a nap, I finished making the new swivel mount and was extremely pleased with how it turned out. I took it to the woods and installed it by first driving a long #5 rebar into the ground which formed the support. Then I set the mount on top of the rebar which was held by a one-inch galvanized pipe nipple screwed to a flange holding up a wood platform with a hinge for the mirror, and a really handy adjusting bracket that I got from some garage sale. It worked wonderfully and I took a picture of it.

Just as I was finishing the dinner dishes, I looked out the window and saw a big wild turkey walking up the upper roadway past the mixer. I hurried up to get a camera trying to get a picture, but I was too late. The bird had disappeared around the back of the privy. I'm glad to have wildlife neighbors like that.

On Friday it was overcast so I was unable to shine any light on Brian. I practiced the piano, listened to the radio for a while and then left for home at 12:50 happy with another fun week in the mountains.