1/6-10/25 I went up to Camp Serendipity for five days: Monday through Friday.

The road and the skies were clear all the way over. Very pleasant. I ate a sack lunch on the way, like last week, in anticipation of a big snow shoveling job to get moved into the cabin. I arrived at noon and found no such problem. There had been about an inch of new snow, but it was crusty and presented no obstacle to parking. It also presented no problem on the stairs, being crunchy and thin it was plenty safe.

I brought my gear up in one trip and then came back and hoisted the flag. Then I unpacked my gear and went for a walk.

I walked for about 1/2 mile out and back and I talked to Byron and Barb briefly. They were in a hurry and in a panic because Barb had lost her keys. Back at the cabin I practiced the piano.

On Tuesday morning the temperature outside was 25 degrees. It was snowing lightly. I practiced the piano and then walked to the grave. I ran into Byron and Barb again and this time they told me they had found the keys lying on the seat of the car. When I got back, I listened to the radio for a while and then had my lunch and a nap. In the afternoon I practiced the piano.

On Wednesday morning, the temperature was 25 degrees again, but the sky was clear. I practiced the piano then listened to the radio and then walked to the grave. As I was walking, I slowed down and was examining some tracks in the snow when I heard John hail me from behind. He and Abby joined me walking the rest of the way to his place. On the way the two of us talked to Karen Arnold who stopped.

I continued to the grave and met Nancy and her two dogs on the way. She reported that a lynx had been spotted on their wildlife camera, and she suspects the lynx took their cat.

After lunch and a nap, I worked on retrieving a 4x8 sheet of paneling that I knew I had stored under the porch, and I planned to use to make a rack for water jugs. It took a lot of hard work and ingenuity to get that sheet extracted from its tight storage spot under the porch and get it up onto the deck. But after a few ingenious tricks, I succeeded. In the process, I realized the sheet would be unsuitable for the project I had in mind because the material would not stand up to water. I decided to use it for its original purpose and that is to hold a very big jigsaw puzzle. Once it was stored on the front porch, I did a thorough cleaning job on it and then brought it in to the cabin and stored it in the loft. I'll have to find some other material to make a jug rack.

When everything was put back in order, I practiced the piano.

On Thursday morning it was Dave's birthday so at 5:30 AM I gave him a call. I surprised him and we had a wonderful conversation. Afterward I watered the plants which were now back on their regular Thursday watering schedule. And I practiced the piano, listened to the radio, and walked to the grave.

After lunch and a nap, I listened to the radio some more and practiced the piano.

On Friday morning the temperature was cooler at 23 degrees. I practiced the piano and then Ellen called with a warning from FEMA that a winter storm was about to cover the Western Cascade slopes. I decided to leave as early as I could. Just as I went out for a walk, Robert called and caught me up on his activities. Then I walked about a mile and back and cleared off about an inch of ice from the truck. Then I got ready to leave by having lunch and packing my gear. I carried my gear down to the truck in two trips and left about noon. It was a good week.