6/23-27/25 I went up to Camp Serendipity for 5 days: Monday through Friday.
I got an early start and arrived at 10:30. I brought my gear up in one trip, hoisted the flag and then brought the wheelbarrow down to the truck. I loaded one 60 lb. sack of mortar mix into the wheelbarrow and then wheeled it up the hill and stored it on the back stoop. Then I went back down to the truck, got the string trimmer, and whacked the weeds on the driveway from the truck to the cabin. I continued whacking down to the flagpole until the battery was dead.
Then I went into the cabin and began unpacking my gear. I was nice to be early enough to get that extra work done before lunch. After lunch and a nap, I went out for a walk and for various reasons, I only walked one mile. The mosquitoes were fairly fierce. When I got back, I practiced the piano before my shower.
On Tuesday morning I was up at 5. I practiced the piano for an hour and then went outside to work. I harvested, hauled, and cleaned several big stones. Then I laid them up in the wall using mortar batch #129.
After lunch and a nap, I walked to the grave wearing my full mosquito net hat and a pair of thick gloves. The mosquitoes swarmed around me but until they started getting inside the net, with me, I didn't get a lot of bites.
On the way back, I saw a bear standing at the side of the road. He didn't see me right away, but as I stopped and doubled back, he saw me and made his exit into the brush. He was about 50 yards away and I gave him a little time before I continued walking past where he had disappeared into the bushes. When I got back to the cabin, I practiced the piano and had my shower.
On Wednesday morning, I was up at 5 again. I practiced the piano and was out working on masonry at 8:45. I laid up a bunch of stones using mortar batch #130.
After lunch and a nap, I walked to the grave wearing my bug-net hat again, but this time there were hardly any mosquitoes out. I figured that they must hatch in batches depending on some conditions. The weather was the same and I couldn't figure out any other explanation for the big difference between yesterday and today.
When I got back, I filled and staged 13 water jugs. Then I practiced the piano.
On Thursday, I got up at 5 again. I watered Tiger, practiced the piano, and was out doing stonemasonry by 8:30. I harvested, hauled, cleaned, and laid up stones using batch #131. While I was working, I saw a little toad in the road. It was about an inch-and-a-half in diameter and he slowly and clumsily hopped up and out of the way where it was safe.
After lunch and a nap, I carried all the water jugs down to the truck and loaded them in the back. Then, using two of the jugs in the Trapper Nelson instead of my usual rucksack full of rocks, I walked to the grave. This time I didn't use my bug hat and I didn't get bit too badly. When I got back, I practiced the piano.
On Friday morning, I was up at 5, practiced the piano for an hour, and then went out to lay up stones. I used mortar batch #132. Next, I went down to the truck and got Cindy, the Loppers. I brought them up and pruned the competition away from Ellen, the sequoia tree. It looks like the few green branches among the many brown ones seem to be thriving now that they are getting water and the light competition has been cleared. I'll keep checking and hoping for a full recovery. I had my lunch and left for home at 12:30 in time to make a dermatologist appointment in Seattle.
This was a full, fun, and successful week that I enjoyed very much.
©2025 Paul R. Martin, All rights reserved.
Go to Next Journal Entry
Previous Journal Entry
Index to all Journal Entries