3/31-4/4/25 I went up to Camp Serendipity for five days: Monday through Friday.

I arrived at 11:20. It was a beautiful day. The snow on the trails was almost completely gone. I brought my gear up in 2 trips using the Trapper Nelson for the second one and hoisting the flag between the trips. Then I had lunch and walked to the grave. When I got back, I had a nap and when I woke up it was time for my shower.

On Tuesday morning when I got up, the temperature was 30 degrees which was colder than I had expected. It may be too cold to work with mortar. I practiced the piano and then walked to the grave. Then I installed all the wall ties that I had prepared which covered almost the entire 30 feet of wall. It was the first work I had done from the scaffolding since it had been set up and I liked the way it felt.

After lunch and a nap, I spent quite a bit of time working on the puzzle.

On Wednesday morning at 4:30 AM I felt something on my chest and discovered a tick just starting to bite me. I pulled it off with a tweezer and put it in a small tight plastic bag. Of course, all kinds of thoughts went through my mind about how he happened to get in my bed and whether he had infected me with anything.

The temperature outside was 26 degrees which meant it froze pretty hard during the night. I practiced the piano, listened to the radio, and walked to the grave. I worked on the puzzle a little before I had my lunch and a nap.

I went outside and set up the batch plant for mixing mortar and laying stones. Most of the tools had been stored in the crawl space for the winter so I took some of them out. I also staged a big pile of stones that I had cleaned last year and set them on the outer plank of the scaffold so that I can use them for the next course of stones. Next, I started the water running in the irrigation hose so that I would have a charged hose for mixing mortar. Some of the hose joints were leaky and I tightened some of them a little, but there were still some leaks and drips. Before I went in, I weighed the rucksack I use on my walks, and it weighed in at about 20 lbs.

I practiced the piano a little and worked on the puzzle some more before quitting for the day.

On Thursday morning the temperature was 25 degrees outside; still freezing. It was the day for watering Tiger the snake plant, so I gave him his dose of water. I practiced the piano and then walked to the grave. When I got back, I used a big wrench to tighten the hose joints where the water was leaking, and I installed a new hose clamp that stopped the leak on the major hose run.

After lunch and a nap, I worked on the closet. I deepened the recess in the log wall that I will use to hold up the one by four on the left end, but it still needs more work.

After a shower and dinner, I got up from the table and saw a black dot on the back of the cabinet behind me. It turned out to be another tick just waiting for something. I scooped it up and put it in the same plastic bag with the first tick and now began wondering how that tick got in the house and how to keep any more of them out.

On Friday morning the temperature outside was 23 degrees; colder yet. I practiced the piano and then Robert called. He caught me up on his activities; he is still climbing trees. I worked on the puzzle for a while, while I listened to the radio. Then I walked to the grave. When I returned, I rescheduled an appointment with my dermatologist. Then I had my lunch, packed up my gear, and left for home at 12:45. For the first time this year I carried my gear in one trip down the road instead of using the stairs. There were just two steps that still had a little snow on them. Next week I'll be able to drive the truck up to the hairpin turn to shorten the distance.