3/30-4/3/26 I went up to Camp Serendipity for 5 days: Monday through Friday.

I arrived at 12:30 on a dry, sunny day. I parked in the hairpin turn and brought my gear up in 2 trips, hoisting the flag between the trips. After unloading my gear, and having my lunch and a nap, I took a shower and dealt with a few other chores. I spent an inordinate amount of time searching for a box of Puffs to replenish the dispenser of the Kleenex-like tissues I keep on the bathroom counter. I know I had a supply of the boxes, but search as I might, upstairs and down, I just couldn't find them. I concluded that I must be mistaken and the supply must be in Seattle. I'd ask Ellen.

I asked Ellen about the puffs that evening and she assured me that they were in the cabin somewhere.

On Tuesday when I got up, the temperature outside was 22 degrees. There was no precipitation.

After practicing the piano, I was standing at the head of the loft stairs, idly staring at the shelves at the end of the room. Then, as a test, I tried to identify the contents of each box or other occupant of the shelves. There was one small cardboard box which I couldn't identify. I walked over to the box so I could read its label. There, in not-very-bold letters, was the word "Puffs". I felt really stupid and seriously wondered about my mental acuity. I happily took one Puffs refill out of the box and brought it downstairs with me.

Next, I worked on the chainsaw. I refilled the bar oil reservoir and then turned to the hard job of filing the chain teeth with a file. The saw was now ready for work again.

After lunch and a nap, I walked to the grave. While I was there, I talked to a couple named Andy and Kim who were about to try their hand at panning for gold in the White River. They were booked at a B&B some 12 miles away, but their room wasn't ready. To while away the time until it was, they were going to pan for gold.

On Wednesday morning when I got up, the temperature outside was 27 degrees and it was snowing. It stopped snowing in an hour or so, leaving only an inch on the ground. That melted off in another hour.

After piano practice, I went outside and replaced two burned-out flood lamps. They are very tricky, and even somewhat dangerous to reach. They are high up on the log wall and require a 20-ft extension ladder sitting on the back stoop and reaching above the dining room window. I did the job being very careful, deliberate, and slow and ended up getting the job done safely.

Just as I finished putting the ladder away, Bill called and we had a nice conversation. Even though it was April Fool's Day, neither of us pranked the other.

After lunch and a nap, I walked to the grave and ran into John and Nate in their new truck. It has taken them this long to settle with the insurance company, the dealerships and lawyers involved and finally get a replacement truck that is not a lemon to replace the one destroyed in the flood. At least they hope so.

Nate told me that he had emailed me a picture of Camp Serendipity that he had taken with his drone-mounted camera. I told him I never saw it so we suspected it had gone into my junk email folder.

On Thursday morning, the temperature was 29 degrees and the weather was clear. After practicing the piano, I took the newly sharpened chainsaw outside and cut down a lot of big brush, some with trunk diameters of up to 3 inches. The pruning was long overdue. I was plenty worn out by the time I quit for lunch and a nap.

When I got up, I walked to the grave but didn't see anyone I knew. I downloaded the news headlines and read them after I got back to the cabin. Then I showered and shaved before making my dinner.

On Friday, the temperature outside was 33 degrees, which is a little warmer than it has been. After practicing the piano, I spent at least an agonizing hour removing a heart monitoring device that I had been wearing all week. Even though the monitor company provided me with a small pad of adhesive solvent, the hair on my chest had grown into the glue enough to make each hair painful to pull out. I was glad to finally get the thing loose and packed in its box to send back.

Finally, I had my lunch, packed up my gear, and left for home at 1:00. It had been another fun and productive week if you judge by my speed.