It's beam time! No, not Jim Beam.

 The nails in the photo above will hold the beams and posts in place.

The beams that Travis cut are beautiful, but they are also heavy.   It took a lot of muscle to get them up there.

 And now for the cross beam.

 Notice how tightly the beams fit in the joints.  Very nice work.

 This nail goes into the top of the two posts.

 All you need to do is drill a pilot hole and then climb up and sit on the beam and pound in the nail.

You can see why Tim plays the drums.

 One down, one to go.

The dish soap is used to lubricate the drill bit.  (I learn something new every day.  I love it)

 When you are finished with your work, you clean up the mess, especially if you are a skilled craftsman who pays attention to the details, as Tim does.

Next week, it's time to open up the roof.  We are putting in a request for no thunderstorms or rain.  

Reinforcements will be arriving from Montana to help finish the project.

On the mountain there is no rest for the weary.

Travis was also here yesterday to cut down trees and skid timber for firewood this winter.  I missed the chance to take photos of RMM and Neil hooking logs up and down the mountainside.  

(RMM worked his way through college hooking logs for his Uncle Pete.  There are a lot more stories I could tell you about that.  Maybe later)

Maybe I will get another photo op next year.  

 I did get home in time to snap some photos of Trav skidding the logs in the field.  

 He cut down enough timber for both the Wims and us for next year.

This was a very tall tree.

Neil says that we will have enough firewood to keep us warm all winter.      I am not so sure of that.  

What about Thompson, the Firewood Dog?  

How much of our wood will be left in the stack by November?

Will we really have enough?

Ta-Da!

Our Porch Project is moving right along in spite of the rainy weather or the heat when its not raining.


Tim pulled all of the siding off the front so that he could set the two posts on the basement stem wall.
A very good idea.   Some of the siding came off easily and others, not so much.

 It took some doing but I think I finally have Retired Mountain Man convinced that we need to install a light and an outlet on the new porch.  No more extension cords for my Christmas lights or the barbeque!  Hooray!

It's not as if Retired Mountain Man didn't have the skills to install a light or an outlet.  He and his father, an electrician, installed the wiring and all of the electrical in our house.  RMM worked with his father many times and knows his stuff.   Maybe he likes extension cords?  Who knows?

The next step was sawing off the other two posts, which Tim did almost effortlessly.  Retired Mountain Man was also very good as the ladder stabilizer person.

The last step was using a hand saw.

 Ta - Da!

Today Tim will be installing the beams on top of the posts.  I will keep you posted.

Hope Mountain Blues performing at our first paying gig!

The "After the Gig" party.

The bass man who never smiles, even when he has money in his hand.

Andolin Ann

Lady Isabella with the dough!

Dancing Jose' Cuervo Mandolin Player

 This is my response to, "Let's play another gig tomorrow".

You've got to be kidding!

Too Many Negative Charges?

On Thursday evening, August 1st, after music practice, Retired Mountain Man and I were enjoying a conversation and a glass of wine with Guitar Man Bruce.  We decided that there was something "wooo, wooo" about the month of August.  

Something like this  --  the positive and negative charges in the air swirl around in the atmosphere and as they get stronger and stronger they realign over northern Idaho and then strange things happen.  Very strange things.  The end is result is a major change in the weather or forest fires or......?

What could possibly cause these strange events to occur?   One thought was that it could be that too many tourists travel to our area in August and it causes a negative particle overload to rise into the air.  Think about it.  It's true.

The really scary part of this story is that yes, indeed, that very night,  at 1:00 a.m.  - the theory went into play.

There was a very loud clap of thunder!  The kind that awakens you out of a very sound sleep.

The wind blew like crazy and it started to rain. 

 It was not the gentle, pitter-patter kind of rain, this was the "it's going to rain for 40 days and 40 nights" kind of rain.

It did not stop raining for about 16 hours. 

Don't get me wrong, we needed the rain.  We hadn't had any rain for six weeks. 

 We wished for rain.  

We were hoping for rain. 

We got our wish.

Is it enough?

The next morning I drove out the driveway on my way to Sandpoint during the downpour,  (everyone else in Bonner County decided to go to Sandpoint to shop and I think that caused even more negativity) --

 -- As I drove out, I saw that our entire driveway was about to be washed away.  I stopped halfway up the road to call RMM to tell him to put on his rain gear, get the shovel and get out there to save the road!

Our driveway is about a quarter of a mile long.  RMN got soaked.  REALLY soaked.  He spent an hour and a half working in the pouring rain with his shovel.  

He says his rain gear did not keep him dry.  All of his clothes were soaked.

  I believe him.

My flowers still haven't recovered.

My Avista shield (flag) blew over and is on the ground.  I can breathe a sigh of relief for the moment -  as the Avista Cops will no longer be looking for me.

The driveway is going to need some major work, but there does not appear to be any other damage.

If you are in North Idaho during the month of August, you should keep your eye on the sky.

AND

If Guitar Man Bruce ever says to you, "I don't think you should do that".  You should follow his advice.