On the Road

Our old dock has about had it. It’s probably close to 100 years old and many of the beams are rotten, even missing. Also the crane/winch is unsafe and we’re lifting 250 lb. propane tanks up out of our boat–not a good thing to do with a faulty crane/winch. First thing we do is demo the old dock surface and beams below:

Opps, a piling falls over with Udo, our visiting guest going with it–a very close call but all is OK and Udo looks good with a limp. We rig the old winch on the new dock beams and tripod it back into place–only 18″ deep! If I’d known that, I’d have braced it! Don’t ever assume pilings go into the ground.

Here is the view of the new dock beams–we’ve stainless steel bolted some into place to secure the new Thern davit winch. Thern builds a great product, has a great website, and staff that knows how to pick up a phone. I’ll probably blog this winch later, it’s so good.

After three days hard work moving beams and decking around, we’re done and are watching our final beach bonfire of the old dock. We’ve now a direct platform from our skiff through the netshed, up the boardwalk right into the house….stay tuned!

Amidst all our Spring gardening, we get a visit from a wolf! We’re sitting at our kitchen table when a deer dashes by–nothing but hooves and white tail. We grab the camera knowing something is chasing it:

Martina takes about two dozen photos–this is the clearest–it’s through a window. Now the bears get jealous and start showing up:

and

This view looking north into Petersburg Creek is the future site of a gazebo style boathouse for our two rowboats and touring skis in winter ….stay tuned!

It’s time to get to work. We hire an excavator and buy a bunch more yellow cedar from Prince of Wales Island and roll up our sleeves. Here’s our local landing craft the “RB” unloading one of three batches of lumber. Last year we hand carried each piece off–some weighing 200 lbs.

Remember the old foundation in our front yard–resembling a Mayan ruin? We bulldozed it under and harvested the soil on top for a future garden. Soil is hard to find and we’re blessed on our point with lots of it. We pile it up and begin screening, adding kelp, seashells and compost. Behind Martina, you see the foundation of our greenhouse

Here’s the final greenhouse all framed in awaiting the Polygal polycarbonite covering. This stuff is wonderful–double walled for insulation and very strong. We will fasten it with rubber washered screws. Here, a deer is already moving in looking for good stuff to eat!