Forms and Cement, and of course, the cat!

A bull elk along Meadow Creek Rd., engrossed with eating!


It was hot earlier this week, so we went over to Dickey Lake at the end of a hard day's work. We took turns with the kayaks and got in some swimming. Barbara (behind) and Victor get a turn with the kayaks.

There they go! Victor, left, and Barbara.

Steven spent a lot of the week welding new frame pieces so we can add the rest of the solar panels to the tower. Just in time, the cloudy weather and fewer solar panels on the tower had made it a struggle to keep the refrigerator running.

"Nobody ever sings me a lullaby!"

I used a rock to pound and scrape one of the yucca leaves I brought back from California (Picture on right), then rinsed it in water on the tray (left). The scrapings have "saponins" and froth when wet, making a decent soap or shampoo. I used this to wash my hair.
No, my hair didn't turn green! lol

Steven helped Victor and Barbara build forms for the pads to build their house on, then they leveled them and staked them in place. They used stones around low spots under the boards, to contain the cement when it's poured.

This one had a really low spot in the middle so they put this huge rock under the rebar wire.

Still napping...

With the generator running to power it, they mixed cement and poured it into the wheelbarrel.

Next it was poured into the frames. Odie was acting-supervisor/inspector!

Barbara took over the shovel work for a while.

Ah, crum, a sideways picture...I'm not going back to change it, so tip your head!

When the forms were full they smoothed it with a shovel. Then Steven dragged a board across to make sure it was level with the top of the forms.

The last form was just a bit low on cement, and they didn't want to open another bag. The stuffed some stones in it, and Victor gathered handfuls of cement mix that had leaked out of bags on the pallet and added it to the form.

Steven and I went to help Tristan figure out why his truck wouldn't start, and we let Odie come along. She was very attentive to the surroundings!
The truck is running now.

"Notice that I turned the other direction?"

*music* "Doe, a deer, a female deer..."

The reason she looks so alert is that there are two spotted fawns in the grass near her. I didn't want to get any closer and really upset her.

Trip to California

This is somewhere in Idaho. It was great to be on the road, off on an adventure! Yay!

Steven playing with the miniature Etch-a-sketch we bought for the trip! :)

We ate our meals in the uhaul. These are turkey and cheese sandwiches, washed down with chocolate milk!

We crossed Idaho to Spokane, then went SW and south across eastern Washington to the Oregon state line, where we turned west along the Columbia River. We were surprised how dry and brown it was, even along the river!

Here's a tugboat and some barges.

Near The Dalles we saw windsurfers out on the river. The water had to have been kind of cold, but they looked like they were having fun!

We reached the ocean late the next morning!

Oh my gosh, it's so beautiful!

"That's the sea. I'm a seafull. Get it?"

So very beautiful.

I couldn't get enough of seeing the ocean, and the beautiful coastline.

In southern Oregon we passed through Gold Beach, so we stopped at Backwoods Home Magazine's offices. Steven has written off and on for them for almost 20 years.

Steven and I with Ilene Duffy. All the folks at Backwoods Home are warm and friendly. It was a great visit.

Almost to the California border.

The evening shadows are lengthening.

Oh so beautiful!

And again so beautiful.

We spent the night at a wayside near Arcata in northern California.

Sunrise reflections of color.

A big tree at the wayside.

Looking through the trees to the ocean. We walked along a trail on the hilltop.

Same rock from another angle.

"Oh how I love the water!

And even long to be,

A bird, a boat, or anything

That dwells upon the sea!" -Eliza R. Cook

Odie and her reflection also loved the sea!

Pacific ocean

Just realized I never identified it!

Sigh... I was so happy along the ocean!

But alas, we had to head back to the uhaul and head inland, away from the sea.

I kept looking back!

The sand dunes were beautiful too!

Some dunes, some plants, and a bit of ocean!

Odie says "Let's go back and play!"

Along the road between Arcata and Redding, California

The Trinity River

A reservoir on the Trinity River just west of Redding, California

In southern California we saw a lot of wind turbines near the town of Mohave.

On the last stretch, crossing the desert south of "Four Corners" on Hwy. 395, north of the San Bernadino Mountains.

Magic Smog???

Um, yeah...California is a bit odd!

Silverwood Lake, north of San Bernadino.
This was our destination. The group camp site was about a mile from the lake.

The pictures and summary from the camp-out are on their own blog. If you don't have the link, let me know and I'll email it to you! It was a great time! The class we taught was well-received. At least people seemed interested and asked a lot of good questions! We learned a LOT from the other classes, and it was a great week!