Snakes, Spiders & Siding

Another weekend that was nice and warm and sunny, so we decided to stay outside and continue removing siding.

 

We moved around back to tackle the rest of the addition.  It ends up going rather quickly, especially when the rotten wood doesn't hold the nails.

 Isn't it nice when the wall comes off with the siding?  Yay, two birds with one stone!

 This photo is for anyone who asks why we're not saving the building.  We could see under the floor between the floor joists.  It looks pretty clean under there thankfully. No bodies!

 We finished the siding on the addition, but left some up after we realized there were gaping holes in the wall.  We don't want to be sharing the space with raccoons.

 Siding done.

 We left the tar paper up where possible... maybe to protect the precious rotten wood?

 While cutting the lawn we found a snake.

 He was posing for us.

 Our newly planted trees were looking a little dry.  There has been no help from mother nature for a while.

 In the evening we went for a walk.  Found another piece of property being developed.  They are very early on, just clearing roads and sites for cabins.

 One of the neighbours has a cool little spot on a bay near ours and built a dock out to a granite island about 25 feet from shore.  They made a bridge across the gap so that they don't have to take out the dock every year.  Great idea!

 We woke up early,  to see the morning sun on the lake... 

...and to find a squatter in our house.

Guess who gets to remove it?   Better work on that phobia!

As I carried it out of the house it started going crazy when it saw the sun and felt the heat.
Nightmares for weeks!

Colourful Weekend

The driveway is really filling in nicely.

 The house doesn't look very different from the outside... can't even tell the inside is gutted.

  It's nice to see some colour finally!  There are two rhododendrons, both in bloom.

The raft is still there!  We were worried it might have floated away or crashed against the shore.

 The lake is often choppy, so when we arrived to see nice calm water we thought we would play first and work later.  We went for a long kayak ride to the neighbouring lake.

 Then back to work.  Mowing the grass around the area where we'll be removing siding.  Ticks are still out, so this helps keep them away from us while we work.

 Pretty flowers.

 Not so pretty coccoon in the apple tree.  Gypsy moths maybe?

 Found some blueberries!

 This is the before picture.

 The siding comes off pretty easily.  Unfortunately my shoulders were so tired after the kayaking that I could barely raise my arms!

 A female Downy Woodpecker.

Leaving for home.

Raft n' Relax

This weekend was too hot for any serious work, so we opted for some R & R... raft and relax!

Our first day was spent picking up barrels and supplies to build a raft.  It was 33 degrees so we just relaxed in the shade and had a fire that night.

 Last of the palette's burning.

 

 Purple lilac tree is in bloom.

 A calm morning on the lake.  So tranquil.

Supplies for the raft.  We got some used barrels from a local guy who collects them from the hospital... they held laundry detergent and fabric softener.

Chris and Debby started framing the raft....

 ...while I unplugged the kitchen sink.

 Then a team effort to carry the raft to the shore, where we finished putting on the decking.

 Cinder block anchor is ready as I finish the last of the decking.

Chris and Steve swam the raft out to the centre of the bay.

Cody supervised.  :)

 

And Debby finally had her first experience kayaking!

 Cody getting some kayaking lessons, while the others enjoy the raft.

Drive home after a hot and fun weekend.  Exhausted!

Updates

Our neighbour has completed his repairs of the bridge and has cut down a number of trees, and the "For Sale" sign is up.  It's unfortunate that this is the view from the best (only?) building site.  Luckily our little cabin will be a bit further away and hopefully hidden from their sight.

A photo of my new well cover:

I love this big old tree but I wasn't sure if it was still alive.  I was happy to see buds appearing!

We've cleaned out the pressure tank a bunch of times and flushed most of the rust out.  The water is looking much better now.

Envisioning the view once the renos are complete.

The water level of the lake keeps falling, even with all the spring rain.  It was almost to the top of the orange line only three weeks ago.  We seem to lose about 2-3 inches a week.

We enjoyed a little trip around the bay in Mom and Dad's canoe.  It was nice to get a look at the land from the water, and explore the lake a bit. 

After our canoe ride we started to pack up and get ready to head back to the city.

 

The trailer looks so lonely:

Sun setting behind the trees: