The
Squamidian Report – May 14 / 11
Issue #468
Including:
The Ontarion
Hi All,
It has been so cold and so wet around here that no one is even sure if winter is over. In fact, the weather forecaster on the TV news program we watch has started referring to our current calendar season as sprinter, because while the date says ‘spring’, the climate says ‘winter’. We’ve been stuck in a coastal Alaska climate since December. Its been so cold and wet that the hummingbirds at our feeder have grown webbed feet and little fur coats. We are still getting regular snowfalls in the Coastal Mountains around us, the snow load is still growing.
Any thought of heading out on the motorcycle is just that, a futile thought. The bike is gathering dust in the back corner of the garage. Come to think of it, its not just ordinary dust, its sawdust. Our back yard fence was in need of some attention. I had replaced most of the north side a couple of years ago, and had replaced half of the other side a few years before that. Now the back section and part way up the south sideline needed to be repaired. The fence panels weren’t in too bad of condition but the wooden lattice tops have been falling apart for quite a while. So, we bought some pressure treated lumber and proceeded to build new modular lattice tops. We didn’t buy wooden lattice as it is just too brittle and does not last all that long in this Alaska climate. We purchased the vinyl kind, same stuff we used on the deck extension. It won’t rot or dry out, or anything.
So with the bike shoved forlornly into the garage corner, I pulled out my compound miter saw and my table saw and my folding sawhorses and proceeded to turn the garage into a temporary work shop. Like I said, we built modular top sections that can be screwed into place on top of the panels. That way, should I ever need to repair of replace any of the bottom sections, I can simply unscrew the lattice panels and set them aside. Do whatever is needed to the bottoms and them put the top sections back. The modular lattice sections are basically 8x1 rectangles made from 2x4s, surrounding strips of lattice. We purchased 4x8 sheets that matched our existing vinyl lattice and cut them into foot wide strips.
Of course no straight forward simple job is actually straight forward or simple. 4 of the old posts needed to be replaced. I’ve replaced some of the other posts when I rebuilt the other sections. One thing I don’t do is place concrete around fence posts. Don’t believe in it. Concrete is basically just a backfill that gets as hard as concrete. But it holds the water in and causes the posts to rot. Posts that are properly into the ground and tamped around will last longer, and when they do have to be replaced are much easier to replace. So, to dig out an old post and plant a new one, I must cut the fence panel away, set it aside and deal with the post. Then I put the panel back. Just that simple. Or at least until I ran into a couple of panels that were too far gone to just cut away and put back. So, all of a sudden we had to build some new panels.
Now, every time something about this simple fence repair project changes, it requires more materials which means another trip to Home Depot. They’ve started to recognize us there. The Wife’s dog Willow is bound and determined to accompany us where ever we go and the lumber yard is no different. She (the dog) does not really like riding in that little space behind the front seats but it is big enough for small people and therefore its big enough for a spoiled dog. So, on one of our many repeated trips to Home Depot we had the dog riding along in the truck, sitting behind the front seats. We left her in the truck as usual, with both front windows down a few inches so she wouldn’t think she was going to run out of air and suffocate. We also left the little back slider window cracked open a bit, and went into the store to gather our needed materials.
Shortly thereafter a commotion arose in the store, a dog was running up and down the isles. Sure enough, it was Willow and she was looking for us. She had pushed the slider window open and had jumped into the back of the truck, then jumped down from there and headed for the door she saw us go through. Its one of those automatic doors and it opened for her so she just walked right in. It probably took her by surprise that there were so many people in there to hunt through and that it was bigger than our house. She knows how to work her way up and down store isles because whenever we go to a pet supply store she comes along and ‘goes shopping’. Dogs do that around here. We put her back into the truck and made sure the back window was locked. And no, the fence repair project is not finished yet. We keep running into unexpected complications that just keep causing the project to get bigger and bigger. In fact, I think we are further from being finished now than we were before we started at the beginning of the week.
doug
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THE ONTARION REPORT
Hello Everyone!
Well, it’s still raining in significant amounts in many parts of Canada and the US and many thousands of people are displaced from their homes. With little hope of returning to any semblance of a residence that is it’s former self they have only to look forward to one terrible mess when the floodwaters do recede to normal. With this disaster affecting so many in central and western Canada it leaves me wondering if other countries around the world will make an effort to send over financial or material aid or aid in the form of labour to assist in rebuilding the lost homes of these unfortunate Canadian flood victims! The American flood victims are in the same sad situation and will be hard pressed to receive aid from their own government let alone aid from other countries. After all, Canada and the USA are almost always the first countries to send aid to anywhere in the world that suffers from such disasters! I wonder if we’ll be the recipients of such heartfelt aid now that it’s our turn to have the shoe on the other foot! I’m sure that in this case we will be looked upon as the two richest countries in the world and as a consequence should not expect any help with our dire situation. I think the least countries who have been helped by North America in the past should do is offer help to both Canada and the US!
Unfortunately I’m afraid we’re on our own and will be expected to look after ourselves this time. Hopefully our governments will be willing and able to rebuild all of the lives of the victims of such flooding without balking at footing the bill to do so! I have no clue if individual insurance policies of the home owners involved in this disaster will cover the cost to rebuilding these homes or is this situation considered “An act of God” by the insurance companies so they can opt out of their obligation to pay up? Surely one living in a flood prone area can and will be sensible enough when purchasing a home in these regions to investigate the possibility of procuring “Flood Insurance” if there is such a thing? If it is available to them and they chose not to pay for such insurance then, they’ll just have to live with the consequences of a flood when it happens! I hope for the sake of everyone involved that things will work out for the best and they’ll get their homes and lives back together.
The world will be watching!
I guess we’re supposed to be in for another four days of rain over the next week so I’d better head on out and cut the grass for the third time this year. My lawn is looking great and I hope I can keep it that way this year. I’ve already had a couple passing by the other evening comment that my lawn looks like a golf course! I must admit that it is looking very nice but with all the rain we’ve been getting how could it help but look anything but lush and green?
Gotta go for now, the “SNAPPER” awaits! (“Snapper” Lawn Mower).
Thanks for tuning in and I look forward to talking to you all again next week in The Ontarion Report!
Bye for now… GREG
PS: Something To Think About>
Experience is a wonderful thing! It enables you to recognize a mistake before you make it again!
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Have a good one..
the doug
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