Mother Nature, Birds, and Forest Fires

I don't have pictures. I'm not sure they would portray the colors in our sunsets--reds, oranges, yellows that seem to reflect the very fires that are spewing the ash into our skies. While some are watching the fires, fearing for their property and lives, we are staring in wonder at the marvelous sight. Doesn't seem right.

Then we have birds. Little birds. Thousands of little birds. They are gathering for their annual vacation in the south. They sit on the power lines, spread out as far as one can see.

In my yard, at the new picnic table, in the only breezy spot on the planet, I watch these little birds randomly picking spots on the wire. Well, I thought randomly:

-Those with white tummies sit on the top wire, those with dark tummies (about 1 in 50) are sent away and sit on the bottom wire.

-They all face the wind/breeze, all lined up like students waiting for instructions to go into the school: Randomly they come to the line and hop into the nearest spot. But wait! Sometimes the ones on the line won't let certain newcomers park there, but later, a different arrival is given the spot. And then there is the occasional bird sitting cross-ways to the rest, taking up two spaces while searching the sky. At last, the latecomer arrives and both now sit facing the breeze like all the rest.

-And as if on cue, they all take off, circle randomly, or not, and begin the parking ritual all over again.

And what to you do when you have a house to build in 95-100 degree weather (that's 100-119 degrees in the sunny, but wind-free basement)? The dew point, by the way, is in the upper 70s.

Mother Nature

Some scenes from Mother Nature:

and some scenes with a little human intervention:

Rhubarb transplanted this summer

My first tomato of the summer

Grandma's Tiger Lilly 

The First Floor

Manufactured lumber--who'd a thought!

Laminated Veneer Lumber (VLV): The beams that will support the joists.
TJI: I-Truss. Instead of 2X10 inch lumber, these I beams are superior. They're lighter and stronger, plus they're straight--they don't warp. On top of them will be 3/4" tongue and groove plywood, glued and screwed to the TJIs. No squeaky floors!!!

More pictures to follow as the work progresses.

Garage Floor

Standing at the back door looking across the garage floor ready for concrete. The holes are reinforcement for supports that will be needed for the upstairs floor.

The pink at the bottom of the holes is extruded polystyrene insulation. On top of that is sand with heat pipes buried in it. These will be used to heat the garage on those cold winter nights.

A Mailbox

If a new house gets a wall, should it not also get a mailbox? How about white (on a newly-painted post, the shape dictated by the US Postal Service):

The red sign is from days gone by. It is the fire number that was given when calling for emergency help. I believe it predates 911. Now we have an actual street address and house number, just like the big cities...I believe we are growing up!

 The mail car passed by the first day, but stopped the next to drop off some junk mail. A couple weeks later, the mail delivered an invitation to the ordination of a special person who is about to become a Lutheran minister. Now, that is snail mail worth waiting for.

A Wall

It's a short wall, and it has not a door, yet, and the studs are not fastened to the bottom plate, yet, but it is a wall!

You see, in my haste to get home with the lumber and start cutting and nailing, I forgot about the need for nails to do the nailing thing! Fortunately, I had a few long screws left over from last year, so the studs are fastened to the top plate and will be attached to the bottom plate tomorrow.




Also, tomorrow will be the day to make the final measurements for the house, lay out for the joists, and build the support walls that will be in the basement.

Basement Floor

At last!

 

No, it's not a swimming pool. I had just wet down the concrete to aid in the curing process. Last night we had light rain off and on which further helped out.

  

The Process

They get paid to play in the mud!

The next two steps will be to put in support walls and posts and to 

get the garage floor ready to pour.