What a great day!

I could tell it was going to be a good day when I saw the sunrise this morning! Then when I went to the shop, I found the problem with the Dr 1, the wings were warped!  After shrinking the covering while holding in the corrections, things started fitting much better.  I also adjusted the length of one strut mount.

James called and asked if I wanted help today, of course I did and I put him to work filling in over the septic tank.  Hard work, first it is wet and heavy, then sticks to the shovel and has to be shaken off.

We took a break from the digging because I wanted to try my limb chain saw.  It is two 25 foot ropes with a special chain saw in the middle that has teeth on both sides and it cuts in both directions.  I got it because some maple limbs hang over the yard.

James made a couple of attempts at throwing the weight bag over the limb but there were too many other limbs in the way, so he used the 23 foot extension pole to get the bag over the limb.

I may have to add some more weight to the bag, because James had to pull it down with the pole.  We each took an end of the ropes and moved back from under the limb and started pulling the chain back and forth.  It only took a couple of minutes to do each limb.

Vera had us pose with our first two limbs as we were headed toward the driveway.  There was a limb right over it that I wanted to take down.

James was able to throw the weight bag over the limb by the driveway.

We only had to saw about halfway through this one before it fell and got tangled in our ropes.

Then we went back and finished filling the hole, when it was done, I had James get the 4 wheeler and trailer out and we loaded up the old bark dust.

We hauled it out to one of Vera's trails where a falling tree had made a hole.

Once when Vera walked by the Maxima, she thought she smelled gas, so when we were done, James and I checked it out.  We did not find anything and we could not smell any gas even after running it for a few minutes.

Vera had made a batch of cocoa mounds this afternoon and she sent James home with a bag full.  The picture is the leftovers that I get, Yum Yum!

If two wings is good, three should be great!

Saturday March 29th., I got the RV-9 finished today, the flap linkage took a while, but I finally got it right.  Boy did it hail and rain a couple of times today, it sure makes one appreciate a roof over your head. I made a trip over to see how Steve and Dianne like their new Dishnet setup, they seemed pretty happy with it and had a couple of stories about it already.

Sunday March 30th.

I spent most of the day working on my new Fokker Dr 1.  It is a nice kit, I didn't even find much I wanted to reinforce.  I have been making a change to the top wing, burying the aileron servos in the wing, instead of hanging down underneath.  Maybe I will remember to take a picture of that tomorrow. Getting the middle and bottom wing lined up wasn't too bad a job, but that top wing is giving me fits.  It didn't help when I put the cabane struts on backwards and had to take it clear back off to turn them around.  It will go better tomorrow when I am fresh, but right now, I am not sure three wings is better than two.

Vera made a great dinner of steamed rice and chicken with home made biscuits.  I kept having to have one more biscuit, so I was pretty full when we finished.  There are four left, they may be my bed time snack.

Back to work!

James came up to help me after school today, they only had a half day.  We got him outfitted in my coveralls first thing because we were going to be rearranging the woodshed.  I want to make it so the wood pellets are a little easier to get to.  James is a good helper, doing what ever I ask him to do, it was much easier for him to get down on the floor than it is for me.  He got lessons on the pneumatic stapler, impact driver and cut off saw today.  We got the new firewood bay cleaned out and are closing it in with screen and a door to keep mice and squirrels out.  Vera made a great batch of peanut butter cookies for our break.

After James left, dinner and a nap, I went out to work on the RV-9.  I got the elevator and rudder pushrods hooked up and adjusted, the wing dowels fitted and mounted the wing.

Just a few more things and it will be ready for the next time we go flying!

I am sure glad that is done!

I woke up feeling almost like normal this morning.  Yesterday Vera had washed a load of clothes and the water backed up into the tub, so this morning, I decided to call around and get pumping the septic tank scheduled.  It turned out they were not busy and could do it today, so I scheduled it for after lunch, then I got my boots and raincoat on and started digging.  By the time Vera got home from bible study I had it all uncovered.

They arrived right at 1:00 just like they said they would and we got started.  It took about 2 hours to get it all pumped out as it was really thick (it had not been pumped in 32 years).  The guy that did it flies park flyers and had worked at the Fibre so we had lots to talk about.  Afterwards, I gave him a tour of the shop and it turns out he is interested in ham radio also.

Vera took all the pictures today, I am on the way to the shop for supplies.

I treated the drain field the way they suggested and I was done for the day.  Covering it will be some other day, or maybe James will help on Friday.  When I was done, I went in and enjoyed a long hot shower, a good way to end that job.

Eagles yesterday, Rainbows today!

I woke up feeling much better this morning, still not a 100%, but getting there.  I messed around on the computer all morning, around noon I asked Vera what she had for lunch.  She said if I waited 20 minutes the bread would be out of the oven and she had made a salad.  Just after we finished the salad, the bread was done, two are missing from the picture, we each had one.  I had one slice of mine with butter and the second with butter and honey that had been melting and soaking in as I ate the first slice.  Boy, was it good!

Just after lunch, I noticed a rainbow out the window, I jumped up, grabbed the camera and took a bunch of pictures.  There was a second rainbow above the bright one and it shows pretty good in this picture. I finally made it out to the shop about three and started working on the vibration in the RV-9.  After much messing around, I finally got it taken care of.  I should have taken a picture because it looks good with the spinner and prop on it.

Vera noticed a silver lining on the clouds this evening and took a few pictures.  She was not happy with the results, but they look just like she wanted after taking out some highlights in Photoshop.

Since her other pictures did not turn out the way she liked, she took some of the clouds to the East and they turned out great!  I have read that when taking pictures of sunsets, be sure and look behind your self as some times that is where the best pictures are.

Another perfect flying day, too bad I wasn't there.

That cold is still with me, all weekend I had looked forward to flying today, but I just felt lousy this morning.  Vera noticed a bird circling, by the time I got the camera and got it set to the right mode, it was behind the trees.  I went outside and finally got to where I could get a clear picture from the driveway. By then it was quite a bit higher, but I got this picture.  I wish I could search out lift that good when I am flying my radio controlled glider.

As long as I was outside, I took a few pictures of our biggest azalea.  A little later, I was kicked back in my recliner when there was a flurry of knocking on the door.  I had a good idea who it was, I was right, the twins!  Vera was out on the back deck, they tapped on the window until she noticed them, she came in and invited them out to explore on the deck.  They checked it out, went down the stairs and checked out the other decks.

Then it was back in the Jeep to continue their ride.  I was sure surprised when they turned on the radio, I had no idea the radio in the dash really worked.  It was really cute, they found music and were swaying around with it.

Harper was driving for the trip home, they did lots of waving, it was a great day to be outside, our  first 70 degree day this year.  I did some work on the RV-9 today, I test ran the motor and it vibrated like crazy.  I found the prop adapter bent, after replacing it, I still had a vibration.  I traced it down to the spinner and then called it a night, I will see about changing it tomorrow.

I will be glad when this gone!

OK, this weekend did not go as planned!  I came down with a head cold that cancelled my plans for flying Saturday and going to church today.  I wandered out and puttered in the shop both days, but it is slow going when you are constantly blowing your nose!  We had a short visit from Pastor Pam and Don Saturday, I had told them they could dump some lawn clippings they had into our compost pile.  I gave them a tour of the shop and Vera showed Pam the house and ponds.

 James came up Sunday afternoon, he mowed and hauled in wood pellets for me.  After he was done, He wanted to go the creek since he had not been down there in a long time.  He asked Michelle to go with him.  They got all outfitted in boots and warmer clothes before heading out.

I couldn't resist using this picture Michelle sent me of their adventure, James got in over his boot tops.

Of course, he did find some nice agates again.  He sure has an eye for seeing them, like he has done for me, he pointed one out to Michelle right at her feet.  It sounded like they had a great time, as they also checked out some of the areas we ride around in up there.

Nature is winning!

I remembered to take a picture of the building on Dougherty Drive today, nature is claiming it back.

While we were there, a goose was drying it's wings, it was funny to watch, we ended up sitting there for quite a while taking pictures.

Of course one of the ducks had to get into the show.  We finally made it to the post office and I got a model magazine, so I was happy.

Since we were taking pictures of buildings, we ran over to Old Pacific Hwy N to take a new picture of this barn.  This picture was taken in 2011 and I think it was the snow that started it falling down.

This is how it looked today, the last 3 years have really been hard on it!

This afternoon, I got the pilot and instrument panel installed in the RV-9.  I also finally got the cowl mounted, the new blocks worked great.

Vera and I trimmed the ferns in front of the shop and North of the house this afternoon.  We ended up with two trailer loads that I hauled to the compost pile.  It was sure nice out this afternoon, I heard voices, so I went to investigate.

I found the first fire pit party of the year going on!  I had a great time watching the girls roast hot dogs and marshmallows.  Ava toasted two marshmallows to a nice golden brown and Harper roasted her hot dog until it was steaming.  She did not like the bun and gave it to grandma, then she said the hot dog was too hot to hold, so I gave her a napkin.  After I left there, I checked on things in the motor home, then I worked on the new project, three pieces were missing for the motor mount, so I had a great time making them up this evening.

Old Buildings

I did not take a picture today, so I went looking back for pictures taken on March 20th.  I found this one of an old sway backed building on Jackson Hwy. that I took in 2004.  I am glad I did, because it has been torn down.

This picture was taken the same day, it is a building on Dougherty Drive in Castle Rock.

This how it looked in 2011, the snow this year caved it in some more.  I am going to have to stop down there and take a new picture.

We walked this morning, it was 32 when we left home with frost on the roofs.  It was a little warmer in town and there was not much wind, so we had a nice walk.  After breakfast and emails, I did some cleanup in here.  Then I made a trip over to see the twins, they were painting pictures and I had a good time watching them.  I got started installing the cowl on the RV-9, only to have a couple of the inserts for the screws come out.  I removed them all and put in some plywood blocks for the screws to go into. I also did some more reinforcement on the new project.  I gave Barry a call, we had a nice visit, it was 85 down there.  I was sitting on the shop porch enjoying the sunshine while we talked when it started sprinkling on me, typical Washington weather, rain and sun at the same time.  While I was talking to Barry, I noticed Vera cutting ferns, so when we got done, I went out to help.  She had already quit, so I got the 4 wheeler and trailer out and did the ferns along the East side of the house.  A little more work on the RV-9 this evening finished out the day.

Game Cancelled!

I got the second aileron mount covered first thing this morning while Vera was at bible study.  I looked at the ferns, I thought for a couple of minutes about cutting some more back, but talked myself out of it. It was a good thing too, it started raining not too long after that.  James had a baseball game scheduled for today, we left early because I had some papers to sign at the credit union for the RC club.  Just after I got done and we were headed toward the field, James texted me that the game was cancelled, so we headed home.  I moved the RV-9 out to the shop so I could start hinging the controls and install the motor and cowl.  The first motor I installed (the black one) was too long, the red one's prop adapter was too big for the spinner and it may have been too long also.  The motor that is torn apart looked like it would work, but I had to reverse the shaft but when I got it apart, I found a magnet loose.  It is in the upper right of the corner of the picture, I discovered while repairing it that J-B Weld is magnetic! While I was waiting on the J-B Weld, I dug around in the drawer and found a motor that looks like it will be perfect just the way it is.  I did a little grinding on the cowl and it is all ready to be mounted.

I had enough of the RV-9 by then, so I got out what may be the next project and started bracing the landing gear mount, it would never have stood up to our grass runways.  Vera made the best biscuits and gravy for dinner, I was in here on the computer and those biscuits smelled so good, she only had to mention it was ready once!

Finally done with the wing covering

We had a great walk this morning, lots of talking and laughter.  I spent most of the day finishing up the covering on the RV-9's wing.  Then I spent several hours finding the cowl, there was only one small tag on the box and it was tucked away where I couldn't see it easily.  I may have to repaint that blue, the match is terrible!  I also had to hunt up the aileron servo mounts, then when I got them in here, I notice one was cracked so it was back to the shop to repair it.  I never did find the flap servo mount, so I made a new one.  Vera and I spent some time trimming the ferns this afternoon, it was really nice out there.  One trailer load was plenty for today.

Baseball season begins!

I did a little work on the RV-9 wing this morning, then UPS showed up with the new filters for the heat pump.  After a run to town for some foam tape to seal them with, I got one installed.  The MM JV baseball team had their first game today.  It did not go their way, they lost 9 - 0.  They made some nice plays, but there were some errors that really cost them.  James played first base, I got these pictures of him catching a high throw for an out at first.  It was sure cold out there, I got out and watched the first inning and then went back to the car to watch the rest.  That is the nice thing about the long zoom, I took these pictures from about 250 feet away.  After the game, we did a little shopping at Fred Meyer, filled up with gas and had dinner at Jack in the Box.  I really like the flavor of their sandwiches and their Bacon Cheddar Potato Wedges!

Decorating the tree!

At church today, one of Pastor Pam's examples was a story about wanting a perfect Christmas Tree. That got me thinking about our Christmas trees.  Once the grand kids started doing ours, we would leave it like they did it, not prefect, but beautiful just the same. even the year they threw the decorations at the tree.  This picture of James, Debbie, Jackie and Vera was taken in 2003.

I got half the RV-9's wing covered today, it sure takes a long time to go around the round wing tips. Other than that, it was watch TV and take it easy.

Timber!

I made great headway on the RV-9 today, I had thought about going flying, but by the time the sun came out I was out of the mood and going great guns on the covering job.  After I finished the fuselage, I was headed to the shop and I saw Vera cutting back the ferns around the pond and I volunteered to do the ones on the other side.

That lead to me taking pictures of the Azalea that is in bloom.

Then I took some pictures of the ground cover at the North end of the yard.

The primroses were next!

I went over by the shop to see if I could get a better picture of the Bumble Bees in the heather.  I only took one, because they seemed to be upset with me leaning down over them.  Vera noticed one of the ground covers over there needed trimming so I got out the hedge trimmers and did it.  The battery was still going strong, so I trimmed some of the other heather and headed down one of the trails trimming the edges.  I had gone about a hundred feet when I notice a dead tree leaning over another part of the trail.  I tried pushing it over, but no luck, so I went to get the 4 wheeler.  I hooked the winch cable to it and pulled it loose from the tree it was hung up in and it fell right across the trail.  The other half of the tree was dead also, so I tried pushing it over with the 4 wheeler, but I could see the top part would land right where I was.  I moved over behind a big cedar and ran the winch line out to it.  I stood behind the tree and ran the winch.  It fell right across the trail also, but part of the tree landed right where I would have been if I had pushed it over, then it fell across the trail with the other one.  Now James has a little work to do clearing that trail.  At 6, we went down to the church and watched the youth group run a worship service, they did a great job and I really enjoyed their choice of music.  This evening, I settled into my recliner and watched 4 episodes of Wipeout and did a little reading of the latest issue of Flying Models.