Where has the time gone? Can't believe that it has been almost a month since the last post. Have to get on this a little sooner. Much, much has been going on. The barge/store's facelift is almost complete. The dock/walkway is progressing.
We have had a few visitors to the dock and a few checking out if the store is open.
We hope to be open in the next couple of weeks. Piles are not going to happen just yet, but George has figured out an anchoring system. Four 45 gallon drums have been filled with cement and two of these "anchors" have been put in place by the Sea Roamer. They are strong enough that when the Sea Roamer tied up to them, it could not move. This should suffice until we can get the piles. The pile driver has hydraulic problems and they do not know when it will be fixed. Fortunately, it is across the bay from us as it is being fixed.
I have discovered some of the mystery flowers growing in our flower bed.
They are lettuce leaf poppies and are very beautiful. They are popping up all over the flower beds. The climbing rose bush is full of roses and the garden is starting to thrive. The soil in the garden is very poor and next year we have to look at either hauling dirt from beside the well, or bringing in bags of top soil.
The wind has not stopped for about a month and we are getting quite tired of it. Luckily the sun has decided to make an appearance for the last week. It has not rained significantly for about a month and consequently we are getting low on water. George and the boys have strung out a pipe to the back creek, but so far we are short and need to get more pipe. Our well is a hand dug well and fills with ground water. George then pumps to a cistern (which we have been told is 10 thousand gallons, we have our doubts). Because of the dry summer so far the well is not filling up very much and water conservation has started as a result. This means washing dishes only once a day and not using the dishwasher. Flushing of toilets only happens when needed (or if it has sat too long). Showers are at a minimum. With this conservation, we should be back to normal soon with a full cistern. Conservation still has to happen but when the cistern is more full, showers, laundry and the dishwasher can be done more often.
Our daughter Christine is here now. She came on July 14 and has been a big help. She makes lunch everyday and at the moment she is putting the railing on the walkway. The boys have cleaned out the floathouse and have moved in. I guess it is quite cozy. They have one lamp and a TV/DVD combo. It is their little place!
There have not been as many bears around as there was before. They have obviously moved on.
We did have a visitor in the yard the other day and gave Christine a little bit of a fright. It was a deer and she was only about 4 feet away from it before she saw it. I saw a doe and two fawns across the estuary the same day. I hope they come over here. Since the cows are gone, there is more food for the deer.
The cube van has finally been unloaded of the rest of our things. The loft is quite full now, but at least now we can start to put some of it away. Yeh I have my sewing machine now. The van is now across at Eve River. The Sea Roamer took it across the other day. We will use the van to haul our stock for the store and then it is off to Calgary, so Melissa and Darren can use it to move to Edmonton in August.
The mowing of the lawn/grass/weeds has been put on a standstill as I broke the push mower by hitting a piece of steel and the tractor has issues as well. George will take the deck off the tractor and see if he can figure out what is wrong. The bobcat is sick as well, and we are waiting for a new starter for it. When it was stuck on the beach, the starter must have got some salt water in it and it is corroded. Christine and Kelly were digging for the fork for the bobcat but so far it has not been found. I am athinking that it may be in China! Need that fork! The lifts of lumber at the front by the beach is becoming unsightly!
Kate and Joel are back for the summer. They have a cabin on one of the small islets in the bay. They have been busy building a new cabin, with logs that Joel has cut himshelf. It is quite nice and I look forward to seeing it complete. We had them for supper one day and Kate was the one that told me I had poppies growing. The boys helped them one day to help unload their cube van. They are a lovely couple and we hope to spend more time with them.
John and Nancy arrived last week and came for a visit the other day. They are such nice people, as well. They have a few stories to tell of the bay as well. They have a potluck supper every year around August 17 (Joel's birthday). George's mom Mary will be here this year for it. The potluck has people from all over - Burial Cove, Soderman Cove, Chatham Channel, Lagoon Cove etc. Of course the people from Port Harvey are their as well. What a wonderful time is had by all. We really look forward to this year!
