HOME YARD CAMPING

We decided to bite the bullet and gut the inside of the Timberframe
after 20 years. All the plumbing was to be replaced and all the walls
finally built and plastered. It was a dirty job and we could not live
inside while the work was going on... so where? We looked at a
motorhome, a camp trailer, a boat at the dock, but in the end it was
the $89 Home Depot special wall tent that won out. We bought two and
set them up in the front yard, moved the furniture in and started
living..... carpets, dressers, lamps and everything. It rained and
blew, and the tents swayed and shook, but all stayed dry. Only when I
was sleeping in my bed in the tent did Onyx the black cat sleep with
me at night. He and I had a special summer together, but when we
moved back into the refurbished home that winter, he would have
nothing of me. So it goes.

MOVING DAY

If you want to fix a boat, you need to have it in a boat shed. I
tried numerous times to rig a temporary shelter over the boat with
shrink wrap and framing, only to have it all destroyed in the next big
wind. I decided she needed to be off the beach and in a permanent
shed... only then could I think of working on her. First step, move
her to a protected place. So I hired the only hydraulic trailer in
town large enough to lift her and backed her into a special slot
prepared between the trees to the north of the lodge. It is always
exciting to move something this large, so the neighbors showed up and
there was lots of help. I recall the truck got stuck in the mud and
we had break out the Yanmar tractor and white Ford... but of course
we managed. At the end of the day she sat in woods, waiting, with
Cedar, for what was to come next.

DAN'S REEF

On a 0' tide, Dan's Reef begins to show just off the point. It is a small but nasty piece of rock for navigation. It is a wonderful place for wildlife, since one is guaranteed to see either sea lions or seals working it edges for tidbits. It is also a great place to renew the lure box, since trollers every year snag the rock, break the line, and leave the flashy stuff for me to pick up when the tide is -4' and calm. I just stroll over to the rock and select the ones I like. Its called Dan's reef because I wanted something unnamed I could name what I wanted. On days like this one, I sit in the green chair to most fantastic of views and talk to my reef. Also, who is going to come and take it from me.... so for now, its mine.

A RARE DAY WHEN ALL WAS IN BALANCE

For some years I had the Kiki Dee moored safely on the inside of the harbor, grounded in all but the highest tides and always in sight from the dining room table. She was always tending to settle port down, perhaps due to a slight heaviness on that side. But on a cold new years day I noticed something very special. The Kiki Dee that night had settled squarely from the falling tide on her narrow keel, merely 12 inches wide, and her entire 30 foot wide stance was now carefully balanced on this small footprint. In all the years I have had her, this is the only time she did this. For some unknown reason, I felt this new years day was significant and that perhaps there was a sign or message in all this for me.... but after years of contemplation..... I am still stumped.