"Vote for the man who promises least; he'll be the least disappointing." - Bernard Baruch

from friend, Sue

It's been raining lightly all night, a good Oregon soaking. That's mostly good because a) I finished cleaning off and patching the roof yesterday afternoon, b) I got everything that was outside under cover, c) it will help the grass seed germinate (see below), and d) it forces me to back off a bit today. The downsides: a) we don't own any rain gear at all. Living in the desert for eight years ill prepared us for life in the PNW. b) the truck is supposed to be delivered today and I'm pretty sure it leaks, and c) it forces me to back off a bit today.

(note: this post has lots of pics so I've made them small. Click on any of them to enlarge.)

Here's that picture of Sheila, our first official visitor. She and her boys (who stayed at G'mas in Eugene when she came to see us) will get back to Phx today so she can be back to work Sunday. She's a nurse at the hospital where Pam worked, so they'd occasionally see each other there as well as at Pathway.
You'd like Sheila, and she's a powerful example of someone living out what it means to be a Christ-follower.

I was up on the ladder with my gallon bucket of roof tar when Todd showed up with his bobcat. Three hours later he'd worked his magic and was headed back up the road to his place. And I do mean magic. That guy works a bobcat like it was an extension of his limbs and clearly knows the limits of what it will do. I was sure he was going to flip that thing a couple of times.

Here's the "before" view of the area that used to hold the quonset hut I removed this summer. You can't tell real well from this two dimensional view but it was very uneven. They had mounded the dirt to form a high spot for that makeshift greenhouse that was about 20'x20', and created low spots on all sides, including in front. The valley you may be able to make out in this pic is about 4' deep relative to the area in front of and behind it. The other three sides also dropped off dramatically. (Fred is just off to the left.)

Enter Todd and his bobcat. First he used horizontal jaws and chains to pluck a bunch of steel posts, then a big bucket to do the major leveling, then a blade to do the final smoothing. Fast, efficient, and fun to watch.

By the time he was done I had more than I'd hoped for. The now flat site will hold the chicken coop and run I'll build in the spring with room left over for some berry vines. This spot gets lots of sun because the creek behind it is a break in the trees so it makes a great spot for growing things. There's enough slope to channel the runoff from up around MoHo into the creek, and the grass seed I put down will help hold it all in place through the heavier rains we'll get through the winter. (That's the corner of Fred's roof in the upper right of the pic.)

After that Todd cleared a small area where I'll park the teardrop and then created another drive for us to exit our property. The current driveway comes off of Baker Rd and is a bit steep just as it gets to the top. That was going to be a problem the two or three times each winter that we'll get a wet, mushy snow. There was an easy spot to get out onto the private road that runs along the south side of our property, and that road enters Baker at a much more gradual incline. I'd already removed the barb wire fence so Todd graded it through. He'll come back next week with a small load of 1/2" gravel to spread out so it doesn't become a mud trap when we drive over it.
Now we have a circular drive, the hallmark of all great estates. Come in off of Baker Rd. and park on the east side of MoHo, and drive around to the west side of MoHo to leave.

Todd also leveled the area in front of Barnette and moved some stones into a pile off to the side. I'd talked to United Equipment Rentals and learned what it was going to cost me to rent a bobcat for four hours, including delivery. I paid Todd significantly less, got the work done by a pro, and in 1/4 the time it would have taken me to do poorly.
SCORE.

There's much more to report but this is already long enough and I'm ready for some coffee. With the rain forecasted to run through most of the day I'm going to work on the bathroom. Paint, replace the slightly scary shower doors with a curved rod & curtain, install a medicine cabinet and a towel rod. Maybe some college football in between, especially because the Oregon Ducks (Eugene) are playing the Washington Huskies in Seattle.
Progress continues!