June 18th to 20th - 100 Mile House

June 18th – Fri – 100 Mile House
We did a few finishing touches on the deck joists before going for another load of deck boards. It is not too far to pick up the wood so we would rather make multiple trips than overload the truck. With our storage box in the truck, 12 foot boards hang out quite far.
We did well putting down the boards but the cordless drill chargers could not keep up with us. But that was OK as we are getting older (!!) and were ready to quit. I went to do a few extra chores including checking the water tubs. As I was walking through the barn yard, I noticed a very fine wire hanging down and realized it was the wire from the electric fencer at the barn. I got Terry to help and he got the tractor so he could use the bucket to get to the top of a tall pole where the wire came loose from an insulator. When he was trying to figure out what the problem was & I was turning off the power, Sage (dog) didn’t listen to Terry and ran right into the live wire. She exited the barn yard much quicker than she entered it!

June 19th – Sat – 100 Mile House
Another lovely day to finish building the deck. I goofed on some calculations so we had to get 3 more boards. Also, the store misjudged the number of screws that we would need. We bought 6 pounds of screws, had some left and were over 2/3 done so we got 2 more pounds of screws and ended up 32 screws short!
After lunch we cleaned up all our tools and lumber scraps – no small job – and I swept the deck so a possible thunder shower would not turn dirt to mud. Then we went to town for the screws and a few other errands. Terry finished the deck while I made apple crisp and then we quit early and worked on the jigsaw puzzle. Dad is working on a windlass to pull the pontoon boat up in the barn rather than using the ATV. He gets the biggest kick out of using scrap junk to make something useful and didn’t even come in for dinner until nearly 6.
I talked to Marg this evening. They were camped right on the ocean on the Queen Charlotte Islands with lovely weather. Only the islands are now known as Haida Gwaii with official renaming ceremonies going on right now.

June 20th – Sun – 100 Mile House
I put a clear preservative on the deck this morning, Terry stained the garden gate & the top of the picnic table and Dad worked on the windlass. Then Terry cleaned the rain gutter which was a terrible job. The house is on a hill so the ladder had to have a block under one leg which of course had to be moved every time he moved the ladder. The slant on the gutter is minimal and Terry was using a hose to flush out the mud after scooping out pine needles. The downspouts would plug up causing the water to back up and Terry would have to move the ladder to clear the downspout and then go back to the middle to flush with water again. One end of the gutter is right by the new deck. Terry said there was no way he would get it wet but luckily I was pessimistic enough to cover the corner with a plastic table cloth and protect it from the water that wasn’t supposed to get there.
After lunch we did some miscellaneous bits & pieces and then helped Dad install the windlass. We decided that we needed another pulley in the system so we made a double pulley out of 2 singles and Terry lifted me up with the tractor to undo the existing rope and then to put up the new configuration. We had to do a little tweaking on the windlass but it ended up working OK. Dad thinks it should not be so hard to turn so is thinking of how he can modify it.
We watched the end of the US Open golf tournament before I made dinner. We were sitting at the table after eating when I heard a sound through the back door which I thought was a bird or a cat. Then Terry jumped up and said there was a deer by the deck and it was attacking Sage who was by now cowering by the door. I called Sage into the house and Terry chased the deer away. In previous years, there have been deer in the yard and we helped Marg put up higher wires on the garden fence. We have seen several deer this year as we drive in & out but haven’t seen any in the yard. When we went to bed, Sage appeared guiltily from down the driveway so I think she was looking for the deer.