Carport closed in

With Allen being here to help, I was able to convince him to help me close in the carport. We got the side done first, then built the back wall.

This side is done like the first one that I got done a few years ago.

We added furring strips to have good support to fasten the metal to.

It was still a little daylight left when I got home today, so we got it all put up.

It was almost dark when we finished it up. It's supposed to rain tonight into tomorrow, so I'm glad we got it all done before that started.
 

A new toy

I got this camper about a week ago, but with Allen coming in, it didn't make it to the blog page. He is using it while he is here for the holidays. My apologies for that oversight.

Anyway, it is a 2009 model Cruiser RV Fun Finder, 19 ft. It tows (with Allen's truck) very well and is in excellent condition. It is a match for my criteria of weight and layout.
 

First snow of the season

We got our first snow of the season. It started yesterday, but all of it melted off in a matter of hours. Today we woke up to a couple more inches on the ground.

This will also melt off, but it might take a day or so to disappear.

But for now, it it's a pretty scene and helps get everyone more in the mood for Christmas.
 

new mower

I went out this morning and looked at the mower I had been researching. The local dealer had one in stock. Everything seemed to fit well and I bought it to replace my old Cub Cadet. I made a couple passes across the yard when I got it home. I still have to get accustomed to the steering, but that will come soon enough. It mows very well and is faster and more maneuverable that the tractor was. 
 

Finally got to go fishing again

I finally got a weekend off, so Heather and I went to Cave Run for some fishing. The lake is most of the way down to winter pool, so there is a lot more timber exposed.

The sun made some pretty dramatic shadows coming over the hills.

We didn't really have the lake to ourselves in spite of what it looks like. We were # 7 in the parking lot at arrival and about 20 or so in the lot when we left.

The fall color is past peak, but still a beautiful day to be out. We didn't catch anything, though.
 

Last scheduled concrete party for this year

 The last section of the Warner's back patio planned for this year is finished. I forgot my camera, so I had to get this picture from Heather.

Heather's truck getting some paint

The weather is getting cooler rapidly, so we needed to get the paint put on Heather's truck while it is still warm enough to dry it.

I stripped it down and we got the windows and trim taped off. It only took a couple hours to get the fender and door done.

It's not a professional job, but it looks much better than it did before. It will help protect it, too.
 

Drainage pipe cleared

 I went over to Cathryn & Bryan's this morning to finish clearing the drainage pipe opening. It doesn't look like much of a hole from the road.

 I uncovered the opening last week, but there was a lot of rock debris in the mouth of the pipe and I couldn't get it out with the shovel alone.

 Today, I also took the pick with me to help convince the rocks to break up and move. While they didn't break, it got them to shift and move so I could get to the edges and leverage them out.

The hole is deeper than it looked like it was, about 5 ft. to the bottom of the pipe. It should drain a lot better now.

Lake yesterday, cutting firewood today

  

Yesterday, Heather and I went to Grayson Lake for some fishing. We had a blast. I went for a swim at one of the waterfalls before we came back home. The falls were still ice cold.

Today was a working day. This limb came down at Cathryn's during one of the spring storms. Our best guess is sycamore for the wood type, but we're not really sure.

 My little workhorse was there to help pull the limb up out of the ditch it ended up in. Our plan worked very well and made it a lot easier to get it all cut up.

 Lisa and Jim got a load of firewood out of it. They still have a rack or two left to fill up.

Everything all loaded up and ready to head back home.

Back to Grayson Lake

 Heather and I went to Grayson Lake this morning. It was nice and quiet when we got there.

 We went most of the way to the south end of the lake after the fish stopped biting. It was farther down the lake than either of us had been before.

 The waterfall into Big Gimlet Creek is barely there. Rainfall has been spotty around here for a few weeks and some places are getting dry.

I had to go retrieve Heather's bobber when the line broke. It was a hot day and I didn't mind at all.

Gone fishing

 Boo is here for a visit, so we went to Grayson Lake for a bit of fishing. We caught some and had a good time.

It was a very nice day to be on the lake. It is also a pretty place to be.

Tractor fixed

I found a place in Winchester that had the steering shaft bushing I needed to fix the lawn tractor. I bought one this morning and fixed the tractor, then tested it on part of the back yard. As you can easily see, the old one was in pretty rough shape.

More Grayson fishing

 It finally stopped raining for a while, with a bit of sun this morning. So Allen and I went out to Grayson Lake for a bit of fishing.

 It was pretty quiet when we got there, but got a lot busier later in the day.

 We had a blast, even though the fish were mostly smaller ones. We got mostly bluegill and a few largemouth bass

 We released them all to get bigger.

 This mallard hen was looking for a handout, I think. When we didn't feed her, she left.

After all the rain and flooding we got this past week, the lake was high. This is the same triple fall waterfall as the prior post had. Notice the distinctly shorter drop into the lake.

Grayson lake visited again

 Heather and I went fishing today. We went to Grayson Lake. The little waterfall is still running and still cold. The lake water was just about 70.

 The caves along the edges of the lake are also still there.

 We saw a lot of these round holes. It looked like someone dug them out with a giant ice cream scoop. Maybe they were geodes that were opened up?

 This waterfall is one of the prettier ones. You can see three drops to it from the water.

We caught some small fish, but tossed them back to get bigger. All in all, a very pretty day to be out on the lake.

Rocky fills up the freezer

Heather and I picked up Rocky from the butcher shop this morning. We got 9 flats, although the last one wasn't really full.

 We started with an empty freezer. He gave us a 62% yield from 1385 lbs going in. We got 433 lbs to fill the freezer with.

  

 And that really filled it up. We had repack some things around the edges to get the lid to close.

Naturally, we had help. She loves going for a ride to anywhere.