The schedule was to take off the front of the Big Brown Shed. Things happen. Jessie, Willy, and Ryan showed up Thursday morning. Willie’s young (5+) son, David, was ill so he did not stay. He and Amber took David to the ER, where he tested positive for Covid. He was not admitted, so I assume the doctor thought he was going to be okay. I’ll find out next Monday or Tuesday.
For Willy, the doctor suggested a 5-day period of not working with others. Thus, Willy did not come back.
Jesse and Ryan worked on the removal, with a bit of help from me.
Jessie had a dental appointment (in Yakima) Friday morning, so just Ryan and I worked. Mostly, I worked on dismantling the upright piano and Ryan pulled and bagged insulation. Both jobs involved contact with the messes caused by mice and squirrels.
Jessie came back at lunch time. By about 3:30, 100 percent of the siding [(T1), T stands for “textured,” which references the grooves or channels cut into the siding], and 85% of the structural lumber was removed. I quit the piano project, helped some with the tear-down, and removed nails from the stuff they were taking apart.
The work was lessened because Jessie took the big door panels – he’ll use them on a small animal shed (goats +). We didn’t have to take them apart. Other pieces, we sorted. Lumber that might be useful went into one pile, broken and unstained I can use as firewood; stained and plywood will have to go to a landfill – ‘cause the catalytic burner in the wood stove doesn’t handle chemicals.
The wall had one bit of electrical wiring – a 220v outlet for a welder. There was a standard door with frame and framing. These came apart but did slow things down.
Because we were short one worker, the project isn’t complete. But it is close.
At the beginning of the week, I went to the computer store {help when I need it} in EBRG and bought a camera to plug into my computer. It is a Logitech C920X. That won’t be of interest unless someone is looking for such a thing. I plugged it in, and it worked. Then I went to the Zoom site and had to work through the log-on procedure. That was more of a problem than anticipated because Nancy had registered, and I didn’t know her specifics. I watched a presentation, sponsored by our local Audubon Chapter, on Thursday evening about Shrubsteppe habitat, the animals, and issues – loss of that landscape and fire. One of the people from WA’s Fish & Wildlife that I worked with last fall was the presenter.
See the post Mountain snow, lowland rain, at this link:
It involved planting baby sage brush and scattering native grass seed on a burned area.
Friday a Culligan water tech came for an annual visit. He replaced the 4 filters under the kitchen sink, declared all was good. This is a once a year thing, but the tech has been the same guy for about 4 years.
My faucet – #9 in the upper left – is on the right side.
I’ve been bringing wood in. My temperature went to 52°, the wind gusts hit 40 mph. Even in an open sided shed, it was not lots of fun.
Monday night is expected to be 13°, then 9°, then 14° on Thursday. Slow warming to follow. I didn’t stay outside long. Friends and relatives in the Midwest and Northeastern states will be similarly impacted by the massive amount of cold air drifting south from Arctic Canada.
I learned a new word today, so life is good. 
Not that I personally know anyone that might be called a cockwombe.
All the best
from the Naneum Fan
John
The city and county are passing out sandbags & sand, I guess.
This is not apparent in the EBRG stores. Shelves are over flowing with everything imaginal. About this difference my hypotheses are (a) candy is priced too high for our local folks, and (b) we are higher-order procrastinators than others.
I backed the truck as close as I could get to there (~10 feet) and I got in under the canopy and Cameron carted boxes. I stacked things to the roof. Leer claims this canopy has 40% more volume than a standard “cab-height” model. I can’t find a number for that, but it holds a lot and we filled it top-to-bottom and side-to-side. I ran out of space before Caameron ran out of boxes. I think one more (smaller) load will mostly clear out the accumulation of 50 years of books & papers & magazines & personal documents.
I’ve never ordered a drink at a coffee place, or wherever the cups come with a name. I believe this one was ordered by Bryan.
river just to my east. Woody Guthrie was hired by the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), to write songs. Guthrie was 28 years old and unemployed, and the BPA needed to promote the benefits of building dams. Guthrie moved his family from California to Oregon, and was paid $266 a month to write songs. He came up with 26 songs in 30 days, including a tribute to the Columbia River.
morning and about ½ hour before dusk. With such short daylight I’ve been feeding once, just after Noon. Yesterday, about an hour after scattering seed a couple of deer showed up. I chased them off. An hour later six (of a larger flock) turkeys were there. Later there were 18 behind the house and when I let the dog out the door I startled them and they flew into the pines and Cottonwoods about 100 feet west of the house. They then, a few at a time, disappeared and I assume found better roosting sites. I’ve used a photo from the web because in the low light my photo only showed the silhouette of a black bird against a gray sky.
Here is a Washington Dept. of Transportation traffic camera view of the summit at Stevens Pass, elevation 4,061 feet or 1,238 m.
The main project was to remove the electric heater from the big shed. It is headed to the winery and will replace the one there that just failed (the fan). The shed is scheduled to be reconfigured as an open roofed affair with two walls, somewhat like this image. Because of anticipated snow load, the new roof will be slopped like the one shown here. It will have half-trusses. Like this.
