Results of one week with the league of extraordinary gentlemen

Ras has named the crews of men that are doing the big jobs here the league of extraordinary gentlemen. This post is a pictorial of the things these men have created during one very busy week on the land. It was a very nice change from all the waiting we were doing the weeks before.

Contractor Mark's crew building a dock on an impossible rock.

A little celebratory dock dance.

Beautiful morning sun on the dock now easily accessible by stairs.

Although the ramp and the handrail are not yet done, it is much easier to access the water and enjoy the lake. Ramp expected next spring, handrail expected any time now. Hmm...the waiting game is starting again, I think.

The internet tower was also a big activity this week. The first part was to set the base piece of the tower and fill the hole with concrete.

Since the truck couldn't get any closer, the concrete had to be wheel barrowed from the truck to the hole.

Making adjustments...ya, like I'm really helping.

While the concrete sets there will be a few days of waiting for the crew to come back to build the rest of the tower.

Two fearless and very strong men haul each section of tower up with a rope and then manhandle it into place.

At this point, one of the guys yells down to the rest of the crew that between the two of them there is 515 pounds
standing on the tower, not including their safety gear. They have an absolute trust in the strength of the steel.

Only one guy puts the last three sections in place and then the receiver is pointed in the right direction to access the signal.

I know this is a weird photo to end with but this is what all the tower fuss is about...look at all those beautiful bars!!

Cheers,

Mimi

Moving water from here to there

This experience so far has been mostly about getting other people to get things done here. The big stuff like digging trenches and large holes, connecting to hydro, building docks on impossible rocks, erecting towers, and replacing toilets is better left to the people with the right tools. So far, our tool selection consists mainly of a shovel, a rake and a pruning saw. By the way, Priscilla's house call went very well. Repairman Sean had the shiny new toilet in and the leaky window fixed up in good time. We were also able to get some welcome information from him about Priscilla's electrical workings which, for the most part, still remain a mystery to us. He looked at the fridge and it seemed to be working fine at the time, of course, so nothing further was done about it and he went on his way.

The one chore that we deal with most often around here is moving water. This job is like having a membership to the gym but at a much lower cost. Before the large water holding tank was here we would take the bucket down the hill, dip it in the lake then haul it back up the hill...excellent cardiovascular workout with some good resistance work all rolled into one activity. Water conservation just comes naturally when this much effort is involved in collecting such a small amount of it.

We are constantly being asked why we don't just pump water up from the lake. In the beginning, with no hydro, this was the obvious answer but it is also a good distance from the lake to Priscilla with a pretty steep uphill climb. It would take a substantial pump to move the water this distance. I want to be able to deal with the water in a less energy intensive way. With the dependable part time power in this part of the province, we would still have to haul water up the hill by the bucketful when the power goes out...which seems to be quite often. Our goal is to keep the holding tank topped up with rainwater but we need to seriously overhaul our collection practices so we can also collect rainwater when we aren't here. This will be a challenge since Priscilla has no eaves troughs and the collection points are mostly near ground level.

To fill Priscilla's interior holding tank, initially I was siphoning water from the large holding tank into a bucket and then using a bailing can to transfer the water from the bucket to a small handheld funnel into Priscilla's water inlet. This would take at least an hour to fill the 38 gallon tank and by the end of it I would have swallowed more water than I cared to from siphoning. Hmm...there must be a better way. The next week, back in the city, the latest Lee Valley Tools gardening catalogue arrived in the mail. What great timing and, sure enough, there is a better way to siphon water with a garden hose siphon pump. I love Lee Valley Tools.

Moving water from here to there takes care of itself with the siphon pump and temporary ramp setup.

The next challenge was getting water the 20 foot distance from the large holding tank to the interior tank's inlet. I needed a ramp to support the siphon hose. I made a 16 ft long v-shaped, wooden holder at my shop in the city and attached a garden hose with cable ties. Then at the lot, I was able to use old dock boards, from the little dock that was removed to make room for the new dock, to make a stand to hold the ramp. That was different since all I had to cut wood with was a pruning saw. I might not make furniture with a pruning saw but it worked just fine and got the job done. Once I got the ramp set up at the right angle, it took a couple of tries for the water to continue running through the siphon pump but it finally did. I will admit that the speed at which the water was transferring from one tank to the other would certainly not break any records but it was working. Water is moving from here to there without the use of electricity, buckets, funnels or the climbing of any hills. Life is good. Now I have the time to get to the gym again...the gym of hydro trench infilling, of course. Where's my shovel?


Mimi

And now the (w)hole story

The margaritas are helping heal our bruised egos...me for losing my phone, Holly for tipping her kayak and Ras for not being able find the phone. While we wait for RipNET to arrive it begins to rain. RipNET's only job today is to check the hole that has been dug for the concrete base for the internet tower. They had instructed us to have the hole dug to the exact size of 4 ft long by 4 ft wide by 4 ft deep. However, the size of said hole got lost in translation by the time it got to the guy actually digging the hole. The hole ended up being 5 ft long by 7 ft wide and 5 ft deep. Wow, that's going to be a lot of concrete.

The rain is coming down quite hard now and we are enjoying our margaritas under the canopy at Priscilla. A massive amount of rain is pouring off the corner of the canopy and it occurs to me we should be collecting rainwater rather than paying to have it trucked in. I find one bucket and the container of the pressure weed sprayer we have been using as our shower, to catch the rainwater. Both are full in minutes. I recruit my sister to assist in getting the water into the holding tank. She is needed to hold the tea towel filter since there is plenty of pine needle debris in the collected water. "Bring your umbrella, sister."  I really don't know why I had her bring the umbrella because for all the water Holly was able to keep off her head with the umbrella I poured 10 times that amount down the front of her trying to pour slowly enough for the tea towel filter to handle the water. She's a good sport...no doubt about it.

Filling the water tank with collected rainwater proves to be a real soaker so Holly abandons her umbrella all together.

The RipNET guys arrive and they are surprised to see the size of the hole. The man we left in charge of supervising the dig must have thought a crew of men were going to need to get in the hole to build a 4x4x4 form for the concrete and that's why it ended up being so much bigger than needed. In reality the concrete is to be poured directly into the hole in the ground, no form required. RipNET gives us three options: fill the hole, as is, with concrete and pay almost 3 times the quoted price for the concrete, build the form with all the added material expense that goes along with that, or fill in half the hole with the dirt that we just paid some guy with a machine to remove. I weighed my options, thought about the very expensive booboo I had made earlier in the day by letting my phone go for a swim, and picked up the shovel.

One hand-me-down fixed wireless internet receiver = wobbly, sore legs
One over-dug hole for internet tower base = blistered hands
Internet service at Priscilla in the very near future = priceless

Mimi

p.s. My phone is still swimming with the fishes.

A second member joins the Tippy Kayak Club

We're playing the waiting game a lot these days. We're waiting for the rest of the dock to be built. We're waiting for the internet tower to be built and we're waiting for the RV repair guy's first house call to Priscilla to fix her problems. But we will wait no longer to spend a day exploring the lake in our kayaks. We call my sister, Holly, to join us. She's all in for this little adventure and we plan on being in the kayaks early the next morning following a wonderful breakfast of campfire bacon and eggs. Ras is amazing with campfire cooking.

Campfire breakfast

Holly comes prepared with topographic maps of the area so we can plan a route. Maybe she thought we'd end up lost at some point. Either way, it was really cool to see a map of all the lakes and to discover the routes leading from one lake to the other. Holly is a very experienced canoeperson so I feel secure in having her with us. And how can I overlook the lifeguard skills of AquaGirl Ras...doubly secure...I'm good to go!

Before dropping the kayaks in the water, we make sure we have all the necessities...life jackets, water bottles, trail mix, roll of toilet paper...check. Kayaks are now in the water and we are all carefully maneuvering into our respective boats. Just then, I hear an odd thump and when I look toward the sound I see my cell phone bounce off my kayak and into the water. "Oh crap!"  It turns out that the ziplock bag I had enclosed my phone in was a brilliant idea but the fact that I had put the phone in my pocket...not so brilliant. Now the three of us are at the end of the dock straining to see a black phone, in 14 feet of black-bottomed water, on a cloudy day. I can only hope the ziplock seal is holding as I run to get Ras's snorkel gear. AquaGirl to the rescue!

Ras is known for being able to find lost fishing lures, fishing rods and nets, sunglasses, almost anything you drop in the water, so I am confident she will find my phone. Her first dive down is a practice run and her eyes, behind her mask, are as big as saucers when she resurfaces. "Wow, it's really dark and weedy down there and I'm not sure I can get down far enough because of the pressure." Several more dives and still no luck. We even try calling the phone so when the screen lights up Ras will be able to see where it is. Well, that would have worked fine if there was a decent signal in the area. What were we thinking...that 14 feet of water was going to enhance that already crappy signal? Holly and I are lying on our stomachs, looking over the end of the dock, trying to keep an eye on Ras as she dives. At times we lose site of her in the depth of the water and it seems like an eternity that she is submerged. Holly is now chanting, "Please come up, please come up, please come up..." Ras is starting to tire and says she can't stay under long enough to get a good look around. Holly offers to hold her under with a kayak paddle and Ras is asking for the garden hose to help her breathe and therefore stay under longer. At this point, I call an end to the lunacy.

Bailing the tippy kayak

We are now back on track and under way in our kayaks. We paddle for an hour or so through some very beautiful areas. We stop at a small island to stretch our legs and check where we are on the map. The wind is picking up and it is threatening rain so we decide to head back. Just as well, being our first paddle of the season, it's been a long enough trek for me, at least. Also, we do have to be back at Priscilla for an appointment with RipNET later in the afternoon. Back at the dock, Ras and I disembark and are once again scanning the water for my phone. I'm not sure but I think Holly decided she was going to take a turn at looking for the phone because, without warning, she and her boat are upside down in the water. I'm guessing it wasn't her intention to look for the phone since she didn't find it either.

Although Holly is less than enthused about her new membership in the Tippy Kayak Club at Turtle Falls, Marie will be grateful for the company.

We all agree the events of the day have earned us a jug of margaritas while we wait for RipNET to arrive.

To be continued...
Mimi

High speed high point

The day of the site survey by RipNET, the fixed wireless internet provider, finally arrives. We are both a little nervous because if we get bad news we may as well put the place up for sale and look for another one where the internet is more accessible. Several of contractor Mark's crew have been telling us they have already had the site survey and RipNET cannot help them unless they are willing to build a tower in excess of 120 feet and the signal would only be so-so. That's a very expensive tower for just a mediocre signal!

The bucket truck finds us a good signal at 68ft.

The RipNET van pulls in and a much bigger "bucket truck" follows. The crew gets to work setting up the truck's outrigger legs and looking for the prime location for the tower. We need to get the location right since the tower also has to work with the future house as well as with Priscilla's location now. What they are doing by going up in the bucket is finding where the best signal is and how high the tower has to be. Only a few minutes go by and they are happy to report that we are receiving an excellent signal and our tower will only have to be 68 feet tall. Oh my god, I'm so ecstatic that I grabbed hold of the closest crew member and said, "Can I hug you? You can't believe how relieved and happy this makes me and I feel compelled to give you a big thank you hug." He was very obliging and possibly a little frightened by the overly affectionate crazy woman in the woods. Big sighs of relief as the trucks head off down the driveway...for us and the man that I latched onto, I'm sure.

While we were waiting for the day of the site survey to happen, my brother, Scott, had discovered that the very same service we are looking to procure is no longer working for him. The trees have grown between the signal sending tower and his receiving tower and he is not receiving a signal at all. He's lucky though; he can just switch over to the DSL service that RipNET also offers instead of having to extend his tower by another 10 feet.

Getting fitted with safety equipment

Scott kindly offers us his fixed wireless equipment he no longer needs, with one condition...I have to retrieve the receiver from the tower! He's concerned the tower won't support his weight but will be fine with mine...ya, good story Scotty. I'm game for this as I have no fear of heights and I always used to climb the TV tower at home when I was a kid, just for fun. It'll bring back fond memories and I'm always up for a good climbing adventure.

Outfitted with the safety equipment and a fanny pack with the necessary tools, up I go to get that little square box that will connect us to the rest of the world. All is good until I get above the roof line; the higher I climb the more the tower sways. Somehow, I don't remember this ever happening as a kid. The onlookers on the ground look really, really small.

Retrieving the little box at the top of the tower

The retrieval mission goes smoothly with the exception of needing a screwdriver. I climb halfway down while my nephew (he's only 12 otherwise I'd have made him do this exercise) climbs halfway up with said tool. Back up to the top I climb...wrong screwdriver! Repeat down and up for correct screwdriver. Now my legs are starting to burn and shake from all the climbing and standing on my toes on tiny little rungs while I work. The safety equipment is quickly becoming my new best friend because every muscle in my body is now shaking. The job of releasing the receiver is not a difficult task; hanging on to the tower with one hand while trying to work with the other is the tiring part. A few minutes later the job is complete and the receiver and I are safely on the ground. Ras and I are starting to envision how nice it will be to have internet service at Priscilla. No more driving around searching for a signal.

We could have just purchased our own fixed wireless equipment and not gone through this thigh-burning exercise, but why, when this equipment will do the same job at no cost. Well, ok, there was the small cost of wobbly and very sore legs for the next couple of days. Isn't it crazy what we'll do for something we really want?



One step closer to high speed!
Mimi

Priscilla receives her first guest, rather ungraciously

Other than to immediate family, Priscilla had not yet been shown off, except by photo. Our first visitor, Marie, is an enthusiastic camper and fisherwoman. We figure she will be fine with the lack of hydro and as long as there is a dock to fish from all will be fine. Thank goodness contractor Mark will be delivering the floating dock the day before Marie arrives. As it turns out, the floating portion is the first part of the new dock system to be built and the rest will be built after we see how this part works with the shoreline and then the building will progress upwards with the final piece being the landing at the top of the stairs. It seems we have hired the perfect contractor for ourselves...he does things backwards too. We like him. He gets us. No odd glances are exchanged...yet.

Priscilla, having 22 years of experience already behind her, is starting to sputter a bit and she is not being subtle about it. Most notably, the fridge is not getting cold but, oddly, the freezer is working fine. Marie takes this in stride and just puts ice in her beer. Problem solved. Off she heads to the dock with that iced cold beer and her fishing gear. Ras joins her.

A few minutes later, I get a call on the walkie talkie to say the new floating dock is breaking away from its temporary mooring and can I come down to the water and help secure them all before they end up floating away. Marie was probably hoping the dock would break loose then she could chase after the big pickerel that just got away from her. We have no fishing boat at this point so Marie would have settled for a fishing barge, I'm sure.

A moment in time when more fish stories are fabricated.

Is it nice to laugh at your friends when they fall out of their kayak while attempting to disembark? Maybe not, but I did, and I find myself compelled to mention that Marie is the inaugural member of The Tippy Kayak Club at Turtle Falls. Hey, maybe we could call the place Marie Falls.

Back to Priscilla and her problems. With her new larger audience it's Show and Tell time for Priscilla. She's showing her age and telling us in no uncertain terms, fix me, fix me! The toilet is leaking. That sounds much worse than it is. It's really just the fresh water line from the pump that's leaking and every time the foot pedal is used to flush, clean water leaks onto the floor. No problem...Sham Wow to the rescue! We discovered very early one morning, in a heavy rain, the window in the dinette area leaks...badly. Niagara Falls comes to mind. This is a problem and explains the spongy section of the interior wall beside this window. Also, the winterizing antifreeze had not been flushed from the freshwater holding tank. Oh, that's not a pleasant smell. That means I now have to flush this tank a few times with water we just paid to have delivered to the lot. That's what I was doing when the rescue call from the dock came over the walkie talkie. I haven't even mentioned the noise from the generator that my brother loaned us for Marie's visit. We thought it would be nice to have some power while she was here. I will admit it was great to be able to charge the battery in Priscilla so we could run the water pump and turn on a light at night, but talk about can you hear me now! My ears are still ringing. Those things are unbelievably loud. Fun times on the land with Priscilla, indeed. Somebody, please, remind me again why we are doing this!

Shortly after Marie headed back to civilization, Ras and I looked at one another and agreed Priscilla was not a very gracious host and maybe it would be best to postpone any further visitors until these problems are fixed.

Marie did appear to enjoy herself though. She's far too polite to ever tell us if she didn't. She didn't catch any fish worth keeping. She got eaten alive by mosquitoes and she witnessed, first hand, Priscilla's penchant for problems. Her ears are probably still ringing too. She said she'd come back again next summer.

See you next year, Marie?
Mimi