Busy Day

 Yesterday was a very busy day around here. It started off with just Bob, my lawn mowing guy, coming at about 10 o'clock. From there on it was so busy I could barely keep up taking pictures. Soon after the lawn Bob arrived, Bob, the cement guy came with two trucks and two workmen. They were here to prepare for the retaining walls under my porch. Bob the cement guy left the other two to dig out the crevasse between the two big ledges because that is where they decided to put the wall. It was more secure to have the footing firmly between the two ledges than trying to pin it to the smooth, sloping surfaces on either side.

I think it took 1 1/2 - 2 hours for them to finish digging and setting the rods in place along the length of the footings space. Bob the cement guy returned with his truck just as Bob the lawn mowing guy finished the lawn. With three trucks and a small utility trailer in the driveway, it was an interesting juggling process getting everyone switched around and out of each other's way. Turns out, the two Bobs knew each other, so it was all good. I stayed out of the way!

When Bob the cement guy left, his two workers finished up by washing down the ledges and as if on cue, Carroll's Concrete truck showed up. That truck is massive. The driver had to navigate between two garages, a well head, trees and the  side of the house,  very close quarters on the northwest end of the house to make a right angle turn to get to the "big dig" on the southeast side of the house. Probably not too difficult going in, but then he had to back out. I feared for my little fruit trees , but more important than those, the well and the eaves of my house and garage concerned me. The compacted lawn was beside the point.

It all went very well. The footings were poured, leveled and are drying nicely this morning. The driver of the cement truck was no slouch, and with a little help from the two digger guys who held back the small fruit trees so they wouldn't be caught on the side of the cement truck, and directed the driver, he made it back onto the driveway and went on his way to the next job, all without incident. They were all pros and did a great job.

As all of this was going on, I was dashing from one window to the other to watch - from a safe distance. It was quite a process. I'm posting only a few of the over two dozen photos I took so I would have a record of the whole process. 

Along with all of this, we are in the very final stages of finishing up the West Danville history book. We hadn't been able to come up with a photo that was good enough quality and just right for the cover, so we handed off the assignment to Nate, who works for Jamie at KATV in St. Johnsbury and is a photographer on the side. With the book editing progressing to a close, we have to have everything aligned so there will be no glitches when we send it all to the publisher. We are determined to have this book published this summer.

Another beautiful spring day here at Joe's Pond, and I hope to see many of you at the meeting on Saturday morning at the pavilion, at 10 o'clock.