Just stuff! (was "Ultralight Flying Adventures"): Trees cut, deck started!

My son Wes and my Daughter Kristy spent 5 days with me during Holy week. I took Wednesday and Thursday off and Friday was a holiday. We worked together as a team to get much work done! We hauled 2 cubic yards of crushed rock to the ravine in my driveway. At $25 per yard, I ran out of money before the ravine was filled, but it's a start.

Wes and I made a big dent in demolishing the old metal and wood barn that was slowly collapsing on it's own. I almost killed us both in the process when the roof collapsed, but we were obviously protected. Wes was unharmed and I just suffered a bruise on my left shoulder about the size of a small pumpkin.

We also cut down a bunch of trees. 24 in all. As soon as I cut the fallen trees into pieces, they carried them off to the burn pile. It was pretty great to see the trees disappear almost as quickly as I cut them down! The entire area in front of my house looks much more open now. The biggest reason for clearing out the trees was so that the power company could get a lift truck to my power pole. They are changing the line voltage and they have to replace the transformer. Last week a pair of dual-wheel tire tracks appeared in my yard so I now know that they were able to get to the pole with no problems. I'm really pleased with the results of the tree cutting. It opens up the area quite a bit. I still have about 10 more that need to go, but I'll wait for some other time.

A few weekends ago, I installed a window in my living room so that I could install a window air conditioner. I also burned most of the trees that we cut down a few weeks ago. It's amazing to see years of growth disappear in hours. I also started on phase one of my deck which will be 8' wide all along the north gable side of my house. Eventually it will be covered with a roof. It's really great when a day or two of work makes that much difference in the appearance of my house. Not to mention how great it will be to sit on the deck!