Doral's Photos of the Johnson Cabin (formerly the Noisy Cabin)

... a view from the cabin from the point of view of the plume tree ...
... which has yet to bear fruit ...

People who have just bought a cabin must pick a week to start repairs.

Even before that, they have to pick which repair to start with. A roof that doesn’t leak seemed like the right place to begin.

Doral figured out the timing that would be good for him. Richard found out where to buy the product for the roof, and out it came in a trailer, pulled behind his father-in-law’s truck.

The weather report didn’t look that good when the week finally came, but both families drove out to the lake for the beginning of many working holidays out here. Doral decided that the next time he comes he will be taking 2 weeks. One day to work, one day to rest, one day to work, one day to rest …. Richard had imagined the he could do the whole job single handedly in five days. David Wood came over to help until he and Moiya drove off to Washington for a small holiday of their own. Greg delayed his trip back to Alberta to help for a week. Glen came over on Sunday, his day off. And readers will know that is the day he was wounded. His arm will bear the marks of the bruising for several months. All three men were so generous with their help.

... Chris and Joan's red truck ...
... Richard is on the road side of the roof ...

On a related topic, as Rebecca and I were out walking yesterday, we were in the forest, walking uphill and I was reaching out for cedar branches for my balance as my feet slipped unexpectedly in the mud. Rebecca told me that the one of the indigenous beliefs is that when people are generous in real life, that they turn into cedars upon their death so that they can keep giving – as the cedars were doing for me, helping me to maintain my balance.

If this is true, then Glen, David Wood and Greg are certainly among the Cedar People, at least in real life. I was not any help. I couldn’t pick up wood, nor nails, nor climb on the roof. I did take my tools over to trim the plum tree. First I looked at some u-tube videos and then went to my garage where I found the tools that are necessary. I must have been wanting to trim trees for a long time.

... two ladders and one work bench ...

I did take a course in tree pruning. I have probably taken at least a short course in just about everything in life. We had to bring a tree branch to class and then treat it as a tree and trim it. But Saturday was my first live experience, truly hands-on with a fruit tree.

The Johnson Cabin was built in 1963, the Moiya Wood Cabin in 1964.

I don’t know about the condition of Moiya’s cabin, but the Doral and Richard Johnson Cabin had some rot in some of the tongue and groove boards.

Richard wanted to just continue with the roof and hope everything would be OK.

Doral wanted to at least call the roofing people and ask what they would do.

“Absolutely cut it out and fix it,” they said. “It will just continue to rot other boards if it is left.”

... good-bye to the rotting porch ...
... taking the porch down was not in Doral's list of to do's ...
... but in the end?  looks good, doesn't it? ...

So that slowed the project down a bit. There was wood to buy, wood to cut out, and wood to insert that would become a necessary replacement.

The worst moment in the week may have been the realization that the men were short just a little bit of roofing material.

When that penny dropped, Richard jumped in his vehicle and drove to Calgary and back, the full 12 hour drive in one day.

Stopping just a little short of actually finishing just wasn’t in his agenda.

... Doral is looking for a good chimney insert ...
... anyone with suggestions ...

We read the weather forecast every morning. Fifty percent chance of rain in the morning, dropping to 20% in the afternoon? That sounded like good news to the roofers. The forecast is cloudy? Another good day.

And now the job is finished. A beautiful tin roof that they hope will last 15 years or so. 

And I heard Doral saying to Richard, “Our job on the cabin is 10 % done now. Ninety per cent to go.”

Arta