Don't Be Angry

Love

No Need for Discontentment

Complete the Story: Black Liquid

Wandering through Barnes and Nobles, I found in the reduced section a book called Complete the Story.  The cover says "Some stories end badly, some end well, and others just keep going on..."  Basically the book is a journal by Piccadilly with a writing prompt on every page.

Starting on the first page (italics show the prompt):

At first, we thought the black liquid was oil, that we'd struck it rich and that we'd be able to retire and live in leisure.  We actually started writing down all the ways we'd spend the money.  Our first choice was food, since our cupboards were bare and had been for a while.  Paul had actually been out checking his snares for trapped animals when he noticed the black liquid and raced home to get us and show us the black gold under the twilight sky.

The next morning, almost before any golden rays hit our valley, we were up and headed back to the spot of the black liquid.  The area covered by the black liquid had grown substantially over the night. And the daylight brought a sight the approach night had hid: death.

Everything the black liquid had touched was dead or dying.  Once healthy trees and plants were now gray carcasses.  Even some animals had fallen victim to the black liquid.

We backed away from the expanding liquid of death in fascinated horror.  How far would the liquid keep expanding?  Would it reach our home?  Our neighbor's house?  The town?  And why was this happening to us?  It was almost as if the forces of nature were out to kill us.  We had barely survived the winter and now with spring we had hoped thing would be better.

We should have known better, being Outlaw kids.  We should have remembered more clearly that in this world, being Outlaw made us targets for Darkness.

End of September

Flowers I planted at the beginning of the summer that I had given up on blooming.

Decorations at a friend's Fall wedding.

Fall is Coming

Panoramic of the farm.

Evening bonfire

Painting

Morning sun on the way to work.

Fall colors

Filling In

I filled in for a coworker this past week covering his jobs.

Arlington, they had moved the tank from its original location, but haven't finished the pad yet for its new location.  (How many jobs do you get to move a tank on?  Not many!)

dozer and tank.

I was onsite for the approach slab pours, but then got kicked off the job site for the sidewalk pours.  The air was all wonky while I was onsite for the approach slab concrete.  Same thing happened last year, whenever I came onsite during the pile driving operations, the pile driver would break down.

Pouring the second approach slab.

Stone work for the channel and floodplain.

Got to see the progress they were making on the Mendon Brook and Mendon Ravine.  The ravine actually looks steeper to me now than it did in the winter when we hiked up it.

Brook and Ravine.

Excavator reinforcing the channel bottom.

Completed Ravine.

Saturday Work

I got to go into work on Saturday to help oversee a deck pour for Rutland City.

The early morning had some beautiful skies:

Screed machine and concrete through the side truss.

A few hours into the pour and I had to leave for another appointment.  After my appointment and some work in the office, I came back out to an almost completed deck pour.

Burlap going down to keep the concrete damp for curing.

Not a bad Saturday - still made it home in time to get some weekend chores done around the house!

Lunch Time Writing Prompt: Dig Again

Challenge found on Pinterest from Daily Writing Prompt:

So here is my lunch time story:

It was my turn to dig again.  I grab the shovel with blistered hands, mindful of the broken handle to avoid splinters.

Billy scrambles out of the hole as I slide down the opposite side.  We were getting deeper, but still, no findings.  I settle into the rhythm of pushing the shovel into the ground, prying up the dirt, and slinging the soil over my shoulder as my mind wanders.

After a while, Billy says, "Looks like rain."  I grunt my displeasure and keep digging.  Fairly soon, raindrops start falling, gliding down the sides of the hole.  Billy takes over just as the lowest part of the hole starts collecting a puddle.

Sunday Drive

On Friday I volunteered to be the one who drove up to Middlebury over the weekend to check on the deck cure for a precast structure bound for Craftsbury.  It was another beautiful summer day on Sunday (and Saturday, but I forgot to take pictures on Saturday) and one great thing about gravel pits, they normally have incredible views.

 The cure is looking good - deck is nice and wet!

After I finished work, my parents and I continued north, headed for Burlington.  My dad had been complaining he hadn't been north off the farm in a while.

We stopped at the Barnes and Noble and we each found a few books.  I have to say that I am disappointed that the Burlington Barnes and Noble store has significantly reduced their selection of books that are lower priced.  Can't say that it is my favorite Barnes and Noble any more...  But I did find a hardcover of Outlaw by Ted Dekker for $5.  It is a spectacular book!

After the bookstore we drove down to Lake Champlain and found an expensive parking spot, but it was next to the Lake and the parking lot was nicely maintained.  Then we walked up to Church Street to find some lunch.  We ended up at Big Daddy's Pizza.  I think they do more business at night, but we ended up with some really good sandwiches from there.  The bread was really good!

Once the sandwiches were ready, we walked back down to the Lake, found some shade and enjoyed people, boat and water watching while eating.  Once our lunch was finished, we walked towards the south, along the Lake.

Of course I found construction equipment!

Replica of an old style lake/canal boat - free admission on Sunday!

Boat wheel

old style lantern

Narrow hallway

Boat anchor

View of Lake Champlain

After the Lake, we headed towards home, but not till we stopped at Doreen's for some creamies!

Adirondack Museum

Today we went to the Adirondack Museum.  It was a beautiful ride up through New York to the Adirondack's.

The cost of admission was $18 and the museum is nicely laid out, some attractions inside and some outside.  The museum does a good job representing the history of the Adirondacks.  However, the price did seem a bit steep compared to Vermont's Shelburne Museum.

Favorite boat from the Boating Building

Log joints at one of the cabins

Details on another cabin.

More log joints on another cabin.

Inside a log cabin.

View of Blue Lake Mountain.

Inside Bull Cottage.

Furniture in Bull Cottage.

Window in Bull Cottage.

Bull Cottage rain gutter and chains.

Resting tent.

Standard Open Camp.

View in open camp.

Log joints of open camp.

Roof line of open camp.

End details of open camp.

All in all, not a bad way to spend a rainy Sunday with family!

Weston Continued

Got to spend some more time down in Weston testing compaction and teaching the new Soils Tech how to test compaction.

 June 14th:

Placing and compacting sand.

Abutments, wingwalls and deck installed.  Getting ready for beam closure pour.

June 15:

Placing and compacting dense graded subbase.

Beautiful end of spring day!