Family outing to the Submarine Base and North Lake.
North Lake
Month: June 2016
Saturday Pictures
The weather was perfect for a morning hike. Ben slept in, so we got our start a little later than I would have liked, but we were home by noon. The two boys and I took a 4.5-mile hike on the Narragansett Trail and Will only complained about half of the hike about the bugs.
Father’s Day!
I had a great day. The boys came back early from their Mom’s house to spend the day here. Will came over pretty early and Ben followed a couple of hours later. Ben was sick last night and slept in late tonight.
This morning we had planned on doing a long hike as a family. But, Ben didn’t feel up to it, so we postponed the hike until tomorrow. We got to enjoy the beautiful day at home instead.
This morning I worked with Will on his mowing/trimming skills for the yard. His summer chore is keeping the front yard in good shape, which takes a lot of oversight to make sure it gets done right.
Ben and I worked on a quick project – replacing a the sill cock on the south side of the house. I have had the replacement. The old one leaked and was difficult to shut off. A trip to home depot to get the right connector for the PEX piping and some time in the basement clearing the spider webs in the way and the project was done.
The boys and I also disassembled the old microwave, throwing most of the parts into the recycling and saving a few choice parts for later projects (such as a couple of strong magnets Will pulled out – one of which he promptly broke).
It is nice that things are calming down – of course just as the school year ends and the summer starts its mad dash towards fall. I can tell when life is more relaxed; I write more. I have found time to post pictures over the past 4 months, but not much time to write.
Tomato Cages (White Oak)
I’ve been trying to get back into the workshop. However, it has been difficult with a 4-month old baby and two middle-school boys here half-time. So I started with simple. I have lots of lumber around and found some extra wire fencing to make some tomato cages. The cages are pretty simple, made from 1″x1″ strips I cut out of a white oak board. They are connected using exterior screws (yes they are designed for pocket-holes, but they work fine here). They are finished with one coat of spar varnish (again, something I had laying around).
I made two cages from the board I cut up, and may have enough lumber left over for a third cage. I don’t think they turned out too bad for a couple of short evenings worth of work. Hopefully the white oak will hold up for a few years. I’ll have to see how the L-shape works for a tomato cage.
Will being Will
Saturday Morning Hike
This summer, Ben is spending three days hiking in the White Mountains with my Dad. He hasn’t been too active this winter, so now the warm weather is here, he has to get back into shape for the hike.
This morning we decided to do a quick (and short) local hike up Lantern Hill (1.7 miles). It was a good climb, and a chance for him to break in his boots on a steep hill. We finished the hike in about 50 minutes with breaks and picture stops.
