Pellet rack: before and after

So I've wanted to make a better place to store the pellets in the bone yard (north side of the house) for a couple years. This year, we even lost 3 bags of pellets due to water damage. You can see why.

This is the old way I stored pellets

The bone yard has seen it's better days

The first step was to clean out the weeds and junk and make space for the new rack.

Part of the goal was to use all the 'construction' lumber in my wood rack.  I've accumulated scrap wood from various sources like window sills and the old work bench before I replaced it.

Building the rack was a different experience than most of my wood working endeavors.  In this project, precision was too time-consuming and counter-productive.  I also used hammer and nail, which is very unusual in my projects.

After a few hours cutting and nailing, out popped a pellet rack.

A side benefit is that my garage wood rack is so clean (and probably more useful) without all the lumber. 

This is how we roll

I came home after work on Tuesday to find Sandi chopping fresh cucumbers (from our garden) for dinner.  In the oven was a home-made pepperoni pizza with olives and green peppers.  It was so good.

Picnic Table!

Sandi and I have wanted a table for our patio for some time now.  We talked about it last summer but didn't get around to doing anything.  This summer, we decided to put thoughts to action.  The plans I downloaded were for a traditional 6' table.  We had the space on the patio, so we decided to go for 7'.  Below is the result.  I used cedar for better weather protection and bolts (instead of deck screws) to give it more of a nastalgic look and feel.  It should fit ten people comfortably, so we can't wait to host our friends and family.

Bark Dust is finished!

When I rented the sod cutter in May, I meant to cut the strip of grass closest to the cul-de-sac.  Somehow, I messed up and the cutter didn't cut the grass, it only irritated it.  That left an awkward looking strip by the sidewalk.  Fortunately, our neigher is a professional earth mover.  He agreed to use his big digger to take out the 3' strip and level the fill dirt.  He wouldn't take any payment for his effort so we gave him a bag of cherries.  I think this completes our bark-dusting project.

The dirt mound at the end is the future site of our extended back yard. 

Backpacking in St Helens National Forrest

Sandi had a free weekend last week so we took advantage of it with a two-night backbacking trip.  We chose Siouxon Creek in the south part of the Mt. St. Helens National Forrest because it boasted beautiful scenery, lots of campsites and a gradual gain in elevation.  It was a great weekend.

This is our first campsite.  It was right off the creek.  Both campsites were well developed with a fire pit and seating area. 

I love backpacking, but the worst part about it is always the bear hang.  Trying to throw a rope over a strudy limb without getting it tangled is always a challenge.  Sometimes we even get to try it in daylight.  This is one of the better ones. 

The two of us with our full packs on.

There were lots of waterfalls and pools.  We waded, but it was too cold to swim.

I took this picture from our 2nd campsite.

Saturday night was 'Thanksgiving Dinner'.  It consisted of powdered mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy and canned chicken.  Yummm!

A trip to the St. Helens National Forrest wouldn't be complete without a view of Mt. St. Helens.  The complete story is that we planned on hiking a part of a loop on Saturday that would bring us to a vista like this, then find a campsite on the ridge for Saturday night.  This was a gain of 2500 feet.  Unfortunately, the trail was poorly signed and there was no campsites or water.  Partly out of frustration and partly out of survival, we decided to complete the loop and head back down all 2500 feet to the creek.  Our second campsite was about a mile from our first campsite, even though we hiked over 8 miles up and down hill that day. 

celebrating something

The water was cold and clear.

Sandi at the ever-important junction of Wildcat trail.  Here, we began our 2-mile + descent to a much welcomed campsite.  

Independance Day

To celebrate our nation's birthday, we ate lots of really good food.  Mom and Dad came down to celebrate and eat with us.  We started with a community breakfast in Woodburn.

You can tell by Sandi's smile that she can't wait for pancakes, ham, and eggs. 

Need I say more?

Brian really can't wait to dig in.  Yummm!

Sandi made homemade 'Tin Roof Sundae' using dark chocolate.  This was a late-afternoon snack.  We may never go back to store-bought.

In the evening, we drove to a nearby fireworks display.  We brought our picnic dinner of grilled chicken, beans, pasta salad, and of course cake with whip cream.  The fireworks were fun too.

Fleet Week

Fleet Week caught me off gaurd (as usual), but Sandi was studying all weekend so it wasn't that big of a deal to drop everying (or nothing) and head to the waterfront Saturday morning.  I'm kind of a kid in a candy store when it comes to big things that go boom so I arrived early to tour a navel destroyer.

A destroyer is essentially an aircraft carrier's side-arm.  They seem well-equiped for such a task.

50-cal machine gun in the aft

missle launchers

5-inch main gun

The coast guard ships were also interesting. 

The red thing is a large buoy. 

This is a cutter based out of Port Angeles.  It does most things you woudl think the coast guard does: safety inspections, search and rescue, drug interceptions, etc.