First Fire

 This is our first wood fire of the season--and I only just finished cleaning the chimney and smoke pipe! 

Siding

Nearly done the ground floor siding on the North side. Now I need more for the second story. 

Dry

This is a truly dry summer. Here is our Panama, the ever flowing stream originating on Ralph's land.

Dry as dust.

Relearning

 I had to dig out the old jigs and re-teach myself how to make the caps for the exterior window headers. I made two of 8" planks before realizing I would need 10" ones! Never mind--good practice and they will come in handing for the garage windows, if nothing else. 

Another Fine Mess

 The sill wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. There were some dubious bottoms of studs, and the lower sheathing boards were bad. I replaced them with 3/4 inch plywood--not the miserable pieces in the picture but with long sections. 

Never Again

Lots of penetrating oil, sledgehammering, and cunning bolt work finally got the old bearing off. Never again...

Before and After

 It seems a shame, really, but it was in the way. It's quite crowded enough as it is! We planted them quite densely twenty years ago, and now it is time to think them out. This one made it hard to mow, so we knew it was time for it to go. The new chain zipped through it, and I cut it below the turf line.