Hi, everyone!
We had some colder-than-normal weather since I last wrote, but most of it was dry and sunny. Now we’ve had an entire week of sunny, summery weather! My white trillium friends bloomed, and the apple trees blossomed! It seemed like a lot of the flowers stayed around longer because it was chilly!
Grandma got in the mood to pull another pork shoulder and invite Uncle Steven’s family over for dinner. Of course, I helped pull the pork after it baked for six hours! While we were waiting for the pork to be done, I helped make passion fruit sherbet. Grandpa was afraid the ice cream maker wouldn’t hold it all, so I kept careful watch! Everybody thought dinner was yummy! James brought over his new Rubiks cube. Grandma told him he should Facetime Uncle David for solving hints!
I’ve decided there’s a lot I didn’t know about making roofs! After Uncle Steven put up the rafters on the tree house, I expected the next steps would be decking and shingles. Uncle Steven explained that he had to think about ventilation first. He came over to use Grandpa’s drill press again, to make ventilation cross pieces to fit between the rafters at the eaves. After that, he and Aunt Kara figured out how to get the plywood decking onto the rafters. That took some maneuvering, because of the lifting beam and all the trees around the tree house! A wild turkey came by to inspect the finished job!
After the first weekend of the Lilac Festival, Grandma thought it might be time to go to Highland Park to take pictures of the lilacs in bloom. We were a little early! Even though there had been a lot of sunny days, the cool temperatures kept blossoms from opening. Most of the lilacs were still tight buds or only had a few early blooms. Some of the later magnolias were at peak bloom, and I liked the early azaleas. Even the pansies in the pansy bed hadn’t fully bloomed!
The day after we went to Highland Park was cool and sunny and very breezy! Grandma and I helped Uncle Steven put house wrap on the tree house! That protects the plywood sheeting of the walls before the final siding gets put on. Grandma and I held the ends of the pieces as Uncle Steven wrapped them around each side. We had to make sure the wind gusts didn’t twist the house wrap or blow over a ladder before Uncle Steven got everything fastened down! The house wrap went around the tree house three times to cover it from top to bottom. We figured out better ways to do the job each time around!
The next day, we helped Uncle Steven tape all the seams where the rows of house wrap overlapped. I stayed inside the tree house to hand Uncle Steven whatever he needed outside through the windows. Then Grandma and I helped hold the soffitt pieces in place while Uncle Steven fastened them under the rafters. I was surprised, when I looked up, to see an opening in the roof decking right at the ridge. Uncle Steven said that was another part of the ventilation for the roof.
The tree house doesn’t have permanent decking or a ladder yet! Right now, the deck outside the tree house door is made of the tripod pieces Uncle Steven used to hold up the frame before the support posts were in place! Thomas doesn’t need a ladder to get up to the tree house! He can shimmy up the supports, and he has a rope to get back down!
The next day was finally roof shingle day, but I was surprised how much needed to be done before the shingles actually went on. First, Grandma and I helped Uncle Steven fasten tar paper over the plywood roof decking. Then, he had to fasten metal rake and drip edges to the sides of the roof plywood. Then it was finally time for Uncle Steven to put the shingles on! The day after that, he put on the ridge vent, to cover the opening at the peak of the roof, and put cap shingles over that. When he is working high up on the roof or on a ladder, Uncle Steven wears a safety harness. That would keep him from falling too far if he slips. I wanted to try climbing the tall ladder, so Grandma told me I needed to use the safety harness, too!
James’ birthday was last Sunday, and he wanted to celebrate out at the bay. He asked Grandma and me to make an AWACS cheesecake for his birthday cake. Of course, I did the batter marbling! Grandma and Grandpa and I went out to the bay to get ready for the party. The azalea by the porch was in full bloom! I had time to visit my Jack-in-the-pulpit friend and a really tall dandelion before James and his family arrived. I also checked out the water level in the bay. It’s going up!
James and Thomas got up really early on James’ birthday and played on the iPad before a waffle breakfast. Then James got to play another video game on Uncle Steven’s computer while Thomas went fishing with his parents. It was warm enough to eat lunch on the porch, and James opened his presents then.
After lunch, Grandma and I went for a kayak paddle with Thomas. He made it all the way across the bay to Clark Creek by himself! He got tired on the way back and held onto Grandma’s kayak to get a ride. It was windy enough that he got wet and very cold! When he got back, he took a hot bath and bundled up to get warm again.
James asked for Grandma’s home-made pizzas for his birthday dinner, then we had the AWACS cheesecake with birthday candles. James got them all blown out!
After Uncle Steven’s family went home, Grandma and Grandpa and I went to the Point to watch sunset. It was very pretty! I liked seeing geese flying past just after the sun set.
James’ and Thomas’ Uncle Mike loaned Uncle Steven scaffolding to help with finishing the outside of the tree house! That gives people more space to work than standing on a ladder. Uncle Steven and Aunt Kara used the scaffolding to get the door up to the tree house. I helped hold the frame in place so Uncle Steven could screw the door jambs securely into the tree house frame.
After the door was installed, Thomas discovered the scaffold made a very nice climber! He keeps discovering new ways to get up to the tree house without a ladder!
Because the weather was getting warmer, Grandma and I went back to Highland Park last Tuesday to get better photos of lilacs. It’s the middle week of the Lilac Festival and just about the middle of the lilac bloom period, too! I like climbing up the back stairs by the azaleas to get into the park! First we checked out the peony garden and found lots of pretty flowers in bloom.
Next, we revisited the lilacs. I was happy to see how many more were blooming than last week! Guess what? I even saw one of my groundhog friends!
Most of the rhododendrons in the gully at the east end of the park haven’t bloomed yet, but some of the ones at the top of the gully are in bloom. I was happy to make friends with those!
Tomorrow is Thomas’ birthday, and he wants Grandma’s homemade pizzas for his birthday dinner, too! Our May adventures aren’t over yet!
Love,
Lion-san
I do like the flowers in the park also. It is Great that you take time out to help with the tree house and manage to cook and celebrate birthdays. You are developing construction skills also. You are getting to be an amazing lion.
Love, Moose-san, Tilly and Goldstone.
How do you make pulled pork? Recipe please.
The tree house is definitely an elaborate creation and building project. Looks like it will last a long time. Uncle Steven seems to be having a lot of fun with building the tree house for the kids to play in. He is himself playing with big boy tools. Wonder how much the boys will use the tree house. Good place for a picnic.