Hi, everyone!
I’m still going back and forth with Grandma and Grandpa, but most of the exciting adventures are happening at the bay! The last week in June, we waited all week for the construction barge to come back. While we waited, Grandpa cleaned the cottonwood and cobwebs off the screens on the porch at the bay. Then, when we went back into Fairport, the baby groundhog was out with its parent again. This time, the parent was trying to take a nap in the sun, but the baby wasn’t interested in sleeping!
We’ve had a lot more rainy weather recently. The Sodus Point fireworks were scheduled for Saturday, July 3, but the TV weather people were predicting a 60% chance of rain. Grandma and Grandpa decided to go back out to the bay on Friday afternoon, anyway. Guess what? Late on Friday afternoon, the construction barge came back! The Bobcat was repaired, and the crew used the shovel to maneuver the barge into position in front of the boathouse. The barge was close enough to the finished parts of the breakwall that the lowered shovel served as a gangplank!
Grandma and Grandpa let Uncle Steven’s family know that the barge was back and invited them to come out on Saturday to stay over. They came out after they had gone to the Fairport Fourth of July parade and had lots of candy from there! Grandpa grilled chicken on the new grill Uncle Steven’s family had given him for Fathers Day! I hung around with James and Thomas while they used electronics. After dinner, Uncle Steven made a bonfire. He even had a special chair for me! Thomas toasted marshmallows for s’mores!
It didn’t get dark enough for fireworks until way after Thomas’ and my bedtimes, but we managed to stay awake and wait! We had a very nice view of the fireworks from Sodus Point, and also the ones our neighbors set off. And the rain passed to the west of us and didn’t ruin anything!
On Sunday morning, the Fourth of July, we had our usual waffle breakfast and on-line church. Grandma and I had been working on a jigsaw puzzle from Hawaii, and Uncle Steven, Aunt Kara and James finished it. Then Uncle Steven and James did electronics. Grandma and Aunt Kara helped Thomas find some worms, so he and I could go fishing. Uncle Steven and Aunt Kara took James and Thomas back home after dinner on Sunday. First, though, they tucked into their parents’ bed with their iPads! After they left, Grandma and Grandpa took me to Sodus Point for sunset. It was very pretty!
We stayed at the bay Sunday night because the crew said they would be back on Monday to work on the steel breakwall. They never came, but Grandma and I used the time to scrub the powerboat. We used bathroom tub cleaner and it really worked!
We went back to Fairport Monday night, July 5, because Grandma had invited Thomas to come make goat cheese biscuits with her on Tuesday morning. Thomas needed some help blending the butter and goat cheese into the dry ingredients, but his “volcano” method for mixing in the buttermilk worked very well! After the biscuits were rolled out and marked for cutting, he did all the cutting. Then he did the final brush with milk and sprinkle with sea salt. While the biscuits were baking, he dried all the baking implements after Grandma washed them. He used the “giftwrap and pat” method to dry everything except the big mixing bowl. For that he used the “giftwrap and sit and spin” method, and that worked, too! He and Uncle Steven each sampled a biscuit before the rest went home and said they were yummy!
Grandpa went out to the bay Tuesday afternoon to check, but the crew didn’t come back until Thursday. They finished the south part of the steel breakwall inside the boathouse. Grandpa had asked that part of the cribbing timbers they had removed earlier be returned for him to salvage, so they put that wall on the deck.
On Friday afternoon, Grandma and Grandpa took me back out to the bay to stay overnight. The crew came back and moved the barge so they could work on the north wall. They finished the short front part and the part inside the boathouse before they quit for the weekend.
Saturday morning was rainy and cloudy! Because the crew wasn’t working, I could get a little closer to see what they had done. Then I made friends with the lilies that were in bloom and helped Grandma harvest more basil. Grandpa cut the salvaged timbers apart and decided which ones could be used again.
We went back to Fairport Saturday evening in time for a late dinner. Then I helped Grandma make more pesto from the basil we had harvested. On Sunday, Grandma went to in-person church, but it was held inside because of the cloudy, drippy weather. After lunch, we went back out to the bay! We had more rain, and we lost power for two hours after my bedtime! On Monday morning, the crew brought the steel caps that go on top of the breakwall sections. They excavated next to the north side of the cribbing to make room for the steel. There was a lot of debris — rotten timbers, branches, rusted metal — that they picked up and put on the barge.
When the crew took their lunch break, Grandma let me go farther north on the shore to see the progress. I wanted to stay to see them finish the north wall, but Grandma said we had to leave. We had a meeting with the contractor to plan the next part of the project! There are going to be lots more adventures in the next two weeks!
Love,
Lion-san
I like the reflections in the water of 3 of July fireworks and sunset on Fourth of July is spectacular, a photo worthy of the annual sunset photos page.
You and James and Thomas certainly do make the most of July and the Bay. Love to hear what’s going on.
Love,
LaVachec
Nice you all had a great time! Watching and being part of all those fun things with James and Thomas. Those pictures of the fireworks are great. It is great that progress is being made on the break wall.