More Projects!

Hi, everyone!

The water level in the bay is getting even lower, and the trees are getting more fall colors. That means we have more projects at the bay!

It’s time to take out the marine railway and the dock. We have to get the water craft ready for the winter, too! I helped Grandma dig up my rosemary plant friend, so it can spend the winter in the kitchen in town!

Uncle Steven and Thomas came out on Friday a week ago to help out. Uncle Steven got the trailer ready to haul his jet ski. Then Grandpa drove the trailer to the boat ramp and Uncle Steven met him there with the Waveblaster. I kept Thomas company watching videos! Then I checked out the marks on the front lawn by the bank. Grandpa told me a contractor will be coming later this month to build a retaining wall there and put rocks down the bank.

After Uncle Steven and Grandpa got the jet ski stored, they took the marine rails for the powerboat carriage out of the water, too. Guess what? There were mussels all over the underside of the rails! There were even a few on the carriage! I helped get the kayaks ready to come upstairs for the winter.

On Saturday, Aunt Kara came out to help take out the dock. Uncle Steven uses the aluminum rowboat to loosen the dock section legs and he asked Thomas to join him. Thomas got a rowing lesson before he held the boat in position for loosening hardware! He really had to work hard to keep the boat from floating away while Uncle Steven and Aunt Kara were carrying dock sections! The dock was out and stacked before lunch. After lunch, I helped Grandma wash and dry the kayaks before they came inside.

This past Friday, Grandma and Grandpa took me out to the bay before lunchtime so we could work on the boathouse soffit. We had a surprise when we arrived! The contractor was already working on the bank project! There were pallets of building blocks for the walls, and three truckloads of stone followed us in!

The work crew had a small loader to scoop up the stone from the parking area and drive it across the lawn to dump it over the bank. I got a chance to make friends with the loader while the crew took a break! At dinnertime, an excavator showed up! The crew worked till after dark, starting to dig out the area where the retaining wall will go. Grandma told me that the front lawn there used to extend six feet closer to the bay. It collapsed when Uncle Steven was a baby! The retaining wall will support getting most of that lawn area back.

While the crew was busy in the yard, Grandma and Grandpa and I were working down by the boathouse. Grandma stained the fascia boards for the boathouse soffit dark brown. She wouldn’t let me get near the stain! Grandpa started getting the powerboat ready for the winter by hoisting it up and putting in antifreeze.

When we got up on Saturday, the crew was already back at work! The traffic was very busy, with the loader going back and forth and the excavator maneuvering to dig without falling over the bank! I got a chance to make friends with the excavator. With all the traffic, the lawn was really squished!

Grandma and Grandpa and I were busy putting the fascia on the boathouse eaves. I like the color Grandma and Grandpa chose!

Sunday, Grandma invited Uncle Steven’s family for dinner and made custom topping pizza. Then I helped Grandma make three more batches of party mix, because the last batch we made was gone already. I wonder how long this batch will last?

Love,

Lion-san