On Friday, May 20th, I spent much of the day just tidying up after the fall shutdown putting things back in place for the summer. In the evening all the family came out and we had some nice conversation over a few beverages. (Part 1 is here)
In the morning Scott and I watch the F1 practice sessions, after all it is his birthday weekend and also an F1 race weekend in Miami. After breakfast the boys and I tend to some of the heavier dock work. Well, actually the guys do all the heavy lifting, I’m just directing traffic.
The aluminum boat is flipped right side up and the Merc outboard is put on the boat. After a few pulls (14 but who’s counting. Need to get that electric start fixed) it fires up and we go retrieve the sailboat ramp which floated away to the bay next to us. It’s still all intact so it’s repositioned and winched up to a higher location and tied to a large tree.
The boat roller ramp is re-positioned and comes in handy in dealing with the extra high water levels this spring.
It’s not all work and late in the afternoon there is a walk down the road with everyone
and smores around the fire pit. Along with roasting worms and other “boy stuff” 🤣.
Dinner is the classic lake burgers with “cheese goo”, potato salad, beans marinated tomatoes and all the condiments. Plus a special dessert for the birthday boy.
On Sunday the family is packing up to get back to town for a number of different commitments. Scott and I watch the F1 race before he goes, well the start anyway. I finish it up after they have gone.
It’s early in the day and all the family have left so before tackling a few more startup tasks, there is time for the coffee on the deck lake tradition.
Then it’s back to “work”, which is always more like fun at the lake. I take the kayaks down to the dock mainly so I can use one to paddle over to some friends on an island near us to say hello.
After that it’s cut up some downed trees on the path and haul the brush up to the road. The yard gets a raking and the property gets the leaf blower cleanup treatment. Things are looking pretty tidy. The boat is washed out and battery installed, ready to go for the season.
With the high water I get the garbage cans from 2014 down to the dock and fill them up with water to hopefully stabilize the top of the dock against the high water and waves.
On Monday I’m up at 6:15 but still miss the sunrise which is 5:26am these days, perhaps tomorrow. Generally a relaxed morning then a quick bike ride over the Rushing River.
In the afternoon it’s cleaning the eavestroughs front and back both of which were more that a little plugged up with leaves and gunk.
Tuesday I am up for the sunrise at 5am on a totally clear and cool (8°C) morning. After easing into the day with several cups of coffee and a light breakfast I start the investigation on replacing the rotted beam that supports the deck in the front left corner.
This could be a bit of a job as it’s 2 – 2×10 – 16′ and 10′ in the air at the high corner on uneven ground. New footings and a temporary support system will be required to do the replacement. Always something fun happening at the cottage.
We pack up in the early afternoon and head back to town. As we pass through Kenora we make the first of the season stop for a little treat for the road. The perfect end to a great opening weekend.
