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I spent the day cleaning the boat and getting ready to go to Muskoka. I got a good job washing one side and expected the same on the second side but got overconfident. I scrubbed the whole side and it turned out that I transferred dirt from the waterline up onto the cleaner areas and did not rinse in time. That caused streaks and spotting that took me another hour or more to eliminate. I discovered the secret had to do with soap concentration. It took a stronger concentration than the solution which left the streaks to break through the stains left by the lesser concentration. When I discovered that, the job went more quickly. Up to that point, I could not touch the stains. Interesting. I've also discovered that the trailer springs are looking flat. Could be the snow load during winter. I had intended to block the frame up, but didn't. I'll have to decide what to do about it. I drove out to Princess Auto and bought some springs and other supplies then discovered that I had forgotten my wallet. I have to return tomorrow.
It rained heavily here this morning and I went out to get some items, then took the boat to a trailer shop to see about changing the springs. The expert concluded that the springs were not flat, so we did not change them. I was not happy with how the load was centered, though, and took the boat to Bell Park where I floated it enough to get the load on centre and then returned home to work on organizing the boat. That, a trip to get boat gas, and a bit of shopping for groceries in the afternoon kept me busy all day, and after supper as well. Mom and I should be ready to head south tomorrow morning.
Tuesday July 12th 2011 At five, I was awake, so I got up and started the day. I am sleeping much better since I have avoided alcohol entirely. That is not hard to do here, but at home it is more difficult. Today will be a hot one, if we can believe the weather-guessers, so the sooner we are on the road, the better for the van, and for us when we arrive. It is far more pleasant to launch the boat in the cooler part of the day. Last year I did it in the early afternoon. There is a seeing about mad dogs and Englishmen. I think it should include beekeepers since we tend to work the bees when they are most active, and that is from late morning on. In my early beekeeping days, I used to lay around all day swimming and working in the cool basement, then working the bees from 4 PM until they the field force stopped going out for the day. That was an idea way to work. The bees were calm and the day was cooling. The sun was lower in the sky and less scorching. As I expanded and had hired staff, we went more and more to working daytime hours. * * * * * *
I left it anchored near the ramp and drove Mom to Pine Hill and dropped the trailer, then brought the boat back upriver through the locks and tied up at the dock. The weather is perfect and I was done by noon. I was exhausted after working for two weeks to get back here and slept soundly after lunch until awoken by one of those rude, useless telemarketing machines. It is a good thing there is no known way to kill over a phone line. I plan to rest for the balance of the day and see how ambitious I am tomorrow.
I fixed the signs at the road -- again. Some delivery truck had backed into them both.
In Alberta, the good bee weather continues: a bit of rain and lots of sun. Today, here in Muskoka, we are expecting one of Mom's friends to come for a few days and Mom took off in the van this morning to buy groceries. I'm relaxing, having decided that I have been driving myself too hard. Plan for today:
* * * * * * * It's almost 4 PM and so far, I've done none of that. I had a nice nap, though. I've been really tired lately and figure the best idea is to rest and sleep as much as I can. * * * * * * * After supper, I thought I should get a start at least, so I went down and spent an hour putting up the mast and bending the mainsail on my boat.
Bob and Anne came over in the morning. After that, I fiddled around a bit with the boat, had a swim, and that was about it.
I did nothing on Cloud 9 today, but began cleaning the interior of my sailboat. It is a mess and will take a few more hours before it is shipshape. The weather is hot, and I was in and out of the River a few times. I also completed the repair of the companionway slider. That is a 'simple' job which has turned out to be hard. I tried several solutions, but this time, I have a good, solid repair that is better than new.
The hot weather continues in Muskoka. Mom and Doreen are going to church this morning. It is just down the road from us. The forecast is for a hot day again. I think I'll get started on my projects early. Maybe I'll get out for a sail today. That did not happen. I did wash the boat cushions, though, visit with a friend of Doreen's, migrate a website to a new server, fix a long-standing problem with another site, drive to Three Mile Lake to look at a boat, and make progress towards pulling the boat engine. I quit at 8:30. I was tired and starting to make mistakes.
The weather shown above is for Swalwell, but here in Muskoka, we are expecting more thunderstorms as well. We had a loud thunderstorm in the middle of the night that lasted for three hours. Zippy, although she is of a breed that are supposedly "gun dogs", does not like loud noises and bothered us until the rain and thunder ended. First she bothered Doreen, then me. This gets to be a nuisance at 3 AM, and even more so by 4.
Once again, I did not work on either boat today. Joan came after lunch and visited an hour or so, then the window screens needed fixing. I went for a swim. I migrated more websites. That was it.
I'm up at 5. Doreen, Mom and I leave for the North at 8 and I have lots to do. Website migrations kept me up until 11 last night and took a few minutes first thing today. I have yet to pack, clean up, and tidy the boathouse. * * * * * * * * That was all done by 7:45 and we struck out for Sudbury. We arrived at 11 and I drove west then to Spragge and the North Channel Yacht Club, where I met with a man with a 27-foot sailboat (yacht?) for sale. I quickly decided that I did not want to buy it since it needs a lot of work, I visited a bit, then drove back to Sudbury and loaded the van for the trip back to Pine Hill tomorrow..
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The
scale hives have lost a half-pound since the 7th, judging by a picture
Ellen sent today.
This
morning we went to the Bracebridge market and I drove up to Home Depot
to get some screws for the companionway hatch. I also went to The
store to look at the bulletin board. We're thinking that we need a
boat to keep us going until Cloud 9 is finished. That could be a
while. I'm sitting here waiting for the phone to ring. I
answered several ads by email, but there were no phone numbers, so I
have to wait. And wait. A fellow phoned when I was out and
did not leave a number. he said he would call back in a half-hour.
That was an hour and a half ago.
The
scale hives put on a lot of weight -- 11 lbs in two days. That is
for the four hives on the scale and works out to about a pound and a
half a day for each of the four. Ellen has been watching for swarms and
so far, nothing. Of course these hives have been split twice.