Everyone needs a giant aerial trampoline hammock...

Tim salvaged a bunch of herring net from Bristol Bay and has been waiting for the perfect place to use it for years. Now that we have 9 acres with big trees and wetlands, Tim had finally fount the spot he wanted to lay in the canopy of the trees all day at. We ordered up a big roll of super heavy duty mule tape and wove it around the outside of the web. With long ladders and many knots, we secured the webbing to six trees, and took the leap. By the time we finished with the preparations, it was nearly dusk, which only helped to accentuate the feeling of stepping off a ladder onto nothing 20 feet up. The stretchy webbing gives under our weight, giving that momentary thrill of really feeling like we're falling and this must be such a bad idea. Tim quickly got comfortable up high, jumping up and down on the net and falling backwards or forwards onto the see-through floor. Ariel mainly hung on, stat still, and screamed whenever Tim moved, but eventually also acclimated. 

In other news, the Whidbey Search Dogs team had an out-of-county visitor come check out what we do and how we might be able to help serve a broader community;

Mom-Joy used the excavator to dig up a big stump in preparation for planting a new tree - maybe even a strawberry tree! 

Dad-Rich filed for Social Security and all those other things that come with a 65th birthday just around the corner;

Ariel got all dressed up in her formal uniform for the Fire and EMS awards banquet.

We've been having some stormy spring weather here on the island and our beach isn't quiet what it used to be. When we first moved to Whidbey two and a half years ago, Tim and Ariel built a great trail from the bottom of the stairs out to the beach. In our first spring here, we built a nice fire circle. In one blustery day, trail and fire circle were completely wiped from the beach and the mess of logs rearranged themselves from our neighbors property to ours. Nature is powerful. 

At the top of the stairs, some large branches decided to try out our chairs and found them not strong enough. 

Shed, garden, forge

One weekend Ariel said to Tim, "Let's build a shed!" so they went shopping, and there was evening and night on the first day. On the second day, they created floors, and there was evening and night on the second day. On the third day, they created the rest of the framing, and it was good. And then they went back to work for the week.

The rest of the week and into the following weekend, there were no days of rest. Instead, Tim and Ariel put siding up on the shed, painted it inside and out, borrowed Tim's work van to wire lights, outlets, and generator connections inside and out, and laid fake laminate flooring pulled out of the old community college space. While they worked, family came to visit, but still they worked. When they had finished, they were very tired and it was very good.

All the siblings: Amanda, Tim, Krista, and Daniel coming to see the Great Shed.

Tim spent his lunch break pulling out laminate flooring from a building being remodeled to bring it home for our shed, then spent hours after work cutting and snapping it into place with Ariel.

With one day off from work and the company van, Tim wired up the whole inside of the shed with great lighting.

Also, a super-cool pin-timer for the lights, motion sensor lights outside, the main panel and disconnect switch, an automatic transfer switch for the generator, and plenty of outlets. 

We took a break from all the work to see if our forge could melt copper. Spoiler alert: the melting wasn't so successful, but standing around the glowing hot forge and watching the sparks against the dark sky is always a nice way to spend the evening. 

Even with the shop-vac blowing and special coal, the copper didn't get very melt-y

Mom-Joy and Dad-Rich have been visiting to be closer to the doctors of Seattle, but have not been taking this time to rest. Mom

Mom-Joy planting blueberries

Mom-Joy planted four different fruit trees around the property, as well as a set of four blueberry bushes around the cherry tree in our veggie garden, to begin to transform the space into a magical and tranquil place (we did visualization exercises to plan how it will someday be). 

Kale seeds added to the garden next to the peas.