Digging ditches

Oh how we long for power! To plug things in to charge, to flick a switch and have light, to have things in the fridge stay cold, to have heat! We've been reading books by lamp light. It is time for that to change! Getting power installed has become our top priority and now we have the ditch and enormous power lines to be ready for the electric company to plug us in to the grid! 

With highly skilled excavator work, we were able to dig the entire 200 feet of ditch, including steep hills, without a shovel - unless you count all the shoveling Tim had to do to get the excavator un-stuck for Ariel... Then we pulled and pulled and pulled until the very heavy, large wire was the entire length of the ditch. 

Whidbey Topsoil brought the pole strapped to the top of a dump truck full of fill gravel and with the help of the excavator, we got our pole in place, ready for Tim to climb up to finish the wiring for our inspection.

Down at the big house, we've been enjoying dinners and card games with the whole family (missing Krista) while Brother Tim, Brother Daniel, and Amanda visited for the weekend. 

Brother Tim roped us in to helping (mostly watching and critiquing) with his project of filling a pair of ox horns with resin and lights for future van-bumper mounting. Brother Tim then also roped Tim into spending the weekend in California helping him repair melted wires and damaged electrical parts on his boat. 

Grandpa had double the dogs to take on walks around the property with him while Rowdy was here. It's hard to tell if those brother dogs miss each other, but Nemo seems pretty happy being an only dog, spoiled with hot dogs and sleeping on Grandpa's chair.

Before heading back to Alaska, Mom-Joy and Dad-Rich made sure to get thoroughly exhausted doing as many projects as possible down here on Honeymoon Point.

Somehow they managed to cut and pry a trail through the huge log jam on the beach.

They also did some pruning, leaf blowing, and started a new fence down the North property line.

Tilly spent lots of time going for long walks with "Grandma" while Ariel did things like practicing sitting in a totaled car talking to an imaginary patient wile the fire department broke windows and ripped off side panels around her.