Dock project finished

Finished the dock expansion project and it came out better than I’d expected. Not counting the gangway, it added 140 SF but incorporated about 60SF from the original deck into a more useable area so the total impact was closer to 200SF. Mark is a craftsman and the end result looks professional and is solid as a rock. It took two days; the first to do the understructure and the second to do the decking. I had invested a few hours in pre-construction prep and have another day’s worth of work to fill and landscape the new entry way but the hard stuff is done and it’s perfectly useable as is. The new area is naturally shaded by bay trees and gives us the space for sit down, eating kind of parties. I had hoped to move our old picnic table onto the dock but on close inspection, it was fairly well eaten up by critters so we’re on the hunt for a new table. Simon’s graduation is the first planned event so we have a few weeks to find something or borrow my neighbor’s picnic table.

It’s too soon to declare the summer garden a total success but without question it’s far better than last year’s. Aside from the large quantity of cuc’s and green beans we’re picking, it shows mostly in the squash plants. By this time last year they were wilting and showing all the stresses from nematodes and virus or fungus. The squash would get a few inches long and then rot off. So far this year, not a sign of anything but strong growth and health. I’ve done so many things differently this year that I can’t attribute the success to any one thing – chances are there is no one thing.

We’ve been off the internet except for an occasional visit to the library since the beginning of the year. This week it was all worth while. Ditto not having cable TV. When the stock market crashed last week I was totally protected from any of the details which probably added years to my heart. We’re actually starting to enjoy not having the information overload.