Trilobite

There’s nothing new at the house today. It rained heavily so I guess the contractors decided to take the day off. The tractor is gone, though. Photos: metal rods, different blocks.

Yesterday morning I walked by the house and “the guy” was leveling out the last of the gravel.

After work I tried to find a geocache, but I could only get within 50 meters. I’ll go back when the weather gets warmer.

At the end of the day we checked on the house again and saw many skids of cinder blocks.

My father, stepmother, brother, and uncle are coming to town tomorrow.

Banjo’s toy duck started malfunctioning and wouldn’t stop making gurgly buzzing noises. Banjo was very concerned. I did some emergency surgery and removed the quacking device. Little Duck is all better now.

The foundation at the house has been filled with gravel. I guess they will have to dig down through it when they want to get to the sewer pipe and those round concrete support structures. There is also some foam insulation sticking out, but it seems to be only at the back of the house. I wonder what else is under there…

Somebody (Gisele, I assume) has planted hot peppers in the garden.

I posted the last of our old photos and the blog is finally up to date (see May 9th). I am now registered for the upcoming fall term at the University of Toronto.

I returned to the house later in the day yesterday and the driveway had been filled back in. The guy who is always there (I should really find out his name) was spreading gravel around with the tractor. After he left I went down and checked out the pipes. Copper for water and PVC for sewage. There is also a new curb stop for the water connection.

Today the foundation walls were started. I’m impressed with the way the corners line up so well with the orange dots on the foundation. More photos: front door, pipes again, support structure.

The temporary driveway at the house has been dug up to lay down a big pipe. It must be for either the water or the sewage. Or maybe there will be several smaller pipes inside the big one.

One member of the construction crew said he remembered playing around here when he was a child and asked if there used to be a house on this lot.

Celine walked by the house with Banjo this morning and saw a big cement truck pouring the foundation! She came back home for the camera, but by the time she returned to the house the truck was gone and the construction crew had started leveling the wet cement.

When she returned after work the cement was dry and the wooden frame had been removed. There are mysterious troughs near the front door, and orange dots painted in all the corners. We suppose the seven big circles are for the main support posts of the house. I wonder how they’re going to get the tractor out of there.

On Wednesday we went to a geocache near Highway 401. It was very pretty, despite being so close to the road. We saw a rainbow and a porcupine. Later went to visit an old mill which has been restored. We’d like to go back one day and take the tour.

Thursday was my and Christine’s birthday. We spent the afternoon visiting Rheni. Then Celine joined us and we went out for dinner at Chez Piggy.

Yesterday Duncan asked us to go climbing with him again. Unfortunately, he set up his ropes on a route that was far too difficult for us. There was only one extra harness, and I let Celine take it. She climbed up a few meters and then couldn’t go any further. Duncan was pressed for time so I said I would wait until next time. Then we looked for a place on a cliff with less traffic to re-hide our geocache (it went missing).

Later on we went to a mill which hadn’t been restored. It was interesting to explore all the different rooms and buildings. Celine found one area where there had been a fire. There were lots of pretty flowers all around.

On the way home last night we found a fledgling crow on the road with an injured leg. We brought him home and gave him some peas to eat. In the morning we took him out onto the roof to sit in the sun, and he drank some water and ate some dog food. A bunch of seagulls came by for some food too, but we didn’t give them any. After lunch a wildlife rehabilitator from Howe Island came to pick the little guy up. She said she’ll take him to Napanee, where she knows somebody who is good with birds that have leg injuries.

On Thursday the contractors dug the foundation for the house and built a new driveway. They have been having trouble with people parking in front of the house and blocking their way in, so they made a no parking zone.

I asked the guy on the tractor about the birch tree, and he said it doesn’t need to be cut down. It’s roots were damaged during the digging, so I hope it survives. Gisele’s garden is doing okay.

Yesterday they started building the framework to pour the concrete into, and by this morning it was finished [garage, front, back].

The other day a bunch of the nosy neighbours were gathered in front of the house on the sidewalk. One of them was even drinking a beer. The guy with the beautiful front lawn sent Celine’s parents an email complaining that he only wants construction to occur between 8am and 5pm on weekdays.

I have posted some more old photos (April 29, May 2 & 6).

We have now reached the Tripod 20MB disk quota so I’ll have to start deleting old photos to make space for new ones. The good news is that my brother Peter has promised to give me an account on the computer in his basement. When that happens, I’ll move the blog there and restore all the deleted pictures.