Monday, May 18, 2020

Quarantinis

Wow, this quarantine thing has really disconnected me from the passage of time. But I've gotta say, I've never been much busier, or much more relaxed. Good thing I was already easing into retirement. So what have I done? Well, Dawn and I stare out the window a lot in the morning. These are some of our visitors.


Speaking of windows, they hadn't been cleaned in quite some time. Okay, years. Okay, maybe decades. Dawn put her climbing skills to work.


I purged the closet, throwing out clothes that don't really fit or hadn't been worn in years. Okay, decades.


 We've made quite a few expeditions into the woods and out into the cinder hills.




Here's a big old boat we found atop one of the cinder cones. WTF. (Welcome to Flagstaff)




We have been working a bit in the boatshop, finishing up odds and ends.



A new tiller for Stella


 We finally finished the last of the mini boats. Powell boats are insanely labor intensive.


I'm going to miss these sweet little boats.


The annual Guides Training Seminar near Lee's Ferry was cancelled due to Covid, so we did a virtual one via Zoom. This is me doing my presentation on Bert Loper's Boats. It should be online somewhere soon.


Dawn decided it would be fun to have quarter-scale dories for a bird bath and garden. Here's the strongback.


And sides.


Glassing them up.




Teeny tiny gunwales.


But we needed to replace the deck before we could install the new boats. The old deck lasted thirty-five years, so hopefully this one will outlive me.




Time out for a sunset birthday float for Margeaux. We had quite a few Quarantinis that evening.


Pat's new rig: a '62 Willys. It might end up Willys Beryl Green.


The first day of my river season: launch day for my first cancelled Grand Canyon trip. But it was a pretty good day nonetheless.


I've been thinking about getting a new mountain bike, so of course I had to build a bike trail switchbacking up the mountain to the forest roads.


Dawn needed a rock wall in her front yard. This is me resting after a day's work moving giant rocks. Lava, as you may or may not know, is ten percent heavier than granite. 


Setting up a reflecting pool for some boat portraits.



Dawn doing the transom art on the new boats.


Bird Disneyland on the new deck.


A nod to Glen and Bessie Hyde with a sweep scow made of old deck parts.