Thought I would take a day to document our progress on our Boiestown, NB camp, and other goings on there. First up is my little excursion up to camp on February 4th. Going in on Swazey Road (Don't forget that you can click on the pic for a larger version):
We're number 99!
One of the reasons we usually have quite a few ruffed grouse around the place are all the high bush cranberries along Swazey Lane. A very favorite food of theirs, and the berries persist (unless neighbor Alan Wilson picks them all for jelly) well into winter.
And a parting shot of the frozen Miramichi at Renate's before heading home on February 8th. to get ready for sugaring, build some shadow boxes for the Atlantic Salmon Museum, and finish our firewood supply for winter 2024/25.
The fruits of my labors down in Vermont over the course the rest of February and the month of March:
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Slow forward to mid-April. I few days earlier back down in Vermont, I watched on one of our realtime cameras as a certain 90 year old un-named neighbor got his car center hung in our "driveway" on a snow mound of, lol, his own making when he plowed some of that drive. I saw him get Renate to drive the car while he pulled it off the mound with his tractor. What I didn't see, but it was the first thing I saw when I arrived back in camp on April 18, was this:
That would be our Starlink dish (which we will be getting rid of as soon as we get up there this Spring, Mr. Musk), which, amazingly, was still operational! Sometimes that 90 year old (now 91!) forgets to use his back up mirrors!
The snow was mostly gone, except for the piles that slide off the porch roofs:
The river was ice-free (note: I take a photo at this spot directly down from our camp almost every morning throughout my time at camp. For this post, I'll try to keep things going on a weekly basis, starting the week with the pic of that Sunday). I have seen the river much higher than this at this time some years.
Dinner that first night, as it is many nights when Bridget isn't up, is my fav shishkabob, with all the ingredients bought at McCloskey's store in Boiestown. Yum.
The Spring Atlantic salmon season opened on April 15th, but I wasn't seeing many boats. Reports were that the fishing was pretty good (by recent standards).
Sunday, April 21, and the river hasn't changed much over the past few days:
Down in Vermont, breakfast most days is some kind of chocolate protein drink. On the river, this one seems more appropriate:
Sunrises can really start your day off right!
Spent a little bit of time doing up some campfire wood with a splitter borrowed from Dan Bullock...
enjoying campfires...
The week of May 5th saw the river still on its way down.
That was a fun Sunday. Had a hot dog cook-out (with, of course, McKenzie natural casing dogs made in Vermont)...
with three of my favorite people on the planet, Michele, Vin and Andy.
During the week, Brodie kept vigil over a greening intervale.
The annual rite of getting the water running again in the farmhouse with Vin is always sort of fun and definitely requires a BIG flashlight.
The Aspens and Birch around the camp are just starting to think about budding out...
and Brodie pointed a grouse right near our 99 sign. Stylish, that boy!
The week of 5/12 started out sunny fashion, with the fiddle heads starting to think about coming up.
Seemed only right that we end our Sunday in the best way possible:
And Vin mows the lawn for us for the first time this year while Brodie supervises everything.
All, however, was not fun and games that week. The Swazey's septic system decided it was past time for a bit of a rework. Oh, that is a sloppy, messy business that I'm glad I've only had to deal with 2 or 3 times in my lifetime (LOL, all at the Swazeys'!)
All's well that ends well.
Back at that pesky siding. The product I use to protect the hemlock boards from the weather and harmful UV rays is CWF-UV by the Flood Company. It is not a stain, per se, but really brings out the beauty in the wood and prevents it from graying due to the sun and normal weathering. Forty feet of porch makes a convenient place for the boards to dry.
Gettin' 'er done...
and literally turning the corner.
I should mention at this point that, exclusive of the roof system, I have personally nailed every board of the floor system, wall framing, exterior trim and siding myself with the exception of some of the higher siding work. A young acquaintance definitely helped there. Friends have offered to help, but at this grouchy old stage of my life, I just prefer to go it alone as completely as I can.
May 19th and things are really getting green along the river!
At this point, had to head back down to Vermont for ten days or so to help Bridget with some things and take care of a few jobs myself. There is always firewood to be cut, split and stacked.
I'm ashamed of myself for letting my Mad River canoe sit out in the weather for so many years. In preparation for taking it up to NB with me to get new gunwales fitted, I made new end caps for it out of some cherry I had. The originals were walnut, I think.
When I'm upta camp, Bridget's son Bob usually handles the lawn mowing chores. Since I was there anyway, Brodie and I handled it one day. Brodie is the red, I'm the blue on the mower in this pic of his GPS tracker. You can see how helpful he can be.
Brodie is always up for enjoying the view and all that green!
I have never been in the river at the right time to get into the river's sea run trout, so on June 3rd, I decided to rig up for the first time in 2024, and swing a fly or two right down in front of the camp. With no thought of a June salmon (which I have also never hooked), I was swinging one of my Deep Green Beauty streamers.
Back to the job at hand. Got the west and south sides sided.
Moved on to the North (river) side, with its 12-foot slider.
Of course, those rain clouds can only mean one thing:
I swear that dog could find a mud puddle in the middle of the Sahara!
Got a little fishing in that week. Brodie has turned out to be a fun fishing dog. He rams around the shore for awhile, goes for a swim, rams around some more, takes a rest, repeat. I can't wait to see what he'll do if he sees a fish on.
Ever since I was a kid, I've loved Concord grapes when they've ripened in the Fall. Renate has an arbor that is overloaded with them. This year, after youtubing my way through how to propagate them from cuttings, Renate let me do just that, and they're coming along nicely.
Thankfully, we seem to be enjoying banner years for swallows around the camp. These mosquito-eating machines are more than welcome here!
Watched a deer heading over to McCarty Island across from camp on our daily early morning walk
Seems like I just cleaned the place!
Brodie's fav summer day resting spot (according to his GPS, he runs 20 to 25 miles per day - never going more than 200 yards from camp...he needs his rest periods, lol)
The week of June 23rd: What happens when you get several inches of rain in your wheelbarrow?
This:
After the rain, it was time to start on the steps into the mudroom. When you only build a set of steps about every ten years, it can take awhile and some serious figuring to get it done. But we manage.
Proper flashing first:
Getting joists started:
Stair stringers laid out, cut and installed (they're actually fun to do):
Awesome sky the evening of 6/26!
Stairs starting to take shape! The cedar posts all come from a backyard sawmill I like to frequent downriver in Blissfield run by a member of the Gilks clan.
Took a little time off for a fish. No luck, but the casting critic was watching every move from what he thinks is his concealed location.
Getting close, stair-wise, towards the end of the week:
BTW, I love Canadian pressure treated lumber. Over the years I've built plenty of decks and such in the States, and always struggled with twisted, curved pressure treated lumber. Not so with the nice brown Canadian stuff. Just a pleasure to work with...like just about everything in Canada.
The first week of July, those stairs are getting close (have you noticed I'm no speed merchant when it comes to this stuff?) :
Vin has many acres to mow, and we really appreciate that he takes the time to mow us!
Construction supervising is exhausting work.
The week of July 7th started out gloriously!
And the camp is looking good and the front porch siding is finished.
In anticipation of having to go down to Vermont for a few weeks, I took some video and stills so that Bridget could start envisioning the interior. There are no interior walls up yet.
Back in camp on August 15th:
The river is getting LOW. Dan Bullock's boat is getting high and dry at the boat house.
The week of 8/25 was spent watching the river go down and making arrangements for plumber, well diggers and electricians to converge on the camp in the next week or so.
The week of 9/1 was again spent watching the river go down (there's a pattern developing here), and beginning to lay out interior walls.
Add in a little grape trellis construction:
And of course, a little day's end R&R:
The week of 9/8 was crazy. I convinced the well driller, who needed to run the line from the well, which was installed several years ago, to the camp, to also run the trench from the power pole to the camp, the former needing to cross over the latter to keep expenses down (shortest distance between two points being a straight line). Which also meant getting the electrician there at the same time to put the power line in the trench to the camp. Ever try herding cats??
I have a great many descriptive phrases for that day, but I think I'll let some pictures be worth a few words. BTW, we are essentially building on a land fill of sorts. The plot was quarried out years ago for gravel for the railroad beds in the area. It was filled back in with all manner of lumber mill waste, railroad ties and tree stumps. That's why we had to build on helical piers.
Meanwhile, I had been busy framing interior walls:
Definitely time for a little river time.
A very lovely day beginning the week of 9/15!
Ever-thoughtful Bridget sent me this mug for my morning coffee. Kind of fun:
And of course that pesky river just keeps going down!
The electrician connected the camp to the wire coming from the pole; still waiting on NBPower to hook us up at the pole.
Towards the end of the week, the river level is just getting downright depressing. Good thing Dan doesn't need his boat! Earlier in the week there was still a trickle of water at its stern.
Time to start reconnoitering the spot where the mini-split inside unit was going to go. I knew I needed to get drywall up there first, so this was just a little "how the hell am I going to do that?" sort of thing.
The leaves are just starting to turn on 9/22.
The river is becoming, from a fishing standpoint anyway and at least right around camp, gone.
Definitely at a point where I needed to start planning fixture locations.
Later in the week, the colors are really starting to show:
And it was time to get that sheetrock up where the mini-split unit will go. As daunting as it looks for one person (that is a 12' ladder in the pic), with some thought, it wasn't.
Once I figured on it, my feet never left the floor. I knew the angle that the pieces of sheetrock needed to be cut, I put one 2x4 up higher, spaced away from the wall, and another for the piece to land on and stay in place while I screwed it in. I just hoisted up and in.
Colors are just about at peak last of September/first week of October. Sept. 29th:
Perfect morning for cooking breakfast and enjoying it all outdoors!
October 2nd started pretty darned nicely:
And ended in pretty fine fashion, too.
Colors are on their way out on Sunday, Oct. 6th.
Every year I scratch into the frost on my truck's windshield the date of first frost. This is the latest I can remember!
Found cool lights for our exterior needs:
My friend John Miniaci from Montreal stopped by on the 10th. We and a couple other fellows were having a beer on the porch when John noticed that the sky was changing. Was he ever right!!!
What a great visit that was! And on October 12th, I was invited to a wonderful Thanksgiving party hosted by most of what I call the Swazey Road Mafia. The food was incredible!
The week of October 13th started our in fine fashion...again.
Brodie and I did go for a little fish that day...well, one of us fished, the other obsessed, lol.
And capped the day off with - you guessed it - a campfire.
Brodie and I went for a grouse walk the next morning to clear at least my head. The birds were where they like to dine, along the edges of Swazey Lane among the High Bush Cranberries.
If you look quick, you can see one escaping in the top of the frame:
On a FAR less pleasant note, I have some serious work to do on the trailer we live in while I build the camp. One of the slider seals must have failed; water was dripping along most of the back side.
I am NOT looking forward to that job first thing this Spring!
On yet another brighter note, what's not to love about a frosty mid-October morning??
Followed by - you guessed it again - a campfire!
Saturday, Oct. 19 was yet another bright morning, but the leaves had disappeared.
Vin and I were putting some of his tractor implements away in his storage barn. He sort of forgot to shut his tractor door before driving into the barn.
We did fix it before I went home for the winter. Luckily I remembered from my motorhead days about glass and trim glues and the like. We got gasket glued up this way, and then Vin, Michele and I installed it. Forgot to get a finished pic.
The week of Oct. 20th started off quite brightly, even if leafless and chilly.
Our big 12 foot glass slider took a toll on the grouse population the next day. I tried putting bird decals on the windows, but the wouldn't stick in the cold. I will fix that when it warms up in the Spring. The bird will likely be immortalized in a Thomas Aquinas Daly (www.tadaly.com) painting ; I took the bird back down to Vermont and mailed it to him, frozen
Our last few days at camp were mostly spent going for walks,
admiring our work,
and, of course, campfires.
Gary
