Rock Crest Renaissance

Today, Mom was the first one "on property" at the Crest - trying to get a little Zen time to herself to pound nails out of the boards that Dad's removed from the flooring we're trying to protect. Not long after, Dad and Brien arrived to wreck havoc on the honeysuckle up the hill behind the kennel.

By the time K and I arrived, after a lovely hiatus with the hordes of humanity at Costco, Dad and Brien had brought an entire honeysuckle grove down near the chipper. My first job was to unload the host of groceries I'd bought, hoping to make our days a little easier and not require so much pre-planning every time we're trying to get over there to work. Yesterday we ran low on water - definitely something we don't want to experience again. So today's load included about 3 gallons of water, a container of ice, 2 huge containers of juice, some fruit, bread, trail mix, string cheese, turkey slices, Dr. Pepper and Diet Coke. That oughta do it!

I was finally about to get started when I went out to see the Kennel cats and realized that one was missing. !?!?!! I'd brought over some plastic chairs for them to lounge on and some containers to hold what the Cat Queens will scoop from their litter boxes. I was surprised to think that both Firefly and Maddie would be under the same box they like to hang out in, since the two are not too fond of each other. When I lifted the box to see no Firefly, a massive search ensued. Aside from Houdini, I could not possibly imagine how that cat could have escaped, since she's quite mellow to begin with and the last cat you'd expect to try to make a break for it. Since Dad had seen one of the Queens late last night before he left, I assumed she'd just taken the cat to the vet, but, calling her to confirm, I learned that was not the case - we had an escapee.

Both Queens came to inspect the premises, consternate about how she'd have disappeared, and determine a plan. They decided to set a cat trap with some wet food and see if she'd return during the quietude of the night. It was very upsetting for us all, but it was time to move forward with the chipping, so the ladies departed.

The next several hours was all about hard manual labor. There's no such thing as "light duty" at Rock Crest. I primarily chipped and hauled trees to the chipper, while Brien pulled more down from the hill. Dad constructed transportation devices to move some of the heavier debris from the other side of the hill, and we just kept the machine chugging along. At one point, a large stump wedged itself in the machine, and it wasn't looking good for further progress. Dad worked tirelessly to liberate that stump, and eventually, with enough coercion, he was able to free it from the jaws of Mr. Bitey, the chipper.

Another several hours passed of the same thing -- lots of sweat, lots of aches, lots of pulling and getting sliced and diced by sharp twigs, thorny branches, and tangly foot-trapping vines. The satisfaction came in getting all of that debris into the chipper and seeing it disappear from the yard to become a beautiful, tall pile of chips out in the "back 40."

As we were cleaning up to go, which, for me involved a complete costume change since I'd been attacked by velcro burs and my entire ensemble was covered in them, I spotted another one of the Cat Queens coming up the driveway. She, too, was concerned about the missing girl and thought that maybe calling for her once it was quiet would bring her out. I took her to the kennel to show her how things were set up and pointed out the location of the trap. As we were wrapping things up and preparing to leave, who did we see but Firefly coming into the outdoor kennel run area, meowing loudly, like "OK, I'm back! Where's my dinner?!" She looked delighted to see us and made no attempt at escape as she was picked up and whisked back into her run. She happily consumed the wet food we'd put out for her, and all was right with the world.

It's like running a circus, doing this project... Mom, de-nailing boards, us attacking the yard overgrowth, K in the tent, playing games on the computer or one of our iPhones, excavators coming and going, builders arriving and departing, Cat Ladies coming to care for the Kennel Cats. Somehow, we're coordinating it all, but it's definitely not for the faint of heart. As Brien likes to say, "Rock Crest: Where Everything Bad is BIGGER!" ;)!

Anyway, Dad, Mom, Brien and I chipped in earnest, for about 5 hours. By the time Mom, K and I arrived, Dad and Brien had already chipped through the fence-side pile and had made their way down the hill behind the fence along the side of the yard. Last Spring, B and I had cleared that entire fence side and had tossed our debris down the hill, since we had no more room for piles and no way to dispose of it. So, they went down and humped that stuff back up the hill and over the fence. Our task was then to untangle those large piles and haul the stuff over to the chipper. I think the workmen are going to be astounded by the size of our chip piles when they return on Monday! We're already up to 2 piles about 5' high and the same in diameter.

It was a hot, horrible day and we were working harder than any four people should ever work for free. As the light started to dim, we called it quits and actually left by around 6. That's a new quit-time record for us. Tomorrow, it will be back to the grind.

Dad was waylaid a little by the TNR ladies who'd come to check in on the rescue kitties they're housing at our kennel. Those are 3 nice little girl cats, that's for sure! And the Queens of Rescue are saints. Even though this is about the worst possible time to have one more endeavor going on over at that house, it does warm my heart to know those 3 cats are safe and cared for rather than fending for themselves on the streets or in a cat colony in a parking lot.

It's a billion degrees out - in the 90s, and by the time Mom, K, and I returned from our shelter shift (around noon), Dad was already thrashed. We were short at the shelter, so we had extra work to do. I'd hoped that we could coordinate our arrival with the workers' break so that we could all lend a hand to the chipping effort. As expensive as that machine is and as much as we have to do, we can't let anything stand in our way of getting the debris removed. We certainly don't want to have to pay the workmen to do it if we can do it ourselves, but untangling, hauling and chipping thousand upon thousands of pounds of honeysuckle is no task for wimps. In this heat, it's almost unthinkable. But it has to be done, and we have to do to it.

I was sick and totally off my game all day today. I felt like I was having some kind of heat stroke, which was annoying and aggravating because we have so much to do, and I definitely don't want to be the weak link on team H-H. Knowing that the less I do, the more my already exhausted Mom and Dad have to do makes me feel terrible, so I'm doing my best to suck it up. Thankfully, my "rest" periods corresponded with some decisions and directions needing to be provided to our work crew. We were able to get a giant, scary branch removed that was overhanging the lower driveway's greenspace parking area. We also removed several crappy little trees, moved the boulders out of trucks' and harms' way, and the dudes got to work removing a dead oak tree. A sickly maple will be next and then I can only imagine the beauty of the clearing in the front.

The right side (non-creek-side) of the drive now looks MASSIVE with its debris removed. It makes me giddy, it's so clean and level :)!

After the workers were finished, we had them move the chipper into the back yard so the chipping pain could continue. Since Dad busted his arse in the morning, very little remained to be chipped in the front yard, making it more reasonable to locate that machine in the back for the entire weekend. We've got another thousand+ pounds of material to remove there, so it will be time and money well-spent.

I had to come home and rest and try to get my body temp back down before taking K and her girlfriends to church for a movie night. I'm so glad they're getting to have one last hurrah before school starts. I went back over to the house to help with the chipping of the woodpile behind the back fence. The only way I could get to the pile of branches was to climb up on them, balance on the thicker pieces, and try not to lose my step while pulling out material to be chipped. The darker it got, the less workable that situation became, but I was able to bring the pile down a good 2 feet or so, making it much more reasonable to remove the remaining pieces. It started out about 30' wide by 20' deep by 5' tall. That will be this weekend's project to eliminate.

Today, Excavator Rich and all of his crew arrived at Rock Crest with the last of the mega-machines they will need to start the excavation work on the house. First to go are the honeysuckles lining the driveway on the "creek side." The driveway will be expanded to allow for the even bigger machines that will eventually be bringing in the SIPS panels for the second story. I can't wait to see a crane or bucket truck rumble up that driveway!!

The little creek is being nudged over a couple of feet. Also on the docket is clearing the other side of the driveway so that a trench can be dug to lay conduit and other necessities for tying in to the city water and sewer, plus running cable for internet and whatever else we decide we need.

It's incredible to see the way the machines grab the honeysuckle and chew them like toothpicks or swing the bucket of the "Mike Mulligan-esque" shovel and just topple those bad boys. What a difference it makes. It's not something I'd anticipated, so what a gift!

Despite having worked all day inside removing the "T" room flooring, Dad decided 6 PM was as good a time as any to fire up the huge industrial chipper, which will be here for a few days, to start eating away at our piles of honeysuckle debris from last year's onslaught. Brien joined him and they chipped until it was too dark and unsafe to chip anymore. The fact that they are exhausted and sore doesn't even factor in.