Working on the fence and programming the sauna

Mark & I started walking the dogs along the canal then turned around to cross the highway and return via Greenwood Road. Mary & Cindy had left later than us so they met us at the crossover to Greenwood Road.

When we returned to the house, Mary continued to remove English ivy and Asian blackberry plants from the edge of the back lawn going toward the McKenzie River. Mark & I moved the temporary fence to enlarge the area accessible to the dogs. Because the order of additional fence panels and posts had not yet arrived from Home Depot, the fence lacked three 8’ panels from being complete. The gate that was damaged in transport also needed to be replaced so part of the temporary fence remained in place. Mary had picked up some wood filler for me when she and Cindy were out yesterday afternoon, so I repaired the superficial damage to the right side of the sauna when the panel toppled during the assembly. We dug around the irrigation line that was damaged when we dug one of the postholes. We dug a trench under the gate to allow redirecting the line. Once we had the ditch dug and the lines cleaned, reconnecting the line was easy. Mark went to the shed and turned each irrigation line on to test for leaks and to help him identify which irrigation circuit fed which area with irrigation water.

Lunch was a sandwich of deli turkey on seed bread with potato chips and Kirkland dark chocolate almonds. Michael came by to visit and have lunch with us. It was good to see him doing well.

We positioned the latch on the gate that we installed earlier in the week and assured that the self-closing mechanism would lock the gate keeping the dogs from getting out. We helped Mary haul some of the cuttings away from the clearing work that she was doing. She had created a space outside the fence that would be an ideal site for a small vegetable garden that is within reach of their irrigation system.

We brought ladders and extension cords to the area outside the front door where Mary & Cindy strung three 90’ strands of white mini-LED lights in the shrubs along the walk. Mary & I worked to set up the controls for the sauna. We were able to get everything to work on using the touchscreen panel inside the sauna. However, it took some time to get Mark’s iPhone connected with Bluetooth to turn the sauna on and off, adjust the temperature and time and control the lights. We were eventually able to get his iPhone to send audio to the sound system inside the sauna. We believe that the major obstacle was my unfamiliarity with settings in the Apple operating system. We were pleased that Mark and completely control the sauna from their bedroom allowing him to get the sauna preheated before he goes out.

We were all filthy after working outside in the wet soil from last night’s shower so we bathed and did laundry before dinner. Mark grilled some wild caught halibut that was given to him by a friend who was fishing in Alaska. Robert came in as we were finishing dinner.

Since we had an early flight, we turned in early.

Working on the fence

I was awake especially early so I went out to the loft area between the two upstairs bedrooms and read then did my morning German lessons. After hearing Mary stirring, I went downstairs to make tea. After Mark and Cindy awoke, we had oats with raisins and nuts before taking the dogs on their morning walk. We walked downstream along the EWEB Canal then crossed Rt. 126, the McKenzie River Highway to Greenwood Drive parallel to the highway and along Greenwood Landing Park. There had been a light rain last night and we saw several banana slugs on the path along the river. I took a few snapshots of the slugs to send to Nicholas who seems amused by them.

Banana slug

After returning to the house, we went out to work on the fence. We put concrete in all of the postholes that had fence posts over to the break for the second gate. We used T posts placed at an angle to support the fence panels vertically straight while the concrete hardened. Mary and Cindy relocated some ferns and heather plants then worked on removing some of the English ivy on the bank leading to the McKenzie River.

While digging the posthole on this side of the property, we hit a few rocks that we had to remove before continuing. There were a lot of roots from the plantings along the property edge that we had to deal with. We used Mark’s cordless Milwaukee Sawzall to cut through the roots allowing us to get to our desired depth. Although we had used all of posts and panels that we had, we continued to dig the rest of the holes back around to the porch. When we started to install the second of three gates, we found that the gate had been badly damaged by the shipper so we sat it aside to return to Home Depot on Thursday.

We came in for a quick lunch of a salad of the leftover chicken and lettuce as well as potato chips and some of the Costco dark chocolate covered almonds.

Because we had a gap for the gate, we were unable to set additional posts in concrete. However, we could dig the postholes for all of the remaining posts and panels. In order to complete the fence, we figured that we would need an additional 4 panels and 6 posts as well as some hardware for connecting the panels to the posts. We would need six more bags of concrete and 2 bags of landscape stone. Mark placed an order with Home Depot for the remaining fence components to enclose the area that they wanted to use for the dogs. While digging a posthole, Mark cut into the coaxal cable running from the house to the satellite dish. We weren’t concerned about it since it is highly unlikely that they would go back to satellite television.

Dinner was enchiladas from the roast beef leftovers from Saturday’s dinner along with steamed broccoli. Mary & Cindy finished the 2,000 piece jigsaw puzzle while Mark and I talked about plans for finishing the fence and assembling the sauna that we were to pick up tomorrow morning.

Walking along the EWEB Canal

As usual, we were up early. While the clock said 4:30, our brains told us that it was 7:30. Robert has Sunday and Monday off, so he slept in. After a breakfast of cold cereal, we took the dogs on the canal but this time south toward Greenwood Landing. We saw a number of waterfowl as we walked including mallards, buffleheads and mergansers. A home with several pens holding chickens, ducks and goats was to the west of the canal. The two large geese were especially noisy. As we walked, we saw a bald eagle fly over us and perch in a fir tree near the canal path.

When we returned to the house, we placed the post across from the gate allowing it to swing and strike in the latch. We continued digging more postholes along the edge of the area to be fenced. Each hole had to be at least 27 inches deep and spaced 8 feet apart for the steel fence panels. We placed the posts in the holes, attached the panels to the posts then put concrete around some of the posts allowing some to remain free until we got another gate installed going to the path to the McKenzie River. We stopped for a lunch of deli turkey sandwiches with potato chips. I had a parfait of blueberries and granola in Greek yogurt.

Mark and I programmed their garage door opener to work with the built-in openers with their Highlander and Dodge pickup. It was easy to program but both of us needed to press buttons on the opener as well as the cars.

We continued working through the afternoon digging more postholes and assembling fence panels until we quit around 5 pm to shower and relax. Mark grilled chicken breast strips that he had marinated then glazed with a savory Asian flavor. After dinner, Mark and I watched an episode of Justified on streaming television while Mary and Cindy continued to work on the puzzle.

Starting on the fence at Whittington's

We woke early by Oregon time. Although the time was 5 am, our bodies thought it was 8 am. We did morning Duolingo lessons and had tea while we waited for Mark and Cindy to wake. Since Robert has Sunday and Monday off work, he slept in until late morning.

After a breakfast of bacon and eggs, we walked the dogs along the canal for their morning exercise. When we returned to the house, Mary and Cindy did some cleaning, unpacking and organizing while Mark and I started preparing to erect the Fencer Wire metal fence from Home Depot. The materials that were shipped to the house included 14 fence panels that were each 8 feet long as well as posts and connecting materials. The fence is all steel with a system of clips and bolts to attach panels to posts. Self drilling screws secure the clips.

We drove to Jerry’s Home Improvement to get 8 bags of Sakrete, 4 bags of crushed stone, two treated 2X4s and some Tapcon screws. The stone would fill the bottom few inches of the holes then one bag of concrete would secure the posts. The boards and Tapcon screws would provide an attachment point to the house. Jerry’s is very much like Menards with a large selection of hardware and other items at competitive prices.

Mark digging postholes for the fence

Back at the house, we used Tapcon screws to attach a 2X5 to the stone house foundation to attach a fence panel. We dug post holes for the other end of the first panels and the gate. The soil was not very hard or rocky so digging the 26” deep holes wasn’t very difficult. While digging the hole for the hinge side of the gate, I hit a PVC waterline about 12” down, however, it was a line for the irrigation system and shouldn’t be a difficult repair. We filled the holes around the steel fence posts with concrete and positioned the fence for the concrete to harden overnight,

We took the dogs on a walk along the EWEB Canal (Eugene Water and Electrical Board) where we saw markers and some equipment of possible construction soon. The path was a little damp from the overnight rain but was a pleasant walk.

View of the McKenzie River from Whittington's deck

When we finished, Robert was back from visiting some of his friends then Michael arrived around 5 pm. Mary had made meat loaves with the Schmidt’s Restaurant recipe and Cindy made a huge macaroni and cheese with several varieties of cheese. Mark made hard rolls and everything was delicious. We enjoyed visiting with the boys and catching up on their lives. We are hopeful that Robert can navigate through his divorce from Sheena and get shared custody of Zella and the baby that is expected.

After dinner, Mark and Michael watched a football game while Mary and Cindy worked on a 2,000 piece jigsaw puzzle of Las Vegas at night. Robert worked on some lessons and questions provided by his attorney that would help him in gaining custody of his children.

Since our bodies were still on Eastern Time, we turned in early and slept well.