Who Knew?

It's been busy in real life. In "Island Life", we spend a lot of time sitting on the swing, thinking about improvements. I told Steve he might as well decide (yes, it's late in coming to the realization) that he Does Stuff, and is only happy when either doing or planning on doing. So time not spent on the swing has consisted of me pruning every stray vine and burning debris, while Steve has dug holes.

Yes, the man has been happily digging holes by hand for weekends now. If you squint and don't notice the grey hair and other signs of age, he looks just like an 8-year-old trying to dig to China. Dirty, sweaty, and smiling. I mostly just shut up & let him dig.

By now he's decided we need a deck attached to the shack which will eventually morph into a real cabin, complete with glass and a roof that isn't in imminent danger of collapse. I will grant that every time we return to the island, another piece of the building is lying on the ground, which allows me to continue to burn.

Aside: I figured out if I spread the ash from the fire pit, it will sweeten the soil. Only problem is, the island is being eroded by waves from passing boats, and one whole side has lots of fern and other acid-loving plants growing, which are keeping the island together. So I have to be careful where I spread the ash, because we don't want to disturb the ferns. Meanwhile I'm busy searching the net for plants that hold soil and don't need much care, to put on the opposite side. And we're trying to figure out a quick & dirty way to break the waves to stop future erosion. Did I say thank you already to Rachel Carson?

Another logistical problem we've pondered whilst swinging is how to get materials to the island in our little boat. A raft? A barge? A couple of rafts which we could lash together and use as a dock when it's not hauling? But seriously, how much raft, driver, and material can a 35 hp. motor on a 12' boat pull? How about a pontoon boat? That could carry materials, the whole fam damily on one trip, and be used as a raft or deck while stationary! So do we really need a deck at all? Still, the hunt is on for a cheap but water-worthy pontoon boat, and ironically, I've become the one to scour the want-ads -- me, who has never driven a boat or even started a motor on one.

And like that hypocrite Al Gore, who lives in a gigundo house (and soon will need two!), our carbon footprint is getting bigger, which wouldn't be a problem except that now I'm aware of it.