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Monday April 12, 2021
Last night, as usual, I had trouble sleeping. I had plans and thoughts for the new bird feeder and I wanted to write them down but didn't want to wake the dogs or Cristina.
I did get up, walked the dogs, saw Alejandro en route, and then returned to exercise on the one machine quickly. I am not sure that Alejandro even saw me. I took a few photos in the dark (that's the time of day I go...) for you to get an idea of the lovely setting for the Gym.
I did my chores and re-did my notes for the feeder plans and promptly left them on my desk as I went out to get the screws, etc, that I needed. I had measured the length of the board I was going to use and it was just a tad shorter than I thought, plus it was pretty old and dirty....
I went to the hardware (ferreteria) near me and got 50 each of 2" and 3" wood screws and a 2" paint brush. I went to the next ferreteria and got a length of aluminum pipe that I may use later as bird perches.
I asked about wood and neither had, but a couple of gentlemen pointed me to a place next to the open field with the cows where I walk every morning. I knew they worked on wood there, but had never really seen them in the daytime. Since my plans revolved around the board I had, 9"wide and 1" thick, that is what I asked for... When I saw that they even planed the wood nicely, and cut to measure, I asked for 2 - 10' boards. They said 30,000 pesos ($8.18 USD) and I said sold! I gave dimensions by memory, all based on using the 9" board and they cut, stacked and tied them, put them on my shoulder and I was away. The weight was just killing me 1/2 way home when Aram came cycling by! What luck! He grabbed the load and I pushed the bike home and we got to work.
Now here is where I admit to my embarassment at being a carpenter's son and forgetting the main carpenter's maxim: Measure twice, cut once! Giving dimensions from memory, under pressure, is not a good thing. With my trusty jigsaw we had to cut a new board and shave another.
Aram dismantled the old feeder and worked hard to shave the tree stump top at a slight angle as I wanted for water runoff. Aram had many valid suggestions as I fought with my idiocy to salvage a decent feeder. I am so glad that he was here to help. Between us, we siliconed joints, screwed everything together, removed the old bark from the stump to show the great wood underneath, and varnished. This is just the first coat but it sure looks good.
Then I had lunch, crashed for an hour and showered, then back to work here...
Aram came back at 4pm for more document work needed for the US Embassy, then his putting on a second coat of varnish on the feeder. Boy, does it ever look good!
I hope you enjoy the pictures. That was the day’s excitement.
Al
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I turn right, right and 1.5 blocks to the Gym 
Beautiful big premises 
Gym is under roofs and eaves 
Busier this morning than usual 
We can use the small swimming pool too 
My main machine second from last 
Screwing down the new feeder 
Turning out not bad 
Added a large roof 
Varnishing 
Exposed wood on the stump 
Aram was a godsend 
Rain protection for the night
