Kimler Adventure Pages (http://randsco.com)

Cord of Dominoes

Yellow Point, B.C. - If a tree falls in the woods, does it make a sound?

Hutton House owners Scott and Rachel discovered that if that tree is already cut into fireplace-sized logs, that it makes a very loud sound.

"It was like the roar of a jet engine," explained Rachel, "only very short-lived."

The duo were laying in bed, just settling in for the night, when they both heard an 'unusual' sound. At first, they thought a tree had fallen onto the house somewhere.

Scott grabbed a flashlight and walked around the home.

"Nothing here," he reported.

It was the cat that clued them into the true source of the noise, because he was sitting at the edge of the patio, looking toward the woodshed.

Fallen Logs: Looking like a field of log "dominoes", this is what Scott & Rachel heard come crashing down in the middle of the night. It took Scott about an hour to restack the lot. _{Randsco Newswire}

Upon closer inspection, Scott realized that about a cord of wood, which had been chopped and stacked to dry, had toppled over. The single row of logs was about 20 feet long and stacked between two tree trunks. Although it was over six-feet tall at dinnertime, it had now been reduced to a pile of rubble.

The logs had toppled and fallen as one, landing on the ground in a rush. In the eerie light, it looked as if someone had toppled over a giant field of log 'dominoes'.

Scott groaned from the joy of having to restack the logs, but at least the mystery noise had been solved.

The next day, it took Scott less than an hour to restack the logs. This time though, he made one tall row and supported it with a shorter row.

Relief at the Pump

Hutton House - It's morning and the editor-in-chief of the Randsco rag is showering, happily singing away. Suddenly, the water dries up at the shower head.

"Crap," says Scott, half lathered up. He hops out of the shower, tries to dry off and wraps a towel around his waist (no need to startle the deer by seeing a naked man).

He hurries down the flight of stairs, out the front door and runs across the lawn and down into the pasture, to the pump house.

Inside, the pump is spinning wildly, trying suck water from a dry cistern, into the water pressure tank. It doesn't "know" the cistern is dry and will burn up, if Scott doesn't unplug it from the wall outlet and mechanically trip the relay that tells the down-hole pump to pump water into the cistern.

Scott waits 5 minutes, for the water level in the cistern to cover the foot valve, then he plugs the pump back into the socket. It immediately kicks in and (fortunately, has kept its prime) fills the pressure tank.

This scenario has been playing out for about a year. Scott has cleaned the relay contacts and the problem goes away for a while, only to return, at some inconvenient time. Once, he didn't realize the house was out of water for quite a while. The pump was so hot that when he went to prime it, the priming nut shot into the air, from all the steam.

The Hutton House water woes are now (hopefully) history, as a well company revamped the old water well system. In addition to replacing the faulty relay and mechanical float arm, they also capped the water well, improved the aeration system and added shut-off protection for both the up-hole and down-hole pumps.

The final bill isn't in yet, but they're hopeful that the $600 or so investment will keep a dripping wet, half-naked Scott from scaring the wildlife to death.

Now all we need, is relief at the GAS pump.

Land of 1000 Fires

Red Bluff, California - Scott and "the Oop" took a 10-day road-trip down to California, to visit relatives. The trip was short-notice and Rachel couldn't go, because she had to work. It was Scott and Oop's Big Adventure!

They left early, bound for Victoria, took the Black Ball Ferry across to Port Angeles and drove down the Hood Canal. They made it as far as Cottage Grove, Oregon, where they camped at Schwartz Park. (The Oop was very excited to be tenting!)

They made it to Red Bluff by noon the day after and spent about 10 days there. Highlights include: daily swimming (worthy of a blog entry), dinner out at Kitty and Bill's house (which included 5-holes of "off-road golf"), Alex catching her first fish (rainbow trout caught at Nora Lake), Alex playing with Cammie and Hershey (6-month old yellow and brown Labrador retrievers), feeding geese, letting Alex drive through the walnut grove in an electric golf cart and relaxing with grandma and grandpa Kimler.

The return trip via Seattle, included a one-night stay with Kim Easthouse, Alex's "fairy" God-mother (what Alex calls her).

The day before Scott left California, a thunderstorm blew through northern California, sparking off fires - about 1000 - some of which are still burning. The morning Scott and Alex left, the sky was thick with acrid smoke and the sun rose red, there was so much smoke in the area. (Like last fall, a Martin Mars Water Bomber, from Sproat Lake, not far from where we live on Vancouver Island, has been deployed to help fight the fires).

It was a good trip, but meant that Scott was away from the computer for most of the month (hence the lack of blog entries). Rachel enjoyed her 'alone time', catching up with homework, relaxing and visiting with friends.

New Camera

The Amazon - Scott ordered his new Panasonic Lumix TZ5 camera from no less than three U.S. suppliers. One summarily canceled his order, another couldn't get it back-ordered till the end of June and the third, lost the shipment in Oakland, California.

Mail ordering the Lumix TZ5 camera was a fiasco and worthy of a blog post!

Eventually, Amazon dot com came through, rushing an overnight delivery to replace AWOL Oakland camera and earning Scott's respect for having good customer service.

Purchasing the camera in the U.S. saved Scott about $150 ($425 in Canada, $279 in the U.S.) The disparity in consumer pricing between Canada and the U.S. continues to boggle the mind.

Tub 'O Summer

Hutton House - With temperatures approaching 90°F (32°C) yesterday and today, summer has arrived in Yellow Point! (Here Scott thought he was heading back to the 'land of cool', after suffering through multiple 90°F+ days in northern California).

No sooner had Scott returned to Vancouver Island than he found himself smack dab in the middle of a big, unplanned project. (Note again, the lack of posts on Randsco? ... herein lies part of the recent reason. Mind you, an Internet outage for most of Friday didn't help either.)

This project was initiated with an email from Travis, Scott's fire-hall buddy. Last autumn, they had made a tentative arrangement to do a bit of a work-trade. Scott was going to help Travis revamp his sun deck (Scott has some experience in deck-building, as he was co-owners of a deck company in Dallas in the late 80's). In return for his expertise and labor, Travis was going to give Scott the 6-person hot tub that they wanted to remove from the deck.

Well, apparently Travis couldn't wait, as he hired the work to be done. What was going to be a work trade ended up being a modest purchase. The hot tub was removed from the deck on Monday (the day Scott and the Oop drove to Seattle) and needed to be moved by the weekend.

Immediately upon his return, Scott scrambled, trying to get ready for moving and placing this new addition to the Hutton House. He cut down a few trees, moved some large rocks and tried to level out a 16-foot by 25-foot area, in which he'll be building a deck and gazebo (with hot tub).

The land is now cleared and a preliminary deck design (which has already been modified) is committed to paper. A new 240 Volt circuit will need to be added to the existing main panel, trenched and run to the new tub. The hot tub itself, was moved Friday night, with the help of Travis and Patrick (another fire-hall friend). The 3-kilometer move went without a hitch and "the beast" handled the load without slippage or a groan! The "new" tub is now the centerpiece of our gravel patio, waiting to be moved and wired into position.

We'll probably use the tub (sans deck) for a bit, just to make sure it works properly, is positioned where we want it and we've had a chance to make sure it's something we actually will use and want (Charlie, our neighbor, claims that it costs him about $70 a month, just to keep his hot tub heated. NOT something we're keen on, if indeed, this is the case for us too.)

If there's a lack of posts on Randsco, you can blame summer vacation, high heat and unplanned construction projects! (Oh ... and web clients whose work continues on ... despite everything else!)

Buzz & Chop

In the Hills Behind Chase River - Saturday morning was another early wake-up call for the Oop and Dad, who got up at 5:30 AM. The Oop was dropped off at Miki's house, while Dad and Travis headed into the hills, determined to be the first at the Island Timberlands U-Cut site.

Buzz - The new side rails worked a treat and I don't think the truck could haul much more wood without something breaking! One tough truck! _{Randsco Newswire}

They got there at 6:45 AM and were the second group of cutters admitted into the clear-cut area. They set up shop and worked like little beavers, cutting, hauling and splitting the rounds that were too large to lift. The cutting went well, but was hot work under a cloudless sky. The only snag came when Scott went to change a dull chainsaw blade, discovering that he was given the wrong sharpened chain at the store. (He was given one for a different saw, as it didn't fit). It took a half hour to field-sharpen the dull chain. Even with that, they finished by 11:30 AM, with two pickup trucks of wood.

Scott picked up the Oop and returned home, ate lunch and had a couple of well-deserved beers, then it was time to unload the truck (calculated to be about a cord and a third of good Douglas Fir, Maple and Hemlock wood). It made quite a pile and when Rachel awoke (she had worked a 12-hour shift at the hospital, the night before) she was quite impressed.

Chop - It took a solid day to split all the rounds into fireplace-sized pieces, using an 8-lb maul and a wedge. (You can see the first batch of rounds, two rows, in the background). Scott is SORE! _{Randsco Newswire}

Sunday was spent mowing the lawn and then Scott set about the task of splitting all the wood, into fire-place-sized pieces (so that the wood would dry faster, over the summer months). It took all day, wielding an 8-pound maul and wedge, to move the round log pile about 10 feet, making it a pile of mostly pie-shaped logs. Some of the largest rounds created about 24 individual pieces, they were that large.

Two days of hot, sweaty work! It just needs to be stacked for the warm, dry summer breezes to cure and about a 1/3 of our winter wood needs, will have been met. (Mind you, there remains the other pile of rounds to split and there's even a rumor that the clear-cut might be opened one more time. Hard to pass up a cord and a bit of wood for $30, even if it requires two full days of work to get it.)

Cat Fud & Dog Fud

Dog Fud - Sasha looks on dolefully, whilst Tuxedo gnoshes away at the dog fud in Sasha's bowl. Each is more interested in the other's food, than their own. _{Randsco Newswire}

Hutton House - Readers know that we've been taking care of Rachel's parent's dog - "Sasha" - whilst they're away on a cruise up the Inside Passage of Alaska.

Nothing against Sasha, who is a very nice dog, but having her for a week, has confirmed that we're not ready to own a dog. Alex didn't play with her as much as we thought she would. Sasha required a lot of trips outside and fitting time for a dog walk with Rachel's shift work, was difficult. Then there's the messes on the lawn (and in the pasture) and "surprise!" some other place you don't expect to step into. LOL ... we have 5 acres of woods, you'd think Sasha could find a quiet spot to do her business, but noooo ... right in the middle of the path is her preferred spot!

On the plus side, our cat, Tuxedo, hasn't been too bent out of shape over the new canine guest. In fact, it's been rather humorous to watch, as each animal seems infinitely more interested in each other's food bowl, than their own. I guess if you eat the same dry/wet food every day, anything else is considered a luxury! Sasha's bowl is often commandeered by Tuxedo and Tuxedo's bowl is coveted and cleaned by Sasha. Tuxedo is a bit perturbed by the fact that Sasha is fed twice a day, whilst he has to writhe in misery, waiting for the 5 o'clock hour, till he gets his meager bit of food.

"No worries," he says, "I'll just eat dog fud in the morning and cat fud in the evening!"

Even the chickens don't mind the dog and it's interesting to see the dog, cat, chickens and Alex all in the yard, playing, pecking, lounging ... all within yards of each other!

Lot 7 Owner's Response

Randsco Email - Lot 7 owners (the lot where trees were cleared, some inside of designated Park land) stumbled upon Randsco while looking to see if any other lots were sold.

They emailed, to tell their side of the story, which has been posted as a comment, to reach a wider audience. They feel horrible about the damage and have offered to replant or do whatever the Parks Department feels is fair.

Lumix DMC-TZ5 Testing

Daffodils - Impressive close-ups: The dark spot on the inside upper cup of the daffodil is actually a spider; Pollen from the stamen are yellow blotches against bright orange. Both can be seen in detail on the original 9 Mega-Pixel image. _{Randsco Newswire}

Hutton House - Scott is looking at purchasing a Panasonic "Lumix" TZ5 digital camera and got his hands on one to take for a spin. He's interested in the camera because of it's 28mm wide angle Leica lens, 10X zoom capability and close-focus macro modes. He took a bunch of test shots. Here's a couple.

Zooming - The Lumix TZ5 features a 28mm wide angle to 10X zoom with Leica optics. Going Further, one can employ an extended optical zoom and combined digital zoom for a whooping 70X magnification. (Best part? Low light - taken at night, from the same location and HAND HELD! The optical stabilizing system ROCKS!)_{Randsco Newswire}

New Record

Hutton House Coop - The four Hutton House Hens, AKA "the Girls", set a new record this morning, for egg production.

Scott went out to the coop this gray morning, at 7:15 AM, just as the mist began turning to rain. He carried with him, in a used, plastic yogurt container, the table scraps and peelings from the previous day.

Chickens eat just about anything and the compost pile has gone begging, because most of the Kimler food waste - what little there is - goes straight down the gullets of four, always-hungry birds. (They don't get onions, as it flavors the eggs in an undesirable way, though they do get crushed up egg shells. It sounds kind of cannibalistic, but they need the calcium to support their egg production and they're mashed, so they don't "recognize" them as eggs.)

As normal, the girls were awake and clucking in their coop, eager to start their day - and see what scraps were coming their way.

Scott opened the coop and the fearful four came gallivanting down the gangplank, spreading out in the run and keeping an eye on Scott, who was entering the run through a doorway. Their eyes bulged when they saw scraps over the edge of the yogurt container. Bit of crusty bread, scrapings of rice off the bottom of the rice cooker, kiwi peelings, apple core, egg shells, carrot and celery bits and god knows what else.

Scott tossed it out into the run, along with a few handfuls of scratch. They fought amongst themselves, vying for what they thought were the "best scraps" (it's amazing to see what they fight over ... dandelions we pull from the lawn and even big, fat, yellow banana slugs we toss their way).

Scott headed to the nesting boxes, expecting to find the normal two or three eggs (they tend to lay 3 to 4 eggs a day, usually a couple lay early, then one or two lay later on. One can hear them squawking, when they lay, as they often make quite a ruckus while they're laying.)

Scott found a total of FIVE eggs, sitting in the nests. Three in one nest and two in the other. The girls have been very busy indeed, setting a new Hutton House Single Day Lay record.

HOLD THE PRESSES! We have a late-arrival. The girls laid another egg this afternoon. The "Hutton House Single Day Lay" number has increased to SIX!!

Whale of a Time

Barkley Sound, B.C. - Scott was "on call" this past holiday weekend, at the local firehouse, which meant that he had to stay inside the fire district all weekend, to respond to any and all emergencies. (This past weekend was the "May long weekend" - AKA "Victoria Day", a Canadian holiday that precedes the American "Memorial Day Weekend" by a week. The holiday celebrates someone named "Victoria", oddly enough, which leaves Scott wondering, in a sarcastic Yank kind-of-way ... "When do Canadian celebrate 'My Day'?")

Rachel was off to Vancouver on a Nurses Union thing (she's now a "Shop Steward" for the BC Nurses Union, at the hospital where she works).

The point is, we didn't go to the floating cabin for the May Long Weekend, like our cabin mates did.

Too bad, because apparently, we missed the opportunity of a lifetime.

Details are sketchy at this point, but last night, we received some video footage from Candace and Richard. Apparently, they were out fishing near Swale Rock (just outside the western entrance to Julia Passage, where the cabin is moored) and were "played with" by a curious, juvenile Humpback whale!

The video isn't really very long, but is shows a Humpback whale surfacing and bumping their boat, just off the port side. There's a fair bit of "Oh my God's!" on the video and it ends with "Hang on, in case we're flipped over", or something like that!

For the better part of 40 minutes, the curious, baby whale "played with" (bumped and pushed, surfacing, showing its belly, etc) with the two boats that were there.

Can you imagine?! Wow!

We're hoping to get copies of the other videos and we'll ask for permission to post them on Randsco (apparently there's a fair bit of swearing in the other videos, which might render them unsuitable for family viewing, but a rash of "Oh my God's!" seems fairly innocuous. Wonder what the others have on them?)

Like Rachel said, "Amazing. This kind of stuff only happens to Candace!" (It's true. Candace has some of the most incredible, odd stories you've ever heard ... and they keep piling up!

Stay tuned for (hopefully) more about the whale encounter!

Hilltop Marine Website Goes Live

Hilltop Marine: The classy gold/black Hilltop Marine website has been launched! _{Randsco Newswire}

Bronston, Kentucky - After a fair bit of time spent styling, coding, tweaking and editing, our boating website at www.hilltopmarine.com has finally gone "live". (Mind you, the nameservers are still in transition, so clicking the link might still yield the old site. Just take our word that it once propagated, it'll look an awful lot like the the image on the left.