Branford Bike: Emigrant, MT, Joe Fay, artist, Aakerstrom and Son wood flooring, Neil, Yellowstone National Park, Trails, Mammoth Hot Springs, Mount Everets

June 2nd, 2007
Warm weather and an abundance of bright, sunny days ushered in the month of June. Folks all over the valley wanted their decks stained, houses repaired, plumbing and electrical systems fixed or upgraded. New houses sprouted from the landscape like mushrooms after a summer rain. Quickly, too quickly almost everyone left my house and dashed off to work on a myriad of other projects. To make matters worse, June was a vacation month for many trade workers. Some days only one or two people worked on the house. Progress slowed and almost came to a standstill.

The slowdown was frustrating but inevitable. So rather than complain I took advantage of the warm weather and went hiking. I love to climb mountains, wander in the woods and discover new sights and experiences along the way. Every path has a story to tell and I spent most of June listening carefully to Mother Nature. She revealed many secrets to me and I was far richer for having listened to her.

"Learn the art of patience. Apply discipline to your thoughts when they become anxious over the outcome of a goal. Impatience breeds anxiety, fear, discouragement and failure. Patience creates confidence, decisiveness, and a rational outlook, which eventually leads to success".
Brian Adams

Construction slows to a standstill so I hit the trails.

The distant Absaroka range peeks through the remnants of a burnt forest.

Forest fires raged over most of Yellowstone National Park in 1988 and killed hundreds of thousands of trees. On June 2nd, 2007 I hiked the Bunsen Peak trail. The ravages of that distant inferno were ever present. Fallen, silver grey Lodgepole pine trees, littered the mountain slope. A few Douglas Fir, which have a much deeper root system, were still upright. Their carcasses were bleaching in the bright sun. New Lodgepole pine trees sprouted amongst the carnage and were six to ten feet tall. Wide vistas were opened by the fire like the one you see to your left. The fallen trees helped to protect the snow from blowing away in the fierce winter winds. In spots the snow was over two feet deep. As it slowly melted, it provided thirsty trees and plants, a nourishing drink into summer so they could continue the process of forest renewal.

If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to patient attention, than to any other talent.
Isaac Newton (1642 - 1727)

June 12th, 2007
One of my favorite "easy hike" paths is the Beaver Ponds trail. It climbs for about a half mile from Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park and then comfortably levels out. This pleasant path winds through woodlands and grassy meadows that in June are covered with sweetly scented wild flowers. After a mile or so small ponds that were created in the last ice age, dot the landscape. Ducks, loons and an occasional beaver are often seen. Black bears with cubs are common in the spring too. They can be dangerous so I always carry bear pepper spray and a bell.

Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake.
Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885)

An old beaver dam separates the upper and lower ponds.

Ty Molhzan of D.W. Burns Plumbing installed our manifold plumbing system and dual hot water heaters.

June 15th, 2007
Ty Molhzan of D.W. Burns Plumbing squeezed in a few days from his hectic summer schedule and installed a plumbing manifold, dual hot water heaters and the basement bathroom toilet and shower. Plumbing fixtures are not usually installed until a house is almost completed. Unfortunately, my gracious neighbor Everett Johnston, would like his high mountain home back by the middle or end of July. Rich, whose employees are soon going on vacation, is trying frantically to get the basement finished so I can move in as soon as possible.

We could never learn to be brave and patient, if there were only joy in the world.
Helen Keller (1880 - 1968)

June 15th, 2007
Another one of my favorite afternoon walks is the Lava Creek trail at Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park. The path rapidly descends to the banks of the Gardiner river at the foot of Mount Everets which is pictured at the very top of this page. Then it slowly climbs uphill for a few miles while following first the Gardiner river and then Lava Creek. The landscape is mostly open; sagebrush hills mixed with scattered conifer trees.
We were blessed with a wet spring and a subsequent abundance of beautiful wild flowers. I spent most of the afternoon pleasantly learning the flower's names and characteristics.

Study without desire spoils the memory, and it retains nothing that it takes in.
Leonardo da Vinci (1452 - 1519)

A temporary gravel bar forms in the middle of the Gardiner river.

The Gardiner river patiently cuts into the soft sands, mud and gravel, that form its banks. Over decades and centuries the river cuts into one bank and then another. Note the river bank tree that is starting to topple in the photo to your right. Judging by its diameter it started to grow about 100 years ago on what was then a stable river bank. Slowly the river eroded away the bank and soon the tree will topple into the water. It will snag floating debris and will slow the river's current. Rocks, mud and sand will accumulate and a gravel bar will eventually form. The rushing water will seek and find a new, easier course that will gently erode fresh banks. Small trees and flowers will take root in the newly formed gravel bar as the entire erosion and deposition process begins anew.

Patience is the companion of wisdom.
Saint Augustine (354 AD - 430 AD)

Natural erosion and deposition processes in the Gardiner river.

Shortstyle Onion - humans, bears and elk find the bulbs delicious.

Hot Rock Penstemon - appropriately named for this flower loves dry, rocky and sun drenched mountain slopes.

Wild Rose - "What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."
William Shakespeare

A red oak kitchen floor with a herringbone pattern is installed.

June 20th, 2007
Neil and Britton from Aakerstrom and Son wood flooring artfully installed the kitchen floor. Constructed of red oak it is designed with a herringbone pattern that is aligned with the main axis of the house. It is perfectly in line with the center of the front and rear doors and diamond pattern tile floors in the foyer and hallway.
Neil and Britton also started to lay the parquet floor in the library. That design was widely used in classic European buildings after Louis XIV incorporated it into the Versailles Palace in 17th century France.

How poor are they who have not patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees.
William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)

June 27th, 2007
Rich, Chuck and I staked, snapped lines and painted orange crosses on the ground for the three porticos or porches with columns. The north and south sides of the house will have porticos with a balcony on top. The west side will have a portico with pediment and tile roof covering it.
The orange crosses marked where holes would be drilled and concrete poured for solid, below frost line, footings. Chuck and Rich carefully measured and then triangulated each hole to within 1/8 of an inch accuracy. Then Rich boarded his skid steer and drilled multiple holes in the soft, black earth.

Patience is the best remedy for every trouble.
Titus Maccius Plautus (254 BC - 184 BC), Rudens

Rich and Chuck drill holes for the north portico beams.

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