Yahoo, it's June!
We try not to always be looking forward to the next place we will go to, but it's hard not to get in a tizzy about being at the Bee. By now the fleet has been launched (all 5 boats are in the water), summer flowers are planted, the summer projects are well under way and we are in full island mode.
Speaking of projects, we wanted to get a couple of ours out of the way before our summer company showed up. The first was a two for one. Last year, we decided that as much as we loved having a regular flush toilet, our black water holding tank was 20 years past the limit of its useful life and was beginning to spring small leaks from rust holes.... a sign of an impending disaster.
We also found that with the amount of company we had each summer, we were required to have the tank pumped out twice per season at a cost that has skyrocketed in the past few years.
Worse, at the end of the season when the water levels are low, the pumping barge was unable to service us, leaving the only option to add 50 gallons (200 Lt) of anti- freeze to the tank before leaving for the season to prevent the tank from bursting. Having 2500 gallons (10,000 Lt) of human waste released in the river would not only make us pariahs in the neighborhood but subjects us to staggering fines and clean up fees.
After some research, we decided on a Swedish electric ultra low water vacuum system. It looks and operates like a regular toilet, except for the whooshing sound as the waste is vacuumed to an outdoor heated holding tank that churns it all in a medium, turning it into compost. Your pristine delicate hands, stay pristine.
Anyway, as these things are wont to be, one thing leads to another. We had the large tank pumped out one last time and taken away, creating a perfect place to house the new equipment in a little seen location on the island as well as providing an excellent location to store our aluminum boat in the winter .
While the fellas had the barge over to pump out the tank (barge and tugboat #1) they had another double tandem barge to carry the tank back to the mainland dump (barge # 2 and 3 with their own tug). I had them bring 30 yards of coarse sand to dump with a 25 ton excavator in an area where we created a beach for little ones on the back shallow side of the island.
They layed a 20' X 20' (7m X 7m) special fabric so that the sand dumped on it would not simply get mixed in with the muddy bottom of the river. A few steps down and a dock to sit on ( I am working as fast as I can!) and TA-DA! Happy kids splashing in shallow water with barely any current.
Let's meet here again next month, ok?
Speaking of projects, we wanted to get a couple of ours out of the way before our summer company showed up. The first was a two for one. Last year, we decided that as much as we loved having a regular flush toilet, our black water holding tank was 20 years past the limit of its useful life and was beginning to spring small leaks from rust holes.... a sign of an impending disaster.
We also found that with the amount of company we had each summer, we were required to have the tank pumped out twice per season at a cost that has skyrocketed in the past few years.
Worse, at the end of the season when the water levels are low, the pumping barge was unable to service us, leaving the only option to add 50 gallons (200 Lt) of anti- freeze to the tank before leaving for the season to prevent the tank from bursting. Having 2500 gallons (10,000 Lt) of human waste released in the river would not only make us pariahs in the neighborhood but subjects us to staggering fines and clean up fees.
After some research, we decided on a Swedish electric ultra low water vacuum system. It looks and operates like a regular toilet, except for the whooshing sound as the waste is vacuumed to an outdoor heated holding tank that churns it all in a medium, turning it into compost. Your pristine delicate hands, stay pristine.
 |
| Tandem ( double ) barges with 25 ton excavator, work boat and tug are seen here. Additional barge and tug to pump out tank not visible |
Anyway, as these things are wont to be, one thing leads to another. We had the large tank pumped out one last time and taken away, creating a perfect place to house the new equipment in a little seen location on the island as well as providing an excellent location to store our aluminum boat in the winter .
 |
| Good riddance, holding tank! |
While the fellas had the barge over to pump out the tank (barge and tugboat #1) they had another double tandem barge to carry the tank back to the mainland dump (barge # 2 and 3 with their own tug). I had them bring 30 yards of coarse sand to dump with a 25 ton excavator in an area where we created a beach for little ones on the back shallow side of the island.
 |
| Fabric laid on river bottom prior to dumping sand |
They layed a 20' X 20' (7m X 7m) special fabric so that the sand dumped on it would not simply get mixed in with the muddy bottom of the river. A few steps down and a dock to sit on ( I am working as fast as I can!) and TA-DA! Happy kids splashing in shallow water with barely any current.
 |
| Let 'er rip! |
See the video here
Island Life (The Magazine)
As I mentioned in May's Epistle, the second Honey Bee magazine article came out this month. Actually, it is the third as the local Watertown paper did an extensive article on the Little Free Library (ours was one of the two they covered) but I think we have written about that enough already. Still, you can read it here if you like: http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20140505/CURR04/705059999
No, 'Island Life' is a local magazine that is published once a year by our dear friend Kim. She was a national reporter for a big city newspaper for years, but about 5 years ago decided to become a big time publisher in her own right. She started a local magazine on...well... 'Island Life'. She interviews Islanders and does stories on about a dozen of them each year.
It is a glossy, high quality magazine that has done nothing but get better each year, and now reaches 25,000 homes in the Thousand Island area. This year she asked if I would write about how we came to be islanders and you can see the result below.
To make it much easier to read, simply hold the CTRL key on your keyboard down and click the + key on your keyboard repeatedly to enlarge the page views.
To make it much easier to read, simply hold the CTRL key on your keyboard down and click the + key on your keyboard repeatedly to enlarge the page views.
Wow! Now being 'published', I wonder if I will have to fight off book contracts from Random house or movie deals from Warner Bros? Would Tom Cruise be better to play me or should I hold out for Brad Pitt?
Let's meet here again next month, ok?
