A Regular Beehive

Yesterday the work site was a regular beehive.  When I drove by at 9:00 nothing was happening.  By the time I returned from Rogers City three hours later, the place was humming with activity.

For starters, Presque Isle Electric had been there during the morning to bury the power line.  When I placed the order a few days ago, the customer rep at PIE told me that, in addition to the $550 installation fee, I might face a "frost surcharge" of $2 per foot, or about $335.  I'm quite sure the ground was frost-free yesterday.  Now the line sits beside the house, ready to be hooked up when the electrician finishes his work.

With a buried power line there is less worry about
falling trees taking out your electricity.

The heating subcontractor had also arrived and was busy installing baseboard radiators all over the house.  These will be supplied by a high-efficiency propane boiler in the basement.  It's almost certain, too, that the heating sub will install stovepipe for the wood burning stove.  Kyle and Dave checked prices for pipe and fittings in Alpena, and I got a quote from the Okemos store where I bought the stove.  The heating sub's deal is almost certainly better.

These radiators will provide fossil fuel backup for the wood stove. 

Meanwhile, the siding guys were working on the garage door closers.  Dave told me they have finished their cedar shake job and will start siding my place today.  Teddy the chocolate lab was back, too, pestering anyone who stood still to throw a stick for him to chase.  When humans ignored him, Teddy flopped in the dirt and waited for his next playmate.

Teddy waits for a playful human.

R.J. was back, too.  When I arrived he was grading the area south of the house in preparation for putting down topsoil.  We will do the back and sides of the house now, and then next spring bring in another load of topsoil for the front.  Before winter sets in — that is, within a couple weeks — I want to get crushed limestone put down as surfacing for the driveway.  This durable material should stand up nicely against snowplowing as well as fair weather wear-and-tear.

But yesterday's task for R.J. was hooking up the sewerage line from the house to the septic tank.  The plumber had brought the line through the foundation wall, and now R.J. had to run pipe to the tank.  That chore was well advanced by the time I left — with R.J. grumbling mightily about his helper Bill.

The waste pipe awaits installation.

As evening falls, the waste pipe project is nearly complete.

 Dave assures me that the waste pipe will be buried deep enough that vehicles driving over it won't be a problem.  However, I think they said much the same thing about the Titanic.  Time will tell.

Bird watchers please note:  Yesterday Dave and Kyle hauled a trailer-load of trash to the landfill at Atlanta, west of Alpena.  That's the least expensive disposal site in the area.  After paying the fee they drove down a tree-lined lane to the landfill.  There they were startled to find 12-15 bald eagles sitting on the ground encircling the landfill.  Eagles are territorial, so they spaced themselves a comfortable 50-60 feet apart.  Dave said a vast number of seagulls swooped down on the active trash area to pick apart bags and find a free lunch.  It's likely the eagles were eyeing the seagulls for exactly the same reason!  In any case, if you want to see bald eagles in abundance, the Atlanta landfill seems to be the place. •••