My Trailer Redo - Day 125 - Sunny's True Colors

  I have worked my tail off today, and I'm just going for the wow factor tonight. I'll give you the details tomorrow after I do the second coat.

I just finished- 8:30 pm. I need to eat something and shower. But I am happy.

In other news: I got the trash down for pickup. Had to beat myself into doing that because I am whipped, but it had to be done. That is the ONLY other thing I did today.

See Day 124 - Undercoat

My Trailer Redo - Day 124 - Undercoat

  Does Sunny look significantly whiter? I sure hope so. Today, I completed the undercoat.

There was more prep still to do than I anticipated. I had to go over every inch looking for stupid little spots of the old paint like this that had somehow survived the stripping and washing. They all had to be sanded down. I wiped off the residue with a cloth as I went along.

But then, the entire surface had to be gone over with Interlux 333 solvent, which cleans the last of whatever might be there and also helps the paint to adhere. Stinky job. Then at long last, I could paint the undercoat on the portions of the trailer that I didn't paint two years ago.

Things I learned: 1. There are still a bunch of small dings that should have had bondo that I couldn't even see until I hit them with paint- solution- accept that this is a refurbish of a 1985 trailer, and it's not going to be perfect. One only sees this stuff while looking closely. 2. I like the leveling you get much better with the roller than with brushing. You are supposed to "tip" the rolled surface by lightly feathering it with a brush. I'm not sure I'm going to do that. There may be enough bumps in this trailer surface that the slightly pebbled look will help hide them. 3. It takes 2+ hours to paint the entire surface after all the prep for the coat is done.

In other news: David had to head back to GR today. There isn't any other news. I was determined to get this undercoat done, and I succeeded, although I had to do rest-and-cold-drink a few times. I have hopes for the first topcoat tomorrow. But since that's white, it's not going to look any different from what you are seeing here!

See Scrub-a-Dub See Day 66 - Learning to Paint

More than a Package of Hot Dogs

  Someone asked me earlier this week what I was doing for the holiday, and I said that I had thawed a package of hot dogs, and that was going to be the extent of my celebration. How wrong I was!

Friend Dave, yes Philadelphia Dave, was in Grand Rapids and asked if he could come up for the day. Of course!

So, we started out with joining a group hike on the North Country Trail.

We did the section with the Vince Smith bridge.

One very nifty find on the hike was a young Northern Redbelly snake. They are very calm. This one was only about 6 inches long. They rarely exceed 12 inches even when full grown.

I was holding him, and everyone else was trying to get pictures. So far, no one has sent me a picture of the red belly, but you can see how red it is at the tip of his tail.

After we got home, we chilled for a while and then decided to go to a concert at the Ludington State Park. It was held outside the new Beach House.

We went to hear the Third Coast Swing Band. They were very, very good. Two local members- professional level.

Ludington in the summer... this picture just says it all.

Got someone to take a picture of Dave and me (see above). What a really nice day! Definitely more than a package of hot dogs, although we did eat some of them with macaroni salad and chips. Quite perfect.

North Country Trail miles in 2021 is at 337.

North Country Trail, Lake County, MI, Mac Road to 3 Mile Road and back. 7+ miles

See More Fun with Dave

My Trailer Redo - Day 123 - Scrub-a-Dub

  Today's big project, since it's not supposed to rain for several days, was to wash the trailer and get it ready for the rest of the painting.

As I did the last time I faced this project, I used Bar Keeper's Friend. It does a really good job, but it dries your skin out something fierce. So this time I wore gloves. I scrubbed every inch with the cleanser and a scrub brush, and then rinsed it down good with the hose. Oh yeah... I had to get out the hoses and hook them up to do this job. That is never a favorite task. I only dislike putting them away for the winter more.

You can't really tell much in a photo, but this space looks nice and clean. Actually, it is. The whole trailer is.

I discovered one more place I need to add a little Bondo, and I'm using a piece of sandpaper to remove any last specks of the old paint that are still sticking. It's just a putzy job. Maybe tomorrow I can get it wiped down with the thinner... we'll see. I have a group hike in the morning.

In other news: I worked on book formatting for someone. That took way longer than I expected, but it's done.

See That Big Hole

Full Summer Hike

  Loren (and Koa) and I took a hike today. We went through Dead Horse Marsh, now looking green for summer, although as I noted before, those jackpines in the distance by the boardwalk are dying. This is all part of the natural cycle there after last year's flooding.

Evidence of another cycle. The oak trees are trying to refoliate after the gypsy moth invasion. It's very weird to see some trees looking like full summer and some like early spring. Interestingly, we also saw some sassafras that had been chewed. Maybe the caterpillars would settle for that after they decimated the oaks.

The woods looks so different in full summer. I loved how lush this stump terrarium is.

It sure looks like a bear has been using the trail too. Maybe it was checking for blueberries, as were we. We didn't find many though. I think the drought came at the wrong time to have a good crop.

One perky mushroom on a log. No clue what it is. I'd have to pick it and check the gills and spores, and I'd rather leave it.

Before we hiked, we did just a tiny bit of trail work. I did buy a post, and we put it in just north of the Freesoil Trailhead.

I added the necessary turn blaze, and now no one should get misplaced trying to find the trail in the area of the new snowmobile trail. Sure, it's only a small project, but it feels good to have one small thing finished!

In other news: Uh-oh. There was supposed to be other news. I had high hopes for accomplishments for the afternoon. But I picked up a book I've been reading with my lunches, and it suddenly got a lot more interesting. I also went outside to do a couple of things and discovered it had gotten very windy, making my planned tasks unpleasant. Of course, I had plenty of other choices. But I was a very bad girl and went back to my book.

North Country Trail, Mason County, MI. Tyndall Road to Taylor Road and back. 6 miles

See Dead Horse Marsh Dry