Finally Finished!!! The Bamboo Saga

In my earlier post I explained my bamboo project and included a few pics. So after that post my neighbor John was quite complimentary of how it turned out. He wanted to know if I was going to extend it to the end of the yard (West of the house). After some thinking about it (cost is no small aspect) and also looking at the fence from down on my river deck, I decided to do it.

So here is the result. I also stained the bamboo with a protectant and light cedar stain which gives it a gloss as well as excellent protection again water and sun. You might miss it in the pictures but I included a header on the gate...tried to give it a oriental feel. Anyway, alot of work but I'm happy with it.

Winter Hikes

Before winter fades too fast in our memories, I thought I'd share one of mine and Heidi's favorite hiking trails. We love to go up Millcreek Canyon, a mere 15 minutes from door to trail. We love a trail known as Desolation Trail (why the name elludes me). For those familiar with the Canyon, it is just east of Millcreek Inn and borders on the east edge of Tracy Wigwam BSA camp.

The trail is 2 miles, one way, to what is a view of the SLC valley. As the trail is on the north side of the mountain, it has plenty of snow, while the other side of the canyon may show little or no snow. The pics I have included are two different trips, one in a snow storm and deep trail snow and the other on a bright sunny day following snow earlier in the week.

The dogs love it and know when we are going. They run way up the trail and then run back to us only to repeat the same. Other people, usually with dogs, do the trail and we have to watch when we pass that no altercations occur. But our dogs are good natured and rarely have a problem.

When summer rolls around the trail is still great, although their are many great summer trails. Those are waiting for another post later this summer. In mean time hope you enjoy the pics.

Big Daddy D

The Garden Project

Ok, so each year I like to do one "garden" project to enhance the yard. Last year, in the midst of back surgery recover, I decided to install a fountain with the main feature being a Basalt column (a natural hexagonal column) which had a hole drilled up the middle so water could flow out. I'm not sure what I was thinking since the beast weighed approx 300lbs, but the results were nice and I'm still walking.

This year I'm not sure what inspired me, but I wanted a more "Japanese" feel to my yard. Having enjoyed our Christmas trip to the Philippines, and the Japanese village spa at the resort we stayed at, I guess it may have lay the groundwork for the idea of using bamboo. So I ordered one eight foot section of bamboo to test how it might look. I initially tried it along the back cement wall and it just didn't seem to do the trick. So I moved out front where I have a low slung (3 foot) fence more for aesthetics than function. I liked it so proceeded to order five more 3x8' sections.

I removed the original fence stave's. Then I put a 1x2" foot on the bottom cross bar with which to rest the bamboo, cut the bamboo sections to fit the fence frame and then put a retaining cross bar both top and bottom. The original fence and "framing" pieces were stained dark gray which helped to bring out the light colored bamboo. You'll need to be the judge of the results, but at least the neighbors seem to like it and have complimented the results.

My first blog entry

One of my brilliant kids suggested that I start a blog and write about myself. Convinced that I have absolutely nothing interesting to offer, I blew it off. Then they suggested it would be a nice way to keep family in the loop of what Heidi and I were doing such as the new fence I have constructed. So, this being a somewhat slow day (April 15th and the dozen or so tax returns and extension have been filed), I thought I'd see if it was a big deal to start.

I will have to get some photos and other things to make this perhaps a once a weeks affair and maybe it might encourage me to do something interesting for the sake of a more interesting blog.

So with snow flying outside, the river at home almost flooding I officially launch my "Getting Old in the West" blog. Hopefully you won't be too bored with it.
Love Big D