July 4th – Day One

July 4th, around 7:45 a.m., six volunteers were wondering if Eric Snyder would be able to find the landing spot in front of the Bingham Cottage in the dense fog. Even a deer was peering from the mainland meadow wondering the same thing!!

Mike and his mom, Carol, came from Syracuse, NY; Pete, Eric’s dad from Pennsylvania, Kira, a summer intern at Hog Island, Juanita, and Eric were the work crew. Little did they know what the weather and Eric had in store for them.  The task for the week was to restore the front deck to its original shape, repair the roof, and replace shingles, and clean out the interior of the cottage.

Click on any image to enlarge.

Restoring the front deck to its original shape requires lots of deconstruction and lots of lumber – a never ending supply! But the first day of work saw all the debris and rotting wood moved to debris piles and lots of measuring and replacing of rotten material.Since it was July 4, Eric went to the mainland and brought back a grill so that we could have hamburgers and hot dogs for a real July 4th lunch!! Janine joined us for lunch and the afternoon’s tasks.

Day Two

What a difference a day makes! Yesterday it was fog; today, Tuesday, it was blazing sun and almost 80 degrees. Wilting volunteers hauled more lumber, laid all the decking on the front porch in preparation for the porch  poles to be cut and erected on Wednesday. New shingles replaced the rotting ones on the back. Eric’s indefatigable spirit and energy inspired us all throughout the day.

The project finishes on Friday, so stay tuned for the next two days’ achievements and photos.