Using plant stalks from the floral arrangement we received as a gift earlier this month, Jeanine created a new arrangement that will adorn our entryway. I love it. We spent a good portion of the day moving wood chips. It is great exercise and satisfying to see new yard areas start looking somewhat groomed.

Supermoons are full moons that appear larger because they happen in tandem with the lunar orbit’s closest approach to Earth, appearing 30% brighter and 14% larger than when the moon is at its faintest. Tonight’s supermoon is also called a harvest moon because it’s the full moon that appears closest to the fall equinox, rising near sunset and providing extended illumination for farmers to bring in their crops. Now add a partial eclipse and we have the subject of today’s blog. Pictured above is the moon at the moment of maximum occlusion and below before the eclipse began.

Having recently acquired a lathe, my brother Mark has since produced several beautiful turned vessels. The one pictured above he made specifically as a present for us to store cooking salt. The ones pictured below, I absconded with after loosely obtaining permission to take them. They will all be proudly displayed in our new home.

Joined by the Earles, Jeanine and I started our day with a leisurely stroll through the East Village of Des Moines, where we discovered some Midwest wildlife. Later, we joined the wedding party for an extended brunch where we got a chance to spend time with Zoe’s family. It was a very relaxing day culminating with an uneventful set of flights back to Boston where Nico retrieved us from the airport.

Jeanine and I attended Collin Earle and Zoe Mauck’s wedding this evening. Collin is the son of Jeanine’s best friend from childhood. The wedding took place at the prairie estate of Zoe’s parents and was officiated by her father. The couple met through their passion for cycling, a theme visited several times in the emotional and moving ceremony.

Earlier in the day, we had an opportunity to do some sightseeing in Des Moines. Pictured below is the state capitol building and, below that, the Des Moines Art Center.

Our morning visit to the Framers Market provided an opportunity for me to join in with a local yoga group, a sight so rare that Jeanine felt compelled to document it.

Des Moines, Iowa was our destination for the weekend. Mark, Marie, Jeanine, and I made the three-hour journey with a stop at the High Trestle Trail and Bridge. for a bit of exercise. The 2.5 mile walk was well worth the effort. The bridge is a work of art and over looks the Des Moines River where hundreds of pelicans were fishing for their evening meal. We are here for a wedding, while Mark and Marie will travel on to Iowa City where they will connect with their daughter, Sophia, for parent’s weekend at the University of Iowa.

I spent most of the day in my brother’s shop helping him with repairs to his assembly table, pictured above. The massive casters on this table are pneumatically deployed using the stored compressed air in the canister mounted to the underside. My brother fabricated the piston components and used a rubber diaphram to serve as the actuator. One of the rubber seals failed after two years of service so he decided to replace all four with a silicon diaphram. The project took several hours to complete and produced a very satisfying result. It is very cool to throw a switch and have a several hundred pound table convert from a stationary to a mobile platform. Mark and I enjoy working on projects together and lament the fact that we live so far apart.

Jeanine and I flew to Minnesota today to stay with my brother Mark and his wife Marie in Minnetonka. Jeanine took this photo while out for a walk with Marie. She liked elements of the garden and thought we could use some of these concepts back at the River House.

It has been 10 months since our driveway was paved with a binder coat. Yesterday, the top coat was added. The reason for the time delay was to allow the binder to settle and for all heavy equipment work to be completed. With the last (hopefully) of our tree work completed last week, we were ready to finish the driveway. I thought a fly-over video would be more compelling than a still photograph. You may feel otherwise after witnessing my questionable flying skills. Even so, I did not crash into anything which is more than can be said for some of my previous attempts at flying while shooting video.

The straps I originally ordered for my kayak cart project were too short and it took several days to acquire ones of the right size. With these installed, the project is now complete. Our kayaks will be stored on the carts so they are ready to deploy at any time with no additional work. It has been more than 13 years since their initial finish was applied and they are due for a new coat. I hope to tackle this work sometime later this fall.

It was a glorious fall morning, the perfect weather to start my team’s fall soccer season. Regrettably, our performance on the field did not live up to the beauty of the day. We squandered a 1-0 lead at the half giving up two goals before the final whistle. I played a good 60 minutes but did little to help (or hurt) our cause. On a positive note, I sustained no injuries.

When I returned home, Jeanine was hosting a meeting with neighbors who were pressing the table extension I recently completed into service as a conference table. It made me very happy to see this. I had assumed it would only be used for Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday meals.

One of our dinner guests last night arrived with an armful of clippings from her garden and we watched as she assembled this beautiful bouquet. It is so tall that it would not fit under the light over our dining table but works perfectly on our coffee table.

I spent the better part of the day gathering small branches and bark strewn all over the property, the remnants of the tree work we had done earlier this week. There was enough wood to keep our fire pit roaring for eight hours. The endeavor left me with a very sore back as I had to bend over to pick up thousands of branches (not an exaggeration) and haul them to the patio in a wheelbarrow.

In the evening, we hosted another First Friday gathering with a small group of friends. Jeanine prepared a tomato-peach burrata salad which made me forget all about my tired back.

Today, was also the closing date on our Road House sale. Even though we knew going in that it would be a temporary home, it is fair to say that we grew quite fond of it. Nonetheless, we are very pleased to be back to owning a single home.

Installing folding metal legs completed the construction of the table extension leaf I have been working on. All that remains now is to paint it to match our dining room table, the least enjoyable part of the project for me. With the legs folded, the leaf should be easy to transport and store although it is still unclear if that will be in the basement or the garage.

Jeanine and I love trees. Even so, ever since a huge white pine destroyed our neighbor’s sun porch, we have held our breath during every wind event. Today, we had every tree over 100 feet tall within striking distance of our house taken down. All that remains to be done is to haul away the trunks. Depending on the size and straightness, some will be milled for lumber, the rest are destined for the paper mill. Surprisingly, the views of and from our house have changed little. For every 100-footer, we have a second generation of 60-footers that now define the treescape. I know we are going to sleep better from here on out.

Jeanine and I enjoyed a glorious fall afternoon on a 3.5-mile hike through the conservation land directly across the river from our house. At the mid-point, we arrived at Fairhaven Bay. Along the path, we encountered several mushrooms but not the otters we had hoped to find at the Andromeda Pools. Later we got our Covid vaccine boosters as a precaution given our upcoming travel plans to Iowa and later down the Eastern seaboard to Charleston and Savannah.

Our round dining room table comfortably seats 8 people. Jeanine, already in planning mode for Thanksgiving and Christmas, asked if it would be possible to extend the seating for up to 12. Our table has a solid top with no provisions for an extension leaf so I decided to build one that mates along one half of the perimeter. I used 3/8″ thick Baltic Birch plywood in a three-layer stack-up. The top layer matches the existing table radius and extends the contour ~30″. The middle layer (pictured below) comprises the internal structure that create a torsion box when the bottom layer is glued to them. The result is a 1-1/8″ thick top that weighs the same as a 3/4″ top would and is substantially stiffer. I did not notice until just now, that the internal layer looks like a cat’s face. The squarish blocks are positioned to accept mounting screws for the legs and the curved pieces are leftovers from the cutouts. I will post another photo of the completed extension table when I have had a chance to mount the folding legs.

Using leftover bamboo from the River House cabinetry project, I completed the frames for two kayak carts per the design I came up with yesterday. I installed the axles and wheels for a test run using Jeanine as the operator. Even without the straps I plan to add, moving the kayaks was a breeze. I will add a suitable finish protectant tomorrow.