So Fly, you gotta wonder why...

Got the tent rainfly done.

Set up both tents (the big new one for luxury camping) and the little backpacking tent and seam-sealed and water-proof sprayed them. I lost a stake, so I painted the rest flourescent orange.

Here's the tent set up with the new, homemade rainfly, and another shot of it all rolled up and packaged in the new ditty bag I made especially for the tent -- and a pen for size reference.



I was at Walmart this weekend and I saw they have a new model of the kids tent (the one I bought for backpacking) -- and wouldn't you know it has a better rainfly (though the one I made is probably better still). It's also apparently smaller (the package is a couple of inches shorter) and its apparently lighter just by hefting the two side by side. However, upon further inspection of the picture, it's got more of a hexagon design. They still say it's 5x6. But that got me wondering. If it's smaller and lighter and a hexagon instead of a rectangle -- they probably mean its 6' in its longest dimension, and 5' in its shortest dimension. My 6x5 rectangle is about 8' in the longest direction (catty-corner).

So I'm not sure. If anyone has bought this tent, I'd like to know what the real dimensions are.

Did all kinds of things around the house... touched up paint on the cabinets in the kitchen where it had chipped, replaced the molding by the stove with smaller molding so the drawer can open ... had to putty and paint the lowest few inches of the wall to do that.

Finally planted the moss rose in the strawberry pot -- I noticed a bunch of seedlings from last year's moss rose coming up in it, too.

There was a bunch of other stuff I did, too -- oh, like re-gasket the Big Green Egg and align the lid better, and I fixed the little ceramic disc at the bottom that the fire sits on. It's been broken in half quite some time. I used the fireplace/furnace cement. It just might hold it together.

I bought a pair of crampons on Ebay for $23.... they're older ones, but hey... I'm not going to climb ice, just maybe hike in some snow on a relatively steep slope. I laughed when I read that these were "obsolete" in terms of technology. They're spikes that strap on to your shoes. If they worked 50 years ago, they'll work today. I'm pretty sure snow and shoes haven't changed that much. Maybe the new ones are better for ice climbing, but I think those people are nuts anyway.

Also did a 10 mile round-trip bike ride yesterday. Not as bad as you'd think, especially since most of it was on "the trail". I'm not in as bad shape as I thought I might be. Still, want that old ticker and lungs hepped up for hiking next month.

Well, gotta go!