Now That We Can Relax

Ok, Now that Hurricane Felix (Oh, that's right it was downgraded to a Tropical Storm) is missing Belize, life can begin to get back to normal. Well, as normal as life is going to get when you're still cleaning up from Hurricane Dean. We stil have downed trees in the back yard, a damaged palapa, and no landline telephone.

Here's where we left off, more or less. Bob brought over a few more blocks to get ready, and he and I recovered everything with the green tarp, so, if we got a break in the weather, it was ready to go.

Construction Stuff Ready to Go

Work is progressing on the septic system. Below you can see the last couple of courses as they've been installed. Still a lot of work to get it completed. I'll provide plenty of pictures so you can see what's happening.

The Last Few Courses on the Tank

Looking Inside the Tank

Here they are unloading the 20-foot PVC pipe sections for the drain field. There'll be about 280-feet of pipe in the drain-field. After that, each section must be drilled to make perforated pipe so the septic system drains properly. From the center, there will be an approximately 1-inch drop in 40-feet.

Unloading the Drain Field Pipes

Boring Holes Every 10 Inches or So

Final Efforts to Finish the Parging

Looking Inside At the Parging

Now here's the way to see a hurricane. The picture on the left is the far eastern cloud bank for Hurricane Felix at about the time it was making landfall in Nicaragua. The view to the right I snapped on my way home from the property. I was struck by the strange look to the clouds.

Hurricane Felix - Best Views of it - Far Away

Hurricane Felix - Best Views of it - Far Away

Here's a couple of views of our canal, the first at the bend where it turns to go out to Corozal Bay and the one to the right is the channel actually heading out to the bay. On the left shot you can see where the incoming tide is undercutting the bank at the turn, pointing up that we need to do work on the canal, the whole length - especially once folks start trying to bring in boats.

Our Canal At the Turn

Our Canal And At the Mouth

This is the drain field for our septic system. The tank is right in the middle of it. The drain field extends 40-feet either side of that for 80-feet total length.

The Drain Field 

The Drain Field - All of It

The interior of the tank is almost done. Looks pretty good for something that's just going to hold poop!

Final Smoothing in the Septic Tank

Last Wall to Go

Bob's got the forms on the top, getting ready to pour the top of the thing in the morning. To the right, Bob is mixing up some concrete to parge the floor of the tank.

Finishing Touches

Bob Mixing Mud

Bob cutting wood to build the form for the hatch through the lid of the tank. Can you imagine using mahogany for making forms? It's the new pine.

Bob Cutting Lumber

That Saw Gets A Workout

I've shown Bob's truck before. Here's a few more views of it. You might say that it's somewhat customized. Some of the chains around the frame are there for more than just good looks - they are actually holding the frame together!

An additional safety feature is the fact that only one brake on the whole rig works. Bob says it's not too bad - as long as you remember to keep the speed down.

Built for Work

Bob's Beauteous Beast

The Bed Changes Daily

Only One Brake Works - Out of Four!

Here's Bob's dog, Sadie. She's an absolute sweeheart. She gets excited whenever we come over to his house. For the next few months, while Bob is traveling to Cuba, Honduras, etc., Doug and Twila will be renting his house and caring for Sadie.

Loyal Sadie