[RHClarke]

This is another reason why I love my wife - she knows when to send me to the barn! After a lengthy absence due to work/travel/administrative requirements, I spend a lovely day in Hammond - but forgot my camera (out of practice...).

The early morning was spent cleaning out the shed. A new floor of pallets was put down to prevent our CMP parts from sinking into the mud and to prevent them from being frozen into the ground next winter. Bob showed up around 0900 hrs and helped put some of the parts back into the shed. Grant had work commitments.

Later that morning we swept the grounds for garbage and scrap. After the windy days of the past few weeks, there was quite a bit of paper and plastic lying about. Scrap metal was placed on the scrap pile, and a collection of logging chains was hung on a rack for future repair.

We also moved some of Bob's artwork (a feature of a future post) and repaired the same. While Bob welded up the CMP "guard bird" (photos later), I decided to de-rim one of the tires lying about. Bob and Grant tried the high-tech methods to remove the rim, but gave up. I figured that I could have the rim free in an hour. Three hours (including lunch at Chez Marie) later, with the help of Bob's tractor and a set of chisels, we removed the outer rim. The inner rim held fast until we cut the bead in four places and wedged it out of the casing. That worked up a sweat, so Bob suggested we take a break and sample "The Pride of Nova Scotia". No argument there.

Following the beer break, we pulled Bob's trailer out of its winter hiding place and assessed the damage done by the long winter. We have some rust to contend with, and sandblasting may be the order of the day. Bob replaced some of the clearance lights and made plans to keep Grant busy on Sunday.

I did not get to work on my HUP, but that’s fine with me – there are several ways to repay Bob for his generosity and cleaning up around the barn and shed is the least one can do for the privilege of storing ones truck at the Hammond Barn.