Marvin Theobald
It isn’t every day I get to upright three sideways photos. Thank you Jim and Sue for giving me that opportunity. It was accomplished with little effort and great pleasure.
Jim – Glad you were adventurous enough to try the liverworst-jelly sandwich even if you did use the wrong bread according to Chef Dave. I was very sorry to see the photos of your naked pine trees. Such a sad change in appearance from the before and after photos. Palm fronds and totem pole carvings are interesting thoughts. You might consider a big tree fort or possibly a platform for a slide into the pool for the grandkids. Seriously, in time those remaining trunks could pose a danger as they start to deteriorate. The lilacs are one of my favorites. Thanks for the pics.
Sue – Thanks for posting the Tea Room photo. It is so fun to see all of you ladies still enjoying your friendship after so many years since our school days. A group of our classmates in Colorado used to get together once in a while. It would be nice to see them post photos if they are still meeting.
While I, as do many others, check this site regularly, I have been distracted by a good many things in recent weeks making posting low on my priority list. Thankfully a number of others have been trying to keep the website active. Jim is great at recognizing birthdays and Dave keeps us smiling and sometimes making us think with his humorous posts. I always enjoy seeing what everyone is up to and often wonder what Dave is going to come up with next.
Of my numerous distractions, I have completed the floating hot tub project, installed a new motor on the tiki bar (USS Tikila) which required a custom made mounting frame, planting and weeding 29 tomato plants which are doing very well. Day before yesterday I spent six straight hours in the water gathering weeds from the lake and rolling out a 20’ x 35’ rubber mat to be able to keep the boat motor from bogging down. I have been experimenting with a few new recipes including Crock Pot Peach Cobbler, Dreamsicle Cake, two versions of crock pot baby back ribs and others. Sorry, I did not offer to share them with any of you and all that is left is a little bit of cobbler.
In addition to all of that, I have been evaluating the ability to launch boats at the lake since it is 4' below normal due to a modification project the state required last fall. We have not had enough rain or runoff to bring it back up which has made use of the boat launch questionable. After taking numerous measurements and meeting with several of our Board members to evaluate the options some excavation work was done and over 30 tons of rock were added to make a sound base for the boat trailers. The boat launch was finally opened a couple of weeks ago. Also, I have been working on arranging for the Homeowners Assn and a land owner to obtain two acres of land adjacent to the dam for potential future dam maintenance.
Below are a few photos of some of my projects. Hope to see more fun posts from the rest of you Raiders.
First I wanted to share this photo of my neighbor patiently waiting for me to fill the bird feeders.

Partially floated hot tub frame with remaining barrels and tub ready to assemble. You can tell from some of these photos how low the lake is. The ramp is on the ground and the dock is barely floating. Normally the entire area shown would be under water.

Completed frame with decking installed.

Hot tub ready to insert in pocket.

Completed floating hot tub with heater and supprt equipment. Water is now crystal clear.

Weeds and moss before removal.

Rubber mat laid out prior to removing weeds and rolling into the lake.

Pile of weeds removed by hand from the lake. Photo does not do justice to the volume.

Area after weed removal and mats in place. Weeds past about 25' could not be reached with feet touching the lake bed. I will get these with a rake later.

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