Bayfield Mews construction Block 14

They brought the big guns in today for the major part of the Block 14 (4 connected units) roof truss install. The much smaller hi-lift that fell over a couple of days ago was recovered, but wounded as you can see from these pics:

This prong should be flat on the ground

A few new wrinkles

This is the woods it fell into

Today was the major lift for the roof trusses. This had been planned before the smaller lift fell over, as you can see a higher lift is needed for this stage.

Lots of side support for this crane

Picking trusses from one side of the road over to the other side

It was a good day for it. Little wind, no new snow. They got started about 9am and the block was all done by about 3:30.

The one block left to do hasn't yet started, but it will likely be done this year. That will finish the 55 units in the development that started building some 11 years ago. The planning phases started almost 20 years ago, just a gleam in the eye of some forward thinkers.

 

Some excitement at the Mews today

It's been a while since we have posted to our blog. We've mostly been doing all the usual settling-in things, finding places for all our stuff, getting rid of the moving garbage (masses of cardboard box residues) etc. Lately we've been working on getting a new doctor, optometrist, all those changes after moving to a new area. Not too exciting to anyone but us.

We have been doing quite a bit of walking though. The top picture is from a lookout about 20 minutes walk from our place, overlooking Lake Huron. The lake is still mostly open, it's been a mild winter here. Mild, but we're happy to not be camping out in our van!

Another block of 4 units is under construction here at Bayfield Mews. Chilly work for the guys. They pre-assemble sections of the roof structures:

...and lift them on to the roofs of the new units:

Today though, something went awry, when the hi-lift loader got a bit tipsy:

Luckily nobody was hurt, and the loader will soon be back in action. Lifting it up will be a delicate operation though.

Back in snowy January we had a nice hike in the nearby Bannockburn Conservation Area: 

The web site has lots of no-snow pictures, we expect to be hiking there again. Spring is on the way, although there's a nippy wind out of the Northwest today.

Bayfield update

We've spent the past couple of weeks getting settled into our new home base and meeting new neighbours. Cathie even serenaded us all at a get-together with karaoke! Sorry, I'm not allowed to post video of that. :))

We have a completed driveway and the first pass of topsoil around the place now.

The marks are from the sawcuts in the concrete drive

 Inside the garage was pretty much a disaster zone for a while:

Breaking down the cardboard for recycling

But yesterday we got the car parked in the garage for the first time, a red-letter day!

We did have some hikes in the area as a break from unpacking. It's about a 15 minute walk to the lakeshore from here, through a nearby campground. This is what it looked like at the shore a few days ago, pretty wintry:

Today though, very different (the same tree as above):

It's hard to get the scale of these waves, but they were sure rolling in. Between the wind and the waves there was a lot of roaring going on. We've had quite the mild spell.

This the end of a very momentous year for us, and we probably won't be blogging as often for a while now. We'd like to send big Thank You to everyone that has followed along with our journey this year, and hope you have a very Happy New Year!

We're moved in to our new home now

Yep, we're moved in , and as of this morning we have a driveway. Dang, now we'll have to clean out the garage pretty soon!

The weather cooperated Thursday, cold but clear. The movers arrived from Owen Sound just before 10 am, about the same time we arrived from Waterloo. By 12:40 the movers were gone, and we were left with a very messy house.

Loading via the back patio

 

Boxes everywhere

Bayfield Mews Lane lit up

 Luckily we were up pretty early this morning, as the concrete guys showed up pretty early. It was interesting to see the effort involved. It took most of the morning, but all done except the curing.

Contemplating the day

They had to encourage the concrete to flow at first

The center fellow had an engine-driven vibrating float

Teamwork, a very physical job

 

Bayfiield Mews move update

Today we were in Bayfield checking on progress. There are still some minor things getting done inside, like paint touchups. Still no driveway, but we're trying to accept that for now, wanting to get moved in. We're closing on the unit tomorrow (Wednesday) and the movers are coming the next day with all our stuff (we hope!).

The kitchen is basically done, except for cleanup

"The weather outside is frightful...", but the fireplace will be delightful

 

Looking out the patio doors - snowing pretty good for a while

This past weekend we were in Cambridge overnight again, and had a family hike in the F.W. Dickson Wilderness Area. When we lived in Kitchener and the kids were younger, we used to hike over here quite regularly. I wouldn't really call it wilderness (!) but it's a nice place for a short hike.

 
Hopefully the next update will be from our new permanent home.