Truss Me ... We're Making Progress

So as promised, we started making forward progress again with the trusses being installed on the back workshop.  At my contractors suggestion, we extended the trusses up to give us a full 6 foot tall by 8 foot wide walk through area down the middle of the roof line.  No more crawling through an attic space to store things any more.  :)  I also had him put space for attic access stairs at both end of the garage.  Here was the state of the progress after Monday.

The Trusses Are Up

By Wednesday the roof was completely up and dried in.  It's actually starting to look like a real building now.

Our Dried In Workshop

Looking inside you can get a feeling for the amount of storage space we're going to have up in the attic.

Inside the Workshop

 The steel columns for the back of the house are supposed to be delivered by Friday and should be installed early next week.  Progress is being made.  Truss me!  :)

Meanwhile, Tina and I did another change of pace tonight on our daily walks and did it through the cemetery where Tina's Dad is buried.  We had to clear our the flag and night light for a couple of weeks since the cemetery management was cleaning up the area and officially the flag and light shouldn't be there.  Now that they're done, they were returned to place and once more I'll be able to see the light on the hill on my drive into work on the morning. 

Tina and Her Dad

Until next time ...

Visiting the Viera Wetlands

Out west of us is a place the locals refer to as the Viera Wetlands. Officially it's called the Ritch Grissom Memorial Wetlands.  It's a county run wildlife refuge which utilizes recovered wastewater to maintain a magnificent wetlands wildlife area.  This time of year our frigid northern brethren are nice enough to send there birds down south so that the wetlands become a bird watching paradise.  Getting bored with our walks up and down Rockledge Dr. (we know ... it's a really tough life), Tina and I've taken to visiting the wetlands for some of our daily walks.

The Most Beautiful Specimen at the Entrance

The park is on 200 acre's with a main lake in the middle surrounded by 4 "cells" of marshy swamps.  Each of the cells and the lake are surrounded by roads on berms which provides easy access for those people wanting to drive as opposed to walk.

Looking Out Over the Main Lake

The park has been open to the public since 2000 and hence is a well established eco-system.  The number and variety of birds at this time of year is simply amazing.

But beyond the birds, there's also a large amount of fish and of course an occasional turtle or 2.

But for those not so inclined to bird watch, one of the fan favorites of the park is the infamous Florida gator.  This is mating season for the gators and they spend there afternoon's sunning along the banks of the lake.  It's absolutely amazing that in a 1/2 mile stretch of the lake Tina and I came across a total of 20 gators out enjoying the afternoon sun.  They range in size from 12 inches to about 7 feet.  We assume the management probably takes gators that get larger than that out of the park.

Unusual Sight of 2 Gators This Close

Meanwhile, progress is starting again on the house.  The trusses for the work shop were delivered Friday and will be put up on Monday.  By the middle of the week the entire roof should be up and dried in, waiting for the metal roofing material to arrive.  Meanwhile the steel beams have been ordered and may be this week also.