SV Orion - Annapolis, MD
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Late March - Spring is in Bloom

3/31/2022

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PictureAmaryllis on the church grounds
In Florida, Spring’s arrival isn’t heralded by the first blooms of the season, since flowers are in bloom all winter. However, it is the quantity of flowers in bloom along with the warming temperatures that tell us Spring is here. And the other thing that tells us Spring is here is that the campground gets pretty empty. While we were not the only ones left in Faith’s campground by March month-end, it was close to it. 

PictureDave patches the larger hole on the C-building roof
Up On the Roof
​In our last entry, we had pictures of a massive live oak limb that had broken off in the church courtyard. Once the limb was (very carefully) removed by a local company, the extent of the damage to the nearby roof became apparent. Luckily, the base was concrete, so there was no penetration beyond the rolled roofing and underlayment.  

PictureWith a hand to give perspective, the hole is deep and wide
​After watching several videos on rolled roofing repairs, we bought some supplies and headed up to the roof to patch the holes. Our YouTube advisors were all patching seams or small holes. However, once we had cleaned out the debris from the larger holes, it was obvious that these were over an inch deep and several inches across. So, we were going to need some filler in the hole to support the roofing for the patch.  

PictureApplying fiberglass tape to support the patch material
Using a somewhat unconventional material (rubber baseboard molding), we were able to fill the holes. Then we applied some roof patch, fiberglass mesh tape, and some more roof patch. Since the tree had lain on the roof for a couple of weeks, the roofing was not laying flat on its own. Luckily the church had a LOT of bricks (thanks to the recent masonry competition), that we used to flatten it so no water would collect in ridges from raised roofing.



PictureFinished repairs
By the time we were done, we had patched 10 holes across the roof. It should hold for quite a while, or until the next limb falls . . .

Picture
Before we said goodbye

With a firm departure date set, Pat and Fred made ready to head out on the last Thursday of March. Before that, we made the most of their talents and company. Pat helped Cathy prune the last of the trees that hung low over the parking lot and Wesley Hall. The two also installed some more cove molding in the sanctuary building. Meanwhile Dave and Fred put the finishing touches on the well, installing a check valve, and repairing a faulty switch in the church’s faithful golf cart, nicknamed Lazarus. ​

We managed to check out some outdoor dining opportunities at Culver’s, Moe’s, Bono’s, and even the Assumption Catholic Church Friday fish fry. But like all good things, our time together had to come to an end. Unfortunately, their departure day was going to be a terrible travel day. (Maybe Mother Nature was trying to tell them to stay?) Sure enough, we woke up to pouring rain that eased up only a little between cells. The irony was that Fred had just made an emergency repair to his windshield wiper. Nothing like a trial by fire.

We did our best to see them off, but the rain finally forced us back to our RV to change our drenched clothes as we wished them well. By mid-day they were out of the rain, and the windshield wiper repair had held up fine. Whew!

PictureNew coat of varnish on Orion Jr
Boat Stuff

With Pat and Fred’s departure, Dave turned his attention to several internet issues, replacing and reprogramming routers, and providing a “tour” of the network to help users troubleshoot in his absence. However, Cathy turned her attention to the boat, giving the cover its annual cleaning and waterproofing. To her dismay, the wood trim was looking pretty dull. So she took time to sand and apply 3 coats of varnish – not so easy when crawling around under the cover. However, the results made it worth the effort.

We also took the opportunity to disconnect the batteries from the solar panels to check their health. They held their charge for several days, which is a good thing. 

PictureDave works to re-program the well timer
Done with the Well? Not Quite

While there was no more hardware to install or change to ensure the well was pumping water for the Burmese gardens, there was some software that needed to work to ensure the pump would turn on and off at intervals that would ensure the tanks were filled when the water was needed. Dave and Fred had installed a programmable timer that would allow an app to control the schedule for the pump. However to ensure it could be done remotely, he needed to ensure a reliable internet connection at the well. We tried installing different wifi access points at the closest point to the well, until we found one that worked consistently. Once in place, the app worked as planned to adjust the timer. ​

The next challenge was figuring out when and for how long the pump should run. This depends a lot on how the gardeners use the water. Dave spent the next couple of weeks visiting the well at different times and different days and adjusting the well schedule based on what he saw. If it still needs adjustment after we leave, he can always make the change on his phone from wherever we happen to be.  

Picture
What a Treat!

Being so close to I-95, Faith is an easy stopover for folks heading north or south. We extend the invitation to visit to many, and occasionally some take us up on the offer. The most recent visitors were Tom and Debbie, who we know from Cabin Work Week at Pocahontas. Not only was the visit a sweet treat, but we also got to sample Debbie’s Key Lime Pie, which was even sweeter.

We had recently created a recruiting video for Cabin Work Week volunteers, which Tom and Debbie graciously reviewed for us. While they agreed with our assessment that we will never be Youtube stars, we got a thumbs up. Publishing the video on Youtube will hopefully reach some volunteers that we might not get otherwise. You can check it out here: https://youtu.be/BODD_vxGV-g

Picture
Parting Shot​

This guy decided to sun himself by the laundry one day.  

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Early March - Bricks, Wood, and Water

3/19/2022

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PictureCompetitor in the Masonry Competition
While modifications to the well for the Burmese garden offered continuing challenges, March brought with it some visitors to campus and some interesting events along with them.

PictureCompetitors build their wall while the tenders replenish mortar
One Block at a Time​

On the first Wednesday in March, Faith hosted the Masonry Apprentice and Educational Foundation’s high school masonry competition. There were 22 individual competitors from 4 area masonry programs, including 1 from the Dept of Corrections. The participants were given a specification sheet, cinder blocks, bricks, and mortar. Using their own tools, they set to work building the required structure. The event was timed, and each result was measured by the judges, with points deducted for every 1/16th of an inch that was off in any measurement, among other criteria. Scores were given by group and individual and prizes awarded accordingly

PictureThe winning entry
In addition to the competitors, there were “tenders” who mixed and distributed mortar, also ensuring it didn’t dry out for any individual competitor. The difference between this and the real thing? Each structure had to be broken down, the blocks cleaned of mortar and then stacked neatly on pallets when the competition was over. At the end of the day, the parking lot was spotless and, unless you noticed the pallets of bricks and cinder blocks, you would never have know that they had been there. But we enjoyed the chance to see these budding masons demonstrating their craft.

PictureFallen limb from the live oak
Need some Firewood?​

Live oaks are protected trees in Florida. You can’t prune them without consulting an arborist, which the church does on a regular basis to ensure the many trees on their property are healthy. That only works so well, since 2 major limbs fell on Peeler Hall several years ago within weeks of each other and the recent arborist visit. 

Picture
​​So it probably shoudn’t have been a complete surprise that another limb parted from it’s trunk in the courtyard off the sanctuary. Dave happened to see it fall, and even with pictures of it from several angles, it is still hard to show how BIG it is. The limb separated from its trunk and planted itself in the courtyard, over the breezeway, on the classroom building roof and over into another courtyard. This would take some time to remove.

PictureNew water tower for the well
​Well. . . Water

In an effort to provide water to the Burmese garden, there has been a considerable amount of work and re-design on the well to ensure the water continues to flow even when the volunteers are gone over the summer months. The design that evolved over the last few months incorporated 2 different pumps and 2 sets of holding tanks, including a method to fill the tanks automatically using a timer. 

PictureDave and Fred pressurize tanks by the well
The latest updates included stabilizing the surface mounted pump, mounting and plumbing in a new water tank on a platform, installing valves to keep the water pressure more constant and programming the timer which will enable the pump to fill the tanks at regular intervals. Getting the entire system to work involved several re-designs and the help of some more volunteers.

PictureDave sealing screws on Fermin's roof
And more . . .

One of the higher priority tasks that we hadn’t been able to address was a leak in the roof of the house occupied by the church’s caretaker and his wife. The building is a converted school trailer, so it’s roof has some similarities to an RV roof. There seemed to be 2 possible sources of leaks – the many screws securing the roof and several seams along the roof ridge and down its slope. Since the leak was confined to the northwest corner of the roof, we focused on first cleaning, then sealing the screws and seams. We applied self-leveling sealant to almost all of the screws, but we had to wait several days for more supplies before continuing. In the interim, the rains came, but no water leaked below.  

Picture
We stayed with our plan to tape the seams on the nw corner, but armed with the information that sealing the screws had stopped the water, our attention turned to the rest of the roof. The rubber seals under the screws were deteriorating, so we decided to seal all the screws on the roof to prevent future leaks. A week later, we had some help with this in the form of a college mission team. They washed all the screws and applied sealant to more than half of the remaining screws before the weather forced them off the roof. Fermin and Cathy finished the task the next day.  ​

Picture
While we had painted almost all of Peeler, the final section of Peeler that needed to be scraped and painted was the front porch, including the upper siding, which had been neglected for years because it was difficult to reach. Joe, Sandy, Cathy and Pat tackled it, at certain points having to lay on one roof to scrape and paint the soffit above. However, since it was a section that was most visible from Wesley Hall, it made a difference once finished in the building’s appearance.

Picture
PictureFeeding 50 college students requires a lot of food
It’s Spring Break
With Spring Break under way, we had visits from 2 different college groups on an alternative spring break. The first group was from Illinois on a “Mystery Tour”. They would travel each day to a new location known only to their leaders. After working on a project in that location, they would head out to a new city. Jacksonville was the next to the last stop before heading home. We signed up to serve them breakfast and lunch, and they were a joy to meet and serve. They even enthusiastically helped with the clean up and kept thanking us for the meals.  

PictureClearing the upper half of the fallen limb
​The next week, another college group – this time from Florida – arrived to stay at Faith for a long weekend. After their work in the community ended, on Monday they volunteered to help around Faith. We had them digging trenches for new pipes by the well, cutting up the tree limbs in the courtyard and cleaning and sealing Fermin’s roof. They also moved some pallets of cinderblocks and bricks from the parking lot to storage. They were another great group and saved us old folks a lot of heavy lifting. 

PicturePutting Tom to work by the well
Coming and Going

Joe and Sandy had commitments early in March that caused them to head off to Georgia, so we said our goodbyes, thanking them for a lot of work done this winter. Not long after, we had a surprise visit from Tom and Dau, our friends (and Cathy’s distant cousin) from our sailing days. Passing through Jacksonville on their way north, they spent the night, and the guys put Tom to work smoothing out the path to the well, using the tractor and a box scraper.   Since we were unsuccessful in persuading them to stay another day, we sent them on their way north again the next day. 

Picture
Dau says goodbye
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