I've Never Seen Flies with Antlers
I guess I'll never be happy. Either it's raining or the deer flies are out. I don't know why they call them deer flies I've never seen them with antlers, but they are certainly not "dear" flies.

This week marked the start of the deer fly season. They start harmless enough. A few going whizzing by with the breeze (on the way to inform others that there's fresh blood available.) And before you know it, there's an all out intergalactic war going on between the sinister, evil Minnesotan deer flies and myself. Gosh! Where's Jessie Ventura when you need him? But, this year I was prepared. I had my deflector shields up (long sleeved shirts and a hat) and my secret weapon in my back pocket at all times -- my 48 cent fly swatter. I now actually enjoy (cynically) ridding this planet of the alien attackers. They say that everything in nature has a purpose. I am convinced that deer flies are not part of nature. They are pure evil.

Between the deer flies and rain, I was able this week to get all of the support posts up and braced for both the inside and outside rings. It took a little longer to get things up than I expected due to some extra drilling that I decided to do. I wanted to be absolutely sure that the posts were not going anywhere so I bolted them to the foundation. This required drilling into the concrete footing, but I feel better knowing that those posts won't be moving anywhere. Once the cordwood walls are up, this extra bracing will not really matter, but I don't believe I will get to building the cordwood walls until next year. I want to be sure the house will stand on its own through heavy wind storms until such time.

After I erected all 24 posts, I was able to raise the inside beams. These beams are also made from 6" x 6" lumber and each side was cut with 22.5 degree angle. Since each corner of an octagon is 45 degrees, the angle cut is always half of the corner angle. For the outside beams, I will attempt to cut a 11.25 degree angle since there are 16 sides to the outside ring. Once all of the beams are up, the next major task will be to install the floor support beams. Each will be 20' in length and should prove to be a challenge.

This next week's work will be cut short by one day so that I may attend the MREA energy fair in Amherst, WI. This will be my third year attending, and I will probably be making some purchases for the house. Until next time, happy deer fly hunting!