Preliminaries

I don't think I moved the steps in front of the JayBee's door last year at all. As you might imagine, having the steps in place makes it a whole lot easier to run in and out the door all day long while building.

I moved the step sections to the driveway, but they looked to be in rough shape. (I spread out the particle board in the background because I think I might use it to help support new piers to level up the JayBee.)

The edge of the front step was also very beat up. I thought, "I'll just sand and re-stain all of the steps before I put them in place."

After sanding for hours and still having more sanding ahead of me, I thought: "Oh, right. Just about every step I take with this project takes me way more time than I ever anticipate." Finally, everything was sanded.

I paused working on the steps when my friend arrived to help me with this tree. I noticed after the last wind storm we had that this tall, very-straight tree was leaning across the driveway.

Closer inspection revealed a lot of dramatic splitting in the base of the trunk.

Observing proper physical distancing between us, my friend used his chain saw to cut down the tree, while I hauled away the branches.

The middle of the base of the trunk was completely rotten!

The rot didn't go very far up the tree, though. The logs are very straight. I wish I had a way to use them for something.

We were surprised to have it all done in under an hour. We left the heavy trunk pieces for now; at least they are not blocking the driveway.

Back to the steps, the staining didn't take me that long. I even remembered to put the gritty stuff in the stain so the steps won't be too slick when they're wet. It shouldn't take me long to assemble the steps. Maybe I can get that done tomorrow before the rain moves in.

...

The next morning, first thing:

All assembled, but not yet leveled up. That's it for the next few days. (I am very grateful to be working full time [at a job I love--added bonus], especially now, but it does limit my house building time. :-)