A week of phone calls morphed into another week of hurry up and wait. Our contractor is still crunching numbers, which means we’re still waiting for our estimates. I had a jury summons; luckily, all cases were settled this week. We still haven’t received our tax refund, even though we sent our taxes back in March.
We did get up to the property to complete a couple of chores we’ve been putting off. Aside from picking up nails, screws, and other assorted metal tire-piercing hazards, I have needed to dig down to the valve that feeds water from the cistern to the house. While I’d hoped we had sufficiently protected it, I discovered that we failed. The fitting from the cistern to the pipes was completely melted away. If nothing else, I managed to get a helluva workout yesterday. I’ll undoubtedly feel it tomorrow.
Melted piping at the cistern.
Next, the dead trees.
Now that the equinox has passed, I’ve noticed that the palette of my daily walk has changed accordingly. This week, I’ve seen more yellows and golds mixed with the green of the foliage. It won’t be much longer, and the trees will be bare. Most days, my dog walks me along almost the same route, so I tried to get a shot (from roughly the same spot) of the trees across the road.
Colors on Tuesday.
Colors on Friday.
Apples are still a big part of our weekly activities. We don’t have a tall enough ladder to get some of the best-looking apples. The picnic table isn’t steady enough to hold me and a ladder (I checked), so that beautiful fruit above our heads will go to waste. We can barely keep up with the apples we’ve already picked, so I don’t know what we’d do with more.
The snail’s pace makes me a little crazy. Still, I also understand that everything needs to happen in a particular sequence. I’m beginning to understand that building a new home is a chicken-and-egg process. And we are not the first in line with our contractor, he’s helping more than one of our neighbors rebuild, so he’s busier than a one-armed wallpaper-hanger. Patience has never been my strong suit, but I have good friends to help me get through this waiting period.
J.J. Shaun 