Every
year about this time we muster our courage and head to the farmhouse to turn on
the water, and Saturday (March 31), was the day. It’s not always a pleasant experience. Things went well the first five years or so, and then one year we had 15 leaks
calling for a major overhaul of the plumbing. Last year a fitting broke loose
above the ceiling in the kitchen and we caught water through the light
fixture for five minutes. We needed a drywaller as well as a plumber to repair
the damage. I could hear my grandparents laughing.
Having experienced one or two catastrophes, now we’re paranoid. The sound of
running water fills us with anxiety. “Do you hear that? Where is it coming
from?” Once the toilets had filled and shut off and everything was quiet, Mike
re-installed the shower faucets, but they wouldn’t work. 
“Maybe we need to turn
on the hot water tank,” I opined.
“What difference would that make,” queried
Mike impatiently, and I had to admit I didn't know. But after trying and re-trying, he finally said, “I don’t know what’s wrong;
I’m just going to turn on the hot water tank anyway.”
“Good,”
I said to myself, “because that’s what needs to happen.” And sure enough, water flowed from the shower heads.
Mike
worked hard. Once the water was on, he set up the refrigerator, vacuumed bugs off the floor, and sprayed weeds in the lane. Outdoor rodent activity is
prolific this year, and the mice have invaded his little shed, so he cleaned it
and set ten traps. By
comparison, I just puttered. I boxed Halloween (yes, Halloween) decorations, put
away Christmas dishes and ornaments, changed the string lights in the kitchen
window, and disinfected the kitchen counters.
And
I toured the yard. The early daffodils are just beginning to bloom. The Crown
Imperials look healthy. The cherry tree weathered the winter, but we can now
speak of the raspberry patch in the past tense and label my dream as “Kathy’s Folly.” This year’s project is to deal with the bank behind the
house. It won’t be an easy fix. 
The
pond is full to overflowing, but unfortunately no water fowl reside there at this time.
And
now it’s cold again. All danger of frost is not past. Mike is off to the farm today to finish the weed spraying and check on the rodent situation. I have an obligation that keeps me from going with him, but checking the weather report, he thinks this could be the last good day for the foreseeable future. KW
2 comments:
I drove in a raging blizzard up here yesterday. Really! I went to get my hair cut just before one and had to turn on my lights so cars could see me. I knew I needed to because I could hardly see the cars coming toward me because it was snowing and blowing so hard. When I left the salon, I had several inches of snow on the car. I just had to laugh. Oh, and it snowed on Easter day, too.
My Easter outfit always included a jacket or light coat because so often it was cold. We had no snow at our house, but someone told me it snowed in the Orchards yesterday. The weather is still unsettled.
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