FARMHOUSE PLUMBING REPAIRED

I’m just back from getting groceries, and it seems like Memorial Day weekend rather than Mother’s Day. We’re bracing for an unseasonably warm weekend. Even our Seattleites are preparing for the heat.

Mike and I met Jeff the Plumber at the farmhouse yesterday. It took three hours for him to repair our various problems. Mike assisted as Jeff’s “gofer.” The water is on now. It just remains to install a new faucet at the kitchen sink and in the shower stall in the master bath. Mike will do that.

Spring green

Jeff the Plumber was explicit that we must winterize early and pump antifreeze through the system. We just can’t be caught out as we have been in recent years. Last year the cold snap came on suddenly in early November and by the time we got there, the road was filled with drifted snow. We couldn’t drive in, so Mike and his trusty companion Bess walked in and came back for me on the 4-wheeler. We worked quickly to winterize and could only carry out one or two crates. The landscape was beautiful but also fraught with difficulties. It was a stressful day.

Cottonwood Butte

For 15 years, we were able to spend November / December days at the farm. I even remember one year when we had a brief cold snap in October, and that was winter. But in the last five years or so, winter has come early and been colder than in the past. We have to make the necessary adjustments to protect the house. It means we can’t have a farmhouse Christmas, and while I accept this, don’t think I’m not disappointed.

But I digress. After Jeff left, Mike mowed the lawn and I ran the dishwasher, gave the kitchen a cursory cleaning, and vacuumed up the dust left by the plumbing repairs. I had already deadheaded the daffodils and pulled rhubarb stalks. We arrived back in town at 6:30, grateful that we could quickly prepare a supper of leftovers.

A passing storm

We are free now to spend time at the farm and address some other issues. The Plumber recommended an excavator out of Orofino, so we’ll look into that for improvements on the lane. And of course, it’s time to plant things in the garden. Two weeks ago I started squash in peat pots. If only I had a safe place to plant them. I just couldn’t resist the urge to have something growing in the kitchen window. KW