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| A setting sun reflects off June's field after a rainstorm |
The fridge and the noisy timer in the kitchen were suddenly silent, as if someone had thrown a switch. Only the wind-up mantel clock continued its steady “tick-tock.”
“The electricity just went off,” I announced.
“Really?”
said Mike in a tone of gleeful incredulity – gleeful because here was his
chance to try out his new gas generator. The unit was in readiness in the
mechanical room, and without ado, Mike carried it onto the kitchen porch,
started it up, and connected the fridge. Eventually, he also connected the TV
set.
These outages are not “blips” or surges. They require a repair or reset, and the troubleshooter drives in from somewhere. If the electricity is off, it’s a given that it will be off for a matter of hours. This outage lasted three hours, and the generator hummed along, keeping our food cold and our football game recording.
We
have had several rainstorms, and it’s much cooler. It has the look and feel of
fall with crisp mornings gradually warming to afternoons in the mid-80s in town
(70s at the farm). I took the hummingbird feeders down and put them away.
Surely the hummers get the message now, and if they don’t, it’s time to help
them along. No more free nectar – until next spring, that is.
Looking at our September schedule, Mike and I decided to return to town Monday afternoon (Labor Day), where I found another mouse in trap and the bait carefully removed from the others. This week I will look for the point of rodent egress and examine the content of closets for corruption. We kinda think maybe they just came in the door, and I also wonder if we brought them from the farm with the load of wood now stacked at the back door.
Naturally, something of importance – Mike’s cycling computer which he uses to gather and maintain his cycling data – was left behind at the farmhouse. This was a problem for him, but he and son Clint used it as an opportunity to ride their motorcycles back to the farmhouse this morning. “If life hands you lemons, make lemonade.” KW
4 comments:
I can just see Mike rubbing his hands together in glee as he had a chance to use his new generator! Glad it worked out so well.
Gorgeous photos!!
Thanks, Chris. And the photos just don't do the rich evening colors justice.
Even when summer seems too short, when the days get shorter and the air starts to bite, I'm content to bake bread, make tea and curl up in a blanket. We are finally getting a gas fireplace and I'm SO excited to enjoy it in our living room.
Hallie, you’ll absolutely love your gas fireplace! We had to get a new one last year as the 25+ year old one that was here when we bought the house died. This new one with a remote is heaven on cold fall/winter nights.
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