OH, THE WORK THAT WE WILL DO!

As I was drifting off to sleep Sunday night, Mike said, “I hope this goes all right,” speaking of the big project to replace stuff in the farmhouse. We’ve just been through a devastating water debacle. How could anything that doesn’t go right be any worse than what has already transpired? And so far, it hasn’t.

Early Monday morning, we finished loading the pick-up – already packed except for the the cooler, produce, and last-minute stuff. Mike left on his motorcycle to travel to the farm by way of Nezperce, while Bess and I left in the Dakota to travel the traditional river route. I drove. We avoided construction in Lewiston by taking Downriver Road, but we were stuck on Red Wolf Bridge for at least 20 minutes while a crew worked at the intersection. They finished the job and left, and then the traffic moved. Now, why did they do that little job at a peak traffic time?

The trip up the river went well despite the six-mile stretch of construction between Peck and Orofino (one-lane road). However, I lucked out and made it through without having to stop. At Orofino I messaged Mike to let him know about the delays. Gilbert Grade is rough, but I met the grader on a narrow curve as he was coming down. Whew! We managed to pass each other.

Since the last time we were here, the contractor has visited to caulk the shower and hang the closet doors in our bedroom. Our priority was to make that room usable, so we worked together to get it done.

Before noon, I noticed deer in the far field. I counted ten, and likely there were more. And as I stood on the porch taking pictures, a hummingbird buzzed me. I had no idea where the feeder was, but I found it and quickly boiled nectar. Even though we did not feed them last summer, we have quite a lot of hummers, and they are thirsty!

The TV set was stored on the sun porch through the hot summer of 2018. I didn’t think that was a good idea, but I didn’t like the suggested alternatives either. The fact that it came on when we set it up was a relief, but the screen announced that we had no signal. Not knowing how to solve that problem at the moment, we moved on. Mike was less philosophical when he couldn’t get his computer going. I had no problem logging onto wifi with my laptop.

We also took time to have some fun. Mike hung a chair swing he found at Grocery Outlet. I opened a box of new dishes and ran them through the dishwasher.

Hallie and grand-dog Primo arrived about 4:00. We all took a turn around the pond, and then Hallie did some preliminary work on the kitchen cupboards, insisting that after hours of driving from Seattle, she needed to move around.

As suppertime approached, I turned on the oven to warm my pre-made lasagna. I had checked the oven earlier, but I guess my investigation didn’t go deep enough. As it pre-heated, the stench was horrible! We had no choice but to turn it off and let it cool so that Mike could clean under the bottom panel. We saw signs of mice, but not an actual body, though we are convinced of their presence.

So, after a late supper, I showed Hallie the problem with the TV set. As she and Mike played with the remote, the system leapt to life. They don’t know  what they did. One problem solved! KW

FARM -- FIRST TRIP OF THE SEASON

Mike bought a used Bowflex machine a couple of months ago, and he has been anxious to get it out of our garage and into its new location in his “barn gym” at the farm. Since Hallie is visiting for a few days, we decided to make a trip to the farm and take the Bowflex along. We had other things to take as well and a list of things to get and “first of the season” activities to perform.

Crown Imperials, daffodils, iris

Mike managed to load the Bowflex into the back of the old pick-up, and the three of us and two dogs loaded into the expanded cab. Nellie climbed onto Hallie’s lap and Bess crowded in. Hallie was ready to be at the farm by the time we got there.

Well, we never know what the first trip will bring. We found a mouse in every trap and plenty of fresh horse manure in the yard. We turned the water on without incident.

Then it was time to move the Bowflex to the barn. Mike anticipated no problems since the pick-up has 4-wheel drive, but it quickly became stuck in mud as he backed across the lower end of the yard – and it wouldn’t shift into 4-wheel drive. He was just beginning to deal with this unexpected turn of events when the horses – all five of them – showed up.

Bess was the first to spy them. “Arrrooooo! Bark-bark-bark-bark-bark!” As if caught red handed, the horses lined up and stared at us. I was a little alarmed when they began to prance toward me, but that was just a ruse so that they could turn and move to the other side of the pond. They were definitely agitated, though, as if we were invading THEIR territory. Finally, they galloped off toward the canyon with Hallie and the dogs running after them. 

Meanwhile, Mike’s concern was for freeing the pick-up. Long story short, he carried shovelfuls of gravel from the drive and put it under the back wheels. Then, he carried his weights from the barn gym and put those over the axle. Eventually we were able to free the pick-up from the mud, but I reckon it took an hour and a half. We later learned through online research that apparently this vehicle needs to be moving in order for it to slip into 4-wheel drive.

Relieved to see that we were going to go home after all, we certainly didn’t want to tempt fate by trying to drive to the barn again, so we balanced the Bowflex frame in the wheelbarrow and managed to get it to the “gym.” 

Never a dull moment. KW

SAY, SINCE YOU'RE HERE, WOULD YOU MIND HELPING ME . . .

I have a theory that retired people lose a sense of what a day’s work looks like. Mike does way too much. I, on the other hand, struggle to find a schedule. 

We came to the farm Tuesday morning, and in the three days we have been here, Mike has cleaned out the shed, serviced the riding mower, mowed the lawn, washed windows, patched flicker holes in the house, removed the dilapidated bridge from the pond, sprayed weeds, checked trees. I’ve been moving at a slower pace with the housework. And when Mike needs a helper, I assist. I helped him re-install the pump into the windmill, but it’s more than the two of us can do to lift it. Let’s see – who can we get to help us?

Wednesday the estimator from a siding company in Lewiston drove out to give us an estimate on facing the old wood with metal. So, as he was preparing to leave, Mike casually asked him if he would mind helping lift the windmill. “Glad to,” he said -- this from a guy who had told us the company no longer allows him to climb ladders due to his physical condition. No problem, though. With me pulling a rope and the two of them pushing, we had that windmill upright and operational in no time.

 

Operational did I say? As the wind began to blow a little harder, Mike realized the windmill still has a problem. “I’ve got to take it back down before it tears itself up!” Mike said. No problem, though. The next person to arrive was a tech from Clearwater Power, a super-friendly guy who came to fix our Wild Blue dish so that we might have internet service. At least he thought that was why he had come. He quickly assessed the internet problem, changed out a part on our dish and then readily agreed to help Mike tilt the windmill back to its garbage can support before he left. 

Today dawned bright and lovely. I hung the feeders and the hummingbirds began to visit. I prepared the raised bed garden with compost and Mike tilled it with my mother’s old electric tiller. Then I planted peas, radishes, and spinach while the old nursery rhyme, “Oats, peas, beans, and barley grow” played through my head. I hope it’s not too late to have planted the cool-weather produce. Mike says not a chance. Oh, and I also threw in some zucchini and yellow squash seeds just to see what happens. KW

MERRY CHRISTMAS! – IT’S ALWAYS SOMETHING . . .

Mike and I loaded the Dakota, including Nellie, at the town house, stopped to exchange holiday greetings with neighbors, and headed out to the farm. Arriving unsuspectingly at the farm yard about 10:30 a.m. with visions of a happy Christmas dancing in our heads, we were moving from the Dakota to the house when I heard it – the sound of water gushing at the barn. OH NO!!!! The frost-free spigot at the barn had burst and was pouring the Clearwater River onto the ground as fast as it could. Mental chaos ensued as we tried to think our way through the problem. Turning the water off at the pressure tank was useless. We had to turn off the well at the power box on the utility pole before the gushing stopped, but now we had no water in the house either. "Don't unload the pick-up," advised Mike, "because if we can't solve this problem, we won't be staying."

"Ina did," I wanted to retort, but I knew in my heart he was right. Our outside facilities are now defunct. I can't help but think of Hallie and Nick, who are coming to play. They will be disappointed if they can't have a Christmas celebration at the farm.

Here it is Friday – and Christmas Eve, too. Our attempt to leave a message for a plumber in Orofino was questionably effective, though hours later the call was returned. Mike had many questions before he could get started with the necessary work. "How about Mike Lorenz," I asked. Lorenz was the general contractor when we remodeled the house. Within minutes Mike was talking with Mike, who offered to call a sub-contractor for info and call us back. His response was immediate and helpful, and Mike set to work to dig out the spigot and see if he could cap it. Not fun in 34-degree temperature. Not ever fun anyway. The hole kept filling with water.

Once Mike determined the kind of cap he needed, we wondered where he would get it. I called Builder's Supply in Orofino at 12:35. "We closed at noon," said the voice on the other end of the line. "What can I do for you?" Interesting phraseology: "I'm closed – what can I do for you?" I let Mike explain, and the man at Builder's Supply agreed to wait the half hour it would take for Mike to get to the store. After downing a cup of warm soup he was off for town. The owner had waited for him as agreed. On the way back to the farm, Mike stopped at our neighbor's – a mechanic with most every old tool – and borrowed a pipe wrench which ultimately he didn't use.

By 2:15 the pipe was capped and Mike was unloading the pick-up. "But," I said, breaking the news as gently as possible, "we have no internet."

Now -- I insisted Mike call Clearwater Power on Wednesday to re-up our Wild Blue satellite internet. "Please re-instate it now," I said, "because knowing Clearwater Power, they won't man the office on Thursday since they never work Friday." So Mike put in the request and was assured service had been restored. However, a screen on my laptop was telling me "service has been suspended" with a phone number.

Since we now knew we'd be staying the weekend I called the Wild Blue number on my screen and was advised that my only course of action was to call my contact, Clearwater Power. "But they aren't there," I said. "You mean I have to wait until Monday for service?" Yes. "This is unacceptable," I screeched into my cell phone. "Here I am in a remote locale on Christmas without my connection to my friends." "Sorry," said Ray the Tech. "And Merry Christmas."

So – Mike called the president of Clearwater Power at home and was advised to call the emergency number and ask for Jeremy. Mike made that call, but there was resistance on their end to contacting said Jeremy. "This is what the president of your company said I should do," said Mike firmly. "Please let Jeremy know about this matter and have him call me." There was no follow-up call from Jeremy, and we still had no internet. So Mike called Clearwater Power again and told the service operator that he wanted a call from Jeremy. Subsequently Jeremy did call and said that one in twenty re-ups will fail – hang up in the Wild Blue system -- and such was the case with our request. The situation had been corrected, he said, and now we should re-boot our system. When we did, we had service.

"I need a good hard work-out," said Mike -- off to ride his wind trainer.

It's a Christmas Eve to remember for us, but then aren't they all? Merry Christmas to you all. Love, Kathy
[The first two photos illustrate the blog. The last is a late evening picture of the sun's reflection.]