Rise’n’shine came early (by our standards) this morning. It wasn’t that we rolled out of bed sooner than usual, but the three of us — Deb, Smudge and I — were in the Silverado and wheeling toward The Mountain well ahead of when we customarily leave.
We had an appointment to keep.
Arriving at the homesite before our contractor did, we piled out and gave our happy Heeler a workout. She had her first match with a soft flying disc (think floppy Frisbee), and she took to it right away. Then we all relaxed in the cool morning air, tailgate-sittin’ ’til our guy’s big Ford rumbled up the road.
In leisurely fashion, with a little negotiating and lots of easy conversation in the mix, we laid out the final boundary of the footer, accounting for an “over-dig” of three feet. He placed a couple of calls — one to the heavy-equipment operator who’ll do the diggin’ and rock-bustin’, the other to the outfit who rents the rock hammer.
The second call he put on speaker so we could hear exactly how much it’ll cost. And the equipment will be run by a guy who works only on weekends, saving us significant money. Together, it demonstrated that he’s listening to us and is attuned to our limited budget.
From here, the plan is to pick up the rock hammer tomorrow. The work — which includes burning some of the trees and brush left behind by clearing and excavation — will begin Saturday and could be done in a few weeks (weekends).
Weather shouldn’t be an issue. We have our fingers crossed.
We feel good about the direction we’re headed now, reminding us again that we chose the right people.
The goal of the dash back to Harrison was to beat nasty weather barreling toward us from the west and south. We didn’t quite make it, running into downpours about halfway here. Deb launched an altimeter app, as a sort of travel game, to see where our familiar route tops out.
That was 1,265 feet AMSL, by the way, just inside Boone County. Hey, it helped pass the time.
Now, with a very constructive day in the books, we’re settling in for a bumpy, soggy night. The biggest threat to us, according to rapidly changing forecasts, is rain — as much as five inches is predicted to fall between midnight tonight and noon tomorrow.
We’ll know by morning.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath #Ungovernable
#LetsGoBrandon #FJB
