If it were up to Smudge, we’d see no furry wildlife anywhere close to the homesite. Every encounter is, to her, cause for alarm. Every dog and doe is a threat to her tribe (us, that is), and instantly she goes to DEFCON 1.
And so it was early this morning, when she spied three whitetails, a mama and two fawns, down on the lower level, presumably after they’d sampled the apple-flavored block we put out. Our mighty-mite Redneck Malinois went Cujo and away went the deer, tails-up, into the woods north of the driveway.
We’re seeing a little more deer traffic up by Mountain Two, incidentally, thanks to corn and a block. A few respectable bucks have triggered the camera, as well as at least two spikes.
Today was notable for two things: an annular solar eclipse and a visit from Graceland service. And let’s get The Eclipse Report out of the way first — we didn’t see anything. Cloud cover was so thick that we can’t even say that it got dimmer in Ozarkansas.
It wasn’t a buzz-kill for us. We have our sights set on the total eclipse in April, when The Mountain will have a front-row seat. With any luck we’ll have clearer skies that day.
A young man in an old pickup arrived at the homesite around noon, several panels of green sheet-steel in the bed of the truck. He was here to repair damage done to the roof of our cabin the day it was delivered, along with adjusting the front door so that it closes properly and latches securely.
Good kid. Hard worker. He replaced a total of five panels, plus two lengths of angled trim on one end. Then he began addressing the door, which ended up taking longer than the roof work.
He got it to latch firmly and reliably, which is good. Thing is, it’s still way off in the frame — installation was buggered at the factory when the cabin was built, and no amount of fiddling seemed to help.
We agreed that it probably needs replacing. That’d be another day.
Before he left, I asked him if he’d be breaking Graceland’s rules if he left me the sheet-metal roofing he’d removed. He was glad he wouldn’t have to haul it back to Missouri, and I got six 3×10 green panels, including a new one he brought but didn’t need.
I loaded them into the bed of my Silverado and moved them down to the shed, where they joined two light-brown panels left over from siding that structure. Just how and when we’ll use the material I can’t say — skirting the rear of the cabin, maybe — but I do know that it would’ve been colossally dumb to throw it away. Waste not.
Today, Deb and I marked our 17th wedding anniversary. Between her being laid up with a broken foot and me supervising repairs to the cabin, we had ourselves a quiet day. Still, simply acknowledging the occasion had us looking back at the winding road we’ve traveled.
I maintain that marrying me was a foolish decision on her part, but I wasn’t about to stop her from making me the luckiest man alive.
She rocked my world. She changed my life. She’s the reason for my every breath.
And this year, for the first time, both of us can say that we’ve been together longer than we were with “those other people.” I think that’s worth celebrating.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath #Ungovernable
#LetsGoBrandon #FJB
