There’s a certain inescapable joy in an everyday Life that truly doesn’t resemble what came before, in sights and sounds and encounters once thought unusual, even unimaginable, now routine. The closest I’d come to this was splitting time between a rustic home and the corporate world, and that was 40 years ago.
“Country” isn’t a locale. You can’t buy it, no matter how homespun the store. It’s not a decorating style, nor do its roots trace to a musical genre. It’s a way of things, and it’s People who make their way.
Playing cat-and-mouse with the wind yesterday morning, I collected our combustibles and filled the burn barrel. I waited for a lull, ignited crumpled paper at the bottom of the stack and stepped back. The breeze cooperated, for the most part.
At one point a puff pushed a fist-sized clump of embers out of the access port at the base of the barrel and onto the ground. Though there was no real danger of it spreading, I doused it with water from the sprayer I always have nearby while I’m burning.
After I was sure that the barrel had burned down sufficiently, I joined Deb up-top and sat in the shade with her awhile. Her cousin came by on his tractor, returning from clearing runoff chutes he’d carved out along our road. With sustained heavy rain in the weekend forecast, he wanted to reduce the chance of washouts. We’re grateful.
The rest of our Friday was quiet and unremarkable. Naps happened. Then, and it must’ve been 5:30pm or so, I got a wild hair and decided to give the Ranger a bath.
Having actual running water made that possible, and it was long overdue. I may view this buggy as a tool, but I’d grown tired of the grime covering it inside and out. I’ll be delving into periodic maintenance soon, too, and a clean vehicle is easier to work on than a dirty one is.
It took about an hour. I’m pleased to say that the Ranger looks better than it has since we made it ours, and that pleases me. It’s the simple things.
Autumn, known for bright colors, is a gray season. Flat and dreary skies are the backdrop most days. Overnight and this morning we started getting rain, along with fog and the accompanying gloom.
Chilly, too. That’s okay. I find peace in it.
We’re about to enter a four- or five-day cold snap. Overnight lows will be in the 20s, and we’re still without a working furnace in the RV. Our mobile tech made it out here this morning, took a look and diagnosed the problem as a bad igniter.
He’ll have to order the part, which sets us back until late next week before we’ll have (LP-fueled) heat. We’ll get by with a couple of (electric) space heaters between now and then. And yes, of course, we’ll be fine.
I let the just-washed Ranger air-dry some in the shed overnight, then loaded it back up this morning — first aid kit, bug repellent, brush-clearing tools, and stuff to get us unstuck if we’re stupid, along with other equipment and supplies. Taken together it doesn’t require much room, and it’s always better to have the basics on-board.
With that out of the way and the RV tech gone, Deb and I saddled up and headed for Mountain Home. The objective was to gather what we’d need to deal with another system threatened by sub-freezing temperatures — namely, our water supply.
We’ll have to address that both at the well head and at the hydrant. To take care of business inside the pump enclosure, we picked up pipe insulation, a clamp-light fixture and a 250W heat-lamp bulb. For the hydrant, we chose plug-in heat tape, more pipe insulation and a five-gallon bucket to serve as a “hat.”
The hose running to the RV presents its own challenge. Certainly we’ll use the heated fresh-water hose that’s worked for us the last two winters, but it’s not long enough to span the entire distance (and I think it’s too large for the channel of our “speed bump”).
We’ll figure it out. I’m sure that at some point this winter we’ll have to disconnect from the hydrant, drain the hose and draw from the fresh-water tank until severe conditions pass.
It’s all part of the deal. Life is good.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath #Ungovernable
#LetsGoBrandon #FJB