50 Degrees in the Evening

Gosh . . . hi!

I have a good excuse for not catching up on the weekend's activities sooner: we've been out of power all day! A large construction truck apparently drove under a power line that they'd "always driven under before with no problems" and pulled down the power lines plus two power poles! The power just came on about an hour ago. It was out a total of 9 hours since about 11:00 this morning. So, there was the usual energy conserving today: not opening the refrig much, not using any water, etc., etc. I must say, though, that I enjoyed having the time to get out to weed two of my long perennial beds that I wouldn't otherwise had time to tend (if the power had been on and I'd been able to use the computer for the mounting deskwork here on my desk)!

Tom and Maisy were gone bright and early Saturday morning to watch some friends compete in a cross-country race on the Superior Hiking Trail. I, meanwhile, was looking forward to a little lie-in! The guineas, however, made sure I didn't get those extra ZZZs. See, the reason I got guinea fowl is because they are supposed to make fantastic "watch-dogs". They squawk when any intruder or stranger (winged, two, or four-footed) approaches. But, here's the kicker, they also squawk when the wind blows, when the grass moves, or when there are clouds in the sky. All the books say that they call out a charming, "Buck-wheat, buck-wheat!" The truth is that they sit underneath your bedroom window and go, "Aaa-AAAAAH, Aaa-AAAAAH, Aaa-AAAAAH" all . . . day . . . long. Now, mind you, Tom has complained many times about these critters, but they'd never bothered me THAT much. Until Saturday morning.

I JUMPED out of bed, threw on the dirty clothes that were on the floor, shoved my bare feet into boots, and stormed out of the house with only one thing in mind: GUINEA RELOCATION! And, that's exactly what I did: I caught two of the remaining three guineas (two had already been butchered and eaten this spring), put them in sacks, and drove up to the property . . . without having done so much as combed my bed-head or brushed my teeth. The third guinea provided too evasive, and I was concerned about the breathability of the sacks, so I didn't dawdle once I had the first two caught (including the feisty male).

And, let me tell you, they are LUCKY that we were having friends over for dinner that night and I didn't have time to butcher!

So, I released them into the wilds of Swamp River Ridge. I figure it's the best time of the year for them to have a good go of it: lots of seeds and greens shooting up, lots of pools of water here and there. Tom was able to catch the third one that afternoon and bring her, as well, to the new guinea heaven. At least up there, with our 40 acres completely surrounded by state and federal land, we won't have to worry about bothering anyone with their noise!

Sunday started bright and early by taking possession of the very first item for the new house which we now, actually and physically, have in our hot little hands! Our dear neighbors offered to sell us their combi-fire kitchen stove which uses both wood and LP gas for fuel. I was raised on one of these stoves, so I am THRILLED to have it! It took four large men to move the thing (it's built like a brick you-know-what) amid the raindrops, but we got the job done, and it's now safely stowed in the boat house until we have a house to move it into!

Next on the roster was a trip into town to meet with the electrician friend who's both setting up our solar system and doing the wiring in the house and garage. He wanted us to check out a system he installed just west of town that is nearly identical to what our set-up will be. It turned out to be a fortuitous visit because the carpenter who was building the house was there, and he is an old friend of mine. He gave us a tour of the house, and his work is AMAZING. Matter of fact, one of the homes he built was just featured on the Travel Channel! And, ever-so-lucky for us, even though he's booked out 3 1/2 years (!), a client just backed out of a project this summer, so he has some free time! Read between the lines, and what I'm saying is that he will, we hope, be able to do our garage! So, I'll get the plans to him this week, and we'll wait on the bid. But, we're hopeful. What is it they say about when one door closes, a window opens? Well, that and running into old friends!

Tom had to take a quick drive to a friend's house this morning and he came back wishing that he'd had a camera. In the road was a deer, just placidly standing and looking back at him, with bright yellow dandelions sticking out BOTH sides of its mouth! Tom said it was SUCH a Kodak moment!

Well, time to do nighttime chores. That's the news from here!