28 February …

 

The year is revolving.  Soon it will be Spring.  Already it is light enough in the morning for the family to leave for work and school without flashlights or porch lights.

Evenings are staying light until almost 1800.

Temperatures, however, are a different story.  It is still staying in the high 20s and very low 30s.  We’ve been having snow showers almost daily … showers until sunday night.  We woke up monday to between four and six inches of new, fluffy snow (Photoshop not working … pictures next week).

~~~

Yesterday I had an appointment to have my eye measured for the surgery.  Surgery will be the end of March.

~~~

We had a breakdown in the water system one day last week.  Pressure in the tank out in the pump house dropped to zero.  Kamille was trying to do laundry and I had dishes to do.

For a bit, everything was either not working or working incorrectly.  Poor Mark …

Then we began listing … and the list started with “where all does the water go?”  Barn … chicken house … main house.  Ah ha !!!

Turned out one of the pipes at the chicken house had sprung a leak.  Quick fix.  Back in business.

Another crisis solved at Cold Comfort Farm.

But that was followed by the MAJOR crisis of winter 2017-18.

In the past, the New Year’s Crisis has occurred on the first of January (Welcome to the New Year).  The one I remember most vividly is when the well pump went out.  George and I had to haul 120 feet of pipe up out of the well, take off the old pump, put on the new pump, and reset the pipe and get it working … all while it was snowing.  Can’t remember the year, but it was not more than 10 years ago.  We have a replacement available.  I just hope the next time it goes (the old one had been in place about 30 years), it goes in better weather.

But back to this year’s crisis.

Last week we had a situation when the water to the hot water heater (a flash heater) had frozen and then thawed with no problem.  Yesterday was a different situation.  Something in there broke and I got home from the eye doc appointment to about half an inch of water on the floor in the kitchen/clothes washer area.

We got it cleaned up (the ShopVac George had bought cleaned up water … thanks George) and the drip was rerouted out of the house by dinnertime.

Mark and Kamille went to town right away and came home with a new water heater.  It was in place by bedtime.

This morning Mark is on his way to a plumbing supply store in Medford to get the parts he needs to get the house’s hot water supply working.

He will also be getting the parts he needs to repair the tractor with the snow plow so he will be ready to open the drive and the road between our drive and next road down.  We are expecting snow Snow SNOW tonight and for the next three days.

Taking care of Cold Comfort Farm can be a fulltime job in the winter.

~~~

While going through another set of shelves in the process of sorting and clearing, I found a book I don’t remember seeing before.  “Labyrinth” by a Brit, published in 2005.

It is a story about an archaeologist and is set in the  current time and at the time of the Crusade against the Cathars.

I’ve been interested in the Languedoc for some time, so I’m enjoying the reading.

About halfway through the book, I discovered underlining (which is something I do in my own books).  Seems I’ve read this book before and it was time for me to reread it for the information/wisdom it contains. 

~~~

I am still trying to learn my place in the new “family”.  Nothing is settled. 

Onward …

~~~

Finally …

All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.

 So … ‘til next week …