Speaking of fences... Today I got myself committed to Monday for the fence guy to come and do some repairs. I'm going to act as if he won't show up. The gate is unlocked, the outer electric is turned off. I'm not leaving the house until he calls and tells me he has set foot on the property. It was so foggy all day today. Difficult driving. Then turned into a misty rain. Not a pleasant day to be outside. Looking across the road at 4 pm.
It is 10:30 am. Still waiting for a phone call from the fencer. If I know him, he may not show up until afternoon, or not at all. No different from most, except he does a good job when he does show up. I think he has trouble rounding up helpers. Tree to be removed from the fence, among other things.
The guys showed up about 2:30 and were finished with the tree clearing and fence repair at this spot in no time. Most of the time was spent getting back there, because there were numerous trees and limbs down in the road that had to be removed. We made the full circle. One of the two younger fellows came to look at the EZGO, and he is going to bring a new fuel filter, etc. They said they would be back tomorrow afternoon to do that, and finish some fence work. I rode with them and sneaked in a few quick video shots. It was a great afternoon.
Out to the farm at 12:30 today. Fencer showed up at 3:30, meanwhile I got the garage cleaned up. The younger fellow fixed the EZGO. I knew he could do it. They took off in it and came back in about an hour, said they had cut the trees off the fence they missed last time. Whatever they did is fine, 'cause I got wheels now, and can fix what they missed. It was too cold today to go along. I keep calling this man "the fencer" because every job he has done for me has had to do with fencing. He is mainly an excavation contractor---bulldozers and heavy equipment, moving dirt around. He asked to see the engineer's plans for the dam drainage system. Said he would be interested in the project, and took the plans with him to study. He said if he took on the project, he would have to widen the road to the dam for a dump truck. The more roads, and the wider they are, the better, imo. We went through this once already, before I had the engineer's plans, and he never got back to me about it, so I'm not getting my hopes up.
Wasn't going to mention this, but I've had an excuse. Just after the first coat of polyurethane on the closet floor, hit little toe on left foot on something, and could not wear both shoes or take big steps, among other things, for at least a month. Every time I went out I had to wear shoes, and that just aggravated it. Just about the time that got over with, hit the right foot on the side on something and... could not wear both shoes or take big steps. That has almost healed now. Walking down to the barn with a bucket of alfalfa pellets has been a challenge.
Update: The fence man called with an estimate already! . It was big.. I accepted. . He claims he is starting tomorrow... to cut a road for a dump truck. I still won't believe it until he shows up, with a bulldozer. It's going to be cold outside, but the sun will be shining. He says he is going to pump the water level down below the base of the old riser pipe with two 3" hoses? I think the water runs in faster than that in the wet season, but I must be wrong. Need to call the neighbor below the dam before he starts that, and warn him. I hate that, because this neighbor will probably make a fuss about something. This has always been my MO: Think of the worst that can happen. Then whatever happens usually looks good by comparison. .
The man showed up at 4pm, unloaded his bulldozer, and said he'd be back in the morning at 9am to start. He said he had to help put a roof on a building, but that job would be out of the way now. It was so cold I was almost glad, but it's not going to get any warmer for a week. It's the wind, not the temp. Raked up a half truckload of pine straw to haul in town while waiting. That's all. Watching TV, and a little mouse came out from under a bookshelf, saw me, turned around and scurried back. That means probably taking everything out of all the drawers and shelves, washing them and everything that was in them, and putting it all back. Another item to add to the to-do list. Back out early tomorrow with warmer clothes. This gets tiring.
The wind didn't die down until about 3:30. They just push the trees over and shove them out of the way. They are moving right along, about half way to the dam when they left today. I couldn't get close enough and still keep out of their way. They are widening the curves on an old road. Supposed to accommodate a dump truck. Called the neighbor to warn him, and he was fine with it. Yay! The old drain pipe is stopped up and covered with water, and we couldn't find it until the wind died down. LOL
Clarifying the previous picture: . That little circle in the water is a vortex---the tornado like swirl that happens in the bathtub when you drain it. It's about 4 inches across. The actual drain pipe is 18" across and well below that. The fencer wanted to wade out in the water and unclog the drain to get a head start on lowering the water level, before bringing out the pumps. We finally talked him out of it. It's possible that 44 year old pipe could be completely deteriorated down below the ground, and the whole area might just collapse and he'd be sucked down in the hole. It's probably the most dangerous place to be on the property out there. He also found a dead beaver in one of the culverts. I saw it. The beaver had already clogged up the culvert. They have to lengthen this culvert for the trucks. I suspect he is going to unstop this one and insert the one laying on the ground into the end of the one that is already there. They thought the little "water fall" (I call it just water trickling over rocks) out there was pretty, so I tried to take a video using the camera zoom for the first time, just for practice. Zoom doesn't work so well ...
Yes! That's a great idea! I wish I had thought of it yesterday. I'll mention it to him first thing Monday. It was right at quitting time yesterday when this came up, and it would have been dark before we could have gotten the boat over there, even if I had thought of it. But they were supposed to go out today just to drop off some supplies. My mom and I unstopped the drain pipe one time with the boat, after a goose made her nest on top of the trash cover. It made a huge vortex probably 18" across. You could hear that thing sucking all the way across the lake for at least an hour. I wish I had a camera phone back then, just to record the sound. Ha!