Zechariah 4:6

The . . . ah . . . stuff has been spread on the garden.  The end fences and posts have been removed.  The garden is ready for winter.  Since I captured this image the workmen have finished work on Meghan’s barn.  It’s in the upper center of this scene.  That’s where the stuff came from–or more correctly–from the animals that inhabit that barn.

Shiny red steel siding now covers the west end of that barn and that large black hole is covered by a shiny red sliding door.  I heard the whole story last evening from Meghan and her husband, Kurt.

Yesterday afternoon, I had some friend over to watch the NASCAR race from Texas.  We had a good time watching an exciting race.  Afterward, I drove to the pizza and sandwich shop in the nearby village.  As I walked in I noticed a couple sitting in a booth.  After a few steps, I realized it was Meghan and Kurt.  They are great folks!  I ordered a sandwich to go, and returned to their booth.  They invited me to sit down and join them.  I did.

As I had placed my order, I told the gal, “I didn’t expect to meet my favorite neighbors here tonight.”  Once I sat down, Kurt said, “you only said that to the waitress because Meghan gives you s**t.”  I confessed that he was right, and that it worked very well on my garden.  We all had a good laugh.  Then we caught up on our recent projects and activities.  There was much talk of gardens and plants.  It was a very pleasant visit and ended way too soon.

You can find a series of posts about Meghan’s barn and the changes it is undergoing on her blog.  Stop by, check it out, leave a comment, and tell her that Chuck sent you.  Thanks.

Yesterday was a busy day for me.  The morning was quiet as I surfed the blogosphere and handled e-mail traffic.  A pot of Guatemalan coffee helped tremendously.  At least, it seemed to help.

Sylvia and I met our son for lunch in Grand Rapids.  We always look forward to those days and getting caught up on family news.

After we returned home, I donned my grubby jeans, an old sweat shirt and a work jacket then headed to the barn.  I had work to do on the generator.  For eight years whenever we lose commercial power, the generator in the barn automatically starts and cuts in.  When commercial is restored, the system switches back to it and the generator shuts down.  At least that the way it is supposed to work.

Recently, we had a power outage, which lasted about five hours.  The generator failed to function.  That was one long day.  One very long day.  On the plus side, it happened during the day, the weather was mild and Sylvia and I caught up on some reading. 🙂

The automotive battery that cranks the engine had failed.  Step one was to remove the now-dead battery.  Step two was to inspect the machine for any other parts I might need.  That done, step three was to start draining the oil from the engine.  It was time for the annual oil change.  Then Sylvia drove me into the village, and while she ran an errand, I purchased battery, oil and filter.  She arrived back at the auto parts supply emporium as I was leaving.  Perfect timing.

After returning home, I completed the oil change and started to install the new battery.  I checked the voltage before making the final connection.  It was a bit low.  I put the charger on the battery and went into the house seeking some rest for my then aching back.

After a bit of rest, it was clear that supper wouldn’t be ready for a while.  Great!  The battery had had time to charge to full level and I had time to complete the connections and wrap up the job.  I slipped the camera in my pocket and headed back to work.  Here’s what I saw as I approached the barn door.

That was interesting so I turned, and took a shot toward the setting sun.

We had enjoyed seeing blue in the sky all day long.  This week had passed for us beneath a lead-gray sky.

I stepped back in and completed the work on the generator.  This took a while, but everything worked perfectly and I took this shot just before closing the top cover.

It’s a big boy and powers our whole house.  Now that we are ready, it will probably be quite some time before there is another power outage.  And that’s okay with me.

As I returned to the house, the scene outside had changed.  The light was beginning to fail.

The smell of supper filled the house when I stepped inside.  There was time to scrub myself before we sat down to a wonderful evening meal.

It was a good day.  Sylvia had observed on our return from the village, “Living in the country like we do, it sure is good to have a reliable generator for power backup.”  I couldn’t agree more.

What a surprise this morning to wake to little or no wind, no rain and blue showing in the heavens above.  I’m tired of the wind and rain.

Even the house feels warmer on the inside.  It is so much nicer than what we have been experiencing this week.

Friends and family on the east coast are dealing with the aftermath (afterwrath?) of Sandy.  They all seem to be handling things well.

Facebook has made it easier to keep up with them.  All too often, I’d just like to forget about Facebook and then I see a post from someone special.  Is this what they call a love/hate relationship?  I’d really like to know. :thinker:

Posting in cooperation with:

The last two hours of sleep last night, I spent in the recliner with the heating pad on my back.  The wind chimes were playing a raucous symphony in a heavy wind that was punctuated by heavy gusts.  Rain laid down the beat.  I slept well.

Despite the excellent insulation in this house and the double glazed windows, I felt chilly when I arose to start the day.  The thermostat is set at 68 F, but will later be dialed back to 67 and perhaps 66 F as our bodies adapt to cooler conditions.  We’ll be comfortable in jeans and sweatshirts with a few layers underneath.  (There’s no desire on our part to use more LP than necessary.)

As I write this I’m sitting in the office, which is located on the protected side of the house.  The blinds have been lowered and closed.  It’s amazing how much lower the heat loss is this time of year with blinds closed.  In the summer it lowers the heat gain.  The price is subdued natural light.  Here in the office, an LED bulb adds light to my work space.

The announcer on a radio out of Grand Rapids summed it up precisely.  After the 8 AM news summary he started the next segment with, “Today, the forecast is for yucky weather.”  This time, he nailed it.  Give him an A+.

I need to refill my coffee cup.  It’s a great day for enjoying a steaming cup of joe.

With hurricane Sandy about 700 miles east of here about to make landfall, I was curious if this monster storm would impact west Michigan.  An online check revealed this picture:

Sandy sets sights on east coast  (We live near the red dot.)

A look out the windows here in the office confirmed the satellite picture.  I took camera in hand, donned my winter coat and went outside.

That’s the sun over the barn

While I was looking ESE, the sky was completely cloud covered.  This is not unusual for winter skies in Michigan.  Yes, I know that it is still autumn.  But it is beginning to feel like winter.  At times like these I remember living where palm trees grow.  It was very nice.  Or at least my memory tries to convince me of that.

I turned right and walked about 30 feet.  I was looking down the driveway.  And there was the beautiful blue peeking in under the edge of the monster cloud cover.

That looks better, doesn’t it?

The big question now is, will the outside temperature reach 40 F before noon?  Forecast says it should reach 47 F this afternoon, but that may be optimistic.

Yesterday, I was vegging in front of the TV–just as I said I would.  (Sylvia was at a women’s meeting at church.)  While I was checking my eyelids for leaks, I was interrupted.  Huh!?  It was the doorbell.  Who could it be?  I’m not expecting anyone, am I?  I went to the door and found Doug.  He was making a delivery.

While I carried a couple of his tools, he brought this into the house:

Oak shelf unit built by Doug McPherson

Some time ago, we had to replace the control unit in our shower.  This required cutting an access hole in the wall behind the shower stall.  We put the chunk of drywall back in the hole when the plumbing project was finished.  It wasn’t pretty.

We decided that a small shelf unit would cover the hole and provide a little more storage space in the bathroom area.  A friend suggested slide-out shelves so that mounting screws could be placed behind.  Great idea!  When I asked Doug if he could build something for us, he agreed that he could.

Shelves slide out to reveal mounting screws

The workmanship is first class!  The shelves and the lip on the front are a single piece.  They won’t come apart.  And isn’t that beautiful oak?  Doesn’t it look great?

It didn’t take long for us to mount the unit to wall studs on either side of the hole.  Doug was on his way home from work, and soon left.  I returned to my eyelid-checking project in front of the TV.

Later, Sylvia returned from her meeting.  As she walked in, she greeted me with, “What’s that piece of drywall doing on the dryer?”

I replied, “You’d better investigate.”

She did, and the next thing I heard was, “Oh WOW!  That is so much nicer than I expected.”

What a pity that Doug wasn’t there to witness that scene.  She is thrilled with the unit.  We both are thrilled.

You can see more of Doug’s creations at his website.  Why not take a bit of time and check it out?

Yesterday, was a beautiful day.  We celebrated that afternoon by hauling natural fertilizer from the neighbor’s to our garden.  Seven times we filled the front end loader and seven times I dumped it into piles on our garden.

I sure hope that results in a good harvest from the garden again next year.  Otherwise, I’m going to feel worse about these aches and pains that I’m feeling today.  All I’m saying is that I want the results to be worth it.

I didn’t sleep well last night.  Fortunately, Sylvia woke me up in time to get to my dental appointment this morning.  Now, I’m having trouble staying awake.  I think I’ll wrap this up and go take a nap.  See you tomorrow.