Boys and Their Toys

First and foremost--the gutters are up! Love of my life purchased the wrong brackets the second time around..... and I held out no hope for installation. Bob, the undertaker, to the rescue. He managed to purchase the correct ones and bring them with him yesterday.

Drew has managed to ingratiate himself to people who either own or have access to heavy equipment. He borrowed an excavator this past week and trenched the ditches for the water lines for the new sites. As long as he had it here he decided to dig all the cattails out of the pond. We have a family of muskrats tunneling holes in the pond causing some drainage problems. He scooped out the cattails and big buckets of mud. Deposited all this on the side of the pond. Picture in your mind a once pretty little pond with piles of mucky clay with weeds in it all round the once pretty little pond. I didn't say a word, just stood there looking. He assured me it wasn't going to stay like that.......same man who bought gutters and painted them with cheap spray paint. He is making this promise even as those gutters are still laying on the front porch welcoming any one coming in for a stay.


The excavator has gone back and now there is a bobcat here. He has hauled some of this sticky mud down from the pond and "filled in" a low spot on the lawn by the residence side of the building. It is lovely, just lovely. Let me explain that I mow this with a push mower because I have flower gardens and fruit trees to protect. I take a lot of pride in the appearance of my personal space as well as the grounds. So to say I am annoyed is an understatement.


Back to the bobcat. I ventured out this morning to work in my vegetable garden. I looked towards the disgraced pond to see that Drew had apparently managed to get the bobcat stuck in the mud. There was Bob, the undertaker, with the body transport truck pulling him out with some chains. Fascinated, I had to walk down to get a closer look to see the mighty duo in action. As I approached, Bob, the undertaker, was disengaging the pulling chains, then got into the truck and his tires were spinning as he tried to back away from the pond; finally they caught and I could see that he was going to hit the flowering pear tree that I had lovingly planted myself. He saw me and tried to avoid it but he hit it. Oh, how he wishes I would stay inside! He tries to avoid eye contact with me; then tells me that when he told Drew he might hit the tree, he shrugged and waved him on. I believe Bob, the undertaker, because I know Drew. Drew alone is bad enough, but with a sidekick, it's frightening. I later found out that before I happened upon them that Bob's truck got stuck on his first attempt to rescue the bobcat and Drew had to get his truck to pull out Bob's truck. I always think of those big toys in the sand at playgrounds that move the sand around when these two get together. I have to admit it is entertaining, if unsightly.


After the bobcat rescue and lunch, Drew bit the bullet and set up the ladder for the great gutter installation. The now scratched white, painted black, gutters are attached to the eaves along the front of the building. No downspout yet. I want a rain barrel, too. These things take time, I know. I am thankful that I at least have the gutters because the forecast for next week is very wet and cold. And deep down I know it would too much to ask that he finish one project before moving on to the next. And so it with a thankful heart that I go to bed. I have gutters.