Water Leak

I've been home a matter of hours and already my plan of attack has been modified to accommodate The Old Goat. There is a leak in the water line from the pump. Nothing can be more important to Dad than to fix it. Tomorrow, I will dig up the water line, find the leak, fix it, and settle him down. About the only method of calming the waters is to comply. (I usually dismiss my Dad's bull-headed ways by rationalizing that it is his age. Sometimes, though, I think it springs from his deprivation. For instance, he focuses on food, as if there won't be any when he is hungry. I ascribe that to my bootlegger grandfather and his lousy ideas about children -- they make good field hands. Many years ago, I picked up a copy of "Let Us Know Praise Famous Men." I thought I was reading the story of my Dad's childhood in share-cropping Depression-era Alabama. It stunned me at the time and greatly expanded my tolerance of his strident ways.)
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I know with ever fiber in me that I need to get my own place as soon as possible.
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The county is sending one of it's minions to meet me tomorrow at my land to figure out how big of a culvert and the associated supplies will be needed to bridge the ditch along the dirt road. This step is important since it is the key to building a driveway. Hard to park the Airstream on the land if you can't get there.
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And, I had forgotten how quickly things grow in Alabama. Before I can do much of anything on the property, I have to bush-hog it. That means that while Wednesday is all about water lines, Thursday will be about the tractor and grass cutting.
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Tinker scored me a couple of river birch trees and a redbud. Like to get them in before the heat of the summer hits. It is too late to do much good with a garden but I do intend to begin building the soil for next year's effort. I had such good luck with the raised beds in Joplin that I think I will replicate the method here, just on a slightly larger scale.
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All of the stuff I shipped from Iraq has arrived. Last box came today. When I pick up the Airstream, I will see how my worldly possessions fit into it. Material possession, as with work and time, expand to fit the space available. When there is an overflow, it is officially "too much." I am still lacking some basics: cookware, dishes, sheets, pillows, that sort of thing. I was thinking that a shopping trip to Bed, Bath, and Beyond might be in order. I would take The Old Goat with me but he would bitch about the price of every item -- "you can get that cheaper at the flea market..." Yeah, well, that is fine. Just that I don't prefer to eat off plates that were used as dog bowls. He means well.
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Watched with delight today as a warbler or maybe a wren gave himself a bath in a rivulet formed by a heavy spring shower. I scrambled for my bird book but gave up the hunt when I realized that I was missing the show. The little guy must have a date tonight. He was amusingly thorough.