Last Trip to Jane’s

Jane’s house sold in the blink of an eye, and closes in 10-days. While my eldest and I got an amazing amount of work done in January, there was still a whole lot of stuff left on the property. The wise real estate broker added a clause to the contract stating that the new owners would accept anything left behind. Why the new owners don’t want an almost new riding lawnmower on over 2-acres is a mystery to me. My daughter asked me if I would like it for the Island property. Um, yes please! I have four dead mowers there, a nice weed whacker, and a kind neighbor.

I stopped by the real estate broker’s office and picked up a set of keys for the property. Once there, the first order of business was to see if I could get the mower going. After reading the onboard directions, and identifying the mentioned parts (not the same as a car) I gingerly turned the ignition. Nothing. Another scan of the new-to-me controls revealed the blade was engaged. Disengage and try again: Whomp, whomp, whomp, whomp… With each try, the Whomps were less robust. The auto parts store had the battery I needed and from there I picked up the trailer.

When I got back Marshal was there. Marshal was arranged by the real estate broker, who was appalled that I was going to load a remaining dresser on my own. He turned out to be 100% correct. It took the two of us to get it safely in the truck. Marshal also replaced the battery in the mower, and helped me get it tied down in the trailer.

I spent the next couple of hours gathering the few remaining items we were salvaging from the house: a walnut side table, the remaining chair for the dining set, and four paintings. I also went through the car, garage, greenhouse, and barn. While there are so many things, had I time or space, I would have salvaged, I ended up taking some fine-tipped Micron pens, one long-handled garden tool lacking from my arsenal, two boxes of cat litter, a package of crop cover (a non-woven light-weight poly material), a box of lovely sea shells, and a few other items. What I left behind was hard for reasons I’m still working on: gallon jars of bird seed, sweet terra cotta pots, a collection of drawing supplies in the barn, a pair of loppers (I have 2) and the like. The things that spoke to who Jane and her husband were, and exemplify how her life just kinda stopped. And not when she went into skilled nursing, but years ago. It was profoundly sad to be there.

I was going to spend the night at Jane’s before taking off for the Island, but I just couldn’t do it. I was loaded and tied down by 6:45, and took off for my next ferry. I’m writing from the breakfast room at the hotel I stayed at on the next island on my way to The Island.