July 2025 Island Trip – Day 4

The east field took about an hour to complete this morning. I’m glad to have gotten to it before the day warmed up, and while there was a breeze about. You can tell where the leach field for the septic is. The grass over it was 18” long and dark green. It’s the best looking chunk of meadow grass on the whole property! I parked the mower in between the barns and degrassed it. Maybe 8-10 gallons worth caught up in the spindles, and on top of the deck. Then I left it there for a number of hours to let that breeze help me out, and it worked!

Next up was to put the electric fencing back up around the plum tree. I confess to being intimidated by this. Two years ago my AN coached me through it. The install was elegant. Today I consulted my book on the subject, looked at photos for the 8th time and dove in. It’s not as pretty, but it’s charged, and will deter the raccoons.

The sprayer is cleaned up and put away. There was some BT left in it from our last trip. It’s evident that tent caterpillars are no longer a threat. I mapped each side of Stella for the guy whose’s going to build her shelter. Now I have to make my notes translatable to others 😏. Mainly this exercise is to help figure out where to place upright timbers while maintaining the views.

We’ve been dealing with tenant shenanigans at my DH’s mom’s place… So, dear reader, if you rented a place and a burner on the gas stovetop didn’t operate, how long would you wait to tell the landlord?? Oh, you’d tell the landlord right away! That’s what I expected you’d say. These folks took occupancy in March and only just told us 🙄. Yes, bad on us for not checking that all the burners worked!! MIL never mentioned it, but she hadn’t been cooking for sometime, and it didn’t hit my radar to check the stove. I own that. However the tenants getting bids to run circuits for a new (induction) stovetop from a panel that does have room, then getting a bid for a panel redo (what electrician isn’t going to jump on that idea??), and try to tell us all the reasons the house needs a new panel TRIES MY FUCKING PATIENCE! This electrician told them they’d have more power with a new panel! You can’t have more power than your utility delivers to the house. A new panel can’t solve that for you, And in one breath the tenant tells me they aren’t gadget people and so don’t need power for that, but the house barely provides their power needs. Yeah? BULLSHIT! These are folks in their 70’s behaving like entitled, and highly illogical, no-nothings. I will step away now. Thank you for listening to my rant…

A new soaker hose is draped across the top of Stella’s slope. And water deployed for 20-minutes. I’ll do the same tomorrow morning. The old hose succumbed to hard well water. The fire pit is put back together after being moved for mowing, Tim’s rug is put away. The doe continues to hang out under the lower barn overhang. I’m starting to wonder if it’s the spirit of my dad. She’s getting used to me… Let’s me get closer and doesn’t gallop off too far, but trots off to the fir, 30’ away.

Time for some stew. Always better the second day.