This handsome bobcat (Lynx rufus) was photographed with game camera in one of our meadows on January 2, 2016. Friend and Essex neighbor John Davis mounted the camera about a month ago. In addition to photographs of deer, turkeys, and rabbits he discovered four images (from two separate occasions) of this healthy bobcat. In fact, he thinks it might possibly have been two separate bobcats.
“What joy to have such lovely creatures on our lands!” ~ John Davis
It truly is absolutely wonderful. I can’t believe that this sly feline has been slinking around in our back woods/meadows, and yet I’ve never one spied him/her. Not even a footprint. Here’s the sequence of three consecutive photographs as the bobcat walked past the trail camera.
Bobcat photographed on Rosslyn trail cam January 2, 2016.
Bobcat photographed on Rosslyn trail cam January 2, 2016.
Bobcat photographed on Rosslyn trail cam January 2, 2016.
I look forward to other surprises over the course of the winter. Thanks, John, for another Rosslyn safari installment!
Bobcat Behavior
Wondering about the elusive, rarely witnessed but apparently [increasingly] common bobcat? I did. I do. How does Lynx rufus traverse our wild (and not-so-wild) places without being more frequently documented?
The bobcat is crepuscular. It keeps on the move from three hours before sunset until about midnight, and then again from before dawn until three hours after sunrise. Each night it will move from 2 to 7 mi (3.2 to 11.3 km) along its habitual route. This behavior may vary seasonally, as bobcats become more diurnal during fall and winter in response to the activity of their prey, which are more active during the day in colder months. (Source: Wikipedia)
[Update: I revisited this post on the Essex on Lake Champlain community blog with a few ruminations and evolutions.]
Crepuscular is a cool (but decidedly un-onomatopoetic) word for the gloaming. Twilight. Cocktail hour… And this, neighbors, might have something to do with the bobcat’s invisibility. Although cocktail hour also seems to be the most oft reported Champy sightings, so maybe my logic is off! Maybe the peripatetic… behavior of Lynx rufus is a more likely explanation for infrequent sightings. Always on the move. Sly. Stealthy. (Source: Lynx rufus (Bobcat) Sighting in Essex)
Hoping to learn more about the habits of our local bobcats, and possibly (fingers, arms, and eyes crossed) we’ll even get lucky and report another bobcat sighting…
I’m slowly catching up on a backlog of game camera photographs from last winter. Today I’d like to share new bobcat images from January 2017, though I’m not 100% certain when the handsome cat prowled our meadows because I failed to reset the time/date stamp when I installed the camera. (Note that the default date shown in the images is incorrect.)
Unfortunately these more recent bobcat images didn’t turn out quite as nicely as those from last winter’s bobcat sighting (see best photo below), but the cat sure does look robust and healthy.
One of the new bobcat images captured on trail cam, January 2017
It fascinates me to think that these toothy predators occasionally visit us, and yet I’ve never laid eyes on one in person. Some day…
2016 Bobcat Visitor
If you missed last winter’s bobcat sighting, then here’s the highlight photograph.
Bobcat Sighting (January 2, 2016)
This handsome bobcat (Lynx rufus) was photographed with game camera in one of our meadows… I can’t believe that this sly feline has been slinking around in our back woods/meadows, and yet I’ve never one spied him/her. Not even a footprint. (Source: Bobcat Sighting)
More Local Bobcats
Wildlife Trail Camera: Bobcat walking through snow (Credit: John Davis)
Bobcats in our area like rocky hills for dens and sunning places, woods and meadows for hunting rodents and rabbits, swamps for hunting Muskrats, and frozen ponds, for patrolling edges where small rodents may appear. They can live fairly near people but generally avoid getting too close to us. Perhaps because they’ve evolved a fear of tool-wielding bipedal mammals, they are most active at night and dawn and dusk…” (“Lynx rufus: Our Resilient Bobcat”)
Wildways scout John Davis has written multiple articles on the Essex on Lake Champlain blog about local wildlife, including these two about bobcats: “Lynx rufus: Our Resilient Bobcat”and “Why Bobcats Should Be Protected.” If you want to learn more about our wild neighbors read through his accounts!
Seasonality might strike you as a strange menu for organizing a blog (and an even stranger way to navigate a narrative.) But in many respects it may well be the *only* useful way to structure a circular story that’s slim on plot, chronically achronological, and deeply immersed in the poetics of place.
Summer’s End
As if on cue, rain, frost, acrimonious wind summon summer’s end. — Geo Davis
I often romance sunrise and to a lesser degree, sunset, powerful circadian rhythm markers. There are likewise singularly potent seasonal markers along our Adirondack shore of Lake Champlain that punctuate notable transitions, from summer-to-autumn, for example. Some are relatively fluid such as hauling and winterizing the boats, removing the docks, and the colorful drama of our much anticipated fall foliage. Each of these examples are determined approximately by the calendar but more precisely by weather changes, prevailing temperatures, the scheduling particularities of our protean paths through life, etc. Less fluid examples of seasonality during this same period include harvesting ripe apples in the orchard, first hard frost of the autumn, and the mysteriously consistent Labor Day weekend meteorological shift. With respect to this last marker, most years we enjoy a lengthy “Indian summer”, but Labor Day — with startling predictability — plunges us into chilly, usually rainy weather as if on cue.
Seasonality: Winter (Source: Geo Davis)
What Is Seasonality?
The concept of seasonality is often cited in the context of business (i.e. financial market and sales forecasting) and healthcare (i.e. patient and virus fluctuations), but let’s consider the idea of seasonality in a less confined context. Let’s look at the root of the word, for starts. Season. I imagine we’re all pretty clear what we mean when referencing the annual rhythm of the seasons, the periodic ebb and flow of monthly rituals, and even their fluctuations in variations. Seasonality is those periodic patterns, variations that recur at predictable or semi predictable intervals year after year.
Seasonality: Spring (Source: Geo Davis)
Rosslyn Seasonality
Our mind easily conceives of seasonality’s periodic points, references for rhythm and repetition, but I think we might need to do a little more work to grok the idea of seasonally recurring events and transitions at Rosslyn, so let’s push a little further.
In keeping with my goal to curate and convey the narrative of our Rosslyn years I’m essaying to distill and disentangle, gather cohesive collections, often thematically tied, sometimes chronologically structured, and often enough coalescing around seasonality. Excuse the clunkiness. It’s a work in progress.
I have remarked elsewhere that Susan and I aspired to recalibrate our lives when we moved from Manhattan to Essex. It was a desire to embrace the art of a slow living. Part intentionality and part immersion in the here and now. We yearned to savor the unique gifts of each passing period of the year. It was a comprehensive paradigm shift away from our habitual efficiency and productivity and busyness, and it wasn’t an easy shift. It was a paradigm shift toward creativity not only in the most active sense of making, but also in the embrace of essentialism. A mindfulness focused on learning and appreciating and investing ourselves in the many microscopic moments of homeownership and rehabilitation and adaptation and outdoor living and gardening and sporting recreation and… living fully and intentionally all of the magnificent processes of our new existence. Yielding to seasonality meant rebooting our lives and our work from New York City to upstate New York, from the quintessential metropolitan hub to its veritable antithesis. It meant homemaking in the North Country, only 5+ hours away by car but a world away in terms of the rhythms and rituals, and even many of the values.
So, what sorts of seasonality, what specific rhythms help punctuate our Rosslyn lifestyle?
I will try to jumpstart your navigation through Rosslyn seasonality with prior posts that offer glimpses into precise instances of seasonality. I will continue to update this post as I revisit and revise older posts and as I compose new ones. If you’re inclined to seasonality as a way of organizing your own experiences, please bookmark this post and reference it in the future as a window into our Rosslyn adventure. (And if you find the idea too contrived or too procrustean for your taste, rest assured, there are a great many other ways for you to navigate this mosaic-memoir.)
Seasonality: Summer (Source: Geo Davis)
Try These Posts
Consider this an evolving outline of my posts explicitly or implicitly treating the topic of seasonality. I will revisit and update when helpful.
December 2014: “In recent years December has given us our first real blast of winter. A premature blast usually because early December snows have usually melted by Christmas…”
De-Icing the Duck Pond: “Let me start by saying that we don’t have a duck pond. We have a lake. Lake Champlain. And although it pains me slightly to say it, we also don’t have any ducks. Not personally, at least. Lake Champlain, on the other hand, has plenty of ducks. And when the lake freezes and the ducks run out of water to swim and eat, we offer them a small “duck pond” in front of Rosslyn boathouse to tide them over until spring.”
Winter Wonderland 2019: “Winter storm warnings wander across our radar often enough this time of year that we become a little meteorology skeptical. Not cynical. Just suspicious that promised snowstorms won’t quite measure up to the hype. Sort of a wait-and-see approach to meteorological forecasting…”
February Swim in Lake Champlain: “February swim, anyone? In Lake Champlain?!?! Griffin, our now almost nine year old Labrador Retriever, was thrilled to chase some throw-toys in the chilly lake today despite the fact that it’s February 19 and the water temperature is exactly three days above freezing… 35° of mid-winter swimming bliss!”
Spring Dance: Coyotes and White Tail Deer: “One trail cam. One location. Three months, give or take. Deer. Coyotes. And the transition from winter to spring in the Adirondacks’ Champlain Valley.”
Spring Meditation 2018: “Welcome to springtime in the Champlain Valley, a glorious but slightly schizophrenic transition — sun, rain, wind, hot, snow, sleet, etc. — when springtails make way for dandelions.”
Moist May 2017: “The Lake Champlain water level is ever-so-slowly dropping, but it’s premature to rule out the possibility of hitting (or even exceeding) flood stage. At present, there’s about a foot of clearance between the bottom of Rosslyn boathouse’s cantilevered deck and the glass-flat water surface. Windy, wavy days are another story altogether.”
Spring Soggies & Blooms: “The rain has stopped. At last! It’s a misty, moody morning, but the sun is coming out, and the rhododendrons are blooming. Life is good.”
First Peaches: “It’s but a month and a day after Independence Day and we’re eating our first peaches of the season. Eureka! So memorable a moment each summer when I savor the first bites of the first peaches of the season that I’ve begun to wonder if we might need to create a floating holiday. It’s hard to conceive of a better cause for celebration.”
Septembering: “September 1 should logically be indistinguishable from August 31. But it’s not. Seasonality along the Adirondack Coast is irrefutable, and possibly no season-to-season transition more apparent than the one we’re now experiencing. “Septembering” is neither sly nor subtle.”
Undocking: “Once upon a time undocking referred to a boat pulling away from a dock, a ship disembarking from a pier. At Rosslyn we also use the term to describe the annual autumn removal of docks (and boat lift) from Lake Champlain…”
Waterfront Winterization: “There comes a time each autumn when summer has faded and winter is whispering over the waves. Or when work, travel, something eclipses the languid stretch of fall boating and watersports. Sometimes earlier, sometimes later, and as inevitable and bittersweet as fall foliage, waterfront winterization is an annual ritual that braces us practically and emotionally for the North Country’s frosty November through February.”
Autumn Aura on the Adirondack Coast: “An autumn aura is descending upon the Adirondack Coast. Autumn colors, autumn lighting, autumn sounds (think southward-flying Canada Geese), autumn textures (think crisp leaves eddying and frosted grass underfoot), autumn smells, and autumn flavors…”
October Wind, Canada Geese and Essex DNA: “Despite the on-again-off-again Indian Summer that we’ve enjoyed this autumn, there have been some bracing days, many like the one captured in these photos. Picture perfect. Bluebird skies and sunshine. But crisp. And windy.”
Ever seen the Essex-Charlotte Canal? Snapshot from an icy ferry crossing on February 19, 2014.
The Essex-Charlotte Canal offers a chilly commute, but it sure beats 3-4 lanes of traffic jammed, coffee guzzling, angry drivers on a thruway…
It’s not every winter that we get to enjoy the ferry commute between Essex, New York and Charlotte, Vermont (remember when the Champlain Bridge was closed for demolition/replacement?), but the “landlocked” winters certainly do make us appreciate it when Lake Champlain Transportation keeps the ferry open. And this winter has provided plenty of ice to make it challenging, but the boat, captains and crew have endured. Thank you for creating and maintaining the Essex-Charlotte Canal!
Essex-Charlotte Canal Confusion?
By the way, if you’ve discovered this post by mistake, you’re probably looking for the Champlain Canal, not the Essex-Charlotte Canal. The former has been in existence since 1823, about the same time that Rosslyn was constructed (and probably one of the ways that non-local materials were transported to Essex for construction, furnishing, etc.). The latter, the “Essex-Charlotte Canal” I reference in this post, is a figment of my icy imagination. And the collective experiences of the LCT captains and crews, and most every ferry commuter who’s crossed Lake Champlain in the last month or so! But you won’t find it on any maps…
Mallard Jacuzzi, February 9, 2014 (Photo: Geo Davis)
As Lake Champlain freezes and thaws and freezes again, trying to create a seamless skateable expanse between the Adirondack Coast and Vermont, Rosslyn’s boathouse bubbler offers the wild ducks welcome refuge. It’s a veritable mallard jacuzzi! Or a bald eagle buffet? The shrewd raptors observe from the trees nearby, waiting…
Ducks at Dawn on Icy Lake
The sounds and sight of our wild duck neighbors enjoying the midwinter sunrise is mesmerizingly agreeable. Hypnotic even. So the sudden disruption of a predator upsetting this morning meditation is unsettling to say the least. But the bald eagle buffet is a fact of nature, right? And so I resign myself to the bittersweet battle at work in these bucolic moments.
Perhaps this video captures the mallard jacuzzi magic.
A cooold jacuzzi, but it’s the best match for these cold weather acclimated fowl. An icy bubble path to jumpstart the day (and keep these mallards alert to threats lurking nearby…)
Mallard Jacuzzi or Bald Eagle Buffet
While others have witnessed the baldies snatching confit de canard from the frigid “pond” in front of Rosslyn’s boathouse, I’ve never actually experienced it myself. But I’m keeping an eye out from my office, wondering if this will be the newest Rosslyn safari.
A parting glimpse of the boathouse blurred beyond veil of soggy snowflakes. Southwestern sirens are calling me away — by ferry, airplane and rental jalopy — so I leave the homestead in the able care of my bride and my dog for a few days. I’m willing deep drifts of powdery snow upon my return!
By the way, if “snow falling on cedar…” rings a bell, there’s a reason why: an amazing novel, Snow Falling on Cedars, by David Guterson. Read it. You won’t regret it. But don’t waste too much time trying to decipher the similarity between the title I used for this snapshot and Guterson’s. No hidden meaning. Just a descriptive reference to Rosslyn’s boathouse roof which received a new shingle roof a couple of summers ago.
Photograph of Essex artist Bill Amadon (and his dog) walking/photographing on frozen Lake Champlain.
I spied Bill Amadon,(billamadon.com) an Essex artist and good friend, walking around on the frozen lake in front of our boathouse a few days ago. The lighting and distance made identification a little dodgy but the dog was hint #1 and a conversation with Bill the day prior (at the Essex Post Office where so many mid-winter encounters occur) was hint #2.
Bill mentioned that he was working on a series of three commissioned paintings, and that he was hoping to make it out onto Lake Champlain early the following morning to capture the waterfront in early morning light. He needed the photos to research the third and final painting in the series.
My suspicions were confirmed when a short while later Bill Amadon posted the following images to his Facebook page. He generously permitted me to showcase the photographs here. Enjoy!
Beggs Point in Essex by Bill Amadon, March 13, 2015
Essex by Bill Amadon, March 13, 2015
Old Dock in Essex (Source: Bill Amadon, March 13, 2015)
Essex ferry dock by Bill Amadon, March 13, 2015
Rosslyn boathouse by Bill Amadon, March 13, 2015
Rosslyn boathouse by Bill Amadon, March 13, 2015
Frozen Lake Champlain by Bill Amadon, March 13, 2015
Let me start by saying that we don’t have a duck pond. We have a lake. Lake Champlain.
And although it pains me slightly to say it, we also don’t have any ducks. Not personally, at least. Lake Champlain, on the other hand, has plenty of ducks. And when the lake freezes and the ducks run out of water to swim and eat, we offer them a small “duck pond” in front of Rosslyn boathouse to tide them over until spring. Or at least that’s our current practice.
In the Beginning…
The origin of our “duck pond” is less duck-centric. When we purchased Rosslyn in the summer of 2006 the boathouse perilously teetering on a failing timber and stone crib. The whole peninsular folly was one ice flow away from the grave. In fact, all four buildings were suffering the advanced stages of disrepair. We had to prioritize our attentions that first winter, and the house won out. In the hopes of preserving the boathouse until we could begin rehabilitation, we purchased an Ice Eater to reduce ice damage. It was a long shot. But it worked. The Ice Eater agitated the water at the end of Rosslyn boathouse, preventing ice from forming. It also created a perfect refugee for the ducks. (And the hawks and eagles, but that story for another day…)
The following winter my bride (and many of our new neighbors) insisted that we install the Ice Eater again to ensure that the ducks would have open water. I obliged. Despite the fact that the boathouse now how a solid foundation and is [hopefully] less likely to succumb to ice damage, we continue to maintain a winter “duck pond” each year.
2015 Ice Eater Foibles
Unfortunately in late January pack ice was blown into shore clogging the Ice Eater and eventually sheering both of the propeller blades that agitate the water to prevent freezing. Temperatures were bitterly cold and the lake froze sans “duck pond”. My bride and I were out of town at the time, but concerned messages began to fill my email account.
“Since George has not installed his bubbler this year the Essex ducks are cooperating to keep a pond churned with 100 constantly circling webbed feet. Their pond is a few hundred feet north of George’s boathouse…” ~ S. B.
“Greetings from ‘cool’ Essex. All those mallards are hoping you will turn on your bubbler as the ice is closing in on them and they really don’t want to leave. I was surprised to find them in my yard under the oak tree eating acorns a couple of afternoons. Never knew that could be part of their diet…” ~ D. L.
Reopening the Duck Pond
2015 Duck Pond
I ordered a replacement propeller for the Ice Eater and hustled home to make repairs. By the time I arrived the lake had tightened up (regional expression for frozen solidly) except for the ferry channel where the ducks were congregating, flying up with the comings and goings of the ferry, and then settling back down into the frigid water.
Doug assisted me in repairing the Ice Eater and breaking a small hole in the ice, not much larger than those used by ice fishermen. We suspended the Ice Eater in the hole and plugged it it. It whirred to life, pumping a steady stream of warmer water from the bottom up onto the ice. Within hours the hole had grown large enough to attract some of the ducks. Over the next few days the churning water swelled the hole larger and larger, finally expanding the open water enough to once again qualify as our “duck pond”. As I write this post, literally hundreds of ducks are bobbing wing to wing, beaks into the wind.
Nothing like a region-wide winter weather system barreling down on you to accelerate winter-proofing the construction site, right?!?! But racing the arrival of a pre-Christmas blizzard isn’t the only motivation for the sudden transformation from 100+ year old T&G sheathing to green ZIP System insulated panels though. We’ve been working toward this goal for weeks. Zipping up the icehouse is actually accomplishing several objectives at once.
Okay, let’s start with the most obvious, short term, practical objective of installing the insulated panels on the exterior of the building. But first, I should qualify what I meant by transforming “100+ year old T&G sheathing to green ZIP System insulated panels.” In this case, transformation does not imply replacing the existing sheathing with the SIPs. Instead, these insulated panels are being installed over top of the existing sheathing. And, as explained previously, the existing sheathing for the icehouse exterior walls is actually two layers of 3/4” T&G sheathing separated by perpendicular furring strips that accommodate ooolllddd school insulation that appears to have been made from shredded newsprint.
Given midwinter construction, adding the ZIP panels efficiently creates a building envelope around the entire structure, allowing interior climate control. Windows and doors will not be delivered and installed until springtime, so this cocoon will stabilize the temperature and humidity for construction while significantly improving the work environment.
Zipping Up the Icehouse (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
That’s the short term, practical objective.
There are some structural benefits as well, augmenting the existing structure (which predates our modern building codes) by creating a structural exoskeleton, that, among other things, dramatically improves sheer strength.
We’re using ZIP System 1-1/2“ thick R-6 insulated panels from Huber Engineered Wood. In addition to insulation and structural objectives, these panels also provide a moisture and air barrier between interior and exterior environments.
ZIP System Insulated R-sheathing is the simple all-in-one structural panel with built-in exterior insulation. Featuring integrated moisture, air and thermal protection, ZIP System R-sheathing completely reimagines traditional wall assemblies by streamlining exterior water, air and thermal management.
And there are some aesthetic benefits specific yo the icehouse. Preserving the original mortared stone foundation created meant working around inconsistencies such as spots where the framing was proud of the foundation and others where the foundation actually extended out beyond the framing. Aside from the visual incongruities, this has created moisture penetration and rot issues over the building’s many years of service. When we stabilized the structure in 2006-7 it was necessary to replace large sections of the rotten sill. Additional rehabilitation was necessary this fall as well. By adding an extra 1-1/2” skin around the exterior of the icehouse (and integrating a copper drip edge / flashing that isolates wood from masonry) the entire build now overhangs the foundation enough to manage moisture, snow, etc. for another 100+ years.
But wait… There’s more!
The panels are permitting us to tune up some of the geometry — wall planes and trim lines that have deviated and deflected, sagged and bowed over the years — so that the rehabbed icehouse stands proud next summer.
Piece-by-Piece: fabricating post bases for Rosslyn’s boathouse railings (Photo: Peter Vaiciulis)
As temperatures drop and winter weather threatens, Peter and Supi are toiling against the onset of winter. They’re taking advantage of shop work when possible, fabricating post bases — piece-by-piece — painstaking duplicating our boathouse‘s existing post and railing details while ensuring the most hardy, weatherproof construction possible to ensure the longevity of these handsome architectural elements that will be installed in the most challenging conditions on the entire Rosslyn property. It takes master craftsman to to marry these delicate aesthetic details with such a demanding, punishing environment. And there is no other way to describe the conditions endured by the boathouse and the boathouse gangway.
The trim molding is being shaped, one router pass after the other to match the existing details. These will then be secured to the railing posts above the bases being fabricated below. Piece-by-piece the carpenters are transforming a vision into a railing. And today sections have been handed off to Erin who has begun installing the first coat of primer to cure, be re-sanded and re-primed. Once primers are properly cured we will begin to paint, again building up to well cured coats in a controlled, heated environment so that when these elements finally reach their destination along the shore of Lake Champlain, they will be not only beautiful, but well protected from the Adirondack Coast winter elements.
Piece-by-Piece: fabricating post bases for Rosslyn’s boathouse railings (Photo: Peter Vaiciulis)
Piece-by-Piece Mashup
In keeping with the spirit of previous updates, here’s a quick remix of Peter and Supi’s painstaking, piece-by-piece post base fabrication for the historic rehabilitation of Rosslyn’s boathouse gangway railing.
Nor’easter Neige: boathouse, February 4, 2021 (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
Nor’easter delivered 10-12” of fluffy powder to our stretch of the Adirondack Coast, and it sure looks postcard perfect. Or, almost postcard perfect…
Any idea what’s just shy of midwinter Adirondack Coast perfection? Look at the water beyond the boathouse.
It’s February and Lake Champlain is still wide open. No ice. It seems that this has increasingly become the new normal. Open water in February. It certainly does challenge skaters!
Nor’easter Neige: carriage barn and icehouse, February 4, 2021 (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
But, of course, rotating 180° and looking West the unfrozen lake vanishes and winter wonderland is assured. Time to strap on hbd cross-country skis and head out to Rosslyn’s fields and forests. Come along!
Photo of Rosslyn taken from ferry last winter. (Credit: Tanya)
Sorry about that title. Crappy homecoming. Yuck. Not exactly the eggnog-y, balsam fire aromas one dreams of this time of year.
Joyful Homecoming
One blessing of living at Rosslyn is that travel – no matter how captivating – never eclipses the joy of returning home. That’s a bizarre admission from an unabashed wanderer, but it’s true. I’m always excited to return home.
But that may change. Soon.
We just returned from a week and a half in Santa Fe, and while there was much to celebrate upon our return (not the least of which is six inches of dry, powdery snow) something’s unmistakably septic at Rosslyn.
Literally.
Stinky, Crappy Homecoming
Are you catching my drift? I’ll spare you the full details, but the delicate overview is something like this:
Half bath toilet plugged up.
Sewage leaked into sports gear closet.
Mess, stench, etc. almost unbearable.
Yes, this is a repeat performance.
Contractor who plumbed the house must not have understood physics of pitch and gravity. The problem is likely to occur again for a third (and fourth, fifth, sixth…) time because the looong waste pipe which serves the bar sink, bar ice maker, half bath sink and toilet, pantry sink and washing machine lacks the necessary pitch to ensure that all waste – including “solids” – empty properly to the septic tank outside. Again?!?!
Yes.
Short/Long Term Solutions
We’re trying to put the crappy homecoming behind us. A plumber-Roto-Rooter tag team cleared the blockage, and my bride and I spent most of the day remediating the mess. Not fun. At all.
We did squeeze in a magnificent cross country ski to savor the sunset and moonrise from the quiet, aroma-free, perfect powder meadows and wooded trails west of Rosslyn. One part carpe diem and one part “We better remind ourselves why it’s great to be home!”
For a while it was bliss. Spectacular conditions. Ecstatic dog. Picture perfect sun and moon performance art.
But darkness fell, and we’re back to cleaning. And planning.
No More Crappy Homecomings
Apparently the contractor who installed the half plumbing neglected to suggest an obvious solution for a long waste line with inadequate pitch. It’s called a sewage macerator pump. I’ll spare you the description of what it does, but the benefit it that once we install it, we should never have to experience another crappy homecoming. Well, not literally at least!
And that will be worth it’s weight it gold. Which is what the installation is likely to cost judging by today’s rapidly accruing bills…
