Living in the Country

 Well, Good Monday Morning campers.  Hope all you Sarge-like commuters made it safely to your place of employment today.  Hope all you juvat-like retirees rolled over and went back to sleep for a bit.

Ain't Life Grand?

Speaking of sleep, I'm a bit cranky this morning as there's been a significant impact on my sleeping routine.  As most of you know, we inherited my sister's dogs when she passed away a little of a year ago.  One Golden Retriever (dumber than a box of rocks), my sister was the fifth person to adopt him, we're #6.  Suffice it to say he's a bit nervous and wants a lot of attention.  We’ve also got two Great Pyrenees.  One's 5 and an excellent dog.  The other just turned 1, is full grown and has one bad habit.  He barks at anything/everything.

This makes it difficult to sleep.  We put them outside at night which reduces the noise somewhat, but he's discovered which end of the house we sleep at and decided to set up his sentry station there.  Mrs. J purchased some earplugs which help but I can still hear him.

Last night the barking got to the Golden Retriever.  He started whining and barking.  I had to get up three times at about 1, 2:30, and 4, to put him outside.  Then  just about each time I started to fall back to sleep corresponded with when he wanted me to retrieve him so he could to return to his bed.  

This is the young GP.  He will sleep during the day though sometimes.  Just not at night.

 

What's causing all this issue, juvat?

Well this....

So, our next "door" neighbor just sold his property (~200 acres) and the new owner wants to raise cattle.  We share a fence line.  The cattle were curious and checked out the horses.  I'm pretty sure, the horses told them to "sod off or we'll herd you till you drop" or something.  The young GP however, wanted to bark at them.  Didn't seem to faze the cattle which made Gryndll (the dog's name) bark at them more.  

Haven't figured out a solution to that problem yet.  No, inside is NOT the answer.  One can only hope he gets bored or laryngitis. 

Or both.

Did have a little bit of fun this past week though.  A few months ago, we helped The Rev and MBD renovate their house.  I had left a few tools and clamps that I don't use regularly with them.  Now Mrs Juvat has plans for Christmas gifts and woodworking, with those tools, is a big part of that project.  

So, we scheduled a day trip to College Station.  Left early to beat the Austin traffic, go there, loaded up the tools and stuff, and hung out with MBD and the Grands.

Managed to install a tree swing and have it checked out by an "Expert".

Had a great time, found a new burger place right across the street from A&M.  Yes, Beans, without a doubt, I was, at a minimum, twice as old as the next oldest, not member of my family, guest.  

Probably closer to three times.

It was a great time, but unfortunately, we had to get back to the 'Burg.  Horses and Dogs to be fed don'cha know?

Also, unfortunately, we managed to begin the Austin transit right about rush hour.  I did manage to demonstrate that my patience level has not changed for the better since the last time I was stuck in traffic.

Woke up the next morning and let the dogs out.  A bit later, Mrs J made them breakfast while I tried to round them up.  Went to get the youngest dog (AKA the least likely to come when called) and discovered one of the joys of living on property outside of city limits.

Your water supply is called a "Well".  Which means if the Well ain't working, you ain't got water.  Water is pretty high on the "Critical things" you need to have to live in the country.

The well is leaking water at a fairly high rate. There are very few places to stand without sinking into the mud to your ankles.  

Now, not having the faintest bit of knowledge about well functionality, I got on the phone with the folks that had installed it.

About an hour later, they arrived, figured out where the Well Circuit Breaker's are located.  (I didn't know we had two CB boxes and Well CB's were on both.). Popped them, found the PVC pipe from the well head to the pressure tank had cracked and water was pouring from it.  They replaced the pipe, reset the CB's and voila'.

Learned a few lessons.  First, that there are more than one set of CB's for the Well.  And, they're in different breaker boxes on the property. We had just the day before had the Water Softener guys come out and drain that (the Hard Water heater).  I only knew about the first set of CB's so they popped only them. The second set was still pumping water into the pressure tank and weakened the PVC.  

Haven't got the bill yet, so not exactly sure how much that lesson learned will cost me.

Ahh well, life is about learning.  I'm a tad smarter this week than I was last, but I'm sure the Big Guy upstairs has more lessons in store to further my education.  

Peace Out Y'all!