MR. BROWN and Other Things
This has become a summer of repairs at the Philo residence. As you have read in past issues of these newsletters, the storage shed was split in half by a falling tree. And last year Mrs.T's chandelier fell down, shattering many of its elements and leaving glass all over her room. And most recently the pond has been losing water copiously. Time to call in the experts.
We have slowly emptied the shed, moving its contents to the garage. The folks at J&M Construction, who built the old shed, came and took it away. The new shed should come in a few weeks and then we will need to move things back. During our efforts to clean the shed we encountered Mr. Brown who Rebecca describes below. He is quite a thin fellow about four feet long, probably subsisting on bugs and worms, and was not happy about us invading his home.
Before we left for the condo last fall, we asked Aaron of St. Louisville Glass, an old friend of ours, if he would attempt to repair the chandelier. He agreed and the results are splendid. Version two of the chandelier is hardly any different from the original. Many thanks!
We called in Art of Living Waters Pond Supplies, who has been servicing our pond for several years, to see what could be done about the rapid decline in the water level. He discovered a hole and considerable slippage of the liner. He built an impressive dam to hold up the liner and increase the depth. Now we wait for sufficient rain to refill the pond.
Here is Mrs.T's description of events:
Dan and I were emptying out the old shed. "Don't you hiss at me!" I heard him say. "Don't you stick out your tongue either!" Who was he talking to? I was afraid I knew but I had to ask. "Who are you talking to?" "My little friend, come and see", Dan replied. Very cautiously, because I knew what to expect I crept up and peered over his shoulder. Dan was talking to a very skinny brown snake. I quickly looked at the snake's head. Not a copperhead and not a rattlesnake either, not a cottonmouth therefore not venomous. "I think he might be a Brown snake," I told Dan. "I can see that!" Dan replied obtusely. "No, brown is the name of a kind of snake," I replied. The little snake stuck out his tongue at me. His tongue was black and forked at the end. I believe snakes smell with their tongues. (They do. -dt) Dan took out his phone to take a picture. I began to back away. "Well he has to move so I can get to that box," Dan said. 'Yes', I said, and began backing further away. Dan gently nudged the snake with a piece of cardboard and like magic the snake got longer and longer and longer; he turned and stuck his head under the box and it disappeared and slowly the rest of him followed until he disappeared altogether. Cautiously we went back to work.
Dan and I worked together with good grace empting the shed mostly into the garage. We took some of the contents to recycling; a few we threw away. Every few days Mr. Brown, the snake, would turn up becoming more and more irritated that we were steadily dismantling his home. I let Dan make the decisions about what to keep, although I am generally more ruthless except for my old paintings. (She has been giving those away to any good home. -dt) I looked at some Google pictures and could not decide what kind of snake Mr. Brown was. Sometimes Dan would open a box to check the contents and there was Mr. Brown. Dan gave him a little nudge and Mr. Brown would unroll himself and slither grumpily away. I tried to stay out of it. Snakes make my hair stand on end; they just do! (As with many people, Mrs.T is frightened of snakes and spiders. -dt) One day it happened, the thing I had been fearing, Mr. Brown escaped our surveillance and came with us back to our garage. Oh No! This was the last thing I needed. I grabbed a broom and tried to sweep him into the woods. Mr. Brown did not want to go. He wanted to go back to the boxes. He finally crept under Dan's car and retreated. After that we haven't seen Mr. Brown, which is fine by me. If anyone would like free paintings or miscellaneous stuff please let me know. (Miscellaneous stuff? We have lots of electronics. And paintings. -dt)
We have been working on other projects this summer. One big one is that the pond needs to be fixed. The pond leaks almost half way empty before it stops losing water. Art, the pond guy, found two holes on one side which need to be patched. The other end of the pond sank down and it needed a kind of a wall to prop it up. Evidently it was overwhelmed by too many water lilies! Dan and I measured it and it is about fifteen feet wide where it needs a wall; the pond is about forty feet long. All of the goldfish are now crowded together in the deep end. (Art estimated that there were plenty. -dt) We have not seen any of the turtles, who can vote with their feet. This week Art and his assistant will start work on the pond repairs. If anyone in the area would like free water lilies let me know.
Another project was rebuilding my chandelier. About twenty years ago I built a beautiful little chandelier with the help of Sam Drumgoole. (Anyone know the whereabouts of Sam? -dt) It hung about 3 1/2 feet with lots of transparent purple and blue pieces around a light casting colored shadows on the wall above my desk. I loved it. Eventually the chain broke and many of the pieces did not survive the fall. Alas! Alas!! Dan talked to Aaron about a commission to repair it. I talked to Aaron explaining how it was put together. Aaron thought he would make a new chandelier out of the surviving pieces and some new pieces of similar shape and color. All last winter while we were in Mexico Aaron labored. I was nervous but Dan consoled me. Before the installation Aaron talked to me about how the chandelier had been made. After much thought I remembered the knots that tied on the pieces and things like that. So, although I didn't do much, I was kind of an advisor.
Finally Aaron brought the old pieces and the new pieces he had made. The colors matched perfectly. Aaron and his new assistant Dominic assembled the new chandelier. I gave them a little advice about how high the pieces should go and things like that. Piece by piece it came together. Slowly it grew and then suddenly I could see it. My new chandelier. It is not my old chandelier but it is itself. A blue and purple cloud of light that hovers gently above my desk sending down sweet thoughts. I am replete.
Here are a few pictures: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjA2EzH
By the time you read this except for the arrival of the new shed the above repairs will have been completed. We have had a few light showers but not enough to refill the pond. And another project is underway. The various sea prints that Rebecca made at our workshop are being prepared for the condo; they will go in the 'fish' room. Look for photos in a future newsletter.
And Rebecca will have had another endoscopy to check on her cancer situation. We expect that the biopsy will show that she still is cancer free. We hope that she can have fewer of these exams.
Like much of the country, it has been warmer than usual in Philo. Rain has come in spurts. Flowers bloomed nicely and perhaps a second wave is coming.
Stay cool.
Dan and Rebecca
www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com
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