A Very Difficult Birth

I came down the drive to the cozy cabin yesterday afternoon after spending a good bit of time harassing the phone company about getting my phone turned on to see the phone man and his truck parked down there. That was a surprise.

The robot said I had an appointment today. Didn't believe it. The live human in sales and service said there was a terrible error on my order for a phone and wanted to file an error report or start a new order. Hell no you are not starting a new order. File your report.

The repair department said I was scheduled for hook up on the 18th. Heard that before several times. I want you to file a repair order. The cable is damaged and that's why I can't get a phone. The buried cable comin' up the mountain is broke. It is in need of repair. Fill out your damn form.



The phone man on my driveway said I heard you coming down the drive next door so I waited.

Did you hear me yelling at AT+T? I was just on the phone with them.

Your phone is hooked up now.

What? You put in a new cable up the mountain?

No we just patched the cable in a couple of places.

By the various rock slides?

Yes.

No dial tone here.

Huh? Let me check.

I'll plug in the phone in the other jack upstairs. I have a dial tone. Let there be phone!



But there was no dial tone downstairs at the communication center. The phone man being kind of heart checked my inside the wall, no wire maintenance plan wire that had been wired during the wiring phase of construction.

Nothings coming through this line. It must be damaged.

You filthy stinkin' varmint! Aaargh!!

I have one working phone jack and will have to run a new line outside the house and through the wall to the communication center phone jack. I was trying to avoid that by wiring all the communication cables in the wall. Sigh.

On the plumbing front there is definitely a small leak in the hot water line of the shower and probably a smaller one in the cold line. They must have froze. I don't think the varmint has made it into the walls. Tiles and backer board will have to be removed.

On the electrical front there are still three circuits with issues that need solutions.

The gas man said there were no leaks and everything was hunky dory, but if there is a problem shut off the gas at the pressure valve at the house first, then at the tank. Ok then.

Hale Mana is having a very difficult birth. It seems I am not meant to move just yet. Perhaps that is intentional on the part of some unknown force. Thank goodness the wild cultivated garden is close by for cooling off periods.



Some of you may have noticed Blogger took a very long nap yesterday and the comments on the previous post are gone. Blogger says they might come back. We'll see.

Thank goodness the ridge top garden is nearby for quiet meditative wanderings.



Everything is multiplying and my preference for big drifts of single species in such a large space is really starting to shape up.



A little editing is always in order to help achieve that effect.



Editing within reason anyway because the exuberant chaos is a force of its own and will not be conquered.



Besides there are several single species that run through everything and take over the entire mountain top in their season. Talk about big drifts. Right now the Phacelia purshii is a dainty blue carpet beneath the expanding lush.



The rhododendrons are aiming for peak bloom. They just need to last until a week from Sunday. If not, so be it. Something else will be blooming. The mountain laurels and native flame azaleas come next.





I will keep whittling away at Hale Mana's birth defects in my spare time.



Perhaps in another month or two I will actually have some spare time.



For now I am content to come home and walk through a beautiful garden at the cool end of a long day.