The Good News Is

I figured out the bizarre and unfathomable electrical issue the well pump was having.



Now I can have water gush out of the bottom of the cabin at will with the simple flip of a switch. Perhaps I should add a water feature in the basement patio when I take it all apart and put it back together again.

My guess is the lines froze the first winter after it was closed up when the cabin wasn't heated at all. All the water lines form a shallow U under there and can't be fully drained. They had been filled for inspection. Even with the R-38 insulation under there what I will do is add a thermostat controlled electric heat tape to the lines that can be plugged in during the winter. I don't need a repeat of this.



The electric problem the well pump was having was that the two pole 20 amp circuit breaker that sends 240 amps of juice to the pump has to be connected to both bus bars (the metal frame that the breakers snap on to and that carries electricity through the box) on opposite sides of the load center box. The solution was to put the two pole 20 amp circuit breaker in a new location in the box where it did connect to the two opposite side bus bars. Who knew? Praise the Google I say.

There is one less electrical issue now. The ones left are smoke alarms that only come on with a set of wall sconces, back porch and basement patio lights that don't work and a garbage disposal/under counter light switch that doesn't work.

I still don't have gas in the tank or a phone yet. I've been waiting on a gas delivery for two weeks now and the phone was ordered two months ago. I was issued a phone number. I wonder if it will still be good when they get around to getting me a phone.

In all my comings and goings to the Lowes for one solution or another, a baby Kousa Dogwood managed to follow me home and was planted where the former temporary power pole used to live. It will add a little privacy to the front porch and much beauty in the years to come.



The other good news is the sole official in all of Haywood County with the designated authority to sign an official signature on an official form managed to get his butt over to the mortuary services in Asheville for a signing. The cremation can now proceed. It won't proceed fast enough however to let us leave early in the morning. The cremains will be ready around noon they say. I offered more money to have someone come into work a little early. Didn't work.

It was a day of good news. Everything is finally coming together. That calls for a stroll through the wild cultivated garden.



The continuing warm still has things ahead of schedule compared to previous years. I should be happy though that all the vicious storms battering the south have missed us. This last batch went north following the line of high mountains that form the NC/TN border and stayed west of us. I don't think these mountains are much good for tornado formation, to much air flow interruption.

The iris are really starting to take off.



In nature's garden the trilliums are peaking and the wild geraniums have joined in.



More of the azaleas are blooming.



One of the two oddball yellow rhododendrons is a having a good bloom year. The other is being rather stingy with the flowers.



I hope the rhododendrons can hold off just a few weeks longer. The bulk of them are still in bud stage.



Bulbarella still wants to have the garden warming/cozy cabin debut as planned. Perhaps by then all the kinks will be worked out in the cabin and the rhododendrons will be in full glorious bloom. Might be a few other blooms to be found in the wild cultivated garden then too.