Plans & Plumbers for Heron Hold

Summer has arrived!

The weather was truly hot for the first time this year all through the holiday weekend, though it cooled quite a bit after Tuesday. Still, getting all these things done felt really good.

Cat dealt with plumbers on Memorial Day. They came out on the holiday because they fucked up the schedule and it was a big job. The cheapskates who used to own this house did everything to save money in the short term at the expense of the long term, including the water system. So Cat spent over $4000 on getting the water filters and the water softeners fixed and cleaned out and working. (They also helped with some toilet installation and quarter turn valves installation.) It was crazy! But Cat insisted they teach her what they were doing so she understood the mysterious well and filter system we have here. Now it’s looking amazing and can be kept up by Cat without much help at all. That was one of the main things we’ve needed to have fixed on the house for a LONG time, and we’re lucky the lack of upkeep for the first 3 years we were here didn’t result in worse problems than we already have (mainly the damage all the mineral build-up does to the pipes!) Cat also got a chance to chat two guys up for hours and it made her quite animated. She really needed that socialization, even if it was just a couple of service people.

She said to me later, “We adulted the FUCK out of this holiday weekend!“ I agreed enthusiastically.

We also discussed where to plant certain trees, and Cat was super excited to buy a chocolate mimosa tree to plant next to my goth garden. It starts out green and then turns red, to purple, to black as spring turns to summer and fall. The rhodadendrons there are too exposed to the sun and have sunburnt leaves, so Cat wants to plant a 6 to 7 foot high tree in the middle of them to give them shade (and improve our privacy with our neighbors). Again, more money than I can throw at it, but I won’t stop her!

Cat is starting to get excited about the next time Reese and Sleep come up from Portland. We’ll be picking up and planting trees (including the ones we have from previous homes) which is another thing that has been put off for over a year! And I’ll be doing more work with Sleep, because the Little Shit Imp came back his first night home! That irks the heck out of me. He and I emailed and we’re coming up with a strategy for Round 2 during the 4th of July holiday. We made the fucker leave him alone for 3 days… we can do even better, I know it!

Mike’s been clearing out more paths down by the hawthorn Faerie Tree in the back area of Heron Hold land. He even took a few outdoor naps in our woods and seems intent on getting more access to the wild areas, which I greatly appreciate. He’s been very busy promoting his new audio version of his third book, and he works steadily doing interviews for Whitley Strieber’s Unknown Country podcast.

I’m back to my normal diet and sleep routine, but I noticed the mild fasting helped re-set my appetite to a more modest level. I still got way too agitated to meditate at the level I needed to, so I have to start practicing that at least once a week until I can just relax into it as easily as I used to… more on that later.

I’m just feeling very helpful and hopeful in general, and that feels good.