A Good Day to Wander

Today started around 8:30.

Honestly...

I really didn't want to get out of bed.

Wyatt, however, had completely different plans.

He was doing what I can only describe as the classic Australian Cattle Dog routine.

Staring directly at me.

Making those funny little grumbles and Chewbacca noises that somehow mean everything and nothing at the same time.

The more he does it, the more I'm convinced maybe I should have named him Chewy.

I refused to get out of bed though.

I told myself I wasn't moving until I saw at least one hummingbird.

Wyatt wasn't impressed with that plan.

Eventually I gave in just enough to open the front door and let him outside, and I climbed right back into bed.

He was happy.

I was comfortable.

A few minutes later, a hummingbird finally made its morning appearance.

That was enough.

Time to start the day.

The first thing on my list was taking another look at the tractor.

I wanted to hook up the York rake, but quickly realized I was missing a few hitch pins.

That project would have to wait.

Instead, I headed up to the bunkhouse.

Back in April, while trying to locate the septic cleanout, I'd dug a fairly good sized hole and never filled it back in.

Yesterday I'd moved quite a bit of dirt, so today seemed like the perfect opportunity to finally finish that little project.

Besides, I didn't want someone stepping into it and getting hurt.

And I certainly didn't want to leave it exposed all winter where freezing temperatures might create even more problems.

One less thing to worry about.

Before leaving the bunkhouse, I decided to do a little investigating.

After yesterday's discoveries, I wanted a better understanding of where the moisture was actually coming from.

I grabbed my moisture meter and started checking walls and floors throughout the house.

The results were... interesting.

Most of the moisture readings were concentrated along the lower third of the house.

From the floor up to roughly four feet, almost every exterior wall showed elevated moisture.

Even a few interior walls registered moisture.

Ironically, the room my partner completely gutted turned out to be the driest room in the entire house.

Even the floor in that room was dry.

Go figure.

At this point I'm still leaning toward surface water and groundwater collecting around the slab and slowly evaporating into the subfloor.

My partner disagrees.

She still thinks it's plumbing.

Honestly...

I hope she's right.

Repairing plumbing is a whole lot easier than solving drainage and groundwater issues.

Time will tell.

With that little investigation finished, Wyatt and I headed off to Tractor Supply to buy the hitch pins I needed.

Everything was going great...

Until we got to the register.

I had forgotten my wallet.

Luckily I was just about to pay with my phone when the cashier mentioned I had ten dollars in rewards waiting to be used.

My purchase came to $9.48.

... and now it was completely FREE!!! I'll take wins anywhere I can get them.

I don't forget my wallet very often, but when I do, I guess it helps to have rewards waiting.

Since I didn't have my wallet with me, lunch in town was officially canceled.

So we headed back to Memory Lane.

I hooked up the York rake.

Or at least I tried.

I am absolutely not an expert.

Actually...

Let's be honest.

I have no idea what I'm doing.

After looking everything over for a while, I'm fairly certain it's missing the upper top link.

Without it, there wasn't much I could accomplish.

That's another project for another day.

Instead of getting frustrated, Wyatt and I decided to do something a little more enjoyable.

We headed into the state forest.

For about two hours we wandered the trails, explored the stream, checked out a few primitive campsites, followed some of the snowmobile trails, and even spent a little time playing in the water.

It was exactly what both of us needed.

When we returned to the farm, I put the York rake away for now and climbed back onto the tractor.

Wyatt happily ran alongside as we traveled up and down Memory Lane picking up trash and hauling more firewood.

Watching him sprint back and forth alongside the tractor made me smile.

He's becoming a real farm dog.

We headed up to the main house and picked up the trash our roofer left for us months ago.

... and trip after trip, the wood pile slowly disappeared too.

By the time everything was stacked and covered, I decided I'd earned a fire.

Apparently Wyatt agreed.

For maybe the first time all day...

He was actually tired.

He stretched out beside the fire, curled up next to my chair, and fell asleep.

Now that is a rare sight.

Eventually I coaxed him inside where we both had dinner.

After eating, I headed back outside alone to enjoy the fire a little longer while Wyatt stayed inside to rest.

As I sat there watching the flames, I noticed what looked like smoke hanging low across the lower field.

At first I thought it was just smoke from my fire getting trapped along the tree line.

Still...

I wanted to make sure.

So I climbed back onto the tractor and drove down into the field.

Sure enough...

It was just my fire.

Nothing to worry about.

Sitting there, though, with the smoke drifting across the field, it was absolutely beautiful.

As I drove back toward camp, I took the road back instead. I looked across the road and saw our neighbor riding her horse through the evening light.

It was one of those quiet country moments you couldn't plan if you tried.

On the way back I noticed the tractor's regeneration lights had come on again.

I'm still learning how this machine works.

After doing some more reading, it actually seems fairly normal.

I ran a few more loads of wood to see what would happen.

The hot exhaust warning eventually went away, but the regeneration light remained on.

For now, the tractor is running perfectly.

The seller did mention it was due for a full service.

Honestly, taking it in sooner rather than later is probably the smartest thing we can do.

I'd rather know everything is up to date than accidentally damage something because I waited too long.

Eventually I parked the tractor one last time.

Went back to the fire.

Sat quietly for a while.

Then called it a night.

Some days are filled with big accomplishments.

Other days are filled with little discoveries, long walks, and quiet moments that remind you why you came here in the first place.

Today was one of those days.

~ Making Memories