Rain, Rust, and Another Piece of History

I woke up around 8:30 this morning and started the day the same way I often do.

The first thing on my list was refilling a couple of the hummingbird feeders.

I didn't actually see any hummingbirds today, but I filled two of the many feeders anyway. Hopefully they'll make their usual appearance tomorrow morning.

From there I headed over to the firewood.

Yesterday I'd moved a pile of split wood, and today I finally stacked it into the racks. It was one of those small projects that doesn't take long but makes the whole area look cleaner and more organized.

Sometimes it's the little victories that are the most satisfying.

The next order of business was moving some equipment around.

To do that I needed the tractor.

When I climbed aboard, I noticed the fuel gauge was sitting on empty, and one of yesterday's warning lights was still on.

The good news was that after doing a little more research, I realized one of the warning lights had disappeared because I'd corrected yesterday's mistake of running the engine at too high an idle. That was reassuring.

The remaining yellow light turned out to be the regeneration indicator.

Basically, the tractor was ready to perform a regeneration cycle to clean the emissions system, but with almost no fuel in the tank it wasn't going to happen.

So I parked the tractor and headed into town.

First stop...

Fuel cans.

Then the gas station.

When I left Memory Lane, the sky was beautiful.

By the time I filled the fuel cans, the rain had arrived.

Again.

It seems like every afternoon lately has included another rain shower.

Back at camp I warmed up some leftovers for lunch and spent a little while waiting to see if the weather would improve.

By around four o'clock it was obvious.

The rain wasn't stopping. and was ready to get to work. I filled the tank and Wyatt looked like he wanted to come with me, but for some reason I just couldn't convince him to "load up" on to the tractor.

Tomorrow is garbage pickup day.

Rain or shine, the garbage had to go out.

So off I went.

Once I got started, one project naturally turned into another.

Since I already had the tractor out, I decided it was the perfect opportunity to begin moving more of the scrap metal over to the Quonset hut.

We've been setting aside all of the metal for our scrap guy rather than paying to dispose of it with the garbage company.

It makes a lot more sense to keep the two separated.

After dropping off the first load of scrap, I noticed something that has bothered me since the day we bought the property.

Broken glass.

It had been laying on the lane since before we bought the property.

We've driven over it.

Walked over it.

Worked around it.

Today I finally cleaned it all up.

It's funny how good it feels to permanently eliminate one more hazard.

As I climbed back onto the tractor, I noticed something else.

The regeneration warning light had gone out.

Success.

The tractor completed its regeneration cycle without any issues.

That was definitely a relief.

Next stop was the pavilion.

The old motorhome couch was still waiting to be hauled away.

It took two trips.

The second load included the old reclining chair as well.

After that I shifted my attention behind the bunkhouse.

There's been a growing pile of scrap metal back there that I've been meaning to deal with.

It actually took two more trips to move everything over to the Quonset hut.

When I got there, I realized I was running out of room.

Before stacking more scrap inside, I decided to pull out one of the treasures that's been hiding in there.

An old riding mower from what I believe is the 1960s.

I don't know exactly when I'll get around to it, but I'd really like to restore it someday.

So I pulled it out then pushed the remaining scrap farther back into the building, and made room for everything else.

With the scrap finally set aside, I headed back to the pavilion for another load of trash.

Then over to the bunkhouse for even more.

Finally, I made the trip down to the road and set everything out for tomorrow's pickup.

I ran 2 more loads of scrap metal from the bunk house to the quonset hut.

By then the rain was coming down pretty steadily.

I parked the tractor under the pavilion and made a quick dash back to the camper.

I was wet.

Dirty.

Probably smelled like old metal and wet leaves.

Straight into the shower I went.

After cleaning up, I finally sat down on the couch.

That's when Wyatt started barking at me.

He wasn't barking because something was wrong.

He wanted to go outside and play.

Some dogs hate the rain.

Not Wyatt.

He couldn't care less.

Rain.

Sunshine.

Cold.

Warm.

As long as there isn't thunder or lightning, he's ready to play.

Watching him run around in the rain made me smile.

Then I noticed something.

Around here we hear trees and branches falling all the time.

Sometimes it's close.

Sometimes it's somewhere deep in the woods.

Today I finally spotted one.

Right next to camp.

It wasn't really a tree anymore.

More like a seven foot stump.

But this stump was special.

Sometime years ago, one of the previous owners, or maybe one of their family members or friends, had carved a totem into it.

I'd been keeping an eye on it because I knew the base had started to rot.

Sure enough, one of the recent storms finally brought it down.

Thankfully, the carving itself still looks like it's in pretty good shape.

Rather than letting it sit there and continue to rot, I'm going to pick it up with the tractor, cut away the damaged base with the chainsaw, and move it into the pavilion.

Maybe one day it'll find a permanent home inside one of the cabins.

It feels like one more little piece of Memory Lane's history that's worth saving.

Sometimes restoring a property isn't just about fixing buildings.

Sometimes it's about preserving the stories that came before us.

And I think that old carved totem deserves another chapter.

~ Making Memories