One Problem at a Time

Lately I've been waking up around 7:30 every morning.

It's almost like I live on a farm and have animals waiting for breakfast.

Except...

We don't have farm animals.

And there really isn't any reason I need to be awake that early.

Still, that's become my routine.

I stayed in bed for a little while this morning and, thankfully, two hummingbirds stopped by the feeders.

That made me smile.

It's become one of my favorite parts of the morning.

By about 8:30 I finally climbed out of bed and spent a little time around camp.

Nothing too exciting.

Just picking things up, putting things away, and trying to keep everything organized.

Those little chores don't make for exciting stories, but they make camp feel a little more like home.

Once everything around camp looked good, I headed over to the workshop.

Today's main objective was simple.

Cut grass.

The mower had a brand new belt installed yesterday and everything seemed to be working perfectly.

At first...

It was.

I managed to clear quite a bit of grass before catastrophe struck again.

Some kind of rag had been hiding in the tall grass.

As soon as I drove over it, it wrapped itself around the mower blades.

Back to the workshop.

Again.

Luckily it wasn't a difficult repair.

Just a matter of cutting the fabric out from around the blades.

It did remind me why I hate letting the grass get too tall.

This wasn't some hidden part of the property I'd never mowed before.

I'd cut this area several times already.

If the grass had been shorter, I would have seen the rag long before the mower did.

Being away for a couple of weeks gave nature just enough time to hide all kinds of surprises.

Once that was cleaned out, I climbed back on and continued mowing.

Things were going well until I reached the Quonset hut.

Then...

The mower died.

This time it was different.

The engine would start just fine.

But the moment I tried to move the mower or engage the blades, it would immediately shut off.

That sounded suspiciously like a safety switch problem.

After a little investigating, I found the culprit.

A quick disclaimer before I continue.

I do not recommend bypassing or defeating safety devices on equipment.

Manufacturers install them for a reason, and they should remain functional.

In my particular case, I had temporarily secured one of the safety switches while diagnosing a different issue because I was working by myself.

It's not something I recommend copying, and I won't explain how it was done.

As it turned out, the temporary solution I'd used had worked itself loose.

Once I secured it again, the mower was back to normal.

That temporary fix has now reminded me it's time to put everything back the way the manufacturer intended.

Sometimes temporary repairs have a way of becoming permanent...

...until they remind you they were only supposed to be temporary.

Before heading back toward camp, I decided to take care of another project.

I ran a new hose over to the garden to replace the one I accidentally cut with the mower a few days ago.

While I was there, I dumped out the water barrels to clean the algae and scum that had started building up inside them.

Once they were cleaned, I reset the gravity feed system so the barrels could begin filling again.

One more project crossed off the list.

Or so I thought.

As I finished mowing around camp...

The mower acted up again.

Same symptoms.

That tells me the temporary safety switch repair has probably reached the end of its useful life.

Looks like moving that repair higher on the priority list just became a more pressing project.

While mowing around the apple trees near camp, I spotted something that made my day.

Apples.

Not on all of the trees...

But on two of the five.

I know different varieties begin producing fruit at different times, so I'm hopeful the others simply need a little more time.

Tomorrow I'll have to check the rest of the apple trees scattered around the property.

I'm curious how they're doing.

After parking the mower, I continued burning through the remaining pile of broken furniture and scrap wood.

Little by little, another cleanup project is disappearing.

Then another issue decided to make an appearance.

This time it wasn't the mower.

It was the camper.

Well...

Sort of.

Over the last three weeks, our Hughes Power Watchdog has shut the power off several times.

Each time the same little red warning light appeared.

No Neutral Detected.

At first I was convinced one of the air conditioners was causing the problem.

After doing a little more investigating, though, I now believe the issue is actually with the fifty amp pedestal we plug into.

More specifically, I suspect the breaker itself.

Since my electrician installed that pedestal just before we arrived back in April, I've asked him to come take a look tomorrow.

Could I troubleshoot it myself?

Probably.

But since it's still essentially a brand new installation, I'd rather let him look it over first.

Sometimes it's better to let the person who installed something be the one to diagnose it.

Before dinner, I made one last trip to the garden.

I picked up some neem oil yesterday after noticing what appeared to be fungus starting on the grape vines.

Everything I'd read suggested spraying it later in the day when the sun wasn't directly on the leaves.

So late afternoon seemed like the perfect time.

The garden is really starting to come alive.

(SEE ALL THE PHOTOS BELOW)

There are peppers growing.

I spotted our first tomato.

The grape vines are still hanging in there, and hopefully the neem oil helps them recover.

Several of the other plants are now flowering too.

Flowers mean possibilities.

And hopefully...

Vegetables aren't too far behind.

Dinner tonight turned out pretty good.

Steak.

Shrimp shumai.

And cream cheese wontons.

Not exactly the meal you'd expect on a mountain property.

But I'm certainly not complaining.

Looking back on the day, it seemed like every time I solved one problem, another one popped up to take its place.

The mower.

The rag.

The safety switch.

The electrical issue.

The grapes.

That's just life around here.

The problems never seem to stop coming.

But neither does the progress.

And at the end of the day, I think that's what matters most.

One problem at a time.

One project at a time.

One memory at a time.

~ Making Memories

~THE GARDEN~