Chapter 60...Rain and More Rain...But The Culvert Workd

Off Grid...Chapter 60 It has been a really rough week for work because we have gotten so much rain. At times I felt like we were going to float away. Monday- The start of our week and it is cloudy and drizzling. I have an appointment with the Dentist and I also have to take take Niki to get her groomed. I can't clip her nails myself because she was traumatized by a vet years ago. We both finish in record time and head home because I know Mike misses us, at least me, lol. Mike changed his mind about the culvert we put in the ditch last week. He's not sure if that will be the best place to use it. OK, so it's time to move the culvert. We go down with the tractor and chain. First Mike and I pull the culvert back out of the ditch. Then we attach one end of the chain to it and the other end of the chain to the tractor. Here is Mike bringing the culvert up top to store it. It is supposed to rain more but Mike says we haven't gotten enough done so he wants to make 2 more concrete piers. Mike is mixing the concrete. Then we shovel it into the forms and add the rebar. Next we have to cover them with a tarp. It is supposed to rain more and we need to keep them protected. Tuesday- It looks "iffy" out and it rained all night. Later on the sun starts to poke out so we decide to make a run for it and go over to the other property to mow. We are still playing catch up over there so we have to get over there any chance we can. Here is the trailer all loaded. We get to the other property and unload. I start weed eating and Mike starts mowing. Within 20 minutes the sky opens up and we get soaking wet. Time to load up and go home. On our way up to the top we stop to check the culvert. Here is the water running down our mountain and into our ditch. The water continues through the top of the culvert. And out the other side. Everything looks good and the culvert is clear. Woo hoo. Wednesday it poured all day and we got nothing done. Thursday- Today it is just drizzling and then it clears up. Off we go again to try and mow. This time we get there and it is already raining so we just turn around and come home. In case you all are wondering if we listen to the weather forecast we do. I check 3 different forecasts each day. Usually they are all wrong. Apparently they can't forecast the weather accurately in the mountains. Friday- Again it rained all night but this morning I see sun. Woo hoo. We got a call from Jeep and our Hard Top is in. We take the wide trailer to town and pick it up. As soon as we get home Mike starts working on getting the canvas top off the Jeep while I clean the rails. Next I help Mike get the Hard Top off the trailer and we put it on the Jeep. Mike bolts it down. It's a perfect fit and color. Hopefully this will solve the noise issues. Saturday- We have some sun. Yay. Mike went out outside while I opened up the doors and cleaned. Mike got done outside just before it started to rain. Again. This has been the craziest weather this year. Maybe it's a good thing that I haven't done my garden yet. I think if I had planted anything it would have all rotted by now. Sunday- Yay. It's not raining and it looks beautiful out. Mike and I have to go to town. On our way we stop at Nicole's to drop off a few bags of clothes. Her husband does the local yard sale and maybe he can sell this stuff. Then we head to Lowe's to pick up a grinder, concrete and rust restorer. Mike also takes me to look at pressure cookers for canning but we didn't find any. Maybe it's too early. We get everything that we need and head home to work. On our way home Mike suggests we try mowing again. Oh I am so thrilled, not. We get home, unload the car, hook up the trailer, and re load. Off we go. This time we actually get some work done. Four hours later and I got all the weed eating done and Mike got most of the lawn cut down to the right level. Woo hoo. Now maybe we can start on regular maintenance. On our way out the gate we run into the young man who is interested in buying the property. He came back with a shovel to dig some holes to see how the land perks for a septic system. We walked with him and found out his wife had a baby girl yesterday. After spending time with him we all head home. Mike and I have a late dinner and while I upload the pictures for our story Mike goes up to play with his new toys. We had to buy an electric grinder because the one we had was just burning up the batteries. First Mike has to sand/grind all the loose pieces off the building. Any dents he has to pound out then filled and any rust spots he will grind down and spray with rust restorer before painting. He says it's just like his younger days when he did body work. Mike working on the building. What a mess. Well that was our week in the Mike and Lisa world. I hope you all enjoyed. Mike and I are really ready to break out and do some real work. Now if we could just get the weather to cooperate. Have a great week and I will write again next week. Lisa