Today I had a talk with the electric company.

Within the next two weeks, they’re going to send someone out to check out our power lines and the trees, to assess what equipment they will need to safely cut the trees away from the power lines.  That is such a relief!  And, it will be done at no cost to us.

With that in mind, I did a once-around the yard, before my daughters went out to start working on the wood pile in the garden, and do some yard clean up.

This is what the pile looked like, before they started on it today.  Much, much smaller than it was.

Right now, it’s down to mostly leaves and dirt, which makes cleaning it up harder.  They took a break from it to start raking some leaves up from a pile in the yard that got snowed on before it was cleared away, plus starting on some of the flower gardens.  The leaves and, later in the year, grass clippings, will be methodically added to the garden area to begin the process of building up the soil.

The main thing I wanted to check out was this power pole in the garden area.

The main power pole is on the opposite side of the house, outside the yard.  That is the one that has the power line to the house itself.

This pole?

I didn’t know anything about it.  I just found out more.

The power lines attached to it run across the road to a power pole on the neighbour’s side of the ditch.  In the other direction, the lines run to our own main power pole.  These are the lines that supply power to the main pole, which then has lines running to the house, pump shack, the garage (up until the movers ran into it), and in the past, the barn as well, which will be set up again when we replace the broken power pole at the garage and get the electricity hooked back up, there.

We’re talking more than 4000 volts running to that post.

Then through the maple grove.

Straight through some of the branches.

Can you see the lines?

Trust me.  They are there.  Barely visible.

I had been concerned about the more visible line running to the house.  These ones, however, are at far more risk!

I suspect there is going to be quite a lot of tree trimming, once the assessment is made.

We’ll have some of our own clean up to do through there, too.  It seems someone did already start to, at some point.

A few dead trees had been cut, then the pieces cut up a bit.

Then just left there.

I don’t know when this was done, but it can’t have been more than a couple of years, if that.  I used to be able to mow the lawn in between these trees.  It used to be very park-like, clear and open.

I hope to return it to that state.

It will make a big difference, to have the electric company coming in to take care of the trees that are endangering the power lines.  Also on the list of things to happen soon, the septic service company will be out at the end of the week to empty the tank.  I think we’ll all be feeling much better once that’s done; there has been this sort of dread in the back of my mind for some time, despite assurances by the septic service company, that the tank is too full and might back up into our basement.  That would be quite the disaster.  My oldest brother has already had to deal with that happening, when it broke down and he had to hire an excavator to dig around the tank so it could be fixed on this inside, as well as the mechanisms in the basement.

My brother had come out on Friday to put the battery back in my mother’s car for her and, while out and about with other things, noticed a single on the Old Kitchen had lifted up.  At first, it looked like a single had been lost, but on closer examination, it seems to have basically folded itself up.  A trip into town today included picking up some roof tar, which can be applied with a caulking gun, so we can gently fold them back and stick them in place.  The problem will be getting to it.  It’s right under the peak of the roof, and about as far to the outer edge of the roof as can be.  Getting to it is not going to be easy, nor very safe.

I also picked up a tube caulking that can be painted, to seal the screw holes from the satellite dishes that had been attached to the side of the house before we upgraded to the ones now mounted on the sun room roof.  I want to see if those need to be sealed with roofing tar, too.

I really don’t want any more leaks happening!

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day.  I will be going to to help my brother take my mother to a medical appointment in the city, so I can start getting informed and, in time, take over from him in taking my mother to these appointments.  Meanwhile, just before I have to leave, my husband’s hospital bed is going to be delivered.  I will have to leave it to the girls to set up a second bed for me, once the hospital bed is installed.

Little by little, it’s getting done.

I’m going to be so happy when all of these are finished!

The Re-Farmer