Sovereignty

I felt a little like the Great Britain of old yesterday. A group had established a colony – and, being the just and sovereign ruler that I am, I had them all EXTERMINATED.

Yes, a colony of ants had invaded my home. They probably actually set up shop two or three years ago, but this spring it just became unbearable. I’ve thrown away so much food. Not good in such a tight economy, but I’m not going to eat anything that has had those little creatures marching through it. Ugh.

The colony was in my kitchen, and they move around inside my walls! I invited Senske out yesterday and they quickly discovered the nest. We gave them some “really good food” to eat and take back to the rest of the squatters. I was told it might get worse before it gets better, but the only thing I’ve seen today is dead bugs. Yea.

I’ve got the phone company coming out later this afternoon to troubleshoot my telephone. Started getting static in the line about a week ago. Then couldn’t get a dial tone. And when I call from my cell, it sometimes rings and sometimes doesn’t. Very strange. Neighbor had similar problems last week. I’m sure it has something to do with the recent road work in the area. But, who knows for sure.

Tuesday we were without water for five or six hours, as the contractors were making the final tie-in to the new water line for our community well. We now have one well for domestic water (the house) that is nitrate free. That is good. Our old well and lines are now used exclusively for irrigation and water for the animals. Imagine my surprise when I discovered Wednesday afternoon that the outside water was not turned back on. Oh dear – horses without water. Not good. But I had filled the two big water troughs earlier on Tuesday, so I simply dipped buckets out of them to provide liquid refreshment to the ones with automatic waterers.

Turns out that they are working on our old system, and should have water back on sometime either late this afternoon or early Friday. Then I remembered that I have an outside faucet that is hooked up to my house water. So today I strung a couple hoses together and refilled all of the troughs. Everybody is happy again.

And I’m happy too. The folks that have been working these last few months on our new water system asked me about six weeks ago if I would be willing to take some of the extra dirt they were going to have left over after the project was completed. They volunteered to not only haul in fresh, clean dirt, but to scoop up and move all of the manure that had built up in the arena. Believe me, there was a massive amount of buildup. Two guys showed up at my house at 8:15am this morning. It took them less than two hours to totally scrape the arena clean, using a big earth mover and a caterpillar tractor with a blade. With my little tractor, it would probably have taken me a month. They’re now busy putting the finishing touches on the dirt they brought in. It is being leveled and smoothed out. I’m guessing it’s going to look like a highway when they are done.

And the best part? This is all FREE.

On another note, Albert’s visit to the doctor on Monday went well. Hopefully his new regimen will keep his pain under control. They increased his dosage and he now takes the meds three times per day. After the doctor’s appointment, we went to lunch. Dusty Burgers in Wenatchee are the best! Before heading out of town, we made a final stop at Penney’s for new clothes! It was a quick shopping excursion, more like a reconnaissance mission. Plan was to go in, find the men’s section, go to the jeans section, and leave. In and out in about 15 minutes. That’s MY kind of shopping.

Oh……………and Africa? We currently have 19 individuals that will be going to Rwanda the end of June. All of the travelers sent their plane deposit money, and reservations were made YESTERDAY. What a huge relieve. Finally, a couple weeks of relaxing and little to do.

It’s been a busy couple of days. Now I think it might be time for this ruler to take a nap!