Heavy Rains, More to Come, Muddy Yard

BEFORE

Well, our septic system's finished, the yards a mass of mud, with more heavy showers to come, so we will just have to wait for it dry, Rodger to come and level it, and our State Patrol office to come and spray the grass seed.  I have to admit to some relief, now that it's done, though we still don't know how much it will cost.  We trust Rodger to be honest and fair, so we'll see whether we have been fools or not.  Everyone I have talked to says he's the man, and we have had a good time with him, as he's quite a talker, enjoys people like our builder Jerry Grice, lots of stories, knows everyone.

We had a really nice dinner last evening with Fred and Judy Gregory, a couple we have known off and on over the years.  Fred's a basketball fanatic, plays in all these three on three tournaments all over the US, and Judy's an artist, in fact, I put pictures of her art work on my blog back in March.  They have a neat house at the north end of the Institute, and their backyard is combination of woods, garden, and her art pieces set in various sections of the yard.  We had drinks and well as dinner on their porch, overlooking their yard, and you would never know you were in the Institute it's so green and sheltered from neighbors, a real hideaway in a very busy community.  We had chicken and beef shisk kebabs, from the Lighthouse, a pie from Half Acres Farm, and Fred makes his own ice cream, this time honey/vanilla, as he's trying to make a sugarless ice cream.  Everything was really tasty; we found out about their kids, one a Chef in Alexandria at the Vermilion restaurant in Old Town, the other, a daughter, a holistic medicine guru, acupuncture and Chinese herbs, in North Carolina.  The Gregory's spend half the year in Davidson, North Carolina, an area they love because of the university and weather.  They say many of their winter neighbors are from the Buffalo/Rochester area like them.  Interesting.

AFTER

Evie's goes off this morning to a meet of the Chautauqua Lake Association, as they are discussing how to organized a sea weed pick up program, which would save the group lots of money.  We are already starting to think about how to hide the twin towers of the septic systems, which stick up out of the ground by about a foot.  We need to create a green area that comes out from the house and surrounds it, attempts to hide it with plants, bushes, other plantings.  It will be mounded, so as to hide the towers.  Any suggestions for plantings, let us know.

Took a run over to the Gravel Pit, picked up four large buckets of top soil, as we are building up our yard by the garden, where there are wet spots that collect water.  We also filled the ditch by the road, just as you enter our property on the right.  It's been an eye sore and hazard, as it fills with mud, then water, and sits there collecting mosquitoes.  Our neighbors did not seem to want to do anything about it when I asked, and told me it was my problem, my property, and I could do with it what I wanted.  That it was on my property was new to  me, and I still think they are wrong, but I had Rodger scoop out the mud yesterday with his shovel, and bring in a load of stones, so the problems been solved, fairly easily and there should be no more problems of people backing into the ditch. I am sure the gravel/stones will settle over time and I will have to add more to it, but it's worth it to keep things up.

Evie's not back yet from her meeting, as she was going to Bon Ton, get her hair done, stop at Weggies and the hardware store.  I'll see her sometime this afternoon, no doubt.