The next several days went as normally as…as, um.

As the weather turned colder remnants of Hallowe’en hung on [though Some were already Implementing Christmas, Thanksgiving being Insufficiently Commercial] and with the interesting news that the Tundra’s REAL problem was needing a new front diff

I petitioned L. for the use of her white truck,, prevailing only after promising its tires would Never Leave Pavement [save those eight miles of gravel between 447 and Wall Spring].

Sunday I was away into the thick but fast-moving I-80 traffic with a stop

before West Sacramento so all [me ’n’ Dog Aggie] could pee, then over the hill

with only fog and minor damp around Yuba Gap

for lunch just past Truckee and on into Sparks for gas.

80 East to Wadsworth,

447 north through Nixon,

…and north.

Burner residue on the Rez,

north,

Empire,

the Gerlach P.O., the turn, the aforementioned gravel [all not shown] and Wall Spring to

unload and, failing to jerry-rig the water to the house from the well, settled for buckets and bottles until such time as Dan shows up or I effect a better improvisation.

After refilling two buckets before the incoming high effectively killed the flow first task Monday was to go to Empire to acquire half the store’s stock of gigantic floury “burrito” tortillas, my modest organic corn torts having been left in the bottom of a Benicia refrigerator drawer.

Empire and Gerlach were their usual endearing selves and,

the light right and bright,

it was a perfect day to get back into The Work, though the news on the radio, all-American

second amendment rights gunnery ’n’all, was unfortunate. To say the least.

Clarity, ah yes, and Tuesday morning

Dan made it up in his new rig to video the wells

which although the perforations were more evident still looked kind of grotty and the flows

continue barometric. Our fervent hope remains that they will now become more substantial.

A “nice day” nonetheless and additionally,

a consummation devoutly to be wished, Dan successfully reconnected the house to its water.

Afterwards I drove over to the Parker to turn off the utilities used for Monday night’s bath  before a quiet night without the hassles of bottled and bucketed water.

Morning came up red; I went back to bed, had some weirdly intense dreams and the day

…stayed grey, mostly.

Mostly…

M