That first afternoon we managed to get mostly unpacked and the Tundra, re-batteried*, fired up and out of the repo; airs were moist and mild, the Wall Tree autumnal…

Next morning firstly was laundry which mysteriously never finished, rinsed nor drained; some sort of short in the rarely used nearly new washer. Unloading continued, we walked

exploratorily wherein I disconcertingly discovered that the diversion pipe to the upper ponds had been plugged for some time.

Nonetheless after lunch we listened to Luz’ latest installment of Yard Tales, Scotty Hard:

yet another really good one, but then they all are…highly recommended. Check ’em out!

Around then Tara, our most essential [and only] Essential Worker, texted to say she’s finally quitting so I went over to Parker where she was clearing ditches to see her and yes, she is

finally quitting so we have to find the person or persons able and willing to take all this on, ow. Now. Or soon; if anyone knows anyone who lives in Gerlach or wants to and needs pretty much

full time healthful outdoor employment looking after these places please be in touch…

Friday [all THAT was only Thursday, first full day] we were up at first light, ready for Parsons to arrive from Fallon at 7:15 with their dually flatbed** and a drill rig too big to access the afflicted well. Close to two hours were spent attempting to unsuccessfully eliminate the obstructive tree by hand while simultaneously desperately seeking a chainsaw until everybody gave up and they took off, just before L. came out to say Susie’d remembered there was a chainsaw at

Deephole. I fortuitously reached Jeremy’s phone just as they’d reached the Highway, 100′ up from the Deephole gate, and soon they were back to cut the tree, drag it out of the way,

set up the rig and at last begin the work.

The weather worsened, Norton Fine Art showed up in the worst of it to collect the paintings

[not those] for NMA  and shortly thereafter the rig broke down; some sort of electrical malfunction [!].  The guys had to return to Fallon until their mechanic was free and we were

left bereft until, weather clearing, lunch on the porch.  Later everyone walked happily

to the chairs before a quiet eve in and early bed…Phew.

Saturday turned cool and damp;

a day of studio investigations, drizzles by afternoon and despite Linda’s hand having been

severely raked and punctured by the Claws of Cosmos while still abed Sunday we walked through the by now persistent rain*** towards Parker in the course of which

my Lumix’ zoom shorted out; electricity again.

It became an intensely Interior Day with more rain than either of us had ever experienced here.

Albeit unlike most everything electrical that’d messed up recently the little camera dried out

and eventually healed itself but around dinnertime, on a night it would have been insane to drive anywhere let alone two hours to the ER in Fernley, one of the several slashes in L’s hand inexplicably swelled to the size of a baseball. Fortunately an ice pack chilled it but…uh-oh are we ever vulnerable here. The other ER’s only an hour fifteen away but being over the mountains in Cedarville that road might well have been impassable in this storm; hard to know.

Waiting…

*Easier said than done as not only was the NAPA battery a slightly different size from the Interstate in it but the stock attachments were, curiously, a mix of metric and SAE.

**AKA “pickup” = Nevada pickup truck, ton anna half dually. Flatbed, suitable for Mining.

*** The Rain began after midnight and continued non-stop until midday Monday, by which time we’d acquired lakefront property.