"City people try to buy time as a rule, when they can, whereas country people are prepared to kill time, although both try to cherish in their mind's eye the notion of a better life ahead." Edward Hoagland

I'm shocked that it has been so long since I last posted something here.

The roofers are almost done with the roof. We knew they are subcontractors of the roofing company, but come to find out these guys are really just local handymen who live near us. They do all sorts of work, anything but electrical. It's nice to find a local outfit because we've got at least two more roofing projects that need doing, and it would be a savings to not go through the roofing company. I'm glad we did for our house, because it's so important that it not leak, and they will guarantee the workmanship, but these other projects aren't as critical.

This afternoon he pointed out to me that they matched the lines of the roofing on the back of our house. It's one of those things we wouldn't have noticed unless they didn't match it. It's the ridges there on the lower part of the roof, where the pitch changes. They could easily have not matched them, and there would be nothing wrong with that, but it would not look as good.



They should be able to finish up tomorrow. The new guests from Wisconsin moved in today - 6 days. They are important to me because they have relatives not far from here, so I want them to give a good report so maybe we'll get some more business. I was concerned the roofing would disturb them, but they were fine with it. What a relief.



Quackers is still with us. The roofers didn't show up yesterday, and he was so lonely. I had to run to the post office, and when I got back, all hell had broken loose. The fox showed up and was in the front yard looking at Quackers, who was doing a lot of quacking. (He's a goose but sounds more like a duck.) A fisherman heard him and came up into the yard to see what was the matter, and there was the fox, but since it was our fox, it didn't run away like he expected, it walked toward him and Quackers. So he leaned over and hit the fox on the nose with his hat. Oh my. I walked up with the mail in hand, and he told me all this, and how the fox had lingered around the yard before it went behind the house.

I went in and looked out the kitchen window, and there was the fox waiting for me to put out some food, like nothing had happened.



He ate, and hid a dog biscuit, but the fisherman had some hunting dogs in the back of his truck, and they were whining to get out and eat something - the goose or the fox, or possibly both - and that upset him, so he left. I think all the commotion from the roofing project has been keeping him away. I feel terrible about it - like when a college kid comes home to find the parental home in chaos, new kids have moved in, and the poor kid goes back to college with unresolved misunderstandings.

So, without the roofers to watch the goose, I was afraid the fox would come back any time and eat him, so I had to babysit him all day yesterday. This involves bringing him around to the back yard so I can sit in the shade and take a cat nap on the lounge chair. Quackers seemed to enjoy it quite a bit. At one point I started to take him swimming in the river, but discovered the camera battery was low, so I couldn't film it. I was going to leave him in the water while I went to plug it in, but like a 3-year old, he wouldn't stay by himself, and insisted on following me back home. I'll take him swimming again soon.