Cracked and Baffled

We love our old house. We love the creaks and the groans, the imperfect floors, the drafts and those cobwebs that keep reappearing. We love it’s history, its eyes and ears, its secrets. But an old house, is like an old person. It needs constant care and attention. You get a hip replaced and the knee goes out. You sneeze and all hell breaks loose.

But we love the wood panelled walls in the “summer kitchen” and its beamed ceiling. We love the fireplaces that burn bright and comforting in the fall, winter and early spring. We cherish the abundant screen doors that give out to the gardens and fresh air, to the decks and the patio in the late spring, summer and early fall. We love the uncurtained windows facing the stunning vistas to the north and south and east and west and, of course, the front porch facing to the sun rise.

However, there is the old faithful dug well with its magnificent stone walls and abundant water source that just gave out after a parching summer of drought. Fortunately, we have our trusty cistern recently refurbished and our many rain barrels. So we have survived these past two weeks quite well while waiting for the plumber to arrive: a wonderful lesson in water conservation. The well needs to be cleaned out and the intake freed of the silt that is now blocking it.

Then there is the lovely soap stone fireplace in our summer kitchen, now converted to one of our living rooms. The chimney sweep has reported after his recent annual visit that the baffle is bust. Yes, and we must not use it until it is repaired, for it is cracked and potentially a fire hazard. So we wait for our cracked baffle to be repaired. Cracked and baffled ourselves. Fortunately we have had a very warm and extended autumn.

While cutting up some firewood the other day, the chainsaw gave out just as we were finishing the task, and in the last trimming of fence rows the lawn mower sputtered to a stop. It was not merely out of gas. I have made that mistake embarrassingly once before. And when we hooked up the trailer to take these machines in for repair, the trailer’s signal lights did not work. So now we must wait for the repair of the trailer’s electrical system before ferrying our gadgets to the distant mechanic.

Yes, we love our home and the knoll upon which it sits. We love that we know these service people by name and where they live, and that they are all close neighbours. We love that we feel part of the wonderful countryside around us with its challenges and its blessings.