the last of the typical Fall semester Thursdays

This is the last Thursday that has me completely deflated from a Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of work. (So much am I deflated, that it takes me forever to get to the kitchen table so that I can pick up work again.)

I mean, I do come for breakfast.






But then, instead of staying put, I go out and help clear a bit more of the strawberry bed.


 



(The goal is to bring it all the way down, from the flower beds to the sheep shed. We're not going to make it before winter, but we've come awfully close!)






And then we take another pause -- one that is dictated by necessity: in taking our muddy clothes down to the basement (where we keep the washing machine), I see that the sewage system is now properly and fully backed up. So we are without plumbing and Ed is on the phone calling for help. Too late to do it himself -- we need a fix asap!


(Later)

We learn that it's the curly willow by the farmhouse brick path that is sending roots into our sewage pipes. There are only two choices: chop the tree down or religiously clean the pipes of these tangled knots. I'm going to let you guess which one of us favors which option.

In the evening, we go down to our community center, where the winter farmers market takes place on Thursdays. We try to find something good at each of the stands. It's not hard. Veggies for another stew this week, cheeses too. And a few potatoes, from the happiest potato farmers ever.






It's a cloudy, cold November day. Not many more of those left. And maybe that's a good thing.