sunday

The wrens (the second member of the pair showed up the day after I wrote "new bird") didn't finish the nest in the birdhouse; it was a decoy. Their main nest is in a large flowerpot, camouflaged beneath a big spider plant, and that nest contains a single egg.

Yesterday one of our squirrels was cornered in the pool cage by Jack. When Rocko and I came out, Jack gave up on the critter and let Rocko have a go. He chased it back and forth a few times, even getting his mouth on it once - but he didn't bite. I called for him and he came back. The squirrel escaped through a small hole in the screen that used to be a favorite access point for stray cats. The strays are gone, but the hole remains.

On the indoor front, two years after it became apparent that there was a significant water leak somewhere, I seem to have finally tracked down and repaired all of the problems.

What was that old saying? When the Eagle shits? Anyway, when Lisa's money came in I went to Swartsel's Ace Hardware and bought new guts for the shower faucets. We have one shower and one tub/shower. Each has a hot and a cold faucet. I was able to fix the cold tap in the tub simply by replacing a washer. The other three were badly corroded and had a lot of lime buildup. Both hot taps leaked from around their shafts, dripping behind the walls.

The new valve kits came with valve seats. I had to replace the one in the shower's hot tap, as there was a piece missing from the edge - the washer couldn't seal. I should replace the slightly corroded seat in the cold tap, but I broke the tool I needed while removing the seat from the hot side. Still, there are no more leaks. I put the shower head in a bucket overnight and it didn't drip a drop.

For two years now I've been turning the water on and off at the meter, out in the back yard, flushing rarely and keeping several gallons of water in jugs in the kitchen. (Kind of reminds me of a situation I had in Tallahassee.) That is no longer necessary! Needless to say, though, I'll still be keeping just as close an eye on consumption as I ever have.