0011

I have no clock or radio to tell me what time it is. The sun shining through the dirty east window wakes me, and my stomach tells me when it is time to eat.

The need to know my land in a quantifiable manner grabs my focus this morning. I can usually do a pretty accurate job of marking a 3-foot pace. Starting from the road junction, 1/4 mile to my property line is 1320 feet, or 440 paces. Pacing this off, and rechecking to make sure, I am pleasantly surprised to discover that I apparently own a pretty good chunk of the woods east of the house; more trees than I had counted on. Using the compass, I pace back into the south woods, too, just to get an idea of how far back my land extends. I find another small pond back there, and a hill of maples that must only be partially mine. It's a good thing I have this compass; 20 acres doesn't sound like much, but these young trees grow thickly, and I could easily become disoriented. I'll need to become more familiar with my woods.

Back in the yard, I poke around in the garage, and make some interesting discoveries: a couple of slightly damaged antique dressers, and an old Philco electric range. I don't suppose the stove works, but the dressers appear to be serviceable. Wait a minute - didn't I see a 220-volt outlet in the kitchen? Checking it out, it seems to match. Couldn't hurt to try. I drag the old Philco to the house, plug it in, and start turning knobs. To my surprise, the oven and two of the top burners seem to work! How about that? To be sure, I will still want to eventually find a wood-fired cookstove, but in the meantime it sure would be nice to be able to cook a meal, instead of living on coldcut sandwiches. More efficient and economical in the long run, too.

I take time to pump water repeatedly, bucket after bucket, just to flow the water and clean it up. Bucket after bucket after bucket, and I can't pump the well dry. Good. Finally, I dip a cup into the bucket, and take a sip. Tastes good. Cold, clear. Take a deeper drink. That's good water. Drain the cup. Who needs water tests? If I don't get a bellyache or die, that will be the proof. The only thing is, there's a little sand in the bottom of the bucket; I wonder if anything can be done about that.

The day wanes, and so does my supply of food. I must needs return to town, and without having made much progress on digging the garden (sigh).