April 19-20, 2013

This weekend was consumed by replacing the hot water heater and hunting for Morel mushrooms. It was mild and very pleasant, warmer on Saturday than Friday.

Hot Water Heater

With the old water heater showing dampness underneath, and given the rust and its age I knew it was time to replace it. I asked Jeff if he could recommend and plumber, and he gave me the number for Rex at the Dinner Bell Ranch. Explaining the situation to Rex he agreed to give me a hand late Friday after he finished some other jobs. He said not to buy the inferior products sold by Lowe's or Home Depot (which is exactly what Jeff said he did), but instead directed me to Mavericks in Berryville. He also directed me to get new flex connections.

So we went straight to Mavericks from Eureka and picked these up -- the fellow that
waited on me was very helpful. Jeff had also recommended a 50 gallon vs 40, since there was not much cost difference. So that is what I got.

Back at the house I left the water off and disconnected the in and out water lines, reconnected a drain hose, and sure enough (as Rex had said) I got more water to drain out.

Next, Sally helped me carry the new water heater in and drag the old one out. We immediately recognized a problem, this one was much shorter than the old one and there was no way the flex connections would reach. I immediately called Rex (about 5pm now) and explained the problem. He was done with his other jobs and was about to head to our place. After sizing up the problem and not finding pvc/cpvc connectors to extend our lines, he headed back to the Dinner Bell to get more supplies, including cinder blocks in case we needed to raise the water heater.

When he returned he had some new kind of plastic pipe I had never seen and said it works really well, but that it requires brass fittings at the joints that have to be crimped on. Then he realized he had forgotten his crimpers, and so had to make yet another trip back to the Dinner Bell.

With everything he needed now, he cut and fitted the water line extensions. The only other problem was threading the pipe fittings onto the male pvc threads without cross threading them. It took him a few tries, but got them on. Next we turned on the water and he found a slight link on the output side at the pvc connection. He shut off the water, unhooked that pipe extension and put one more turn on it. When he left he was thinking he would have to come back out Saturday after picking up some new pvc fittings. But in the morning everything was still dry, so I called him to say another trip was not necessary and that we would stop by the Dinner Bell on our way out and write him a check. It turns out he had something come up and no one was at the Dinner Bell when we arrived, so in the end just put a check in the mail to him.

Morels

We had a big rain Thursday morning, and while walking Tender at lunch Sally found some Morel mushrooms right off Cleveland. I found two more in the same spot that evening, and cooked them a little olive oil with garlic. I am not usually a mushroom fan, but these were delicious.

Knowing that this was the right time of year for them, we set out to find some at the farm. Between Rex's trips I scouted up the draw by the road and up the hill behind the house. Nothing.

Saturday morning we decided to go down and hike up Plume Creek. Still no luck. Having heard they can sometimes be found around May Apples, we headed up the hill. Before getting to the know patches of May Apples, Sally spied three mostly under a cedar but where there was plenty of leaf litter.

Later in the day I decided to try the bluffs to the east of the house and circled back around to the north side of the hill. Its really difficult to navigate this steep terrain, but I was rewarded by finding two more Morels in separate locations. I was expecting to find a cluster like Sally had stumbled onto in town, but maybe we were too late?

Water Cress

At the end of our joint search for mushrooms, Sally wanted some water cress from the creek. There was plenty -- this picture is just a little patch. It was difficult for this aging body to get down into the bottom of the creek and pull some out.

Pickup Rocks

Since the road is so rutted and muddy in the soft, seep area by the twin Sycamores, I decided I would pickup rocks to use to fill in. I did this before, many years ago. I filled four buckets out back, trying to the get the out of the area I mow. I'll spread them on the road another weekend.

Apple and Pear Blossoms

The Apple was blooming nicely, though I know it is not healthy and fully expect it to die this summer. There have also been some blooms on both of the pears, but not as many as I was expecting on the Magness. We'll see if we get any pears ourselves (only 1 last year).