C-co-cold

Enough daylight to see I was out and at it. Three fountains frozen. Okay right turn on the road the first fountain had self thawed and working. The second fountain had ¾” ice capping the cup. Ice removed fountain had water in it. Opened trap and it also had power. Left it for awhile to check on the third fountain. Inside the trap door no apparent power . Bowels were frozen solid. Run home for long extension cord with duplex plug on the end. Had to leave trap wired open to let outside power cord. To discourage ladies getting into my Rube Goldberg I threw a tote bag on the fountain deck under the baling wired shut trap. Threw a miserable representation of a plank over some my power cord in hopes it wouldn’t be dragged away by some heavy foot old girl. Then tired to the shop and the field switch box. With a voltage checker I found a switch to be likely burned out wasn’t working. Only way to fix it was to replace it. Between the cussed cold and the determined shakes it were a good idea to cut all the main fuse box master switch before I unappetizingly fried some fingers. Brother having joined me he took to chopping the ice out of the fountain bows. Power back on heaters and heat bulbs in working order, a requisitioned hair dryer pressed into service we tried our bests to soften the over abundance of hard water. Brother finally went after hot water. Was just what we needed to thaw out the floats and the float operated valves. Was an accomplished feeling when that fountain was working and doing its thing under its own designated power. Back to the second fountain while it weren’t as frozen the second one it needed all the required treatments of the third one. Thinking I was all done rechecking the electrical part of the third fountain found the receptacle had just gone bad. Argh! It was time to break for lunch. I needed warming up and fueled up belly for myself to continue functioning this day‘s afternoon.
Back to work on the third fountain the receptacle wasn’t to difficult to replace. Ready to go, right? Wrong the second light switch in the same switch box had failed. What is this, I had already replaced the first switch in this same box this very morning. Just freaking wonderful I get to take this same electrical box apart all over again. Two primary components in an electrical circuit replaced. The fountain electrical feed fix and ready to go I got a good look at the male end of the fountain’s heating element’s power cord. Looking disgusting I felt it needed replacing. So, what’s a conscientious electrician gone-a do, and yesterday I couldn’t even spell it and today I are one, laying on the ground beside that fountain fussing with some of the smallest damn screws ever conceived by another man giving this chilled to the bone and shaking old coot one Hell of a time to put this last bit of electrical hardware together. Well, determined as I was I did get it together and every thing is copasetic.
Luckily I have had a very good day. I didn’t have to do any this fixing either in a foot of snow or a blizzard. It was a good day. And oh, being absent minded I forgot to feed my ladies this morning. Such an understanding bunch of females I haven’t hear one derogatory word from a single one of them. Either that or their comments were frozen mid air and II wont hear them until we’ve a Spring thaw?
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Now, for some fun stuff. Smart enough not to turn Greenes’ lights on and forget to turn them off I could make it out the drive up to Mike’s for some quadracycle time. Damned if I ain’t anxious to put that thing together. Well, while I had only thought about it a couple hours ago, I did make up to Mike’s, I went through the parts I had taken with me making more than two mental lists what is missing and additional idea modifying parts. Worst part I need to re-diagram my entire bike’s drive train for I’ll be hanged if I remember my original thoughts upon this wild project. Lets see, tomorrow I need to find some bicycle forks and drag out a tw bushel sized plastic tub what loaded with hundred’s odds’n’ends miscellaneous parts. This thing’s more fun than a thousand pieced jigsaw puzzle, this one with a bonus, I get to ride it when I’ve finished it. Hmm, wondering how’ll I fashion some early 1900’s fender for it?
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Oh balderdash! I’ve another slow running fountain to fix tomorrow this time.
Darn, I don’t remember it being this cold so early in the cold weather seasons. Must be the earth is moving away form the sun in its elliptical swing around the sun? Got to be.!
“Rainbows.”
Fernan