Roll Out the 'Barrow

In the depths of winter here, it is easy to forget the sun exists. Today brought a reminder.

 
We loitered at the water's edge, watched the tide creep back in. With only an hour of daylight remaining, we decided to take advantage of the giant pile of free fill dirt just around the bend. The plan was to run a few wheelbarrow loads to our driveway, which is basically one big low spot that needs to be built up.

On the short walk back from the shore, we bumped into Linda, who introduced us to Terry, been here since the '80s. After sharing our relief that the days are inching longer (sunset at 5pm today!), we excused ourselves to do our chore. In parting, Terry offered use of his wheelbarrow, which we accepted, figuring it would double our productivity.

After we began, Linda surprised us by pitching in with a shovel of her own, plus another wheelbarrow. Then Terry joined the impromptu work party, so we had four shovelers and three wheelbarrows shuttling the spoils to our yard, where a couple dozen loads seemed to barely make a dent but my foot feel told me was a big improvement.

The last time we lived this remotely, it was a lot more isolating, well out of sight and earshot of the nearest neighbor. One concern about moving here was loneliness, but so far that hasn't been an issue as we've been meeting many neighbors and learning the local history. We feel welcome already.

After a barely productive day, I took an unearned break with two napping cats. Then next door neighbor Jared dropped by unannounced (like people used to) and we asked him to join us for dinner, our first sitdown guest. Being able to host, however humbly, is a big step towards making this house a home.