Fairlee, VT -- July 22nd, 2003

        Living in Vermont is an adventure . . . at least the way we do it.

        Late last summer I had invited the local well driller out to my lake property to see the location for our well. Although the two cottages have bathrooms, there was no source of water. We stood together on the slight rocky ridge and looked down where a blue flag marked the planned well location. Chas explained to me how his rig worked, and how there was no way I could put a well at the bottom of that hill. It took more than seven months and countless phone messages from west coast to east, but finally the architect announced that he had been able to move the location for the well. I passed word on to the driller, and was delighted to hear that he had struck water at an acceptable flow at 420 feet.

        Jane and I arrived at our lake property late in the afternoon on July 2nd. There was the well, an eight inch capped pipe sticking out of the ground, surrounded by 420 feet worth of ground up rock, clay and earth, in a very wrong place. Perhaps it was I who was confused, I rationalized. But my neighbors confirmed that this well was much too close to an existing septic, as well as being just about where my own disposal field was planned. Now almost three weeks later this issue has receded to the background. The well has been declared safe but illegal. I will use it temporarily -- that is, if and when I can get a pump and pressure tank installed. Other issues have crowded it off the front page, or the front burner, or the front whatever.

        We enjoyed the Fourth of July parade in nearby Fairlee, which was quintessentially rural Americana. Tractors and pickups and kids marching with any excuse. For the first few days we lived in our van. It is tight, but we are comfortable in it. I bought tools, Jane bought supplies, and together we bought a bed and mattress, and a table with four chairs. We obtained a car from Rent-A-Wreck, which sounded like a deal. It wasn't. It was a 1996 Dodge Neon with 160,000 miles, no radio, no shocks, and no air conditioner. Have I mentioned that our first week here was what the tourist board would call 'unseasonably hot.' Muggy and in the 90's every day.

        Distances here in Vermont are tricky. On the one hand, there are no traffic jams, except when tourist shoppers crowd the WalMart parking lot in West Lebanon. The country roads are winding and beautiful, and the new Interstate can whoosh you great distances quickly. The nearest traffic light is 20 minutes away. But for anything but the most basic stuff we can count on at least a half hour's drive to get it. Of course, things that are closer become much more attractive. The Whippi-Dip in Fairlee (11 or 12 minutes) offers soft serve ice cream cones into the evening, and that is where we go. The nearest big stores -- Home Depot, Circuit City, Bed Bath and Beyond, Costco -- are in Burlington, which is an hour and a half drive away. Or in Manchester, the same distance the other direction. I am reliving Laura Ingalls Wilder's stories of life on the frontier, where visits to a real store were very infrequent and correspondingly exciting.

        Jane's nephew Charlie arrived from Charleston on the 8th. He is tall and strong, and 25 years old. He has a sunny disposition and a variety of skills and is living with us for the summer, helping clear the property and make the cabins comfortable. He is living in the first cabin, the one called Pine Crest. We left the two single beds in there. Calling them antiques doesn't capture their essence. I don't know how old the mattresses are, probably only 10 or 20 years, but the heavy steel frame and the exposed 'un-boxed' springs are at lease pre-war and maybe more.

        We are still without our own electricity, but we have an account with Vermont Central Power and a code compliant temporary electrical pole. We are waiting for the power meter socket, then VCP will send the cherry picker to install the new service. Meanwhile we are plugging in to our generous neighbor's power. The phone arrived today, just one day late, for which I should be thankful, I guess. The two week wait was because everybody in Vermont wants their phone turned on at the beginning of summer, and they have just enough installers for the winter demand. The well you have heard enough about already.

        They say in Vermont that if you don't loke the weather, just wait a minute. They say that a lot of other places, too, I guess. But here we certainly have variety. It is usually hot, almost always muggy, and can rain almost anytime. Typically the rain is gentle and intermittent, or sometimes gentle and steady. Occasionally we get mountain thunderstorms which can be sudden and violent. We know that the lightning is striking way down the lake by the delay before the thunder, but it rattles your teeth in their sockets. Last night one particularly loud clap caused Jane to levitate a full foot off of the bed. I swear.