Rural Life 101. So Much to Learn When Foiling Murphy's Law

Timing is everything.

I've been a city dweller and have learned to live by the clock. 

If I didn't, I'd miss the bus, train, subway, carpool, or get stuck in horrendous traffic especially during construction season. Oh yeah, this girl can survive in the city.

Now that I am a rural dweller I see this life also runs on a clock. Like planting season. Why, rural folk even put calling the septic company to drain the tank on the calendar! And that's not all! 

I've learned when the earliest time to safely walk on lake's ice, the best fishing spots, how to shop bulk because the nearest grocery store is far away, when to pick then can various fruits and vegetables, how to work a generator because the power goes out a lot of times, how to work a tractor mower and heavy duty snowblower, and much more. I can even make a dutch oven full of the best hearty stew you've ever tasted. This girl has her rural on. 

In both city and country the workings can get mucked up without a notice. This is the time I'd prefer living in an apartment because I can call maintenance. 

Unfortunately, the maintenance guy is us in our rural home.

These last two weeks I've learned how to identify and resolve a septic field that has collapsed.

I didn't remember signing up for this class.

Had I been asked ahead of time, I would have said the idea stank. 

But here I am. 

Two trips to the county office. County inspectors visits. The bad news in writing. Contacting a plumber. Hearing the news. Calling the county back. Getting a revised permit. Calling the septic service, then listen for the mighty trucks rolling.

I must admit, I thought the ten huge construction vehicles rumbling up the street were exciting until they crawled across our one-year-old asphalt driveway. 

Still, I felt like a little kid watching all the trucks and workers.

I was excited to see how easily the yard could be transformed into twenty ten-foot mounds. How easily the earth collapsed under a worker. He only fell six feet.













I filmed each step. Interviewed the workers. I could write a book about the subject.

But I won't.

Because I really don't like non fiction.

The tale is nearly over. Only half of the ten foot mounds are left in the backyard. The workers have gone home. They'll finish the job tomorrow morning.


And we have written on our calendar to check the system every three years like other rural folk do. BTW we didn't cause the problem. The poor system had become old. It lasted 30 years which is unusual.




The good news is we won't have problems when our 6 month grandson comes to visit next month. And trust me. Those little critters can test a septic system.


All in all. Murphy's Law didn't win (if anything can go wrong, it will). And Pollyanna can say we played the glad game. (Disney movie)

This post has been brought to you by the one word: FoilMurphy'sLaw