Another Snow Day and More Adventures of the Nightmare on Taylor Hill

We got the word just before noon that the university would close due to the hazardous weather coming in.  By the time I could get things rounded up and head home, the snow was so thick that visibility was only a few cars in front of me.  I hustled out to fill the bird feeders quickly, and as usual, they have been flocking to it ever since.  I'll have to fill again before the light goes--it's hard on my little feathered friends this time of year.

I know I have a gazillion pictures of cardinals at the feeder, but it just never ceases to awe me to see a tree full of red birds right outside of my window.  I confess to going to the window several times in an hour just to look at them, awed by their color, their interactions, and their sheer numbers.  We have about 3 inches of snow already since it began at noon, with predictions of up to 7 inches.  It seems like we just did this last week...

Yesterday was fairly pleasant here (near 50) and we finally were able to get someone out to work on the septic tank.  Family and friends (and possibly regular readers, given how many posts I have had about this house now) know that "of course" it was one more thing our favorite contractor did...or should I say, didn't do?  Let's just suffice it to say if you are buying a house where someone says he is putting in a French drain, you should ascertain if he knows how.  All the water from the runoff due to an incorrect and unfinished French drain is pooling on top of the septic tank, leaking into it.  Couple that with normal use, the saturated soil from all the recent rain and snow, and the fact that the soil is full of clay and does not drain well anyway, and you know the outcome of this story.  

On top of that, WtheWB piled all the old concrete from taking out the old septic tank back in the hole on top of the new septic tank!  So, yes, they had to dig out all the old concrete to get to the lid of the new tank.  You just have to wonder why someone like that thought he should go into the housing business.  The capable and efficient service we called removed it and suggested it not be piled back into the hole on top of the tank.  I have personally never installed a septic tank, but I am reasonably certain that I would know not to fill the hole with concrete, understanding one must be able to get to a septic tank at least every 3-4 years.  Enough said (though I sometimes think I will never be able to say enough about this individual and the grief he has caused).  I actually thought this one was pretty mild compared to building a shower by directly depositing mortar onto a wooden floor with no shower pan or liner; the service man yesterday looked at me aghast when I shared that one with him, and explained how after rebuilding one shower, we are currently in the midst of rebuilding the second bathroom for similar reasons.

So, here we are again in the snow and cold of a freak winter blizzard down South, wondering "what was I thinking?" when we decided to move.