back by the grace of the goop going

When last we met, I was hurrying to post because the farm was experiencing a

new weather phenomenon I called goop.  It wasn’t rain, snow, sleet or hail.  It

was like melted ice cream, or cheap pudding, or what I’ve long imagined a chut-

ney Squishee from Apu’s Kwik-E-Mart would be.

Here’s what it looked like in the air:

Here’s what it looked like on the windshield of the truck:

We got about a quarter inch of goop.  It quickly slimed up the satellite dishes and

the deck.  Walking down the ramp of the deck to get a ladder to clean the dishes, I

slipped but caught myself on the railing.  This prevented some pain and probably

a few posts to report it to you.

My friend Lee and I had planned to ferry to the mainland for a dump run and many

other errands.  I drove through the goop down the old logging road to his trailer.

We decided against loading a bunch of crap onto the truck while getting coated by

a chutney Squishee.

We headed out anyway.  Within five miles, we were out of the goop.  We ferried to

the mainland.  I had promised Jude I would buy some Remay to cover veggies in

our garden.  Here’s Lee helping the lovely Wendy at the gardening centre:

I bought 100 feet, which required some dexterity to measure.  Here I’m trying to

help and chronicle the event.  I just don’t multi-task well.

With Wendy’s expert guidance, we were soon on our way.  Our next stop was way

out in the boonies to get a used power steering pump.  This is the part that should

stop the truck engine from making barnyard noises.  Lee verified that it was the

proper pump and we were on our way again, but not as soon. 

The truck wouldn’t start.  Fortunately, we were on an incline that made a push start

easy.  We kept it running at the next stop, a net loft where we got a 100 foot square

net for $20.  Yes, $20.  Declining fish stocks, normal wear and ever-changing regu-

lations cause large mounds of surplus nets.  Here’s our catch of the day:

Lee helps center the load.

At our last stop for groceries, I parked the truck on another incline and shut it off.

It started easily, so I moved it closer to the store.  It started again, then again when

we loaded onto the ferry.  When the ferry unloaded, it wouldn’t.  We were at the

back of the boat, so I was able to get some momentum pushing and Lee popped

the clutch.

We got home to a farm that had had an inch of rain in our absence.  The goop was

gone.  Lee crawled under the truck, cleaned off something and the truck started

easily again.  We unloaded all our goodies and he was off to a friend’s garage to re-

place the pump.  The next time I see him, the truck shouldn’t sound like a flock

of chickens.  Then we can focus our energies on building a super coop to raise

some real birds.