This is what greeted me yesterday morning when Olga and I went for her walk. I gotta hand it to Mr. Russia, he did a good job with that porch railing. It definitely looks better than it did. I love that he even obtained professional-looking "wet paint" signs. That guy is prepared! (And the paint is dry now.)
I am super-proud of my own DIY skills. For several months now we've had a problem with water accumulating in the bottom of our refrigerator. I knew this was the result of a blocked drain line, but the little tool that came with the fridge was ineffective in clearing it. The property inspector who came from our management company a couple of months ago included it in his report as something that needed fixing. But the other day I went to the hardware store and bought a long, skinny, tiny brush and ran that through the drain, and voila! The fridge is draining. I was able to e-mail the property manager yesterday, copying the landlords, and say, in effect, "See? I am capable of fixing something myself."
Oh, look! It's another fly! (In this case, a hornet mimic hoverfly, resting on one of my slug-damaged dahlias.) That must mean it's time for...
...more stinky college poetry!
Assumption on a Summer Street
Heavy sunshine fell through wet air, as
I stood by the steaming street
waiting to cross, sweating.
A metallic river of traffic inched by me, until
a red-haired woman in a battered seafood truck
stopped and waved. I ran
Thinking she had stopped for me.
I had half crossed the burnt road when,Behind me, she hooted onceseemingly irritated.
I did not know why
Until I reached the opposite bank, panting,and belatedly realizedshe didn't mean to wave me on.
She wanted me to give her directions.
I felt foolish,and hiding behind my sunglasses,I walked on, breathing the humidity.
This is from 1986, and I do not remember that incident at all (why would I?), nor why I chose to write about it. What's up with the capitalization? It's a mystery. But it's kind of cool that this tiny occurrence, lost to the fog of time, can now be resurrected through my old writing, mailed to me by my friend. (See yesterday's post.)
I will say that "heavy sunshine falling through wet air" pretty much sums up summer in Florida. I got that much right.
Here in our corner of England, it's supposed to hit 87º F (or 31º C) today, which the weather people call "hot." Ha! I laugh at your hotness! Except that we have no air conditioning -- there is that.
You bought a "pipe cleaner" brush? I can't find skinny brushes here, so I bought a long handled regular bottle brush and trimmed the bristles to a half inch all around and use that to clean down inside the sink and basin drains. I've never yet had trouble with my fridge draining and hope it never happens.
ReplyDeleteVery posh railing - should be good for several years.
ReplyDeleteThere were some big pots of Dahlias for sale at the car-boot sale on Saturday and I nearly bought one but then remembered your slug eaten plants and decided against!
Haha, we have our oldest friends coming over for the day today (we live in the South Downs atop a small hill in between Bignor Hill and the Rother valley) and they will be accompanied by their son and daughter in law and two young granddaughters who live in Florida! So while I’m filling bottles of water and chilling them and setting out chairs and blankets under the shade of trees they will probably be in heaven. I love your love and knowledge of insects and you and me have both raised Bishop’s Children from seed. Mine live in the veg plot where they happily combine with the courgettes, squash, sweetcorn and purple French beans. Wish you could see my natural perennial wildflower meadow Steve, but I’m happy that an asst prof (still only 33 yo!) in epimediology from Jacksonville is coming today to see it. Sarah in Sussex
ReplyDeleteI did like that line “heavy sunshine falling through wet air.” Warm without air-conditioning is hot.
ReplyDeleteI love this innocent poem. It tells a story and there is a story behind the story. I threw away the poems I wrote many years ago for fear that my children will find it when the day comes.
ReplyDeleteMr Russia has done a fine job of the railing. I hope he used hard-wearing "Hammerite" paint and not some cheap Russian alternative like "Дерьмовая краска".
ReplyDeleteThat poetry reads like a graphic novel
ReplyDeleteActually when I first read that about the "heavy sunshine" I thought, 'That feels like here.'
ReplyDeleteThen I realized you were writing about Florida.
That's funny about the brush. Two days ago I was in a $2 shop and I bought a strongly bristled drain cleaning brush for $4. I used it on the bathroom basin. I brought up some muck but did not cure the gurgling drain.
ReplyDeleteDo you really want to prove to flat management and owner your DIY skills?
Well, good for you for fixing your fridge!
ReplyDeleteAt first I thought your poem would be something religious because of the word "Assumption" but I should not have assumed about your Assumption before I read the poem! I like your poetry!
That poem really is a glimpse of awkward young Steve, feeling inordinately shamed over a minor misunderstanding. The fact that all these years later, you can read it and wonder at it is a sign of your own growth.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like that green door needs a new coat of paint, too!
ReplyDeleteYou did a good job in that poem of describing the Florida summer heat. It can be a place where the air envelopes you like a blanket.
ReplyDeleteGood for you for fixing the refrigerator. That was a clever idea. Stay cool today!
Very good Florida poem.
ReplyDeleteFixing the fridge was great, but I wouldn't have told the landlord, or they might assign more repairs to you, while still expecting rent.
ReplyDeleteDIY achieves efficiency which I like. Waiting for someone to come and do a fix can be a long wait. Good for you and Mr. Russia for your DIY ability. Love the poem. Summer is now warmer. I hear heat pump sales for cooling and heating is on the increase.
ReplyDeleteI like that poem although I've never lived a place with that kind of climate. You describe it well. The railing does look sharp!
ReplyDeleteHeavy sunshine falling through wet air AND breathing humidity are descriptive of south Arkansas, too. Thank goodness for air-conditioning! You did a great job in this poem of making me feel what you were feeling at the time.
ReplyDeletebreathing the humidity -- that's what I do every time I step outside. I didn't know refrigerators needed to drain. I guess if I had ever had a refrigerator that didn't drain I would have learned about it.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
When I was reading your poem, I was thinking how well you captured the feeling of hot and humid, something you certainly know about growing up in Florida!
ReplyDeleteI have only been to Florida once, in 1999, and even from that one holiday there I can relate to the word-picture of the heavy sunshine etc.
ReplyDeleteWhile it has certainly been feeling hot here in Yorkshire at 26C, at home in my part of southern Germany 26 is warm, not hot. However, nobody I know has a/c in their homes, and I don‘t have it at the office, either. Therefore, temperatures above 30C do feel uncomfortable for work, and it can get really exhausting when it doesn‘t cool off over night and we can‘t sleep.
Appliances need a lot of attention. They are complicated so not easy to solve problems.
ReplyDeleteRiver: I did! I was amazed they had one at our hardware store, but they did.
ReplyDeleteSue: Probably wise! They're fine if you can elevate them or otherwise protect them from slugs and snails, but at least in our garden, it's a constant battle.
Sarah: Well, do tell me how some fellow Floridians react to our British summer! I'd love to see your wildflowers. We've had mixed results with growing wildflowers in our garden. But yeah, I do love seeing all the insects and wildlife. We've had very few butterflies so far this year.
Mitchell: True, but at least we don't have the humidity. Not as much, anyway.
Yael: I threw many of these away, but then my old college friend mailed them back to me. I forgot she had a back-up copy!
YP: It's not my railing!
Roentare: Ha! Maybe I should draw some illustrations to go with it?
Bob: Yeah, SC and Florida would be very similar!
Andrew: Well, that's true. I suppose there is some risk in that!
Ellen D: It's a strange word and it brings to mind religion for me too. I probably should have given the poem a different title!
Debby: Yeah, that's exactly it. It's funny how much it evidently bothered me at the time.
Marcia: Yeah, that's our door. It DOES need some work.
Sharon: A WET blanket!
Colette: Thanks! You know what I'm talking about!
Boud: Yeah, like Andrew said, that might not have been the smartest move.
Susan: I honestly don't mind fixing something if it's not too hard. But I'm not doing any major repairs.
Margaret: Consider yourself lucky that you've lived in cooler climes. :)
Kelly: Yeah, I guess it really IS pretty much typical of the entire Southeast!
Janie: I'm not sure they ALL do, but ours does. It has a "wet wall" in the back that has something to do with the cooling.
Michael: And you know it in Virginia too, I'm sure!
Librarian: Yeah, if I were working right now I would no doubt be feeling the heat more. It helps that I'm at home and sitting in the shade in the garden.
Red: Yeah, I was amazed I could fix it! But it wasn't an electronic problem -- that would be beyond me.
Well done, Mr. Russia, and well done, you!
ReplyDeleteYour poem is like today here. 91 and sticky as all get out!