I like to “eat my peas” first and get on with more pleasant things. So, I checked the office mail to see if I had missed anything in the night, plowed through the Times and answered mail from around the world.

Now I am looking at the clock and sighing. Thank Goddess I got the Saturday chores knocked out on the way home from work- eschewing time on one of Willow’s bar stools in semi-protest over the decision to eliminate Liz-with-an-S from the staff. I need to think through my complete response to the event.

There was the usual political blather from the chattering classes. I have no idea what Alaskan fisheries, motor speedways or the rest of the pork in the Budget Cliff or Super Storm Sandy bills has to do with the Fate of the Republic. Looks like our elected chuckle heads managed to get their greasy fingers into our wallets without discussion as usual.

There is something astonishingly cynical about the ability of this system to take care of itself when there is so much that would appear to be more important and immediate. Actual matters of national survival.

Oh well, I need to get my butt in gear and get on the road. The Republic will stand or fall today without comment from me. The Awning Guy is coming at noon to Refuge Farm. As part of a general effort to get the place ship-shape and squared away I am working down a list of deferred infrastructure projects, just like Congress. My improvements do not require the cover of the dead of night to get past.

Of course, the critical difference is that I am actually paying for them, rather than forging a check written on my unborn grandchildren. The flagpole and slate replacement pavers were first, after re-sealing the deck and replacing the failed planks.

Now, I am in the process of replacing the back and side doors. The frames were rotting out- it struck me as odd, since the materials were originally of high quality. Then I realized that the flat sides of the house allowed water to flow down the siding and keep the wood moist, encouraging rot.

So, awnings or something are called for. Plain green, I think, to match the doorframe. At $550 a door, the expense should pay for itself over time- the place was new in 2002, so break even should be in just a few years. I can run budget numbers on that, and they are of human scale, unlike the numbers in DC.

(This Sun-Setter retractable awning might be just the ticket for rainy-day relaxation. Photo Sun-Setter Co,)

I like to sit out when it rains, at least in the three seasons of relative warmth. All the cover I had over the deck was a large umbrella over the big cast-iron table. When folded down, it created a perfect habitat for wasps and other flying nastiness, so down it came.

I am looking at a solution something like this, in matching green. It is more pleasant to plan for the farm than to think about what is happening in the government. I have never seen anything like what is going on here in my working life.

You are lucky if you are far enough away from it that the immediacy is not so…well, personal. But, meanwhile, it is me for the road.

More from Refuge Farm. The Russians are having a birthday today, and they told me to get ready for any contingency.

Copyright 2013 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com