Wednesday I decided to take the ballast out of the truck bed. It had rained off and on all day, but it seemed high time to do this. It took maybe a half hour.

Serendipity. Had I put this off due to the weather I would not have discovered that my hot water heater was leaking. I change into my working kit near the furnace, and upon returning from outside I saw a puddle on top of the tank and water below it :o(


Water seeped out below the fitting, pooled under the flange, and ran off onto the floor. The top of this tank had a fiberglass insulated cover, removed now, that hid the fact that it had gotten wet over time from a leaking Hy-Vent, retained moisture, and corroded the flange and compromised the seal. I’ve been watching this area for a couple of years, but now, 13 years on... The pic was taken after I shut off valves and cleaned things up.

I had a tech assess the situation even though I saw no solution beyond replacing the heater. I spoke with my oil company Thursday, and Friday they installed a new unit.


Woohoo! Fast, professional service, and pricey, but necessary.

My only concern was the water temperature; I measured this at the tap using a meat thermometer and got 150°F. Although I had an idea how to change this, I asked the installer to show me how. Unfortunately he set it a bit higher while explaining: he turned the wheel the wrong way. After hearing the furnace run longer than expected last night I checked the temp again and got 152°F+. Yeeek! Long story short, I went online, felt I got the wrong results from the Duck’s assist, and then found a clear YouTube video that clarified things.


150°+- The Duck said turn the notched wheel counterclockwise to lower the temp. The video agreed with my feeling that it was clockwise. The reason I was having trouble with this was that the control is in a tight spot and it is difficult to read the stamped temperatures on the shiny, notched wheel straight on.


120°F Joy!

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An unrelated note


I look for crocus each Spring, thinking of porsupah, and I saw this out front on Tuesday. 2024… time, time, time

Ruth Buzzi died yesterday. Did you know she was a Rhode Island native and had a replica of her iconic bench given to the town of Westerly? Well, now you do ;o)

I wasn’t expecting this, so soon-



I even went back to check on where I left yesterday’s bunny to see if maybe it survived and returned. Nope. It was still as I left it, partially covered with a blanket of pine needles in case it hadn’t died; I finished covering it and said a little prayer for it.

I’ve been keeping the trail cam aimed at the new gate in the dog’s yard. Rabbits frequently come into the yard under the old gate as well as three openings under the fence. They sometimes make nests around the yard, and come in to nurse the kits a couple of times, at dusk and dawn.


This was a bunny in the yard last night. It may have come under the new gate, rabbits being quite flexible, but more likely under the fence up next to where I sunk the last post. Unfortunately, The Huntress (2.0) killed the little thing this morning about an hour after this video. I don’t believe it had a litter due to its size, I think it was just out and about.

One dies, another will arrive. As said, there was a smaller kit on the other side of the fence that could be the next to explore the yard. It’s interesting that the rabbits have their litters back here; the pup certainly marks the area well enough, and no other predators come through.

Nature, she has her ways.