What do you complain about the most?
Such a mysterious adventure story, this thing we call life. Plot twists around every corner. Characters waxing and waning. Textures tangling and untangling, melodies braiding and unbraiding, hues shifting and sifting so subtly we wonder if we’re imagining it,… A mesmerizing mystery so pure, so pulchritudinous as to humble our judgment and suspend our wisdom again and again. We learn and relearn not to judge, not to assume, not to complain.
And yet…
We do.
I do.
Try as I might, I succumb to the temptation. I judge. I assume. I complain.
Can I really call my top five complaints from all the rest? Probably not. And so I will limit the scope of this post to my *current* top five complaints!
High Lake Level
This isn’t my first mention of the anxiety I feel when Lake Champlain water levels exceed norms. Last spring, summer, and fall we endured the most persistent rains that anyone can remember. And the result — despite the fortunate fact that Lake Champlain has crested — is that water levels are still far higher than they should be this time of year.
Persimmon Paucity
After years of pampering our three persimmon trees we finally had a micro crop. Small size and small volume. Unfortunately I was away when they were ready to harvest, so I’m still longing (and patiently anticipating) my first taste of homegrown persimmons. After years of fruitless persimmoning I’m hoping that 2024 will at last offer the reward I’ve so long anticipated.
Timber Fail
We’re presently repairing Rosslyn’s waterfront staircase, the final remediation of multiple TimberSIL casualties resulting from defective material.
TimberSIL is a wood composite fortified with glass. The material was marketed as being especially friendly to the environment as it omits chemicals that might otherwise slow the rate of decay.
Now, in addition to problems being reported in New Orleans, property owners in several states are complaining of significant property damage resulting from premature rotting apparent in TimberSIL. The complaints have followed a 2009 study undertaken by the Oregon State University’s Department of Wood Science Engine.
(Source: TimberSIL Lawsuit Investigation )
Our TimberSIL nightmare has stretched out for the better part of a decade and a half. At long last we will be able to put this long term complaint to rest.
Artichoke Hiatus
Another casualty of last summer’s rain-rain-rainy was that our artichoke crop never set any heads. Relatively robust plants, but nothing edible. I’ve long been aware that this edible thistle variety does not like wet “feet”, so I believe that the unseasonably soggy conditions were to blame for this complaint. But we’re undeterred. After many successful artichoke growing seasons, I’m confident that summer 2024 will mark a rebound.
Icehouse Oasis
I will conclude this post cataloguing my top five current complaints with a bittersweet confession. So I suppose this is really less a complaint than a lament. But close enough.
After years of planning and postponing, and anticipating, Rosslyn’s icehouse reality finally matches the perennial pipe dream. No. Truth be told, the icehouse today exceeds my most optimistic hopes. Inside and out this utility outbuilding is everything I’ve imagined possible. Handsome. Well integrated into Rosslyn’s overarching aesthetic. Phenomenally functional. Efficient. A feat of adaptive reuse, upcycling, and historic rehabilitation.
So why the complaint/lament? Because we waited a looong time, and this dream-come-true has been realized so late. But on balance, it’s done. And it’s amazing. And I’m LOVING it!
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