Day 234: Home improvements

When we moved in, Exile Central had very few gutters. Only the parts of the roof that would otherwise have poured their rainwater off onto the deck had them, elsewhere nature and gravity could take their course. One result of this was that someone (generally me) arriving at the front door in a rain storm would have to step through a waterfall bringing most of it into the hallway with them in order to get inside.

We now have a gutter along the front of the house and the downpipe has a 3ft-long nearly-horizontal section to get the draining water away from the house. Today I discovered that this section was occupied when I went to refill the bird seed-feeder. It's a chipmunk in case your mammal recognition needed a few more distinctive features. I've no idea if he's moved in, or if it was just a hiding place. If he has moved in, the next rain could make him quite uncomfortable.

We had a nice walk at Five Rivers today as well as trips to the post box and the hardware store. Exile #3 has been on good form, Exile #4 has mostly - except for the first third of the walk - I want someone to carry me! E5N1 was doing OK until now - he's currently attempting to keep everyone awake, and definitely succeeding with Exile #2, who was hoping to do some packing and get to sleep by now.