Owen Mows the Lane

Spring Break took a sharp turn when the Bays Boys and their dad arrived the other day.  I can’t say that it’s a right or left turn, at least not politically speaking – we are all on the same Bernie page – but it certainly took Nyel down a road he didn’t quite expect.  In a good way.  I think.

The boys were intent on ‘helping’ Nyel with any chores that needed doing.  It’s not every day he gets such an offer and so he thought about it seriously.  Mowing was high on eleven-year-old Owen’s list.  He is an accomplished rider-mower operator having received his early training right here in Oysterville on Nyel’s Craftsman YTS4000.   Unfortunately, Nyel had mowed our yard just the day before they arrived so… he set Owen to work on Clay Street (a.k.a. “the lane”).

Before Nyel even got the mower out of the garage for him, Owen walked the lane – down one side and up the other.  When I asked, he said, “I just wanted to check it out first.”  I was impressed.  He proceeded with care.   After our extra rainy winter, the lane is fraught with dips and hummocks and even a few small potholes.  I was reassured by Owen’s careful pre-planning foray.

Willie and Randal and the Woodpile

Meanwhile, Nyel suggested that our woodpile needed serious help – as in unstacking, discarding old, rotten pieces, and total reorganization.  Fourteen-year-old Willie disappeared into the church to play his horn about that time but Randal pitched in with a will.  Soon the woodpile was totally dismantled, Nyel had backed his truck into the lane, and Willie showed up in time to load it up with the stuff headed for the burn pile.

But… before any of this happened, the focus was on the solar powered chicken coop door that Nyel has never been able to set up.  When Mark Tyler and Betsy Millard gave up their chickens a few years back, Mark gave that door to us.  Yesterday, Nyel decided to let Owen (a new chicken farmer in his own right) see if he could get it working.  Soon Randal joined the two of them.  And it wasn’t long before Tucker wandered over to see what was going on.  Then Tom Douglas, local jack-of-all-trades, came by.  And before long some tourists joined the group.  A regular Oysterville Meeting right in front of our garage!

Randal, Owen, Nyel, Tucker – Checking Out the Coop Door

They checked all the parts – the solar panel, the timer, the door-lifter-upper (technical term), the motor, the fuses in the motor.  They took things apart and put them back together.  Everyone had a suggestion.  There was no manual so we went online to find one.  About then, Nyel pulled the timer off its moorings and… wouldn’t you know!  The instructions were printed on its rear (and very hidden) panel!

After an hour or so, the collective conclusion: faulty motor.  Last night Randal searched the internet and found a site which stated in no uncertain terms:  The Add-A-Motor D20 chicken coop door opener gear box suffers from multiple design defects that the maker has not addressed, and essentially has no warranty since the maker refuses to honor defects in materials, so this blog will help people repair the motor gear and prevent a failure like this from occurring again.

So there you have it.  Last night, Nyel walked out to the back forty, as usual, to close the coop door.  By hand.  His garden chores are waiting for another day.  And the chicken door and the woodpile are still projects ‘in progress.’

But the lane looks great!