December 9 – “Wrapping up”

I did a very un-Galveston-like thing this morning.  I wrapped the exposed pipes in our back yard and put those faucet caps on the other two exposed faucets that come out of the house.  It felt very strange doing it while it was fairly warm outside.  Most of the time I wait until the forecast has been verified and they really and truly do expect a freeze on the Island.  Freezes are so few and far between here that I honestly don't pay a lot of attention to the television weather forecasters.  It's nice to see if they think it might rain on the days we have to go into Texas, but it has too often happened that the rain or the freeze line stops at the causeway for some strange reason.     We have three faucets that come out of the framework of the house now.  There used to be just two, but the plumbers after Hurricane Ike said we needed another one.  The one in the back yard stays covered up all year anyway.  That's the only one that has ever frozen, so I guess I have done a little overkill on wrapping it.  The one in the front is facing North, so it's really the main one I try to get covered.  One of those caps fits it well.  The new one is on the side of the house.  It used to be the cut off valve for the house.  It still is, but now it also has a faucet.  I always forget it is there.  Thirteen years without it.  Two with it.  Long term memory trumps short term every time.  The pipe coming out of the ground stays wrapped, and I found a flexible cap that wraps around the new faucet.   That's what I need to look for in the last pipe.  It comes randomly up out of the ground back by a flowerbed in the back yard.  That means I had to wrap the pipe as well as the faucet back there.  The pipe was no problem.  I used some of that foam stuff they sell at WalMart.  The head was a little tougher.  I didn't have another of the flexible ones, so it got the old-timey newspaper and duct tape solution.  Should be fine unless it gets into the teens or something outrageous like that.   We actually have four other pipes sticking up from the ground.  They all are connected to an old well the previous owners dug years ago.  It didn't work when we moved in, and we haven't taken the time or money to see if it is worth pursuing fixing it.  So they remain.  Useless, white rods of pvc pipe with faucet heads on top.  I guess we should keep them as is.  They make for great decoys during water balloon fights.     Psalms 90:14 says, "Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days."   Father, give us some of that satisfaction.  Joy and Gladness are pretty tasty icing on the cake of your love.  Amen.