This neighborhood rocks! Duh.

Most of the northeastern United States is covered in snow, but it just seemed to miss us here.  The weather delayed my sister's departure, and this morning we got breakfast on her way out of town.  While we missed the snow, the temperatures last night resulted in the lock on the front gate being frozen or broken in the shut position.  The cylinder turned but didn't move anything.  I went back to the house and grabbed the bolt cutters, which now live in the truck.

After a few minutes of me trying to cut through the lock, my sister reminded me that I bought the one that was impossible to cut through.  This duh moment resulted in the quick snipping of the chain that held the lock.  And we were off.

At some point during the day the bolt that held the gate collar to the gate had finally come unfastened.  This is the 3-5 time fixing the gate.  The first time I had to remove the post from the original 10ft gate to get some equipment in.  The second fix I had to remove the post from the 14ft gate that replaced the 10ft gate to move a building out.  The third time I concreted the post in place.  The collar has fallen off several times.  Each time we further crushed the side of the gate hoping it will stay.

I did not have the opportunity to fix at the gate.  After delivering some compost to a friend, I stopped by Southern States to pick up a new collar.  I saw the lights off and the man sweeping inside, I knew I was too late.

So sad, I headed home as the sun still managed to light up the horizon slightly.  Coming down the road I see the gate hanging beautifully.  Freddie had gotten out there with his car jack and fixed it while I was gone.  We spoke for a little bit, and he came up with an idea to fix the collar so it would never slip out again.  I was convinced I was going to have to bring a welder and generator.  Freddie pointed out that if I drill a hole and run a bolt through the whole thing, it would do the job better.

A lot of "permaculture principles" are the duh way of fixing things.  We as a society have come so far that we do not realize that the easier way is often more efficient.  In the example of a healthy forest, all layers support each other through nutrients from decay, and there is production at minimum seven levels.   Our modern agriculture system requires endless amounts of fertilizer from fossil fuels, yet production is limited to only one level.  I was ready to jump to the welder and generator when all I need was a hand drill and a bolt.  The problem with duh moments is that you need somebody to remind you to take a step back.  On the way out of the house to deliver the compost, I saw a huge hawk perched on the electric line surveying the ground for food.  I have herd it mention that the medicine of the hawk reminds us to take a step back when we are so wrapped up in things that we fail to see the full picture.