While on our daily walk yesterday, Tess and I came across a couple working diligently in the ditch on the side of the road. As usual, Tess wanted to stop and greet the people, so we chatted for several minutes.

I learned they were trying to uncover the water main to their house, which had become buried under a year’s growth of brush and bramble. They knew the approximate location of the main, but with all the thorns, grass, and weeds, they couldn’t find it. I didn’t envy them. The day was frigid and damp, and the ditch stretched on quite a ways. The brush was thick, and despite the abundance of rain, the ground was hard.