Our new handyman, Dan Rogers, is a classy person. We asked him to come when he can to fix our point well water pump; it’s making many death noises. He said he was going vacationing in the Adirondack for the next two weeks and would come by as soon as he returned; he said the pump was in danger of failing.

We thanked him for caring and said we’d see him when he returned. But I was concerned. The last time we needed a  new point well pump, we couldn’t get one single plumber to come in the three days before a record-breaking cold front. Nobody cared that all of our pipes were about to burst.

We had to call an old friend, a retired engineer, to come. Bless him, he did.

The phone rang at noon today, and Dan said he didn’t think he would relax in the Adirondacks, fearing that our water could go out and point well pumps are notoriously tricky to fix. I was surprised but happy and relieved.

Dan spent three hours here clearing out the pumps and installing the pump. He struggled with one pipe and voltage issues and got the new pump working. It was making loud and painful noises and is now as quiet as a mouse. He also climbed up on a ladder to measure the slate pieces we needed to make the barn dry and protected through the winter; we found a hole around some broken slate.

Our friend Ian McRae works for a slate cutter and will bring us the 25 pieces of slate Dan will need to fix the roof of the big barn when he returns. Anyone in the country knows what a precious gift it is to have a handyman like Dan, who puts his customers ahead of himself and knows what it means up here on a farm without water, summer, or winter.

The animals need water just as much as we do.

As he left, he handed me an almost deficient bill. Why so low? I asked, and Dan said because he made a mistake at one point and shouldn’t be charging us for that. I re-adjusted the bill and gave him what he deserved.

We lucked out with Dan; the slate pieces are coming and will be here when he returns. Good rabbit hunting, Dan.