$6,000 Mud and Rock Pit

August 07, 2026

Scene of the Destruction

We seem to have come through our late July heat wave, and Steepmeadow's garden is doing pretty well in spite of record high temperatures for a record length of time and the smoke that descended on us from the burning Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

The tomatoes are starting to produce.

We have a bed full of healthy lettuce, which is a good thing, given this year's as yet uncontained cyclospora explosive diarrhea outbreak. It turns out that, unsurprisingly, the root of the problem is a massive factory agribusiness that uses slave labor, Taylor Farms.

We have peppers and eggplant that are just waiting to pop.

We have winter squash and pumpkins that are starting to pop up.

The yard is producing a bumper crop of creeping Charlie.

In mixed news, we had our old, sagging, rotting, not-up-to-code deck removed, and significant expense.

It ranks as one of the most miserable, least satisfying expenditures of all time in our money pit home.

The demolition uncovered that the deck had not been installed to code. This resulted in rot that needed to be dug out of the walls, and about $2,000 worth of unexpected carpentry expenses. It's clean now.

Unfortunately, what we left was a dead pile of mud and rock. River rock. The river rock and mud go down as far as the contractors could see. Eventually, after a series of delays and faced with mounting expenses, we told them that they could go away and that we would take it from there.

There's a lot left to do, and we are already weary of looking at the mess we've had for the past six weeks or so.

Last weekend, I was able to begin construction on a set of steps so that we will be able to step out of the patio door and not fall and die.

Work continues, and is likely to carry on throughout the coming weekend.

In personal conservation news, driving a fuel efficient car has been a priority for me since I was old enough to own one. The 2023 Chrysler Pacifica PHEV that I had for only a year has been traded (at great financial loss).

Consumer Reports is right about Chryslers. Everything you've ever heard about their total lack of reliability proved to be true in the van that I made the mistake of buying. When it was running, it was great. Magical, even - to have a vehicle that comfy that ran on electricity for 36 miles before switching to mere hybrid mode and getting 31 mpg. But five major repairs (fortunately, all under warranty) in the last year was just untenable.

The final straw was a "Service Charging System" light that illuminated on a Thursday afternoon when I got home from work. I brought the vehicle to the dealership the next day. I was given a Dodge Charger loaner to drive (humiliating). The following Monday, I received a call that the car was good to go. They had drained the battery and refilled it, and there was nothing wrong with it now. But, the fellow noted, "these PHEVs can be a 'little finicky' about which chargers they use." The nail in the coffin was when he went on to note that "you can take a Toyota or a Honda and plug them into anything."

So I picked up the van from the Chrysler dealership and drove to my favorite Mitsubishi dealership, where I had a nearly even trade for a 2019 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. (Apparently, going back to when they were a Saturn dealership, I have purchased or leased seven cars there: a 1997 Saturn SW1, a 2000 Saturn SW2, a 2003 Saturn LW200, a 2005 Saturn Ion, a 2013 Mitsubishi Mirage, a 2015 Mitsubishi Mirage, and now this one.) My first car was a 1981 Plymouth Champ, which sported (a term that may not quite fit the 45 hp power plant) a Mitsubishi engine.

While the electric range is not as good (22 miles), and it is not as quiet or comfortable, it does have pretty good space with fold flat back seats, a great stereo, all the perks, and, as a good Japanese brand, a predicted reliability of "above average." It has an all-wheel drive system, which, while I mostly think those are a waste of gas if you have a good set of all weather (as distinct from "all season") tires, it can't hurt. It can tow up to 1,500 lbs (mostly I want the trailer hitch for a bike rack since I hate driving with trailers so much), and, it's the first car I've had that will car-top my kevlar canoe since 2022. I would have liked to get a newer car with better range, but, unfortunately, I haven't had the time to save up for one yet. Given the economic and political climate, I am keen to stay away from debt, and I was able to get this one for $300 less than the traded in Chrysler. RIP Pound sign Van Life.

Cars I've owned: