Just Another Manic Monday

I struggled with the Monday blues this morning. I had a rainy day with a chance of rain and a ton of paperwork and reports to complete. I also had a very disappointing shower this morning, I may have had better water pressure outside in the rain. All of my trouble shooting and research and replacements at the well had failed and the water pressure was only getting worse. I knew that I had to call someone, but I was dreading telling my managers that ANOTHER thing was broken. After the Gator and then my truck needed big repairs, I was afraid that the well would be another big cost.
I started in on my paperwork first thing this morning. Not only did I have my usual end of the week paperwork, but I also had end of the month reports to complete. They took me even longer today because we are using new forms this month and it took me a little while to get organized and make sure that I had all of the right files. I didn't finish all of the monthly reports until around 4:00 this afternoon. Once I had finished the weekly paperwork, it had stopped raining so I took a quick walk around the park. The view from the cabin was awesome, as usual. I could see most of the rocks underwater and there was still a mist above the water. There was a long branch in the picnic area that had fallen during the rain. Almost every inch of it was covered in lichen. I admired it while I picked up the pieces and through them into the woods.
When I finished my walk it was back to the grindstone to finish all of the paperwork that had to go to Ichetucknee today. I finished up and headed out. I couldn't believe how many fishermen where in the park, at least 2 or 3 groups. It was really raining hard at some points this morning. Between the park and the nearest town, Branford, I drove through rain that was so heavy I almost pulled over. I couldn't see where the edge of the road was so I just kept going. By the time I got to town, 6 miles away, the rain had stopped completely. When I got to Ichetucknee, I was really surprised to see that they were busier than last Monday, a sunny day. I guess that everyone is trying to squeeze everything they can out of what is left of the summer even if they have to tube down a river during a thunderstorm.
When I returned to Troy I needed to get back to the reports and make some phone calls. I took some time to walk through the park though and I'm glad I did. There were a few fishermen, a couple of divers, and a really nice family swimming at the spring. I greeted everyone and ended up talking to the family for a little while. One of their girls found a most unusual pink caterpillar and we all admired it before she carefully put it back where she found it. I had never seen a caterpillar like this one before. I really couldn't find solid information online about it, but I am fairly sure that it is a Heterocampa caterpillar and it will soon pupate to become a small, furry gray moth. I read that as a caterpillar, it feeds on oak leaves. It was found under an oak tree so that sounds about right. On the way up the walkway I spotted a little butterfly in the skipper family. These little guys are usually so quick, I don't have many photos of them. There are so many skippers that are pretty similar, but I believe that this is a female Clouded Skipper. I was able to get one photo and was adjusting for another angle when it flew away in a flash. I'm glad my one photo turned out. Nearby I also spotted a cute little grasshopper who was very patient with me while I took a few pictures. I like patient bugs.
Back in the office, I called a well repair place and was happy to hear that they could send someone right out. I worked on the reports until he arrived. I drove to the house with him when he got there and told him about the troubles that I have been having. He drained the tank and found that the pressure gauge that we installed this winter was bad. All of the adjusting that I had been doing was based on what the pressure gauge was telling me... and it was LYING! He replaced the pressure gauge, adjusted the setting and was gone in about 15 min. I was shocked to see a "quick plumbing project" happen right before my eyes. Someday I will be that good... someday. I went in and checked the faucets and was so excited to see water pressure again! I had a new motivation to finish the reports! I went back to work and chugged through the last of what I needed to do. Then I headed home to take a high pressure shower. I forgot how good it could be!