View down the Driveway

It is years ago. We live in a small village, renting an old farmers house. A former cheese warehouse in the backyard. W has made a small pond there. One young tree - a weeping beech - flower plants, a winter jasmine. In front of the heavy green warehouse door: in stead of a lorry parking, our terrace.
Places&Days to remember.


Somewhere I keep the all season photo’s of this idyll. But here it comes: a shadow side. Underneath this beautiful corner there in the deep wet dutch peat was the big cesspit. Once in the three years I had to dig out the cover and order the sewercleaner tanker to empty and clean the thing. After the heavy dirty job was done, the pit was recovered and its existence sank back in the oblivious underground of our idyll, almost forgotten until...


I had to think back to that experience, as I was looking down the gateway, this morning  Somewhere under the pavement our sewerpipe is crossing the way up/downhill. At the left side a steep stony hillside is covered with dense laurel and low firs. Their roots firmly gripping into the pipe...Thanks to the first owner of this hillside idyll who happened to be a retired forrester, we have this stony garden covered with bushes and trees.

This morning the third attempt was made to spout and erase blocking roots from the inside. You can see how the big truck is just arriving. Initially progress was made. But after three hours of hard work we had to give up. The pipe has to be dug out and replaced. Sustainable living without intervening into the forces of nature? And a functioning sewer system, Mister Thoreau? What about that?