Spanish Moss

...or 'Grandpa's Beard' as it is known in French Polynesia. It was looking very much like the latter as it hung in long strands from the oak trees next to the Spike Walk. As John kept commenting, 'this hill keeps getting steeper', I was happy for an excuse to pause for a moment and catch my breath as I took this picture. It was quite striking with the sun shining on it, and I think it's unusual to find it this far north.

Pedro and Antonio arrived with several 20 foot long lengths of pipe. They  couldn't be sure if it was the section of pipe buried somewhere behind the retaining wall or one of the ones that comes down the hill and empties into the one buried behind the wall. They capped off the one behind the wall, digging two holes about five feet down until they found the ends. Then they replaced it with the white PVC pipe on top of the ground. It appears that they guessed right on where the leak was because nothing leaked when they turned the water back on. Fortunately we're on a well and don't have to pay for all that water that leaked down the hill (hopefully it wound up back in the aquifer) but we will pay for the pump which was running continually for who knows how long....just as we figured out how to turn off the heat pump

Blipper Mima mentioned in one of her entries that she met a man  practicing the pipes next to a road she walks along. Among other things I didn't recognize he played The Flower of Scotland the Scottish national anthem which brings back many memories. It sent me scurrying to my very eclectic, extremely random playlist which I have been listening to all afternoon on a trip down memory lane. Music, like certain smells can take one back to a very specific time and place, or evoke a dramatic change in mood. The South African national anthem (Nkosi Silelel' iAfrica) is also a favorite of mine. Maybe I'm drawn to other national anthems (I like the Marseillaise too) because I hate the Star Spangled Banner. It is sung at the beginning of every baseball game and efforts are made by all kinds of artists to make it more interesting, hitting the impossible high notes or dragging it out until it sounds like a dirge.