The rain has graced us on hitch four! Huge thunderstorms rolled in and gave us some awesome lightning shows while driving the temperature back below the hundreds where it belongs. We were happy to have some cooler days and our lawn was more than ready to flush from brown to green, but obviously the rain presents some challenges for a group with computers strapped around their necks. “Well, bring on the challenges,” we say! At this point ACE Nashville District is a well tuned survey machine!
Conducting surveys in the rain is a team venture and one of improvisation. Often times the solution is an easy one. One person with computer approaches an exiting vehicle and conducts a survey in the manner we have come to know as standard. Except! Secretly, unbeknownst to the visitor, the second team member hides behind the first with an ingenious device. The rare and mysterious umbrella appears to hover, weightless, just behind the surveyor’s head. Simple and functional, still other techniques have been used. Some teams have utilized the rain flies from the Deuter day-packs to wrap around the computer, which is somewhat successful. Some teams have created a cave for the computer in their rain jackets. If the rain proves too much for these bold styles, I’m afraid the only option left is to head to the car and count drive-bys. Teams have had to implement this last, ultimate strategy a handful of times in these rain filled weeks.
Of course it hasn’t rained everyday this hitch and after those good storms and good rain the sun was back and we were back out in it. Now that we are past our half way point, day to day operations have become smooth and tasks throughout the day are done without having to be stated. On the home front we have instigated a weekly dinner list along with our weekly chore list. Each week every team has at least one day to prepare dinner. This way, teams getting back home in the evening can come back to a ready dinner and teams that either had the day off or worked a morning shift can work together to find and cook new recipes or practice their kitchen skills. Dishes we’ve enjoyed thus far have included Portobello burgers, baked sweet potato fries, a zesty meatloaf, crispy seasoned asparagus, potato chip cheesy mashed potatoes, barbeque chicken, and homemade pizza.
The summer continues to beat along here in Nashville. We’ll report back soon with more goings-ons and more tasty meals!
Written by Sam Cox
