Ray Barker arrived early last Friday to help us put up an electric fence around this year’s vegetable garden. Readers may remember that Doris Doe, some pretty bunnies and cunning woodchucks ate everything faster than Mother Nature could grow them.

Ray is a tactful and very skilled person. He asked me what we had put together (battery, charger, posts, etc.) for the fence and nodded kindly when I reported. There were, however, a number of things we didn’t have or know about – a “ground wire” and a stand to mount the battery and charger.

Ray had some copper wire in his truck and he’d built a mount for the battery and charger. Not only that, he let us help him, a little anyway.

How long did it take?

Jane Giasson took a little time to explain to me how she and her staff were preparing for today’s big election. There are 38 articles to vote on. There is the ballot for candidates, one for the school and one for state bonds.

Jane said there was “non-stop traffic” in her office Friday. A lot of people wanted absentee ballots, she said, because they “want to take it home and study it.”

We were glad we did; we needed more than 20 minutes.

Giasson said all 22 voting booths would be set up at the American Legion hall, as well as extra tables, chairs, lights and magnifying glasses for voters who might be uncomfortable spending 20 minutes in a booth.

Contact Linda Farr Macgregor at [email protected].