The “little piece of Heaven” at the end of Cathedral Drive, Hope Ness

Millions of readers out there in the blogosphere may have wondered where the once-prolific Finding Hope Ness blogger had vanished for so long since his last post.

It’s all about the weight of unfinished business, too many things piling up as winter approaches, and – sniff – too many things gone wrong in my “little piece of Heaven.”

Ah, there was so much hope at Cathedral Drive Farm in the spring, so many ideas, dreams and plans that seemed so realistic and doable: like running water and an actual bathroom where one could actually have a shower and maybe just maybe, take care of some other business.

And a functioning kitchen with a kitchen sink where one could actually prepare and cook meals and do dishes, where a plug could be pulled and the dishwater would drain away as if by magic to that place where all good dishwater is destined to go.

But alas, this story does not have a happy ending. The summer has come and gone, the temperature has dipped into single-digits, and I swear I saw a flake or two of snow in the air as I braved the rain to re-install some facia. At least that’s almost finished. And now that the furnace is activated for another season, I must soon climb a ladder and cover the 125-year-old wood windows of this old farm house with plastic, on top of a thousand other things still undone.

Oh, what fun!

And still there is no running water, for one discouraging reason or another.

Okay, I get it: this is a trial, isn’t it?

I’ve come to this “no exit” road to find my way, once and for all, and take care of unfinished business.

Is that what this is about?

Or is it about letting go of all that, and realizing after all, that it is finished?

But a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do. Or does he?