I wrote the other day about the night-long battle with a frighteningly intelligent rat who had built a nest in our refrigerator and the resulting brawl and hide-and-seek struggle with Bud, our Boston Terrier, that went on for hours.

We got the rat out, and Maria eventually released him into the woods. I suspect he will return to the farm in one way or another.  She just couldn’t kill him or wait for me to do it.

In the brawl, Bud tore the back of the refrigerator off—the part that allows the generator to cool.

We thought the refrigerator, which is about 20 years old, was doomed. Maria has been mulling what to do about it. This morning, she sat down with her tools, pieces of cardboard that Bud had pulled off, and other pieces of cardboard she had carved from boxes she had saved to mail her artwork.

( The damage from Bud tearing the back apart to get to the rat.)

I wish I could share the details, but I need help understanding what she did. Our appliance person said it saved the refrigerator.

As I’ve written ad nauseum, Maria is an amazing person. She is part Louise Bourgeois, Willa Cather Woman, Tarzana, and Ms. Fix-It. There are very few things she cannot fix or learn about.

In between, she makes beautiful art.

This morning, she sat behind the refrigerator with Bud, closely observing and drilling buzzing, scissors cutting, and tape measurements, putting the mess together. Maria never brags, so I didn’t know when we got married that she was capable of doing so many things perfectly and quickly.

Even an old dog like me hits the hydrant occasionally; Maria was my big score.

Also, this morning, and between her other conquests, she saved her first insect of the season from drowning in the water bucket we keep filling for the animals on the farm.

The moth was caught in the water; after Maria pulled him out, he shook himself off and flew away.