Changes or Where Did My Snack Food Go?

 When I walked up the to open the Pearl S. Buck Birthplace today, this is what the door looked like.  Do you notice anything different from this time last week?  Can you see all the ground that's been dug up, and how the gutters now go into the ground?  All that straw covers where the ground was dug up in order to install underground pipes called French Drains that carry rain water from the gutters underground and away from the house.