out with the old

Tradition here is to ring the dinner bell outside the farmhouse at midnight on New Year’s Eve. That’s the only time the bell is rung. Not that ringing it at other times is forbidden; I just don’t usually have occasion to ring a bell.

The rope that is tied to the lever arm may be as old as the bell itself. It’s covered with lichens, but does the job.

However, I received a book of knots for my birthday, so I took my newfound knowledge along with a dozen feet of bright white nylon rope to the bell yesterday and swapped out the old for the new, using a Lobster Buoy Hitch knot. Obviously.