July 16-17, '10

Sally worked until 1pm, so we got a bit of a late start. Plus we stopped in Clifty for mower gas, one of the last places I can find regular gas, not gasohol.

Snake
When I got out to unlock the chain I saw this big fellow race off from directly under the cattle guard to the right. I saw the nearby tree limbs bending down and swaying. It all happened in an instant, but I finally realized this snake had climbed up in the tree, going all the way to the top. You can see him horizontally in the top of this limbed cedar, just watching us. I think he was actually afraid of us. Sure got my adrenaline up.

Rain
We were fortunate to have another inch and a half in the rain gauge. But that was nothing near what we got in Fayetteville, or Farmington where Cindy measured 5 inches Monday night, 4 inches Thursday, and another 2 inches Friday afternoon. We drove through heavy rain on the way out, but could tell there had just been light rain that afternoon at the farm.

Peaches
I was surprised to find the peach tree still loaded. Some were on the ground, but not just pits laying on the ground like we found with the nectarines. A few peaches were ripe, but most still had a bit of green. But we weren't going to take the chance of losing them all, so I picked 300 on Saturday -- leaving a few to see what would happen.

Blackberries
There were still quite a few berries. Between Friday and Saturday I probably got three quarts. I froze one of those and left it at the farm. I still had maybe a quart in the fridge at the house from the week-end before. Gotta do some baking.

Garden
More cherry tomatoes, lots of green beans (many too big to eat), a few more onions, some hot peppers, a beautiful orange bell pepper that was perfect, and two cups of basil for more pesto. Sally has just grown to ignore the summer spinach, though I think much of it is just fine.

Mow and Weedeat
I mowed back of the house, around the barn and spring, and down to and around the pond. I did some weedeating in the back and on the back hill -- but didn't finish.

The Kings
We were going to canoe the Kings on Saturday, but Sally wasn't feeling up to it so we just went down to Earnie's and played in the river. We had gotten Tender this doggie life vest and were anxious to try it out. He's just not a water dog, with our without a life vest. I could take him out and he would swim straight to shore, though I think in the end he was fairly comfortable with that routine.