Armin, our family's German high school foreign exchange student from 1986, came over for a visit and spent some time with me at the farm. After hearing about the place and reading the blog, it was very special for him to experience it and make some impressions (as he would often say).
Rain!
I was delighted to see well over an inch in the rain gauge. Though that seemed like a lot of rain, looking around you really could not tell it. We are just bone dry and the miserable heat continues. (Fayetteville is 12 inches below normal for the year and we are in the severest level drought, extreme.
Pick Garden
We finally had more than just a couple of ripe tomatoes. Armin got to pick them all. We made stir fry for dinner from spinach, chard, and onions from the garden plus a few things we brought including some pesto. It was cloudy and cool, and so we had a pleasant dinner out back sitting in the Adirondacks overlooking the valley and sipping a cool beverage – very special. Sunday we picked four cups of basil to take back for a double batch of pesto.
Water Barrel
In town I had built two water barrels, one I installed there and the other I brought out to the farm. Armin helped me get it setup on some large rocks under one end of the gutter, and close to the garden. Now I just need to round up some hose to use with it – one piece to drain it and another for the overflow. (Sally returned to the farm before me and reported it half full from only a quarter inch rain.)
Water
We spent much of our time watering. Armin watered the garden while I watered the trees and the flower bed out front. We hit them on Saturday and again on Sunday. I hope its not all in vain.
Posts
I needed a helping hand to get the large cedar posts steadied on the piers while I secured the top with some screws. The piers had re-bar coming up which fit into holes I had drilled into the bottom of the posts. I had some metal L brackets to secure the top. We tried to wedge the first one in and found I had cut it about a quarter inch too long. I tried using a crow bar to pry up the rafter, but that almost caused serious injury – I almost fell off the ladder and almost dropped the crow bar on Armin's head. I then got the chain saw and trimmed a bit off. The same operation had to be performed on the second post as well. I think they will stay put.
As you can see, the Kraut that likes fast cars and guns took delight in handling the chain saw. I'm glad I didn't show him how to start it.
Pond/Blue Birds
Sunday we walked to the pond. Armin really wanted to take a swim, but given the overcast sky, cool morning air, and muddy bottom he decided against it. On the way back I checked the blue bird house on the hill and was surprised to find a new nest and at least two eggs (it was hard to get a good look inside).
Our next stop was Colorado, where we had a great two weeks hiking in the mountains (and eating and drinking).
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