June 6-8, 2014

Sally was still in Chicago, so it was another lonely, but rewarding, work weekend for me. We finally got a good rain Friday morning, with the gauge showing an inch and the garden well watered. You could tell the grass was liking it also, because it sure seemed to have grown a lot in a week. It remained mild (low 80s Friday/Saturday, and cooler Sunday), cloudy, and we received another tenth of an inch of rain Saturday and Sunday.

Weedeat the Hill

The grass was really high on the hill out back, so that was the first order of business. I had forgotten what a job this is, even with my brush whacker. Late Friday afternoon I did that hill, the one nearer the house (except for that directly below the house), and down around the barn. I was splattered with clippings from the thick wet grass. Sunday I did the hill below the house and cleaned up around front with the little John Deere.

Fawn/Bluebirds

While weedeating in front of the barn, I saw something scamper across the field directly below. At first I thought rabbit. But no, its too big. Then I realized it was a fawn. I am certain it was the same one I had gotten a picture of the weekend before. I hope it has not been abandoned by its mother.

There were bluebird eggs in the house by the pond and in the house on the hill, although that nest seemed a bit disheveled. The house out back remains empty. When I went to check on the eggs in the house out front, the mother flew out. With just a quick peak I could tell why, one of her eggs had just hatched. The baby was so so tiny. What a miracle. I do hope I did not disturb them so much as to cause any harm. I certainly was not going to come back with my camera.

Waterproofing Finish

This was the big project for the weekend. I finished the wall outside our bedroom Saturday morning, and then the first rain blew in. Pretty light, so I did the portion under the porch north of the living room. Early in the afternoon it had cleared up, and the east side of the house was dry (it had never really gotten wet). So I finished that end (I had done the high parts the weekend before, and in this picture was working from the bottom up), and then moved back to the west side finishing it up by dark. Sunday I did the south side of the house. The cedar tone finish is darker, but it does help cover up of the blackish stains and the lower dirty/graying boards. I will be interested in hearing what Sally thinks, if she notices -- she didn't notice after I had done the north side several months back.

Garden

I've finally gotten the upper hand on the weeds in the garden, excluding the bermuda grass and mint. Actually the mint had swallowed Sally's rose in the corner, so I started pulling it up. The ground there was not wet like in the rest of the garden. I think the mint was stealing the moisture, and the rose seemed to be a bit puny. I cleared it all out around the rose and then watered. I hope to see some improvement.

I pulled up half of the radishes, the garlic that had survived from the year before (I only found it because I was pulling up the mint that surrounded it), and the two remaining spinach plants. The summer spinach has really taken off, I had some with eggs one morning. The other morning I had a few leaves from the kale plant that over wintered. From the kale seeds put out this year, there are just two tiny tiny plants. The green beans are coming along and the onions and basil look good. Hopefully there will be improvement next weekend as a result of the rain.

Thistle

Late Sunday morning I loaded a shovel and the high wheel trimmer into the truck and headed down the hill. I stopped at the confluence of the creeks, grabbed the shovel, and started walking the field looking for thistle. I was glad I decided to do this. I dug up 178 thistle plants, stretching almost all the way to the pond. About half of them were just beginning to bloom. Its the purple flower that helps you find them, so I will need to come back next weekend when I am sure to find more. I just left them in the field assuming they were not far enough along to form seeds. I hope I am right. That is something else I will check on the following weekend. Surprisingly, I did not see any across the fence in the Clark's pasture where they have been heavy in years past.

Trimming around the Pond

While digging the thistle, a light rain had started falling. I went on to the pond and was able to use the high wheel string trimmer to clear out the high grass around the culverts and along the south shore -- all in a light rain. It began to pick up while heading to the house, and it eventually chased me indoors.

House Cleaning

Trapped inside, I did a bit of house cleaning -- in the bathroom, kitchen and entry area, and the living room floor.