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| Storm at 8:00 p.m., June 27 |
Okay
– it’s chilly again. It probably won't get to 60
today. I’m reminded of my mother’s admonition, “Always take your sweater; it’s
better to have it and not need it.” Perhaps you're guessing that I left my sweater in town. Well, I'll find something to wear to keep warm. Mike is outside in a jacket, and it was a two-blanket
night.
We
watched distant lightning last night, and at 8:00 p.m. the scene to the
north was so beautiful that I went out to take the above photo. I imagined brother
Chuck sitting on the porch watching the lightning display, as he loves to do. We had
one brief shower at 10:00 p.m., but they say there’s plenty more rain coming
and a flood warning for Monday and Tuesday.
“I
thought I was through with this routine,” commented Mike as he carried in wood
for the fireplace.
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| Dirt mound behind house |
Despite
the forecast, we’ve been busy doing the little things that make the summer
comfortable, as Ina might say. Mike opened the attic fan, which we won’t use
for at least a week. I checked out my solar lights and set them up on the
fence. I also watered the raised beds and noticed one pea blossom. And there
are more little strawberries.  |
| Mike and Neighbor Pete |
In
order to level the ground for the new shed, Mike stacked blocks to make an
enclosure. Yesterday (Saturday), Neighbor Pete was here on his big
old tractor at 7:40 a.m. to fill it with dirt, mostly from a mound on the south
side of the grove. Then Mike spent a couple of hours raking and leveling. We’re
well ahead of the August delivery date, and that’s the way Mike wants it.
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| Swathed cherry tree |
The
other day, Mike and I (mostly Mike) swathed the cherry tree with netting. It
was difficult and I hated to do it, but as many birds as we have here, I’m afraid
they would beat me to the cherries. I can see, though, that swathing the tree
in future years might not be possible. We never swathed the old pie cherry
trees and had plenty of cherries for us and the birds. I still regret
the loss of those mature cherry trees.
Oh!
And before I forget, we found this big bull snake (also called a gopher snake)
at the top of the lane yesterday. Mike dubbed it “the fighting bull snake.” I
thought it was doing its best to imitate a rattler – coiling and hissing.
Eventually it backed off into the tall grass. Farther down the lane, we came across
a blue racer, but it raced off as soon as it sensed our presence. KW
You have the most interesting weather up there. Yes, I would love to sit on the back porch and watch the lightning--and the rain. Hope the rain doesn't impact the fields too much. Areal flooding is not a good thing. Hope it gets warmer for you.
ReplyDeleteWe've had hard, hard rain up here and some fields have been decimated--almost all the standing grain beat down. I'm not enough of a farmer to know if it can recover or not, but it looks bad. Meanwhile, here I sit in long sleeves and thinking i need a sweater! The only cardigan I own is one that I kept from mom's things.
ReplyDeleteYes, it has poured rain, and while a gentle summer rain might have been appreciated, I think our region has likely experienced some crop damage. Like you, Chris, I don't know whether the downed grain can recover or not.
ReplyDeleteSince I left my little jacket in town, I'm wearing a fleece pajama top over a warm shirt.
Mike tells me that this dull morning will become a nice afternoon. We'll see.
It's been cool here this week, but I'm still a little too hot on my morning walk with a jacket.
ReplyDeleteThe photos are gorgeous!
I'm wondering if dad's shed shouldn't have a packed gravel base they way you'd do for a patio to prevent settling?
The dirt was for the purpose of leveling he ground. Next up: the gravel. There's a plan.
ReplyDeleteThat's good! I look forward to seeing the process.
ReplyDelete