A Soggy Sunday

Outside, it looks like this:

While oldest grandson Chris stayed here to work for us, Nathan went to their dad's for the night.  I had gone to Garnett to pick them up, but I can't do the trip in less than two hours, so that was four hours out of work time. 

Chris did a huge amount for us, pulling weeds, and cutting down saplings along the fence lines.  This was Day One of that project, there are many more to come.  I told him to pace himself, because it will take several months of coming up on the weekend to accomplish the removal of the saplings.  This morning is wet, not particularly cold, and only dripping now, so soon I will roust him out to pull the last of the cut saplings into the yard by the burn pit, and dump dirt on my garden bed for me, since his back is so much stronger than mine.

He cleaned a bed out that we did not plant this year... into it is going dirt and manure and humus, and then a sack of purple and white iris given to me by a friend at work this week, and then the remaining hollyhock, liatris and bunny grass on the front deck that have been waiting to be planted.  On the porch are going the dead zinnias in the laundry planters, and being replaced by red mums.  Keith was kind enough to get me a bale of straw, so the porch will be decorated before the end of the day.  Chris will haul my box of fall decorations out before we leave. 

The center of this bed was taken over by a nasty weed that prickled and hurt, hence the leather gloves Chris is using.  He has the strength to pull them out by their tap roots.

Chris is working to earn some money for something specific, and also because a new video game is coming out this week.  He sold his stack of video games for credit in order to get the new one.

We have plenty of things for him to do that we can never get to.

We notice with the balmier temperatures, we have tomato plants blooming again in the garden, and many, many green tomatos on the plants.  We also have scarlet runner beans finally coming in.

I love this time of year.... I don't have to chore quite so intensively, and it seems calmer and more peaceful than the hot summer months. The birds are sure enjoying it better, as are the llamas, who are growing more playful by the day.  Keith and I will start buying hay now, to stock up for the first part of winter. The llamas eat a leaf a day of hay.

We pay about 5.00 a bale for brome here, and I saw a website Friday night where farmers were glad to get small bales at 10.00 in Texas.  I would be ashamed of myself if I were profiting from the hard luck of others that way.  I guess it is the law of supply and demand, though.