Aug 28, 2013 Potato Harvest!

Our first potatoes for the year!

Monday 8/26.  After a leisurely breakfast we went out to the garden to harvest our first potatoes.  Got some nice little ones that I'll use for a soup or stew, and also some larger ones.  Always a bit of a thrill to gather what we have grown.

Then it was time to get to work on splitting all that wood that Jake and I had gathered.  I split and stacked four wheel barrow loads before lunch, and now have three partial rows to go.  Will probably begin to stack on the south side of the porch before the wood shed is completely done.  Did four more loads after lunch, then came inside to do the dishes and wash my hair.

When I was at Costco yesterday, a large box of Oreos jumped right off the shelf and into my cart.  It must have heard my inner child calling out to it.  I haven't bought them since we moved Up Here, but a glass of milk and some Oreos are good medicine for a mother's aching heart.

One of the main uses for the water I bring up from Larry and Elsie's is to flush the toilet, which we do twice a day.  That's two gallons per flush, so I manually fill the tank.  We use the outhouse as much as possible.  And, speaking of which, on Saturday I gathered a large kitchen garbage bag full of sawdust and shavings from where Jake had cut all the rounds.

The clouds became darker and darker during the afternoon, with thunder rolling in from the distant southwest about 3:30 pm.  It began to rain as the dogs and I were on our walk.  Just a nice, lazy rain for about an hour, but enough to water the garden.

JB's back pain and difficulty walking, along with his resulting grumpiness, came on so slowly during the past year that were were not really aware of the magnitude of each symptom until they disappeared this past week.  I am just amazed at how quickly he is recovering from the operation.  Still have him on a short leash until his doctor's appointment on Thursday.

We watched "The Avengers" after dinner, one of the movies Jake had brought out and let us borrow.  What a hoot!

Tuesday 8/27.  Slept in a bit this morning, but I was out by 9:30 am to split more wood.  Did a total of seven loads for the day, four before lunch.  When I was done, it was time for a nap.

I think the dogs are much relieved now that life is pretty much back to normal and they are getting their two scheduled daily walks and usually another one thrown in.  I walked down the driveway to pick up all the little nibs that had broken off the logs as we dragged them up.  They may be small pieces but they are perfect for starting a hot fire on which to place the larger pieces, or simply burning a pile by themselves.  So far I have a large barrel, a small barrel and a large yard bag full of them.

JB went on our afternoon walk with the dogs and me.  Slowly, but quite capably, even going up and down the south ridge.  Then he grilled pork chops and our potatoes for dinner and I sliced up one of Elsie's garden fresh tomatoes.  Yummm.

I found a perfect long, thin branch with which to measure the water in the cistern and marked the inches from one to two feet.  For the past couple weeks we have had about 19" of water, and with what little we are using, we are able to keep it at the same level with running the pump twice a week.  We usually only get about 5 minutes of water, but it is enough.  One inch of water in the cistern is equal to 22.5 gallons.

We watched another two episodes of "The Walking Dead", to which I am officially hooked.

Wednesday 8/28.  Another partly cloudy morning and 53.  Our high for yesterday was only 62.  Perfect weather for working outside.'

Thought for the day:  The one serious conviction that a man should have is that nothing should be taken too seriously.  Nicholas Murray Butler