Up a Tree

The branches were getting too close to the deck. It was like sitting in a jungle.



The branches were big so there was a lot of sawing involved.



A lot of sawing in a very high place on a very little ladder.



The branches kept falling and hitting the ladder.



I couldn't wait to get down.

Bounty

The bugs are eating more than we are but at least we have a little something to show for all the hard work.

Hot Stuff

I've really got nothing to smile about.



I've been doing this all day in the heat.

Top Golf

My girls took me to play around at Top Golf on Sunday. I had a lot of fun.
Thanks!

Happy Father's Day

Yesterday me and the father-in-law were hanging out in the garage doing some men stuff. In the past 24 hours I had narrowly missed smashing the cable transformers with a tree limb I had been cutting down and had also flooded the basement with the water softener. That's enough men's stuff to last a long while. Today my kids are taking me golfing, that should keep me out of trouble.

It's Always Something

We had a monster of a storm last night. In just a few minutes we had major damage from falling trees. The cable boxes narrowly missed being demolished.



Huge trees were snapped in half.



Roads were blocked and power lines came down.



I had to fire up the chainsaw to get the cars out of the driveway. There is a big mess to clean up but now that I am retired, I can take my time.

A Big Clean Up

I took advantage of some cool weather and cleaned out the giant mess of a shed. I can't even identify half of what I am throwing out. I think the neighbors have been putting stuff in there when I am not looking. At least I could get it all in the truck. I was worried for a minute it wouldn't all fit. Off to the dump I go to see if they will take this stuff off my hands.

What's For Dinner?

Since the brussel sprouts got eaten by some nasty caterpillars over the weekend, we decided to pull them up and harvest the little sprouts. The were small but tasty. The black olive on the plate gives you an idea of their size.



We also had a bunch of cucumbers ready to pick. I foresee lots of cucumber sandwiches and salads over the next few days. And there are still two bags of kale in the fridge.......

A Big Wheel

I am restoring this old plow.



Any excuse to get out the tools is a good one.

Growing Stuff

The weather has not been making it easy this year. Cold wet May turned into hot as hell June. It has also been dry which means I have to spend a lot of time watering stuff. There are a lot of tomatoes on those plants and I don't want to lose any.



The pumpkins need a daily hosing down as well. We've got lots of vine but no pumpkins yet-not even a flower.



The beans are climbing up onto the roof. No signs of beans or flowers yet either.



The squash have huge blossoms and tiny squash right now.



The Brussel sprouts are a bust. The bugs are eating them before they are big enough to pick.



We have a few melons on the vine.



There are also cucumbers hiding under the giant tangle of leaves. We planted the vine things too close together. That section of the garden is a real mess.



The figs on the fig trees are getting bigger every day and there are a lot of them. If we have half as many as we had last year it will be more than enough.
I don't have a picture of it but the kale is still producing like crazy. We could almost eat it everyday and we only put in four plants.

Grab This

I look like I am having fun. In fact I am putting grab bars in HER father's bathroom which is NOT a fun job. Finding studs to drill into behind fiberglass is really NOT fun but it gave me a rare chance to use my crazy new stud finder.