July 25 Update

A few pictures to update:
Chicken House:
The chicken, while it isn't done, is mostly ready for some chickens.  There are a few minor chores to do inside and the outside still needs paint and the wire attached to the pen frame.

This view shows the nesting boxes on the left and the door into the chicken side.  The nesting boxes were made so that the back side  opens up so that gathering eggs does not require going into the chicken side.


The nesting boxes from the chicken side.  If I was  chicken I think I would like them.


The frame work is up and as soon as it is painted the wire can be attached.


A view from the lower road.  This is the end that the barn will be added to.

The chicks have been ordered.  They will arrive late next week. We ordered 35 straight run of Buff Orpington.  I still need to prepare a brooder area to keep them in and pick up some chick starter and grit.  I also need to purchase the feeders and waterers. The overhead light fixtures also need to be purchased and installed.  I should be able to do those things this week. (Have to.)

Clematis:
This clematis was planted many years ago.  It has had quite the struggle.  There were years we thought were its last but it seems to have acclimatized to its location and is doing well this year.  This is the best it has ever looked.

Huckleberries

Stained fingers can testify that the Huckleberries are ripe at lower elevations.





Red, dusty blue and black.  Whether they are subtle variations in the same berry, different levels of ripeness,  or a different sub-species I don't know but they are all very good.  I have heard it said the indians had many names for huckleberries, maybe they knew more about them than we do.
Mrs. Wags & I joined a couple of the girls this afternoon and went several miles up the road to some state ground, where my wife's family has picked berries for over 40 years.  The semi-open southern slope has just the right amount of ingredients for a pretty fair crop of berries. For our two hours of picking we brought back about 1 1/2 gallons. 
While I always like getting out in the woods but I am not a marathon picker.  A couple of hours and I am ready to call it quits.  I wouldn't be very good at picking berries for a living.  On a good day I might make $30.  If desparate and in a really good patch I might be able to pick twice that many.

Have you ever noticed that wild roses sometimes grow in amongst the huckleberries?

Chipping Sparrow

I finally managed to snap a few shots of the parent sparrow.

Summer Evening Shots

Finally, after months of rain, we've had a few nice days of sunny and warm weather.  Below are a few snapshots I took this evening.

No, these are not chicken eggs.  You probably knew that.  A small bird has made a nest in amongst our Tayberry bushes. I tried to take a picture of the adult bird but it is very fast and doesn't stick around.  I think it is a Chipping Sparrow.


The white rose bush is in full bloom.  It is a very beautiful rose and very healthy and hardy.  It is unfortunate that it only blooms once a year.


A close-up shot of the white rose bush.

Early Summer Update:

It's been a very wet and chilly spring and early summer.  We've had a few days of sunshine and warm days but close to record rainfall.  The garden isn't looking too bad for early June, unfortunately it's July.  I am not optimistic about what the garden will produce.

Potatoes and onions.


The Tayberries are loaded and still blooming.


The peas are looking good.


Radishes and various lettuces.


Cabbages


The tomatoes have a long way to go.  The volunteer onion looking very good.


The chicken house has been getting the inside painted.  Only one more coat on the one side is left and then I can finish it out and then some chicks.  While we were hoping to get a much earlier start with the chickens this year I have just been too busy to get it done earlier.

Some various photos on a rainy afternoon

The quince bush.


Tulips

A long awaited chore completed

On vacation this week, which for me, means doing some chores around the homestead.  I have been waiting a long time to replace the pressure tank in our water system.  I had plans to couple 2 new tanks together to double the amount of draw down but because of limited space I ended up only putting in one tank.  The new tank was a lot larger than the old tank and I had to remove the door and part of the framework to get it in the small building.  I also had to remove the lower shelf that goes around the inside perimeter.

This new tank will draw down about 35 gallons before it kicks on the pump.  If I could have gotten 2 tanks in it would have doubled that to 70 gallons.  As it is, it is still better than the old tank which probably wasn't even half of that on its best day, which is long in the past.  While the draw down helps to minimize the number of times the pump kicks on another important feature is the reserve water it stores for power outages.  Later this year I would like to get a power disconnect installed on the power panel so that I can add a generator and recharge the tank as necessary during a power outage.  The lack of water during a power outage is the most onerous part of having no power.  Kerosene lights are tolerable and the food in the fridge will keep for several days and the freezer will keep its contents frozen for at least 4 days, even in the summer, if it isn't opened.  I know, we've been there.  But no water creates an immediate major inconvenience.  Oh for gravity flow water! 

The old tank, as you can see, is well past its prime.  It was part of the water system when we bought this place over 25 years ago.


The phlox grows along the entrance to pressure tank building.