Summer But Still Cool

Mom bought some additional bird feeders to hang up over the mound.  There are now four plus two suet hangers.

 Here they are from a different angle.

 Mom took the old cushions from this old swing and had me screw wood slats across them.  Then she painted them green and added new cushions.  Grandma couldn't reach the ground with her feet so I put a little slat platform across the bottom and she can now put her feet on it.  I think she really likes it now.

 A sister in the ward has arranged with a brewery in Seattle to give her their barley after they have proccessed it to make beer and she uses it to feed her animals, cows, horses, pigs, chickens, etc.  She has some extra so she brings me some in this barrel.  Pickles and Patches love it.

 My chickens kept getting out of their run even after I had tried over and over to prevent it.  I decided to add a two foot fence of chicken wire, partially buried in the ground and tied to the nylon mesh.  They don't get out any more.

 Our neighbor is logging the trees pretty close to the property line.  It sure opens things up.

 So far the weather has been so cool and rainy that I have only had potatoes (just mounded the second time), onions, and peas.  Monday I planted eleven rows of corn with the help of the local missionaries.

 Because of cool rainy conditions we have not had any luck growing tomatoes here.  I had heard that if you can keep the rain off of them and keep them warmer, they will do better.  So I am building this cover for them.  I anchored each corner to a cinder block and fastened each corner to a post with bailing twine.  We'll see what happens.

 With all the rain the flowers aren't doing as well as we hoped.  Maybe when it warms up they'll do better.

 Grandpa wanted some flowers along the outside of these stairs this year.

 The hanging baskets and pots in the front of the house are not doing bad.

 Mom has done a good job on flowers on the mound.

 This Rhodie by the swing looks good.

 We moved this table up from the patio and use it to eat on in good weather some times.

 Mom has planted the flowers along the drive.

 One of our favorite Rhodies.  In back of the house.

 We have some tomatoes planted in the greenhouse also.

 Our first two tomatoes!

 Another shot of the Rhodie (I'd write Rhododendron but I'm afraid I'd misspell it) out by the swing.

 A closer look at our Clematis.

 And our front pots and hanging baskets.

 We got this little reflector of Bohemian glass  for Grandma and Pops in Prague when we visited Tera at Christmas. When the sun shines on it in the morning it has little rainbows all around on the house.

 Another view of our Rhodie in the back of the house.  You can see the garden in the background.

We want the place to look especially good for Grandma and Grandpa when we have the reunion next month. We are very excited about seeing everyone.