Isaac Takes on a Big Job

Last year many of our potatoes were partly green.  We were told that came from them being to close to the top and being exposed to the sun.  Mike had purchased straw to cover them but hasn't had time to spread it.
I helped haul it but Isaac spread the whole crop (and it isn't tiny!).

Work Continues on the Fence

Building the fence has been a lot more work than one would think because our lot slants several feet down to the north and nearly four feet down to the west.  Mike is having to step it but the sections that are to be all one length still have varied by a foot from one end to the other.  It has required measuring and cutting of each board.

A blessing came to us yesterday in the form of our oldest grandson, Davis, who is really skilled and helpful.  Mike has been able to cut, Isaac carries (once in a while) and Davis has been hanging.  It has really helped to move things along.  This section (the east side) steps down about four times but each section is straight and that really helps.  

Here are some pictures from yesterday. 

To make matters worse we now have a big fire up Huntington Canyon to the east.  It isn't the case now but it could become possible that we could only leave to the south.  They had to move girls from a girls camp up there and have closed that road. 
The sad thing is that it isn't even fire season yet, in Utah. 

Fire Day 4

It is terribly sad.  One body has been found.  Fifteen homes have been destroyed and about 50 other structures plus miles and miles of fences, sheep and sheep pens and other valuables have been lost.
The town of Fairview, just to the north of us has been evacuated.  The highway just one block north of us is blocked.  I just returned from the high school where I helped to prepare food for the people who have been evacuated. We got a call asking if we could house people here tonight.  No one has called yet but we offered to take 10-15.
We are not out of danger.  If the winds blow in the wrong direction or they are not able to get things contained we could be next to be asked to evacuate.

10:45 PM

The whiter light you see in the front is a car light just a block away.  The others are the fire as it moves closer to Fairview and Indianola. You can tell that it isn't far from here. 

Fire Breaks Out in Sanpete

About 5:00 PM Mike was driving north from Ephraim and saw a fire to the NW that looked like it covered about 200 yards.  It is now 9:50 and it has spread clear along the crest of the hill and is moving down a canyon.  We are presently in no danger but much of the land belongs to good friends of ours and they have sheep up there.  Here are some shots that we have taken in the last hour.

Last night there were nearly 9,000 people who had to leave their homes near Saratoga Springs and  the smoke was thick in the air when I went to the airport to get Isaac yet I saw fireworks stands being set up in Provo.  You have to wonder what is in people's minds. $$$$$

360 feet of Wooden Fence

We are coming along with completion of the installation of the 44 posts for the fence.  We (Mike and a tractor) dug the 44 holes, then he cut 22  14' 4x4's into 7' posts.  I painted the bottom of each with linseed oil and we've been "planting" them in cement.  Because we live on a corner lot we have to have the fence something like 49' from the center of the road.  We didn't even need to cut down the trees because we are needing to put the fence way in from there.

Our mule has become our favorite friend.  It has carried each of the heavy beams from the pile around to the shop to be cut, has carried them to the spot where they are installed, carries the cement and tools and even went to the other end of town to buy a load of cement because the pickup is full of the 1 X 6's for the slabs.  We had to buy new tires for the front a few weeks ago but now it is road worthy again and we are going to go with friends up Maple Canyon for a picnic on Friday for Mike's birthday.

We also are not able to have a 6' fence because we live on a corner.  The one blessing of that is that many people are putting up 6' fences and so finding the lumber is very difficult.  Because we can only use 5' we were able to drive to Gunnison and buy 10'+ 1"x 6" slabs which Mike is cutting down.  The load was much taller.

I have to say that I am continually amazed and grateful for the talents of that man.  He seems to know how to do just about anything we make up our minds to do and it certainly saves us lots of money.  I'm grateful that my almost 71-year-old husband is working and doing rather than rocking in a chair like many people his age. 

Crazy Neighbors

The people who live next door to us let their 4-year-old go out and drive the lawnmower all over their yard.  Tonight he had his little sister on with him.  He shifts it and races around the yard in circles and then looks backwards or down while he plays with knobs and handles.  I was walking down the street the other day and he was driving it around while his dad was putting up new fence.  I heard a scream from him as he drove into the fence.  His dad let out a few "pretty" words and then he was off driving again.  Usually the parents are not even in the yard while he is driving.  I'm glad that there is a fence between our yards but I have to wonder where the parent's brains are.  Tonight Mike said it sounded like he had the blades down.  He'll probably be driving their truck through the fence at eight. 

Working,and working, and working on the Yard

We have several goals for our yard this year.  The area behind the house has probably never been weed free, according to my friend who has lived here for 45 years.  Mike ran the roto-tiller across most of it and I have dug, raked, dug, raked and prepared the whole area for planting.  We're going to put ground cover across the whole 110' x 30' area.  On the north I'm planting vinca major (periwinkle that is taller), on the south I'm planting vinca minor (the short periwinkle) and I'm using three with colored flowers in between.  Some of them will be started with seed so we will have to wait until fall and see if there is any water then.  Otherwise, we will plant those parts next spring.

Last year Art helped Mike to put up a 12' x 10' awning over the 4 kitchen windows and a few weeks ago
Mike poured a patio under them.  His project today was to put big rocks against the edges where we piled sand to level underneath so that it wouldn't come pouring out when we took the boards away.  We'll plant something to grown in the spaces and hold the dirt there. Art arranged a rock garden with our rock pile last year and I've been planting for two years. We'll have a large lilac bush behind the stove/fountain which will flow down in across from the patio. It will probably be about three years before it all has grown to be what we are hoping it will be. 

The string going across the first picture is where the fence will be.  We will have ground cover on the south side and we'll extend the grass that is below the patio over to the new fence to the west and to where the first shed is that you see.  The weeds in that area have been the hardest of all to dig and clean out and I can't even plant the grass until fall because of the heat and water shortage.  Even clean dirt looks lots better than dry grasses and weeds (and junk piled by the sheds).

Notice the big piece of equipment in the distance.  He is spreading sand for a driveway from the street to the front of the sheds.  It will really help to get rid of another ugly weed area.   He lives about 2 blocks away and worked for about an hour today and charged $20. 

The fence will be a 5' wood fence all around the garden from the patio on the west over behind the sheds and out to the street as far as the city will allow (45 feet from the center of the road), all across the north of the driveway and fruit trees, back south to the lawn to where the patio starts and over to the patio again across the lawn.  Mike has has to cut up three huge trees and burn stumps and haul logs to clean the area.  It will be a mammoth project with about 4,000 of pounds of cement, something like 45 posts and three gates.  We wanted to use 6 foot boards because the deer don't jump them but the city won't allow that.  We get the posts on Monday and will get the boards hopefully the next week.  Anyone looking for hard work?

Another thing we have been wanting to do for a long time is level the area east of the shop near the street.  There was a ditch there and lots of big rocks and it was impossible to mow or weed eat.  We got Marvin to level that whole area today.  We'll work on it when we can but even if it just grew weeds they could be mowed now (after the rocks are removed). 

While we've been doing this we have planted all of the garden except the second planting of corn.  We have 52 tomato plants in and LOTS of other stuff.  Mike has the whole thing watered with a PVC irrigation system.  We had to move two of our 9 fruit trees to put the fence in and we'll also have to move some raspberries but our goal is to have grapes, blueberries, raspberries, fruit trees and a huge fresh garden of food that we'd love to share with our kids. 

I have to truthfully say that I didn't dream that at 70 years old I'd be getting up at 5:30 or 6:00 AM so that I could get out and dig out weeds and garden before it got too hot.  It is good physical exercise, it's rewarding to see it change and it is great to have fruit and veggies to can and eat.

I've had two different old-timers tell me in that last few days that it is amazing what a change there has been in this place.  We just hope that it keeps getting better.