Help Again This Week

Dave, Dawn, Graham and Grant came out this weekend and we had a few "work details".  It started Saturday evening with a Scheessele family weeding party in the pumpkin patch.

Actually the boys helped with the weeding too - they just didn't make the picture.

Big news this week - 1.5" of rain.  It made it easier to pull the weeds.

I have to compare this to last year - it isn't much.  And, in addition, we've had 100 degree heat.

The zucchini are still producing but near the end.

The stem boring bugs are killing the plants.

The cucumbers look good but then...

They end up like this.

I think that this is one of those monster pumpkin plants (prizewinner variety).

When released from the weeds, the pumpkins are doing pretty well.

Dave noticed these burrow holes in the pumpkin patch - I don't know what they are from. They have a curving entry path that almost looks snake-like.

The plotsaver tape was down in a couple places - I put it back up.  The soybean field actually looks ok but...

...the sunflower field may be hopeless this year.

These are some of the gourds that Joan wanted this year.

Here's the work crew out clearing trails.  We worked on this downed tree for quite awhile.

It was a big tree and I struggled to get it cut without pinching the chainsaw in there.

But we got the trail cleared.  The boys threw the rocks off the trail while Dave and I trimmed the "face-slapper" branches.

Our work crew finally decided to "take a day off" and just stay in the Ranger.  I think we might have pushed them a little bit too far.

Some drama from earlier in the week.  This is the phone company marking telling the excavator it is all clear to dig.  Of course, it wasn't.  It took two days to get the phone line repaired.  But I do have a new culvert under the driveway.

Just a couple bucks this week - although Dave saw a nice one running thru the woods on our drive.

We did leave a few goodies out for the deer.

Thanks for all the help Dave, Dawn, Graham and Grant.

I meant to include this photo yesterday - I believe that these are the footprints of a great blue heron fishing in my pond.

And here's the orchrd after the old fence came down.