Yesterday Garry started work on his new project- a boot room outside the kitchen door (on the barn driveway side of the house) by breaking some cement up so he can get ready to pour some footings for the little porch. Stacy, our visitor, gave him a hand by moving the wheelbarrows of cement pieces and dumping them into holes in the driveway. This morning he was back at it, but he can't start making cement until he gets a load of sand later in the week. It is going to be a small room to keep those dirty barn boots, shoes, and coats in, so the mess will be out of the way of the other door, which will be for guests (no manure-covered boots sitting on the hallway floor thawing next winter.) It will be covered in old Mennonite bricks to blend with the house.
This morning Garry and Stacy went and picked cherries this morning, and Stacy washed and pitted most of the them today. Here she is washing some while I was cooking the midday meal- the spinach, green onions and very first zucchini from the garden went into Creamy Florentine Pasta - which was very tasty with some salad, bread, cooked sausages, and a piece of strawberry coffee cake for dessert (Stacy had picked them the day before.) Stacy did some of her pitting outside, but came in around three because a thundershower came up. I was just getting started on the 5 batches of cherry jam (plus I froze three packages of cherries for pie next winter)- I confess I had a headache so I took a nap. There is one bowl waiting until tommorow for pitting and making some pies.
Before lunch, while Stacy was sitting outside pitting, Garry decided to liberate the ducklings and Momma duck from the box that the ladies had them in outside (while they were milking the cows). She scurried under the pine tree next to the summer kitchen with her brood. Some of the kittens were a bit too curious and were invited into the house (where they stayed long after the ducklings were returned to the summer kitchen when the rain came.) Mint the dog was sadly wearing Polo's collar and had been tied on the chain by the doghouse while the ducks were still in the box (Mint seems to have a thing for chasing poultry). Polo was deemed trustworthy. There are 14 babies now- Momma duck tried to help the last one out of the egg and he didn't make it. They had a grand time with the bowl of water Garry got them- drinking and dipping and then drying their fluffy bodies in the sun.
Around six pm Garry and Maxim were in the house, having finished feeding the cows, watching Russian television (while Stacy pitted and I stirred jam on the stove) when there was more thunder and wind started to really blow. I asked Garry to check the door as it was blowing open because I had not locked it (it does not latch well otherwise) and I needed to keep stirring my rolling boil jam down so it didn't boil over. Garry took this photo a few minutes later- it rained hard for a bit!
At twenty to seven Andrei (the neighbor boy who works for us) knocked on the door and called for Maxim. Garry looked out the door and said "Grab the camera- it's a good thing we pulled the car up the driveway so far!" Victor has always been worried about the walnut tree with the hollow trunk falling and hitting the house- fortunately it missed everything but the nearby bush. Just missed the car though.
The guys got to work after the heifers came home at seven- Max used the chainsaw and Garry and Andrei dragged the branches out by the road. Garry says it wasn't the only tree that fell in the village- it's a wonder that the power wasn't out after the storm. It's actually wet enough that the mud is sticking to your shoes after this rain, so that's good- the wet was only down about two inches when Garry checked yesterday- and there are more storms in the forecast too.
Happy birthday to our granddaughter Havilah who is three years old today! Yesterday her uncles Seth and Jonah showed her how to play circus on their first day in Manitoba, but I couldn't tell if see liked it in the photo. Thanks to son Micah for the picture.
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