Low water level

Due to a lack of any real rain the last three months, the ponds
in our area have lost a lot of their volume. Our's was no exception.
What we thought was a bad thing, turned out to be a blessing.
The low water levels have made it easy to accomplish
a couple of repairs to the pond. The first was to find and
fix a leak that became apparent in the Fall of '08. We found
it at the overflow pipe. (Can you see how sad the pond looks?)



First we dug out around the pipe and built the forms to
shape the concrete.





Next pour the forms.

Here's the finished product. Now you know what 800#'s of

concrete looks like.
(Please note the date: 10-10-10, very cool)

Another advantage of the low water this Fall was
having the pond dug deeper in sections. We had a guy
come and remove dirt (mud) from three areas that had
gotten shallow over the life of the pond. When the water
level returns to normal, the pond should appear very
much larger.



You can see here how wide the new bridge is as it spans
the East arm of our little pond. We expect enough room
to be able to glide under the bridge while feeding the fish.




The West side was made deeper as well. Perhaps a nice place
to dock the canoe.

Barn red

We have been busy with painting the barn these last couple weeks.
Stetson likes it. One more side to go.

Pond weeks

At the beginning of the 2010 I began taking pictures of the pond
area (see April) in an effort to show the changes that take place
over the course of the year. I ended up skipping most of the Summer
because so much of it was identical. Here I resume with the last
week of August and so on.




Week 34 and it's great to be outdoors




Week 35 during the heat of Summer






Week 36 with smoke







Week 37 in the sun

Week 38 at dusk

Outdoor improvments

Labor day weekend and after weeks and weeks of no movement,
the garden area in the front has taken a huge step forward.
I gave in an bought some rocks from a guy and he delivered
them to our driveway the last week of August. We've got
them arranged around the garden and we're very please
to have it finished. Janie will be buying some stuff to fill the
garden and there-you-go.
We agree that having gardens and planting around a house
"anchors" a structure and makes a big difference in the total
look and feel of a place.


Kevin and Sarah came Saturday to help me with two things that
required more hands than I had. We're preparing for a bridge over the
pond and these are the 6x6's that will be the base.



Here's a little fresh face who visited us over the weekend.

The effort continues on the barn. Janie bought paint from

Tractor Supply, (our favorite store of all time) and began painting

the East side. There's another section completed on the other

side as well. It should be finished before October !!

The color is just right. So many red out buildings we see have

this "purple" hue that we don't care for. Oh, also, I planted my

PIV at the corner.

On Monday (Labor Day) as we were headed to friends house

to care for their horses and such, when we came upon these

deer. I have never seen an albino deer and here were many.

They had ear tags and we suspect they were pets as they

were very calm and unconcerned about us being right there.

Our area is full of deer, we saw at least 14 during that little trip.

Stuff

August is almost over. Leaves are turning early this year.
I'm sure it's because of the lack of rain, but I'm not willing
for Summer to be over so soon. Our youngest son turned
24 Saturday. I don't know how they do it, kids getting
older while I stay 17.




I know this looks like a country music girl band, but it's
really a few of Janie's friends from good 'ol Creston High
in GR! GOOOOO Polar Bear!!


One came from Colorado, one from Ohio and the rest from
Michigan. All the ladies celebrated their X0th Birthday.
The ladies spent the day in town shopping.



We were asked to stand for a portrait in the garden area.


It was a nice visit and we were happy to have them stay
with us, "At the cabin".

Mill Lake

So in August, we went back to the lake in Michigan where
we honeymooned. Family was present as well. The cottage
belongs to a family member who was kind enough to allow
us a free stay for the week.



A rope swing had been added and was lots of fun.

SM over the water.






DS, not so much.



SD gettin' his swing on.

Four days and nights of very nice lake weather.

The boys.

The girls.

My girl.

DC attempted to resist the camera, ...... she failed.

Janie was unable to resist creating a miniture scene at the
base of this tree at the water's edge. (Real frog lives there)



Goodby Lake.

Garden

The flower garden area hasn't progressed much. The things Janie planted
are doing fine, that is, the ones not eaten by deer. The viney thing
is doing what it's susposed to. What we still need are large rocks !




We had some progress on the barn this month. At least now we can buy hay and store it dry without the use of blue tarps. This is an improvment. Next will be the inner wall, and floor.