wonderful wednesday

Oh my gosh, am I tired!

For two days in a row, I have had hired help for outdoor chores;

a fellow with a brush-cutter and chainsaw for a few hours yesterday,

and the hard-working 16-year-old for a few hours today.

"About time for a Poultry Palace Clean-Out,
wouldn't you say?"

Each day, I did morning chores an hour early,

then spent 3 solid hours doing prep-work.

When a helper arrived, I worked alongside or nearby.

Final step in the Seasonal Scrubdown:
Palace windows now (briefly) gleaming!

Yesterday, when the chainsaw man had gone,

leaving a wake of downed saplings and branches behind him,

I was very ready to call it a day.

Until I noticed the fresh cherry branches left on the ground in one of the paddocks.

I spent another half hour picking them up, one by one,

and heaving them over a 6' fence to get them out of goat-reach.

(Had to be done.)

He's coming back Friday, and I hope to get 

the other half of two tasks finished.

That should be all the chainsawing/brushcutting needed for a while.

Special Effects: chickens through a screen!
The hens are at the screenporch door,
probably saying "Thank you for our spotless Palace!"
Or...
"Come back! You missed a corner!"

Today, by the time the tireless teenager left,

I could barely creep to my chaise with a huge glass of V8 on ice.

More progress on the VRB!
Hundreds fewer branches to trip me in the paddocks!!

It is so lovely to have this young man helping out here.

No complaints, no shirking, no hesitation to ask questions.

Real, visible progress on tasks that have been

nagging at my mind daily for a very long time.

Today I even asked him to do a couple of chores

that I can do myself, but which are very labor-intensive

(for me, these days; but not for him)

while I got on with other tasks.

And I'll tell you what: between us, we got a heck of a lot done!

I'd go take more pictures to prove it,

but that would mean getting out of this chaise.

Would you like to see some squash leaves instead?

I planted a few varieties of winter squash this year,

and although any possible harvest seems a long way off,

the leaves are simply delightful!

The big leaves are huge!

The size of the steering wheels I remember from childhood;
a narrow rim of coated metal, with a horn in the middle.
I wonder if those steering wheels are still made.
I would like to have one.

Squash and kale: my cup of leaf appreciation runneth over.

Speaking of leaf appreciation,
I dragged some oak tops all the way up the driveway yesterday
and distributed them between the goat paddocks.
Today? Just naked, frayed twigs and barkless branches.

So, in conclusion, here's a goat picture for you:

Left to right: Tsuga, Acer, Campion, Azalea, Lily, Betula

The goats have had a rather unsettled time,

due to all the noise and bustle and shifting around.

So this evening, they shared an entire bale of hay at the fence.

It was a lovely picnic!

Fun for all!

(I had to do something. There weren't enough chaises to go around.)

~~~~~