It's hot hot hot

Been a few days of scorching and muggy. I like this weather, though doing construction in it...not so much. Today Kelly got both garden beds seeded with cover crop in the hopes that predicted thunder storms will drop some rain. Had a close one today with 6 or 7 ground strikes down in the valley, though stayed sunny up here. Kelly drive through it and said it absolutely dumped.

Hopefully the seed will not all get eaten by the chickens. The 2 adult Rhode Island Reds have found it and needed to be chased from the upper garden twice today. Probably means they were in there a lot more. Then one of the new little girls found her way there, though she hasn't learned much about being chased yet. They'll all learn ;)

We're looking forward to fall and winter. Even as the the last heat of summer sends us running to the pond and river. Mostly looking forward to the decreased pace that winter brings. Of early darkness and cold that keeps us in; during the summer the pace is crazy both because it can be and it has to be with all the getting ready for winter. Then the long nights come and there's not much to do but snuggle on the couch, or read, or knit (in Kelly's case) or work (in my case ;). Hopefully in front of a wood stove. We'll see.

In other news, the shed-to-office conversion took a big step forward today with the arrival of a concrete truck to do the slab pour. At this point it's a carpentry project now, and I'm fuddling my way solo through it. Got a new door opening cut and framed in today, and also finished removing the existing 2x6 ceiling joists, which will be reduced in number by half as well as moved up about a foot. Replacing the stud-grade ugly ones with some nice rough-sawn pine. I thought I had enough in the barn to do all 3, though turns out there was only enough for 2. A neighbor up the road's building a period-accurate garage replacement, so I asked him if he'd be willing to sell me a 10' rough sawn board and he says yup. Coolio. Still soooo much to do on it, and with me often having to do things and then redo them 2 or 3 times to get them right it's not exactly clipping along ;) Hoping that with the door framing done the pace will up a bit, though now I've also decided to remove all the rotten siding and sheathing from where a pile of gravel had been pushed up against the building for many years. Sigh. So more cutting and demo. At least I have enough wood around to not have to buy any more new stuff.

Anyhow, that's the quick uppity date...