Another late summer survivor is the cluster of crepe myrtles, which responded favorably to Denise's delicate pruning touch.
And although it's not been easy, we've started working on the southside pasture...little by little we're getting it tamed.
As if our Longville yardwork wasn't enough to keep us busy, we had to take care of the property that inspired this blog so long ago. I hadn't been out there to mow the Richwood lots since last October, so I made a little trip in August. With all of the spring rain, it was quite a jungle - it only took 12 hours and 2 tanks of gas for the riding mower to turn it into hay. We do have it up for sale; I hope someone sees the same potential in it that we did.
Besides the voluminous and ubiquitous yardwork, our current ongoing major project is an exterior paint job for the old farmplace. Denise has been on it like a bulldog, and vows for completion before Christmas (I predict much sooner than that). We had originally thought this was an October project, but we got after it in the special hell that is August in Louisiana...anyway, here's a couple of before and after shots that may give you an idea of what the finished product may look like.
We took the chance to upgrade the old shutters with some made out of leftover deck boards.
We also got a new porch swing that is sturdier and more comfortable than the one that came with the house. It will be hung after the porch ceiling and trim is finished.
Here's the piney woods church side before and in progress. I think we'll add the same kind of faux shutters to the windows there to make it look a little more appealing, but this will give you an idea.
We've also had a few visitors...Papa T came to sit on the porch and visit with Roux.
And you'll have to take a guess who came and practiced some new techniques in cake baking (if you're new to the blog you can scroll back through a few of the older posts to find the obvious answer).
Roux has been hard at work too. She maintains a patient and vigilant watch to keep the squirrels up in the trees where they belong. Here she is while we were on a visit to Scott's house before he moved.
...and before we took the pool down, I heard her growling at something under the azaleas while she was on her daily morning critter patrol, which led to this result...I'll let you fill in the blanks.
She also continues to patrol critter watch to keep out the undesireables...but she turns out to be all bark and no bite on most things...especially if they stand their ground.
We try not to let her out after dark, but every once in a while we must do so before she turns in. A couple of weeks ago she took off in the dark after something out by the feeder. I heard some unusual noises and called her back. I could smell the skunk before she got close enough to pet. Poor girl had to spend the night on the porch. At least she wasn't out there when the chupacabra came by.
There should be some activities to document over the next few weeks...more painting progress, the annual squirrel hunt, and a visit to Illinois to see how Maggie and Bea handle Halloween!
We're optimistic for the future, and don't see any storm clouds on the horizon...well not too many.
It's coming on to the best time of the year, and we hope to see you soon.
