Builder Mike is back!

Driveway was extended to back of cottage on NW side

between N side of cottage and veggie garden.

Location of pole building N and W of cottage.

View from where pole building will be of walk-out.
More back-filling was done and gravel spread at walk-out.

Gravel pit west of Huntington on US 24.

Waterfall

Builder Mike has returned to the farm for our next project...a 24x32 pole building to house our vehicles, lawn equipment, bikes, etc., and a winemaking shop for Bonnie. Kathy is also going to have him put up some storm doors, and who knows what else we will ask him to do?

The drive has been cut and graveled to where the building will go, and gravel has been spread between the retaining walls at the walk-out. The grading has been done and the extra dirt was put up against the outside of the retaining walls. We will try to include some photos before we upload this post.

Bonnie got her car back from the repair shop today and it looks great. But the Pilot got smacked into on Tuesday when Kathy was trying to turn into the Scott's parking lot near the library. We will be getting estimates and scheduling repairs for it. Not cool. Kathy LOVES the Pilot and Bonnie had just paid it off!

Barbara and Denny now have a brand new 5th wheel to go along with their new Toyota Tundra. They had to have a 5th wheel hitch put in the bed of the Tundra. They may take off for Michigan to test things out this fall and expect to head south for a month or so in January. And, of course, they now have to have a new enclosed carport for the camper. Anyway, the camper is gorgeous, and we are excited for them. Kathy has volunteered to help with the carport if help is needed.

This weekend there is much to do. The grapes need to be sprayed with GreenCure, an organic fungicide formulated by a professor at Cornell that Kathy spent a lot of time researching. We want to spray a couple of times before winter. The staking and tying of the vines is all done and we put up two more rows of hi-tensile wire on the native grapes. We still need to screw in the earth anchors and there are more catch wires to run. We hope to get the earth anchors in yet this fall, and the catch wires can wait until spring.

There is mowing and trimming to be done this weekend and Kathy would like to finish what she hopes will be the last hoeing of the season. Between the Sea Magic foliar fertilizer, the GreenCure, and the nematodes, we are hoping to have some organic controls in place for next year. A routine spraying schedule will need to be implemented next year.

Our new tree is still alive. We haven't killed this one. We have faithfully watered it, but we just don't understand why it has been red all year. It is supposed to have green leaves that turn a beautiful red in the fall, but it has been red all summer. It will be interesting to see what color the leaves are in the spring.

Bonnie had her first exam this week and thinks she did okay. She will be busy "supervising" Mike and his young men when they get back out here and start pouring concrete and raising the barn. It is a good thing we all get along!

Bonnie has been busy brainstorming how to replace Kathy's income when she finally fully retires (which she is not considering at this time). Once again the possibility of becoming a boutique winery is being considered.

Kathy has begun geocaching again (as time and gas money allow) and the two scenic photos above are from her travels the past two weeks.