The Road...

We continue down this long road as we move forward on the house...  The trim carpenter is finishing up some details and the painters were sanding, etc. in anticipation of painting.  We checked out a small painted patch upstairs and it looked fine.  We also picked out stain colors and gloss for the builtins.  News has it, the cabinets will be delivered Tuesday and installed on Wednesday.  Also, another floor company was out to make a bid for the flooring installation.
It was a very good day as there was lots of activity.

Bales and Bales

Today we got to watch Mike and crew continue to cut and bale the pasture.  It is a very interesting process.  Our thoughts were that when you have the right equipment, it is easy and efficient.

First they cut the grasses,

  

 Then the baler comes along and swallows up the cut grass,

 after it has a full load, it stops,

 lifts its back-end door,

and out rolls a bale.  They really do roll out.  Then as far as the eye can see, there are bales...  All this may seem kind of silly, but it is really cool to see our little patch of land produce a commodity.

Also met Emily to measure the windows for blinds with her Uncle Johns help.  Looks like the more economical way to go is to order what we need and install them ourselves.  The trim carpenter showed up and met with Ryan.  Discussed, etc. what is needed to finish and anticipate needs after the cabinets are installed.  The painter starts this next week.
A few pictures:

Obviously we have not moved into the house, but we are already enjoying our back porch area.  Again this week we were catching cool breezes until about 2:30 when they died a bit.  All the grandchildren arrived and played under our feet.  I hope this continues into the future! 

Cool Breeze

We headed to the farm early Saturday knowing that there was a huge complex of thunderstorms west of Austin that indicated movement toward our destination.  As we went through our routines, we kept that fact in mind.  Our luck held and the storms fell apart probably by early afternoon.  The result was a wonderful cool breeze all day with cloudy skies.  Sitting on the porch for lunch and babysitting was delightful!
The trim carpenter continues to work.  A few pictures:

 Looking into the kitchen from family room

Looking into the family room from kitchen

Peg worked on weed eating the grasses around the front gate to avoid the hour and a half nightmare she experienced when we waited too long a few weeks ago.  It only took her 20 minutes.  We are  becoming more efficient!  Note the corn across the road.

Picture from the cattle guard:

We also met a fence person to get a bid for the back dog fence.  Only one of the three people showed up.  That was discouraging...

Spent several hours after lunch babysitting.  At one point we had all four grand kids there.  They are still learning to interact and each seems to spend their time watching the other.  Throw in 2 Labs and a Hound, and "all was right with the world!"

A Crumby Job But Someone Had To Do It!

Our big job this week was to snatch the object of the dogs' fascination and remove it.  In other words, pick up the remains of the hog carcass!  When the dogs saw where we were heading, they led the way and alerted us to the location of all of the bones, etc.  They were not happy when they figured out that we weren't picking everything up to take it home with us.

 Beulah was especially concerned about where the remains were going.

 The Locals:  "Where are they taking brunch?"

"Papa, I guess we'll have to settle for armadillo on the highway, but honestly my taste buds were all set for hog."

Random pictures:

 Termite tunnels

 Grapes

 Pincushion Cactus

Milkweed

The Trim Carpenter has been busy at the house this week.

"Closet Cozy"

We filled the deer feeder, attended the game cameras, and went for a hike.

 Peg found these treasures on our hike.

The dogs hit the tank for a cooling swim.  Rooster had rolled in something, so I was happy to see him take a plunge!

The weather was overcast and very pleasant in terms of June temperatures.  We enjoyed a lovely lunch on the back porch and watched the swallows look for suitable nesting sites under the overhang.  Hopefully they find nothing that works for them.

Quick Stop

After babysitting the grand kids, Peg, the dogs, and I stopped by the farm on the way home.  We were told the materials needed by the Trim Carpenter were to be delivered the next day and the trim carpenter would start the day after that.  We went for a short walk with the dogs to make them tired for the remaining drive home.  Also it was an excellent time for comfort stops by all.

The dogs made a dash for the tank for a swim.  It appears the area got another good rain so the tank was up another 6-8 inches.  Temperatures were in the low 90s so we were not unhappy to hop back into the car, jack up the AC, and head out.  The dogs crashed the three hours it took to get home.