As for the gambrel, we outsourced this work. By the time I get to a roof, I’ve completely had it with ladders and I would never be able to do as good a job as professionals with standing seam tools.
Popping rocks out of the ground
I’ve been hitting a bunch of rocks with the mowers all Summer long. A few minutes with a tractor are all it takes to pop them out. I’m very happy to see these guys go. Except one which is too massive to go anywhere, I just put the soil back on it and pretended like nothing happened.
2nd cider batch bottled
We are at 10 gallons for the season. I wish I could say they suffice to our yearly consumption.
Cidre
Hard time taking pictures of the process, we’re at 15 gallons of cider, 5 of which are now laced with the inebriating nectar of the gods :). We followed an extremely simple farm recipe, the cider is good but not great. The 2 gallons with honey tasted best, maple syrup left no particular taste but did make the cider a little stronger. Good stuff!
Every batch labeled with a picture for the story of the tree it came from.
“Old man’s arch”, “Maple ghost moon”, Honey third from the left” are all there.
Protected: Soft Cider -> Hard Cider
Protected: Meandering Marmot
Apple droppings
Every day we pick up droppings from a tree that is a bit early. We make just enough applesauce for a day, just enough for the house to smell incredible.
the nice ones are saved as they keep really well
the ugly ones are cooked immediately
Golden age of the Monarchs
Summer 2016 revealed amazing firefly spectacles. They left the stage this year to the Monarch butterfly.
caterpillar
I never saw butterflies as very good fliers, they seem to land on whatever the wind blows them on. Only after following one a while did I realize it hit a milkweed every single time. Despite of their completely erratic flight pattern, they are in fact quite calculated.
Rafter vents, insulation, vapor barrier, walls
Racing to a livable room.
Garlic Galore
600 bulbs dried & cleaned. we’ll definitely have enough for our consumption.
