Our vineyard didn't do so well this year because of the -5 deg temps we had last winter.  So we traded 2 six-packs of beer for 40 lbs of chardonnay from a guy in the Applegate!!  We pulled the grapes off the stems...

 Then Mom stomped them!  Then we pressed them with the cider press, put the juice in a bottle, added the yeast, now we wait!

 Dad moved a bunch of pvc pipe from the back of the garage which exposed the Styrofoam block.  The chickens started eating the Styrofoam so Mom had to stop what she was doing and finish putting rock around the base of the garage.  Don't ya love it when chickens decide what you should be doing??!!

This is the rock border and flower bed that Mom has been working on.  The boulders are from the basement excavation!

Dad got all the gutters sloping the right way and replaced the broken screws. 

This is the area where the double-wide sat!  It has been graded, raked, and seeded with grass.  There's a spot for a "memorial" bench!











We got all these pumpkins from one plant!

Let's see...  We picked 15 lbs. of elderberries and have them fermenting in the basement to make wine!!!

Dad has trapped 21 digger squirrels!  They continue to make Osker crazy.  Now we have 4 gray squirrels in the walnut tree each morning.  They take a walnut and bury it in the holes that the digger squirrels make!

This Great Egret stopped by to play in the sprinkler!  We had to watch from inside.  Once it took off flying, we were let out and Osker chased it all the way down the field!

 There has been quite a bit of bear activity on our path through the woods as evidenced by giant piles of blackberry poo.  Looks like a mom and at least one cub!

 Mom is playing in the rock piles working on a couple of walls.


Dad is readjusting the slope of the rain gutters.  Some of the screws have already broken off, probably from ice build-up.


Me and Osker keep Mom busy by laying in the dirt then coming in the house!! It's fine pumi like flour.  We heard her say that farm dogs stay outside all the time.  Dad said we're not farm dogs, we're family members!  Whew!

Well!  August flew by!  Mom and Dad traveled to Croatia for 2 weeks leaving us behind. Luckily our brother Matt stayed with us.  He's great fun!

Now we're settling in:  picking blackberries, canning a few garden vegies, doing yard work.  Trying to motivate for some bigger projects.

We've had a population explosion of digger squirrels.  They're in the wood piles and sheds.  So far Dad has caught 11 and relocated them.  There are still so many.  They don't really bother me, but they get Osker very excited.  He checks the trap throughout the day and barks when we catch one!  Dad keeps them comfy in a temporary cage until he has a load

We've been having a bit of a tough time here.  My human sister got married and we weren't invited.  We went to a KENNEL!  It was crazy in there.  Full of barking dogs, lots of smells.  We were ready to get out of there.

Then we took some friends on a walk down Old Elk Creek Road and Osker got covered in burrs.  His ears were stiff with burrs.  It took hours to get him cleaned up and he lost a lot of hair.

Then Dad decided we smelled like the kennel so we had to get baths!  Geez!

Now things are getting back to normal and we have some time to relax.

Mostly watering and mowing going on around here.  Folks are taking a break.

The guy who usually cuts and bales the hay got sick so our neighbor and Dad ended up baling for him.  120 bales this year that we give to a couple different ranchers.

 First mow on the new cover crop!  Looks like a hayfield, but it is helping keep the dust down!

FINALLY!!! Crusty is off the property!  We don't care where it goes or what happens now!  Mom got to sing her double-wide song:

Chorus:
Double-wide, double-wide
She waves goodbye with Dave inside

Party house for the last 8 years
Don't worry she sheds no tears

Musty & moldy deep inside
But all this time kept us warm and dry

Off to a new life, wishing it well
She's happy in her new house and out of that hell!

 My friends from Dad's college came to visit!  Eight of us went into the woods.  Two chain saws going, people hauling, bucking, clearing brush, and loading the truck!  One and a half truck loads in record time!  It was a beautiful thing!  The guys even unloaded, stacked, and split it!







Then we found out our friend Nancy LIKES to weed-whack!  She took Dad's heavy whacker and went at it!

Osker was showing off while they were here and caught a gopher.  


The half-a-wide is still here, but guess what??  The new owner called tonight and guess what he said???  He said he'll come get it TOMORROW!!!!

Yang, our naughty chicken had been laying her eggs in a secret hiding spot.  Mom kept asking me and Osker to "find it"!!!  We knew where she was hiding, but do you think we were going to tell when we could watch a bunch of humans walking all over the place clucking like chickens???  It was very funny!  Mom finally found the stash in a corner of the greenhouse!

I recently turned 4 and I must admit that Life is Good!!  I get 3 meals a day, still have my chair, and go to the creek each day.  So what's up with this new "out of the kitchen" command??  I'm a gourmet!  I love food!  I can smell what's going on better than humans.  I spend a lot of time keeping this floor clean and if you know anything about my parents, you know it's a constant job!  This is what I get in return?  Geez!

In other news...  The seedlings are coming up!! We started spreading straw to help keep the moisture in.  Nice yard; sewer pipe, rock pile and wait... what's that in the background??  Yes! It's Crusty!  Still here.  We talked to the guy today--first time he answered his phone in weeks and he said he'll come get it Friday!!!