No Blog? Must be outside!

I realized at midnight last night that I hadn't posted anything on the blog. Now that the weather is nice, it seems criminal to spend the days on the computer when I could be outside, enjoying the benefits of Tennessee Spring. So that's where I am. Outside, soaking up the sun and fresh air.

I planted okra, cucumbers and potatoes in the raised bed that Bill made for me, along with some annual flowers, just for cheerfulness. The beans and peas are doing very well, though I think caterpillars might be chewing on the leaves. I have a tomato in one of the pots on the porch. Though the lettuce is struggling in containers, I hesitate to put it in the ground, as we are overrun with rabbits--at least if they come up to the deck to eat my lettuce, I'll have a chance at catching them at it (and maybe the possibility of a rabbit dinner too)!

We are waiting to see if we're going to have the problems with drought that we had last year. Though it means staying indoors, I welcome any rain we get, hoping that we can make it through the summer with enough water for daily showers and occasional laundry. I notice that Bill has been researching well-drilling equipment on eBay--I think we need to drill a new well for a number of reasons (bad tasting water, and the fact that the well is downhill from the septic tank and not far enough away, for starters). We don't drink the well water, even though it is sanitized by a complex UV light and filter system, but eventually, we will need a new well if we ever decide to sell this place. Oh the things we learned, after we bought this wreck!

Bill was fussing yesterday about the one corner of the deck sinking each time it rains. Yesterday, he did some exploring with a shovel and found that the 4x4 post supporting that corner is actually not sunk into the ground at all--it's just "resting" on the soil below it! No concrete, no support. At this point, after all the knucklehead things we've discovered about this property, all we can do is laugh.

I have a bit more deck painting to do around the perimeter of the house (underneath where the eaves drip water), and then that chore will be done for the year. Bill says he's going to be putting up more gutters to prevent this in the future, but right now his attention is on his big construction project (photos to follow soon), and the incredibly sinking deck.

In the meantime, I'll just be out on the porch reading under the umbrella or working in the "garden," rather than at the computer. There will be time enough for the indoor activities when it gets too hot in July & August to enjoy the outdoors.