Who knew I could get so excited about rain gutters?

One of the biggest problems we have had with this wreck of a house has been water damage. We took the plunge and bought a new roof a year and a half ago, but the issue of water pouring off that roof has gone unsolved until now. Bill is nearly done with his masterpiece, rain gutters on this thirty-sided polygon, complete with custom-designed and fabricated brackets attached to the new fascia boards:

Who knew that when I brought home 2 rain barrels from Pennsylvania (Thank you, Ron's Barrels!) that it would provide the impetus to finish this project? We now have rain gutters to catch the rain, downspouts to collect water for the garden hoses when we have drought, and overflow hoses to divert the excess when it does rain. Amazing!

Eventually, all that water-wrecked decking will be replaced and the railings will be all painted and nice. It is truly a wonder, and all due to Bill's hard work. There, doesn't he look happy?

(As I look at this picture, it occurs to me that the 4 x 4 post to the right is definitely OFF! One more thing to fix, oh joy...)

My afternoon was almost as productive, if not as impressive as Bill's construction genius:

I grated the gigantor zucchini and made sweet-spicy hot dog relish. Ten half-pints, with one extra oddball that didn't seal--that one will go into the fridge and start being consumed immediately.

Tomorrow, the tyranny of the green beans continues. It seems like I'm picking at least a pound (sometimes 6 pounds!) every three days. These little monsters are just cranking out the beans like it was the end of the world:

I like green beans, I really do. But this is getting ridiculous. I only planted four 10-ft. rows in a tiny corner of the front yard. I feel like sending the seeds of these particularly prolific plants to the ends of the earth wherever people are starving. Here, have some of these seeds. Place them on the hardpan clay, and cover them with an inch of mulch. Ignore them. Two months later, you'll have more beans than you know what to do with. The more you pick them, the more they produce. Yes, they are indeed magic beans. I feel like maybe I need to go find a gullible boy with a cow and trade with him.

Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum.