Lately . . . .

Last week I was headed out the back door for work when something in a small white bucket near the door caught my eye . . . .

A BAT ! ! !

I don't know how long it had been there but when I jiggled the bucket in moved slightly. I left it there so I could show Rod. The next morning it was still alive, barely, so I gently dumped it out in the sunlight (yea, I know bats are nocturnal). Within 15 minutes it was able to fly away, squeaking. I guess it was thanking me for releasing it from its "prison".

And . . . .

Rodney planted seeds for two (2) pumpkins plants. They have taken over the entire garden!! This variety are suppose to be very good for pies.

He picked the first one yesterday ------

It weighed in at 27# ! ! !

Isn't it beautiful? Just hope it's flavorful. He says there are 4 more ripening about the same size and a lot more in various stages of growth. Guess what we will be canning/freezing this fall?

Pool Party

My sister-in-law called and suggested we get together here for a cook-out and visiting. We grilled hamburgers, hot dogs, and steaks; had my oft-requested potato salad and, best of all, homemade ice cream - vanilla and tutti-fruity. The grandkids enjoyed swimming and riding 4-wheelers brought by the in-laws. Unfortunately, I failed to get photos of Christy, Caitlyn, and Danica swimming due to "ice cream" making duties. But here are those that were taken.

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Ta - Da ! ! ! ! Our 5,000 gallon water storage system

OK, here's the story. Our youngest son Riley does excavation work. He called us about a 3 weeks ago asking if we would like a FREE round 15' x 4' semi-in-ground fiberglass pool complete with pump and filter that he was hired to remove. Without knowing about how old it was or its condition and all the work it would entail getting an old pool up and running, the hubby said, "YES!"
The following Monday morning, Riley shows up with a rented backhoe to dig the hole (we paid for it, of course, and paid him for his services as he did it as part of his work day). But while transporting the pool, he was stopped and ticketed for not having his "wide load" signs. So he had to wait until Tuesday to do the digging. Turned out to be a good thing. That afternoon, we had our first wash flooding of the monsoon season and it was a big one. (See photos of the flood on earlier posting). It would have pretty much filled the hole with water as our yard was like a lake.
Rod took Tuesday off from work so he could "supervise". He even tried his hand at using the backhoe while Riley went to get his boss's laser level. After adding some sand for "cushioning" that was taken from our road thanks to it having been deposited there courtesy of the flood, Riley carefully placed the pool in the opening. The recommended level accuracy for an in-ground pool is 1 inch. Riley is SO proficient at working excavating equipment that when the level measurement was taken, it was about 1/2" of being level!!!
Now Rod could start hooking up the pump and filter. Long story short - they didn't work so we ended up buying a new one. And we've been having so many monsoon rains that we were delayed a few days cleaning out the pool which had about 4 inches of rainwater, mud, dirt, and a few rocks in it. At my suggestion he used our Shop-Vac which did a great job. He got down in the pool and scrubbed it too.

After the parts arrived and were installed, time to fill the pool. Didn't take that long, actually, using our garden hose. I thought we would have a horrific water bill after putting in 5,000 gallons of the wet stuff but it was only $7.00 higher than the previous month. While putting the filter together, Rod discovered that a part was the wrong one. He called the company and they said they were aware the wrong hose was mistakenly included. We received the replacement the next day. AMAZING!! Next came the task of getting the chemicals balanced correctly which took a few more days.

Finally, today we enjoyed the results of all his labors. Although the temps were in the low 90's instead off 100+, it was REFRESHING!!!

In calculating all the costs of installation and parts (plus time X frustration factor), our "free" pool ended up costing about as much as a complete brand new above-ground would have cost.
Here are photos of us enjoying our 5,000 gallon water storage system.

Margo was down from Flagstaff and helped us break in the pool.