Today I got the landscape fabric onto the last three potato towers, and got two of them full of manure and compost. I'll try to get the third one filled and all of them planted tomorrow. Tony attempted to fix the gate but the ground around the gate is too soft, so he's going to either have to buy concrete mix or try something else. He also struck out on fixing the hinges on the cupboard door. I guess the ones he picked up aren't the right shape to fit the door properly without making holes.
But the day wasn't a total loss. We went back to Brainerd for a shopping trip. We picked up more food for the barn critters, some sandals (because it's hot and all I have are big heavy shoes), some new seeds (Mellow Yellow beans, Picklebush cucumber, Lemon cucumber, and #3 picked out Canterbury Bells and a wildflower mix), some new plants (a serviceberry, lemon thyme, ichiban eggplant, yellow zucchini, strawberry, and two houseplants), and a light for #3's snake cage. She insists that it needs the room light on to let it know day from night, and I kept turning her room light off when she wasn't in there. So now we have a little LED (no heat) light over the tank so her snake will know when it's day time without burning through electricity or making the house hotter... Though I'm pretty sure the light in her room is also LED.
While looking at plants, #1 noticed one that had long black and red twisted leaves. She loved it immediately and asked, "If (#3) gets a snake, can I have a plant?" It was so ridiculously funny, I said yes. As we were leaving the plant area, little #5 ran back, grabbed another of the same type of plant (half his height and pretty heavy for a little guy) and lugged it to the cart. He said "Can I have this one too?" Oh boy. Why not? His is more green and doesn't have the same cool twisted leaves as the one #1 picked out, but he's thrilled to have his very own plant that can go in his bedroom. I'm a little surprised he hasn't named the thing yet.
Tony ordered us a new washer and dryer a week or so ago. Our washer works fine, but the dryer has to be turned all the way up and then the clothes have to go through twice to get dry. We're wasting a lot of time and electricity and heating the house up unnecessarily. I've been utilizing the laundry line outside on nice days when no rain is in the forecast, but when it's cold out or raining, it feels so wasteful to use the old dryer. Rather than just buying a new dryer, Tony insisted it needed to be a pair. Whatever. The energy efficient washer is still on order, but the dryer is there at the store. Because we're paying for delivery (because we don't have a trailer or a dolly and they won't fit in our vehicle), we're waiting for both to be in. So - when they do come in, if anyone wants a nice reliable washer - I've got an old one. We got it second hand when our basement flooded and ruined our last one a year ago. It's worked great and I have no complaints about it. Tony wants to scrap it. I'd love to see it continue being useful. The dryer he said I could tear apart or send to scrap. I wonder if I could get the barrel portion out (the part where your clothes go) and use it as a planter outside. Might be an interesting way to re-purpose something that has ended its useful days. Then the rest can go to the scrap place for parts and recycling.
Today also marks a first for us. I knew that Floki and Mabel were pregnant, but I was really wondering if it was possible they were suffering from false pregnancies. In the past five years having unaltered cats, we have never had a cat deliver more than one litter per year. They rarely come into heat, and when they do, sometimes things just don't line up and they don't get pregnant. Today, Floki delivered a single kitten. It looks to be a little boy and he's a loud baby, crying frequently. Mabel is taking an active roll in laying with him while Floki goes out to eat and drink. Sage is four months old now (and still petite), and doesn't seem to mind being a big sister. She really couldn't care less. The new baby seems healthy besides being loud. He will get a name soon I'm sure.
Tomorrow evening the kids will be heading off to their aunt and uncle's house, and for several hours I will be alone until Tony gets home. It's just one night, but darn it I miss them already and they're still here! I'm so weird. Does anyone else have this kind of a love-hate relationship with having kid-free time?
Here's a photo of the sunset tonight.
Tomorrow is July 1st, which is the due date for three rabbits. Kaelyn, Lilith, and Gretchen are supposed to grace us with litters any day now. Here's hoping we get some cute babies!