Summer Vacation

The last bonfire of summer; it's back to work tomorrow.

Three months can fly by, even when you're not doing too much. We had two goals this summer, and today, the day before I head back to work at the garden nursery, we achieved at least one of them. Kinda.

But first, let me tell you about how much fun we had this summer:

1) A trip to Beaufort, S.C., to stay over on a few days our friends' big-ass power boat; there was kayaking, sunbathing on Hilton Head and a whole lot of food. And some boating to boot.

2) A trip to Arkadelphia, Ark., where my sister's family has parked their 80-foot houseboat (and ski boat) on a gorgeous lake. I even got up on a wake board, though I kept calling it a waterboard. Oops.
3)  Many trips to Mom's to mow her yard. Oh wait. That wasn't so much fun!

So our first goal this summer was to install a new septic tank. We're penny-pinchers, 'cause all we've got are pennies, so we decided we could dig the hole ourselves. Exercise is good for us, right? Four feet by 4.5 feet by 5.25 feet deep. Mason's oft-repeated mantra: What could possibly go wrong?

Down in the hole, pre-jackhammer.

Let's just say we rented a jackhammer at one point, and it's still not done. But it's close! Complicating matters -- besides the layers of rock we found 3 feet down -- was rainwater that kept filling the hole. A good-looking frog has taken up residence in the resulting "pond." He's about to get evicted to the nearby creek.

And for our second goal of the summer, my vegetable garden finally has a lovely deer-proof (we hope) fence, topped by a pergola-like decor. In full Flat Top fashion, we built it out of a bunch of free wood we scored from an acquaintance who was tearing up an old deck from his house. Yes, we're scroungers. (The biggest slabs of wood will be used in the "Bunkhouse" project, coming soon, maybe, possibly; we'll see.) But scrounging comes at a price: See those cross pieces atop the fence? Each one came from an old deck railing. Each one had 4 nails removed from it. Each one was cut and belt-sanded and painted. Much the same for the 2x6s that top the fence.

Best-looking veggie garden fence on Flat Top!

In between those adventures, there was a lot of watering plants, harvesting vegetables, making pesto and tomato sauces, eating, drinking and walking the beloved Nick the Dog. I picked up a few landscape jobs along the way, yet I'm completely mentally unprepared for my return to the nursery grind. Not sure Mason is looking forward to it, either.

Mason trying to get Nick to look at the camera.
I worry about how much time these two are about to be spending together.

Cutie boy!