A-tisket A-tasket, A Pepper Filled Basket

October 4, 2026 On September 20, most of the scorched plants had recovered. Some had been scorched to death. I lost more of my Alpine strawberries, sorrel, and my Longhorn pepper plant. I caught up on laundry and Bruce went out to mow. On September 21, Bruce continued with his mowing mission. I looked through […]

Tractor and Pig Feeder Play Nice with Each Other, Butterflies Abound, and Hummingbird Visit

August 30, 2026 On August 20, I got up early and saw the sunrise. While that was common when Nox was with us, now that she is gone, I don’t get up at sunrise very often anymore. I went outside in the relatively cool part of the day and did some weeding in the garden […]

And Now, Ladies and Gentlemen, Heeere’s Bruce!

August 16, 2026 In Bruce’s own words and pictures, the removal of the pig pen fence from the start of the project to today. Where the entry gate was, but the right-hand gate post was broken off before we bought the place. This small paddock includes what we think is an 8-place pig feeder, and […]

Resuming Work on Blueberry Ring

August 15, 2026 On August 11, I resumed weeding the blueberry ring. I made good progress on getting towards the other end. While I was weeding, Bruce found another use for the tractor. Wait until you see what he did! I finally remembered to take pictures of the blueberry ring. The end was in sight, […]

Mulching Made Easier Using Tractor

August 14, 2026 Updated on August 15, 2026 On August 10, I got up and put the collapsed cardboard boxes into the wagon. I put a knife in my pocket to cut the cardboard. It was the start of mulching time. I cut and put the cardboard around the newly planted pawpaw and around the […]

One More Section of Weeding the Blueberry Ring Completed

August 14, 2026 On August 9, we got up late. Fortunately, the weather was cooler (high 70sF to mid F)from the thunderstorm the day before. The cooler weather meant we could do more later in the day. I completed weeding one more section of the blueberry ring. A section is the area that lines up […]

More Cowbell, Oops, Not Cowbell, I Meant More Tractor and Chainsaw

August 6, 2026 On August 3, while I was finishing up the weeding, I am sure some of you (Tom from Reiko’s Journey) were wondering what Bruce was up to. Bruce clipped the blackberry thickets to make straight sides. This allowed him to safely mow next to them. He also clipped the blackberries around the […]

And Now, Back to the Present

July 30, 2026 On July 26, we started to try to tame jungle Blackberry Homestead had become. We had an overnight thunderstorm that knocked down an old branch from the oak. Bruce mowed at the highest setting on the mower deck. There was no speed mowing that Bruce normally enjoys. It was slow going and […]

Tractor Used to Move More Dirt and Attack the Grassy Knoll

June 9, 2026 On June 26, while I was out in the garden, Bruce was playing using the tractor to move dirt. He put more dirt in the holes left in the south side yard from digging out roots. See https://retirementrvdream.com/2026/05/23/watching-bruce-enjoy-the-new-toy-tractor/ for the removal of the roots. Bruce smoothed out the dirt with the front […]

Flood Damage to Driveway

June 21, 2026 After the flood we had on June 7, on June 8, we took a look at the damage to the driveway. The flood water caused the gravel to wash from the driveway into the grass. The grass caught in the cage from the flood water was 20 to 26 inches high on […]