We're having the best summer weather

The best in decades. Sun, not too much fog, and not too much wind. Downright warm. You can go outside on a sunny day without wearing a ski-suit!

We've got tons of goldfinches, lots of hummingbirds, some cedar waxwings nesting in the back tangle (saw the baby begging the mama to feed him). The Chilean Jasmine is blooming right now, roses are going strong.

Except for my long-neglected disaster, everything is good, and we're working on remedying that.

The deck now has two full coats of stain, it's drying as we speak. It's taken some weeks to scrub, dry and then stain it, but it's done, and water beads up.

The futon frame is almost all painted, and will make a nice summer daybed out there. We generally have our best time of year in Indian Summer, which is ahead of us yet.

It's encouraging. I love this time of year anyway, and this is the best year in memory.

clearing

Made a small bit of progress this last weekend, finally getting around to clearing out the garden area between the greenhouse and the shed - where everything got dumped last summer, and then became completely overgrown with berry vines and grass and weeds. Another day should completely clear it out - then the objective would be to KEEP it clear.

So far, the area around the deck is staying together, so if I can move that repair effort outward, and keep it up, things should get back to where they were 5 years ago. BEFORE the neglect.

I am also going to buy some pond liner and redo the pond area. Make the pond bigger, all one piece. Pond liner is between $300 and $500 for a 20x25 piece (45 mil) EPDM.

I'll deal with a pump later.