I mentioned in a previous post that I was looking for a rain barrel.  Well the neighbor offered the use of his that he no longer uses.   I know have a huge rain barrel in the yard, and thanks to the recent rains, it is pretty full!  It makes watering the garden, and having water for dishes, etc so much easier.  I am exploring submersible pumps, and pressure tanks.  My well tested fairly clean, so now I can put the plumbing to the house.  Electrical work begins Saturday.  So much to do...so little time, even less free capital!

The grasshoppers are beginning to leave some of the garden alone...only some.....they don't seem to like my pumpkins and watermelons....yet!  They still happily munch on the peppers, and the squash....yes I would love to munch too...  I have found a helper or two...one not necessarily where I would like to find him-my water bucket!

I would like to mention I bought a Wonder Washer. It is the size of a diaper pail, but does a great job getting my clothes clean.  I still have to wring the water out by hand for the clothes line, but it is a great money saver.  I can do 3 loads (4-5 shirts per load/2 pr jeans per load) with less than 5 gallons of water.  Got mine at Amazon.com.  Plenty of sunny days for drying clothes on the line.  By winter, I want to get the companion centrifugal dryer.  I had one several years ago and it spins clothes nearly dry.

Mushrooms galore have been sprouting on my place.  Several different types, colors, and shapes.  I admired, but did not eat as I don't know what is edible or not.  The underside of the biggest looked like a sponge, no gills...and another had a huge root....not sure it is a true mushroom.