A little storm blew through that left the first dusting of snow on the mountains around us.
There is a definite nip in the air these days. We are trying to get everything prepared for winter. Last year we had snow on the ground from the second week of December until March. Some of the folks around here are saying we should expect another snowy winter this year. One of the guys at church who is an Indian says you can tell how hard the winter will be by how high the white man’s wood pile is 
This farm is about a quarter of a mile down the road from us.
Rick dug lots of holes with John’s excavator. It was a lot easier than digging them by hand, but they are big holes to fill – after you pick out the rocks.
We pick out the really big rocks by hand, then use the screen – it started out being a grill for the fire pit but it works pretty well with rocks too – to sift the smaller ones.
When you’re done you have nice, rock-free dirt to plant with.
It takes about five or six wheelbarrow loads to fill each hole.
One of our newly planted apple trees. We have ten trees (apple, cherry, plum and apricot) in our little orchard now.
Rick also dug a new permanent bed for my asparagus so I could transplant them – after I got all the rocks out.
I bought the asparagus as two year old crowns this spring, but didn’t have a permanent bed ready for them. I don’t think it is really a good idea to move them at this time of year, but we are going to rototill the spot where I put them temporarily so they had to go. Hopefully the move won’t hurt them too much.
And look at all those nice rocks we have to work with. (Michael do you think we could sell them in Indiana? ) I am going to try and learn how to construct stone walls.
So far I have just made stacked low walls, but they are pretty wobbly. We think the Skagit River flowed through here at one time before they built the dams above us, as all our rocks are all rounded, which makes them kind of hard to stack. I need to find someone (or maybe a book) to show me how to build sturdy rock walls that will last. One more item on my list of things to do!
Love the rock wall.
The orchard area looks like it is coming along nicely!!! I think you were fortunate to have the excavator to help in the digging. I think some of those rocks would have been a little rough on the shovel. It looks to me you have some highly desirable rocks that some local Hoosiers might be interested in. The next time you fly in you will have to pack a few in the suitcase. I wonder what security would say about that??? The wall you have constructed looks nice. I think you have found a new career!! Maybe you could offer some classes on rock wall building for some of the locals in the area.
One of the times Megan was here before she graduated from high school we found some logs down by the river about 6 inches around and 3 feet long that a beaver had chewed off on both ends. She was taking an environmental science class, so she had us pack them up in our suitcase and take them home so she could take them to class. The guys at airport security had a few questions about that! I can imagine what they would say about rocks. These days with the airlines your lucky if you get a seat, much less your luggage