The Harvest

We're returning to Atlanta for the winter on September 9th. Patty and I will both work full-time, and try to save as much money as possible, and come back up next year on the 1st of April to remain permanently.

I take some last shots of the property before we leave. Here's looking towards the gazebo:

Looking down from the gazebo:


The fireplace with the tent removed:

Closer:

A shot of the barn:

Another:

The compost bin:

Next year we'll let the left chamber sit, and begin filling the right. The year after we'll have compost.
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I drain the water out of the hose and disconnect it. I duct tape some insulation around the exposed pipes so they won't freeze and crack like last winter. There's another sheet of insulation up in the attic of the shed. I pull that down, but when I open it, guess what I find:

Baby mice. They are adorable. I carefully fold the insulation and put it back up where it was.

It all started when I noticed something was moving our beans around. Brooke one time heard scurrying sounds. Then they saw a mouse leaping from one plywood sheet to another up in the attic. They even saw a mother mouse running up the wall with a baby in her mouth. I wonder if they've stashed enough food for the winter.

I organize the inside of the shed, bring in the wood remnants, and lock it up. Here's the inside before I lock it up:

You can see the pipes above the well casing covered in insulation.

Most of my tools I'm taking with me. Here's the pumphouse from the outside, locked up:

The morning we leave the kids gather up all the ripe fruit in the garden. There are two large bags of tomatoes, and several cantelope:

We camp one night in a state park outside Atlanta after the three hour drive. The cost to set up a tent is an unbelievable $22. I guess what we're saying is our public lands are only for the rich.

We find a good site off the lake:

And go out and swim:


I take a photo of our fruit from the garden as it was getting smashed in the canvas bags - I need to repack it:

We get a thunderstorm and it rains, so we go in the tent and play cards. There's a break in the rain and we go hike a short loop trail to see an old log cabin. It just amazes me what people were able to accomplish in the past with simple hand tools:

The chimney alone was incredible:

Here are closer shots of how all this stone was meticulously packed together to form the chimney - and all of it square and plumb:


The pier foundations for the massive chestnut sills were made the same way.
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Brooke found some oyster mushrooms:

Here's Rachael on a stump:

The next morning we gathered two gallon bowls of muscadine grapes, and headed to Atlanta.