The root cellar foundation is coming along. We had a shaky start (learning curve) when the first row was off by a couple inches in height from end to end, but our neighbor, Ian, came by with a laser level and some good advice, and things straightened out. After awhile, it got to be easy, though the higher courses were some work, and adding rebar and filling every fourth core (so it can hold back the earth without buckling) added to the amount of mixing and pouring required. The black hose is our cabin's domestic water supply, which we dug up in the process of excavating, and which we're worrying a bit about getting routed under the new footer and reburied and insulated before winter. During the winter, all of the water for us and chickens, ducks and goats needs to flow through this pipe that is now exposed to the elements.
We also started expanding our domestic water storage by excavating for, and installing, two new 1500 gallon poly tanks up at the top of the land. Once these are in place and connected in, we'll have 4000 gallons of storage capacity, enough to last us the entire winter. Without them, we often have to put chains on the truck in mid-winter, put a 200 gallon tank in the bed and haul water from a pump station down by the highway. Getting the tanks in place was easier than it looks in the photo below. We were able to roll them off the truck and trailer and into the excavated spot where they'll be semi-buried without either of them getting away and rolling down the hill and across the garden. Great!
Also, now that we'd finished digging behind the cabin with the backhoe, we were able to finish off the storage shed by adding a west facing shed roof with slabwood wall and shelving. It was immediately filled with the outdoor fridge, freezer, gardening supplies, storage boxes, the hand crank cream separator. Storage is good when you live in a 10'x15' cabin!
With the new garden fence complete, it's time for the goats to test it. Here's Violet longing for all those tasty squash and tender little fruit trees on the other side of the gate...
And now, the fall harvest begins. 950 lbs of potatoes, 900 lbs of pumpkins and squash, 260 lbs of tomatoes. Starting with a wheelbarrow load full of Delicatas.
Some enormous Blue Hubbards.
Or maybe they're Sweet Meats, I'm not sure!
Pumpkins!
And the question is, with the root cellar not done yet, where are we gonna store all of these? The bedroom? Sure, why not?
In the middle of all of this fall construction, harvesting, and food processing, Jeanne answered a call from Linc's niece Carrie. Carrie's mother, Gretchen, had just suffered a ruptured cerebral aneurysm and was being taken by ambulance to a neuro surgery unit at St. Joseph's hospital in Phoenix, AZ. Her two daughters, Carrie and Bekah, ex-husband Jim, and his wife Sarah, all drove and flew down to be at her side in ICU. Linc got the water line buried, and some lose ends taken care of, and drove down to take a turn sitting with Gretchen in ICU for a week, then at the end of the month she was transferred to a room in the acute care wing. Gretchen had regained consciousness and had begun talking with us, but then slipped into delirium for nearly a week. Here, she greets her grand daughter Lily, during one of her clearer moments.
Back home, Jeanne worried her way through chores, work and homesteading while waiting to see what would happen with Gretchen. Having Linc's mother pass away less than a year ago, our friend and neighbor Colin in January, and now Gretchen in the hospital, all reminded us of how short and unpredictable life can seem at times. What a gift life is - so much to savor and appreciate!
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