Spring Cleaning

I have a good boy. Actually, I have two. But this entry is about Son One and his outstanding help around the property, cleaning up after that March storm wiped out part of the yard, and then tidying up the apple & peach trees with the ever-present orchard work.

As a brief reminder here are a couple 'before' shots:

The day after the storm Ben was chompin' at the bit to get out there and start in on rebuilding the destroyed shed and clearing away the downed elms. While Papa was working 12 hour days for Caltrans, and I lay sick a-bed, that ambitious young man went to work in-between persistent storms.

Within a matter of days he'd gathered up the shed debris, dug new holes and cut new posts for the frame supports, put up the siding, deconstructed and rebuilt the roof, and had it looking like nothing had ever happened:

With the splitter safely ensconced in its new shelter he had me bundle up and come out to direct the placement of the piggly-wiggly signs back over the entrance...

Click on the pics to see your old signs with those dearly departed piglet's names

..and then I hung the old 'Pig City' sign -that Abby made years ago- on the apple tree between the two pig pens in the piggy pasture of yore.

As the weeks went by Ben kept working at restoring order to the place. He sawed his way through the downed trees; gathering up the branches & stacking them in the brush pile, cutting the trunks into rounds and hauled them out of the way, & rebuilding the smashed fences and gates along the way.

I ended up being sick for a month, running through two different courses of antibiotics. There were a few days here and there where I was sure I was on the mend and, yearning to be outdoors and moving around, managed to lend a hand occasionally; mostly hauling downed branches off the lawn and sometimes coming out to toss a few pieces on the bonfire when he burned the brush pile.

Last, but not least, Ben decided to start pruning the orchard the last week prior to leaving for Hawai'i:

"…and when he was good he was very very good, but when he was bad…" hmm. no. Longfellow's rhyme doesn't really fit in this case... cuz he was just very very good :D

(4 yr old workin' boy Ben - with 1 yr old Abby Jayne)