Heavy rain through the night and into the morning. I put on a rain jacket early this morning because Spots was nonetheless at the fence, waiting to receive his two slices of bread and handful of dry grass.
I spent part of the day in the garage painting the bench meant to hold kindling. I bought an olive color sample from Kelly-Moore called Mendocino Heritage. The quart was enough to cover the bench in two coats. Mike liked the color so much I gave him the remainder of the sample. I sanded the openable seat and surrounding side pieces down to the bare wood and applied a pecan wood stain and sealer. I am pleased with the ending contrast.
I attached hoses to the lower spigots on three rain barrels. The weight of water in the barrels does not seen to create the same pressure as a typical faucet. I can still draw buckets of water off the hoses for use in the garden.
I finished painting the last section of the back yard fence – two coats of primer, two coats of final paint on the trim pieces, one coat of final paint on the rest of the fence – before I packed it in for the day.
Down at the little house, Mike is successively pruning the olive trees. He has also mowed away the grass so that a real olive grove is emerging. He expects to adopt two to three lop eared goats in June and install the movable fencing around the olive grove. Four goats ought to keep down the grass and fertilize the trees nicely.
A Year at the Snake 