Thursday night all the AYSO soccer coaches met at the HP Library for discussion and to pick our teams.  I am an assistant coach working with Doug Wynne this year.  Our U10 boys team has 13 kids.  This year they play 7 v 7 with a goalie.

Friday I worked.  We got the lawn mowed and I worked in the garden.  I cleared out the pole beans and picked tomatoes.  The tomatoes have continued to produce and we are getting overwhelmed with cherry tomatoes.  We have 4-5 decent sized pumpkins, a dozen or more acorn squash.

Saturday was hot and humid.  I moved dirt fill from the pasture to the north side of the new attachment as settling had occurred.  We ran to the HP Farmer’s Market and bought corn, eggs, plums and raspberries.  We made a connection with Jennifer Romer to acquire meat chickens for our freezer.  At Turner Lumber we bought lattice for under our back deck and materials for the 12’ x 12’ tent platform to be built at Cookout Corner: 8” concrete blocks, deck hangers and nails.

Kathryn picked elderberries and made several jars of elderberry tonic: elderberry juice, honey and brandy.

In the afternoon I pulled nails from the rest of the 12’ 2”x8” which will form the joists for the tent platform.  Kathryn worked on cleaning out the attic and organizing the upstairs family room.

Saturday night Kathryn, Eric and I went to Pizza Hut in North Utica.  It was a night of violent thunderstorms to the south of Utica including a tornado which crossed over the NYS Thruway. Service was slow and we played pitch while we waited for our chicken wings and pepperoni pizza.

Sunday was hot and humid.  I awoke early again and watched TV.  As Eric and Kathryn awoke we watched the Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole and ate leftover pizza for breakfast.  Eric and I installed our old wooden steps pond side.  Eric helped install the left over decking slabs under the dog fence to keep the pipes from rusting.  In the afternoon Kathryn was trimming our bushes on the west side of the house and was stung by several ground bees.  She shed her shoes and shorts and came running in the house to shower and apply vinegar.  Simultaneously our neighbor Gary drove in to discuss running drainage tile into our pasture and digging a small ‘duck pond’ in the SE corner of the pasture.

Monday it rained all day and Eric had his buddy Jack over to play.  They have used the pool, despite the cooling temperatures. When we set it up in July we were concerned it collapsing due to the bulging, but it has worked out well.

I read Game of Thrones; the first in the series of Fire and Ice by George RR Martin.