July 21-27, 2019

Weather | 7/21, 1.57" rain, 68°, 85° | 7/22, 0.09" rain, 64°, 79° | 7/23, 57°, 79° | 7/24, 62°, 83° | 7/25, 64°, 85° | 7/26, 67°, 84° | 7/27, 65°, 86° |

• Sunday (7/21): Had my 6 dog training classes, with 1 dog that didn't show up. I texted Shane to tell him I'll have to quit Petco earlier than planned, with the extra hours he's now giving me. His only concern was that I finish my dog training, so I talked to all people scheduled beyond August 23rd that we'll have to double up, or they finish with Ron, the other dog trainer. Mary and Bill watched Watership Down via Netflix over Bill's phone, but displayed on our TV. In the morning, we saw 5 WWII airplanes flying SW to NE over hour heads, flying in formation...that was really neat.
• Monday (7/22): All of the rooftop AC units quit at 8:30 am at work and the repairman didn't show until 5 pm. I opened the front doors, the swinging doors to the back rooms, and the back door, to get air flowing through the store. It was hotter in the store than outside. Fortunately, it was only in the 80's at Quincy. A 2 foot stretch of an electrical feed wire was fried, which shut off all 4 ACs on the roof. I had 3 dog training classes with 3 dogs. Did 2 classes in an hour with the 1 woman who has a dog scheduled beyond August. She will come early every upcoming Thursday, so we can do 2 classes a week...fixes that for me quitting earlier than planned. Back home, Bill and Mary watched They Shall Not Grow Old. Mary also mowed the south third of the hay field that is the far garden.
• Tuesday (7/23): Bill and I picked blackberries. We found a lot of bushes dried up...probably due to the recent heat. We succeeded in nearly filling a large metal bowl with berries. Bill got into a pile of tiny, tiny ticks all over his pants. We used packing tape to get them off his clothing and luckily, he didn't get bit. Mary mowed lawn, putting mulch on a row in the far garden. We had a weinie roast well into the evening. It was very nice. Came in at about 11:30 pm. Walked dogs and noticed fencer unit registering low...found 5 fence wires wound around themselves...that bunny got a real shock. I had to tighten a couple wires that got stretched, due to a critter struggling.
• Wednesday (7/24): I built a new ramp for the chickens, made from a piece of exterior plywood siding and lathes attached with screws. Dug out bricks that were buried in the ground that the end of the ramp rests on, filled in the holes and put them back in place. Put hardware cloth on east window. Installed gate latches on the chicken entry door. Mary mowed and mulched.
• Thursday (7/25): We ordered 25 chicks from Cackle Hatchery's Frypan Special. They'll ship on 7/31 and arrive on 8/2. We should be butchering just before deer season. Figured upcoming Petco income and I'll need to end employment by August 24, in order to also get paid my PTO (paid time off) and give me an $800 cushion, in case another unexpected bonus comes through. Texted Shane and told Molly at work. Shane's only concern was that I get through all of my dog training. Had just 1 dog for training...did 2 classes with that dog in 1 session.
• Friday (7/26): Mary and I picked blackberries...ate up a good part of the day. I mowed the lane, since Mary can't mow it due to poison ivy growing in the grass along the lane. Katie texted Mary a letter announcing that she got a job with the native construction company in Barrow that is building new villages on the west coast of Alaska.
• Saturday (7/27): Worked 10:30-7:30...mainly on the register. Mary made bread. She texted me saying the big freezer quit. She got rid of old food and put the remainder into our other freezer. After work, I ordered a new freezer from Lowe's...costs only $20 more than what we paid in 2010. When I got home, I found the thermostat on the outside of the freezer, turned it up and presto, the freezer started running. Cats had bumped the dial to almost off. We don't need to buy a freezer, after all.