The weather was lovely, mid-80s at the hottest, on hopefully what will be our last weekend without water. All I can do at this point is trash pick up--the entire front fence is now cleaned. (I have a thing about a house's front yard being presentable. Not that it matters in this rangy property, but still. I have a thing.) Big excitement was uncovering a scorpion the size of a small lobster. Too bad you can't grill 'em.

T and Kid.02 were more creative: they made a "wind break" for the ramada out of found wood and signs. Don't know how long it will last, but repairs will be creative. And I woke up on Mother's Day to this lovely greeting off the front porch, where I drink my coffee and watch for road runners every morning... 

This place we bought is trashed. Literally. At best it's a junk yard, and at worst it's a dump. There's actually a hole where they dumped trash. For years. Which we found out from locals is not that unusual. It goes along with the home-dug well and the home-dug sceptic system. And the jumper cables to the electric lines. Yup. Anyway, there has probably been no trash pickup at this property, in ages. 
We spent the first two weekends out there sifting through it, picking out a few great things to keep (old milk crate from the dairy days! a few useable chairs and tables! sets of china!) Then we had metal pickers who thought they had gone to heaven, and spent four days loading up truckload after truckload. Finally a bulldozer and crew has arrived to clear it all away. 
Did we mention this place was cheap? That's why, and now we're paying to clean it up.
But this land deserves it. It's wild and beautiful. I mean, it will be beautiful.
​And now we can finally see the barn!