What a wind storm

Much of the Midwest experienced a major storm Monday, and we were no exception. The entire new house had been covered with billboard tarps for weeks but they had hardly been necessary. We have had some record-setting low precipitation months this summer and the soil is as hard as a rock.

A few weeks ago we bought some chrysanthemums at the auction. When we tried to plant them the next day I was unable to make a hole in the soil near the road, even using a pick ax. Instead we built a very small pool for them, watered them well and will plant them after the soil softens up. They should look great at the entry, next year.

Here are two shots of the building with missing tarps. It was cold today, and will be until midday tomorrow, but after that I'll get the rest of the tarps replaced. As shown in the second pictures, I'm now nailing long boards to hold them down so I don't lose another day replacing them.