As if it is news to you, time flies. It's been several days since I said hello to you all, and here is the latest news.

I don't know if I told you that the sale of our farm fell through clear back August 5. The closing would have been August 20, and it has taken me this long to sort of pull out of the funk. I would have been rich, cash money rich because most of it was basis for tax purposes. But now I'm still partners with my lazy cousins back east who treat me like I am a fool and let me do all the work to keep the farms operating. And my money is all tied up. All the reasons the buyers decided not to close on the farm are still there and there is nothing we can do to fix them, so it is going to be hard to find new buyers unless they are not as thorough.

And I'm still stuck with this crappy farm house that I have to get torn down. I had to just now tell a guy that I decided not to use him to remove the asbestos and tear the house down because he took three weeks to get the bid to me, and wouldn't return our phone calls during that time. He seems like one of those hard luck people who always has an excuse for not getting around to something. We have enough problems without that kind of vendor. I went with a more experienced asbestos removal outfit and they are going to give me names of contractors who could do the tear down and hauling off the debris. I'm irritated that I waited all this time to give him a chance when someone else would have already had the entire job done.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch here, Mr. Troutbend is winding up his summer projects. Yesterday he pulled the wheel off the riding mower and found the pinhole leak in the tire and repaired it. Then he installed a new rubber gasket on the bottom of the garage door; mice had chewed a hole in the old one - we found the little bits of rubber on the floor. Today he pulled down the plastic panels on the kitchen lights and washed them and right now he's in the back yard trying to probe down to find where the ports to the septic tank are.

Tomorrow the septic repair guy is supposed to call and schedule when they will come up and dig out the broken pipe. They will also locate the septic tanks for us (confirming what Mr. Tbend thinks he found today). We have a photo of how our septic tank looked when it was being installed to show to the diggers. We had a false sense of security because we didn't realize the part that gets pumped is completely covered with grass and we were supposed to dig out the port every three years and get it pumped out. So once the repair guys get done the pumping guy has to be scheduled to finish the job.

My tomato plant has 17 new tomatoes in various stages of growth, all pretty small, and for sure they will not ripen before frost. So far we have gotten two tomatoes from it. My one zucchini plant has done well, and I've gotten a few fruits from it. Some of them started to rot from the blossom end so were only 4 inches long when I had to pick them, but good all the same.

The saddest thing about the end of summer is the hummingbirds leaving. We had 7 busy feeders going for 50 or more birds, and refilled them several times a day. Now a full feeder lasts several days and we have maybe 20 birds spread between three cabins. It used to be a riot of noise outside our back door with all the fussing and chirping and the high-pitched noise the males' wings make when they fly, and now it's almost dead quiet.

It's been a great summer, other than the sale of the farm not going through. It is a lot different selling commercial property than a residence, and a lot more work than most people ever realize. We have had the best weather up here, cooler than usual, and the wildflowers have been great, photos coming soon.

Have a nice rest of the day, you all.