Fruits of Our Labors

This is now the view from my bedroom window, a nice showcase to three of our recently completed projects.

First, the strawberries. Since we don't yet have a deer-proof fence, I had to scratch my head a bit to find a place I could grow these sweet treats without all the rabbits, deer, chipmunks, you-name-it nibbling away all the good stuff. Eureka, the roof! This gently sloping metal roof gets plenty of sunlight, but is 15 feet off the ground. So I constructed this little shelf to hold the containers, and now whenever I need to water the plants I just open my bedroom window and tiptoe out to them. As you can see, a few little red beauties are already ripening.

Beyond the roof (actually down on the ground below) is our new clothesline. For about a year I've been hanging clothes on the clothesline I installed, which has been slowly sagging and leaning ever closer to the ground. So C.J. erected this awesome new clothesline, pictured here supporting three full washer loads.

To the right of the clothesline you can see a wooden structure, our brand-new dove aviary! If you look close enough, you can even see three white doves perched inside. They seem very happy in there, cooing softly on warm spring evenings, with plenty of room to spread their wings, fly around, and test out all the different places to perch and preen.