High tunnel construction, part 3

Terry has been busy this week putting in the rafter supports. After the first one, he learned to do as much assembly as possible on the ground. He prepared the horizontal piece by putting on three of the connectors.

Putting one of three connectors on a horizontal rafter support

He then hoisted this piece on top of a purlin and used a square to mark off exactly where the support had to be positioned.

Using a square to mark the final position of the horizontal support

Working on one end at a time, he installed a connector over the rafter. The two connectors allow the rafter support to move a little to reduce stress in heavy winds.He put tape over the connector to decrease wear on the covering.

Taping the joint

The final assembly, which allows some motion of the support

In the center of the horizontal pipe, he put two angled pipes to finish the support assembly.

The assembled rafter supports

The migratory birds have returned. It is always like seeing old friends. The orchard orioles and Baltimore orioles vie for position at the jelly.

Baltimore orioloe

Orchard oriole

Here is an orchard oriole and a Baltimore oriole waiting for an opportunity at the jelly on the weather vane next to the feeder.

Side-by-side comparison of the two orioles

These two males are having a face-off on the ground. I saw two males fly at each other, fall from the air, and wrestle on the ground. It was all over before I could pick up my camera. It made me appreciate how awkward it is to fight with your feet.

What are YOU lookin' at?

Sometimes goldfinches line up for a turn at the sunflower seed feeder.

Goldfinches on deck

The ground squirrels fill their pouches on the seeds that the goldfinches throw to the ground.

13-striped ground squirrel forages for sunflower seeds under the feeder

Hilda has seen as many as 5 rose-breasted grosbeaks on her feeder.

Rose-breasted grosbeak

Three white-crowned sparrows have been hanging around. They will move farther north before long.

Two of three white-crowned sparrows that have been hanging around

The red-bellied woodpecker is a strange jelly thief. His bill is so long that he can hardly get at the jelly, but there he is.

Oh, come on! That jelly is not for you!

You may recall that in my last post, we were worrying about flooding. I took a walk on Sunday and the chorus frogs and toads were making such a racket it almost hurt my ears. Here is a recording. The toads produce the long, single tone. The chorus frogs are usually described as sounding like a thumb dragged across a comb.

For all that noise, I only saw one female. There were lots of males. Here is the female, coupled with one male while a second male is trying to displace the first. A string of eggs is visible in the water. Sadly, after a few days, the puddle dried up. This reproductive effort was all for naught.

Female with two suitors and a string of eggs in the water

The Jack-in-the-pulpit is blooming.

Jack-in-the-pulpit

Also on Sunday, I saw bird I had never seen before. There were three of them. I was able to identify them as solitary sandpipers, even though they didn’t seem solitary at all.

Solitary sandpiper

Two not-so-solitary solitary sandpipers

I harvested rhubarb for the first pie of the season on Tuesday.

First rhubarb pie

With the hens in summer quarters, I take a walk to the orchard every evening at dusk to close the coop. On Wednesday, I saw not only a beautiful sunset, but also the full moon rising.

Full moon rising on Wednesday

We planted our potatoes yesterday. This was the first time we managed to get it done by Mothers’ Day. Terry furrowed the soil with the rototiller. I dropped the potatoes in; Hilda covered them, and I put down a marker. Good to have that done.

Newly planted potatoes under the markers next to the garlic

The tomatoes and onions are looking good. We have tentatively planned to plant onions on Wednesday.

Tomatoes (front) and onions (back) in the greenhouse

I made caramel rolls for Hilda to celebrate Mothers’ Day.

Happy Mothers' Day!

We are getting some welcome rain today. It doesn’t take long to go from too wet to too dry. Hopefully, we will get the half inch that is predicted. The plants need it, and we need a rest day.