May update

Looking at my last post, it has been a month and a half since I've updated the adventures of Bragg Family South...can't say too much has happened over the past weeks.  We've been staying largely home-bound due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  But, home-bound adventures are still something...

One of our first efforts has been trying to stay dry...We've gotten quite a lot of rain this year, especially into early May (things have started to dry out a bit).  Below is a picture of one side of our house, and you can see the "bog"/lake that was our backyard:

On the other side of the house, years ago we had dug a drainage ditch, to which we added some larger stones to make a small waterfall...you can see how much this one mid-April rainfall got the water flowing!

Here's another view of the backyard lake...

And ours wasn't the worst of the water flow--here is a block or so from our house, with a larger stream flowing over these people's driveway:

Unfortunately, in addition to the heavy rain, we've gotten some nasty windstorms, including one that blasted through on Easter Sunday, felling a lot of trees in our neighborhood.  Some of y'all have been to this park with us in the past:

Here is a house on the back side of our neighborhood, with multiple trees fallen on it:

This wasn't a tornado, but rather strong straight-line winds that, when coupled with the soft, soggy ground, meant a lot of big trees were blown over!

With all the rain outside, we've spent some time inside, with a lot of movie watching and popcorn eating:

As it has dried out in May, I've been able to get on a project I've been hoping to do for some months now...repairing our eaves and repainting the house.  All the rain we get means that parts of the eaves that are of treated wood are prone to decay, and I've been replacing and repairing what I can:

I'm always nervous exposing the interior of my house to the elements...and relieved when it is closed up again.  Kenny helped me some with painting parts of the house, but I did most of this over the course of the last month or so, using up some of my annual leave that I won't be using for archeology or other vacations this year 😞

Beth has spent a lot of time this spring reading and painting, so I put her to work, too...by painting our icon of Mary...

Turned out quite well, really!  We've also enjoyed the nice weather (when the backyard finally dried out enough) to do a few campfires...again, since we haven't been able to do them while camping...

Our biggest event has been Kenny's graduation from high school, which didn't happen in person, but rather gradually over the last couple of weeks.  The school has sent him his diploma, and honor cords, and other recognitions, and in lieu of a formal ceremony (something may happen later in July), we decided to get Kenny dressed up in his cap and gown and give him a small, Bragg Family South ceremony in the backyard... Way to go, Kenny!!!  Good luck at MTU!!