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A cool morning, heavy dew, as I pick 1½ quarts of raspberries and pollinate two more pie pumpkin blossoms. Watermelons are swelling nicely.

After a quick potato-and-egg lunch, I tear into the used well pump purchased for $10 over a week ago. It's seized solid with rust and non-use, but I manage to get it freed up. Rig it up with a bucket in the basement, and run a bunch of water through to clear out the rust & crud. I'm satisfied with this small progress -- now I should be able to install plumbing and pressure test the water lines. With luck, the rust may eventually clear up, and I may even be able to use this to pump from a well and provide house water pressure. And all from a castoff piece of salvage. I do take pride in reclaiming old stuff; this whole farmstead is another example of that.

Use a little insulation and good ol' duct tape to mend the $20 freezer, and start it up. Blanch 4 double bags of green beans, and put them in to freeze, plus this morning's raspberries, a big double bag of apple slices from windfalls, and a handful of blanched broccoli.

A soft rain has been falling all evening.