The shingles on the renovation portion of the house are GONE!  Roofers arrived at 8am and had it mostly done by the time I had to leave for Rockford with George. (emergency dental surgery on a broken tooth using the Egyptian mafia connection)  And by the time we got home everything was cleaned up and in the dumpster.

Tomorrow comes the big removal- the walls and roof come down....then the excavator arrives.  We are to have temperatures in last part of the week in the 90º's so am NOT looking forward to that but just glad to have the renovation finally started..... three months from now I should have a new kitchen completed... so, my birthday present to myself....

The garden progresses as I prepared for the renovation and needed to clear plants from the walk up to the house and around the house.  I've moved everything from the walk on the south side down to places in the "yard" or in the woods where they will be safe from the excavation.  I have many ferns that if the time were right would have been moved to the new "fern garden" I created down by the apple trees under the shade of the forest edge. I got some of them moved...but so many still in harm's way and no time....ah well.  I'm glad the rototiller still functions- I was able to prep a long line of garden on the edge in under a half hour and it has made transplanting so much easier.  I also cleared out the raised bed by the parking area of all the trash weeds and old plants except for the bushes and iris- rototilled it all and moved hosta (three varieties), some of the lacy ferns, and the plain iris to fill in the bare areas.... it's starting to look good.  Having to do a lot of watering due to the heat and NO RAIN but all is well.