the parlor carpet while we were gone. This after noon Frank and I rode out to Tupper's with Charlie Quanbury who was going to help Tupper dip sheep, we fooled around there for awhile and helped him weigh a veal calf and then went over to John Wess' to see if he would make up a cement post mould like his. He was hewing a cedar stick for a brace. We were over there a long time poking around. He said he had more work to do now than he would ever get done but if we couldn't get any one else to make us one he would so we told him we would find out down at the Widespread and he said he would lend us his for a pattern. We didn't get home till after six. Dad. had spent the afternoon putting down the parlor carpet. I learned the last of the second canto of "The Lady of the Lake" to-day. I started it on the 25th April so didn't take so long as I did learning the first canto two years ago I tried a little different scheme of writing it out which works better. It has been fair all day but a big thunder storm went around us to-night.

Friday June 9th

Frank left soon after breakfast this morning to go down and clean out Aunty's eave-troughs for her, he said he would be back right after dinner but he didn't get back till after six, he said it was a worse job than he thought. I spent the biggest part of the day raking up and cutting the lawn, but got it all gone over in front of the house. The actual time I took cutting it wasn't very long but it took along time to rake up the debris on the other side of the ditch left by the hail storm, then I was a long time getting the lawn mower set right. I think Dad. ditched around the barnyard most of the day but had to keep his eye on the baby this after noon after he woke up as Enah went down to Bill's to get her teeth fixed. He intended to go down to-night to a meeting of the W.H. Smith reunion committee but about five o'clock Ashbaw the castrator from Caledonia came in and as Dad. couldn't go with him to-night asked him to stay here all night and he would go to Mr. Fleming's & Ham. Thompson's with him in the morning as they are the only two around here who have entire colts except our Billy, so he agreed to the proposition and accordingly put his horse in, then it started to rain and turned out such a nasty night that Dad. stayed home and entertained Mr. Ashbaw by listening to his adventures in his many fields of occupation, which though numerous are all of about the same standard and as one would expect a