- Thread starter
- #111
flowerbug
Garden Master
oh my! lol, what a lot of it there is already.
i hope your son arrives safely and you have a great time together. when is the last time you saw him?
stubbed toes and mud pies
- Thread starter flowerbug
- Start date
oh my! lol, what a lot of it there is already.
i hope your son arrives safely and you have a great time together. when is the last time you saw him?Trish Stretton
Deeply Rooted
It was before I got Jack, so around 6 years.
He and his wife are in the country, just been to a good friends wedding and are making their way down the country visiting mates along the way.
Gave me time to finish the path and start tidying up a bit.
He and his wife are in the country, just been to a good friends wedding and are making their way down the country visiting mates along the way.
Gave me time to finish the path and start tidying up a bit.
- Thread starter
- #113
flowerbug
Garden Master
two rain events since removing the tarp and caulking.
1st was mild and calm and no leak.
2nd was first heavy rain with slight wind direction from the S or SW. not really a good challenge considering past leaks, but since this is the first time since so much happened up there at least it verified that we didn't introduce any more issues. *whew* one small step forwards.
more rain still coming down but it is calm and slight at the moment. supposed to be through the evening. i'm leaving the plastic covers on the bed for now... Mom napped on the couch (in her usual spot).
i'm so glad it started in the day time instead of the middle of the night.
i'm writing all of this down in a log any time i can remember to do it. i tried this before and then stopped because it didn't leak again long enough between leaks that we thought it was taken care of... lol
1st was mild and calm and no leak.
2nd was first heavy rain with slight wind direction from the S or SW. not really a good challenge considering past leaks, but since this is the first time since so much happened up there at least it verified that we didn't introduce any more issues. *whew* one small step forwards.
more rain still coming down but it is calm and slight at the moment. supposed to be through the evening. i'm leaving the plastic covers on the bed for now... Mom napped on the couch (in her usual spot).
i'm so glad it started in the day time instead of the middle of the night.
i'm writing all of this down in a log any time i can remember to do it. i tried this before and then stopped because it didn't leak again long enough between leaks that we thought it was taken care of... lol
- Thread starter
- #114
flowerbug
Garden Master
we've had so much rain recently that the ground has been pretty saturated and last night this morning we had over 4 inches of rain. this is the 2nd time since we built the place that the water has come over the road. we also had another leak (but from a spot that has leaked before but that is different than the other place we'd been trying to figure out). so this week i get to call the roofing people again.
the AC is taken care of just in time for warmer weather and not for too much $. *whew* there was a mouse nest inside the control panel (i didn't even know they had gotten in there nor that it was even there). they'd chewed through wires and a large capacitor was leaking fluid so that was replaced by a solid state device. things have changed quite a bit in 22+yrs. the guy said that the AC unit we have is one of the best they ever made and i'd agree since it has lasted this long without issues. i asked him how the charge was holding up and he said it was fine and that it was a little over charged but that was ok. so while he was here i also had him look the heating system over since that had not been done for years.
i didn't know it that the HVAC people also do hot water heaters and so perhaps i could have had him take a look at the well pump and tank while he was here. on his way out he left a brochure and i didn't look at it until he'd left. anyways, that setup has been cycling on and off more frequently than before so perhaps the valve/sensor is due for replacing or such. i'll call them back Tuesday and see if they'll take a look at it. perhaps they'll give us a break on the service call if they do come out...
since i'd budgeted funds for the AC that we didn't need to use then i can put those towards another project that will need doing. we'll see how the other plumping issue turns out first.
picked up a roll of 6ft fence today to finish up a few gaps that remain. we had a nice lunch and ran a few other errands. this helped balance out the earlier stuff during the early part of the week. i didn't get much gardening done. there was standing water in a lot of places.
the strawberry garden inside the fence that i raised up/leveled out last summer looked fine. a little soggy but not flooded.
internet was out for a few days. when the tv antenna came down in a storm this past winter that was also the pole that the internet box was on. it worked ok until Wed morning when it rained again. i called them Wednesday morning and again Thursday and they came out Friday. it ended up they had to do a different install since Mom would not allow them to put a bracket on the roof where the signal was best but also it would have allowed reusing the existing wire so we had to find another spot that would work out and so we did and it got done but oy, a bit too much drama for me. the finding another spot meant they considered it a new install so i was out the cost of that - but as this internet stuff is my main form of entertainment and how i talk to most of the family and friends it was ok. with the AC issue not costing too much at least i wasn't breaking a budget to get this taken care of.
last Monday we had car dealer drama too and it set the "fed up with people" tone for this week. when the car dealer service person called on Tuesday to survey i didn't even answer as i doubted i could give a very civil answer.
my nephew's memorial service was Thursday. she said it was really nice and that there were a lot of people. a few days before the place my sister does the book work for had a fire so on top of everything else she had to deal with that. she said she had a melt-down for a while - i certainly understand. this weekend she finally has been able to get away for a few days and to see her partner (who's a good guy). she'll take care of everyone else first so i'm glad she could do this for herself.
hopefully we'll get the warmer weather plants put in their gardens this week if we can get some breaks in the rains. the temperatures look warm enough at last.
the peas are doing ok. about 6-8" high.
the AC is taken care of just in time for warmer weather and not for too much $. *whew* there was a mouse nest inside the control panel (i didn't even know they had gotten in there nor that it was even there). they'd chewed through wires and a large capacitor was leaking fluid so that was replaced by a solid state device. things have changed quite a bit in 22+yrs. the guy said that the AC unit we have is one of the best they ever made and i'd agree since it has lasted this long without issues. i asked him how the charge was holding up and he said it was fine and that it was a little over charged but that was ok. so while he was here i also had him look the heating system over since that had not been done for years.
i didn't know it that the HVAC people also do hot water heaters and so perhaps i could have had him take a look at the well pump and tank while he was here. on his way out he left a brochure and i didn't look at it until he'd left. anyways, that setup has been cycling on and off more frequently than before so perhaps the valve/sensor is due for replacing or such. i'll call them back Tuesday and see if they'll take a look at it. perhaps they'll give us a break on the service call if they do come out...
since i'd budgeted funds for the AC that we didn't need to use then i can put those towards another project that will need doing. we'll see how the other plumping issue turns out first.
picked up a roll of 6ft fence today to finish up a few gaps that remain. we had a nice lunch and ran a few other errands. this helped balance out the earlier stuff during the early part of the week. i didn't get much gardening done. there was standing water in a lot of places.
the strawberry garden inside the fence that i raised up/leveled out last summer looked fine. a little soggy but not flooded.
internet was out for a few days. when the tv antenna came down in a storm this past winter that was also the pole that the internet box was on. it worked ok until Wed morning when it rained again. i called them Wednesday morning and again Thursday and they came out Friday. it ended up they had to do a different install since Mom would not allow them to put a bracket on the roof where the signal was best but also it would have allowed reusing the existing wire so we had to find another spot that would work out and so we did and it got done but oy, a bit too much drama for me. the finding another spot meant they considered it a new install so i was out the cost of that - but as this internet stuff is my main form of entertainment and how i talk to most of the family and friends it was ok. with the AC issue not costing too much at least i wasn't breaking a budget to get this taken care of.
last Monday we had car dealer drama too and it set the "fed up with people" tone for this week. when the car dealer service person called on Tuesday to survey i didn't even answer as i doubted i could give a very civil answer.
my nephew's memorial service was Thursday. she said it was really nice and that there were a lot of people. a few days before the place my sister does the book work for had a fire so on top of everything else she had to deal with that. she said she had a melt-down for a while - i certainly understand. this weekend she finally has been able to get away for a few days and to see her partner (who's a good guy). she'll take care of everyone else first so i'm glad she could do this for herself.
hopefully we'll get the warmer weather plants put in their gardens this week if we can get some breaks in the rains. the temperatures look warm enough at last.
the peas are doing ok. about 6-8" high.
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- Thread starter
- #115
flowerbug
Garden Master
of the starts from the greenhouse (the warm weather plants) we got all but the tomatoes planted yesterday. today we'll finish the tomato planting and then after i can get the beans in as i can get to them the next few weeks.
i didn't even plan to work on two of the gardens yesterday but that was how it went so in some regards i'm ahead on plans for those now. funny how some things can go.
i didn't even plan to work on two of the gardens yesterday but that was how it went so in some regards i'm ahead on plans for those now. funny how some things can go.
- Thread starter
- #116
flowerbug
Garden Master
ok, a few moments to ponder and update on what has been up here.
all of the beans have been planted inside the fenced garden area. i haven't sorted and counted the list yet as i still have more to plant.
the 8th Annual Running of the Worms is 90% done. i have all the buckets back inside and just have to give them some water, shredded paper and add some worms to a few and maybe it will be lucky if i can get some small spiders in each of them to catch any stray gnats that are sure to pop up from disturbed soil/humus. i think i have two buckets with the small spiders in them now so i hope i can get at least one or two more going.
strawberries are starting to come in, nice to get some after all that work last summer. i brought in enough today so we can both have a mini-shortcake (using cookies ). as usual next year should be better (once more runners fill in all the bare spots). still it is a big improvement just to not have to go up and down the mound that i had there before. the whole thing could use some weeding and mulch.
peas are flowering, i haven't checked yet to see how any pods are doing. we're so ready for some fresh pea pods and peas. i expect the first few handfulls won't even make it out of the garden other than via my tummy.
lilac tree and honeysuckles are done blooming so i can get back to some fence things when i get a chance. doubt it will be soon as a lot of other things are needing to be kept after now.
in the north garden a space that i had already cleared of weeds was sprouting enough new ones that i took a few minutes to scrape it back again. also weeded around some of the low growing thyme that i transplanted. the thyme is starting to bloom so it is looking pretty nice. maybe later this week i can get a picture...
the first few gardens of beans are already sprouting and have leaves. with all the rains and lack of sunshine i've wondered how many wouldn't make it but i have only had issues with only a few of them so i hope it continues to do ok. rains forecast tomorrow afternoon and the next day. for those beans that were already up today's sunshine would have given them a nice boost that they sorely needed.
tomorrow we start hauling wood chips and have to run some errands.
i'm down 4lbs in the last 10 days. feels good to move even if i'm a bit sore at times. i already feel a lot better overall and being warm and catching a little sun here or there is good.
critter control with the new run of fence. rabbit and groundhog traffic is much less. deer traffic is different but not sure less yet. we'll see how it goes once i get a few last gaps plugged...
all of the beans have been planted inside the fenced garden area.
i haven't sorted and counted the list yet as i still have more to plant.the 8th Annual Running of the Worms is 90% done. i have all the buckets back inside and just have to give them some water, shredded paper and add some worms to a few and maybe it will be lucky if i can get some small spiders in each of them to catch any stray gnats that are sure to pop up from disturbed soil/humus. i think i have two buckets with the small spiders in them now so i hope i can get at least one or two more going.
strawberries are starting to come in, nice to get some after all that work last summer. i brought in enough today so we can both have a mini-shortcake (using cookies
). as usual next year should be better (once more runners fill in all the bare spots). still it is a big improvement just to not have to go up and down the mound that i had there before. the whole thing could use some weeding and mulch.peas are flowering, i haven't checked yet to see how any pods are doing. we're so ready for some fresh pea pods and peas. i expect the first few handfulls won't even make it out of the garden other than via my tummy.
lilac tree and honeysuckles are done blooming so i can get back to some fence things when i get a chance. doubt it will be soon as a lot of other things are needing to be kept after now.
in the north garden a space that i had already cleared of weeds was sprouting enough new ones that i took a few minutes to scrape it back again. also weeded around some of the low growing thyme that i transplanted. the thyme is starting to bloom so it is looking pretty nice. maybe later this week i can get a picture...
the first few gardens of beans are already sprouting and have leaves. with all the rains and lack of sunshine i've wondered how many wouldn't make it but i have only had issues with only a few of them so i hope it continues to do ok. rains forecast tomorrow afternoon and the next day. for those beans that were already up today's sunshine would have given them a nice boost that they sorely needed.
tomorrow we start hauling wood chips and have to run some errands.
i'm down 4lbs in the last 10 days. feels good to move even if i'm a bit sore at times. i already feel a lot better overall and being warm and catching a little sun here or there is good.
critter control with the new run of fence. rabbit and groundhog traffic is much less. deer traffic is different but not sure less yet. we'll see how it goes once i get a few last gaps plugged...
- Thread starter
- #117
flowerbug
Garden Master
the wood chip hauling is done for the season. we may get some more in the fall but it is likely i've talked Mom into just having a friend haul them for us instead of going through the hassle of getting the truck and hauling them ourselves. we paid for four truckloads and needed one last load so went back and the guy who's been using the scoop to load the truck said he'd just let us have it for free since he hadn't been able to get a full scoop on the truck. so that was nice of him. i'd told him the trip before that he does a great job (gets them in the middle of the truck and fills it pretty well so we didn't need to do that much work for tarping if we were moving them further than here) - i guess the compliment paid off.
with those hauled and put where they belonged then all of the gardens in the front have been redone (Mom has been a busy beaver or worker bee) and she also did all around a friend of her's place with two and a half loads.
i've been busy weeding and more weeding. with all the rains a lot of sprouts in the crushed limestone gravel, but they are not hard to remove, it just takes time. i finished up weeding the strawberry patch. i think that is mostly picked out now other than few odds and ends. i'll check it today. probably will need to be scraped and weeded again soon.
hauled a truckload of old metal to the recycler. i really wanted to keep a cast iron old kettle that would have been used over a fire or on top of a wood burning stove but it was cracked and so i had to let it go.
one less truckload of clutter down. a hundred to go. of course moving anything old is a risk of making more projects and this time was no different than before. i had to go through a pile of dirt that came out the rusted container and pick out the pieces of glass and some stones that were pretty nice. mainly to get the dirt out of the gravel so it would not sprout more weeds there. but it is done and a much more simple area now that will make future care-taking easier.
we are going to be moving some containers today too which will likely be another side show task. i may not get to cleaning up after it right away. i'm trying to get the north garden cleared of weeds and the grasses are getting close to starting to drop seeds so the priority yesterday and today is to get the last of the grasses that are taller out of there. i will hopefully get the grasses clipped back today and then i can get back to digging holes and burying the top layer of soil with all the weeds in there. it is much easier and quicker than weeding each individual weed at a time. the top layer of soil is full of oxalis, chickweed, grasses and some other plants, a few of which it would be nice to be able to leave, but sometimes that doesn't happen either. having to work around daffodils that are trying to finish up. i'm probably going to work on digging those up and moving them when i get to that area. they are in the way and i'd like to use the larger area for growing veggies and put it back into strawberry production eventually. the deer have been trampling and making a mess in there pretty much every night for the past three weeks. the other day it smelled so bad that i could not work in there but we had a nice rain two night's ago and the wind was from the better direction so i could work on it yesterday. the wind is supposed to be pretty good today too so i hope i can get my plans done there for today. we'll see... sometimes the best laid plans of mice and men... well, they don't happen...
the roof leaks seem to be taken care of. we've had a lot of rains and some heavy and from other directions. the roofing contractor came back and fixed a few nails that had gotten pushed up so we are hoping that is it for a good long time. and so we've not had any more drips on Mom's bed and no repeat of the leak by the front. we still won't feel confident until it has been a few more years without leaks but at least the tarps are off the roof and the internet is moved and taken care of and now we can get on with other projects and issues. always a list when things are getting older and wearing out.
i'm trying to get a bush trimmed back that is on the edge of the ditch that makes it hard to see when backing out of the driveway. with all the rains the ditch is not dry so that won't happen soon.
i still haven't gotten all the fence tied down to the stakes that i put up before and i still have 100ft roll for filling in some gaps. the groundhogs are the main issue i'm worried about now. they've already put a hole under the fence in at least one place but i've temporarily plugged it with dumped out cactus (that were growing in pots that Mom no longer wanted to deal with). i think that may stop them for a few minutes (they'll just move to the side and dig again). i'm just trying to make it a little harder for them so they'll go eat other things for a change. the deer too. can't keep them out but can make it a little harder for now. rabbits are mostly gone. i have a chance of getting some beans to finish in the unprotected garden i planted last.
i haven't had much of a chance to even look at the fenced area gardens the past few days. i'll do that today to see what has sprouted and if there are any bare spots i want to fill in. i may not as the beans can kinda sprawl over each other as it is. give them a bit more air and space will be ok. the lima beans may really be the only notable row that will be lacking so i might plant those again. we'll see what it looks like when i get back there.
camera shopping/learning/studying. goal is to have a new camera before winter.
i think this is enough rambles for now. peace and love to all.
with those hauled and put where they belonged then all of the gardens in the front have been redone (Mom has been a busy beaver or worker bee) and she also did all around a friend of her's place with two and a half loads.
i've been busy weeding and more weeding. with all the rains a lot of sprouts in the crushed limestone gravel, but they are not hard to remove, it just takes time. i finished up weeding the strawberry patch. i think that is mostly picked out now other than few odds and ends. i'll check it today. probably will need to be scraped and weeded again soon.
hauled a truckload of old metal to the recycler. i really wanted to keep a cast iron old kettle that would have been used over a fire or on top of a wood burning stove but it was cracked and so i had to let it go.
one less truckload of clutter down. a hundred to go. of course moving anything old is a risk of making more projects and this time was no different than before. i had to go through a pile of dirt that came out the rusted container and pick out the pieces of glass and some stones that were pretty nice. mainly to get the dirt out of the gravel so it would not sprout more weeds there. but it is done and a much more simple area now that will make future care-taking easier. we are going to be moving some containers today too which will likely be another side show task. i may not get to cleaning up after it right away. i'm trying to get the north garden cleared of weeds and the grasses are getting close to starting to drop seeds so the priority yesterday and today is to get the last of the grasses that are taller out of there. i will hopefully get the grasses clipped back today and then i can get back to digging holes and burying the top layer of soil with all the weeds in there. it is much easier and quicker than weeding each individual weed at a time. the top layer of soil is full of oxalis, chickweed, grasses and some other plants, a few of which it would be nice to be able to leave, but sometimes that doesn't happen either. having to work around daffodils that are trying to finish up. i'm probably going to work on digging those up and moving them when i get to that area. they are in the way and i'd like to use the larger area for growing veggies and put it back into strawberry production eventually. the deer have been trampling and making a mess in there pretty much every night for the past three weeks. the other day it smelled so bad that i could not work in there but we had a nice rain two night's ago and the wind was from the better direction so i could work on it yesterday. the wind is supposed to be pretty good today too so i hope i can get my plans done there for today. we'll see... sometimes the best laid plans of mice and men... well, they don't happen...
the roof leaks seem to be taken care of. we've had a lot of rains and some heavy and from other directions. the roofing contractor came back and fixed a few nails that had gotten pushed up so we are hoping that is it for a good long time. and so we've not had any more drips on Mom's bed and no repeat of the leak by the front. we still won't feel confident until it has been a few more years without leaks but at least the tarps are off the roof and the internet is moved and taken care of and now we can get on with other projects and issues. always a list when things are getting older and wearing out.
i'm trying to get a bush trimmed back that is on the edge of the ditch that makes it hard to see when backing out of the driveway. with all the rains the ditch is not dry so that won't happen soon.
i still haven't gotten all the fence tied down to the stakes that i put up before and i still have 100ft roll for filling in some gaps. the groundhogs are the main issue i'm worried about now. they've already put a hole under the fence in at least one place but i've temporarily plugged it with dumped out cactus (that were growing in pots that Mom no longer wanted to deal with). i think that may stop them for a few minutes (they'll just move to the side and dig again). i'm just trying to make it a little harder for them so they'll go eat other things for a change. the deer too. can't keep them out but can make it a little harder for now. rabbits are mostly gone. i have a chance of getting some beans to finish in the unprotected garden i planted last.
i haven't had much of a chance to even look at the fenced area gardens the past few days. i'll do that today to see what has sprouted and if there are any bare spots i want to fill in. i may not as the beans can kinda sprawl over each other as it is. give them a bit more air and space will be ok. the lima beans may really be the only notable row that will be lacking so i might plant those again. we'll see what it looks like when i get back there.
camera shopping/learning/studying. goal is to have a new camera before winter.
i think this is enough rambles for now.
peace and love to all.
ninnymary
Garden Master
Looks like you have been busy. Post a picture of your wood chips all nicely laid.
Mary
Mary
- Thread starter
- #119
flowerbug
Garden Master
my camera is broken.
... no pictures until this winter as i'm finally determined to get the camera i want and not settle for a used one or a cheaper one. so it will take me some time to research what i'm after and to learn some things before i buy a new one.[edit, i may end up buying a used one but not a lower end camera like i have now]
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #120
flowerbug
Garden Master
still working on the north garden and it is coming along ok. very wet ground to dig through but what is nice in that area is that it is actual topsoil brought in. i don't have to cope with the clay as long as i don't dig too deep. being able to just press the shovel down through the soil to dig and not need to step on it makes things go quicker and much easier.
beans are growing now that we have had some sunny days. i've started to put some climbing poles for the pole beans to aim them towards the fence they have to eventually reach. some of the plants are just now starting to get big enough to have some vines starting. i don't have long enough poles for the next bit of garden i have to do so i may try to use string and some stakes to hold it in the ground. i may need to get some stronger string for a part of this to hold the fence more in place so it doesn't flop around in the wind too much.
i did poke some more lima bean seeds in some emply places while i was out there. it may be too late for getting any kind of a crop from these but we'll see how it goes. always something to learn...
today's weather is looking rainy so i get to play about inside and see how the worms are doing. i should say worms and spiders now because i hope i have the small spiders spread to enough buckets to see how they work over the longer term.
and on to other non-gardening things, i'm enjoying watching how a very abnormal water year is playing out in the Colorado River Basin. this year's snow pack started to melt pretty late and is still coming down. Lake Powell is up nicely (over 44ft already) with more to go. 50ft is possible, 60ft would be great. last year was a very dry season so they are filling up all the reservoirs they can now, but within a week or two most of them might be full enough that more water will get downstream to Powell so it will be interesting to watch what happens. with the 44ft rise to date from the low they are only now about 3ft above where the water was a year ago. still 80,000 acre feet of water added per day (roughly the current rate) is nice.
beans are growing now that we have had some sunny days. i've started to put some climbing poles for the pole beans to aim them towards the fence they have to eventually reach. some of the plants are just now starting to get big enough to have some vines starting. i don't have long enough poles for the next bit of garden i have to do so i may try to use string and some stakes to hold it in the ground. i may need to get some stronger string for a part of this to hold the fence more in place so it doesn't flop around in the wind too much.
i did poke some more lima bean seeds in some emply places while i was out there. it may be too late for getting any kind of a crop from these but we'll see how it goes. always something to learn...
today's weather is looking rainy so i get to play about inside and see how the worms are doing. i should say worms and spiders now because i hope i have the small spiders spread to enough buckets to see how they work over the longer term.
and on to other non-gardening things, i'm enjoying watching how a very abnormal water year is playing out in the Colorado River Basin. this year's snow pack started to melt pretty late and is still coming down. Lake Powell is up nicely (over 44ft already) with more to go. 50ft is possible, 60ft would be great. last year was a very dry season so they are filling up all the reservoirs they can now, but within a week or two most of them might be full enough that more water will get downstream to Powell so it will be interesting to watch what happens. with the 44ft rise to date from the low they are only now about 3ft above where the water was a year ago. still 80,000 acre feet of water added per day (roughly the current rate) is nice.
