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- #611
stubbed toes and mud pies
- Thread starter flowerbug
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #612
flowerbug
Garden Master
it was a nice garden club meeting. i showed up a little early as usual so i could check the seed library and refill some bean samples. then (i'll call her Fran) showed up and we chatted for almost two hours while i went through some Purple Dove beans. now the beans are ready to eat. i gave Fran some seed garlic which came from a relative of hers many years ago so it was going back full circle to the family. 
that was sweet.
that was sweet.- Thread starter
- #613
flowerbug
Garden Master
Tue: still not done with the house staining project (s) but making good progress.
Wed: update, raining this morning which i am quite ok with since it gives me a day off to rest up and work on other things inside for a change - plus it rinses off again some cleaning i did up along the edges of the flat roofing material.
i need to get the worms checked and fed. that is always fun for me.
the weather forecast for the next week gives me hopes that five days at least will be nice enough weather to finish up a lot of the things yet to do outside.
projects still to go:
back of garage above the shed is now all prepped and ready to stain (including the eaves that i cleaned while i was cleaning up the rest of it back there - major gack with all the mildew) - most of it will be brush work since i don't want to do two more rounds of crawling under there if i can help it - it's a pretty tight situation and hard on the body.
the front kitchen window.
edge of the flat roofing all around needs to be fixed in a few spots and caulked all of it. don't know how the vinyl is attached so have to call someone today and see if i can get an answer and also check to make sure the caulk i have on hand is compatible with roofing material (it should be). it was much easier to clean the rest of it when i was up on the roof instead of doing it all from the ladder.
other tasks left to do, fill up a remaining large gap (it's almost full of old hornet nests) with some spray foam (before it can be caulked and stained) and while i have the can of foam going i have some other spots that can also use sealing up. each spot i do will likely need further work to clean up, caulk and stain to match. all of this should have been done months ago before i started staining the rest of the house, but oh well....
the fact that some of these gaps have been here for 25+ years is annoying and they shouldn't have been left like this but that is the builder's fault for not doing them right to begin with and last time we stained the house i should have taken care of them - but i hate working on ladders and fiddling around like this so... i can call this the house that caulk and foam built after all this work. but i do have to admit that working with lower VOC stains are much easier on the lungs than the old stuff.
the time i'll have to spend cleaning all the eaves before i can stain them will be a day or two as it takes both cleaning and rinsing well then waiting to dry off. gaps, caulking, fixups i find along the way all go on my list. i'm actually going to take a piece of paper and write down all the spots i need to get back to. every one is a way that bugs can get into the house and also a way that heat and AC can get in/out so they are worth doing right if i'm going to be up there doing it to begin with.
many gardens still need to be put up for winter, garlic needs to be planted and the front end of the driveway edges need to be put back into place... yeah, this list can keep going for a while... at least i don't have to worry about not having things to do...
Wed: update, raining this morning which i am quite ok with since it gives me a day off to rest up and work on other things inside for a change - plus it rinses off again some cleaning i did up along the edges of the flat roofing material.
i need to get the worms checked and fed. that is always fun for me.
the weather forecast for the next week gives me hopes that five days at least will be nice enough weather to finish up a lot of the things yet to do outside.
projects still to go:
back of garage above the shed is now all prepped and ready to stain (including the eaves that i cleaned while i was cleaning up the rest of it back there - major gack with all the mildew) - most of it will be brush work since i don't want to do two more rounds of crawling under there if i can help it - it's a pretty tight situation and hard on the body.
the front kitchen window.
edge of the flat roofing all around needs to be fixed in a few spots and caulked all of it. don't know how the vinyl is attached so have to call someone today and see if i can get an answer and also check to make sure the caulk i have on hand is compatible with roofing material (it should be). it was much easier to clean the rest of it when i was up on the roof instead of doing it all from the ladder.
other tasks left to do, fill up a remaining large gap (it's almost full of old hornet nests) with some spray foam (before it can be caulked and stained) and while i have the can of foam going i have some other spots that can also use sealing up. each spot i do will likely need further work to clean up, caulk and stain to match. all of this should have been done months ago before i started staining the rest of the house, but oh well...
.the fact that some of these gaps have been here for 25+ years is annoying and they shouldn't have been left like this but that is the builder's fault for not doing them right to begin with and last time we stained the house i should have taken care of them - but i hate working on ladders and fiddling around like this so... i can call this the house that caulk and foam built after all this work. but i do have to admit that working with lower VOC stains are much easier on the lungs than the old stuff.
the time i'll have to spend cleaning all the eaves before i can stain them will be a day or two as it takes both cleaning and rinsing well then waiting to dry off. gaps, caulking, fixups i find along the way all go on my list. i'm actually going to take a piece of paper and write down all the spots i need to get back to. every one is a way that bugs can get into the house and also a way that heat and AC can get in/out so they are worth doing right if i'm going to be up there doing it to begin with.
many gardens still need to be put up for winter, garlic needs to be planted and the front end of the driveway edges need to be put back into place... yeah, this list can keep going for a while...
at least i don't have to worry about not having things to do...- Thread starter
- #614
flowerbug
Garden Master
getting there. finished all the flat roof edges cleaning up and caulking, filled in large gap and finished caulking up that today and did touch ups to the caulking i did yesterday where i missed a few things around the edges. had some leftover caulk so used it up on the roof to seal up some things that needed it and it worked out well in the end. will look nicer too and can save me grief later on so...
i also needed part of today to rest up after how beat up i felt by the work i'd done to get the back of the garage cleaned up and ready. way too hard on me. no padding, no room for it other than what i was wearing. today i wore three layers and that helped a lot so i know i will be wearing those tomorrow again. also massage appt. Tuesday really helped.
ready to stain again at last, front kitchen window will be first thing tomorrow then back to garage and will finish that and some of the eaves that are cleaned and ready and a few touch ups.
weather is cooperating i have a chance of getting the eaves partially or completely done this week. which would be nice to not have this hanging over me into next spring/summer time. if i get the eaves done that is it, completeo!
the house that caulk built!
when i was out there puttering around today two younger guys stopped in and asked if they could bow-hunt deer on our property. yes! for sure. come get 'em! walked over a few feet from where we were talking and showed them some relatively fresh deer tracks.
i also needed part of today to rest up after how beat up i felt by the work i'd done to get the back of the garage cleaned up and ready. way too hard on me. no padding, no room for it other than what i was wearing. today i wore three layers and that helped a lot so i know i will be wearing those tomorrow again. also massage appt. Tuesday really helped.
ready to stain again at last, front kitchen window will be first thing tomorrow then back to garage and will finish that and some of the eaves that are cleaned and ready and a few touch ups.
weather is cooperating i have a chance of getting the eaves partially or completely done this week. which would be nice to not have this hanging over me into next spring/summer time. if i get the eaves done that is it, completeo!
the house that caulk built!
when i was out there puttering around today two younger guys stopped in and asked if they could bow-hunt deer on our property. yes! for sure. come get 'em! walked over a few feet from where we were talking and showed them some relatively fresh deer tracks.
- Thread starter
- #615
flowerbug
Garden Master
working on cleaning more eaves today, hopefully will get it all finished and still have some time to do touch ups where i missed a few things and obvious things that need to be done. not sure i will have enough time to do any rolling of stain since it uses a fair amount to just get going and then to stop and clean up after just a bit is a big waste of stain. so we'll see how it all goes.
hoping tomorrow and Friday are it for the season and i can get back to gardening next week. the weather is looking great for at least three more days next week.
hoping tomorrow and Friday are it for the season and i can get back to gardening next week. the weather is looking great for at least three more days next week.
- Thread starter
- #616
flowerbug
Garden Master
the plan was to mostly finish staining today but was held up and then ran out of time. i did get the first coat on all the remaining eaves, so tomorrow i'll finish those (and they go quicker on the 2nd coat) and then go on to touch ups and seeing what else i need to do that's glaringly obviously not right and get that dealt with. some spots i know i'll have to go over again with the brush since i didn't cut them in to begin with. it looks better if you do it the other way first but i wasn't at all in the mood today to take the time to do that... so tomorrow it will be...
- Thread starter
- #617
flowerbug
Garden Master
done staining so i can get back to some gardening tomorrow... a few hours will be a nice change of pace.
today i found out what lady bugs taste like. not very good...
today i found out what lady bugs taste like. not very good...
digitS'
Garden Master
Yesterday, there was a fly in the house. It was the first fly that I've seen anywhere in a week. He was crawling around on the Sunny South Window and I walked over to the utility room and came back with the fly swatter.
He panicked and I began to feel bad before I even could begin. A thought occurred to me -- I opened the window and Out He Flew!
It was 14° this morning.
Maybe if I'm in the right place at the right time, I'll see some of those flying bugs that have even showed up while I've been ice fishing. It's likely that I won't be seeing any insects outdoors for quite some time ...
Steve
He panicked and I began to feel bad before I even could begin. A thought occurred to me -- I opened the window and Out He Flew!
It was 14° this morning.
Maybe if I'm in the right place at the right time, I'll see some of those flying bugs that have even showed up while I've been ice fishing. It's likely that I won't be seeing any insects outdoors for quite some time ...
Steve
- Thread starter
- #619
flowerbug
Garden Master
@digitS' the other day Mom got a fly with a yardstick. she's been proud of that! and that reminds me that many years ago i did the chopsticks trick snagging a fly out of mid-air. like in the movie. i was just goofing around and being funny and surprised myself when i did it on the first try.
just goes to show that odd things have to happen to someone. like dropping change and having one of them stick in a crack or in the ground and standing up on edge. yes, i've had that happen too.
we had way too many flies on the windows inside yesterday - i was able to grab most of them and put them back outside. it will be, as you say, cold soon enough that we'll not see many more. once it gets down well below freezing at night that calms things down.
just goes to show that odd things have to happen to someone.
like dropping change and having one of them stick in a crack or in the ground and standing up on edge. yes, i've had that happen too.we had way too many flies on the windows inside yesterday - i was able to grab most of them and put them back outside. it will be, as you say, cold soon enough that we'll not see many more. once it gets down well below freezing at night that calms things down.
- Thread starter
- #620
flowerbug
Garden Master
made good progress on gardening yesterday, will get outside today since it wasn't cold enough last night to freeze the ground at all. the weather for a few more days is going to be colder but with temperatures in the freezing range overnight so i'm not sure what i'll be able to get done. a day at a time is how it will be going as the weather cooperates. every garden i can get done now means that much less to do in the spring and sometimes in the winter it has been warm enough for me to go out and do some gardening.
today i will scrape the large garden inside the fence that has a few weeds starting on top. it is much easier to get it scraped before the tulips start poking up their heads. a light scrape across the top will not take too long and then i can get back to putting up the bean garden i'm partway through. maybe i can get this one done this week before the snow flies...
today i will scrape the large garden inside the fence that has a few weeds starting on top. it is much easier to get it scraped before the tulips start poking up their heads. a light scrape across the top will not take too long and then i can get back to putting up the bean garden i'm partway through. maybe i can get this one done this week before the snow flies...
