We received word that our building permit has been approved. Turns out one is not needed for putting up fencing but one is needed for the garage addition.
Bob from Bob’s Building Service stopped by and gave us a formal quote on the garage addition, including cement work, and it came in just a bit less than we expected. The disappointing part is that construction won’t begin until late July or early August due to Bob’s building schedule. (The permit is good for a year so that is not an issue.) I just hope to have it done before fall chores begin to pop up.
We did start on a fencing project. Modified, we decided to go with a non-privacy fence due to lack of availability of the vinyl fencing we originally ordered, as well as the cost. For now we will use [mostly existing] wire fencing and a mix of 4×4 wood posts and steel fence posts.
I borrowed a post hole digger from the local lumber yard and started setting the wooden posts and building one of three gates that will be needed. Here is Pam staining some of the posts:
Building the fence will be a lengthy process and will get mention in my next few posts, I’m sure.
Other projects were completed. Pam had ordered some garden fencing to separate her garden area from the rest of the lawn. The fencing was installed the same day it arrived.
(I have begun to open some old paint cans and set them in the sun to dry up. That’s the only way we can dispose of them. Old paint is everywhere in this house – the basement, lined up along the basement stairwell, in some of the rooms.)
Pam planted some dark purple morning glories (Grandpa Ott variety) at the west end of the back porch. They should germinate in a couple weeks or sooner, and have been provided a wire grid to stretch their tendrils on. Hoping to see these by mid-summer.
So far the back yard garden has pumpkins, watermelons, morning glories, hollyhocks, rhubarb, and sunflowers growing in it. That will be it for this year; Pam wants to keep the garden area small and manageable.
Day lilies (and other flowers left by previous residents) have begun to bloom around the yard. This batch is in the bed surrounding two large trees just south of the house. It is nice to be able to look out the kitchen and upstairs bathroom windows and see this color.
And we have more examples of small-town living. As we were working on the fencing, a neighbor drove by, stopped, chatted, and offered us some fence posts and panels he was taking down. I told him I would stop by later this week and take a look at what he had. I will need some extra posts, at the least.
One day Pam told me to look out the window as I would see an unusual sight walking down Main Street in front of the house – two people in costume.
These may be the same people we saw walking the street last fall dressed in dinosaur costumes. No idea what this walk was all about! The two are headed in the direction of the assisted living center at the other end of Main Street.
Photo Archive
I have a couple of photos to post this week. The date of this first one is unknown and features my father, George, along with my Uncle Emil and another uncle in the background, Uncle Julius, I think.
This next guy is Pam’s Uncle Al (King). The image is probably from a family reunion held in the early 1990s.
That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!
Pam’s Penny
Multiple renovation projects, requiring simultaneous planning, make life complex. Indoor, outdoor, this month, this summer, this fall, next year — many scenarios and time frames are currently in play.
Summer Solstice will soon be upon us. When the daylight begins to diminish again, I will seriously miss the long, cool twilight. In last night’s twilight, I saw fireflies for the first time since…I can’t remember when.
Happy Trails.