This past week found me getting into a regular routine after my extended road trip. There were no major house projects undertaken but the week was filled with working on smaller tasks.
Primary task was tackling the falling leaves. While I was gone Pam had done some raking and cutting back dead flowers. This material was placed in the trailer. I continued to mulch leaves and made a total of 3 trips to the dump with the truck and another huge load with the truck and trailer. Although the bulk of the leaves have been disposed of, there are trees that have not dropped any leaves at all so the process will continue until the snow flies.
Painting continued with work begun on the east porch. There was a lot of detail work to do which Pam undertook. The south end porch gable had some of the worst white paint on the house – old, cracked, and peeling off so I scraped it and gave it a new coat of white paint. We think the paint job turned out well, but we still need to paint the decking. Arrival of cold weather has put a damper on completion of this project but we hope to get a couple warmer days yet this fall and be able to take care of this final task.
Another task was getting the fencing done for Pam’s garden area. I added 8 “T” posts and strung up the fencing we had saved for this project. A few weeks ago I had put in the gate so now this area is good to go when Pam begins planting next spring.
To follow up on a project mentioned in a previous post, the area where I had leveled a large pile of dirt, then seeded it with grass, has greened up nicely.
Many smaller projects took up time this week. We ran an extension cord to the catio and Pam set up the heated cat beds and water dish. Jake the Electrician will be here (soon, hopefully) to permanently wire the catio, but for this cold spell we set up temporary power.
The catio also received gutters for the first time in its life. This was my “first attempt” at putting up gutters here in Elma and I found I need a couple pieces to finish the job correctly. It will be back to Home Depot to get the parts, but that means a trip to Waterloo (70 mile round trip) so it may be a while before I get them.
Pam completed what catio painting is going to be done this year. Additionally, she is converting the old window AC cover into a sleeping spot for Melly (the feral inside cat who escaped outside but does not want to share the catio with the other outside cats).
Pam hopes to have this project done in a day or two. Some parts of the cover need a second coat of paint before it goes outside for use. Painting had to be moved indoors to the new garage due to cold temps and wind chill.
In the category of “just living,” small jobs included:
- Putting new wiper blades on the truck (an oil and filter change is on the agenda for later today).
- Pam baked a delicious apple-cranberry pie with fresh fall apples.
- The lawn was mowed for the first time in three weeks.
- New registration decals were put on the RAV4’s rear license plate. (Due to the plate surround the plate has to be removed for this task.)
- One of my two computer monitors died and needs to be replaced.
- The window AC unit in my bedroom was removed and the storm window put back in place (required getting out on the roof, not a popular move with me).
- The Grandpa Ott morning glory vines suffered in the overnight cold and the vines were removed.
With the cold weather arriving our emphasis will necessarily shift more toward indoor projects, such as building inside storm windows out of wood and plastic. This winter there will be time to remove the carpet in two downstairs rooms and see what lies beneath, then cover or refinish – whichever course of action seems more appropriate. I hope to scan many more slides and turn them into digital photos. Pam is planning to paint more rooms on the first floor before Spring.
If we’re lucky there will be some “warmer weather” (say, high fifty degree range?) before winter really sets in. This would allow us to paint the east and front porch decks and get a final leaf clean-up underway. Since Elma has already experienced falling snow pellets, the odds may not be in our favor.
Photo Archive
Featured this week are photos of Pam and myself.
That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!
Pam’s Penny
It was with sadness I bid adieu to the Grandpa Ott morning glories by the back porch. I think their beautiful purple/dark blue color is my new favorite in the morning glory line. Soon the colorful petunias in the Mary Lynn Memorial Garden will be frozen; that splash of color will be missed. I pulled the pots containing geraniums out of the ground (those pots by the wrap-around porch), and proceeded with a plan to overwinter geraniums in the basement – we’ll see how that goes.
One Fall bulb shipment I ordered six weeks ago has not yet shipped. Another bulb shipment from a different supplier contained a partial order; with COVID, not everything will be available this Fall planting season.
I think the mole must have found a place to hibernate somewhere in the north flower bed or under the house. We could easily trace the mole’s entry into the yard and around the garden beds, but not away from the property.
The house looks so much better each time we take on an exterior painting project. I just wish there had been more comfortably cool and non-windy weather this Fall to work on exterior painting tasks. Maybe an Indian Summer is just around the corner…
Happy Trails.