This week was a pretty typical autumn week, with no major stories or events. In fact, most of the week was routine — projects included lawn and flower bed cleanup, grooming JoJo, and scanning a few more black-and-white negatives.
The biggest job of the week was a major lawn cleanup. Pam cut back the rest of the hostas and geranium plants in the flower beds and cut back the blackberry bushes in the garden. I used the lawn vac to clean up leaves around the garage, along fence lines, and under shrubs. Several runs with the John Deere LX 176 lawn mower and bagger system cleaned up the large areas of the lawn.
It is sad to see the empty flower beds. We enjoy the flowering plants all spring and summer and it’s always a big change to see them go in the fall.
Below is a photo of the south and east sides of the house as of October 29th.
Other “outside” chores included putting up the bird feeder, hanging the suet feeder, and putting a heated water dish in service for the squirrels. On the last, it took the squirrels a few days to figure out the new water arrangement but they soon adapted. (In the photo above you can just see the stand and water bowl at the base of the right-hand tree. The weather has not been cold enough to plug in the dish yet.)
It did not take the birds long to discover the feeder was back up and stocked. No cardinals yet, but we have seen junkos, sparrows, and a red-headed woodpecker at the feeder at various times. Along the same lines we hung the suet feeder and have seen nuthatches and a downy woodpecker use it in the last couple days.
I moved the big trailer into a winter storage position closer to the east end of the garage. While doing this I took a good look at the tires and calculated the trailer can handle up to 12,000 pounds. (Each tire is rated at 3,100 pounds and there are 4 of them.) Below are a couple photos of the tires, D-rings, and side marker lights. I would never use all of this capacity as the F-150 could not handle it, but the truck can handle the Ford 8N which weighs in at around 4,000 pounds.
On to inside projects. Pam now has to trim JoJo, as the groomer we had been using quit the business.
I scanned a few more black-and-white negatives; some of these are in this post’s Photo Gallery section. Other tasks completed included an oil and filter change for the RAV-4 and maintenance on power equipment. Inside the house I boxed in the vent pipe in the corner of the upstairs bathroom and added a patch to the floor in the same room, bringing that set up to the same level as the floor. (The patch was a result of the work we had done last year, moving the toilet away from the outside wall and re-plumbing the sink.)
It was a low-key week filled with routine and mundane tasks, but there was one other development that applied to me. I had previously reported that my broken front tooth had been extracted. This week my “social tooth” with its retainer was fitted by the dentist. Now when I go out in public I don’t display the gap of the missing tooth. Around the house I don’t wear it, hoping to speed the healing of the gum.
So much for medical news. Now on to the scanned images.
Photo Gallery
These photos were taken when we attended a military re-enactment in 1990 and features a squad of US army soldiers. I believe the time period depicted was the early 1800s. We were in Prairie du Chien at the Fur Trappers Rendezvous.
Normally I would leave it at that, but with Halloween coming up I decided to include a couple of “artsy” pumpkin photos.
That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!
Pam’s Penny
Dog grooming – ugh. I suspect JoJo will need to be “surface groomed” at least three times this winter to keep the Springer Spaniel coat under control. You can see I scissor-cut the dogs at present; I will likely buy a grooming razor next year to shave dogs for the summer. (Because, of course, Bru needs to be trimmed frequently as well as Jo.) I really miss our dog groomer from Colorado, Aunt Nan. She was excellent with the dogs and reasonably priced. Interestingly enough, Nan/Nancy sold her business and got out of dog grooming (similar to the local groomer). Too much work and not enough profit in dog grooming, I guess.
The yard at Heart House looks empty and sad. Or maybe I’m sad looking at the yard. Or maybe both. Once the holiday decorations are up next month, the porches at least will look colorful.
Oh well, the kittens keep me entertained. Hard to be gloomy when those little charmers are so active.
Happy Trails.