The past week saw record and near-record warm days, some rain, and now near-normal temps. As a result the yard and outside plants are turning a rich spring green. Record temperatures over the weekend really helped bring out spring growth on trees, shrubs, and newly-emerged flower plants. Here are a few shots taken around the yard.
Pam added to the ‘green up’ by continuing to “grow” ivy stencils in the snug.
I tackled a few outside projects, including edging all the sidewalks, planting grass seed in a few bare spots, picking up more leaves, and other general clean-up work. Many of these tasks fall into a maintenance category instead of projects but all take some time to complete.
I have found if I don’t edge the sidewalks a couple times a year the grass quickly encroaches on the cement. Still, this year the task was much easier than the first pass last year. No walk maintenance had been done for decades and cleaning and edging the walks was a real chore. This time the job took just over an hour.
Another pair of maintenance items focused on my ATV. I had to replace the battery, but also had to remove the winch and tighten a wire terminal on the winch controller. The winch had been operating intermittently and I wanted it fixed before the riding season gets underway. (The controller powers the winch in or out depending on the moment of a toggle switch located on the handlebar.)
Other minor tasks included getting the garden hose out of garage storage and hooking it up. It had been warm and dry enough to warrant watering some of the plants. A trip to the local farm supply store procured two blackberry bushes and three more rhubarb starts, all of which were planted within a day or two and watered in.
Rain moving in put a stop to most of the outside work, but it was a productive week just the same. Pam and I enjoy going around the yard and checking on the new starts and sprouting flowers. We had some concern about the hostas and other plants we had separated and relocated last year, but all seem to have survived the trauma pretty well and show new growth. Spring is a good time of the year.
The siding for the south wall project arrived this past week. Currently it is sitting at the west end of the garage until we can set up a painting station. The idea is to have the siding painted before Bob the Builder puts it up thus removing the job of painting siding from a ladder. A window replacement is also part of the project but lead times on new windows is six weeks or more so it may be June before work commences. This gives us time to get the siding painted before Bob arrives to install it.
None of the work done this week is major but getting these small jobs done was quite satisfying. We go into the spring with ambitious plans for the yard, house exterior, and finishing interior painting and redecorating a couple rooms. We will not have the yard work we had last year when we planted 23 trees and shrubs and relocated dozens of other flower plants. (Not to mention building the dog run and construction of the garage addition.) More jobs this year will be maintenance and minor upgrades and tweaks, but the big project will be more repairing and painting of the house exterior. We will not lack for things to do!
Photo Archive
The photos are farm scenics taken in Oregon and Wisconsin.
That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!
Pam’s Penny
The more layers of ivy I stencil onto the snug walls, the more additional ivy I see that needs to be stenciled onto the snug walls. Where will it end? (I also have stencils for mornings glories and hollyhocks – must leave a little room for them.) My sister observes that, in adding this decorative wall art to the snug, I am “having fun.”
Another visit to the dentist this week resulted in paying the ransom for a crown to cover my root canal. I do not enjoy dental visits, no, I do not. Whining isn’t satisfying though — teeth are necessary — whatcha gonna do?
Spring is a beautiful time at 702 Main. Hopefully the same applies where you are.
Be well. Happy Trails.
Gee, that looks like a lot of siding. Are you replacing the entire south wall from where the steps start to the corner? And alllll the way to the second floor?
Becky:
Picture yourself walking up to the back door from the garage. To the right of the steps there is a section of wall that we repainted last year. That section meets a trim piece where the downspouts are attached. That part still has the old paint. We plan to replace the siding from that strip over to the east wall, about 12 feet in length and includes the kitchen window. Replacement will go to the 2nd floor; the contractor will have to bring in scaffolding or a man-lift to do the work. We will get a new kitchen window installed, have the wall sealed with Tyvek to help keep out air, and have the siding pre-painted so avoid having to paint it later. Contractor thinks it will take 1 or 2 days at most. We shall see!
Jer
Gotcha. Do you suppose you could use the scaffolding real quick to paint the ginger breading (or whatever that triangular piece is called?) Then, the entire southern exposure of the house would be painted… just a thought.
Becky:
We will try to use the scaffolding if we can. Bob the Builder has a powered lift that he may use instead of scaffolding so we shall have to see which method he uses. I don’t think he would let us use the powered lift for liability reasons but will ask if that is the approach he takes.
Jer