Busy Weekend

…I guess I was too "busy" for pictures - I never touched the camera all weekend

Saturday started with a lazy morning, followed by a 4th Birthday party in Rossford. We hung out there (hoping for nicer weather) until it was time to leave for a Mud Hens game.

I had never been at a game where an umpire reversed a call – what he had called a three-run homer, was actually a foul (after some words from the Hens manager and consulting with the two field refs)! This reversal was quickly followed by a tirade by the Iron Pigs manager resulting in his ejection from the game. Can you imagine the 3 players having to come back out of the dugout and return to the bases and the plate? Of course it didn’t sit well; and after the next pitch resulted in a strike out, the batter was ejected from the game (as he has dragged away by fellow teammates). I was beginning to wonder if this was a hockey game!

Fantastic and long lasting fireworks were a great conclusion to our first trip to the ballpark this season.

SNL with JT as host was the perfect ending for Saturday – I think he is so multi-talented and am looking forward to his fourth appearance as host.

Reading the paper and drinking coffee in the living room was not as long as some Sunday mornings – there was a lot to get done outside! BEB joined us and as D worked on a water pressure switch in the utility room and then cut grass, she and I accomplished more than I anticipated:

** Stained the upper deck, steps, and the rafters underneath
** Stained the north side of the back garage
** Took all the deck furniture out of storage and placed it on the upper deck
** Wire-brushed and touched up the lower deck furniture

We worked HARD with only one break for lunch! A little before 6 the three of us decided to go geocaching for about an hour. We needed to be back by 7 since BMA was heading out to visit for the evening.

Climbing under and around bridges between home and GR was part of our caching adventure as it was lightly sprinkling rain. We found the first micro immediately; the second was a bit tougher terrain and difficulty and took about 15 minutes around a one-lane bridge. Our third search had to be aborted due rain and time constraints (this one was proving tougher to locate) – we’ll have to go back to this bridge and complete the hunt another day.

As we ate and talked (and opened much appreciated gifts) it was a nice ending for this great Mother’s Day weekend! ~~ K

First Harvest

…and signs of spring

Fresh, crunchy home-grown asparagus! There’s something special about that first harvest - especially when you’re eating it within 30 minutes from it being picked.
While harvesting the asparagus after school Wednesday other sure signs of spring were a welcome sight.

Look close at that last picture – besides the sedum, violets, and coreopsis you can see the first blossom on one of the strawberry plants – it's quite promising as long as the rabbits don’t take over!

Now just give me warmer, drier weather consistently. ~~K

Thursday’s Tasks

…but they were enjoyable “labors of love” outside

Finally, a decent day to spend working outside! It was only 25 degrees at 7:30 am, but the sun looked promising. I did around in the house, then I went outside at 9:30 since the temperature had reached 44 degrees.
I washed and hung sheets outside – notice my clothespins are in an old bleach bottle I cut so it can also hang on the clothesline and slide along as I need a pin.More geocaches are needed along the nature trail out back. As I was scouting the area and recording coordinates I came across a skull, jaw bones, and neck vertebrae. I looked around but couldn’t find any other bones from the carcass. After D looked at it later we think there must have been an illegal hunter who killed a deer and field dressed it right there and left the head.

After the creek was cleaned last fall, most of the mud and dirt was piled along the top of the creek bank. Unexpectedly I heard a bulldozer working out back even before I went outside – As I was burning yard debris I proceeded to talk to “Mr. Bulldozer” when I saw he was even seeding the area by hand while walking – what a pleasant bonus!

Tree trimmers for Edison started “working” out front (I noticed their breaks are twice as long as their work time) – I talked to them a bit – hopefully they’ll leave me some wood chips next week – I won’t count on it though – the last time Edison trimmed they had told a friend of mine they would drop some wood chips off, but they never did.

The asparagus patch got its spring cleaning.

beforeafter

I gathered about 5 trailer loads of clippings, branches, and other burnable yard waste throughout the day and burned it all, plus I was able to burn much of what was already out in the burn area – right now there’s mostly log size debris.

When I came inside at 4:30 it was 61 degrees, the sun was still shining, but the wind was picking up.

After we ate supper, D got the tiller going for the first time this year. I was able to get the west side garden turned under – I never got around to it last fall. I’ll have to do it a couple more times before planting.

After coming in a little after 7, I had a tired, dirty body, and needed to call it a day. ~~K

Looking for the Lamb

...Wasn’t the March lion supposed to turn into a lamb?

It’s been snowing some the last few days and it’s April! Am I over anxious for spring to arrive? Surely these are signs that it’s getting closer--

I purchased new garden gloves and some seeds.
Tell me there is truly some green showing out in the yard. See the sprouts of day lilies and the ducks swimming?
Almost daffodil blooms, even though it’s snowing?!

There was a heron at the edge of the pond last evening, but just as I was ready to snap a shot (it took a few moments to go get my camera) it took off like a pterodactyl. As I type this, I can hear birds outside - do they know the lamb is close at hand?

Let’s skip the April showers and go right to May flowers! Oh, and less wind and more warmth!~~K

Seven, Eight, Lay Them Straight

Since the ground is still spongy, this is the best way to move the yard debris – place it (straight) on a tarp and drag it. I was afraid the tractor and cart would do more damage than help.

It ended up this load was too heavy for D and I to take in only one trip to the burn pile. We halved it and it worked fine. Next time we did smaller loads to begin with. BD&Z were out Saturday and even Z helped “lay them straight” and transport.

Nine, Ten, Let the Burn Begin
…attempt #1
Of course, not everything is cut and hauled yet, but I was anxious to start the burning process. Even though most of the debris is dead wood, it was too damp to catch the small flame – some smoke, then nothing. To be continued…

Nine, Ten, Let the Burn Begin
…attempt #2
Success! Tiki torch fuel does wonders! Most of you know “playing with fire” is one of my favorite activities and there’s plenty of wood for more fires. I’m very glad we accomplished so much outside work on Saturday, because look what has arrived …

Lake Bradley
It’s been raining non-stop for about the last 15 hours and Lake Bradley has reappeared. (excuse the photo quality – shot through the window screens)

As well as a few new bodies of water. I don’t recall seeing standing water on the east side of the pine tree like this before.

Rain, Rain, go Away! ~~K

Five, Six, Pick up Sticks

...and twigs, branches, limbs, etc.
Even though it’s colder than I expect in March, the bright sunshine keeps drawing me outside. There is so much outdoor yard work to do, but dealing with “sticks” seemed the first order of business.
Windy days have broken many limbs that will require D and a chainsaw rather than me and my small clippers. I didn’t actually pick up sticks, I starting cutting sticks and making piles. I stayed outside until my face was frozen – that only took about 45 minutes – so there is still much to do around all the trees. In some ways, it looks like a bigger mess than when I started.
Some calm day we’ll enjoy a nice bonfire with all this yard debris. ~~K

Gently Down the Stream

Thankfully the rain has stopped; the wind has had a drying effect; and this high water is flowing well.

You can see the watermark on the abutment from early Thursday was about 9 inches higher. Do you believe we still have a few spots of snow around the yard?

Spring is getting closer and I know the trees are healthier because of all this wetness. ~~K