Enter At Your Own Risk

Wow! Who needs a gym membership with a big yard and massive projects to do? It sound exhausting but so much fun and so satisfying!

Can't you put the barn rubbish in a pile and burn it? Too dangerous?
 

Della said:
Wow! Who needs a gym membership with a big yard and massive projects to do? It sound exhausting but so much fun and so satisfying!

Can't you put the barn rubbish in a pile and burn it? Too dangerous?
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We briefly discussed burning. There is lots of grass, brush and trees very close to and overhanging that area. Risk of wildfire? It would have to be a very small fire and would probably take days to get it all burned. I will discuss this with him again today (or whenever he returns as this project is being worked on between his other jobs).
 
No yard work yesterday. The propane company was coming to fill the tank and I had to wait for them. This is the first time the tank has been filled, other than when it was delivered and installed, and I wanted to make sure they didn't drive over the septic leech field. By that time it was noon.

I went to the neighbor's house and asked if we could bring a pickup through his property to load up all this barn stuff. Amazingly, he said yes! That will save my guys a LOT of work! When I passed that info on, faces just lit up. Not sure exactly how this will work. The path they will have to use does not look like it will accommodate a trailer so it may mean loading stuff onto a pickup, driving it to the trailer and reloading it. It is way too much for a pickup; it would probably require ten or more trips to the dump, whereas the trailer can make it in one, probably. I will leave that decision up to the crew but at least this option is now available.

I hope to do more raking today. I don't know. My back is complaining. It does that a lot, such a whiner, so I tend to ignore it. We'll see. Sometimes I see what needs to be done in a citified, traditional way, and it becomes very intimidating. I have to rethink things and realize this is country and city ways just don't work here. Unless one has a crew of ten with all kinds of equipment that can work for a month at time, at least. And it will all just come back by next year. So most of it will remain in its natural state. Nature always wins.

The best I can do is to keep paths cleared and clear out most of the dead wood, which is a job for someone younger and stronger than me. I know just the person, who has done work for me before. I will wait till the spring bloom, however, because it is hard to tell what is dead and what is just dormant.

All of this will take several years to get done. It is about 15+ years of neglect. As my Mom used to say, "It'll keep you out of the bars."
 

RadishRose said:
Can't burn trash in CT without a special permit.
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I tend to agree with that. Farmers here burn their fields in late winter but that's just corn stalks and such. Not building materials with paint and who knows what else on it. It must be an "agricultural" burn, which unofficially includes brush, dead trees, etc. We have to call a hotline number to find out if fires are allowed on that day and if so, report the address where the fire will be. There are strict rules on how to do it: someone must be present at all times, water must be immediately available, flames must be kept below a certain height, etc.

The cool thing here is there is a place to take brush, trees and such that will run it all through a chipper and give it away (maybe sell it? not sure) as mulch. This is what I have had done in the past with large amounts. A few bags of leaves get put out with the normal trash, though. Maybe I should rethink that and think of a way or place to dump them on site and maybe mulch it? Would it increase fire hazard? I don't know.
 
So yesterday, I did clear seven bags of leaves and such out of a particularly difficult area. It was very hard. I had to stop about every ten minutes to appease the back, which had advanced from whining to screaming. It is so frustrating to not be able to do such simple things without extreme pain and lack of strength. This is relatively new for me and I am having difficulty adjusting mentally/emotionally to this. I hate it! What is one supposed to do? Sit in their recliner all day and watch crap on You Tube? How do people stand it?

In my past life, I always did everything full steam ahead. These days, I am having to slow down, break often, and lower my expectations of myself and the results I want. This is a battle every step of the way. I am thinking that if I keep forging ahead, my body will regain its prior strength and stamina. I am beginning to doubt that. Is that just making things worse? IDK.

I did call the young man who has done work for me in the past, downing dead trees, etc., and hauling it away. He will work me into his schedule in the near future. With winter and the deciduous trees naked, I am able to see problem areas more clearly. There are a few large trees that look to be dead. Spring will tell. Taking those down would be a tricky, difficult job.

Patience. Lots of Patience. It will not be done in one season. Or even two. One step at a time.
 
Yesterday was spent running errands. Today will be clean the floor and dust day. No more procrastination. The dog's ball went under the desk and I had to use a flashlight to get it for her. Oh my. That was a mistake. If you want to see how dirty the floor is, get down there with a flashlight. Or maybe not.

Yard work can wait. Good thing because it looks like rain and that is the forecast for about the next week. Oh! There is some kind of lily coming up in the front garden. I surrounded it with small stones to protect it from foot/paw traffic. The lilacs, which are everywhere, are just beginning to bud. It's a bit early for that but they are pretty hardy. The creek is rising from snow melt with this warm weather, in the high 60's. Last night, as I lay in bed, I could hear it. That is also early. I am pretty sure we will get more snow before summer is really here, though.
 
GoodEnuff said:
Yesterday was spent running errands. Today will be clean the floor and dust day. No more procrastination. The dog's ball went under the desk and I had to use a flashlight to get it for her. Oh my. That was a mistake. If you want to see how dirty the floor is, get down there with a flashlight. Or maybe not.

Yard work can wait. Good thing because it looks like rain and that is the forecast for about the next week. Oh! There is some kind of lily coming up in the front garden. I surrounded it with small stones to protect it from foot/paw traffic. The lilacs, which are everywhere, are just beginning to bud. It's a bit early for that but they are pretty hardy. The creek is rising from snow melt with this warm weather, in the high 60's. Last night, as I lay in bed, I could hear it. That is also early. I am pretty sure we will get more snow before summer is really here, though.
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You discovered the lair of the dust bunnies. Happy hunting!

I miss Lilac, the very dark kind.
 
Floors are clean and oh, what a difference that makes. Picking everything up and putting it away also helps. I did figure out the solution to one problem: this flooring takes for.ever to dry, like 30-40 mins. I don't know why. Anyway, it really makes it more difficult because I have to control the dogs from walking all over it and sit myself down in one place for that long. I put Chloe in her crate and Little Guy on his favorite recliner and hope he just stays there but as for me?

Well, yesterday, I realized I could scoot around with a towel under my feet, you know what I mean. Not only does it prevent footprints on the clean floor, but it also hastens the drying process. Win/Win! I laughed my way around the house, pushing that towel around under my feet. Such an obvious, simple solution.

Today, I am going to move those bags of leaves to one location near the road. The regular trash pickup company will take them for a fee ($3/bag?) on the normal pickup day (Wed.). This will probably be a painful process as they are a bit heavy. Will try using a wheelbarrow, although there are a few steps to maneuver. Will get it done, slow and steady wins the race. Ace Hardware had wheelbarrows with two wheels in front so they don't tip over so easily. $150. Passed on that. It is really tempting, though. Will see how I manage with the old one I now have. My late husband used to say "Every job is easier with the right tool." Usually when he wanted to buy a new tool.

I did get another trash can, the kind with wheels on it that is easy to drag around, to use for yard work. Ace Hardware had a fantastic, large one (55 gal) with big wheels: $130!! It was so big, I most likely couldn't even drag it. So I settled for a 33 gal can, "only" $90. I may go back and get that wheelbarrow. Hmmmm....
 
GoodEnuff said:
Today, I am going to move those bags of leaves to one location near the road. The regular trash pickup company will take them for a fee ($3/bag?) on the normal pickup day (Wed.). This will probably be a painful process as they are a bit heavy. Will try using a wheelbarrow, although there are a few steps to maneuver. Will get it done, slow and steady wins the race. Ace Hardware had wheelbarrows with two wheels in front so they don't tip over so easily. $150. Passed on that. It is really tempting, though. Will see how I manage with the old one I now have. My late husband used to say "Every job is easier with the right tool." Usually when he wanted to buy a new tool.

I did get another trash can, the kind with wheels on it that is easy to drag around, to use for yard work. Ace Hardware had a fantastic, large one (55 gal) with big wheels: $130!! It was so big, I most likely couldn't even drag it. So I settled for a 33 gal can, "only" $90. I may go back and get that wheelbarrow. Hmmmm....
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:) Some people pay for compost.
 
gruntlabor said:
:) Some people pay for compost.
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There are a lot of fir, spruce, pine needles mixed in with it. They say they are acidic and that's why nothing grows under those trees. I read an article about that which said yes, the needles are acidic but that changes when they decompose in earth. I don't know what to think. I do know nothing grows under those trees but I think it may be because they shade so well. I have considered just dumping them by the back fence, which is not visible from anywhere and maybe will help control weed growth and such along the fence line. It's just hard to get back there. There will be plenty more to do that.

There are four lilies coming up in the small front garden! The dogs run through there a lot so I placed some of that old wire fencing (which was waiting to be hauled off, lol) around them to protect from trampling.

I did go back for the wheelbarrow and got something called a guerilla cart. Its very much like a wheelbarrow. I like it a lot, except I couldn't use it for the leaf bags because it was too wide for the gate! I could have just gone around the long way but I just carried the bags to the front and was surprised at how light weight they were. There were also some dead limbs and such. I cut them up, bagged them, and they sit with the others.

Trying to decide what to do today. It will be more clearing, just a matter of where. And I just now realized the wagon may not fit across the bridge! Guess I will check that first thing.
 
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GoodEnuff said:
There are a lot of fir, spruce, pine needles mixed in with it. They say they are acidic and that's why nothing grows under those trees. I read an article about that which said yes, the needles are acidic but that changes when they decompose in earth. I don't know what to think. I do know nothing grows under those trees but I think it may be because they shade so well. I have considered just dumping them by the back fence, which is not visible from anywhere and maybe will help control weed growth and such along the fence line. It's just hard to get back there. There will be plenty more to do that.
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:) You can spread lime over your acidic materials
 
I feel like I'm sitting on my rear watching GoodEnuff work! Not that, that isn't fun.

I just sprinkled the whole house with Pet Fresh carpet powder. I never do that because it can't be good for any of our lungs, particularly my low to the ground dachshund, but lately, in her 14th year, she seems to becoming more incontinent by the day. There's not a square foot of this 2000 sq ft carpet that hasn't been "used." I clean each accident with Resolve and a sponge, but I think it all smells like the dog yard to her by now and I'm hoping this weird perfume smell will remind her that it's really not her toilet after all.

I'll have to dust and vacuum twice later, but now it doesn't sound so hard compared to the guerilla cart and the pine needles and the leaf bags.
 
GoodEnuff said:
There are a lot of fir, spruce, pine needles mixed in with it. They say they are acidic and that's why nothing grows under those trees. I read an article about that which said yes, the needles are acidic but that changes when they decompose in earth. I don't know what to think. I do know nothing grows under those trees but I think it may be because they shade so well. I have considered just dumping them by the back fence, which is not visible from anywhere and maybe will help control weed growth and such along the fence line. It's just hard to get back there. There will be plenty more to do that.

There are four lilies coming up in the small front garden! The dogs run through there a lot so I placed some of that old wire fencing (which was waiting to be hauled off, lol) around them to protect from trampling.

I did go back for the wheelbarrow and got something called a guerilla cart. Its very much like a wheelbarrow. I like it a lot, except I couldn't use it for the leaf bags because it was too wide for the gate! I could have just gone around the long way but I just carried the bags to the front and was surprised at how light weight they were. There were also some dead limbs and such. I cut them up, bagged them, and they sit with the others.

Trying to decide what to do today. It will be more clearing, just a matter of where. And I just now realized the wagon may not fit across the bridge! Guess I will check that first thing.
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You may want to chat with your County Extension Office about your pine needles and how to dispose of them.
 
Della said:
I feel like I'm sitting on my rear watching GoodEnuff work! Not that, that isn't fun.

I just sprinkled the whole house with Pet Fresh carpet powder. I never do that because it can't be good for any of our lungs, particularly my low to the ground dachshund, but lately, in her 14th year, she seems to becoming more incontinent by the day. There's not a square foot of this 2000 sq ft carpet that hasn't been "used." I clean each accident with Resolve and a sponge, but I think it all smells like the dog yard to her by now and I'm hoping this weird perfume smell will remind her that it's really not her toilet after all.

I'll have to dust and vacuum twice later, but now it doesn't sound so hard compared to the guerilla cart and the pine needles and the leaf bags.
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What does the vet say about her problems?
 
Della said:
I feel like I'm sitting on my rear watching GoodEnuff work! Not that, that isn't fun.

I just sprinkled the whole house with Pet Fresh carpet powder. I never do that because it can't be good for any of our lungs, particularly my low to the ground dachshund, but lately, in her 14th year, she seems to becoming more incontinent by the day. There's not a square foot of this 2000 sq ft carpet that hasn't been "used." I clean each accident with Resolve and a sponge, but I think it all smells like the dog yard to her by now and I'm hoping this weird perfume smell will remind her that it's really not her toilet after all.

I'll have to dust and vacuum twice later, but now it doesn't sound so hard compared to the guerilla cart and the pine needles and the leaf bags.
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I can sympathize with this, for sure! And I would rather be doing this than that. So sorry for you.
 
Twostep said:
What does the vet say about her problems?
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About two years ago he started her on a daily estrogen tablet that worked wonders for the first year or so. I think she's just too old now. For all the trouble I'm still grateful to have my little pee-pee-pants girl with me. We just figure we'll take it one puddle at a time and then re-carpet at a later (sad) date.
 
Didn't do outside work yesterday. It was cold and gray. So I changed the sheets on the bed. I love getting in the bed with fresh clean sheets.

Oh! The not-smoking is going okay. I finally realized that I needed to mentally treat cigarettes like I do food. Nope. Can't have that. Too bad, so sad. Get over it. And the wellbutrin has (apparently) helped a LOT. I still have those "a smoke right now would be nice" moments, but so would some other things that are forbidden (at least most of the time). Still using the nico patch, reducing dose. Will be glad to be off of it.
 
Jules said:
Love the sound. It’s therapeutic. The spring freshet is running here. Fortunately it’s not too close because some years those bubbling streams have created floods.
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Yes. In the sixty+ years this house has been around, this creek has "flooded" twice. Once when they opened the levee gates and then couldn't get them closed (1984) and again two days after I moved in (late May, 2023). 2022/23 was a high-snow winter and then it became unseasonably warm in early May and stayed that way. All the snow melted at once and it spilled over the levee. It didn't get real close, would have had to rise another two feet to get into the house. We sandbagged the one place where it was barely over the bank on the house side, just in case.
 
Today is Wednesday; where did the week go? Anyway, trash pickup day. I called the company and arranged for them to pick up 11 additional bags of leaves, etc., today at $3.00 per bag. $33.00. Not too bad. There will be more down the road although I am seriously considering dumping that stuff in other areas on the property.

Yesterday, little Chloe spotted something outside and was barking up a storm. I joined her at the window and sure enough, there was a cat...with the squirrel in its mouth. Mother Nature is cruel sometimes. Although I like the squirrel, kinda fun to watch, they are so very busy, I remind myself that when doing some work on this house, I found four caches of pine cones in the attic, just inside the soffit. How those were dragged in there is beyond me because those cones are very large, fist size, and I see no openings that large anywhere. Anyway, I shall miss watching that squirrel and hope there are others out there.

Yesterday, the temp never went above 38F so no outside work was done. Precipitation was in the forecast for later in the day so in the morning, I went to town for a few groceries. Spent $168. How does that happen? I really needed only three items. They had certain meats on sale, and I stocked up on fresh produce. I was glad to get home on dry roads. Late in the afternoon, we did get a little snow, just a dusting. 22F this morning. So much for Spring. Lots of plants are budding out and I hope they're okay. I'm sure this isn't the first time for them.
 
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