Never thought retirement would be like this

NancyNGA said:
Thursday: Loaded the new shelves. Only filled 2/3 of them. Put shelf liners of heavy duty plastic down first.:) Good opportunity to throw away a lot of containers of stuff that had gone bad, and clean up the basement a little.

Friday & Saturday: Cleaned up the yard near the back property line in town. Grass doesn't grow there, so I never mow it, and it was just a pile of sticks and leaves, mixed in with English ivy, that had been collecting up for years under some red tips I planted a long time ago. The ivy is a nesting place for mosquitoes, and it grows up the trunks of the red tips and kills them. Tried the new oscillating saw thing to cut the big hairy vines on the trunks, and it worked really well. Will try to get rid of the ivy for good with a little Roundup this summer---paint it on carefully around the trunks of the red tips. They are like big trees now! Should probably have them cut down.

Three wheelbarrow loads of vines, 2 truck loads of limbs ready to haul off, and many, many, wheelbarrows of leaves and sticks. A good workout. I'll probably have to crawl out of bed in the morning.

Before and after. Doesn't look like a big job, but it was.



Hope everyone has a nice Easter!

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Have a Blessed Easter Day, Nancy, and thanks for sharing your wheelbarrow load of eggs!:):D:eek:nthego:
 

Moofies said:
I know how you feel about hiring someone to do work. ...
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Hi Moofies! How awful to be left with a yard full of tree limbs and debris. It almost sounds like some life-changing event might have happened to your tree man at the end of the job.

What I hate most is the time it takes to arrange for folks to come work. It was hard to do when I was working full time. My father did *everything* around our house so I think I grew up just assuming anyone could do anything. Ha! I just jump right in and try it. Not much to lose if you mess up with an old house. So far I've been lucky. What I've got going is I can take my time.

My downstairs AC is not working, again. If I had it to do over, I would have enrolled in the HVAC repair program at the community college here when I retired and got a license, just so I could fix my own heat/air and buy freon. ;)

Sounds like a good plan to take your time and gradually get your house ready to sell. Too much stuff to do all at once.
 
Sorry to hear that you lost your cool!
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:lol: Speaking of lawnmowers...

Last spring all 3 lawnmowers wouldn't start. This spring all 3 started, but one quit after the first mowing---the same one I tore apart last year. Same symptoms. Surges, then dies back, then surges, etc, then next time, kaput! Had about enough of that one. It was cheap. I want one like this...:):cool:

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Nancy, Happy Easter! You did a good job of getting that ivy out! Not only will the ivy kill your red tips, the ivy is a good nesting area for snakes! We also have red tips that our neighbor planted about 30 years ago on the property line between our houses and they are huge now! The original neighbor that planted them has long ago moved and the new guy that lives there asked us if we wanted him to cut them down. I don't mind them (except the red leaves that keep falling across my fence), they make a nice privacy barrier. The grandkids were here yesterday to hide eggs and get their Easter Bucket from Nana and Papa. And along with dinner for everyone (why am I always cooking for a holiday?). Mike and my son went to the Braves game today (they said the new stadium is top notch). I spent the day putting out cypress mulch in the back flower beds and did not get finished. This will probably be a three day project (we have huge beds)! Dang, I am out of shape after the winter months!
 
Maggiemae, sounds like you had a great day with the grandkids. I have never been on an Easter egg hunt! :( Just got a basket and we colored eggs. Then had to eat hardboiled eggs for days afterwards. :p

I probably waited too long on the ivy. The bark on all the red tips is damaged, and a few have died. It's a job I've started many times over the years, but always gave up. They are still great privacy, with a 2-story house. Ha!

Yes! I'm really out of shape too. Where I notice it most is trying to push the lawnmower. Can hardly get one lap across the lawn without stopping. So much bending yesterday my back sort of locked up and had to quit. Figured I'd be in bad shape this morning, so I tried stretching the opposite direction just before going to bed. I think it may have helped. Actually better in the morning.
 
Nancy, do you use a "push mower"? We have a "self propelled" push mower. There is no way we could do these hills without it. I even use the propel on the flat parts now. I can get it going so fast I feel like I am running behind it! It's a "Honda" We got at Home Depot. There was a landscaper there looking at mowers and we got to talking and he said he would recommend that brand. Easy start and low maintenance. Has mulching option (which we use all the time). It is very light weight. We also have a Toro mower that is heavy as all get out! We never use it any more.
 
Yes it's a push mower. I will look into a self-propelled one next time---might be this summer in fact. I grew up before push mowers. We had the old self-propelled reel type. Then didn't have a lawn to mow for another 20 years. My back yard slopes down and I try to go horizontal, not up and down, after the first few rounds. :)
 
Just logging in to report not much. :rolleyes:

Cat has had an upper respiratory virus, or something. Sneezing and eyelids a little swollen since Friday. Being a recluse, but eating fine. Don't think anything can help, but to let it run its course and keep an eye on her, make sure a secondary infection doesn't set in her eyes. Worst day was Sunday. She seems much better today.

Teeth cleaning this morning. Loaded the last truck load of trash from lawn clean up to dump in the woods tomorrow. Need to go fight carpenter bees attacking the porch now.
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These are blossoms from a mock orange bush I found at the old house site out in the country and brought into town. They have 4 petals, each with a point in the center, and make a square. It just ain't fittin' for flowers to be square! No care required. Drought tolerant. Smell good too. I like that. :)

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Can't convince me, Meanderer. Ever try to drink coffee from a square cup? I did---once. Cups and flowers---nope. :playful:

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All about animals...

Cat has finally come out of seclusion and acting almost normal. Eyes look fine. Just a little sniffing. I didn't kill her by waiting it out.

Hummingbird(s) that showed up disappeared. Must have gone on north.

Yesterday at the farm the goats were upset, staring down into the woods below the barn all the time I was sweeping. I couldn't see or hear a thing. Finally a dog down that way started growling, then really loud squeals from some other animal. On the other side of the fence was a beagle shaking the cr@p out of something big (by comparison) and furry. Too far away to tell for sure, but listening to an mp3 file, the squeals were compatible with a rabbit.

Finally the dog just dropped it and sauntered off, too late for the rabbit, fun was over. Rabbits are so rare out there now.:( More dogs than rabbits.

The dog headed for a hole under my fence, so I spent some time piling logs up over the hole to keep him out. Twenty minutes later I saw a different, larger dog, *inside* the fence in the distance. It headed off up over a hill. Glad the goats are not small breeds. If they would just learn not to run, the dogs wouldn't hurt them.

So... I've *got* to get the fence charge up, and fill in the holes dug underneath. This is a HUGE undertaking with 7000+ feet of fence. Will require chunks of wire panels buried below ground. And then they'll just dig another hole right next to the old one. Probably more productive to figure out a way to restring the hot wire near the ground a little differently. Will do a drive around Saturday and decide the best approach.

Keeps me busy and it's good exercise. :rolleyes: :)
 
Dang, you do have a lot of work to do! And it's getting "hot" already! Keep plenty of water on hand and work early in the mornings.

Look what appeared on our driveway two times this week!
IMG_0411.jpg Mikes says it is a rat snake (black snake) and it is harmless. They eat moles, rats, etc. But I don't care, it needs to go away. I watched it sliver into the wooded area at the back of the picture. This ole gal will be stepping high when I have to mow again. Maybe some steel toed boots are in my future! I don't like any kind of snake!
 
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