A Sunday of Cleanup and Buildup

Sunday was a busy day, although not horribly so. The temperature wasn't too hot and there was a gentle breeze, a nice change from the storms of earlier in the week. The first thing we did was pull the pickup out of the garage and start filling the back with branches that the wind had knocked off our trees. We joined a line at the compost area, but were one of the first eight trucks allowed in and our load wasn't nearly as bad as the truck ahead of us which appeared to be holding the remains of at least one tree. 

The truck ahead of us at the compost looked like it was holding
the remains of a good sized tree. Our load wasn't nearly as large,
heavy and bulky. Almost everyone was depositing branches and
storm damaged brush and I'm quite sure the compost was a very
busy place on Sunday. 

After depositing our branches, we headed back and DH started working on the flooring for Woodshed #1 while I investigated his progress on the eastern drainage. We discovered, during the STORM, that we got backup and problems with the drainage catchment because of leaves and other detritus being carried down from the roof. Although we discussed putting river rock levees in the ditch, we decided to try screening first, so DH laid several pieces of screen down the ditch. 

I don't know how well you can see it, but there's a section of heavy-duty
screen across the river rocks in the middle of the photo. 

He also broadened the catchment basin itself and raised it several more inches in height. I think it will work well, but he wants to see if he can lower it back another 1-2 inches since he'll need to grade the side yard to be level. Every inch of height requires a lot more compacted dirt before we can add sod and grass seed. 

He widened out the catch basin to hold more water before
overflowing. 

He also raised the walls of the catch basin. It's now probably around four
inches or so high. It's actually a bit too high, so we'll probably pull it
down an inch or two, but this should help the flow of water quite a lot. 

After he got the cross-hatched flooring attached and screwed in, we worked together to get the two angled side pieces of the roof framework on shed #2 clamped into position. He'll work on that today, but his major job today is getting sod for the base of the shed structures. He seeded it, and the compacted dirt held up very well in the storms of last week, but we need to anchor the soil into place as quickly as possible. 

The first thing he did was cut the flooring to size and
attach both layers. screwing every board into the
framework or the board below it. It needs to be very
sturdy, it's going to be holding a lot of weight. 

After he was finished with the flooring, we started working
on the roof for the second unit. It's only held in place
by clamps right now, but the angles and the inclination
are almost identical to the first unit. It's a bit harder to
work on Unit #2 because it's up to high on the dirt berm. 

So a trip to Home Depot is on DH's agenda today - a very dangerous place to go - LOL. Then again, the Home Depot credit card is totally his own card, and he pays it, so I don't have issues. Have a wonderful and fabulous Friday and please, stay safe, be well, and wear your mask. I'll be back tomorrow. 

Black Dirt Leads My Thoughts to Construction - Real and Imagined

Yesterday morning Fra-Dor delivered a 1/2 ton of black fill dirt to my front yard. DH snapped a picture and sent it to me, and I'm sharing with you. If you never knew what 1/2 ton of dirt looked like, now you do - LOL. It took him more than 25 wheelbarrow loads to get it moved from the front yard to the backyard where it's now all happy under tarps to protect it from the rain we should be getting tonight. He's already using it, of course. The first thing he did was start working on that stone drainage which now has been extended and given extra height to avoid spillovers. 

A half-ton of black dirt doesn't look like much in the yard, but it
actually is a LARGE pile of dirt and took DH more than two
hours to get moved from the front yard down to the back, one
wheelbarrow full at a time. 

When dealing with large piles of dirt and many man-hours of shoveling and moving dirt, it makes me have great admiration for the construction of places in our past. Mankind has lofty ideas when it comes to architecture, and some of the most amazing structures were made long before the equipment we have today. No machinery, just sweat and brawn. 

Gobekli Tepe in Turkey is widely considered to be the world's first
temple and predates Stonehenge by more than 6000 years. It's
an amazing place and would be awesome to actually visit, although
I doubt I'll ever get the opportunity. 

Just think of it - the great Pyramids of Egypt, the vast cities of the Mayan people, Gobekli Tepe in Turkey, Petra in Jordan, and several mountains that are really tombs in China. All of these places built by human beings (unless you subscribe to the "Ancient Aliens" school of thought), one shovel at a time, one rock at a time. It's one of the reasons why I became an archaeologist those many years ago. I was in awe when confronted by the achievements of our distant ancestors. I still am. 

Many of you are familiar with Tikal and other Mayan ceremonial
centers, but were you aware of what LIDAR is now showing us about
Mayan civilization? Take a look.

LIDAR reading over the jungles show vast cities of the Mayan
civilization still uncovered and waiting to be explored.
Sometimes modern technology can be so amazing! 

So I'm peppering this post with a few posts of the more famous places I mentioned above, and admit that I also think of the huge effort put forth by the Dwarves in the halls and mines of Moria. I know Moria is fictional, but what an incredible place. It took the Fellowship three days to walk from back door to front chasm and bridge through hallways, passages and vaulted rooms of immense size, all excavated by hand. 

Getting through the Mines of Moria isn't easy, but of the many
areas of Middle Earth I've wandered through in my 13 years of
playing Lord of the Rings Online, Moria is my favorite. I'm
always a bit sad when I leave it behind, even though I miss the
open skies and the fresh breezes. 

Have a great Friday and be kind to one another. I'll be back tomorrow. Be well, stay safe, and please, wear a mask. 

Loads of Dirt and Hard Work

When I got home from the shop yesterday, DH was dragging. He was exhausted from working on the woodshed and drainage all day. He started his day by going to Fra-Dor, one of the area's major suppliers for construction grade landscaping materials in the Twin Cities. He's been there often over the past few years and has an account with them. He arrange to have a 1/2 ton of black fill dirt delivered to the house on Thursday morning, and took a half-yard home with him in the pickup for the day's work. So his day started by hauling dirt - a lot of it - all around the yard, from top to bottom.

We've got a black dirt delivery scheduled for Thursday morning. It's
not large enough to justify the large truck like this, it'll use the
smaller dump truck. But it's still just dumped onto our front lawn
and from that point, it's up to DH to move it wheelbarrow
load by wheelbarrow load. 

After he got the dirt where he wanted it and pounded and packed it down, he finished grading the woodshed and installed landscaping cloth and edging around it, filling it in with river rock. We had a pile of river rock next to the house for a couple of years. It was dirty and filled with muck and junk, so he had to wash and screen the rock before hauling it over to the shed and putting it down. It was backbreaking, exhausting work and he was hurting BIG TIME by the end of the day. But the shed is looking really good with the grading, the landscaping ground cloth barrier and then the edging and the rocks. It's pretty darned awesome. I'll post photos tomorrow, if I can get some good ones today.

The size truck delivering our dirt is closer to this size. Still a
good sized truck, but not as long as the one above. This is
just about the maximum length that can actually get into and
out of our driveway. 

Today's tasks are several besides the usual laundry and general housecleaning. Highest on my list is cleaning the printer rollers of my main inkjet printer. I'm getting too many times when the paper stack is low and multiple pages are pushed through at a time. That's because the rollers aren't gripping correctly, so I'll have to get them cleaned off. It's not a horrible task, but will require putting the printer onto its' side, pulling the paper cartridge trays out, and working on the interior of the printer - something I don't usually do. But, I've disassembled and reassembled computers before - this has to be easier. I need my printer fully operational - it's my workhorse.

When we need larger quantities of landscaping supplies, we head
over to Fra-Dor. They supply both individuals and commercial
companies with a full range of landscaping supplies. Over the
years that DH has been working on the back yard project,
we've purchased many tons of dirt and Class 5 gravel from them. 

DH and I have both been working hard on furnishing our houses on Lord of the Rings Online. I'll try and take some screen shots to share today. I'm very pleased with my cave - it came together beautifully. I'm less pleased with the house that goes with the cave, but it'll get there. My mountain house, on the other hand, is jelling nicely. I'm VERY pleased with it. I have several walls waiting for specific items (maps or pictures) so I'm tempted to shelve the house decorating in a day or two and push onward with questing. The items I need come along as available options when I'm farther along in the game. Although I've played the game on and off for thirteen years, I'm definitely a turtle - preferring to slowly explore and enjoy each area of Middle Earth before moving on to the next.

On that note, I have laundry calling my name. It's Wednesday, and I hope your day is glorious. Only good things for all of my readers today, and I certainly plan on being back tomorrow. Have a great day, stay safe, be well and please, wear a mask!

It's Post 3500! Where Has The Time Gone?

I truly have no idea when I first posted in my blog. I tried to look it up, but didn't really feel like spending what seemed like forever moving down listings of previously published content. Blogger keeps track of number of posts, however, so I know that today is rather momentous - Post Number 3500! 

Today is the 3500th post in my blog, so I'm celebrating 
with all of you. I write my blog six days a week most 
weeks, approximately 300 posts in an average year. That 
means I've been posting for almost twelve years now. 
I guess I can call this a habit. 

If you're astonished that I could find so much to blab on about for such a long time ... I am too. I never really thought I would start this and allow it to become a habit, but it's actually a good one for me. It allows me to clear my mind, organize my thoughts, and touch base with people. I suppose if I don't post for a few days and I haven't announced a vacation or other reason beforehand, the police should be called. LOL

The small wall at the upper right side is a new 
addition DH made on Saturday. Fortunately his 
saw made the two cuts he needed before it died. 
*sigh* It's another part of our never-ending 
fight with water and drainage and will help keep 
moisture away from our house foundations. 

DH and I worked on the woodshed for most of yesterday. He had hoped to get the roof put onto it, but we didn't get quite that far. Still, we got the rafters cut properly and affixed, and the fascia attached, front and back. I took photos and I'll share them a bit later in the week. We have the shed all wrapped up again now, and he said he'll start work on the second unit on Tuesday, weather permitting. He's never made something with a roof before, so it's a learning experience for him. 

On the lower yard, he extended the water 
system we already had worked on earlier this 
summer, pulling it across the yard and towards 
the creek. We're not sure we like this, and it 
may not have to be this extensive. We'll 
re-evaluate this and might pull it back out 
to where the final curve begins on the left. 

On Saturday, since it was supposed to be a rainy day (which barely happened), he concentrated on a small upper wall improvement and an extension to the drainage ditch that we may pull back out again. Or not. Crossing the extension is a PITA and he needs to bring wheelbarrows across regularly, so unless he builds a bridge (also on his "maybe" list), we'll probably pull the extension back out and replace the soil. 

On that note, I'm off to find pictures for this and then eat breakfast and leave for work. Have an excellent Monday and enjoy your day. Be kind, be safe, and please wear a mask. 

The Woodshed Is Becoming Real Now

While I've been dealing with what seems like WAY too many doctor and lab appointments (all finished now, though, and all with good results), DH has been working on getting the woodshed from paper to reality. He's been planning this for years, and this was the year to tackle this project. He wants to remove the piles of cut wood we have surrounding us so that he can expand the garden and work on the upper trellis. Today's blog will be a lot of photos to show why we're building the woodshed and how progress is coming along. 

Looking behind our patio table and chairs, you can get an idea of
what I'm talking about when I mention logs waiting for the
woodshed. Let's take a closer look. 

To my left, as I sit at the table, are these logs. They have
wonderful mushrooms on the ends, and I'm sure they're
home to all sorts of interesting things, but they're a
bit oppressive too. 

Behind me, the pile continues. You can see a bit of the fencing
peering through the upper part of the photo, and that large tree
is actually on the upper terrace level and stretches over the patio
table and chairs, offering shade and protection. 

On my other side, the far side of the table, the wood pile
continues, vying for space with our lillies. I'm quite
fond of the flowers and would love a bit more space
for them. There are some very large logs standing
on end at the far left of the stacked pile. 

First - why a woodshed? Well ... we have a fireplace that we haven't used in years because getting to the wood and having the wood protected from the elements has been next-to-impossible. In the days of the old patio, it was stacked man-high in a rough-and-tumble pile along the eastern side. It made a good wind break. After the patio was constructed, DH moved the wood pile to the back of the curved walls to have it out of the way. It was never going to be the permanent home - a woodshed was always in the plans, but where to put the woodshed and how to construct it took a lot of research and thought. 

He started out by laying out the concrete blocks and leveling them. He
wasn't happy with the final two, so dug them up again and re-did them.
He had pre-cut a 4x4 into shorter sections and had a frame already made
to fit over them to get things aligned perfectly with each other. This was
how last week ended. 

On Tuesday, DH was ready to actually get
started on the construction. He was still working
on the final foundation blocks, but by the
end of the day, had done a preliminary
fitting of the frame around the
4x4 posts. 

This was the year. He tried some things last year that he wasn't happy with, so poured concrete and already prepared post holes were analyzed and largely uprooted and abandoned and a new plan was hatched with specialized concrete blocks for stability placed level in prepared soil (class 5 - remember that from earlier?) and now, bolted to within a inch of life with huge bolts. The darned shed may outlive us! LOL. 

Yesterday, DH kicked into high gear, heading back out
to Home Depot for some new lumber - he wanted larger
boards - and some extreme bolts. (The drillbit is larger
than his drill - a bit frightening.) When I came home last
night, this is what I saw. We're starting to get somewhere
now!

This is my detail shot. You can see the bolts at the
bottom of the framework, top and bottom of each panel.
The drill ran out of power for the final bolt, but he
was able to recharge enough to get it in. Then he
called it quits for the night. Today the build will
progress. I have no idea what the completed shed
will look like, but it's clear in his head. 

So here you have photos of the wood we need to put into the shed (which will be three sections), and the shed as it was as of last night. We're finally getting somewhere with this project, and I'm very pleased that things are finally progressing from paper to reality. 

On that note, I'm plugging in photos and heading up for breakfast before I leave for work. Have an excellent Friday and I'll be back tomorrow. 

The Woodshed Progresses

Apparently I was mistaken, and the frame isn't for my strawberry patch, but is rather a part of the woodshed. That's fine, though. Both projects need to be done, and the woodshed is by far the higher priority - something that's been in the planning stages for several years. 

DH got eight of these concrete blocks. I guess they're really
heavy because he was complaining about how much they
weighed and how difficult it was getting them out of the
truck bed and down to the lower yard. 

The fancy concrete blocks arrived, DH picked them up, and yesterday he was busy digging holes, filling them with Class 5 gravel, setting the blocks at the appropriate levels, and making sure everything will fit together properly. It will be a large shed when it is finally completed, and to "relax" yesterday between physical bouts of pure strain, he researched solar pond pumps. I'm not really sure why, but he said the roof of the woodshed will have the appropriate direction and angle for solar panels. Sweet! Nice to know - LOL. 

Here, he's got the framework around one section of the woodshed, and
is extending eastward into the second section. A third section will still
be added to the left. Yes, it's a big structure, but I think it will be quite
pretty once it's done. The first hole went really well. The second one
was filled with tree roots from a tree we had pulled down, so he had
to cut all of those roots out before he could fill the hole with Class 5
and continue filling and leveling the block for that corner. I'm happy
he's back to building - he gets antzy without an active project. 

Chickie was amazed at the size that DH is making when I showed her the picture above yesterday afternoon. She forgot how many trees we've taken down over the years, and we do actually have two fireplaces, although only the downstairs one has ever been used. We're hoping to be able to use the fireplace again one of these days, and also clear the stacks of logs and wood away from the back of the patio so that we can plant more green plants and flowers. We've been recapturing the lower yard for six years now, and it's getting better and better every year. 

When I'm seated at the patio table, I'm looking East. Behind me, on
top of the "castle" walls he built a few years ago, is at least three feet
of stacked wood, extending from fence to our steps to the upper
yard. It's a lot of wood, and we still have more trees we probably
should cut down, so we can add more wood to the shed after it is
built if we still have room. The woodshed will be to the right,
between our tool shed and the castle walls. 

I'm sure we'll be spending some serious working time on the shed on Sunday. He needs a second person for some of the work, before it can go back to a one-man show. I think I will have earned my rum on the rocks or margarita by the time we're done on Sunday - LOL. Have an excellent weekend, be safe, be kind, and wear your masks. I'll be back on Monday. 

Drainage Ditch in Details - It Was A Perfect Sunday

Yesterday was surprisingly domestic. After breakfast we started heading back outside. The original plan had been to head to Patio Town when they opened at 11:00 am to get one bucket's worth of larger river rock for the last bit of the drainage ditch, and three buckets of limestone (I have no idea where he wants to put the limestone). After a short time he came up to me with his favorite set of knee pads. The elastic was completely stretched out and he needed Velcro extensions added to allow a snug fit once again. 

Our roof is quite large and shallow, and this drainage pipe
carries a large volume of water. We're trying to control
the water flow to eliminate erosion and keep the water
flow away from the walls of the house. On the right side,
he's growing new grass. His job over the past week or
so has been to deepen the ditch and raise the sides. It's
a lot of work. The water exits from the pipe at the top,
splashes across the slabs at the very top, then is
channeled into the drainage ditch. 

After carefully checking the craft room for Velcro (which surprisingly wasn't there), I headed for the den. I knew I probably had some in my sewing closet. Of course, if you recall, my sewing closet was blocked off by a wall of deconstructed boxes and box lids, along with a heavy folded table. I started moving things away and before long, I actually had my sewing closet free of the barricade. And inside, as I suspected, some Velcro for the project. Grabbing a needle, some thread, and some Goo Gone (the Velcro was adhesive backed, which always builds up terribly on the needle and the thread when sewing through it), I settled down under the patio umbrella to sew for a while. 

The water continues down the drainage ditch towards
the bottom back yard. Here, it's probably close to a
full foot deep. He's planted Lily of the Valley on
the west side between the ditch and the house just
for me. He knows I adore Lily of the Valley. 

It was really pleasant to be stitching outdoors in the soft breeze and in the shade. I was able to get the knee pads back to wearable condition fairly quickly, while DH wore his second-best set of knee pads and worked on laying a wall in the upper yard. I did take a quick break to put the baby back ribs into the crock pot for dinner, but was back quickly. After I was finished sewing, DH said we'd skip Patio Town. He wants to possibly change how he wants the very bottom of the drainage ditch to run. It's going to take a bit more thinking. But so far, the deepened drainage is working very well. 

Looking at the whole thing once again. He
still needs to carry the water from left to the
right across the property. For that, he's thinking
minimal rocks, but some bumpers to help
control the waterflow. It's all in his head
right now - but I'm sure I'll love the end
result. 

We ended up with a lovely day, although I did break a drinking glass in the late afternoon - just slipped out of my hand in the kitchen sink. I'm not sure if I have a replacement in that size. If not, I may have to check out Target on Wednesday. All in all, it was a good day, though - a relaxing day, but a day where we also got some work done. Now it's back to the grind for another week. Be safe, be kind, and please, wear a mask! I'll be back tomorrow. 

With A Crash and Bolt of Lightning, The Rain Came

With a crash, followed by driving rain and lots of lightning, I was pulled from sleep in the wee hours of the morning. We knew we were going to have serious rain with high winds, but the times kept getting switched from 1:00 am onward. In reality, it hit sometime shortly after 3:00 am and lasted for 30-45 minutes before moving onward. DH awakened and moved through the house, checking to make sure we weren't flooding (we've had flooding issues with hard rains in the past). Everything seemed fine, so he went back to bed. I didn't even bother getting up. 

We had been having overflow problems in high
rains, so we picked out larger rocks to frame the
channel with and increased the depth and height of
the banks with more river gravel to
control the water flow. Of course, a hard
rain so soon after he reseeded the
grass probably toasted the new sprouts, 
but we'll know more after the sun
rises and we can take a closer look. 

He's been working on the drainage along our eastern side, between the house and the creek. Last Sunday we pulled the rocks from the bed of our drainage passage and deepened and raised the bank where we had overflow problems. We got about half-way on Sunday and he finished the job as far as he could yesterday. His back is killing him now - it's a lot of work. But he really did a beautiful job. 

I love attending the MN Renaissance Festival. It's
grounds and layout are almost like a second home
at the end of summer, early fall. We start out with
temps in the 80's and 90's and end up with
temps in the 60's and 70's. We always have a
good time. 

I emailed the folks at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival and they moved our season tickets from 2020 to 2021. The new tickets were emailed to me yesterday and I've printed them out. I'll grab a file folder for them from the shop today so I don't lose them, and we'll be set. We'll probably attend this year's Fest at least once, but now we won't be "obligated" to attend every week. I'm hesitant to commit to the event with COVID still very much a presence. 

So, that's about it for what's happening in my life right now. Hopefully the new waterflow channel did the trick and we'll be set on our Eastern side. It would be one less thing on the to-do list and one less thing to worry about. Have a wonderful weekend, be safe, be kind, and please, wear a mask! 

Stay at Home - Day 23 - It Was a Nice Weekend

Saturday was a beautiful, warm, and sunny day with some wind, but that was OK. DH had been watching the weather carefully and decided Saturday would be a great day to bring the grill out of the storage shed and grill some steaks for dinner. Yummy! I thought that was a great idea. 

Here, we've cleaned off the patio, pressure washed the umbrella,
and washed the table and chairs. We bought the patio set
when we moved into the house in the 1980's, so we've had it
a long time. We spend a lot of time in the summers sipping
drinks on the patio, protected from the sun by the umbrella
(and a nice, wide-brimmed hat that I always wear). 

To do that, though, we had to do some spring cleaning on the patio and the backyard that we really spend most of our time in. I pulled the pressure washer out of the storage shed and attacked the patio table umbrella - dirty and with some patches of mildew from years of neglect (we love the umbrella and are always looking for a replacement, but we really like our stripes, the colors, etc, and haven't found a good replacement after years of looking). So, I attacked the umbrella with the pressure washer and then with a stiff brush. It looks great - happy and drying in the sunshine while we swept and raked away the last leaves of the autumn season. 

A small patch of snow in my front yard, in a shady
space that usually has a mountain of snow in the
height of the winter season, is all that remains of
the cold season. We're into Spring now, and this
probably has melted away by today. 

While driving out to the Post Office on Saturday morning, I noticed a single patch of snow still in my front yard, so I took a picture to celebrate the last of the 2019-2020 season of snow. We're finally into warmer temperatures and it's time to truly celebrate Spring. When coupled with our enforced Stay-at-home regulations (until May 4th), I'm settling in quite well and I'm really happy. I'm enjoying sleeping later, being less rushed and less stressed, and I'm relaxing more than I have in years. COVID-19 may be a disaster worldwide, but I'm enjoying some aspects of it. 

From the East towards the West, looking across the patio to the table
nestled in the curve of the wall. DH spent a very hard year working
on making the walls and the staircase to the right (not visible in
this photo). We hired a firm to grade the rest of the backyard and
set the patio for us, although we purchased all of the bricks and sand
necessary. They actually did a decent job - not fabulous, but I really
can't complain. It's a nice herringbone pattern. The stacked logs
will be put into the woodshed after DH has built that. It's high
on his list for this summer. 

So, on that note, I have given two views of our patio area - facing to the west where we have our rounded walls that DH built several years ago, and facing to the east where we will build the wood shed on the far left this summer, and maybe, someday, a pergola at the far edge of the grassy area. But that's for the future, and right now, we're concentrating on making it day-by-day. I hope all of you are healthy. Stay safe, stay home, stay well. I'll be back tomorrow. 

Tiny Wildlife in My Garden

Yesterday, the 4th of July, was a relaxing day. I had planned to help DH clean out the backyard gutters (a two-person job for safety's sake), but he decided we deserved a relaxed day instead, and we swept off the patio instead. One of the items on the patio was the old, rusted wheel barrow. We have it turned face down to keep water from accumulating in it, and it's just rusted enough to have one corner with a small gap. Apparently it was being used by a miniature toad, because he was quite unhappy when we removed his safe roof. 

This little guy had been hiding underneath our old
wheelbarrow. To get an idea of size, that's a maple
seed in front of him. He's really tiny. I love our
toads - we actually have quite a few of them sharing
our upper and lower yards. 

After a while, he moved into the grass, and for all I know he's back underneath the old wheel barrow again. After the patio was clean, we moved up to our second seating location to get away from the kids next door who were setting off fireworks while their Dad was building a wooden structure of some sort in the backyard. Our second seating is underneath a large maple tree in the middle of the upper yard. Looking over to my right, I saw another toad - this time on the hunt because he wasn't there long. 

This little toad in the upper backyard is on an old patio
brick. He wasn't there long, but long enough for me
to take a quick photo. 

Looking around me, I also saw this little odd bit of wood. Doesn't it rather look like a lizard slinking toward me? I loved the texture and could imagine eyes so easily. 

This log looked rather like a lizard slinking its
way through the undergrowth. I love the
different patterning of the bark and can almost
imagine eyes and a little forked tongue. 

So that was my 4th of July. Quiet, spent outdoors for much of it, and topped off by a lovely dinner that DH cooked on the charcoal grill. We had a delightful day off, but it's back to routine today. I hope all of you had a great mid-week holiday (if you're in the USA), and enjoyed your Thursday too. I'll be back tomorrow and I'm already looking forward to Sunday and one more day in my garden. 

Sunday - Sun, Thunderstorms, and Calm

Sunday was bright sunshine followed by pouring rain and thunder followed by clearing skies and sun once again. We grabbed the first sunshine opportunity to sit outside with our morning tea and coffee and the Sunday newspaper (in my case, the Sunday comic pages and my latest book). It was a delightful hour or so. 

When I'm sitting at the patio table enjoying my
drink of tea or whatever, this is my view. It's
wonderful, full of growing things, and certainly
turning into my happy place. 

After a while, the skied clouded up. I've had a maple tree growing in my front yard corner that I've been bugging DH to remove for two years or so. He took it into his head that today was the day and he knew just where he wanted it - helping to block line-of-sight from the Alzheimer's facility across the creek from us to our patio, and vice versa. 

This maple was growing next to the garage, and
I really didn't want a tree in that location. I asked
DH to pull it last year, but he didn't. Apparently
yesterday afternoon was the right time to
transplant it to the eastern bank. 

As we were watering the maple into its new home, the wind whipped up, the clouds roiled, and it looked like thunder and rain were going to hit quickly and hard. Indeed, that's exactly what happened, and a brief, but intense rain hit. Of course, we were both out under umbrellas, checking out the new drainage DH has been working on. It actually worked pretty well, just a couple of spots will need altering. We also put "clean the back gutters" onto the list for either the 4th or the upcoming weekend. Some serious blockages going on in there that have to be cleared. 

If you look in this longer view, you can see the
window of the Alzheimer's facility on the far
side of our creek. The window looks directly over
to our patio and patio table. I'm hoping the maple
will grow well and start to block their view of
us and our view of them. 

Afternoon naps, gourmet sausages for dinner, and "Endeavor" on the TV to round out the night made for a lovely Sunday. Today starts out with a bang - a shortened workout at the gym, quickly run to the shop and get the computers powered up, then off to an appointment with my doctor for my annual physical, then back to work. No time for breakfast today, I'm afraid. I'll have to grab a quick protein bar at the shop later. And so, I'm off. Have a wonderful Monday, stay cool and comfortable, and I'll return tomorrow. Have a great July 1st!