My OperaThird spring days in a row that feels like summer
Wednesday, April 10, 2013 9:49:31 PM
Well here it is Wednesday, and the temp is 91. Been busy this week. On Monday, Bill, a close neighbor, came over with his tractor and 8' tiller and got the garden dug for Kari, my daughter who is coming home this weekend, to plant it. Tuesday, I bought lime and 10-10-10 fertilizer and spread in the site. Today Bill came back and tilled the nutrients in.
It was time for me to get the garage cleaned up a tad after winter today. I got the self propelled mower out, gased her up and cut grass around the house. Then I took the new riding mower and rode around for a while to make sure it was ready for later in the season. Then I took the ancient jury rigged Rider, pumped air into tires, and charged the battery. Finally got her going and rode her around for a while too. She did not blow smoke at all today. I took her on mowing maneuver through some rough growth long the electric line. I most likely will take the mowing deck off of it and just use it to pull my wagon full of tools around the property, later on. The thing is so old that there is no way to keep the blades from turning. I fear I will get carless and get a foot or arm in the wrong spot.
I only paid $150 for it a few years ago. Just purchased new blades and changed the oil a few times. But I really do not need it as a mower, so it needs to be converted to a new use, as long as it keeps running.
We had to have a deep well dug last winter, well in January. The board well is only thirty three feet deep and only has a foot of water in it. New well is 145 feet deep. the red clay went for 80 feet before the well digger hit granite. He drilled with another bit from 80' to 145' and placed plastic pipe in the 80' of dirt with a rubber seal that they pounded into granite as a seal. He says the new well provides 48 gallons per minute and will never go dry. I sort of wonder about that and do not plan to waste water, just in case.
What else? OH, I have to pull weeds out of the rose gardens. They look more like dandelion gardens at the moment. Rose bushes seem to be growing well this spring. I did not chop them back so far last autumn. I do have to transplant one Rose plant though. It gets to much shade where it is now. It is one of the Knock Out variety that grow as a tree does when in the sun. There is another one by my garage that I grew from a cutting about 5 years ago. It grows like crazy this time of year, but is under an oak tree which shades it later when its leave come; I might transplant it too.
My wife ,Ann, does not like the Knock Outs much. They are somewhat resistent to disease and the Japanese beetles we get in July and August. She likes varieties that are susceptible to everything. What can one expect from a person who orders a cheeseburger without cheese or anything else; just meat in a bun. Ah Ha, True!
It is about 5:30 PM. I am sitting outside in my wife's "Zen" garden one finger typing this on Kari's old MAC Book. Luckily my WIFI gets out here. I am living on a lot that basically looks like a slice of pie. The big end faces east the point faces west. So where I am now is shaded and there is a nice breeze. I am surrounded by a forest of Pine and various hardwoods, most at least 30 feet tall now. Anyway, I like sitting out here and to listen to the wind in the trees. It is like being on the ocean. I can hear wind in the trees way off heading my way, as one would hear a wave on the ocean approach. Most of the time wind goes west to east or south to north. Sometimes there is no wind, especially in summer when it is hot. I like to sit in the yard on the south side, front, and yell out loud, "I need a breeze down here." Sometimes I get one, but not for long enough. Ha!
It was time for me to get the garage cleaned up a tad after winter today. I got the self propelled mower out, gased her up and cut grass around the house. Then I took the new riding mower and rode around for a while to make sure it was ready for later in the season. Then I took the ancient jury rigged Rider, pumped air into tires, and charged the battery. Finally got her going and rode her around for a while too. She did not blow smoke at all today. I took her on mowing maneuver through some rough growth long the electric line. I most likely will take the mowing deck off of it and just use it to pull my wagon full of tools around the property, later on. The thing is so old that there is no way to keep the blades from turning. I fear I will get carless and get a foot or arm in the wrong spot.
I only paid $150 for it a few years ago. Just purchased new blades and changed the oil a few times. But I really do not need it as a mower, so it needs to be converted to a new use, as long as it keeps running.
We had to have a deep well dug last winter, well in January. The board well is only thirty three feet deep and only has a foot of water in it. New well is 145 feet deep. the red clay went for 80 feet before the well digger hit granite. He drilled with another bit from 80' to 145' and placed plastic pipe in the 80' of dirt with a rubber seal that they pounded into granite as a seal. He says the new well provides 48 gallons per minute and will never go dry. I sort of wonder about that and do not plan to waste water, just in case.
What else? OH, I have to pull weeds out of the rose gardens. They look more like dandelion gardens at the moment. Rose bushes seem to be growing well this spring. I did not chop them back so far last autumn. I do have to transplant one Rose plant though. It gets to much shade where it is now. It is one of the Knock Out variety that grow as a tree does when in the sun. There is another one by my garage that I grew from a cutting about 5 years ago. It grows like crazy this time of year, but is under an oak tree which shades it later when its leave come; I might transplant it too.
My wife ,Ann, does not like the Knock Outs much. They are somewhat resistent to disease and the Japanese beetles we get in July and August. She likes varieties that are susceptible to everything. What can one expect from a person who orders a cheeseburger without cheese or anything else; just meat in a bun. Ah Ha, True!
It is about 5:30 PM. I am sitting outside in my wife's "Zen" garden one finger typing this on Kari's old MAC Book. Luckily my WIFI gets out here. I am living on a lot that basically looks like a slice of pie. The big end faces east the point faces west. So where I am now is shaded and there is a nice breeze. I am surrounded by a forest of Pine and various hardwoods, most at least 30 feet tall now. Anyway, I like sitting out here and to listen to the wind in the trees. It is like being on the ocean. I can hear wind in the trees way off heading my way, as one would hear a wave on the ocean approach. Most of the time wind goes west to east or south to north. Sometimes there is no wind, especially in summer when it is hot. I like to sit in the yard on the south side, front, and yell out loud, "I need a breeze down here." Sometimes I get one, but not for long enough. Ha!
