Yard work...uffdah

Here is an update on the shed! 

Getting there!

I'm going to toss some good dirt down in the spot below as soon as they pick up those last pieces. Then I'll add some wild flower seeds to the soil. It will be interesting to see what pops up.

I can't mow that spot anyway and I hate week whacking.

Here is a shot of the old wash tub I saved from the crushed garage. It was NOT crushed! The scrap dudes got it out for me. That was the only thing I wanted from the garage.

I put this tub on the area I have to dig up every three years for a septic inspection.

I'll put showy begonias in the tub for some early bright colors.
 

One of the shops that sells, liquor, vape stuff, tobacco, fireworks, tools, clothes, and other odds and ends put up a little greenhouse this year.

I like their little store. I can get soil, mulch, and most of my garden needs within 3 miles from home. Their prices beat everyone else.

In our area, there seems to be an Amish greenhouse or a pop up greenhouse all over the countryside.

Forgive the shot of the crushed garage in the background. But it is THERE! My hopes are to have it demolished and graded out before spring is done! It will improve the view out my back door and bedroom 100%. 

With Hannah as the new helper extra-ordinaire, I have ended up needing to fence off the little gardens. 

She thinks they are great places to do her business or to dig for moles and voles.

I have light fencing that I cut up with wire cutters and surrounded the area. It does the job for now. 

I ordered some pretty fence pieces to put around the gardens to remind Miss Hannah to stay out of those areas.

I stopped in to check on the Country Clipper to see what the hold up was and...whoopsie! The guys hadn't done it yet. Mark looked shocked and his co-manager found the mower and came back saying somehow they never made up a work ticket. 

Well, I've done business with these guys for 30 years, so I just shrugged. Mark said I must be cussing them out when I mowed with the little mower.  I'm sure they have many customers that get all "Karen" on them. I'm not one of those. They'll have to me shortly.

After all, I did the mowing now twice with the little mower. I go at it for two to three hours at a time in the afternoon. I get it done and it looks nice. I think it takes about the same amount of gas to do it with either mower. 

However...

Gas prices jumped 20 cents over night here. I wonder if I will end up fencing off the yard in sections for some rotational grazing. Then I'd just mow the weeds they don't eat. Work less, mow less.

I hesitate to see what the gas without ethanol is going for. Last I got any, it was 5 1/2 bucks. 

I am planting mostly seeds this year. I'm trying to keep the costs for gardening down. 

After a long day working, I dragged out the camp cot and invited the 'kids' to chill out with me.

We ended up sleeping on the porch to test out how warm the sleeping bag would do for a chilly night. 

It did great along with two canine heaters.

Next week I'm going to try putting up the tent and maybe we'll try that out!

Longer Days, Friday the 13th

Here is Charlie giving me a good morning yawn. Yes, he does have his very own kitchen chair that he sits on anytime I am having coffee or eating. 

 

When it starting getting light out we bundled up and headed out for a walk. It was in the teens when we left the house and headed for the ridge.

We are back to doing our dawn walks as the days are a bit longer and when weather was nice. 

This is what we saw in a rather cloudless sunrise.

When we walked to the top of the ridge and looked down across the ridge towards the valley. I saw this.

It was a golden morning.

And it was mesmerizing.

It was a day of activity.  I did CrossFit at the gym with alternating doing 2 minutes of jumping rope and two minutes of deadlifts. 

On my way home I saw Olive and her hubby trying to move a round bale. I stopped and helped out. Three humans acting together can move about 900 lbs of hay.

Charlie and I took off for an afternoon hike. The weather was just too pleasant to stay cooped up in the house.

You guessed it, we went to hunt ice.

Cell phone shot

My Oly Camera

I counted 6 ice flows while walking this trail. I knew of two but over the years I've missed the others. I suspect the melt, the freezing at night, and warming during the day helped create them.

I also know that I couldn't have seen them under the blanket of snow the last time I hiked this trail.

Below is where two ice flows empty into the Kickapoo River.

Little Charlie thought he could just walk up the ice flows. 

He kept trying, he is persistent! Must be the Dachshund in him.

I went above him and when he tried again I assisted by grabbing him by the scruff. 

He was so proud of himself after that. 

Cellphone shot

This was an insanely difficult light to photograph in.  The bright white shiny ice, deep shadows, and brilliant skies make for interesting contrasts but hard to 'get' right in camera. It often confuses the sensors.

I've only hiked this trail in the morning hours and this was the first time with the afternoon sun.

My cellphone actually handled it a bit better than I did. But I guess that is the fun of it all.

Cellphone shot of the area I explored.

It is very steep.

Climbing in and out of there demands the use of saplings, bushes, and trees and a keen sense of balance.

We made it safely to the end of the trail and enjoyed a break from hiking on 'our' log. Dog Cookies, water, and pretzels for me.

The end of the day was as beautiful. I don't think we've seen such a pretty sunset in ages here.

We decided to skip Saturday doings for obvious reasons.

With the nice weather, I worked at raking up pine cones and picking up sticks. I had 3 large wheelbarrows full by mid afternoon. 

When spring does arrive, perhaps I'll have a bit less to rake up.

Onward.

More Outdoor cleaning...

Above. The shot before I started my second day of clean up around the old outhouse. 

I cleaned out the little outhouse and pulled all the buried blocks that made a walkway to it. The poor thing does have a list to it now. The cost of fixing it would be too prohibitive at this point. I thought of painting up the door and fixing the lacey curtains for one last season.

Yes, the walkway is a mishmash of different sized pieces of broken concrete pavers I found behind the garage years ago. I figured to reuse those and all of the bricks I found tossed back in that area. Putting them back down is like working with a puzzle.

I dug out the plants that had been next to the outhouse. One of the peony bushes had been there since 1997. The root ball was monstrous! Pictured is a portion of the root ball. It weighed over 25 lbs. I have two more peonies on the other side of the outhouse that explode with blossoms each spring.

I do love those flowers so I may break this up and put them in other places.

I also removed a huge root ball of Blue Flag Iris. It was huge and apparently loved the spot it was in so much that it expanded. I put a small plant there in 2016. I may break up the roots and see if any neighbor is interested in it.

Below. Done. 

Charlie is watching a hole in the wood in the corner of the outhouse. Apparently there must be mice living in the walls. He stood guard there for a good part of the day while I was digging about.

It's funny how barren this spot looks right now and how it will change in the next month or so.

This fall I'll split up the daffodils I have on the east side of the house and move some to be near this garden. I do love seeing the daffies come up each spring with their yellow cheer.

Over in my Red Shed Shady garden, the Virginia Bluebells are starting to emerge! They are not too far off the mark for showing up. Usually the don't emerge until the first week of April.

I have so many other projects to get done, but I am happy to have finished up the work I've neglected for a few years.

I know it is too early to plant flowers, but I'm already planning my zinnia garden. Yippee!

Uffdah

I was hoping to keep it simple this week... Hmmm.

Monday was hubby's annual wellness checkup and nothing has really changed from last year. His legs are swelling up so she had some hints for him to help him with that. Time was of the essence for the appointment as the highway department was getting ready to close a bridge because the Kickapoo River was rising rapidly.

Monday afternoon we got a visit from the Oxygen folks.

We received a portable oxygen concentrator which should give Rich more mobility. It is easier to carry a satchel type item than to drag around a tank. The VA Home Oxygen lady was a great educator. Much better than the person they had previously.

This afternoon, I'm getting a visit from a fellow named Dunnum. He runs a company that does tree trimming, brush hogging, landscaping, cleaning up old junk piles,...delivering hay...

well.... 
you name it, and his folks will do it apparently.

I'm looking to have some trees taken down and two pastures brush hogged along with some other clean up if the prices are right. IF I like his work, I'm gong to have him come twice a summer to brush hog down the weeds in my main pastures. It would save me so much time, frustration, and sweat!

The weather hasn't been conducive for activities outside for even healthy folks. I can get chores done easily, but I am wringing wet by the time I get inside. If I have to do anything for a length of time, I have to wear a gnat net over my hat.

By Wednesday the heat and humidity will come down enough for hubby to enjoy getting on his zero turn and do some mowing.

In other news, our gym now offers a class called Legends. It is for those over 50. The workouts are more personalized and less intense. I love the folks I am working out with. We have a range of ages and abilities. Plus, it is great to meet new people. [most of the folks are wayyy over the 50+ mark!]

One of the ladies just finished up her chemo and radiation, and is gently easing back into fitness and mobility. I have to hand it to her. She makes me feel as if anything is possible. 
We do the same workouts as the regular classes, but with more adjustments. I switched to this class because the scheduling works out much better for me.

I can monitor Rich's morning routine and go to class while he naps.

I still do a regular class once a week so I get 3 days in. It is a win win for me right now. Come winter, I may just stick with the smaller class for us older folks. I think none of us would come when we are sick? Fingers crossed.

Below:
Hummingbird Moth 

on Bee Balm.

Below:

Little Richard

doing yard work on

the hillside.

 If this Dunnum fella is easy to work with. I'll take some shots of what needs to get done so I can have some before and after shots for comparison. 

So many things have been let go since my husband's cancer and stroke that I feel I need to make an effort to get things back on track.

Wish me luck!

Sunday

The early bird gets the sunrise as the days grow longer. The colors are so amazing in the sky as they change so quickly.

In truth, this past week has felt more like mid March or the beginning of April than the last week of February. A year ago we were recovering from a major ice/snowstorm. This year? It is warm and pleasant.
In the morning I need coveralls to do chores. By midday, I can work outside in a sweatshirt.

I started this job:

Believe me, it will be a long long job to do. But since I can't plant a garden yet, raking, picking up sticks and stones will be a good job for me. It is good mindless work that can be done while listening to the birds and the forest noises.

I took a couple of breaks to go out and search for color in the woods. It is hard this time of the year as everything seems to be dull and lifeless.
Except when you look for Lichen and mosses. Then things get colorful.

During our morning walk Charlie and I found snow and ice on the mosses!

...and by a little after lunch time....

The Lichen was quite beautiful. But one has to pick up sticks or crouch down on a look to find the colors.

On a stick:

Lichen and moss on a log. It was so colorful!

Late Sunday afternoon, I took time to just sit on the porch with Charlie and enjoy the warm sunshine.

Charlie enjoyed it immensely.

It seems as though the ducks are starting to try and behave themselves.

Hmmm. There is one in every crowd.

Craaaazzzy!

Photos above. Rich moving waste from Sven's pen and smoothing a path out in the Winter Pasture.

I attached a milk crate on the front of the 4 wheeler and set Charlie in it. He likes to ride there and supervise while I am hauling stuff with the 4 wheeler. I GO super slow with him on board. It is better that he ride there than scrambling around on my lap.

Spring is such a busy time of the year. Everyone is catching up with yard work or planting flowers or a garden.

Mowing the grass is a fun change over plowing and shoveling.

Mornings are glorious and the weather keeps changing so we are kept on our toes.

Most early mornings find me wandering up the road checking out the trees and brush leafing out. I'm still trying to figure out which bush is what. I may be getting a handle on a few trees also. I'm taking a lot of photos, but just leaving them in a file to look at later...

I've been morel hunting without great success but I've found enough to give us a taste. I scored some Golden Oyster Mushrooms and may dry them for soups later. 

Deep Woods Morel
Hunting with chaps on to protect

my legs:

Morels are getting hard to spot if they are small:

The neighbor's woods are 

becoming overgrown with Garlic

Mustard!

Golden Oyster Mushroom

I found yet another newborn fawn while hiking. I just get all mushy inside when I find them. They are beyond adorable.

I am ditching the idea of raising a garden. But I am cobbling together a container garden and dropping it in a section of the yard that is too hard to mow. 

It was never really smoothed out after they made a mess while remodeling the house. Each year I ask to hire someone to come in and re grade it or at least fill the bumps and lumps in to make it a nice section of yard. Each year HE says NO, he'll do it. 

Creative gardening can really help. Years ago there was a huge mess of stumps, rocks, and weeds alongside the little Red Shed. I asked if I could re-purpose it into a shade garden. HE said yes. The garden is pictured below. The area around it is very hard to mow, but I'm working on it!

I'm still not sure what to do with my 'containers'. But I placed them here on the west side of the house and then decided that I want the works to be place on the bumpy place which gets a lot of sun but has nothing but lumpy bumpy sand and clay from the construction on it. 

I plan on putting tomatoes in one or two containers and then filling the pallets with dirt and tossing in wildflower mixes along with sunflowers. Basically just toss in the seeds and see what craziness occurs.

The green container is an old mineral lick tub, I may add a second one. The others are washtubs and the buckets are from Rich's Grandfather's farm. They were used in gathering maple syrup.

I know it is ugly, but with the price of wood or even the price of containers for raised beds being what they are, who really cares??? I think I'll go out and see what goodies our old farm has. 

I even found wagon wheels in the Red Shed! Hmmmm!  I love new projects. I never sit down and draw it out, I just get the pieces and experiment. 

This morning I have a Mobility and Flexibilty Class. I like it a lot since I am constantly on the move and need to keep up my mobility, flexibility, and balance. After all...I wouldn't be able to do what I do if I just sat in a chair and watched TV.

From last week's hike. Photo by Wild Bill:

 Have a grrrreat Saturday.