May 24, 2004

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  update: pictures added at bottom.

  
  

   

  
  

   

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  THIS WAY UP á

  adifrentdrumr has fragile contents which may break!

  
  

  
   

  
  

  
  

  Username:
  

  
  

  From Go-Quiz.com

  
  

   

  
  

  Thanks, Morgane, for the link. This warning label suits me just fine today.

  
  

  

  
  

   

  
  

  Taking it Easy.

  
  

  Yep, not an easy thing for me to do most of the time, but today, it is precisely what I am doing. I have been pushing myself far too much lately, and physically, I just hit the near-breaking point. With temperatures in the upper 80′s and heat indexes more like August than May, physical labor outdoors can kick the crap out of you really fast.

  
  

  And in my usual unbridled enthusiasm for home beautification projects, I asked a bit more from my joints and muscles than they were ready to give. When my knee started giving way and hyperextending at odd moments (with stabbing pain for punctuation) on Saturday, I figured it was a warning from my body that I had better let my muscles and stuff have a little resting time between workouts.

  
  

  But Bernie was off from work yesterday, and finally willing to work out in theyard with me,so I just took some more ibuprofen for the inflammation and kept on going. After I was done, I soaked in a hot bath for a while, and took some ore ibuprofen at bedtime.

  
  

  Then I found out he was going in today for overtime on his second day of his “weekend” so I decided to take the day off and stay off my feet. The heat and humidity are quite oppressive today, that hazy, hot humid feeling that is just begging for a thunderstorm to clear the air. But since I was still thinking I might go outside and work a little on the bamboo grove project later on, I didn’t turn the airconditioners on. Once I turn the air on it is nearly impossible for me to make the transition to outdoors. But here I am, still inside, staying off my aching feet/legs/knees…

  
  

  I did get up for a while to clean up the kitchen, do the dishes and scrub the sink. I have been working so much outdoors, that the inside chores have been getting overlooked. I gathered up the laundry, but it hasn’t gotten any further than the middle of the living room floor. All those trips up down the basement stairs to the laundry room, well, I will get to that later, too.

  
  

  And after dinner, I have to go out and water all the plants thoroughly, because they are surely sufferring fromt he heat, too. Of course as soon as I am done watering, that is when we will most likely finally get rain…

  
  

  Anyway, it feels good to take it easy. The weather is supposed to cool off a bit tomorrow and even more toward the end of the week. The yard work will still be there waiting for me.

  
  

  

  
  

  I went out a little while ago and took some pictures, an update of the backyard projects. I will post them soon. Bernie just came home from work so I guess I will go see what’s on his mind tonight. And figure out what’s for dinner, too.

  
  

  Hope your Monday was as quiet and uneventful as mine!

  
  

  

  
  

  Ok, here are the pictures of the latest progress on the outdoor project:

  
  

  Potted Plants on the Patio

  
  

  The old patio may not get removed/replaced soon, but at least it has some potted plants to spruce it up a bit.

  
  

   

  
  

  There are more potted flowers over on the other side of the house, too. You can also see another of my pending projects in these photos — scraping and painting that trim on the house, and the cellar door!

  
  

  

  
  

  these two tomato plants (one grape, one cherry) are the extent of my veggie garden this year

  
  

  The Baby Plant “Nursery”

  
  

  

  
  

  Starter pots of daylily and ornamental grasses — waiting to grow a bit before getting planted in the ground.

  
  

  

  
  

  Bamboo Grove Update

  
  

  My baby bamboo plants are on their way from Oregon today. Hopefully the grove will be ready when they arrive. I am now installing the rhizome barrier made of patio blocks standing on end, It will be lined with strips of vinyl to keep the runners from spreading through the cracks between the blocks.

  
  

   

  
  

  After the rhizome barrier is installed, I need to sift the rocks out of the clay soil I removed from the hole and fill it about a third of the way back up with clay soil. The remainder will be filled with a mixture of clay soil, peatmoss, humus and composted manure (the good shit *LOL*) Then all I have to do is put the plants in, water, mulch, and water, water, water….

  
  

  Look how my raspberry plants have grown!

  
  

  

  
  

  A couple of short weeks ago they were just bare sticks. Now they have lots of leaves and the beginning of some branches.

  
  

  Apparently Dolly is watching to see when raspberries are actually going to appear on these little sticks.

  
  

  Well, it really looks like it is going to rain any minute, and they have posted severe storm warnings. I made sure nothing light was loose outdoors to blow away, and I hope Mother Nature does my watering for me.

  
  

  

  • 8:05 pm
  • 8 Comments