Here is a sampling of the flowers we potted up this Spring, STUNNING, yes?!?!
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
Rodent Rodent Rodent
Once again my patients and persistence has paid off!
The trap has been set for over a month now and low and behold look what ventured it, a young whistle pig!!
And they say, "curiosity killed the cat"...
London Bridges Falling Down!
Worked out of our Boston office yesterday, on the 17th floor. So, I took the Massachusetts Commuter Rail train in from the Norfolk stop, which takes about an hour.
The upper parking lot is as it says upper, so there is a series of concrete stairs that lead down to track level.
This is the condition the stairs were in! Old, dried leaves stuck in the corners, sand littered from top to bottom and stones scattered about. All an accident waiting to happen!
You'd think with the steep prices you must pay for parking, $4.00, and the cost of a round trip ticket, $15.00, the grounds surrounding and leading to the station would be, at least, a-accident-waiting-to-happen clear!
Monday, June 27, 2016
Where Has The Time Gone?!
Tuesday night was Emilie's "Step Up" ceremony!
Looks like we have a high schooler on our hands!
Onto the next chapter of your education!
A VERY proud parent moment!!
Kevin's Ride
Kevin's ride is what we've named this route\ride.
Saturday was an ~178 mile round trip ride down to East Matunuck, RI to Cap'n Jack's for lunch.
This Is NOT Ranger Rick!!
Well surprise surprise!
Here is our bread thief.
I consider myself, but even more so, the rabbits and chickens lucky that this dude was only pilfering bread.
He was climbing up the chicken coop, to the rabbit cage level, and pulling loafs of bread, wrappers and all, through the spare cage used to hold extra goodies for our animals.
Our chickens were in the coop below and a rabbit on either side of the storage cage.
I guess I jinxed us as I was recently saying how lucky we've been that in the 15+ years we'velived here we've never had an encounter with a raccoon.
Boy has that changed!!
Whatcha Lookin At Bub!
Feed us, feed us! We're hungry!
Hey, wait a minute, you're not our mother!
Shhhh...
Pool Plumbing Problems...FIXED!
So, towards the end of last pool season, 2015, I began noticing the water level start to slowly drop. Nothing too extreme but enough to be noticeable and enough to make me worry. Eventually, I figured out that it was dropping only when the pool pump was running. This could only mean one thing, there was a leak somewhere in the "return" plumbing - a hose leak or more likely a fitting had come unsealed.
Thinking of how bad this could be kept me up at night worrying. Wondering if I'd need to begin cutting the concrete decking in and around major areas like the skimmer boxes or each of the three returns, UGH!
I chose to delay worrying about, or looking into this any further, once the pool was closed for the season. However, as opening day approached so did my anxiousness.
Well, as luck would have it the leak presented itself to me! It did so shortly after starting the pump for the first time this season, and did so in the only area that didn't have concrete over top of it, BOO-YEAH!
There's not much space to work in, add the tubing running down and it's more challenging. However, about 12 - 15" down I found the problem - a PVC T-connector had come unglued from it's tubing. We were able to dig down enough to expose all pieces, dry and clean them good and re-apply a generous amount of PVC cement to correct the problem, HOORAY!
The pool now looks like above and has already had a bunch of use!
We got SUPER lucky with this repair.
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
A Late Start This Year...
A little behind with getting our garden started this season.
However, I'm very happy to report that I planted (15) tomato plants and (6) pepper plants. Along with many marigolds and sunflowers.
Hoping to get some cucumbers, corn and broccoli in this coming weekend.
Fingers crossed the deer, rabbit and woodchuck stay away...
Riiiiipppppppppppppppp
Yuppers, we have a pool cover issue...
I supposed after 12 years of solid reliable use it was bound to happen. The seams are simply rotting or melting away. You'd think the manufacturer would use something more durable and long lasting, i.e. fishing line type thread, however, no such luck.
We purchased the cover back on May 28 or 2004 and it came with a 12-year warranty. We removed the cover on 6/5. The tears are a result of us wrangling to get it to the driveway to spread, clean and fold, which simply means it's usefulness has come to an end.
So, I called the manufacturer on 6/7/2016 and...do the math! 10 days past the 12-year warranty, right, UGH!
They opened a claim and asked for photos. There is a slight possibility they'll us some allowance\credit under the warranty towards the purchase of a new cover purchase.
When it rains, it pours!
A Pigs Life...
Nothing better than soaking in a warm puddle on a hot humid day -
Or pig-piling on one another in the cool dirt -
Or some solitude in the shade of your favorite tree -
This rotund lady above is pregnant an her litter is due in about a week. Perhaps why she's enjoying some along time while she can...
Saturday, June 11, 2016
A Sign Of The Times
Saw the funniest thing last Saturday morning. Definitely, and sadly, a sign of the times - a girl riding a horse along the side of the road and........on her phone texting!!
I kid you not!
Bboxelder Bug (Boisea trivittata)
This time of the year the Boxelder bug newborn can be seen massing here and there and everywhere.
They're easy to spot, that's for sure. They don't do any harm that I'm aware of but I don't recall having as many as we have this year, scads of them everywhere.
Close Call, Phew!
This toad got stuck while taking an unapproved dip in the ole pool.
It's a good thing I noticed him before heading off to the office, otherwise I'm not sure he'd of survived.
I asked him to stay in the flower beds and help himself to all the slugs and ants he wants.
Shoo Go Away!
The annoying House Sparrow's that have taken up residence in one of our eaves will NOT take the hint and move on, nope! It's now turned into a game. They start building a nest and I lug the ladder from out back, climbed up and remove all their work. This has been going on all Spring long.
Last weekend I pulled the ladder out again, climbed up and removed the nest again, however, this time there were five tiny, speckled eggs inside.
I gotta give it to them they're persistent little winged pests. They're back at it again, even as I type this entry, tirelessly rebuilding their nest, UGH. Weather permitting, I'll be lugging the ladder back out tomorrow...
Game On!
Noticed that an old woodchuck hole has been reopened this Spring. It's hidden nicely, just under the edge of the pallet of our old wood pile. Of course along with the arrival of this pest(s), many of our perennials along the back property line, have been eaten back something terrible, GRRRR!
So, I pulled the hav-a-heart trap out of storage (above the pallet of our old wood pile) and set it with a nice ear of corn. Unfortunately, no luck luring the woodchuck in, however, a very LARGE opossum was tempted and trapped!
No worries. I'll stay the course and pretty certain that my persistence will payoff. Today, instead of an ear of corn I used a nice BIG piece of broccoli, which I know for a fact is just too tempting for a whistle pig.
Stay tuned...
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