Rain Rain Go Away

Took this picture and video, click link below, of Sinking Creek in Afton this past Saturday afternoon -

This creek runs parallel to Ripley Island Road and is usually a slow running and winding stream. However, with all the heavy rains we been having, this creek came alive, and overflowed its banks and washed out and over the roads in several spots!

Click link below -

Roaring Sinking Creek

The Nolichucky river was roaring too and running super high -

This is an interesting pic below. It looks like the field of corn is now in the river, the water had risen so high -

Fortunately, it seems the water levels receded fairly quickly once the rains stop but it’s left behind quite a bit of damage once you get off the beaten path.

Being Lazy Doesn't Pay...

The same windstorm we had throughout the day yesterday claimed the neighbors pool, flipped it right over!

Now, understand that my neighbors appear to be very lazy and most definitely not the outdoorsy type, nor big on doing typical lawn care, yard maintenance nor pool maintenance.

The pool survived last winter, which surprised me. This past fall it appeared that they drained the pool but did not winterize it and certainly opted to NOT even bother to cover it for some reason, so I'm not surprised it ended up like this.

It's unfortunate really but comical at the same time. 

You know the ole saying, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"...

Leaning Over

Had a bit of excitement there this afternoon, a BIG dead tree blew over onto the electrical wires and dangling over the roadway!

It's been incredibly windy today, with super strong gusts and this tree fell victim to it all.

Surprisingly, we never lost power or any services, and truth be told it's been a nice several hours with NO vehicle traffic speeding up and down the street since it's been closed.

All in all a pretty good response to get this resolved.

Better Safe Than Sorry!

I learned a hard lesson last winter, the result being a frozen and burst basement pipe!  The burst pipe feed one of my outside spigots.

I have (3) outside spigots and last fall I protected only two of them. The one I failed to cover, is the one that froze.  Suppose that's what 20 years of false security does to you, as I never covered my spigots before and never had an issue.

So, I bought a third styrofoam spigot cover and have installed all three ahead of the coming cold weather. These do make a BIG different and keep the frigid cold air from direct contact with the copper pipes.  A worthwhile investment for sure, especially with what it cost me to have the burst pipe repaired, not to mention the inconvenience of needing to turn the main water to the house off until the repairs were done AND the God awful mess that was made in the basement!

Ah, live and learn!

Oops, We Sprung A Leak!

It was SO windy during the storm we had last week that a new leak appeared over and on our new bay window.  The rain was blowing sideways at times.  However, it's clear that the installers failed to take all the necessary precautions when installing.

Fortunately, it wasn't too bad in terms of the leak, a slower drip drip drip.  What concerns me more is the damage done in the ceiling of the window and the abutting wall and sheet-rock.

The wood, where the water had been pooling, is slightly damaged too -

If this is the extent of our damage we're lucky.

Hosta Damage

Thank goodness that Hosta are a very hardy plant otherwise we wouldn't have a one. They're one of my bestest favorites too with so many varieties to choose from.  I'd guess we have over 15 different kinds throughout or yard.

The hostas we have along the back yard are prime targets of the deer, who appear to love them as much as I do but in a dinner kinda way. They do a number on them year after year eating them to the ground.  The ones in the deer 'safe' zones, and the ones that proudly display their leaves, are victims to another pest, the slug UGG!

The slugs eat the leaves, same as the deer, just at a slower pace.

Here's an example of deer damage -

 More deer damage -

 Slug damage -

More slug damage -

They've both worn their welcome out at the ole homestead!

"What about these pants I got on, think they're okay?

UGH!!

Woke up to this today!

A visiting deer.

The little bugger ate three of our newly planted strawberry plants.

Of course I am NOT please but fortunate that only three were eaten and not the whole lot of fifteen. 

This looks like the only damage done on this visit.  Our other vegetable gardens were spared, thankfully.  However, many of our hosta plants along the back lot have been eaten down to nothing.

There's just no stopping them...

"What about these pants I got on, think they're okay?" -  My Cousin Vinny Deer Scene

Wake Up!!

I was awoken the other morning at 12:30AM to the sound of smashing and breaking glass!!

Not sure what was going on I chose to sit quietly for a couple minutes and waited for Trixie-dog,who sleeps in the kitchen, to give me a sign.

I begin to hear a low, steady growl!

Oh boy, but no other noise, crashing or otherwise.  So, I ruled out a break-in, got up and made my way downstairs.

Low and behold, the picture, which had hung over the mantel for some 12+ years, had given way.  It fell of the wall, hit the mantel, which in turn took our a half dozen framed pictures and a couple nick-knacks.  All fall and crashing on the hearth.  Glass was everywhere, what a mess!

An hour and a half later with the use of a Dyson push vacuum and a Sears shop-vac all the glass was cleaned up and a resemble of order restored.

The picture, which is all scratched from the broken glass and it's trip to the floor, now hangs in our garage.

Darn it!

Darn snowplow driver!

We made it through the entire winter without and damage to the lawn.  Of course, I put away the driveway markers, we have a spring snow storm and there goes a strip of lawn.  Ripped up by the plow, UGH!

It's a good thing I don't pay him.  I think I'll bring this up the next time we're over his house (every Friday night) drinking his beer and eating the pizza he buys for us all.

The nerve, right!

Larry, Daryl and Daryl Construction, Perhaps...

 

So, the town is in the process of replacing the water pipes on our street. What a mess too!  There's pipes, signs, equipment and machinery littering the street, not to mention the new potholes and half assed blacktop patching and paving they've done!

 

Anyway, they've made their way to the stretch of roadway in front of our house, where they've been working for a couple weeks. I'm guessing here but earlier this month they were replacing the water connectors that run to each house.  The pictures above show them tackling the next door neighbors line.  Much to my ire and VERY frustratingly the knuckle-heads thought it OK to back them equipment down onto my lawn and WELL past the property line, like 25' past, UGH!!

 

You can see in the second picture that they've patched their work BUT not all of the damage.  The red lines show just how far down the lawn they went.  They left two deep ruts in the lawn but chose NOT to repair, why?!?!  Good old fashion American laziness is my guess!  So, I called the town hall to log a formal complaint.  I was assured that all damage will be addressed and repaired when the bulk of the work has been completed - new loam, leveling, seeding, etc.

 

We'll see! I will believe it when I see it!