Today’s Finds Given Up By Lake Erie

Whenever I spend too much time indoors, in front of the computer or even when I need a pick-me-up, I head off to my favorite beach on Lake Erie. Unfortunately, I didn’t visit much during the summer. Today, I have been trying to catch up with work deadlines and just needed a break. Even though the weather was cloudy, it was a perfect day for being outside walking along the beach, listening to the water slap against the shore. I always look for beach glass and always find a handful. You can see there is also a piece of pottery and one small rock with an imprint of a fossilized shell, once embedded however millions of years ago. The colors are the usual, clear, green, aqua and brown. I rarely find a cobalt blue glass fragment, and I have never found a yellow or red glass piece.  Another day perhaps.

Chosen

A few months ago, my husband and I were chosen: chosen by a small kitten to be its new family. Actually our dog Barni, saw him first. He was really small and about 4-6 weeks old. So, I started leaving water and food near the porch everyday. Eventually he decided our barn was safer and probably a cozier home. Barni would sniff around the barn to find the cat and soon the cat would venture out of a hole to peer at the dog. Within  two weeks of being chosen, the cat allowed Barni to touch him and they became best buddies. Not long after, the cat allowed me to pet him.

My husband and I love cats. We owned a cat at our previous home in WY. When we moved to NY we decided not to bring the cat as most of my husband’s family is allergic to cats and sadly we were too. So my son and his wife adopted our cat. We both miss “kitty” (so original, don’t you think) and we were only too happy to have another cat in our lives. This cat (known now as Paisley) is an outdoor cat. He has had all of his shots and in two months will be neutered.

Stray cats are a huge problem in the country. I see many cats, especially lurking around the fields in the evening. We are surrounded by cat shelters and they all have more cats/kittens then they can manage. It is not a cheap undertaking to be a responsible pet owner. Paisley has had three vet visits averaging $60.00 a visit, neutering will be at least $75 and /monthly flea/tick treatments, and etc. Everyone knows this. It is no wonder there are so many strays. It is expensive to be responsible.

We live in an area where strays are always prevalent. We were found by another kitten last fall, but it was sickly and eventually was killed by a car. We have had lost dogs on two different occasions find our home. Our Barni was also a rescue dog. She was left at a local auction barn as a puppy and we couldn’t resist her. My husband says we got what we deserved. Barni’s two siblings were sleeping, but we chose the puppy who was running around being cute. Now she is a happy, healthy, overactive adult dog. We chose her and she is very much the queen of the house!

Blessing to all of you who adopt/foster stray animals  and nurture them!!

Blame it on the dog?

Where have I been? I was thinking I am not suited to write a blog, but then thought I really do enjoy it and will try again.

Busy winter and busy spring. This spring I haven’t enjoyed gardening as much yet, but my mother was diagnosed with lung cancer in January, she finished her chemo treatments and the doctors have proclaimed her cancer in complete remission. At the same time, my father-in-law had a heart attack and went through a 6-by pass surgery, an aunt had heart issues and surgery and my first grandchild was born! Whew! Anyway, I am motivated with just one day of sun to get back into my garden and my other outdoor projects.

And how could I forget about our puppy, who is still a puppy, but looks fully grown now and very active. We love her, I should emphasize I love her even though she loves my husband more! I am just the maid; feed, clean and take her outside for potty breaks and walks. I guess I can’t blame her for my lack of writing on my blog, so I only have myself to blame.

A couple of garden projects: I started a patio to put a fire ring and will work on that more today; we bought a rototiller to expand the garden and because my husband likes toys for his tractor; a post-hole digger because we want a secure fence for the dog and because my husband likes toys for the tractor; and new flower beds. Lots to do! Will post pics soon.

What happened!

I last wrote on June 22? What happened to the time? My garden still produced veggies despite the dismal weather; July and September were wet. Lots of Japanese beetles and the blight took my tomatoes and cucumbers. Lots of beans, carrots, peas and beets, so it was okay. And, the garlic did very well. I spent a month in Idyllwild, CA with my husband in July and then August and September just disappeared in a wink.

Recently we adopted a puppy. We have been talking about it for months and then it just happened. So she was meant to be a part of our family. My hubby calls me one afternoon to see if I want to go to the sale barn to look at lab puppies. When we get there, the owners have already left. Walking around, we are informed by a young girl that we can have a free puppy. The puppies were brought earlier in the day and left. Three fuzzy balls of fur; two puppies are sleeping and oblivious to our presence, but one little puppy is only too happy to meet our acquaintance. I think the minute I picked up the puppy we knew she was coming home with us.

Supposedly she is part Australian shepherd and blue heeler. It has been a month since we brought her home. We have our moments, but we are quite fond of her. She tries to herd us in the yard and she gathers all the shoes under the dining room table. She needs a job. Maybe a few sheep or something. A picture of our baby!

Barni wondering what all the fuss is about!

I have recently decided I have given our puppy too much freedom. We have some behavorial issues to work on. Such as running around like she has eaten a cup of pure sugar, evading my advances to pick her up and ignoring my requests to come when called. Just little annoying behaviors to name a few. Like anything else, she needs some boundaries and lots of love.

First Day Out!

Finally got the chicken tractor built. I let the chickens outside for the first time today. They were very timid, but I like to think they enjoyed themselves.

Chicken tractor

Very simple design. I still need to work on the door. I just stapled chicken wire over the opening for now. I found some little wheels that I added on each corner, but will need to replace those and find wheels that are sturdier.

closeup of chickens

I still intend to get about 5 more keets. I don’t want my guinea growing up and thinking it is a chicken!

How do you open a door that is too heavy?

I said my next topic would be the door my son built which covers our water well. The old cover, not really a door, was quite unwieldy. It took two people to lift it off and then placing the cover back on, was quite a feat in balancing and hoping the door wouldn’t fall in and break the light bulb and become lodged down below. So, I asked my son if he could build a door that required only one person to open. Well he did, but he built the door too well and too heavy. Sure a man could open it, but not a weak 50+ woman.  You can see the door in the photo below. He used 3/4 inch plywood with a 2×4 box structure that would sit within the well opening. He also used insulation board, twice. There are two layers of insulation with a 3/4 inch air space which increases the R value.

After my son built the door, I could lift it with considerable strain. So he came up with an idea of a counterbalance. He thought 3 cinder blocks would do the trick. But, here is the difference between men and women, I guess. I thought that would look cheesy. So, he came up with a better idea. We found an old metal vent in the barn and an old metal post. He mixed and poured cement into the vent and pushed the post down through the middle and let it set. The bag of cement weighed 60# and it took almost all of the mix to fill the vent. Then he constructed a rope pulley attached to the door and hung the weight on the end. It works perfectly! I am probably now only lifting maybe 10 pounds.

Now doesn’t this look better than three cinder blocks?

Regular maintenance

I was so happy to have my son visit recently. I had a long list of projects that desperately needed fixing. My main concern was the structure which covers our water well. This past winter was especially hard on the roof and we had several holes open up. The problem was the holes were directly above the well and the resulting water would freeze on top of the lid to the well, which created quite a mess. I also needed a new door for the well. You can see the before picture below, how horrible the roof looks.

The old roof was plywood with asphalt shingles, or what was left of it. As you can see this structure is open and we decided to cut costs and not replace the plywood, but rather screw 2×4′s perpendicular to the rafters, as you can see in the next picture.

 

 

 

Then we purchased metal roofing from a local Amish roofing business. This was a very good experience. My son knew how many pieces of metal siding was needed. The gentleman then quickly wrote several figures down and gave me a grand total of $520.00 in materials. He had included everything in a matter of minutes: roof, fascia, flashing, screws, and foam inserts. We were also able to get the roofing pieces cut to the length we desired (longer than standard sizes) and it was available for pickup in three days. The next picture shows my son installing the roofing.

My son makes this look easy. He has done several metal roofs, so I was very confident I was getting quality work out of him. I am scared of heights, so I just helped lift the roof sections up to him. These are not light and flimsy metal sections, which was another benefit of the materials we received from this Amish business. And finally, the finished roof. This just gives me peace of mind for next winter. Thanks Brad! Nice job! In a few days I will post the door and counterbalance he made for me.

Not Perfect

I learned alot from pouring the first two steps with concrete. Maybe by the time I pour the last step it will look pretty good. I injured my back shortly after pouring these two steps.  Very painful, but the doctor said I sprained my back and I should start feeling better soon. I am feeling much better today and anxious to get the vegetables going in the garden. I will ease back into all the projects I have planned. I gained a whole new appreciation for my back. It is a painful reminder that I am getting older and I can’t ignore how to lift properly etc., like I did when I was younger. 

Rough, but functional!

One step at a time!

I spent about six hours to complete three steps that go down to the garden. I know tomorrow I am going to be hurting.

I found the plans for the steps in a Black and Decker Landscaping book. Not as easy as they make you think it is. Finding the rise and run is easy enough. But pounding six inch nails into the landscaping timbers is not! I tried to pound a nail in without a pilot hole. That doesn’t work so well. So I drilled pilots holes to make that process easier, it is still difficult. My work is certainly not perfect and if I was a patient person, I would wait until my husband is home to work on this project, but I really wanted to get started. I have plenty of projects on my mind that my hubby can help with.

I have three more steps to build and place in their respective positions. This project was relatively cheap. The landscaping timbers were given to me and the 24 nails were $12.00. Just a lot of labor and abuse to the body. Oh and a long drill bit for $12.00. Once the steps are all in place, then I have a decision to make. The instructions suggest two inches of gravel and then fill with concrete or bricks. Bricks would certainly be easier, but I am leaning towards concrete. Maybe I will write inspiring words for the garden in the concrete! Like, Grow! or Dream! or Weeds Go Away!

Daffodils

The daffodils are so plentiful and beautiful this year. The flower bed was in desperate need of cleaning and this fall the daffodils are in desperate need to be thinned. I have so many projects that I want to accomplish it has been difficult to decide which one should be first. Plus time and money are always an issue. Received some free landscaping timbers and I am building steps down into the garden. More on that later!

Daffodils Everywhere