Update from my brother, a new fence, and more weeding

The name of the game this week was yardwork, and lots of it! We had some rain over the weekend - they even got some up north). Garrett had stopped in with his dad the previous Thursday and the two had put up the rails for the fence boards. He said he was expecting delivery on Friday and planned to work Saturday and Sunday. The weather wasn't conducive on Saturday, but he arrived early afternoon on Sunday, along with his nephew, and the two of them had the fence and gates completed in just over two hours!

Here's a before and after:

The before photo was taken about a year ago after I had cleared out various railroad ties, rebar and other assorted junk.

Ta da! We were so impressed with the work this fellow did and would recommend his services. We really appreciated that he capped the fence and the reinforced the gates. I asked and he provided a special type of latch and we are able to lock it from the inside. (I should note the fence on the right was installed by the next door neighbour before C bought the house).

What isn't in these photos is the other gate and fence between the back patio (in front of the garage) that encloses the entire back yard area. The fence is tall enough that C can play with Sage back there and not worry about her scaling the fence and escaping. Plus it just looks terrific!

I spent an hour or so last week digging out the Lily of the Valley that was growing next the garage. It was there when we moved in, and when reminded that it can be toxic to dogs, I decided it needed to come out. The photo on Wednesday were simply three of the items that I found when I was digging. Not pictured included a hockey puck, a rubber connection for something or other, and a few screws and nails. 

On Monday I turned my attention to prepping the back yard for grass/clover seed. I'd watched a few Y-tube videos to get an idea of what needed to be done. I raked up much of the loose debris (small pieces of branches, some wood, and rock) before using a heavy rake to scratch up the surface. The rain we'd had on the weekend had some spots quite wet, but other areas were hard and dry so it took a bit of time. I also got around behind the garage - no fence there anymore and took down several small Lombardy poplars. One had fallen over in the wind on Saturday night, just hanging on by one root. Another I was able to push over! The remaining three or four trees I cut down. The debris is piled up behind the garage and I'll leave it there to dry before having it hauled away, likely in the fall.

On Tuesday, I followed up on the remaining trees by drilling into the trunks with my drill and spraying Round-up in to the holes. I'm told several applications will kill the tree and I should be able to remove them more easily. (I see more digging in my future). The former owners had also allowed a tree of some sort to grow between the sidewalk blocks. After cutting it to the ground, I gave it the same treatment. I have no intention of lifting those blocks (24"X24") to get at the roots, so I'm hoping this will eliminate any future regrowth.

After I'd mowed the front lawn, I went back over the back yard with my heavy rake, watered the entire area down, and used a seeder to spread the seeds. I quickly realized I did not have enough grass and clover, so I cleaned up and went to the greenhouse for more seed. Back at the house I finished off the seeding and spread some lawn soil on the areas where I hadn't been able to loosen the soil to my liking. Another watering and I was done with the backyard.

We have an area in the front lawn where the city dug up the water main (perhaps - it happened before C bought), where the grass is patchy. I spread a bag of lawn soil, spread the remaining grass seed (with some clover mixed in), and gave it a good watering too. As I've told my son, it's likely we'll continue to see patches there, and in the backyard, and he can add clover seed as I've another full bag of seed to be used. According to the information I've read/watched, the clover will be the first to come up, in about 4-7 days, the grass is slower to germinate but will start filling in over the next 6-8 weeks. I've warned C too, that his water bill is going to be high for the next while. Hopefully less than I think though as there is more rain in our forecast. 

I was able to text with my brother early in the week, and he said things are slightly improved, but they are still concerned as the rising temperatures can change things very quickly. Here is a video he sent me, of his drive into La Ronge. 

I told him "I probably would have turned around, NO, I would have turned around". 

I was ready for a break and took the day off on Wednesday, except for watering the back yard a few times. I spent part of the morning organizing clothing for our trip to Halifax, and starting the packing process. We're planning to use one checked bag for clothing, and the second will hold Eli's booster seat, and other items that I have no knowledge of, but my daughter does. Later a quick trip to the thrift store netted me two pairs of shorts for Eli and a set of vintage salt and pepper shakers. Then it was off to Stitch and Chat at the library. 

Thursday was weeding day. Our neighbours to the south is useless too busy to take care of their side yard. As a result there are weeds of various sorts, including grass, creeping bellflower, thistles, etc. It is an eyesore and I was tired of looking at it. I took out all of the grass, thistle, bellflower, and wee elm saplings, but left the yellow flowering weeds. They are kind of pretty and I figured I'd leave something for them to do. Before and after photos are below, and I continued along the fence line (not shown) to get rid of the grass that has grown under the fence and next to our driveway. 

You can see I've left the newspaper, cardboard and stepping stones/rocks as well. I'm nice, just not that nice.

Friday was a quiet day, as it rained a bit which was nice, but not enough for the newly seeded back yard. I've been watering three times a day for around 5 minutes at a time to keep the soil relatively moist. In addition, I did some housework, laundry and vacuuming, and ran out to get a few groceries. It felt cool outdoors so when I returned I stayed in, and watched Y-tube videos of places we'll be visiting in Nova Scotia. Just 10 more sleeps!

Today, I'm planning to do a bit more weeding - I'm almost done everything I want to do outdoors. There is baseball and hockey to watch in the afternoon and evening. It should be a relatively easy, relaxing day!

Have a wonderful week ahead, everyone!

The heat is on

The photo on Wednesday was, indeed, the remains of the tree stump that the landscaper left behind. He wasn't able to get the stump grinder into the back yard, and I guess they decided not to try to chop it out. After the weeks it took to get their work finished, I wasn't about to argue about it.

My friend K had called on Saturday to catch up, and I mentioned I was going to go out to the farm and get an axe from my brother to deal with the tree stump myself. On Monday morning, she called and asked whether I'd be home that afternoon and a couple hours later, she and her partner J arrived with a shovel, an axe, and a sledge hammer.  Before they arrived, I had moved the gravel out of the way and dug out some of the dirt around the stump. J got right at it with the axe while K and I retired to the deck (and out of the way of flying wood chips). He stopped briefly to take a break, and then went back at it; after chopping out most of it, he used the sledge hammer, and voila, it was as you saw it in the photo. I told J he's my hero!

When that bit of work finished, we went indoors to cool off in the a/c, it was about 32C/90F and I know J especially needed to cool down. We visited for awhile before they left. I'm so appreciative of my good friends. I know it would have taken a lot more effort on my part to get that stump out, had I even been able to swing the axe properly.

The heat has returned this week, so Tuesday morning I was out early to clean up the wood chips, to fill the hole - I used the soil from the planter I had harvested the onions from, and rake the rocks back in place.

This photo likely doesn't look any different than it did in an early photo, but just behind the left side of the arch is where the tree stump was causing me much annoyance. 

The weed spray seems to be working too, as I'm finding less each day. (And yes, the lawn needs mowing again.) I'm back to watering twice a day, as there are spots that are dying back, so I've spread some seed on those areas. I'm not sure why I'm so concerned, as the last sold listing in my neighbourhood that my agent sent me photos of showed a dead lawn both front and back. 

Later that morning, I took a run out to Costco. I wanted to pick up two things, a container of Mr. Clean and some smart plugs. I got both, plus a case Friskies wet cat food, and Eli's Christmas gift. Unfortunately, the smart plugs don't work with the 5G internet connection I have so I'll need to return them to the store. I did wonder at how inexpensive they were on clearance and discovered at home, they work with a 2.4 gigahertz something or other connection. This time, I'll go to the return desk and avoid the rest of the store. 

From there I did a quick trip to Dollarama to pick up a some garden stakes - my tomatoes are falling over as the fruit grows, even with the tomato cages, and I needed some burner liners for the stove. Walmart was next and it was a very quick in and out of the store. About a week ago, I'd found Ben's Original Smoky Flavour Rice and Red beans on sale. We hadn't tried before so I bought a package; we had it with grilled Cajun seasoned pork chops and it was a hit with both of us. I discovered the store had low stock, but managed to find three packages for the pantry. It's so quick and easy, it can be microwaved or heated up on the stove (about 5 minutes) with two tablespoons of water. I use the latter method, as I think it adds a bit more texture to the rice. My son adds hot sauce and is a happy boy. 

I'm aware I could make something similar - though I suspect without the smoky flavour - but at the moment it's nice to have something that doesn't heat up the house while I'm outside using the grill. 

Wednesday morning, I spent a lot of time on Ancestry. I'd had a message from a young woman from the States asking questions about her great-grandfather as he appears in my mother's family tree. I went through the information I had and was able to share the connection - her 4XGGrandfather was the brother of my 3XGGrandfather. Her great-grandfather was born in Ontario, moved to Alberta in the early 1900's with his family, and then made the move to Washington State when he was just 19. He married and had three sons. 

This brought more questions, as she was curious about her grandfather Tom. I had some information I was able to share and the plot thickened. Tom married in 1955, had two children with his wife, but by 1958 she had filed a suit for divorce (due to cruelty). Sadly, she passed away in August of that year as a result of injuries sustained in a car accident. It took a bit of poking around in Newspapers.com but I discovered that their two daughters were apparently adopted by their mother's parents as both girls used their mother's maiden name when they married in the mid-70's. (I had their maternal grandfather's name from their parent's wedding documentation) 

Tom had left Washington at this point, and it appears he lived for some time in California, then later moved to Nevada. I had found a possibility that he may have married again, and my correspondent confirmed he did indeed re-marry to her grandmother. Armed with that information, I was able to confirm that marriage was again short-lived, from 1962 to 1966, and three children were born of this union, one daughter and two sons. He married once more in 1987, and passed away in 1997.

S told me, that her mother and uncles did not know their father and she was hoping to find more information. I pointed out that he had served in the U.S. army in the Korean war and perhaps the Veterans Affairs department might be able to provide more information. Her inquiries piqued my interest and I started looking at the other two brothers. Although I'd been able to find a fair amount of information about Tom, these two are far more enigmatic. I love a good mystery so made a note to return to this branch to do some more research another day.

Wednesday afternoon was stitch and chat, with just B and I in attendance. I do enjoy these one on one opportunities as we learn more about our lives. She mentioned living in a small town outside of Saskatoon when she was a young girl. Well, my oldest brother's first wife was from the same community - did she know her? It turns out she was a couple of years younger than my former SIL, but knew the family. It definitely is a small world. 

Thursday heated up quickly (34C/93F) by mid-afternoon. The next door neighbour was having their roof re-shingled that morning, and the noise was annoying. To get away from it briefly, I headed out to the thrift stores. D had mentioned that Eli was short of sweat pants. I found a couple of pair at Value Village and another pair at the Salvation Army store. I also scored another large plastic tote at the SA store. All in all, a good bit of thrift shopping. Better still, by the time I arrived home, the crew were cleaning up after themselves. With four guys on the roof, they made short work of the job.

On Friday morning, after my call with my daughter, I spent my time outdoors. The lawn was mowed, I spread some soil in the dying patches, added grass seed and gave it all a good watering. I quite enjoyed the watering time, with a good book and a cup of tea. Next up was trimming the edges of the lawn, deadheading the containers and cleaning up debris on the deck (from the flowers and the evergreen). After lunch I went out front and did the same, including sweeping the driveway. By the time I finished there was about a half large garbage bag full. The city is rolling out compost bins in the next few weeks and I'm planning to fill it up!

Today started off cool, at about 14C(57F), but it should reach 30C(86F) later today. I've been lazy this morning, in fact I'm finishing this post as I relax in bed....and it's after 8 a.m.! I did get up earlier to feed the cat and make a cup of tea. I'll head out soon to water again this morning, and my other big goal for the day is to go through the house and put things away. Like the toaster that sits out on the kitchen counter, the cat treats that can go back into the cupboard, the books and crocheting/knitting projects that are stacked on end tables, and the pile of items I've gathered up for D.....the list goes on. All of those things need to find hidey-holes to ensure the house looks uncluttered (it isn't really) and impersonal so that home buyers can imagine themselves living here. At least that's what the television programs tell me. I have to laugh, because the house I purchased before this one, had a tenant living in it. When we went for the first viewing, the small living room was crowded with oversized furniture, the laundry room had a pile of dirty clothing about 3 feet high, and the kitchen sink was piled with dirty dishes. I could see past all that stuff, and by the time the home inspection was carried out, everything was cleared out.

Anyway, rant over (at least for now - we'll see how the upcoming week goes). It's time to go out and enjoy a cup of tea on the deck while the water bill goes up. 

Perhaps I'll have more visitors to the bird bath to watch. There were two robins yesterday - they reminded me that it needed filling.

Have a great week ahead everyone!