More projects. . .

Ready, set, go. . .



...in progress

Garden Angel got a new look too...



Finished

If wishing made it so. . .

 

It is a peaceful drizzly Friday morning.  I enjoyed my coffee and oatmeal at the little corner table on the porch while taking in the fresh view and listening to the gentle rain.  It is oh, so soothing as I let my imagination carry me away to a place where that soft rain might be, not only one of God's gifts to the earth and us but an anointing for all who believe, that would cure all the illness that we have failed to conquer on our own.  Do I believe such a thing *will* happen?  Not really, because it is beyond my humble comprehension.  Do I believe it *could* happen?  Absolutely!  The miracle of God always has been, is, and always will be.  That I trust, even without comprehending.

 

On a lighter note. . .

The other day I wrote a post about my sluice/ditch cleaning project that included the comment that maybe the town road crew would finish the job.  Well, they did!  The very next day!  They rolled that road and scraped that ditch in fine fashion.  I am, of course, delighted...but I really have to wonder about the timing.  Hmm...  Was it a miracle?  Did someone read my blog?  Or was it pure synchronicity?  I will probably never know since I am certainly not going to ask.  Some things are best left alone.  *wink*

 

After all, God also has a sense of humor......         

Day is done. . .

3:00 pm...inside for cold water...going back outside to keep working in my sorry looking herbs that didn't winter very well.  Very hard on the back because I can't bring myself to lean against the stone wall of the Hobbit Hole.  I keep imagining it full of snakes.  I remember one summer when I was around, say 7 or so and my favorite morning ritual was to walk to a neighboring stone wall where 'dozens' of garter snakes would be sunning themselves between the layers of stone.  I would poke a stick at them to watch them stick their tongues out and slither back inside the earth.  I wondered where they went, visualizing secret little snake homes complete with furniture and light fixtures.  Maybe that's not something I should admit to but what the heck; I've already once admitted to thinking I could take a radio apart and get the little people out and play with them.  Ah, childhood.  Yes, please...I'd like to go back for a visit.

7:00 pm...day is done.  (Isn't that a Peter Paul and Mary song?) 

Today's projects:

Chili with apple and carrot added.  Tasted good and it made the house smell heavenly!

Weeded the chives and planted some garlic.  Love the chive blossoms.

Refreshed the landscape around the Hobbit Hole and tended the herbs.  

This year, I am *going* to harvest the horse radish!

Look who I found hiding under a rock.

Blasted deer anyway!!  Had to spray all my hosta with 'liquid fence.'  It smells horrible but it does work. 

 

Projects. . .

I enjoyed a beautiful drive through the countryside this morning accompanied by my grandpuppy, Pippin.  It reminded me of the days when my own dog, Ginger, was my sidekick everywhere I went.  Pippin likes to ride, too, but he wasn't very happy when I left him at the vet's.  The pungent stench of the dog's breath is enough to overpower an elephant!  Hopefully he'll be 'fresh as a daisy' when he comes home and he'll hear us say nice things to him again instead of "go away!" 

This afternoon's project was house painting...birdhouses, that is.  And starting the prep work for re-painting the garage doors.  There must be an easier way; I hate prep work.    

 

My mailbox was badly in need of a face lift too.

...started scraping old paint off



There sure was a lot of chirping going on in this one.  It is inhabited by a wren family.  Mama bird scolded me something fierce from her vantage point in the rhododendron. 

 

 

All on a Sunday afternoon. . .

Another good day!  What's this, three in a row?  Church in the morning then lunch with a beautiful friend.  While driving home I pondered some choices for an afternoon project.  As I drove in Ray Road, noticing the unsightly non-functioning sluice pipe, I knew what my project would be.  The purpose of the sluice pipe is to divert the flow of rainwater that runs off the highway, down Baudendistel Road and bears left onto Ray Road where it takes another left down my driveway...and occasionally in my basement. 

 

I've decided that water must be very lazy, always taking the easiest path.  Where is its sense of adventure?  I'm glad my journey is not so predictable and I know I have God to thank for that!

 

Anyway...the sluice.   It had been buried underneath a few years' worth of gravel, rocks and leaves.  The tall weeds that had greedily moved in obscured the sluice even more.  Since this is a township road, it is routinely maintained by the Town of Hancock...with the exception of the sluice pipe which they may have forgotten about.  I ended up working at my unearthing project for several hours - for a time during a brief shower.  But the pleasure I felt was worthwhile and far outweighed the discomfort of being filthy and sweaty with dirt balls in my hair and shoes.  I find that once I'm already dirty it doesn't bother me so much to dig in.  After exposing the sluice to my satisfaction, I then started clearing the ditch but didn't finish all of it.  (I love my Toro leaf blower!  It not only blows the leaves but rocks, sticks and small piles of dirt, too.) 

 

Maybe the road crew will finish what I started.  Gee, maybe they'll put me on the payroll.  Do you suppose?  =^) *snicker*

Outdoor compromise. . .

A free picture slideshow by Smilebox

Bummer!  Here it is a most gorgeous summer-like day and I have had to stay inside for most of it.  Well, maybe I shouldn't say I 'had' to stay in.  My banishment from the yard was self imposed since I can't seem to muster up enough willpower to stop doing yardwork!  I overdid it yesterday many times over and last night I had an attention getting wake-up call. 

 

I spent most of the day on the ground, scooching along all the areas in the yard that have borders, scritching and scratching and pulling the fine weeds - the kind you need just your thumb and forefinger for.  At the time, it felt wonderfully relaxing to mingle with the sights and smells of a hot sunny day here in the woods.  I was so immersed in the profound "meaning-of-life" thoughts flowing steadily though my head that I never considered the hours that were passing.  All I knew was that I was having what is, for me, a near perfect sort of day; the kind when Bob and I would say, "It doesn't get much better than this!"  (I have stopped using that expression since it no longer feels like it fits.)  But I have recently had some magnificent days and yesterday was one of them.

 

That is...until later the same night.

 

The aches and pains of manual labor are painfully (pardon the pun) quite familiar to me.  My philosophy when it comes to hands-on outdoor work has always been "where there's a will, there's a way" regardless of the task at hand.  However, I am reluctantly coming to grips with accepting the fact that that kind of stamina diminishes as the years progress.  The first clue came after a soothing bubble bath that I assumed would offset any discomfort or stiffness I might be in store for.  I couldn't move.  "This is peculiar," I thought as I pondered how I was going to get out of the tub.     After while I came up with a plan that worked.  It involved lifting my right leg with both hands to try to avoid the pain that started in my knee and shot down to the bottom of my foot.  Massaging seemed to make it worse.  The throbbing lasted well into the night and at one point I dearly wanted to take some pain medication. . . . . .but I couldn't get out of bed.  So I decided to use the well known remedy for any type of problem:  Ignore it and hope it's gone in the morning.  Thankfully and for the most part, it was.

 

Today I have been giving my knee a break (ha!...another pun) and using it very gingerly since I still feel it retaliating a bit.  Hence, an indoor day.  I tried going outside just for relaxation and to enjoy the enticeing elements but I couldn't resist a little weeding here, a pruning there, a hole that needed filling, some old paint I wanted to scrape......

 

So...to satisfy my longing

to be outside, I grabbed my camera instead of my tools and strolled around the yard snapping random pictures instead of weeding and snipping.  The compromise felt good this afternoon and with this personal little slideshow, I can take that stroll anytime I feel like it.  Even in January!   

 

Scientifically savvy. . .

Scientifically savvy, I'm not!  That became clearly evident this morning when I shuffled out to the kitchen to make coffee and slipped on the kitchen floor, nearly falling on my backside.  The law of gravity is something I do understand, having had many first hand experiences with it in my life's journey, thus far.  But what on earth...?  Prior to my near mishap, I had noticed with much satisfaction how clean and fresh my kitchen still smelled after yesterday's brief cleaning frenzy.  Putting two and two together, I remembered the cleaning concoction I had mixed up to clean the cabinets.  (Which worked very well, I might add.)  When I was finished, I put the spray bottle with the leftover liquid under the sink where it would be handy.  This morning the bottle was empty.  The liquid had oozed out, spreading beneath everything stored under the sink and then out of the cabinet doors onto the floor, creating an invisible slime.  I guess I know what I will be doing today! 

 

On a positive note, I probably won't have to clean under the sink again anytime soon. 

 

In the future, I'll be more careful.  Maybe.