Independence Day

We celebrate with this day that represents the day our Independence was announced to the world...  And also acknowledge the nation of Britain  (our very good friends) that set us to begin and gave us much of our beginning.

It was not an easy separation, but, as a child leaves the parent and also a servant leaves the master, the separation occurred.

That our relation has come to steadfast admiration and support over time is possibly unique in history, we also remember that this day.

But today we DO celebrate our freedom, born in battle, blood, and explosions.

Cleaning and Projects

I kind of stay to myself and don't have many visitors.  I'm even somewhat of a hermit.  And the inside of my house is NOT my pride and joy.  I could almost be happy in a log cabin and thresh floor, given a decent kitchen, stereo, plasma TV, Internet and waterbed.  And I'm sure the cats would be happy too. 

So my focus is mostly on the yard, cooking, excellent TV when I watch it, cats, and sleeping in comfort.  Dust bunnies on the floors do not bother me and what I can't see under the furniture matters even less.  I can go longer without vacuuming than you can imagine

I've been in my house for 30 years and I still have some of the original paint and carpet.  I smoke and the walls need cleaning.  Mostly, if something isn't broken, I don't worry about it much. 

But sometimes there is a visitor and I have to clean.  I used to have to do that about  once a month, but since I broke off with a friend 6 years ago and Dad had to move on to assisted-living several years ago, I haven't done much at all.  My house and I were going to slowly deteriorate together.  That's half humorous and half reality.  Most of you would cringe seeing the inside of the house.

My sister is visiting soon and I suddenly care about the inside.  I've been busy.  I filled 2 vacuum cleaner bags with dust bunnies.  I've been going around sweeping dust-webs out of the corners of the ceiling.  Tomorrow, I'll mop the vinyl and wood floors and vacuum the carpets. 

Today's project was to repaint the full bath.  It was overdue...  I had the tub and tiles replaced in May.  Of last year!  It had plaster repairs at the time, and I meant to repaint it then.  But there was always something else to do.  I have had the cleaning supplies, primer and paint and supplies sitting in a bag in the bathroom ever since. 

So yesterday I started doing it.  I used the TSP (trisodium phosphate) to wash the walls and ceiling.  The stuff works great, but needs several clean wipes after.  I used the (very clean) toilet has a convenient supply of clean rinse water.  It took 4 clean-water-wipes before I was satisfied it was gone.  When It all dried, I used a primer coat on the bare plaster.

Today I painted.  The taping of the edges was quite a job.  A bathroom has a LOT of edges (lights, outlets, tile, cabinets).  I have done a fair amount of painting (every apartment and house I've ever been in got thoroughly painted) because I don't like beige and white walls.  So the actual painting part is fairly easy.  Except that the ceiling needed painting also, that was awkward.

It only took 2.5 hours from opening the paint can to cleaning the brush and roller. 

I hated the color!  I didn't want a strong color in a small room, and a bathroom should be a relaxing color.  So I chose a very light green.  Picture  the innermost stalks of a bunch of celery and add a touch of gray...

I chose the color, the color matched the paint chip I gave the store, but it seemed so gray!  I decided I would have to mix more green into the paint and redo it.  But as it dried during the evening, it looked a lot better.  It was actually detectably greener as it dried.  It needs a 2nd coat, but it looks good enough for a visit.  And I still might add some green to the paint for the 2nd coat. 

At least now, I can rehang the shower curtain rod, the shower curtain, and the large mirror (for which I am surrounding with a stained wood frame that matches the cabinets and outlet covers).

I plan to do the kitchen Tuesday.  Everything is easier the 2nd time...

Wednesday will be for collecting clutter into boxes to hide away temporarily, LOL!  Also, cleaning the kitchen and putting all the stuff I use on occasionally into cabinets and closets.  And mop the floors.

Thursday is for grocery-shopping.  I will be due for that anyway.  My local meat/deli/liquor store (it is a weird combination) has a special this week on rib-eye steaks, standing beef rib roast, and large fresh shrimp.  I haven't decided which I will get yet.  But mostly, I buy fresh fruits and veggies, so that also means a trip to Safeway.

I have the outside looking reasonably good.  4 large new deck pots and 3 hanging baskets with flowers that are just beginning to bloom; possibly the first ripe tomatoes, beans, and fancy lettuce.  The new compost bin is "finished" (well, I will add a top later).  Flowers in bloom in the yard. 

I hope the cats don't panic.  It would be nice if they come out and greet her.  My sister is a cat person too.  Iza is most likely to come out.  She is generally fearless.  Marley is friendly but skittish.  Ayla routinely stays in the bedroom except at dawn and dusk, though lately she is going outside more often and so would have to pass through the main rooms if she wants to get out.

I feel like I will be ready for a visitor.  Sometimes, it is not so much how the house looks so much as how much better it looks that it did before.  Does that make sense?  Cleaner is cleaner, and showing a new improvement to the house (the bathroom and possibly the kitchen) matters.

The sad thing is that I have a list of home-improvement projects I will be starting in a few weeks.  When it gets really hot outside in July/August, I pay more attention to the inside.  And, in recognition of 30 years here, this is the year I'll be having contractors in to do stuff I'm no longer trusting myself to do properly or at all.

I'll be posting about those in a few weeks as I finalize choice of new flooring to replace old carpet,  extending basement siding and hung ceiling,  removing a basement washroom I've never had much use for, new driveway, and installing an attic floor for storage space.

I also plan to update utilities in the house.  The 30 year old water heater will be replaced with an instant water heater and a dedicated one for the kitchen sink.  A new refrigerator (the existing one will become a basement storage refrigerator for bulk vegetables), some damaged doors will be replaced, and there are various small things that need expertise I don't have.   I'm even considering one of those ceiling attachments you can hang skillets from for convenience.

I'll be busy with overseeing some work then.  I will probably be the last serious work I have done on this house.  

Ah Astilbes...

I love Astilbes.  Had several dozen at one time.  Around the pond, next to the deck, in the shade of an apple tree.  But over 15 years, some died out naturally, some failed because of additional sun, and some died from being too shaded by brambles.

So this year I decided to get some new ones growing.  There are really fancy ones, but I'm satisfyied with "regulars".  I found bare-roots on sale at ebay.  25 for $60.  I bought a set of 25 and planted them in the backyard where a few remaining Astilbes were growing happily each year.

I think I didn't plant them properly.  I went by the included instructions, but they never seemed to set roots.  Well, it was in almost pure compost and maybe they don't like that.  And it is sunnier in that spot than it used to be (a new deck, new shade patterns).  And it has been really dry in June here, so I maybe should have watered them more often.

I lost 1/3 of the backyard bunch.  I have shadecloth over them now, and some are doing better.

I also added some to a front yard island in the shade of a Saucer Magnolia tree.  I'm fighting deer now, and they ate up all my hostas.  But they don't like Astilbes much.  They pulled a couple up but didn't eat them.  I replanted them.  Some are starting to flower.  I water them deeply every 3 days.

(Add pictures)

Flowerbeds

The newer flowerbeds are doing great.  I never imagined the meadow bed would look so good (last year was dismal, but the flowers were just getting established).

The Hummer etc bed is doing good for a first year with annuals and should be better next year when the perennials and self-sowing annuals get going.

I'm not seeing the hummers/butterflies yet, but the bees are busy.  The Summer has just started, and I expect more flowers to bloom there that the hummers and the butterflies will like.

Meanwhile, it's not like they are lacking pollen and nectar.  I have 3 of the best hummingbird feeders I have yet found and several butterfly bushes are blooming now  with various butterflies feeding at them.

Speaking of hummingbird feeders, I was so pleased to discover how easy it is to make the "nectar".  When I started doing it decades ago, the rule was to boil water, set a cup of it in a pyrex cup rinsed with vinegar, add 1/4 sugar, stir til dissolved, cool it, and add it to the freshly cleaned (no soap) feeders.  The boiling was to make the sugar-water supersaturated so it wouldn't crystalize out when it cooled.  So the instructions I had learned said...

When I mentioned it on a gardening site, I was corrected by many posters.  They said the sugar dissolved just fine in merely hot water and was ready to go at outside temperature.  Checking hummingbird sites confirmed that.

Wow, did that make things easier!  And if you don't think there are hummingbirds around your yard, try setting up a few feeder stations and they will appear.

BTW, the best feeders I have found are "Hum-Zingers" .

Easy to clean, easy to fill, and the birds love it.  And I have no connection to the company.  They don't know I exist.

Funny story:  I never saw hummingbirds when I moved here.  But when I bought my first hummer feeder and stood around outside looking for place to hang it, a hummingbird came to it IN MY HAND and fed!  They are around; most people just don't know it.

 Meanwhile, the daylilies are doing great!  I had a bunch of them in pots and ignored them for 2 years, finally planting them last Fall.  I didn't remember how many colors they had!

I might get really into those...

Compost Bin Onsite, Part 3

The compost bin is finished!  Well, OK, I can add a lid ta keep critters out, but that's not urgent.  Last time you saw it, it looked like this.

The front posts were constructed to form slots down the sides to accept horizontal boards that could be removed for easy access to the contents of the bins.  So the next step was to make the horizontal boards.

I could have just cut boards to length to slide down into the post slots, but allowing air into the composting material is very important.  So I wanted to add spacers between the boards to create gaps where air could get in.

One site suggested using 3" screws sticking out an inch to make the gaps.  I decided they would eventually push into the boards below. So I made 1" wide wood spacers.

 Glued AND screwed, of course...  I want this compost to last 20 years.  The spacers leave plenty of air to get into the composting material.  And the sides and back are all wire mesh, so that is even more air (see the top picture again).

When all the boards were set in place, they sit above the top of the posts.

That was deliberate.  It will make the top slightly sloped back so rain will run off.  The top will be hinged in the back so that I can easily raise it to add or mix the composting material.

I started building the compost bin in mid-May.  The major reason is for making the compost, and I have a LOT of compostable material in the yard), but it was also a labor of love in the construction.  I am no great wood-worker or even a decent carpenter, but I put a lot of technique into this project.

I used tools and jigs I have owned for a decade and never used before.  I deliberately did some things that weren't strictly necessary but improved the strength and future durability.  I overbuilt it in some ways...

Because the first compost bin I built here "fell right over" and it has annoyed me for a decade.  I knew all the mistakes and made sure not to repeat them.

And I loved every minute of building the new one.  I got much better at some routine building techniques and learned new ones.  The tenoning jig was a wonder to use and I am now amazed at my hesitation to use it before!  I developed some new skills of half-lap board connections.  I even finally used my jointer.

And my tenoning jig.

I can now read Sanskrit, can divide by zero, and program in C!  Just kidding...

But I did learn some really good techniques cutting and fitting wood.  And that encourages me to try some indoors furniture.  I think an end table with a floating top will be a good project.  I would like to get into building Arts&Craft style furniture.  Just for me.  I'll never be good enough for selling anything. 

But the compost bin will do for now...

Catching Up

I'm surprized it has been 6 days since I last posted.  Well, I've been busy and put my posting efforts into the cats' blog.

The time has been spent, mostly, in yardwork and finishing the compost bin.  The compost bin is nearly finished; I'm really only deciding whether to put a solid top or a wire top on it.  I made the mistake of looking that up on the internet.  Naturally, people come down on both sides.  Some want rain to fall in to keep the composting material wet, others say it gets too wet and better to moisten the material as needed.

Don't laugh, but I'm doing both.  The lid will have a chicken wire top for normal rain to fall in, but also an attached plastic top I can drape over for torrential rains.  It matters because composting microbes need air and too much water fills up all the spaces where air can enter.  If there are 2 good ways to do something, I will generally find a way to do both.

But most of the outside work has been in the yard itself.  I started several projects last Fall and some new ones this Spring and have a couple yet to start.  The veggie garden has been a priority.  As much as I like flowers, I would rather eat a tomato than stare at a flower.

The tomatoes are my favorites.  I have 9 heirloom plants and 3 hybrids.  All are in places where I haven't grown them before (to reduce diseases).  The 3 hybrids are backups in case it is a really bad year for diseases.  My 2nd favorite veggies to grow are Italian flat beans.  Last year they just didn't grow; this year I am harvesting already and can expect to continue that until the 1st frost.  Italian flat beans are not the grocery store beans; they have a deeper, nut-like taste.  My 3rd favorite veggie is bi-color corn.  Yellow corn is too starchy, white corn is too sweet; bicolor is just right for me.

And of course, I have cukes, radishes, carrots, melons, kohlabi, spinach, snow peas, leeks, scallions, chard, beets, etc.  I need to plant my Fall crops of broccoli, brussels sprouts, and cabbage soon. 

The other major yardwork project is cutting down brambles in the backyard and killing wild ivy, wild grapes, and some persistent invasive vine from a neighbor's yard.  And there seems to be poison ivy cropping up everywhere! 

The flowerbeds are doing well, with one exception.  My oldest bed, along a fence, has gotten overgrown with grassy weeds.  That might be a Fall project (pull, cover, and smother) over Winter.  The meadow flower bed is doing wonderfully this year; much better than I expected from the poor growth last year when first planted.  The Hummer/Butterfly/Bee bed is newly-planted this Spring, but is showing some flowers now.  The oldest bed (Spring bulbs of daffodils, tulips, and hyacinths; Summer plants of daylilies is doing well enough, but I want to cover the Spring bulbs with sheet plastic to kill the weeds while the bulbs are dormant.  The daylilies are all along one edge and will of course stay uncovered.

My new Astilbe beds (1 in the front yard and 1 in the back) are struggling a bit.  I think I should have planted them deeper.  I put 3" of compost on the soil and planted them in that; it may not be what they needed to set grow out roots well.  The compost always seems dry.  The backyard Astilbes were getting too much sunlight and 1/3 have died.  I set a shade cloth over them last week and am watering both beds every other day.

So there is a lot to talk about.  I'll post on each part of the yard over the next week, with pictures.  But I wanted to get things listed first if only to make it easier for me to decide what to post about each day. 

And to add to the list of things I need to do, my sister is visiting in a week and I have a LOT of cleaning to do!  She hasn't been here for several years and THAT visit was focussed on moving Dad from here to an assisted-living facility near here.  So she hasn't actually "just visited" for almost 10 years.  It is a big event for me.

So...  More later.

Weird Thoughts

A.  When you first wake up in the morning what do you do first?

1.  Look at the window to see if it is daylight?
2.  Look at the clock to see if you can sleep more?
3.  Jump out of bed joyous that there is a new day of work to be accomplished?
4.  Reach for a cigarette?

B.  When you wake up in the middle of the night and there is a cat in the very middle of the bed, do you...

1.  Move left or right toward the edge?
2.  Invite it in under the covers?
3.  Move in gently, ignoring the protesting claws?
4.  Get up and feed the cat so it will get off the bed?

C.  When you happen to be near the litter box and a cat is using it...

1.  Do you watch out of judging it's health?
2.  Do you watch out of curiosity?
3.  Do you turn away to give it privacy?
4.  Do you rush over to clean the litter box?

D.  If a cat catches a mouse...

1.  Do you EEEWWW out?
2.  Do you AAAHHH out?
3.  Do you grab the camera?
4.  Do you plan a party for the event?

E.  When the garden needs weeding and the living room needs vacuuming...

1.  Do you weed the garden?
2.  Do you vacuum the room?
3.  Sit down and make a To DO list?
4.  Wonder what the odds are that a visitor will show up unexpectedly?

F.  Your refrigerator looks like Mother Hubbard's Cupboard, and it is raining...

1.  Do you decide that pickles, nuts, and an apple is a good meal?
2.  Do you grab an umbrella and go food-shopping?
3.  Do you call the local Chinese delivery place?
4.  Do you go visit a single friend just before dinnertime?

Other Flowers And A New Moth

First,  there was a moth I have never seen before. 

Then there are the Venus Fly Traps I transplaned from tiny pots from Walmart to good ones according the instructions from several sites about caring for them.

I have to undo the potting!  The sites said to use 2 parts peat moss and 1 part sand.  I did that. Then one site mentioned not using "regular sand" because it comes from beaches and has lots of dissolved solids in them, which are bad for Venus fly traps (and explained why).  They said to use perlite instead.  I have perlite.  I will repot them. 

Meanwhile they are catching flies and seem happy.  I caught and fed each one a fly when I first bought them, but now I see that there are at least several traps on each plant closed and showing a dark lump in the traps.  I guess they can do well enough on their own.  On the other hand, I will feed them a caught fly once a week just because it is so strange to watch them close up on the flies.

And the meadow flowers are blooming nicely.  The first ones were all yellow, then sweet williams appeared.  Now I have some blanket flowers.

There are Queen Annes Lace emerging, but not in full bloom yet.  The goldfinches are starting to find seeds to eat in there, which is a natural event.  I have 2 niger seed feeders for them, but I'll bet a variety of seeds is better for them.

And the tomatoes are thriving.  They seem healthier than in years past, so I am hoping for a good harvest.

Not The Meadow

A couple of years ago, I had a ridge leveled and set up 3 edged beds in place of it.  One was a Spring Bulb and Summer Daylily bed, one was for meadow flowers I hope will self sow (according the the package), and the last was a smaller bed dedicated to hummer/butterfly/bee flowers.  And on a whim, I scattered all my "expired" seeds of all kinds.

The last is finally showing some flowers.  First, I noticed that the "expired seeds were quite fertile.  I've been harvesting radishes for a month and there are squash, broccoli, and even some corn plants growing.  Well, they are all annuals and won't be around next year.  And I planted some annual sunflowers in the center of the bed.

But the actual hummer etc flowers are now starting to bloom!  They are slightly different from the meadow bed flowers.

 I expect there will be tubular flowers for the hummers soon.   Meanwhile, they are still happy with the butterfly bushes elsewhere in the yard.

I haven't seen many bees or hummers around them yet,  but I have seen a few butterflies.  Maybe it takes some time for word to spread of the new wonderful feeding spot.

Weather

On Friday, the weather reports warned of severe thunderstorms arriving Monday.

Saturday, the warning were repeated and added "heavy rains".

Sunday, the storm warnings were updated to "torrential rains, hail, and strong winds".  The weather forecasts warned about  possible flooding, electrical outages, failed traffic lights, and falling trees. 

The forecast this morning was for all that to occur between 3pm and 8pm.

My patio tends to collect water because the lawn has slowly raised above the level of the patio.  So minor basement flooding is always a threat.  I have had to suck up incoming rainwater with the wet/dry shop vacuum.  So, as I have for several years now, I dug a small trench in the lawn to let the patio water flow downslope.  I keep telling myself that I should install a drainage pipe just below-ground, but it stays near the bottom of the To Do list; the trench works well enough...

At 2 pm, I brought trashcans into the garage, set out buckets to collect rainwater (for the Venus Fly Traps, brought flats of flower seedling inside so the strong winds wouldn't damage them, and filled  the trench with hose water to make sure it was flowing away from the patio.

The storm was scheduled to hit at 3:45, then 4:45 and it did rain at 4:45.  Drizzle for 15 minutes.  But the radar map showed other heavy rain coming later.  It drizzled another 15 minutes.

The radar map is clear now.  I got 1/4" of drizzle, no serious rain, no winds, no hail. I wanted that rain!  And there is no rain predicted for the rest of the week.

Which means I will have to water the gardens and flowerbeds deeply tomorrow.  I had put it off anticipating the heavy rain. 

I don't blame the weather forecasters too much.  It's tricky.  It would be one thing if a couple forecasters got it right most of the time, showing that it was a matter of individual skill.  But they are get it wrong together.  Which tells me it just can't be done very accurately by anyone.

But I sure wanted that rain!