New Deck, Part 4

First, A recognition of Independence Day.  I go out on the deck and read The Declaration Of Independence out loud each year on this day.  It is a stirring document.  Last night, I saw someone on a political talk show who said the claim is at the end and the justification is before, so read it backwards that way. I get the idea, statement at the end and justification before.

So I did.  I have to admit, I thought about it a little differently.

And to my/our British friends, I hope there are no hard feelings.  We got off to a rocky start, but I think it has worked out pretty well over the past couple centuries.  My revolutionist ancestors would not have tipped their hats to you, but I can and do.

But we DO have our holiday and I will support it with a steak on the Japanese hibachi grill, a cold Canadian beer (or 3), a few Southeast Asian shrimp, and a German sausage.  What could be more "American" than that?  LOL!

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Now to the deck.  Finally, the end!  Well, sort of.  On Monday, some guys will be coming back to take away all the debris, fill the patio holes with more cement and apply a professionally smooth surface to match the existing patio as close as possible,  and smooth out all the remaining dug-up soil.  But the deck is essentially done.

First thing yesterday morning, they finished putting the composite board on the deck.  Then started putting on the rail support posts.   It looks great.  Now there is a real deck!

Then the tedious part, putting the rail tops on, then all the ballisters.  Of course, they had a sensible way of doing those.  They tacked the all tops with a nail gun and them let them hang freely, then they tacked the bottoms using a level to get them aligned properly.

THEN they put a screw in the top and bottom.  I would have done it the hard way, of course.  Each ballister one top screw and one bottom, one at a time. 

The ballister work progresses...  They did gripe about my "screws" contract requirements though.   They said nails were just fine and would have saved them almost 2 hours work.  But nails always come loose and I can't think of any screws that ever have!  They accepted that (and I might have gotten a couple minor construction points for it).

They did get them all done eventually.

I seem to have missed taking pictures of them building the stairway rails and attaching the ballisters on those.  That was a right piece of hard work by itself.  And took 2 hours worth.  Lots of angle cuts and awkward positions for screwing them in.

They got done just before the rain hit and I helped hual stuff to their trucks.

But here is the final deck!  From the deck door straight out...

A shot across the corner...

The landing leading to the stairs...

A look down the stairs...

And finally, a shot from the stair-landing to the opposite corner. 

I am thrilled!  There is SO much more usable space.  I can actually put a table out there, for example.

And to remind you of the difference, here is the "before" picture (admittedly after 25 years)...

And the "After".

 Quite a difference!

New Deck, Part 3

The deck is complete!  This is actually from yesterday, because there are too many pictures for a single post and I was just TOO DAMN TIRED to post yesterday.  So today's work will be in tomorrow's post.

The construction team was just 2 guys - JR and JT.   First order of work was to remove the old ledger board (holds the deck to the house foundation), cut away vinyl siding, and attach "flashing" to the house (keeps rain out).

Then a new bigger ledger board was attached.  I was surprised.  They used bolts closer than I did on the original deck and all my friends accuse me of "over-engineering"  everything I build.  Seriously, I always figure "if 2 screws are good, 3 are better".

What they did next, though, REALLY astonished me.  I build from the ground up.  Who doesn't?  Well, these guys don't, that's who!  They built the basic shape of the deck floor up in the air, supported at the corners of the ledger board and just 2 temporary boards.

I asked why (that's why I stayed outside for 2 whole days - to learn things).  They do it because it is easy to slightly adjust the deck floor box square when it is still flexible.  After the support posts are in cemtny, there's no changing things!

Forehead slap!  Of course.  And because we had talked a little carpentry, they asked if I knew how to make sure the box was square.  I said "sure, measure the diagonals".  I got a "high-five" (and a little casual respect) for that one!

But not even the professionals are perfect!  When they started to put the joists between the ledger board and the end cap, they were too tight.  I pointed out that the end cap was bowing out so their measurements were wrong.  They scratched their heads for a moment and had an "OOPS" moment.

See, the outside measurements of the deck box have to be 16' exactly.  So the senior guy (JR) had of course deducted the thickness of the end cap when he cut the joists to fit inside the box.  But forgot to deduct the thickness of the ledger board!  LOL!  Oh did he catch flak for THAT from JT.  And I got in a couple of friendly-kidding remarks later about that, which he took in good humour.

So after recutting all the joists anther 1.5" shorter, they were back in business.  Then I saaw a new surprise!  There are metal hangers to hold the joists to the ledger board and endcap.  Naturally, I would think you would attach the hangers to those and then set the joists down onto the hangers.  OF COURSE NOT!   They used a nail gun to hold the joists in place and then put the hangers under those tightly.  This is all contrary to my basic understanding of construction (and gravity, for that matter), but that's why THEY are building the deck and not me.  Me - 2 decks, Them - 200+, they weren't sure.

So here are most of the joists in place (I had to keep reminding myself; take pictures, take pictures).

THEN they put in the support posts.   I was getting the logic of it by then.  You only know where the posts and beams go when you REALLY know where the interior corners of the deck box are so you can push the posts up from below, put carriage bolts into the posts and beams, and THEN pour the cement into the holes to support!

The corner of my brain where my "Learned From Dad" experiences reside are all screaming "this is all bass-ackwards", but what I'm observing says "outside your box, watch and learn"!  So I shushed the Dad Corner and learned...

So here is a "support" post hung from the deck box, with cement poured into the hole.  Then when the cement hardens, it all flips around and the posts supprt the beams, which support the deck box, etc.  I'm still stunned.

This is the COOLEST gadget I don't own!  It clamps across a deck board, spaces the boards apart evenly 1/4".  Then you set a screw in the front and back holes (which are at angles), and drive them in!  The spacing is perfect every time and the screws are invisible.  Oh MAN, I love well-designed tools.

I also loved the screws.  In the old days, there were just straight-slot screw-heads.  Then there were   Phillip-Heads (an X).  Then there were square heads (which I use myself), then star-shaped and even "tork" which has 7 or 8 sides.  All the harder to slip the driver of the screw.  The guys use star heads.  But it this gaget that makes things so much easier.

Finally (yesterday), they attached the stair tread supports.  I am vaguely bothered by the deep cutouts on these pre-made stair hangers.  They just seem like they could break where the board is narrow.  When I built my steps on the old deck, I used solid 2"x12" boards and supported the treads on cleats attached with 1'2" bolts.  But I have to admit that 4 of those pre-made forms adds a lot of strength.

Still, I may add "sisters" (additional boards screwed to the sides of the preforms) the later. But 4 of those only a foot apart does look pretty sturdy.

Tomorrow, the completion!

New Deck, Part 2

What a couple of days!  Pictures at the end as a reward to those who read this whole chapter (or you can just skip down, LOL).

YESTERDAY: 

First, the foreman of the team that will actually build the deck was to arrive between 7 and 8 am to mark the spots for the posts.  I had barely gotten dressed (and all that routine morning stuff) when the doorbell rang promptly at 7.  I was shocked, but pleased not to have to wait.

The first surprise was that he went to mark a spot on my patio.  I stopped him to ask "why so close to the ledger board"?  Ledger board is a support attached to the house to support joists.  Turns out that ledger boards are no longer used so that decks are technically "free-standing".  Why?  So that if the house falls down while people are on the deck, they will be safe.

WHAT?  Well, it's The County Code and you can't argue with it.  That was my first big laugh of the day. 

So he sprayed an orange paint X on one spot and measured 6' further and was about to paint another X when I stopped him again.  "Thats directly in front on the sliding glass door.  I won't be able to move anything in or out of the basement.  Safety exit, too".  So he called someone and told me it can be 8'.  Just past the door.  OK, but 2nd big laugh of the day.

Then he went to where the posts had to go in the lawn.  I thought those were fine, so "no comment".  If it seems like I watch contractors carefully, you're right!  They do the damndest silly things sometimes.  I learned a lot from when the house was built almost 28 years ago.  I lived 60 miles away, so I visited every weekend to see how things were going.  Afterwards, I wished I had set up a big tent in the backyard and just lived there for 6 months so I could check on things every evening.  Utterly impractical of course, but I would have had a better house.

So then the guy tells me the hole digging team would be there "After Noon".  Not "This Afternoon", "After Noon".  They arrived at 3 pm.  But they said it would only take 2 hours to "punch out" the holes.  Fine.  They had a gas-powered auger and some 5' breaker bars (aka crowbars) and a post hole digger, and the 2 guys looked like former football players.  I figured there would be no problem.

The first 2 holes in the soil near the house went fine, about 30 minutes each.  The holes have to be 2' square and 2' deep.  The hole inspector (yes, the County must approve the holes for the main posts - "Code").

The 3 lawn holes farther from the house were a different matter.  After the 4" of topsoil I'm built up over the years, they hit rock-hard clay and sand that their auger would not dig into.  They were "upset" (If I could understand most of what they were saying, I probably would have learned some VERY interesting new phrases *Coff, Coff*). 

They alternated between hand and power tools after that, completed 1 and 1/2 of the 3 farther holes by quitting time (5 pm on the dot).  I pointed out that the hole inspector was scheduled to arrive between 9 and 10 am the next morning.  I thought that was cutting it close...

But just before they left, they drew a 2' square around the 2 painted Xs on the cement patio.  So I asked about that.  "THAT" led to my third big laugh of the day.  They have to cut holes in the cement to make holes just like in the lawn!  "Why can't you just put the posts on the cement patio"?  "CODE" again!

Apparently, they have a huge circular saw that cuts "right through" cement, but not to worry, the soil under the patio was certain to be looser and would "take no time".  And they would be back at 7 am "plenty of time".

So it took them 2 hours to dig 1.5 of the 3 farther lawn holes.  Then it should take them another 2 hours to dig the remaining 1.5 lawn holes.  AND they had to cut through a cement patio, bust of the cement, remove it, and dig 2 more 2' deep holes in the dirt underneath in then "zero  to 1 hours time" depending on when the inspector arrived.

I apologize for the length of this, but more will be happening tomorrow, so I need to get through "yesterday and today" now.

TODAY:

One digger arrived promptly a 7 am.  One thing I will say is that these people ARE punctual!  He went right to work struggling to auger, chop, and dig his way to the 2' depth required.  With no better success than yesterday!  The other guy arrived at 8 with a helper.  And while one guy and the helper went at the lawn holes, the other guy went at the cement patio with the huge circular saw. 

OK, progress...

The contractor himself showed up at 8:30 am to make sure the holes were finished pre-inspection.  What a surprise he had!  He watched them work and than looked at his watch.  I casually mentioned that there was no chance of them finishing the holes before 11 am at best.

So the inspector arrived at 9:15.  Failed them, of course.  Rescheduled for tomorrow morning.

It took til Noon before they got all the holes "done".  They just disappeared while I was in the house.  I measured all the holes, and they were at 22", not 2" full feet.  I hope they don't get failed again and need a 3rd inspection Thursday morning.  The deck will take 2 days to build, and it hadn't occured to me that Friday is the Independence day holiday, they don't work on weekends and that would mean until Monday before the new deck is finished!

Now, for some pictures and comments:

One of the Big Red Xs.

And on the cement patio.  Little did I realize that meant cutting into the cement.  I assumed at first it was just for post anchor bolts.

The auger they used for drilling holes in the soil.  Carefully cropped for my more sensitive readers.   The guy on the right had his pants and underpants halfway his butt most of the time.  There is a REASON that careless fat guys should wear suspenders!

One of the lawn holes they dug.

Cutting the square hole in the cement patio was dusty work.  I offerred him a workshop dust mask, but he declined.

Their assumption was that the cut cement would be easily broken up with a sledgehammer.  RIIIGHT!  They had to get a jackhammer.  And that took them forever.

They finally managed to complete all the post holes.  

All this, and the actual building of the deck is yet to start.  This preparatory rough work is (finally I hope) OK.  But the work I care about is the new construction.  I bet I experience more "fun" while that goes on tomorrow and Thursday.

Another Good Workout In The Yard

While I'm waiting for The Next Step on the new deck (Monday), I spent almost all day outside.  No one particular project, but a little of everything.

First was watering the plants.  We've had more rain than average since last Fall, but it hasn't rained much for 2 weeks, so that was a priority.  I built a tripod watering stand a few years ago and improved it last Fall (changed the nozzle from a shower wand type to a fan type) and used it today.  Much better coverage in my long but narrow beds.  I use a cheap digital kitchen timer than resets to the previous time after running down.  Great for repetitive waterings as I move the tripod along the beds.  The fan spreads out about 9' wide and 6'deep, which is perfect.

And in each 6 minute I can do other things until the timer beeps in my pocket.  I had noticed poison ivy under the old deck after it was removed, so I dug that up.  That took one watering spot cycle.  On the next, I started cutting down junk tree saplings .

I should explain that.  I've left some of the back yard "wildish".  Meaning its not lawn, but not "woods" either.  Its awkward to mow, so ivy, native vines and trees keep trying to grow there.  After the deck is done, I think I will arrange to have it leveled.  I don't mind the ridge itself, but it is a never-ending source of weed-seeds that find their way into my flowerbeds. 

I don't love great expanses of lawn (I never saw much lawn I didn't want to plant something more interesting in), but if I could use the riding lawn mower to keep the brush down, that would be nice.

Anyone want to take away 1200 square feet of very healthy english ivy?  Free? 

But for now, I was just cutting down the 3" to 5' unwanted tree saplings.  I cut them down 2 years ago and applied Roundup to the stumps.  I think most of those died, but there are always new ones ready to take their place.  So I would like to end that cycle. 

Then after the timed watering cycles were done, there were individual spots that needed hand-held watering.  That took a half hour, but I was in the shade by then and it wasn't too bad.  Plus there was a Washington Nationals baseball game on the radio and they were winning.

Not to say that I didn't stop each hour for 15 minutes inside to cool down and relax a bit...

I finished the day with the boat.  Its not much of a boat.  Its a 16' aluminum shell jon boat that I haven't used for 5 years.  It was full of leaves.  But one of the crew that demolished the deck Friday expressed an interest in buying it as he was about to retire and just wanted a small boat he could fish from.  Said he had always wanted a small boat but couldn't afford one.

I suggested that, if I cleaned it up, I could get $1,000 (with the trailer).  He offerred $500, as is.  And I have to admit the "as is" was not very impressive.  It was full of leaves and there was even a plant growing up from the leaf compost.  And "as is" meant it might even leak.

I'm a softy.  I agreed to $600  "as is".  He said he would come by next week.

Well Gee, I couldn't just let the boat be driven away with leaves blowing out of it, so I decided to scrape them out.  And then old habits of cleaning the boat out took over.  After 21 years, I know the ins and outs of cleaning this boat, so I just did it!  Wearing heavy rubber gloves and using a wide push-broom, I went after the leaves.  And in a selfish sense, I coveted the 1" thick layer of leaf-compost covering the inside.

So I scooped it all out as best I could.  Well, after that, it seemed only reasonable to use a hose on "jet" to beat off the remaining debris off the floors.  Then there was all the planty debris floating around inside and I decided to remove that as best I could.

It became "A Project"!

I ended up cleaning the boat.  I don't mean scrubbing the benches and floors to get rid on mold or mildew.  But in a macro sense, I cleaned the boat.  Wearing rubber gloves, I scooped out all the large debris and powered the smaller remaining compost to the back where there is a drain hole.  That got clogged a lot, so I found a bit of tree branch that fit the hole and unblocked it frequently.

All the while, listening to the baseball game then classic music while having a couple beers.  I was actually enjoying cleaning the boat!  Until...

In the middle bench, there is fillable compartment for keeping bait or storing caught fish.  When I opened the hinged lid on the top, a wasp flew out.  I have a bad history with wasps.  I ran half the yard away until I could see it left the area (yes, I'm far-sighted, I could see the wasp 20 yards away).

When I got close again, I saw there were wasp nests all around the inside of the bait well.  I don't like to use poisons, but I cannot work around wasps or hornets.  So I searched deep into my under-the-kitchen-sink-cabinet and found some wasp spray.  I committed waspicide...

Even with heavy rubber gloves, I was twitchy about picking off the wasp nests and stomping on them.  Please know that I understand wasps are beneficial and I try to leave them alone.  They are good for my gardens.  But they can be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Can you imagine what might have happened to the guy who is buying the boat and after driving the boat for miles opened that bait door cover?  The wasps would have been in a REALLY bad mood. 

So I killed the wasps and gingerly poking around in the bait well, found the drainage hole.  It took a while to get myself to pick out the dead wasps and nests blocking the drainage hole, but I did it.  And got the bait well cleaned and draining free.

Then I realized there is another great place for wasp nests under the raised area at the front of the boat, so I sprayed into there too.  

So much for wasps...

After having pretty much gotten rid of all reachable leaf debris, I needed to know if the boat leacked.  After 5 unused years, who knows.  So I propped up a shovel under one side of the boat to make it perfectly level from port to stern (sideways).  Then I lowered the front so that water would fill it up evenly stem to stern (front to back).

That took a half hour, while I went around the yard digging up all the poison ivy plants I could find.

Finally, I got it up to an exact point toward the front I can use as a guide.  If the water level in the boat drops any below that (and after 6 hours it hasn't) and if I see no drips from the boat, I know it is still waterproof.

The guy buying the boat is getting a real deal.  Did I mention that aluminum Jon boats have only a 1/16th thick aluminum shell and bottom?  Well, I bought 3/32nds aluminum plate to put on top of that.  Over a cover of outdoor carpet to deaden the sounds transmitted through metal as you fish?  And more outdoor carpet on the top of the aluminum plate so it doesn't get hot in the Summer?

But so am I (getting a good deal).  What value is something you have stopped using?  I'm going to get another boat soon.  It might be a smaller Jon boat (easier to manage as one person).  Or It might be a fancier one I can take out on Potomac River waters.  I'll decide that after I am rid of the old one which is neither.

And I had a WONDERFUL time working outside today!

New Deck, Part 1

I finally decided to have the 24 year old 2-level deck replaced.  Even pressure-treated wood doesn't last forever.  I had gotten estimates last Fall, but put off doing anything while I decided whether or not to rebuild it myself.  After all, I built the original, 200' of 6' tall fence, a toolshed, and framed raised beds.  But on my birthday in May, I concluded that:
1 - I'm not 40 any more
2 - I can do rough carpentry but not nice design work
3 - After treating the house to new siding and shingles, why build another ugly (but functional) deck
4 - I could afford to have it done by professionals

So  yesterday, I removed everything from the decks, and closed the container plants (lillies and caladiums -bad for cats) in the catroom.  This morning, I closed the cats in the bedroom,  and the people arrived to tear down the old and put up the new.

Well almost.  I knew they would do the demolition today and build the new deck Monday.  Except I didn't quite ask the right questions about the schedule.  They will START building the new deck Monday.  Monday is for digging holes and laying in footers for the posts to rest on (the old upper deck was 12'x12', the new one will be 16'x16' and there will be no lower deck).  Tuesday will be for the County to approve the footers.  Then on Wednesday and Thursday and possibly Friday they will actually build the new deck.

The cats are horrified and I'm not thrilled either.  I thought they would simply build the entire new deck.  It only took ME a week to build the existing one by myself!  Oh well, "this too shall pass"...

While I'll put together a whole demolition-to-completion post at the end of the project, here are a few demolition pictures:

The original, with all the furniture and stuff removed.

The demolition begins.

Down to the joists.

Nearly gone.

It all fit into 1 trailer.

And the demolition is complete!  And BTW, for some reason, the new green siding always looks blue in my photos.  The old ledger board is left in place for now to keep hot air and wasps from getting into the basement through the bolt holes.

I sure hope it doesn't rain next week to delay things further!

That Sad Red-Twig Dogwood Shrub

I bought a red-trig dogwood shrub 25 years ago.  It lives today.  But it was a poor variety bought cheap from a place that sells junk varieties.

I ignore it most times.  Just a sad plant in a corner.  But other stuff has grown up through it over the years.  I attacked it several days ago.  There were wild grapevines, Virginia Creeper, some thorny briears with heart-shaped leaves, and a sapling tree in there. 

I spent 2 hours with a lopper and prunners getting into the stuff that WASN'T red twigged dogwood.  And what was left wasn't pretty.  I think I will just remove the thing entirely.  No blame to the plant itself (it is was it is), but I think I will get a really good one with really red stems in Winter to replace it.

And because I am kind of a softy when it comes to innocent, but unloved plants, I will replant it in a far corner of the yard where it can grow happily by itself without feeling in competition with its fancier cousins.

Softy?  Yeah.  My house is full of plants saved from office trashcans.  I have a rat tail cactus that has been growing in a mason jar for 20 years,  Plus variegated ivy from about that long ago, 2 planters of sandsefcaria ("Snake Plant"), and spider plants collected over the years.  In fact, I don't have a single houseplant that I actually bought myself.

I have a Green Thumb when it comes to rescuing houseplants.  The one houseplant I have that I didn't rescue is a waxy hoya that my sister gave me as a housewarming present 32 years ago   And it is still thriving.

Now about that pruning attack I did today.  It was hot  and humid out.  90 degrees and 70% humidity.  And I have accumulated some interesting stuff over the years.  One I love is the "James River Hat".  Its a baseball cap with a 12' long flap of cloth that sits over the back of your neck to prevent sunburn.  It really works.

But when I came in for the day, I was drenched in sweat from top to bottom.  I had to change clothes entirely.  But I took a picture of my shirt.

And you should have seen the 2 dishtowels I used to wipe the sweat out of my eyes as I worked.  I could actually wring water from them.  I lost 3 pounds too.

But it was worth it.

Main Annual Bed

Finally got THAT done!  I was very pleased with the clearance sale orange zinnias I found at Walmart last year that I decided to plant zinnias myself this year.  But I found 2 I liked so I decided to make a pattern with both rather than just 1 big block.  One solid orange, and one mostly white with some slight pink stripes.  I'm calling it the Marley Bed (orange and white, get it?).

Since I came out with 27 each out of 36 seeds planted.  But what pattern of planting?  Well, I could have done "half and half", "alternating rows", or "every other one", but making dots on paper I realized I could make all the outside ones orange and all the inner ones white.  Well, that seemed different, so I went with that.

Now, planting things in a pattern can be tricky, so I made a measuring stick to help.  I found a 1"x2"x6' board and marked one side with 12" measurements and the other side with 9" measurements (actually, it was so useful I am going to mark the other 2 sides in 6" and 10" measurements).

I had eyeballed the general area of the bed.  It's wider at the back than the front.  And my eyeball measurements weren't perfect, so I had to adjust slightly.  With the measuring stick, I realized it was a bit wider at the back than I thought, so instead of perfect 9" spacing between plants, I used 12" spacing along the rows and 9" spacing between the rows.

Here is the before picture.

7' wide at the back, 5' wide at the front, and 6' deep.  Interesting geometric space to lay out.  I dug the soil up with my leverage fork, broke up all the soil clumps bigger (by hand) than a pingpong ball, and lifted out all the weeds.  Then raked as best I could.  Tossed the small rocks to the fence...  You can see a bit of soaker hose in the picture.  I pulled it all loose and set it aside.  I'll put it back in place next year.

And started planting.  The measurement stick really helped!  I use a bulb planterto make the holes for the seedlings. then add some fine topsoil to encourage root expansion and set the seedlings on that after loosening some of the roots.  Then add more fine soil to fill the hole.

 

But this year, using the measuring stick, I was able to plug out all the holes for a whole row at once.  Much better spacing than eyeballing it!  No matter how many years I go planting, I always learn something new each year.  I'll probably be getting it just about right by the time I die.

I didn't take pictures as I went (when you are "in the zone" you don't want to stop), but here is the completed bed.

Not all the seedlings had flowers, so I had to be careful to leave one flowering plant in each 6-pack as I went along so I could tell the color on the flowers remaining.

I ended up with one each orange and white zinnia at the end.  I'll put them in a container with the other orphans (I have salvia and forget-me-nots too).

I set up my new tripod-waterer after I was done planting.  The soil was dry as dust!  The previous tripod waterer had a shower wand on it, but I discovered last year that a fan waterer was better (wider area with less depth works better than circles for my beds).

I made a temporary try last year, and it was much more effecient at watering.  So I gave the back half 10 full minutes of full power watering, then 10 full minutes at the front half.  A lot easier with the fan spray as opposed to the round shower spray wand.

This may sound odd, but I will be cutting off all the flowers tomorrow.  I needed them to know which seedlings to plant for the pattern, but with the flowers cut off, more energy will go to the rrot development and the plants will send out more stems to become busier and grow MORE flowers in just a few weeks. 

I'll be sending more pictures of THAT!

Flowerbed Work

Well, while I'm working on the veggie garden, I can't ignore needing to plant the annual flowers I've raised indoors starting late January.  So I took out the leverage fork ( wonderful tool) and turned over all the soil in the large annual flower area of the flowerbed.

I like to listen to classical music while working, so I brought out an old (small) boom box and plugged it in with the outdoor extention cord I keep on the deck.  Got all the tools I needed fron the shed.  Ready to do some serious hard digging work (the bed was infested by some spreading grass weed years ago, and I've been eliminating it rather successfully over the past few years.

But just as I turned on my radio, the neighbor decided to mow his lawn.  So much for music...

SO, I started at the back and used the leverage fork (best invention since the shovel). 

 I went along the back row and did the same after stepping back 8" all the way to the front of the bed.  Then went and pulled out all the regular weeds but shoved my hands into the loosened soil to get those DAMN spreading grass runners from under the soil.  And I took the time to crush the hard clumps of soil as I went.

Well, you can't plant in hard clumps of soil, and breaking them up by hand is great finger-exercise!  I accumulated quite a pile of weeds and grass roots too.  I'll spread them out on a tarp in the sunlight to kill them before I add them to my compost pile.

I didn't plant the flowers there today.  For one thing, I want the soil to dry at the surface so I can rake it more easily, second, it is easier to see lines I draw in the soil to mark where where the new flowers go, and 3rd, it is easier to find and crush any remaining clumps of soil when they are dry.

Resting after the digging, I diagrammed my planting pattern.  I planted 36 each of a white and 36 of an orange zinnia and (by random happenstance) got 27 healthy plants of each.  So that suggested some designing.  They both grow to the same size, so I could have planted a few rows of one in the back and the rest in the front in big blocks (as usual), but I came up with something different.

The area is wide in the back and narrower in the front, so there were lots of odd patterns I could try.  Alternating the colors could be good, but as the rows got narrower towards the front, I couldn't keep thew pattern going.

I'm SO pleased with myself (yes, I admire my creative thinking often), but it took an hour of drawing rows of dots on scrap paper before I hit a pattern that used my 27 white zinnias and my 27 orange ones.

The bed will be outlined in orange zinnias and the center will be filled with white ones this year.  Hey, some people like the same patterns every year; I don't.  Last year, I did blocks.

Garden Renovation

Wow, it's been a week since I last posted...

I started renovating the garden area in April and found really hard work there.  I had put down various layers of weed-blocking material over the years, and they got covered with dirt.  LOTS of dirt!  Vining weeds grew among them and tree roots from the neighbor's' trees got in there too.

Pulling and cutting them all up was HORRIBLE!  It all falls into the "I can't believe I thought that was a good idea at the time" category!  I pulled the stuff up by brute strength mere inches at a time.  I shoved a 6' breaker bar under it all and pried it loose.  I cut it into manageable chunks with a curved rug-cutting knife and a razor knife.

I estimate it took 40 hours of hard frustrating work.  And it's not complete YET.  But is IS cut and removed for the area I want to rebuild framed beds with a chicken wire enclosure to keep the evil squirrels out.

I'm 64.  I can't do the hard work like I could when I was 35.  I had to do all of it 1 hour work, 1 hour rest inside and drinking gatorade to replenish.

But I finished it...

A few days ago, I hooked up a small yard cart (about 2.5 feet by 4 feet) to my riding lawn mower and started heaving the heavy sodden pieces of underlays into the trailer.  Then I drove my mower to the front yard and heaved those pieces into the 5'x8' hauling trailer.  It damn near killed me.  Then I drove the hauling trailer to the landfill, along with other junk and regular trash I have collected.  And hauled it all off again.  That means I had to handle each damn piece of underlay 4 times. 

Fortunately, I designed my hauling trailer so that I can remove the back and just drag all the junk off the back end.  And pulling the junk DOWN is going to be  LOT easier than lifting it UP.

The rest of the work is moving good garden soil from the existing (falling-apart) beds, breaking the old frames apart (and removing the old wood), leveling the new surface, building new beds, and moving the good garden soil to the new beds.

And even THAT won't be straight-forward work.  Since I'm rebuilding where the existing beds are (only place in my yard with half-decent sunlight), I have to do it in stages.  My old beds were small 8'x3' framed beds; the new ones will be 16'x4' (more space efficient because there is less wasteful path-space between them).  I will more than double my planting area in the same overall space.

I've moved enough existing soil and old frames to built the first new 16'x3' bed.  Then I will empty the existing beds soil into that.  Then I can tear THAT old wood apart and level THAT space and built the 2nd new framed 16'x3' bed. And THEN finally tear the old frames apart for the 3rd new framed bed...

WHEW!  And because the new beds will require more soil than the old ones, I'll only be filling each 1/2 way with existing soil.  So I'll be hauling in compost to mix in and fill the new ones. 

The good news is that the soil I've already dug up and piled onto other beds is now loose and easy to move.  The old soil had vine and tree roots in it and was Hard-As-Hell to dig into and move and I also had to spend time pulling the roots out of the soil lest they grow new Evil Plants.

My main gardening is not going to happen this year.  By the time I finish this rebuilding project, it will be too late to even plant crops for Fall harvest.  Fortunately, I took some space from my annual flowerbed to plant heirloom tomatoes, flat italian beans, and seedless cucumbers.  And I have bicolor corn, fingerling potatoes, and leeks growing in large containers.  Those are my favorite crops, as they are either expensive or difficult to find in local grocery stores.

Some pictures...

Prying up the old carpet.  Note the black plastic below that.  And there was synthetic (unrottable) "burlap" below that.

Had to pry it loose from below and the sides.

One of MANY piles of heavy pieces of cut carpet.  The pieces are deceptively heavy.

The lost herb bed.  I finally just dug it all up.  I'll start a new herb bed,

A 4" diameter tree trunk I had to dig out.  With axe, shovel, and pry-bar.

The first area cleared of soil, vines, unwanted tree saplings, and old frame wood.

A corn-planting container.  I have 3.  It's a month-old picture.  The 8 corns are 6" high, and I've planted leeks in between the corn .

I won't have a "normal" garden this year, but I'll get by.  Next year, I'll have a fine new enclosed garden the damn squirrels, rabbits, and groundhogs can't get into!

Father's Day 2014

I'm not sure what to say, because I just wrote a memorium for him a few days ago.  Yet, that was mostly about his life, not so much about our Father/Son relationship.  I'll think about that...

Dad was absent in most family photos.  I don't mean the formal family pictures where some else took the picture, but the everyday ones.  That's because Dad was taking all the pictures.  He just doesn't show up in the pictures of us kids much; they were of "Mom and Kids". 

But I have memories. 

1.  Every Summer we spent a week with each set of Grandparents (who lived in New England).  The trip was easy when we still lived in Massachussetts, but became longer as promotions brought us to Maryland and Virginia.  And there were few highways back then.  So we got in the habit of stopping at the same motel overnight on the way.  It was kept clean and there was a swimming pool.  Well, I hate cold water and one day I was standing at the edge reluctant to jump in.  Dad walked behind me and gave me the slightest shove that sent me in! 

Later, while Dad was watching my young sister, I walked behind him.  And with the confidence that comes of "growing up" (I may have been 11/12).  He fell in.  Frantically waving the towel he was holding.  It was the last dry towel we had.  Well, not after he fell in!

2.  At about the same age, Dad taught me golf.  I'm sure he mostly wanted me to learn the game that both he and Mom loved, but he also wanted a caddy.  I of course wasn't good enough at the game to actually play with his group (Dad was a scratch golfer in those days), but I could pull his cart.  Well, I wasn't much of a prankster, but I had my moments (and still do - and learned it from Dad - see #1 above). 

I had found a fake golf ball (made of chalk but with a plastic coating and label that made it LOOK real) at a store.  I kept it with me each week and waited, and waited and waited.  FINALLY, he had a bad drive and had to hit a provisional ball (used in case the first ball could not be found).

Dad asked me to toss him a ball from his bag.  He set it on his tee, swung, and the ball turned into a cloud of dust!!!  He stood there in complete shocked silence for about 10 full seconds before I, then a playing partner, then the other 2 collapsed in fits of laughter.  And Dad STILL looked around confused for a moment before he realized what I had done.  THE BEST TRICK I EVER PULLED ON ANYONE MY ENTIRE LIFE! 

But you know what?  He never ever mentioned it in my presence. 

3.  Dad HAD a sense of humor.  He had one of the first battery powered electric shavers.  I didn't know about that of course, Dad shaved in private and my parent's bedroom suite was as foreign to us kids as the Taj Mahal.  So when he was one on the adults chaperoning us Boy Scouts on Operation Icicle 1966 (Operation Icicle is when we camped out on the coldest weekend of the year, usually in snow, and it got down to -5F that year.

So the first morning, Dad got up and stuck the plug of his electric razor into tree bark and proceeded to shave!!!  We were all stunned.  To our astonished questions, Dad just replied "Its all about understanding how to use electricity".  Which was true, of course, but none of us kids knew about rechargeable batteries in 1966.

4.  This memory involves both my Dad AND his brother.  We visited New England one year and my uncle brought us to a lake he knew well.  Uncle Allan was a professional fishing guide, so anyplace he brought us was sure to be successful.  Basically, we trolled around the perimeter of the lake with trout flies on weighted lines (technical details on request, but its too long for here).

Well every time we passed a particular spot, I caught a fish.  And the 2 "better" fishermen didn't.  After it was 3-0-0, Dad asked to use my rod, same setup.  No luck.  So Uncle Allan tried it too.  No luck.  When I had the rod back, I caught another at the same spot.  It is a mystery to this day.  I think I just had the "right touch" of twitching the fly that one day. 

5.  This one is a bit indirect, so bear with me.  I have been tearing up my 25 year old raised framed garden beds and the stuff I set between them to avoid muddy paths for 2 months.  Today I started hauling out the cut up chunks of old carpet, synthetic burlap and black plastic sheeting, and dumping them in my hauling trailer.

The brother of a neighbor came by and mentioned he had landscaping work skills and wondered if I needed paid help cheap as a cash side job.  I was tempted.  I feel worn out by this garden renovation project.  At 64, I can't do wht I did here at 36.  I could hire people to do this while I watched.  But doing it myself is a point of pride.  I got that from my paternal Grampa and my Dad.  They both taught me that you do any work you can until you are exhausted then you rest a while and go back at it.

So the neighbor guy's offer of below-standard-pay help was very tempting, but I declined.  It won't mean anything if I don't do it myself. 

Dad did heavy work when he was older than I am now.  I honor his work ethic by continuing to do as much as I can for as long as I can.  Like Father Like Son...

As many differences as we had, we had that in common.  There are many things I have learned to do in my life that Dad had no part of.  But there are many more things I have learned that Dad taught my very deliberately. 

For those things Dad taught me, I thank him.  For those things I learned on my own, I thank him for that too, because he taught me to learn new things.

6.  I will no longer be making birthday and Father's Day cards for Dad.  I will no longer be arguing with him in my mind (tell me you never "argued" with a parent in your mind). 

But on this Father's Day, for the first time, I do not have a living father (and Mom died in 2010).  And it is feeling strange...  Not mournful, Dad was 92, and died of general old age.  Its a sense of absence of elders I suppose.  I'm now the eldest of my immediate family, and that feels VERY odd.

Old Photo

 My sister sent me the most AWESOME photo yesterday!

I can surely guess that it is from late Spring 1922, and probably where it was taken (Ohio).  I have no certainty who the 2 gentlemen on the left are.  I can guess about the guy on the right.  Why?

Because the baby being held is my Dad!

I'll assume the guy holding my dad is my paternal grandfather.  I'll make a logical guess that the 2 gentlemen on the left are my 2 paternal great-grandfathers.

WOW!