Well, I didn't post anything here all summer. I guess I was mostly just lazy, and it was a busy time with Megan and I both starting new jobs as well trying to keep up with the homestead. I'm just gonna run down a couple of highlights of the summer in bullet form for ya.
- Planted the window boxes (as you can see from my previous post)
- Nearly killed those plants
- Revived them just in time for them to frost
- Ford 914 mower deck crapped out on me 2x again this summer
- Midas and Lucy gobbled up our crop of peaches and puked up the pits inside the house
- Midas and Lucy continued to make themselves sick on apples following the peaches
- Megan and Mom painted most of the house yellow (I might add some pics of that)
- Repaired multiple breaks in the underground dog fence wire caused by moles/groundhogs
- Midas and Lucy enjoyed a bumper crop of pears
More recently I added the following to my yard arsenal:
Oh...and Lucy finally caught a mole after months of hunting and digging:
Update: May 3, 2008 - I finally put the other box up and they have also been populated with vegetation. The ends are planted with sweet potato vines (black and chartruse), and the middle has a combination of pink begonias and sky blue trailing lobelia. We'll see how it all works out. Hit up the picture link below to see how the initial planting looks.
My winter project this year was completely impractical, but more fun than those 'necessary' projects.
Over the months since Christmas I have been steadily building two 'Whimsical Window Boxes' (as described by the plans not by me). I found the plans on the Cottage Living website. They can be found here. Click the pic below to check out the gallery images.
As is customary for us in the dregs of winter, we purchased a new piece of furniture (in lieu of doing any actual home improvement work). I purchased a new barrister bookcase at an estate sale in the great municipality of Delevan. It is an oak 5 section piece with crown and open leg base.
The purchase necessitated moving nearly every other piece of furniture that we own. The living room has been completely rearranged and half of the office was also moved. When it was done, we gained an extra chair in the living room and more seating there is always good.
Pics later, if I feel like it (maybe even with the new camera).
Current Project: Install new hot water heater
Status: Partially complete
The old hot water heater is electric and apparently full of junk. Consecutive hot showers are currently impossible because the hot water does not last long enough. It also costs a pretty penny to operate. I bought a new natural gas unit with a power vent at Menards. Currently we have the gas pipe and venting installed. All that remains is the copper water pipe, which will be a challenge because neither dad nor I have ever done it.
UPDATE: December 5, 2007
I learned how to sweat copper pipe. Well, at least I did some of it but perhaps it all leaks. I have not yet connected it to the water line and tested it out.
Pictures added in the gallery here.