Lunch?

Lunch outside on the patio anyone? It’s not patio furniture but it works, and we have The Beatles.

Oversite Corrected

You cannot see our back yard from the street. Therefore when it’s time to do yard work almost all of our focus goes to the front yard. I do mow the back grass now and then, when it gets really long, but spring and fall clean up usually gets passed over.

Not this year!

The wind tends to swirl around the house, so almost all of the leaves that drop in the back yard end up pushed against the house. For the first time in two years all of the leaves are gone! It’s a miracle! My step son and I did most of it yesterday, and this morning I went out early(ish) and finished it. This soil is seeing sunlight for the first time in 8 seasons. It’s incredible! My step son and I then started tackling raking the rest of the leaves. We’re about 2/3 finished right now. The trick for the remaining third is that there are some huge downed branches blocking the way. I think I can move the biggest one, but it might require the purchase of an axe. We’ll see.

If we don’t finish this today then I will finish it next weekend and then start on cleaning up the front of the house. If nothing else, it’s exercise that will help with the whole weight watchers plan. There’s an upside to everything!

Yard Work Sucks

My step son and I went out to the long neglected back yard and did some yard work.

Yard work sucks.

Seeing as no one can see the back yard unless they are stalking through the woods, I tend to let the leaves go and only worry about the grass getting too long. That means the wind blows the leaves against the house and they just stay there. Today we started the chore of tackling that particular pain in the scrotum. We got a lot of it done, but I have to go back out tomorrow.

Yard work sucks.

Lawn Mower Drama

Remember on Thursday when I said the little lawn mower we borrowed from my father was fixed?

It was.

I have about 3/4 of the property finished. All that’s left is the part of the back yard that you cannot possibly see from the street. The mower though, has started conking out on me. It will run for anywhere from 15-20 seconds to 5 minutes before dying. Sometimes it starts right back up, other times it takes 4-5 pulls.

I’m guessing the fuel line is clogged.

It also had a screw that holds the two pieces of the handle together shake itself loose and fall off. Fortunately we have an army of lawn mowers in the garage and I was able to replace it without going to the store.

Still though… what the hell, mower?

Huge Tree Branch

I went into the back yard when I got home. Before I left this morning I saw that one of the bird feeders fell over. Tonight I went out to fix it. That’s when I noticed that a HUGE tree limb had fallen down. It was HUGE! It fell along the edge of the yard where the rock wall is. It’s maybe 70% of the length of the yard. It’s HUGE!

Hawk

I over slept a little this morning. When I did wake up I wanted to get out of bed, but Patches the kitty was lying down next to me and I just couldn’t disturb her.

When I eventually did sit up she was very adamant about me petting her, so I just sat there and spent some quality time with her.

That was when I just happened to look out the window. I just happened to see one of our friendly neighborhood hawks glide casually across the back yard. I’d say it was 8-10 feet high and coasting along slowly. I stood up to get a better look (Patches was pissed) but I couldn’t see where it went.

Living in wild kingdom rules!

Freeze Gopher

So… Is this from critters above ground digging down, or critters under ground digging up?

As Heard in Wild Kingdom

I’ve always wondered about this. Do we have any owls living in the back yard wild kingdom? There are a couple of hawks, some woodpeckers, and some other cool looking birds too. I’ve never seen an owl though. I know they live in this part of Massachusetts, I’ve just never seen one in our woods.

I’m pretty sure I just heard one though.

Whooo whooo whooo.

Awesome.

Time to Buy a Chain Saw

On Wednesday or Thursday night we had a nasty little thunderstorm come rolling through town. The wind was really high and the rain was coming down in buckets. It didn’t last long, but it was pretty tough while it was here. At one point my wife and I were sitting next to each other and I heard a loud crack. I said to her that I think a tree limb just came down in the back yard. When morning came there was nothing.

Until yesterday morning.

It must have hung on as long as it could and then came down when no one was around to notice. I saw this for the first time shortly after waking up on Saturday morning. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to move this one on my own. I might have to invest in a chain saw (and then be too terrified of it to ever use it).