Friday, April 25, 2014

Work to Be Done


Our recent trip to visit my brother in Arizona fueled the urge to come home and get things going not only in the gardens, but Menagerie Manor itself has been needing some work for years and we have been putting off and putting off until it can no longer be ignored.  The heavy tile roof has done some damage over the forty years it has been on.  The tile is actually made of concrete, so each 7x13 inch piece weighs considerably.  We have decided it is time to have a new roof put on next year.  Next week a company is coming out to shore up the front porch, replace the weathered side of the cedar siding and remove a spot or two of dry rot.  All very boring and expensive work, but it needs to be done.
Digging out the old footing making way for a larger concrete footing poured and set to cure a few days before the rest of the work continues.
Meanwhile I got a good start on the gardens with our week of good weather.  A couple of years ago, MeMa brought home a very nice wrought iron gate that she picked up for free at a garage sale.  I installed it on the path that runs from the greenhouse to the area that houses the vegetable garden, garden house and MeMa's picking garden.  All places off limits to dogs.
The gate installed, Popeye was quite upset he could not get into the back gardens to do his deed.



I planted out this tray of lupine seedlings. I always grow extra because they go in the bed bordering the Crazy Cat Ladies drive.  CCL always drives over the first few seedlings before they have chance to grow enough for her to see them.




These are trays of Cippolini onions (reds and whites) and I started two trays of tomatoes and one tray of sweet peppers.

MeMa found a great sale on wall blocks so while she unloaded blocks I built up this corner of the shrub bed next to the new patio.



MeMa is not the only bargain hunter.  At the office the other day I was alerted to the fate of these two very large planters that were going to be dumped.  I gathered several employees and we put them in my work van.  The upper one now houses my apricot tree and the lower one will go on the front porch and will be the summer home for our very large bird of paradise plant. They weigh a ton and I will have to have help wrestling the last one onto the porch.  I used a mason drill bit and was only able to make one drain hole in the largest pot. It took quite a long time to complete it and the bit is now dull beyond use as the pot appears to be made of glazed concrete or something of that nature.
I love this time of day, looking west out the sun room windows and seeing everything leafing out and filling in.  I have loads more planting to do and trays of annuals in the greenhouse that are waiting until we stop having cold nights.  Hope you all have a great weekend. 

3 comments:

  1. It's the disruption of a repair that's the most offputting. We must redo the front porch this year. It's been avoided for several years now.

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  2. Certain essential house repairs cost us a fortune, but do not seem to improve our lives. It's as if we're paying-out for nothing. We have to look at it as 'investment'.

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