Last Minute Projects

While Rick continued to paint the back porch today, I decided to handle our purchases from yesterday by planting my container garden.

We wanted to get the porch treated lumber painted this year, now that it has had a year to dry.  Rick started yesterday with the south wall so we could hang the sun shades on that side once the paint dries.  However, since we are expecting 2 inches of rain tomorrow -- and no sun -- we will wait until Monday to hang the shades.  Why get them soggy when we do not have to do so?

Today he started painting the east wall of the porch.  If we do not get that job done before his surgery on Tuesday, I can always finish it later.

The perfect place for my lilac is in this corner.
It will get lots of sun but still be protected from
harsh winds.

We purchased a new purple lilac bush to replace the one that the tree service morons destroyed two years ago.  Now that the fence is up, I wanted the bush back in the same corner.  Rick dug the hole, and we now have a familiar sight when we look in that direction.  I hope that in time it will nicely fill the corner.

The yellow pot contains green bell pepper plants
while the metal tub from my Dad contains two
varieties of zucchini.

Next came my container gardens.  Since food prices are skyrocketing thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, I decided to expand my garden beyond my normal two tomato plants.  At Stein's yesterday, I purchased what I knew we would eat in different varieties.  We will see what grows the best.

Four pots with three different varieties of tomatoes will happily
grow on our back screened-in patio.  We'll see which pot produces
the most tomatoes.

As soon as I finish this blog, I am back outside to cut the grass for the first time this season.  Rick planted grass in the bare spots of the lawn this morning, so  I want to cut the rest of the grass before the rains tomorrow.  Tomorrow I can tackle my indoor cleaning and sewing chores.  No matter what, we both always find things to do. Only unimaginative people get bored.

Much Mulch

When we got up this morning and asked Alexa what the temperature was, neither of us expected her answer: 29 degrees!  Apparently, Green Bay set a new record cold for this date.  Oh, good.  Just what we wanted to hear...

Of course, that did not stop us from going outside to work.  By the time we ventured out an hour  or so later, the temperatures had risen to a "reasonable" 44 degrees.  We traveled around the corner from our house to Green Bay Nursery to buy some badly-needed mulch.  We had last put mulch into our front garden two years ago when we had decided to sell this house.  We bought a cheap mulch to dress up the garden a bit for the sale, and then we backed out of selling the house.  Instead, we remodeled the den into a laundry/ weaving room.  The cheap mulch worked fine for that year.

New mulch surrounds the just-starting-to bloom
giant hostas and the daylily plants in front of the
front porch.

Last year, we were busy remodeling the back porch, so we neglected the front gardens once again.  This year, we had to do something.  We could have driven a few miles out of town to get mulch at a different nursery.  Their price was $10.00 less expensive for a cubic yard of mulch, but by the time we spent the time and the gasoline to get there and back, we decided that going around the corner for mulch was worth the extra $10.00.

We ended up putting in three yards of mulch.  Thankfully, Rick purchased a mulching fork.  It resembles a pitch fork, but it has 10 tines that made scooping up the mulch much easier than trying to move it with a regular shovel.  This will not be the last time we have to purchase and to spread mulch into the garden, so we will get use out of the fork in the future.

We spent the morning picking up the mulch in our truck, forking it out into the garden, and spreading it around all of the plants.  The gardens are just beginning to bloom and to grow, so now was a good time to get it ready for the summer.  Rain is predicted tonight and tomorrow, so that was another good reason to get this job completed today.

The gardens span two-thirds of the front yard, so we were happy
to get them filled with new mulch.

We especially needed mulch in the southern part of the garden
that slopes down the yard under the Japanese Lilac Tree.

The grass in the front yard is starting to get a bit shaggy, but that will have to wait until the dry weather again on this coming Friday.  Until then, we both feel we are nearly finished with the outdoor work.  I would like to plant a new lilac bush in the back yard, but that, too, will wait for warmer weather and another day.  Now we hope we can sit back and enjoy the fruits of our labors.

Finished, For Now

We have spent yesterday and today doing the final work on the fence project... at least for now.

We needed the first of the final three panels to totally block
the neighbor's yard from our view on the patio.

Yesterday we put in the last three panels of fence on the south side, adding a fourth corner panel out of necessity.  We ventured out on the coldest work day that we have encountered yet.   My hands were frozen after being outside, in gloves, for just a few minutes.  We worked together to put up the first two eight-foot panels with no problem.

The first of the final three is up.  Note that we had
to raise the fence at this point as the yard raises
as we approach the front of the house.

With that first panel complete, the view from
our patio is much improved!  No more
neighbor's eyes watching us on the patio.

With the third panel in, we also "turned the corner"
to provide a gate post on the south side of the house.

Then we got to the last panel.  Rick looked at the situation and decided that if we were going to connect the gate and have it open to the south, we needed to add a post just a few inches away from our corner post.  To do that, we had to expand the already dug corner post hole so that it would accommodate both the corner post and the gate post.  That took a bit of time and maneuvering, but in the end, it all worked out.  The gate opening only has a single fence slat in it, but it was what we needed in order to add structure inside the post so we could hang the gate hinge on it.

Once we were finished with the southern fence, we decided to quit for now.  Rick will have surgery a week from today, and we did not want to rush adding the other parts of the fence necessary for the gates on both sides.  What we have now will suffice until we can get to the gates at the end of the summer.

Rick dumps another load of black dirt on the mostly clay fill.

This morning, Rick was out bright and early working with the piles of dirt left over from the holes we dug.  We knew we needed the dirt to fill in the indentation in the back yard, and the clay and dirt filled it in quite well.  However, we were left with an unsightly part of the yard that badly needed black dirt in anticipation for sod or grass seed, so off Rick went to get some black dirt.

With the yard filled in and the black dirt in place, we are ready
to discover how good we are at planting grass.

After a few more hours of shoveling dirt and spreading it around, we now are ready to add the seed or sod to the back yard.  It will take some more money and effort to get it to where we can enjoy it, but we have a good start... and today is only May 12!

Three More Down, Three to Go

For whatever reason, today was a hard day for both of us.  Neither of us can really figure out why.  We both got a good night's sleep last night, and we slept until a little after 7:00 a.m.  We did not have to unload cement from the back of the truck, but both of us are really tired.  We had to force ourselves to get outside to continue our work on the fence.

Of course, the cold weather did not help encourage me to go outside this morning.  I really am getting sick of this 30+ degree garbage that we wake up to each day.  The temperatures actually rose to the mid-50s by this afternoon, but that is where they should have started this morning.

Our goal was to finish three more panels today so that we would have just three left to finish the south wall.  We met our goal, but we both really struggled to do so.

I'll let the pictures tell the story again.

The first two panels are up while the third one
rests in the box.

The third panel blocks off most of our view of one of the decks
in the back yard of the corner duplex next door.

This is the view from our patio.  Both of the neighbors who
live in the duplex said that they really think the fence looks great. 

With these three panels, we have blocked off peeping eyes from the street around the corner.  The panels also have given our neighbors privacy from us and we from them. Now they can sit on their decks without us seeing them, and we can sit on our patio without anyone watching us.  That was the plan.

Tomorrow the weatherman predicts SNOW again!  Whoever thought we would be anticipating snow on May 10?  Since tomorrow is Mother's Day, we plan to take the day off and to enjoy spending a little time with Lindsay, Christopher, and Owen.  The fence can always wait until Monday.

How to Grow a Fence

Yesterday was our day to make some progress on the south side fence.  We really want to get that side finished because it will give us privacy from not only the street but also from the messy yard and running children who come to the in-home daycare next door.

So how does one grow a fence?  One load of cement and one panel section at a time.  What certainly helped was that we had the holes all dug and cleaned up, so we did not have to bother with any ground preparation.  We simply had to follow our routine for each hole: fit the bottom rail to the previously installed post and modify the terrain so it lies level, mix Batch 1 of the cement, drop down a layer of stone into the hole, add Batch 1 to the hole, fit in the fence post, slide in the bottom rail and level it again, add the fence panels and top rail, plumb the post, check level on the top, mix and gently pour in Batch 2 of the cement, add more cement as necessary to fill the post inside to ground level.

And this is how the landscape looks as we "grow" our fence:

This was the state of the fence where we started yesterday.

Then we added the first post and panel...

and the second post and panel...

and then the third and final post and panel for the day.

Snow dusts the front flower garden as the daylilies
continue to grow. 

Snow and bitter cold weather greeted us today, so we planned on not working outside.  Instead, I did my regular Friday cleaning chores while Rick went to Home Depot for another 30 bags of cement.  He also ordered some needed materials to finish the gates on the fence. Those materials should arrive at Lowes in Appleton in another two weeks.

Our plans for tomorrow are to brave whatever cold weather lingers as we add three more posts and panels to the south side fence.  I never dreamed that we would have a fence completely surround our property before June 1, but we seem to be on the right track to finish this project on time.  See?  Staying at home does have its benefits.

Around the Corner and Into the Home Stretch

We have spent the past two days buying and hauling more cement, cleaning out the machine-dug holes, routing new openings in end posts to accommodate terrain changes in the back yard, and putting up fencing panels.

The east side is complete, and we were able to round the corner
to put in our first panel on the south side of the fence.

The south corner drops low, so we started to fill it in
with dirt taken from the post holes.

Today, after getting up early and beating the crowds at Home Depot as we purchased more cement, we started on the southeast corner.  That post and panel took a bit of effort since it was both a short section that Rick had to modify components to fit, and it was at an odd angle to avoid buried telephone lines.  In the end, we were able to complete the corner, although just as the other corner is, this one, too, is a wonky-donkey corner.  Our property angles in the back.  The front of the property is much wider than is the back property line, and our fence actually follows the strange line to the back corner.

We added one more panel to the north side
to completely block the neighbor's view of our back yard.

We also completed the panels needed for the north side of the fence.  We made one error in routing out an end panel, so that post will hit the scrap pile.  It happens.  The north fence now runs completely past our neighbor's den windows, so they no longer will have a direct sight line onto our patio and back yard.  The gate for that side may have to wait for another day.

The dirt from all of the holes will be just enough
to fill in a really low spot at the back of our yard,

We will try to put in three more panels on the south side tomorrow; however, I told Rick that if we get the predicted SNOW on Friday, I am not going outside.  A girl has to have her limits and stick to them!

Our deadline is next Friday, May 15.  The work on the fence must be completed on that day so Rick can have some down time before he faces Achilles surgery on Tuesday, May 19.  I think that we should be able to meet that deadline without too many problems.

Lots of Holes and Help from Owen

Yesterday we made more progress with the fence as we continued to dig holes and to erect fence panels. Lindsay and her family came over to check the results, and we put Owen to work.  He wanted to "help" build the fence, so Rick got him dressed in protective gear and let him help glue the tops to the completed fence posts.  Owen was a little insecure on the ladder, but Grandpa kept him safe.  The fancy caps are the finishing touch to this ornate fence.  By mid-afternoon, we were done with the work for the day.

Owen waits while Rick applies adhesive to the inside
of the post cap.

Apparently, the glue does not smell very good!

After the cap was in place, Owen had to hold
it down firmly for 10 seconds while the glue set.

We did not waste the rest of the day, however.  Rick contacted Home Depot, and we were able to rent the towable hydraulic auger so that we could dig holes on the south side of the lot today.  Of course, Rick could not wait to try it, so in our good clothes, we had to try to dig a hole... with not great results.

The first hole we tried, the auger went down a couple of feet and stopped dead.  We had hit a large tree root, so that was the end of that hole.  Rick will have to take his SawzAll to that hole to eliminate the root, and then we can dig the rest of the hole by hand.

Not to be defeated, we tried a second hole.  We got down a few feet again, but we had a terrible time getting the auger back up.  Rick was tired, frustrated, and ready to return the auger right then and there.  He figured out, however, that cutting through the grass was part of the trouble as it gummed up the blades, so we decided to try something different this morning.

Owen tries his hand at cleaning out one of the shallow
holes by using Grandpa's post hole digger.  He actually
got quite a bit out of the hole.

Ten covered holes (to keep out children and
baby bunnies) now line the south side of our property.

Today, we went out, located where all of the holes should be, and then cut out the sod and dug down about a foot so we would have a "starter hole" in which to place the auger.  That system worked very well.  Although the auger still took both of us to push down and to frequently pull up to expel the dirt, by noon today we had completed 10 holes!  Success!

Lindsay half-filled the wheelbarrow, and
Owen used his strength to take it across the yard
to our dump site.

Christopher brought Owen over to watch the auger since he is fascinated with machines, and afterward he helped us move some of the dirt across the yard to where we need to fill in low spots.

Tomorrow, we will continue to put up fence panels.  We still need to dig one hole on the north side.  That must be done by hand so we do not cut through our sump-pump drain line.  We also need to hand dig the southeast corner post hole since that hold is very near utility lines.  Once all of the holes are dug, we can spend the rest of the time just "planting" poles and filling in the fence.  We hope to have everything completed by next Friday.

Two for Three

Well, our plans to get the auger to dig all of the remaining holes fell through last night when we went to Home Depot.  Rick had called; the man who answered said that the auger was there and that we could come and get it.  Our bad.  We ate dinner first, and by the time we went to Home Depot someone else had come in and rented the auger for today.  We both were disappointed, but life goes on.

So instead of digging lots of holes with the power auger, we opted for digging two more holes (we already had one dug on the north side) and three more panels.  The work has to continue if we are going to get most of this fence up before Rick's Achilles surgery, so two holes for three more fence posts was what we did today.

The day actually started with me taking care of some inside house work while Rick went back to Home Depot for 30 more bags of cement.  What a way to start the day!  He was tired before we even started to work on the yard, but we needed the extra cement if we wanted to continue with our building process.

The first hole on the east side went smoothly.  There is little to get in the way, and the soil is moist on that side of the yard, so Rick had that hole dug in about half an hour.

The hole on the north side took a little more time.  The ground is both higher and drier there, so the clay has to be broken up like concrete.  Speaking of concrete, in the hole he dug today, Rick actually found a large chunk of it.The chunk definitely was poured by someone a long time ago.  I figure some past owner of this house had a clothesline pole in that location, with the opposite end of the lines connected to the back of the house.  With a little prying, Rick was able to get the chunk out without too many problems.

Rick walks away from the first completed panel of the day.

We put the first post in about mid-morning.  Rick had cut holes in two end posts yesterday so we would be able to step up the north side fence again today.  How great it was to have that option available today! We started with the north side because we wanted to put up two posts on that side today. We put in the first one, and while that post's cement had time to settle and to set, we moved on to the east side panel.

The east side panel almost reaches behind our shed.  With the next one,
we will block out that part of the neighborhood.

We put in the second post and fence panels just before lunch.  I am so happy to get those panels in to block out the rental properties behind us.  The renters have a bunch of loud children, and they neither rake nor mow the back portion of the property more than a couple of times a year.  Having them out of sight -- and having them not being able to see into our back yard and patio -- will be a relief.  With the panel we put in today, we almost have our privacy on that side of the yard.

This fellow really was a turkey as he decided
not to help us build our fence!

After lunch, we went out to complete the third panel.  As I went to the front yard to sweep out the cement debris from the back of the truck, my neighbor across the street, Kathy, started to yell, "Look!  A turkey!"  Sure enough, an absolutely huge tom turkey was walking down the middle of her neighbor's yard.  Then the turkey crossed the street and walked between our house and the neighbor's house.

"Ah, help at last,"  I thought.  Sadly, he veered away from our yard and took off down the adjacent street.  Maybe he got wise when he smelled what I have in the crock pot for dinner tonight-- a turkey breast!

The two new panels on the north side almost give us -- and our neighbors --
privacy from each other.  One more panel will block them from seeing
our patio and back yard from their den windows.

We finished the third panel about 2:00 p.m.  This panel required the stepped up post that we cut yesterday, so when we add more panels on that side, we will be ready to just build out from there.

With the digging and cement work done, we cleaned up the yard.  Then Rick took the box of post caps and installed them on our finished posts.  We cannot put caps on the posts from which we need to build tomorrow, so those were the only ones he did not complete.  As he was doing that, I took the shovel and the garden rake and tired to redistribute the dirt that we had removed from the holes.

With each hole, post, and panel, we get closer to our goal of completing the fence -- with the exception of the gates -- before May 19 when Rick is due to have surgery.  With each hole, post, and panel, we also gain more privacy in our back yard, and that is our ultimate goal.

Four More

We had to take advantage of the beautiful weather today by getting outside and putting in another long day building the fence.  The results?

• Four more panels installed, two on the north and two on the east
• 32 more feet of fence to give us privacy
• 1, 642 more sore muscles and joints (Lead me to the Advil!)
• Seven hours of work
• Two happy (and exhausted) people

The pictures will tell the story.

This is where we started this morning.

Our first panel needed to go up on the east side.  Note the stick in the middle
of the dumped dirt pile.  That marks the spot for the first fence post today.

With the panel installed on the east side, we turned our attention
to the north side.  We needed to step the fence up on that side to allow
for the grade in the landscape. 

Note how the latest panel on the north side is a step up from the rest.

Our final picture shows that the added four panels are starting
to create a "fenced in yard" feeling to our landscape. 

We have just enough cement left to install one more 8-foot section of fence, but since the weather is supposed to be wonderful tomorrow, we have decided to dig holes instead.  To that end, we will go tonight to rent a power auger for 24 hours, and with that auger, we hopefully will be able to dig all but four of the remaining holes.  I'll let you know how tomorrow goes...