Up on the Rooftop...

 For the last few days, Rick and I have tried to get back into our routine of completing one chore around the house in the morning (when our energy is up and the temperatures are down), and then relaxing and taking a long walk in the afternoons.

On Monday of this week, we started that routine by starting to wash our very long fence. We started with the south side gate and fence. He scrubbed the inside of the fence while I tried to get the dirt off the top of the fence and the fence posts.  About mid-way through that day, though, Rick got side-tracked into using a black streak remover to scrub down the very dirty eavestroughs.  He also found one gutter that has started to leak and damage the fascia board behind it, but that is a chore for another day...

The left side of the gutter is washed while
the right side is filled with dirt and streaks.

On Tuesday we moved our efforts to the back (east) fence.  We made that job a bit trickier since we put the garden in front of the whole fence last year, so we had to work around brick edgers, stones, and plants.  The neighbor's tree is pushing up one section of the fence, and someday we will have to do something about that problem, but that, too, is a chore for another day...

Although the plants have grown up since this photo,
the fence line remains just as long!

Yesterday Rick washed the inside of the north fence.  While he was doing that, I went into our neighbor's yard to cut back the vegetation that technically is on our property.  Vegetation should never touch a fence or a house as it tends to damage both surfaces, so while Rick washed one side, I dug out Mother-in-Law's Tongues, ferns, vines, small trees, and other vegetation that got in our way.  Our neighbors are gone for the month, so they were not around to watch us; however, we have done this in the past, and they never have cared.  I filled almost two full bags of yard debris from the fence line, and after he was finished with the inside of the fence, we also scrubbed the outside of the fence on the north side.

Yes, we still have to wash the outside of the fence on the east and the south sides.  The east side will be done on a ladder, over the fence, with a long-handled brush.  The south side will wait until our neighbors can keep their very large, very protective dog in the house while we are in their yard. I am not one for upsetting dogs or losing limbs just to wash a fence.

While Rick was on the ladder scrubbing the eavestroughs on Tuesday, he noticed that the white rubber/ vinyl blend roof that we had installed in December 2019 was almost black with dirt and mold, so today he climbed up on the roof to see if we could restore it to its original condition.  I stationed myself on the ladder to watch him and to call 911 should he slip or do something else equally stupid.  All went well. After a morning of Rick's hard scrubbing, the dirt is gone and the roof once again retains its rain-shedding qualities.  He spent a little time on our lanai roof with the scrub brush, too, so the roof-scrubbing chores are finished for another couple of years.

While on the ladder, Rick tried to clean
off a bit of the roof (as seen in the corner).
That told him that most of the dirt COULD
be scrubbed from the Florida Room roof.

Water, car wash soap, a good soft brush,
and lots of labor did the trick to clean the roof.

Add a little water from the hose after scrubbing,
and the soap and dirt wash away.

Progress as Rick nears the end of the job.

Our "to do" list seems endless, but that is all part of the joys of homeownership.  We will do a little bit each day to keep Gladys looking her best. 

Time to Trim

 After a tense, long, long, long, long day of travel, we arrived safely back in Florida for the winter.  Let it be known that snow, delayed flights, missed flights, early departures of connecting flights, bad and expensive airport food, and airline agents who do not know how to or who just do not care to do their jobs correctly all make for less than enjoyable travel. 

But we are here.  We spent the first full day spending more money than one could even imagine on restocking the pantry, the refrigerator, and the freezer.  Although Covid cases are far less here right now than in Wisconsin, we have more elderly people down here, so we tend to see more masks being worn in grocery stores.  That is the good thing.  The outrageous price of groceries in Florida is the bad thing.  However, one must eat, and it is only money, so life goes on.  We both are just thankful that we HAVE the money to buy what we need.

The hibiscus try to reach over the fence while the Duranta gold
mound bushes add greenery.  One of the purple cordyline is on the far right.

On the third day here, we started to tackle the very overgrown landscape. Rick had always claimed that if everyone left Florida, it would return to the wild within 12 months.  I believe that is true.  Our back garden that we planted just last year was both a great success and an utter failure.  The two podocarpus -- one on each end of the garden -- both died.  We have one tiny, scraggly stalk of the podocarpus left next to our live oak tree (more shade there), but the other is totally gone. 

The five hibiscus that we planted all went crazy.  They were two feet high when we left and were towering over our 6 foot fence when we returned.  Sadly, they became tall and  "woody," so I hope that by trimming them down, they will fill in with leaves and flowers lower to the ground. 

The nine Duranta gold mound bushes, which I had little hope for, were the clear winners in the garden.  They both spread out and grew taller.  Thankfully, they also trimmed back nicely, so I am pleased with how they look. 

The more neatly trimmed garden needs some replanting and a lot
of water to keep it looking good.  I think I will move the two
remaining cordyline to a more shady location.

The last plant, the spiky cordyline, were on almost equal par with the podocarpus.  Of the five that we planted last year, the two that received the most shade were healthy and grew while the other three that got more sun burned out to dead stalks.  Lesson learned.  The cordyline need shade. 

This is one of four piles of clippings I need to move to the curb.

As usual, the Areca palm tree in the corner garden tried to dominate the entire area.  It grew both tall and wide, so that always becomes a major trimming area for us.  Afterward, we have a two foot high by four foot long bundle of branches to haul to the curb.  We have an additional two bags of clippings from what Rick cut down of the neighbor's trees that grew over our fence line.

The Areca palm, now neatly trimmed, fills the corner garden.

The nice thing about this city is that homeowners can put landscape bags of clippings or branches out each week with the garbage.  Our garbage pick-up is on Monday, so the clippings all will hit the curb today.

Of course, that is only the BACK yard.  I still need to do some trimming of the crotons in the back and all of the trees and shrubs in the front yard.  The good news is that we are having an unusually warm December here, so working in the yard is sweaty but fun.  I'll take this weather over snow any day of the week.