Sally was in Chicago, so Tender and I were alone for the weekend – and what a beautiful weekend it was.
The fall colors were just fabulous. Too bad my phone camera couldn't capture the true essence (though I certainly tried, taking dozens of pictures). This one is unaltered (I'll probably try adjusting the lighting on some of the others). Right in the center on the far hill is where the two big white oaks are down that I've been cutting on for three years now. (Blew down the fall before the ice storm when a tropical depression moved through.)
Insulate Well House
With freezing temperatures arriving, it was time to put the insulation back into the roof of the well house. I really need to buy some new pieces as the mice have these bats looking a bit
ratty.
Wash/Treat Siding
Since the north side of the house came out looking so nice after a good scrubbing and new application of
CWF (and since I was about to take in the hoses), I decided to do the same to the east side and under the porch. It was dry enough by the end of the day to start applying the
Clear Wood Finish (picked up a new gallon at City Lumber). I just did the lowest 6 boards on the east, and did the porch Sunday (finished the porch, I got half of it done last spring I think).
Spread Rye Grass Seed
Buddy told me years ago to spread annual rye grass seed to help with road erosion, and I've been doing it ever since. I think I used three bags and even added fertilizer that first year. I've skimped down to just 50lbs recently. I haul a bucket full up spreading it in one track, come back and refill the bucket, and then go up the other track. There's enough left for steep areas around the house and out front of the barn. We'd had rain and more was forecast, so I'm hoping it will germinate before spring (which has been the case in very dry years).
Garden
I picked a bucket full of butternut squash and just left the greenish/yellowish ones. We certainly have plenty. I got enough jalapenos to can a jar (slice 'em and poor boiling vinegar over 'em is all). The chard and bock chow had grown enough for me to get a large bag of each to bring home, and our summer spinach has really thrived with the late summer/early fall rains – much of it new plants. I harvested, boiled, and froze some and brought a bag home, but even that didn't make a dent in it.
Mower Broke
I got the mower out and started out back. I had only done a small area when the front of the deck collapsed to the ground. The metal flange that held it up had broken off at both ends. (I suspect one side had broken earlier and I hadn't noticed other than the left seeming to cut lower.) I took the deck off and am sure I can get the part, but I can't see how to get it inside the square hollow piece of frame it has to sit within – with eye holes hanging down. I'm just glad it happened at the end of the season.
Walnuts
I was turning the truck around behind the barn and was amazed at the walnuts on the ground there. They were from the tree back of the house, part way up the bluff. I'd picked some up earlier, but had not noticed that there were that many left in the tree. Being so convenient, and even though I had said I had collected enough already, I went ahead and stomped, rolled, and picked up all there were.
Road Maintenance
I've been meaning to work on the road below the last turn going down the hill, eroded by the heavy spring rains. I got a load of mud and
chirt on to it on Saturday and followed up with another load on Sunday.
Tighten Roof Screws
Jerry said that metal roofs need some ventilation space underneath to keep them from sweating. The moisture isn't good for the decking, and I think it contributes to the screws getting loose. This is the third time I've gone around tightening those that have
backed out. It was only a dozen or two this time. I used my portable drill to back them out, applied a dab of roofing tar, and then drilled them back in. Its the first time I've used the tar and hope it helps them stay in place.
Cut Wood
I've been itching to get out and cut some more wood, this being the season. I didn't have much time, but in just over an hour I used the McCulloch to get a truck load from one of the big white oaks and a few pieces of hickory. Enough to dull the blade. Once I got it back to the barn I couldn't resist splitting a piece, which for white oak was much harder than I anticipated. The hickory is much smaller and even rotting around the edge, but solid underneath.
Tarantula
Tender pointed out the second one of these I've seen this fall. This one was in the garage. Too bad I couldn't get a better picture. Another brown one.
I filled my buckets with mud and gravel Friday, loaded and spread it up the road Saturday, then got another load and spread it down the road. I'm probably done with this dirty task for the season.
Working on Friday and Saturday, I got through the load I had gotten two weeks earlier. Too bad much of it is to big for my stove -- I've got to learn to measure before I cut. I also split all but one piece of the short oak I had picked up off the shortcut earlier in the year. That one piece of red oak I'm leaving for Amanda to enjoy.
