Destruction 101 & Gardening 201

When we bought this house I was aware the front entry cement and brick columns would need to be replaced. The builder apparently did not compact the soil well enough which is causing the water to drain incorrectly.

I've never been known for my mechanical ability but I am pretty good at tearing things apart. To save some money...we are on a fixed income ya know!..I tore down the two brick columns myself. Donna thought we could save even more money if I broke up the concrete patio too...right, not a chance!

Hey, I could save more by just leaving it like this, I don't

 think it looks too bad. Hopeful the crew will start in two weeks and we can knock this out quickly.

When I went to Safeway to pick up some food and I saw a pallet of chicken manure on sale, 4 bags @10 bucks. I ended up getting 6 cubic feet for the garden but if I had more time, I would of gotten 20 cubic feet for the price they were selling it.

I first spread the manure on top of the mounds and started to carefully work it into the soil with my Garden Weasel Claw, which was a present from Donna. I had to be careful because I laid the main waterline for each mound right on top and the claw did have some pretty sharp daggers.

Then I had one of my rare brain farts. Since the waterlines only bring the water to the mound, the mounds will actually get their liquid from separate 1/4 inch lines that I can move. So why have the 1/2 inch line on top and in my way, just off set them to one side...so that's what I did.

Why on earth did I spend good money for a riding lawnmower

when these guys cut and fertilize the lawn all at once? ☺

My granddaughter chastised me for polluting when she saw this photo. People that live in cities don't even know that us "country folk" do this all the time. Makes me wonder why some farms still have so much junk or dilapidated buildings on site when a match would clear the land.

While I was bored this winter, I tried building some birdhouses which were so amateurish in look and design that even I was embarrassed, but at least one occupant doesn't seem to mind. Some might wonder why I didn't use my humongous telephoto lens but to the astonishment of my wife, I didn't bring my 35 millimeter with me on this trip. This box was to specification for the Northern Flicker woodpecker and rather them look to my house as a condo I thought to build one. Just like a optimist..."if you build it, they will come".

Since my wife was disappointed because of the forgotten camera I had another brain fart...just try and get a shot using my spotting scope which wasn't as easy as it sounds but at least I was able to get this shot.This is the female, the male has bright red cheeks and of course is the more handsome of the breed. 

The box is packed to the top with sawdust, as per design, and the two woodpeckers took turns grabbing a mouth full, throwing it out while carving a tunnel for the nest.

The advantages of living off a dirt road is that traffic is limited to only other land owners, and some visitors. Some of the disadvantages are potholes, snow and dust.

We got lucky here. This is a county maintained road because the school bus picks up children which means grading, snow removal and oiling to keep dust at a minimum in the summer.

First time I have seen one of these rigs. Looks like the rear, offset wheels, are hydraulically pushed down to create pressure and thereby acting like one of those road roller...just my opinion.

That's it for this week, maybe more soon.