So it turned out Edith's chainsaw is electric and small and attached to a pole for getting high branches I guess. We have an electric chainsaw which I haven't used because I didn't think we had enough cord to get all the way along the fence but Edith loaned me her 50' cord and with two of ours I was able to get to the fence yesterday and start on those 22 trees/trunks plus cut back two dead ones as best I could that are embedded in the fence. I got less than half done before I had to quit after about an hour it was so hot and I was starting to get a little light headed in my solid boots, jeans, and long sleeve sunscreen shirt and cap as I was working in full sun and the chain needed to be tightened by then anyway. It took me a couple of hours in the AC to finally cool down. But I got back out there about 6 PM and worked for an hour and a half and got the rest. I had made it to the back corner and was kneeling on the ground because I had to hold the chain saw sideways to be able to cut them at ground level when I heard a male voice say, “Oh I didn't see you there". Or maybe it was when I stopped and stood up. Anyway it was one of my back neighbors behind the shop whom I have never met before. We chatted for a while, turns out our house and his house have the same street number. He was telling me there was a septic tank under his driveway that no one knew about and it collapsed recently with somebody's truck parked on it. I told him that there was a tank back there somewhere for the shop that the county has no record of. So then I cut down the last two, dragged it all over to the small burn pile that's been accumulating
and got it all cut up and stacked up, returned Edith's extension cord, walked the dog, took a shower, and collapsed on the couch.
Today I'm making more tomato sauce and prepping for freezing another bunch of tomatoes and that will probably be the end of it for the year as it's late June, hot, and everyone's tomato plants are about done.
The line of trucks is diminishing. Two got moved Tuesday night and two more Wednesday night. Two trucks and two cars to go.
Rocky's making slow but steady progress over at the shop. All the taping and floating is done, texture sprayed, painting today. He's also working on repairing the roof where it meets the outside walls and is so corroded it leaks down inside all across the back of the shop when it rains. I repaired about a third of it four or five years ago but that's all failed now.
Just some miscellaneous pictures that have been piling up...
our native Texas star hibiscus
these cute little instars clustered on a leaf of the rock rose will probably grow up to be not so cute stink bugs
baby cardinal
massacre comes to mind, you GO WOMAN!!! Love the red truck- that could be a calendar cover- very cool. The baby bugs look like jewelry - wonder if you could dry them out before they become stink bugs, Buddha might not approve but ETSY would.
ReplyDeleteOK, I just typed a whole long comment and suddenly it vanished. Argh!
ReplyDeleteSomething about congrats on the chainsawing and yay, no mortal injuries! And wondering about the hazards of septic tanks in the country. But anyway...
Maybe that cardinal will eat the stink bugs??
I am exhausted. I actually was relieved when you put your feet up and I felt so much better!!
ReplyDeleteSo, is that a tree growing in the bed of the red truck?
ReplyDeleteThat was an impressive load of work you got done.
it does look that way which is why I took the photo but it's deceptive because there is no bottom to the bed of the truck and the tree is actually in the ground.
DeleteI have never operated a chain saw in my life and do not plan to.
ReplyDeleteYou rock. That's all there is to it.
That's an impressive amount of work there. You're very brave for using a chainsaw. They scare me. Love the random photos.
ReplyDeleteI love big scary tools. I'd like to run a chainsaw, but there isn't much call for it in a suburban townhouse, where fallen trees are referred to the HOA. I also fancy running a a snowcat, but we have people for that and they won't share.
ReplyDeleteAmazing what a good night's sleep can put you up to the next day.
ReplyDeleteA chainsaw was part of my brother-in-law's manhood, and he sorely wanted to teach both my nephew and grandson to use one. Both just faded away. Good for them. I know I could never handle one.
Ellen, you were exactly right about the color change in those floral tubes in the Maryland milkwort. I found an article and added some information, with a link, in my original post. Basically, the purple "thingies" are sepals, not petals, and the yellow and orange bits are individual flowers. The yellow are the freshest, and the orange (or red, or rose, depending) are the older ones that no longer provide the best pollen.
ReplyDeleteEllen, I'm impressed with all the yard maintenance you do there. I could use you around here. ha! The closest I've come to working with a chainsaw is a sawzall which I use a few times a year. I had to look again at the tree in the truck. I originally thought it was in a bucket in the truck bed:)
ReplyDeleteWell done! And how I would love to grow hibiscus but it just won't survive here.
ReplyDeleteListen, your comment was fine with me. So no need to retract.
I bought my Stihl chainsaw when I was 23, in 1975. I lived alone in a shack that was a 3 mile hike into the woods on an island that you had to take three ferries to get to from the mainland. I was good with it. When hubby and I got together he eventually took it over, but I was known to show up and correct him on how he was treating it. Dulling the chain by letting it drop into the dirt while cutting, etc. So he bought it from me for a good price. 45 years later, we/I have newish one (that I don’t use) my son is still using my old one.
ReplyDeleteGo you! My arms feel like noodles after a half hour of weed eating, so as usual, you amaze me.
ReplyDeleteThe little bugs are so cute!