Tuesday, November 29, 2022

blue skies, rain of a different sort, and other changes



Three days in a row of sunny skies so of course they predicted rain for last night and today. If it rained last night it was very light, either that or a really heavy dew this morning. It's completely overcast, warm, and humid. Yesterday I used my little leaf blower to clear out the barn and clear the little patio outside the back door of all the leaves covering it, and by little I mean 9' wide by 6' deep where I laid down concrete squares. This morning it looked like this.

The big tallow in the little backyard did a major leaf drop last night and they are still drifting down. That cold spell triggered something because the maple, ginkgoes, and pecans are also raining leaves today. So it is raining, just a different kind.

Sunday I worked on two tasks, cleaning out the gutter across the front of the house over the deck 

and worked on clearing more vines. The gutter across the deck is problematic. It's not draining completely to the downspout at the end so water sits in the gutter and drips through a seam that is not sealed completely leaving a big wet spot on the deck which if left undealt with will eventually rot the wood in that spot. And during this hard rain while the rest of the gutter across the front of the house was doing its job, the section over the deck was pouring over like a waterfall. When I got the ladder out and took the screens off I found that it was full of dirt, so I cleaned that all out which is when I realized that it wasn't draining to the downspout. So now the end has to be lowered a bit so gravity can do its job. I do need to clean out the rest of the gutter to the other end but I need a taller ladder for that.

Here's my progress Sunday on the vines. I got the other short side of sheet metal out, spread out some of the mound of dirt on the right, and cleared all the vines up to the edge of the large metal raised bed.


before


after

My yoga class on Mondays and Wednesdays is coming to an end I think. Abby has been teaching for 10 years and she's more than a little burnt out coupled with she's been going through some rough personal stuff this year. There were no classes the last two weeks due to weather and the holiday and she was only going to hold class last night if I was going to come. Attendance has been low for months now and I told her there was no reason to hold the class just for me. I suggested she take the month off and reconsider after New Years. So that's where it stands now. Fortunately for the month of December, one of the attendees decided to get certified through her job in the school district, some program they offered, and is holding yoga class on Tuesday evenings and Thursday mornings. I won't go to the morning class as I go in the evening at Hesed House and also this way Abby can be in a class instead of leading it which she sorely needs at this point.

Here's my little winter garden. I thought I planted four cauliflower and five broccoli plants. I know the four are cauliflower because I bought those at the feed store. The broccoli my neighbor gave me and some cabbage that he had grown from seed. I thought I planted just the broccoli but judging by the shape of the leaves I think what I have is two broccoli and three cabbage. Time will tell I guess.




18 comments:

  1. I can't tell from the leaves. Besides being very similar, broccoli and cabbage can come in different varieties with different leaves. I suppose you'll just have to wait to see what sort of head each plant makes.

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    1. The ones I think are cabbage, the leaves are round, the other two which have to be broccoli the leaves are long and ruffled.

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  2. Your industry in the yard is stunning. And it's going to be interesting to see what's growing there. Either way, good stuff.

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  3. I love all the work you get done there in your yard and garden. We're going plant some kale soon, but won't be able to plant broccoli or cauliflower until spring. I'm looking forward to seeing your plants grow.

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    1. I guess I'm just a weirdo, I enjoy physical labor.

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  4. Have you ever considered renting goats? They'll eat all of that stuff that you are so laboriously removing. Of course, then there is the issue of keeping them from eating the good stuff.

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    1. Actually I have thought about it but I don't think my sister would like them eating all her plants. Though I suppose I could put stakes in the ground and put them on leashes, moving the stakes where needed.

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  5. I imagine leading a yoga class would get tiring after a while. Sometimes you just want to participate and not be in charge! Your comments about the gutter made me wonder if that's the problem with the one over our front door -- maybe it isn't hung at enough of an angle and that's why it's not flowing into the downspout?

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    1. Exactly. It's why I go to class even though I have a home routine. And your gutter may also be full of dirt.

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  6. We just had our eaves troughs and downspouts replaced so they should be efficient for at least a few years. It can create all kinds of issues when they don't function properly.

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    1. When we had the old rusted out gutters replaced we replaced them with the same galvanized metal. Now I'm thinking we should have gone with the white plastic like my neighbor did.

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  7. I am lucky to have my oldest son living with me and he takes care of the gutters and leaf raking. He enjoys it! So it is a win/win for us! :)

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    1. Unfortunately, my husbands lung capacity is compromised so it's up to me. If I don't do it it doesn't get done unless I hire someone.

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  8. We had a very blustery morning here. My coworker said that when she opened her car door to come to work the wind blew leaves all inside her car, and when she got to work & got out of the car there were leaves in her seat & stuck to her. You know, I should really consider doing something like yoga. Anything really. I'm going to be a very stiff and annoyed old lady. Who am I kidding? I'm already stiff & annoyed!

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    1. Every time someone opens the door, leaves come in as well and I had just vacuumed!

      I highly recommend some sort of stretching exercises. You can get videos or go online and do it at home.

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  9. Well, shoot! I'd been missing your posts, and I thought you might be ill or something. Not so. I just hadn't gotten the usual email notifications. I'm going to have to force myself to check Feedly to keep up with you, Friko, and a few others. Once I make it a habit, it will work just fine. Isn't it amazing how quickly the leaves have changed and dropped? Before the extended rain over Thanksgiving, everything here had barely begun to change. Now, the leaves are drifting everywhere, and even the bald cypress have turned that pretty rust color. One more strong front, and it's going to look like winter for sure. Well, or at least fall.

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    1. I had just realized that I had been delinquent in sending out my notices. I was really surprised that the change occurred basically overnight. By the next day the big tallow was completely bare whouth the two smaller ones still have some leaves. The native pecans are all bare but my three hybrids are still holding on to some leaves.

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I opened my big mouth, now it's your turn.