Feathering My Nest

 

I am enjoying these flowers every day, collecting seeds,
 and making notes for next year.

Tuesday

I woke up and decided to just get on with painting the deck. I proceeded to paint for 6 hours and got most of the railing and posts done, then went on to paint the insides of the roof which were just too ugly to look at. After a quick dinner, I had my first proper soak in the hot tub. I'm going to love this thing!

Still not done, but so much better than before.

Wednesday

Trimming trees and shrubs to make way for the fence was today's agenda. My reciprocating saw lets me trim very sizable limbs from trees which is probably bordering on dangerous considering ladders are involved as well. Wisdom did prevail when I used the 10 ft ladder to climb into a tree to reach a branch that was shading my garden. I ended up not cutting it as I envisioned the several disasters that were likely to happen if I attempted the one armed feat while clinging to the tree with the other. I called the town to make sure they were still collecting limbs and they showed up a couple of hours later to shred the huge pile I made.

Thursday

I found a lone blooming crocosmia! I planted 20 or so in the spring and thought none survived.

Mowing the lawn, planting coneflowers and daffodil bulbs, and  moving shrubs filled my day. It has not been lost on me that I am working very hard, and not playing very much. To that end, I made a plan to bike tomorrow afternoon and I have a group ride on Saturday to take a break from house chores. I had another soak in the tub to ease my aching muscles and it was sublime. I watched the stars appear as well as the bats. I have a new appreciation for dragonflies and bats who keep the mosquito population down. 


This is turning into my evening ritual.

Worth every penny.

Friday

I met Ann Marie this afternoon for a bike ride on the Electric Trail since the weather has been gorgeous and rain is expected tomorrow. We made our way to Samascott's for a 25 mile ride. We had dinner and an ice cream cone while there. We chatted the whole way which explains our slow pace, but I enjoyed catching up. 

Not just apples, but chestnut trees in the orchard.
I didn't know there was a market for chestnuts.

Ann Marie admired my muscular arms - it's from all the work I've been doing!


Another turtle crossing the trail. This one was speedy! I am definitely obsessed by wildlife - hawks, woodchucks (woodf@(ks), eagles, deer, and heron all made appearances.

Saturday

Today's group ride was postponed because of the rainy forecast, so I busied myself with errands, set up my salad garden in my grow boxes - outside should be fine for fall. The rain was certainly needed and everything got well watered as it poured for a few hours and the temperature dropped into the low 60's. I had nice soak in the spa as I watched the clouds scud past. I also set up a bike ride for 5 friends in the morning - we'll need jackets as the temps will be in the 50's; quite a difference from 2 days ago!

Sunday

Jackets and gloves were needed on the ride - starting temp was 55 F, but it did warm up to 64 F! We did the entirety of the Zim Smith Trail - 25 miles at a leisurely pace. The fall wildflowers are blooming reminding me that summer really is coming to an end. 😞 I really wanted to stop at a bakery on the route, but no one else was interested. Instead I stopped at my local bakery and got a cheddar and broccoli quiche and a carrot cupcake which served nicely as my dinner. 
I had time to paint more of the deck and replace the bulbs in my other set of outdoor lights. 

My lawn of rocks is attracting butterflies! I'm trying to be very patient,
but I really want my fence installed and grass reseeded - hopefully in another week?

At least my project is going faster than the town beach - it has been over a year and still not done,
 but getting close.

Steps down from the deck, a fence, and a lawn still to come.

I'm looking forward to my outdoor composter which I ordered last week. I stopped composting since the construction work started, but it seems such a shame to put all of the compostable goodness into the garbage when my garden plants would love it. So in a couple of days time, I'll be composting like mad and growing even healthier plants. 

Comments

  1. MargaretSeptember 8, 2024 at 10:58 PM

    I love your new sanctuary and can only imagine the joy of looking at the stars while sitting in a relaxing hot tub. You've been crazy busy and make me feel like a real slacker! Your arms are impressive indeed. My only arm exercise is mowing the lawn with my non-self propelled mower. :) A cheddar and broccoli quiche plus a carrot cupcake? You are my kind of person!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousSeptember 9, 2024 at 1:50 PM

    I couldn't manage my lawn without the self propelled mower. That is work!

    ReplyDelete

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