Sunday, December 2, 2018

An end of year update

Not much to tell, honestly.

We have torn the side steps off, and replaced the hole behind them with a panel of lattice, to match the rest of the porch skirting. The rest of the porch needs painting badly. It's not peeling, but rather turning green b/c of the tremendously wet summer we had. Ugh, I dread having to paint each spindle. lol

The porch floor will likely be painted, or stained, come spring. We need to finalize the color choice.
We want to replace the band of 'stone' under the main window, but I'm not sure if we can buy just one panel of that. Have to see, I guess. Another spring project.

We did have the yard cut the week before the boy's birthday, back in Sept, and it's looking fine. We've wrapped the pumphouse in a tarp, and have the brooder light turned on during freezing nights, which have only been once. Not overly attractive, but until or if there is money to build a nicer cover, this has to suffice.  It's currently in the 60's and wont drop any further tonight. It is rainy, however.

The pond area will need bush hogging in the spring, before we can get back there with a standard mower. The blades on our mower will need changed before we use it, too. So much to do! We have 2 piles of debris to burn. Plan is to get to those one cold night or two. That way, by spring, the grass will come back and cover the burnt scar.

We want to landscape around the house some way. Rock is my choice, but money is an issue. Might have to go with pine straw to start. We need to replace several panels of skirting that have holes from weedeaters, or were never the right length when the former owners put them up. Again, so much to do!

Right now, we are cozy and dry, with full tummies (taco spaghetti!), and watching Jim Carrey in The Grinch. Ds has never seen this one. Not my fave, but as he and I are both sick, it's a comfort and keeps him calm and quiet. And, I can visit here!

So, aside from the side steps, no real projects have been done. No money, and Dh's health is such that he just can't do much at this time. Please, God, send a kidney!

But, we have the winter to plan and dream of small things we can do next year. Paint is inexpensive, or can be. I can do the painting, we can burn the debris together, we'll see how landscaping works out. It's a plan, and it's usually fun to have one of those, even if you go off on a tangent!

Merry Christmas!

Tuesday, July 24, 2018

What to do when the hired help takes a hike

Or things we need to do around Little Pond.

Of course we don't really have hired help. Haha, that would be funny. If we did have the money for hired help, it would not go to pay hired help, but other needed things. No, around here, if it needs doing we do it ourselves. Eventually. Maybe. Er…

Dh has been in charge of grass cutting for most of our marriage (nearly 20 years now), but I will occasionally take a turn while he takes a break. Now, with his kidney disease progressing, this chore will now be mine. He just cannot take the beating the vibration of the mower gives his kidneys. Last time, he missed a day of work due to the pain.

So on Saturday, I mounted up and did the deed. Sounds risqué, but was much less exciting. He had to help me figure out all the workings of our new to me mower, but then I was off and mowing. He did take up part of it for the weedy back yard (has to keep his man card somehow, I guess; arguing is futile).

Killing weeds? I bought a container of weed spray, with a nifty battery operated spayer, and Dh was going to do that while I mowed. But he could not get it to spray. Couple days later, we both tried again, but while the 'motor' in the sprayer handle would work, no spray came out. So I took the lid off it and just poured the killer where we needed it. Except...two days later, and the weeds aren't dead. Not even wilted. What the world???? So that's a bust, for now.

The weeds around the front steps were handled by tipping the steps to one side and then the other, and mowing while they were down. More labor intensive, but it gets the job done. Can't do that at the back door, though.

The pond area. It needs mowing badly, haven't been touched since early spring. It's on the list for next time. We don't even go feed the fish b/c it's so 'snakey' back there.

Porch staining. Has yet to happen. Dh is not able to help move furniture (causes pain later), and I just don't  have the gumption to do it myself in the heat. Maybe in fall, before ds's birthday.

All this bothers me, in a back of the mind kind of way. But there's little to be done about it, so we live with it. It's life for us right now. I tell myself, one thing at a time, and, it's good to have goals. :)

Still, we love it here. Continue to see rabbits nearly daily, which thrills the boy. The heat has abated some, and it's nice around 7pm. We sit on the porch sometimes, taking it all in. God is good, all the time.

Friday, June 8, 2018

Brer Fox!!

Today was such a neat time here at Little Pond.

Being rather secluded on our 6 acres (we have one neighbor beside us, and one waaaay in the back, and more moving in on the other side, but it's really wooded here), we've seen rabbits, opposums, deer, birds, and at least one fox.

We knew there was some kind of den on the high bank at the pond, in a dry scooped out side piece, and Dh's cousin affirmed that he believed it was a fox den. As foxes are great mouser/ratters, we were glad to have them.

I tossed out some red apples the other day, and within an hour most of them were either gone, or eaten to the core. This was in the front yard, closer to the woods. Today, I tossed out some yellow squash and old cucumbers in the back yard, which is larger and more open. After an hour, I glanced out the window and saw our resident rabbit, Pete (as Drake calls him, I suppose it was the same one) nibbling grass and eyeing the veggies from a distance.

Then, a bit later, Dh calls me over quickly. A larger, furry animal, that I first thought was a coyote, came from the woods *on the same side as the rabbit* and passed *within 50 feet of it* and went to the veggies. It did not notice, or else ignored, the rabbit. The rabbit froze in place, of course. The fox sniffed around each squash a time or two, then chose the biggest one, grasped it firmly in its jaws, and trotted to the other side of the yard, down the back driveway, and down to the pond.

Foxes DO eat veggies, and it may have a little down at the den. It might have been going to feed the squash to its babies. The rabbit remained frozen a few moments more, then again began to nibble grass. I didn't see it go the veggies, as it was getting too dark to see by then. But what a neat experience!


Life at Little Pond is full of these small, beautiful, moments, and we are grateful.

Saturday, February 3, 2018

On Frozen Pond

NOTE: I've been trying to share this post for weeks, but the pics would not download.
At any rate, they did this time. Enjoy our SE Ga snowfall, the first in 29 years!

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Well, the pond didn't actually freeze, but the basin sure did!

Here in SE Georgia, we got the first real snow in 29 years, and it was glorious!
Okay, waking up to no water b/c the well pump switch froze (on two days) wasn't
fun, but we've insulated and heated the pump house, so we're good to go on that.

The snow was gorgeous! Hopefully, I'll be able to load some pics of the house under a
blanket of snow, soon. We all enjoyed playing in it, trying to make a snowman *pitiful,
and having snowball fights, followed by hot chocolate and smore's.

Our pond area became magical. I wish you could have seen it in person. We were enchanted!
We rode around it twice, and walked down in the basin once. So lovely, and the
sound of crunching snow is one of my favorites. It was a really big deal for all
of us in Ga and Fl, and we thoroughly enjoyed it!

I'm putting in my order for more, and I hope it won't be another 29 years before
it gets filled (though we could do without the icy roads, lol). Happy Winter, y'all!


Above, you can see the snow coming down!
The pines were lovely under their dusting of snow.

The sun, trying to peek out.

Hope you enjoyed!