Chortle While You Chore

07/01/08 12:58 PM | Toil It

Asian Beauty in an Indiana side-yard ©CP'08
Since yesterdays post, the big inside project is underway. Another inside/outside project was finished and some chores are done as well. The inside/outside project was a threshold between my sanctuary and the house, literally. I have a screen door in the garage so that I can leave the garage door open and the house door open too and the animals and the insects can not go from one habitat to another without invitation. Well over the years the cats and dogs got curious about what the food guy was doing in the noisy room. Eventually the screen was damaged beyond repair and the sliding glass had to be moved down to seal the air passage.
The mini-project was to re-screen the door. Something I have never done before. How hard could it be? I bought screen material, spline (the bead that goes into the door grove and traps the screen in place) and a splining tool. Well I screwed up the first attempt, and didn't score a big hit in the second but I have the door re-hung and the screen is in place. Luckily the screen itself was big enough to do a full screen door so I had enough material to do the re-do without having to make another trip to Home Depot.
I also started the other project as I said, it is a three or four day effort I'm sure. Day one is done. Day two (today) has seen it's full effort because the concrete patch has to dry before any more can be done. Tomorrow comes the acid and the etching!
Right now you are probably asking yourself what I'm doing. To paraphrase Tom Waits, "What's He Building In There, We Have a Right to know! " Well, I'm not telling yet. Nyah, nyah neeyah, na!
weed warrior

A Thistle and its Guardian Weed-Warrior ©CP'08

Outside. We went to see that cats at Frady's Landscape and Nursery on U.S. 40 just east of Cumberland yesterday and looked around. In the stone, gravel and landscaping area behind the tree part of the nursery we poked around some nice landscape element rocks and eventually bought a perfect 10 pounder and a few bags of cobblestones. These will be residing in the dry creek-bed element I am building in my back yard sanctuary. I have also added another natural element, well more like gained another natural element. Wild Flowers. I have lots of varieties of wild flowers (read weeds) and they are in several areas of the yard the showcase focal point. Since wild flower management is not nearly as fun or fulfilling right now as landscape architecture and design they have gotten a pass. Since over 90% of the physical landscape architecture labor demands and nearly 100% of the design plans have fallen on my shoulders I may allow the project supervisor (in fact almost all projects supervisor now that I think about it) to have a stab at wild flower management, removal, distribution and/or relocation. Who am I kidding, the supervisor chooses her own jobs, that's the beauty of the position at the top of the food chain. Well, back out to the bigger picture I shall return soon.

The picture up top is my Exotic Asiatic Lilly showing off in front of the Echinacea. All the rest are ~~weeds~~ wild flowers: Two Thistles, and one six foot tall daisy-ish charmer fighting for pollination and sunlight.
So day two of the week off is in the books, I have to hit the All Star Bowling Alley here in a few and then Jenni and I are planning on taking in Wall°E.
I'll let you know how the bowling went.
Chuck Pace ©2008