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Apr. 10th, 2005 08:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ellyssianProgress on the bunch of tasks lined up for today:
- Make a pass through the yard to remove the thorny, weedy vine that seems to show up everywhere : Started on the Driveway Island at the street, and cleared that fairly thoroughly. Did the Ivy Triangle, and then into Disputed Territory with a gradually decreasing level of effort. By the time I started coming back along the main path on the Backwoods side o' things, I was catching a few close by the edge. Instead of clearing that area, I just walked the lawn edge, catching one or two along the way. Got a couple on Spruce Alley, and then cleared off the one that started it all when I saw it reach out and grab the newly planted Sweetgum at the base of Spruce Alley. Made a pass across the Bank Island, but that was it - didn't find or remove any or try very hard.
- Grab a load of dirt and rocks from the back of the property and bury the exposed wires (cable tv, phone, and electrical) that were exposed in the stream bottom after the last storm : Justin did a great job at this, actually finishing his task long before I started wimping out on mine. He filled in the wires, removed the rock framing on both sides of the pipe, filled in those sections, and reassembled the rocks.
- Collect driveway gravel that was redistributed during snow shoveling and cover the washout at the bottom of the driveway : Rachel hemmed and hawed as any good seven year old will, but she managed about 5-10 loads of stones and entertained Brandon for most of the time. Justin helped her finish up, but I think he spent more time teasing her and tickling the baby than he did working.
- Remove the last two lifting braces we used to hold the trellis together when we lifted it into place : No problem. With the last screw, it was stripped beyond repair, so I broke off the soft pine and we used vise grips to turn the screw out.
- Tighten the 4x4 cross beams on the trellis - they shifted and loosened as we put it up : No problem. Easy to do, now that the concrete had cured and everything was solid.
- Assemble two pressure treated 2x4 "ladders" to finish off the trellis : No problem. Actually, it wasn't - went real smoothly. The second section went even faster, as we had worked out what we wanted to do with the first and just had to apply it for the second. Good warm up for the more critical framing work we'll have to do on Justin's room.
- Move the mailbox closer to the road to prevent tire ruts and washouts at the end of the driveway : Maybe tomorrow, or some other day, or next weekend.
- Overseed the lawn (looks like weather will be good - while rain would reduce the amount I have to water, it also causes the seed to flow downstream... =) : Ditto - although standing a better chance to fit in tomorrow after work. We'll see.
Justin did a great job on the trellis, including climbing up and holding one end of the ladder assembly while I braced and tacked the other. Lots o' heavy lifting, measuring, and fiddling with things to get things to line up. I would not have been able to do it without him. I think we both have a lot more confidence for such work, as the final result came out quite nice. I think Deb would even like it, if she could get over the fact that it cost money to buy the lumber, and that I used 4x4's which looked ugly alone but look good with the ladders installed. Oh well.
- Make a pass through the yard to remove the thorny, weedy vine that seems to show up everywhere : Started on the Driveway Island at the street, and cleared that fairly thoroughly. Did the Ivy Triangle, and then into Disputed Territory with a gradually decreasing level of effort. By the time I started coming back along the main path on the Backwoods side o' things, I was catching a few close by the edge. Instead of clearing that area, I just walked the lawn edge, catching one or two along the way. Got a couple on Spruce Alley, and then cleared off the one that started it all when I saw it reach out and grab the newly planted Sweetgum at the base of Spruce Alley. Made a pass across the Bank Island, but that was it - didn't find or remove any or try very hard.
- Grab a load of dirt and rocks from the back of the property and bury the exposed wires (cable tv, phone, and electrical) that were exposed in the stream bottom after the last storm : Justin did a great job at this, actually finishing his task long before I started wimping out on mine. He filled in the wires, removed the rock framing on both sides of the pipe, filled in those sections, and reassembled the rocks.
- Collect driveway gravel that was redistributed during snow shoveling and cover the washout at the bottom of the driveway : Rachel hemmed and hawed as any good seven year old will, but she managed about 5-10 loads of stones and entertained Brandon for most of the time. Justin helped her finish up, but I think he spent more time teasing her and tickling the baby than he did working.
- Remove the last two lifting braces we used to hold the trellis together when we lifted it into place : No problem. With the last screw, it was stripped beyond repair, so I broke off the soft pine and we used vise grips to turn the screw out.
- Tighten the 4x4 cross beams on the trellis - they shifted and loosened as we put it up : No problem. Easy to do, now that the concrete had cured and everything was solid.
- Assemble two pressure treated 2x4 "ladders" to finish off the trellis : No problem. Actually, it wasn't - went real smoothly. The second section went even faster, as we had worked out what we wanted to do with the first and just had to apply it for the second. Good warm up for the more critical framing work we'll have to do on Justin's room.
- Move the mailbox closer to the road to prevent tire ruts and washouts at the end of the driveway : Maybe tomorrow, or some other day, or next weekend.
- Overseed the lawn (looks like weather will be good - while rain would reduce the amount I have to water, it also causes the seed to flow downstream... =) : Ditto - although standing a better chance to fit in tomorrow after work. We'll see.
Justin did a great job on the trellis, including climbing up and holding one end of the ladder assembly while I braced and tacked the other. Lots o' heavy lifting, measuring, and fiddling with things to get things to line up. I would not have been able to do it without him. I think we both have a lot more confidence for such work, as the final result came out quite nice. I think Deb would even like it, if she could get over the fact that it cost money to buy the lumber, and that I used 4x4's which looked ugly alone but look good with the ladders installed. Oh well.
