one of our neighbors

Good morning.
Saw this in the front yard yesterday morning.

It's a little Muskrat.
We have a creek that runs along our west lot line and we have seen muskrats swimming in it. They nest in the sides of the banks of the creek. Haven't seen them in the yard before now though.
It's been a busy week at work, and today is more of the same.
Have a good weekend!

a really beautiful weekend

Good morning.
It was an absolutely beautiful weekend!
Sunny and warm all 4 days. How we really needed that after the winter and spring we had.   :-)
I've got most of the flower beds weeded thanks to having cut them back in size to about half, and I treated the pond with the stuff that's suppose to kill the under water plants.
And here's some more pics of the gardens.....

I can't remember what these little yellow flowers are called, but they are a variety of Ranunculus.

A Cranesbil in front of a just finished Peony.

Little yellow flowers on my Siberian Weeping Pea.

Sweet Woodruff blooming.

Another Cranesbil.

An orange Geum and purple Columbine.

And Pulmaria, I think.

Now, it's back to work.  :-(
But we sure did enjoy the weekend!

Memorial Day

Good morning.
I'd like to start out this memorial Day by remembering those who gave their lives for our country.

 It's been a beautiful sunny weekend with temps in the 70's.
Saturday morning, I sealed the driveway, then for a treat, we had lunch at Reno's.
I worked in the yard in the afternoon, while Craig did laundry and paperwork.
Sunday, after cleaning the Salon and after our walk, we started the long process of cleaning out the garages. I can't believe all the stuff we've accumulated over the last 28 years. I'm glad we're starting this process way before it's time to retire and move. We also burned up another bunch of branches and dead shrubs.
And here's some pics of the yard....

Freshly stained deck.

A view of the backyard from the back patio.

The bed along the back of the house I downsized last year with the Contorted Filbert I trimmed up in the middle and the weeping Japanese Maple at the far end. It looks good from this angle. It's the other side that's gone.

The pond.

A view down the new grass walk way.

And another view of the pond.
Now time to go and enjoy the day.

hard winter results

Good morning.
Another beautiful day yesterday, as the early morning rain left, and didn't return until late evening. We had 3 nice days off.  :-)
I got the 2 large flower beds weeded, (it helps they are about 1/3 the size they were) and bagged up 2 large trash bags of stuff from the garage. Mostly spare plumbing parts and electrical parts. Stuff I've saved in case I might someday need them. Well, time to get rid of all that stuff as we try to downsize for our eventual move.
And here's what the long hard winter has done to my yard......

A barely blooming Azalea that's usually full of flowers.

My appears to be half dead Contorted Filbert.

My now, half of a weeping Japanese Maple, thanks to a large branch that came out of the big Chinese Elm tree.

And another Japanese Maple that is pretty much dead but trying to re-leaf down near the bottom.
And there's more, but that gives you an idea. I've had many customers with similar issues. It was a long hard winter that hasn't been seen in decades.
But, mother nature has a way of healing wounds over time.
Oh, and my physical went well. As usual, my Cholesterol is a little high as is my bad Cholesterol. I got the same lecture about diet and exercise. yada yada yada.
Now back to work for a short busy week.

another good day

Good morning.
It was a beautiful productive day yesterday.  :-)
I sealed the cracks in the driveway, using just 2 gallons this year compared to 4 gallons last year. Surprisingly, the driveway came through the hard winter pretty good. I plan to seal the driveway next weekend. The forecast is calling for sun all weekend. Let's see if they can get it right for a change.
I also finished scraping and staining the decks.

While I worked outside, Craig vacuumed the house, and made a delicious pot roast.
It's currently raining outside this morning, and appears it'll be a wet day.

But the yard is greening up nicely, although the trees are just starting to leaf out. Very late this year.
We've begun collecting things for the 'hope to be' new house. Sunday, we bought a nice set of towels for the bathroom. We're going to buy things that we can also use in our current house if the deal falls through and we decide not to buy right now. I keep looking online, and so far, only one other home looked like something we'd like, and that one was gone in 4 days.
But I'm an optimist and believe we'll get this home, so I want to start getting things for it.
Our first RV trip this year is to Indiana Dunes. Near there, in Michigan City, is a large outlet mall. We plan on getting a number of things for the new home then such as dishes, sheets and such.
But now, time to enjoy my last day off before a very busy short work week thanks to the Memorial Day Holiday coming up, and a 4 day weekend!   :-)

finally, a post. :-)

Good morning.
Well, it's been a while.  :-\
It rained pretty much every day last week. A total of nearly 3 inches when all done.
My grass seed is germinating, but very sparsely. I think all the rain might have washed some of it away. Will wait a week or so before reseeding to make sure.
It ended up a very busy week in the Salon. Worked late Friday and Saturday. Sunday, I cleaned the Salon and worked outside. It was a beautiful day after a very cold weekend.. Got the back decks half scrapped and half stained. Plan on doing the rest today. Craig cleaned out and filled the 5 bird baths that are around the yard.
Checked the tire pressure in the mo-ho tires and checked the water heater. All systems are go for our first trip coming up pretty soon.
This morning, I blew all the debris off the driveway so I can seal cracks later today. I also washed 2 of the cars and the front and one side of the mo-ho.
Now your all caught up, and time for me to go. I have a physical this morning.

weekend in review

Good morning.
Well, after 2 days of nearly non-stop rain and a total of 1 3/4 inches, everything has really greened up!
And it looks like I really do have a lot of winter kill on many bushes and shrubs. I'll try and remember to take some pics next weekend before I start a massive pruning.
Sooooo, unable to work in the yard, we went shopping.
First off, was over to Home Depot where I had a $25 gift card thanks to my Coke Rewards.

I traded in 1700 points for a $25 gift card that I put toward a gallon of deck stain.
So if you drink coke products, and don't save the codes, send them to me!

 

 Then, it was over to Menard's, where they had driveway sealer on sale.

Picked up 4 buckets of sealer and 2 gallons of crack filler. Despite our brutal winter we had, the driveway looks pretty good this spring. Maybe because of all the work I did to it last year.
And I do seal it every year even though it says it has a 4 year warranty. My driveway is so old it needs all the help it can get.  :-)
So, I bet you know what I'll be doing Memorial Day weekend. Weather permitting of course.
And I have a small update on our hope to be house in Las Vegas.
I received an e-mail from our Realtor. She said the bank had an appraisal done late last week on the property. She said from that point it takes about 3 weeks for them to receive the value and then the bank usually responds shortly after that. She said she would keep me informed as she hears more.
So we continue to wait.  :-\
Now, it's time for another busy work week.
Oh, PS.....Craig had his physical, and appears he will live another year.  :-)
Mines next week.

It was a happy Mother's Day

Good morning.
After cleaning the Salon Sunday, Craig and I went to Muskegon to spend some time with my Mom for Mother's Day. 
Took out her trash, cut her hair, helped her empty a couple of boxes from when they repainted/carpeted her apartment, and showed her how to charge her newer cell phone.
Then we went to Applebee's for lunch and the VFW for drinks and pull-tabs.
Got her some groceries on the way back to her apartment, and made it back to Lansing.
It was a fairly busy week in the Salon. We've had a few beautiful days weather wise. Came home from work Saturday and worked in the yard. Spring is finally in full force.

It's hard to believe it's nearly the middle of May as some trees and bushes are just now starting to bud. It appears I have a lot of winter kill on numerous shrubs from the hard winter. I'll wait another week or so before I start pruning to make sure they are just not late.
Now time for our usual Monday morning run around.

April showers bring May flowers

Good morning.
It's been raining most of the night and into this morning. We have received about 1/2 inch of rain. That's good since April showers bring May flowers.....Oh wait, it's already May. You wouldn't know it looking outside. Most of the trees haven't even budded yet. My Snowball bush is just starting to 'green' up. But as slow as it is, spring is here.  :-)
And the rain will be good for the grass seed I planted yesterday, as long as it doesn't rain too hard and wash the seed away. I also weeded a couple of flower beds, and I continue on the slow, long, process of elimination. I filled another big garbage bag of junk that has filled my shed over the years. I can't believe all the crap I've kept.
I'm glad I've started as early as I have. It'll probably take me 2 years to clean everything out. I haul all the stuff to the dumpster we have at work. We share it with another mall tenant, and it's picked up every other week. I don't want to hog it so I take most of my stuff in the day before it's emptied, which is tomorrow. So since it's only emptied every other week, I wait until a couple of days before to tell how much I can take in, and fill bags accordingly.
I also managed to make another batch of Kale chips this morning, and now it's time to get ready for another work week.

one more day off

Good morning.
It's been a productive couple of days.
We got the snow tires off the Hyundai and the summer one's on.
I've got the mo-ho's water system un-winterized and sanitized. And I've restocked it with all the essentials, and checked out all the systems. We are ready for our first trip.  :-)
I also dug up the ornamental fountain grass I had around the front tree.

They are coming out next week to grind the stump.
I also added dirt to the section of garden I removed and will seed it today.
I've also started to do some weeding of the rest of the flower beds.
And, I made another batch of Kale chips this morning.

Someone asked me what kind of Kale I use. I've used several kinds and prefer one called Lacinato Kale. It has a coarser leaf that bakes up a little firmer than the curly types of Kale.

They may not look pretty, but they sure are tasty!
The recipe I use is over here.
Now time for my last day off.

weekends are good

Good morning.
I've just returned form cleaning the Salon.
It was a very busy week in the Salon, and I'm glad for the weekend.  :-)
Our cold spring continues. We've been running around 5-10 degrees below normal. That's 5 months in a row now of below normal temps.  :-(
The only good from that is the spring flowers are lasting longer.....

It looks as though I can start my spring weeding. The perennials are up enough to distinguish them from weeds. I usually start in mid April. Not this year.
Even the trees aren't budding up yet, just a few of the bushes.
And to answer a comment from a previous post, yes, we are planning on taking the mo-ho to Vegas when we move. There would be some great trips we could take, especially since we will be retired and have more time. We'll have to put in in storage somewhere as the community we hope to buy in doesn't have RV parking.
We've got a busy weekend planned. The weather should be mild and sunny. We've been trying to walk nearly every day, as we both have physicals coming up, and hope to ace our 'tests'.   :-)
Now time to get lazy bones up.