Dreaming of Spring Gardening in the Middle of a Wisconsin winter part 2

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Too hot out. Wasps, or hornets all over our house trying to find a place to winter over i assume. Happens every year. I spend some time out there swatting as many as I can get away with.

My lilacs have a few blooms on them just like last year. Not sure what's going on with them. They spent most of the summer with their leaves chewed off. I wish we could go back to the climate we used to have. It shouldn't be 80 degrees at the end of September.

Gonna pull up the remaining garden plants next week when it's supposed to be a bit cooler.

 

[jvls1942]

I agree. it is 81F right now. very hot upstairs in the garage
bees tend to get nasty on these warm fall days.
I finished the railing with the help of Annie.
the next project is to put some light fixtures up there.
I have two halogen fixtures I can use.

 

[Cebarmlds]

Jim, your railing is a 2x4 ? I like it. We still don't have a railing into our basement, I was going to buy a cheap railing from Menards for temporary because everything isn't done in the house... but a 2x4 would work and be way cheaper! I'm getting too old for no hand rail, Lol

 

[jvls1942]

I priced out "cheap" hand rails at Menard's also.
then I priced out the brackets.
what I ended up doing is buying two 2x6's.
I sawed off 1 1x2 " from the edges of both 2x6's.
that left me with 4" . I screwed the 1 1x2" pieces to the studs at about 32" from the nose of the treads.
then I flushed up the bottom of the 4" to the bottom of the 1 1x2" and screwed it with 3" screws. that gave me 2" of space to get hold of the 4" . for good measure,, I ran 1/4" x 5" lag screws through the 4" and the 1 1/2" and into the studs,. I like it so much that I am going to put a railing on the other side, too.
the whole setup cost less than $2O.OO
As luck would have it, the piece I cut off to shorten it to fit, was 12". I used that as the extension at the top.
I will take a picture to show you.
as the shadows got long, just before sunset, we cracked a couple of beers and sat outside until dark.
NO mosquitoes. a small flock of geese flew right overhead as it was getting dark. it sounded like they flew is a circle . we could hear them for a long time.

 

[jvls1942]

today i bought 3 2x4x8' .
going to make a railing on the other side of the stairs.
I will split one 2x4 down the middle.
screw that to the wall for the spacer.
then I will run the other two 2x4's through the planer. just to make them smoother.
(this is not really necessary )
then I will screw the 2x4's to the spacers on the wall.
first I have orders to get some lights hooked up, in the rafters.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

NO mosquitoes. a small flock of geese flew right overhead as it was getting dark. it sounded like they flew is a circle . we could hear them for a long time.

The evenings are a very pleasant time to sit outside. Geese were probably looking for a nice spot to spend the night. I always wonder if there's a lead goose, or not.

 

[jvls1942]

I think flocks of geese are families. the leader is probably the bossy female.
there is a lake in Rochester Minn,
the geese spend the summer there. thousands of them.
in the fall they break into small groups and swim around the lake. they take turns taking off. each flock in their turn. every few minutes . this goes on day and night until the lake is empty.

 

[Cebarmlds]

I priced out "cheap" hand rails at Menard's also.
then I priced out the brackets.
what I ended up doing is buying two 2x6's.
I sawed off 1 1x2 " from the edges of both 2x6's.
that left me with 4" . I screwed the 1 1x2" pieces to the studs at about 32" from the nose of the treads.
then I flushed up the bottom of the 4" to the bottom of the 1 1x2" and screwed it with 3" screws. that gave me 2" of space to get hold of the 4" . for good measure,, I ran 1/4" x 5" lag screws through the 4" and the 1 1/2" and into the studs,. I like it so much that I am going to put a railing on the other side, too.
the whole setup cost less than $2O.OO
As luck would have it, the piece I cut off to shorten it to fit, was 12". I used that as the extension at the top.
I will take a picture to show you.
as the shadows got long, just before sunset, we cracked a couple of beers and sat outside until dark.
NO mosquitoes. a small flock of geese flew right overhead as it was getting dark. it sounded like they flew is a circle . we could hear them for a long time.

Thank you for sharing this!

 

[Callender Girl]

Jim, I'm impressed with your industriousness, and Lisa, I'm impressed with your approach to relaxation!

BTW, sometimes, I feel a bit rude about not addressing the other folks on this thread, but Jim and Lisa are the only people whose names I know. But I enjoy and appreciate others' posts!

Although I didn't go to my reunion, when I was really honest with myself attending would have been less about connecting with classmates (none of whom I've stayed in touch with) and more about showing that I can still move pretty well -- they can't see how much my hip bothers me -- still have mostly brown hair, all of my own teeth and not nearly as many wrinkles as many of them. Who knows how much of that will be true for the next one?

Just found out last night that my sister is coming up TODAY! I warned her that my house is far from visitor-ready. I don't think she truly understands how dusty it is from the constant parade of farm vehicles with harvest well underway.

Since she's planning to arrive before noon, and Tuesday mornings are my shop-in-town time not my housecleaning time, she will be greeted with blankets of Iowa dirt that cover every surface in the house. Dusting twice a day -- which I Don't Do -- wouldn't keep up with it.

I try to get propane before harvest season, but other bills kept popping up. I called yesterday and, with the old owners, I could expect same-day delivery. That didn't happen, so I had to call back late afternoon and tell them not to show up this morning. I don't like to have people here when I'm not, so I explained that if I'm not here, there's no one to write the check. Maybe I'll get propane today, maybe tomorrow. I'm not in an emergency situation, so I guess it doesn't matter.

My new cockerel is increasing trying out his cock-a-doodle-do's. They're still laughable, but he practices a lot. I've been trying to catch him on video, but by the time I get my phone, he's done. Yesterday, in the wee hours of early morning, I put the phone up to the living room window and have a perfect set of three crows -- in total blackness.

I'm still picking a few cherry tomatoes every day. I like to fold them into my veggie omelets. I ate the Gold Medal tomato over the weekend and was disappointed in the flavor; it seemed almost floral. Cross that off next year's list!

Well, since Little Sister didn't give me much notice, and I have projects to do before weather prevents them, she better bring some work clothes with her today!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Barb I refuse to go to any reunions. Sorry you couldn't get to yours. Glad your sister is coming. Always wished I had a sister. Brothers aren't the same.

One of my kitties is missing. She's been gone since last week. I hope she's just on an adventure. Her sister misses her. The stray tom cat is getting more bold. I was able to get close enough to tell he's still got his berries. If he keeps it up I will try live trapping him and get him neutered. He causes chaos when he's around.

The weather is much nicer today. Tried pants, but quickly went back to shorts. I need a coat at least.

Yesterday was my birthday. Spent the day bumming around. Now back to work. Garden needs cleaning up. Also starting to get ready for winter. Getting the cat houses dusted off. Never know what temperature I should start plugging them in.

We also started to put up the clear roof panels on the bantam run. A section at a time. It makes it so I no longer need to shovel the run, and gives them a nice place to spend the day in winter.