Waiting for Grass

We ordered two pallets of St. Augustine grass to complete our re-do of the back yard, hoping to get it installed before the rain that's predicted for today.

We're still waiting.  

It was supposed to be here by noon yesterday, but their harvester broke down and they spent all day yesterday getting it fixed.  The latest word is that it should be here around 8 o'clock this morning, and laid (we chose to have it installed) shortly thereafter.

No grass as of 7:45, but no rain yet, either.

To Post Or Not

When I first started this blog back in March of 2010, it was my intention to post something every day.  I have managed to post well over 300 entries per year, and have had something over a half million views over that time, but lately ---

I have probably posted fewer times over the last month than at any period since I started.  I haven't lost interest - I still enjoy writing this blog.  I've just been too darn busy, or too darn tired.

Anti-theft

A sad commentary on the state of things.  It might be funny if it weren't so true.
Our good friend and next-door neighbor Louis Winkler took his truck to WalMart to buy a tire.  They left the truck sitting outside the auto center and went into the store to do some shopping while they waited.  An hour later, they returned to find the truck still sitting where they had parked it.  
Nobody who worked in the auto center knew how to drive a four-speed floor shift truck!

Almost

I had a very busy day yesterday.
Mowed the yard while Honey walked - done by 8 o'clock.
Took 50-plus pounds of books to Half Price Books, got less than a dollar a pound, but I did pick up seven more books and got $8.25 in change.
Next stop was the optometrist.  Pleased to learn that my eyes are fine and my prescription has not changed enough to justify a new pair of glasses.
On to Jade Palace to pick up supper, then WalMart for bread, bacon and six more bags of pine bark nuggets.
The Almost in today's title came when I went to spread the mulch this morning.  Discovered that I had one bag of black mulch - complete with ants.  It went on the burning pile, and I still need one more (maybe two more) bag of nuggets.

Hibiscus

Our back yard is still very much a work in progress, but several of the hibiscus were blooming yesterday.....

Geopplitical Wisdom

You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer." ~Frank Zappa

Moose

On July 11^th, 2018, the Hudson’s Hope RCMP were called to a collision involving a motorcycle and a moose on Canyon Drive. The driver of the motorcycle was taken to hospital with minor injuries. The moose and motorcycle were gone prior to police arrival. It is unknown if the moose rode the motorcycle away.

Landscaping

One more step completed in our landscaping to-do list.  I got the rose bed done this morning.

We planted five rose bushes - four Knockout Roses and one other that is similar but doesn't use the copyrighted Knockout name.  Honey told me "Just scatter them in the bed, but don't make a pattern."

I challenge you to set out five of anything without creating some kind of design.

On another subject, faith and patience paid off this morning.  

We had one hibiscus that wasn't blooming when we bought it.  It had a few dead buds that were falling off before maturing, but the leaves were healthy and the plant as a whole looked good, so we decided to take a chance. It is the one in the back right in the picture,  It turns out it has gorgeous, bright yellow flowers with a deep wine red center.

Hail and Farewell

Our dear friends the Graffs stopped by this morning to pick up their Teryx, which we had been storing in our garage.

This was literally their last stop on their way out town.  They are on the way to a new life and a new home in Ohio, and we wish them well.

I Didn't Buy Any PRKs

I just got back from Walmart.  Bought a 12 volt battery for the mower, some joint pills for the dogs and a whole bunch of groceries.  

After we put everything up, Honey was going over the bill and asked, "What is a PRK?"

"A what?" I answered.

"It says you bought a PRK and it cost $13.48."

I couldn't think of what the heck a PRK might be, so I finally called the store.  The lady in customer service (actually the second one who answered. The first said I had to bring the receipt back in to the store.) looked it up by the transaction code.  

"Oh," she said. "PRK stands for Wright Hickory Smoked Bacon."

Well, of course it does.  That makes perfect sense.

IDK&IDC

Today is one of those in between days with nothing much to report, so here's a reprint  repost of something from last April...

Enjoying the pergola

We moved the old patio table and a couple chairs under the pergola, and it is just as pleasant as we had hoped.  
We have really enjoyed sitting there even in the hottest part of the afternoon.
Yesterday there was a thundershower to the south of us.  We didn't get much rain at all, but we were able to experience the musical tinkle of a few raindrops on the metal roof - a hint of things to come.

Construction Part 3

Our new pergola as seen from our new back porch.  
They'll be back to stain the treated pine decking after it has had about a month to cure and dry. 

Construction Part 2

The guys building our new porch and pergola got rained out yesterday afternoon, but still plan to be through this evening.  I hope they're right, but there's still lots to go.

Under Construction

The crew from Houston Deck and Shade showed up this morning, and construction is going well.  Well - mostly well.
They did manage to hit the propane line that runs from the tank to the generator, and part of the job is on hold while we wait for Buster Brown Propane to send somebody out to fix it.

Berm

Got our practice berm set up this morning.  
Ernest Graff and his son Ernest Paul Graff did all the heavy lifting, and made a few very good suggestions on enhancements.  No way I could have done this without their help.

Flood Test Two

We got a total of about four inches of rain yesterday, and most of it had soaked in or drained off by dark.
Parts of the area weren't so lucky.  
Eight plus inches in the Buffalo Bayou watershed put the bayou out of its banks and into Eleanor Tinsley Park where it flooded out Houston's official 4th of July celebration.

Flood Test

I told you last week that we bought and spread a truckload of sand to fill in a low spot that would be under the pergola we're getting in our back yard.  
We got the first test of my leveling abilities today - we've had just over an inch and a half of rain so far this morning, and, so far,  it looks pretty good.
There are a few spots I may want to tweak, but the rain is draining away from the areas that used to hold water.

Murphy Plus One

The problems I listed yesterday have been corrected.

     Bought and installed a new battery on the generator.  

Wow! batteries have sure gone up.  The one I replaced cost $57 in 2014, the exact same battery yesterday was just over $105 with tax.

     Finally got the auger installed on the tractor this morning.  

It was even more trouble than I had anticipated.  Had to use my come-along to get the adjustable drive shaft to loosen up, then realized that the PTO shaft was the wrong size.  Actually it was the right size, but I had installed a step-down extension so it would fit the bush hog mower.  Once I got the extension removed, the installation went easy enough.

The next step in actually boring some holes, but right now it's too darn hot.

Murphy Day

I'm officially declaring today to be Murphy Day - as in Murphy's Law.  
Last night I had the day planned, but then...
Realized the generator didn't "exercise" yesterday.  Checked this morning, and, sure enough, the battery is toast.  It's been there since October of 2014. so I guess that's not too bad.  Will have to go get a replacement sometime today.
Having all sorts of problems hooking the auger up to the tractor.  Had it hanging in the barn for easy hookup, but that was with the old 8N tractor.  Couldn't get the one I have now to line up, so I ended up having to call a neighbor over to help.
It's on the tractor, but couldn't get the drive shaft connected to the PTO because it had rusted up.  I soaked it down with penetrating oil, and let it sit for now.
Meanwhile, I got too hot and almost made myself sick.

Clean Dirt

As I mentioned yesterday, we got a load of dirt to fill in a low spot in the yard before they start construction on our deck and pergola.  I bought the dirt (sand) from Dirt Cheap Mulch, a local company with a good reputation.  

I thought the price was a little steep, but sometimes you get what you pay for.  The entire 10 yard load was pristine - there were no chunks of clay, only one small patch of grass and a total of two roots - both less than a yard long.  

It didn't exactly spread itself, but sand that clean sure made the job easier.