Showing posts with label Landscaping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Landscaping. Show all posts

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Happy Mother's Day

This year for Mother's Day, I decided to make sure I got something good, so I made myself a raised flower bed.

This was the bed after I put together the lumber and filled it with the soil I had on hand.  I had bought a few perennials to plant in it as well.


Friday, September 6, 2013

The lawn mower drama continues

The lawn mower wasn't working correctly a few weeks ago (again).  This time, I tied a string to the governor piece and as I was mowing, I had to pull the string every once in awhile to let more air into the engine and keep it running.

Then last weekend, it wouldn't work at all.

So yesterday afternoon, as I was waiting for the youngest to get off the bus, I decided to see what was wrong and to take the lawn mower apart (again).  I pulled the cord a couple times without hearing an sounds that would help me figure out what was wrong, but then suddenly, it started again.

Not only did it start again, but it sounded great and wasn't dying.

I didn't want to risk letting it turn off and not start again, so I started mowing the lawn.



Yes, I was still dressed from work.  Wedge heels, slacks, top...


Better believe I got that yard mowed.

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

I am determined to fix this thing

Two years ago, when we moved here, I bought my first lawnmower.  I did some researched and talked to someone who had this specific mower and thought I made a good choice.  For the first year, things were great.  

The second year it stopped working.  It would sound like it was going to start and then die quickly.  I did some research and knew it was the carburetor.  So I replaced it.  

Things still didn't work.  I took it to a shop, they fixed it and told me it was "bad gas".  I bought new gas, mowed the lawn twice, and then it stopped working.   I took it back to the shop and they fixed it for free (this time), and told me it was bad gas again.

It was new gas!  I'd also added something to help with the ethanol!  

A few weeks later, it stopped working again.  This time, I bought the parts I needed and cleaned the carburetor and drained the tank myself.

Things worked great for several weeks.

Until last week.  It wouldn't start again.  I can't imagine having to clean the carburetor every month so I did some research and found that the fuel line (tube) could be bad and that I could add a fuel filter to the fuel line to help keep gas clean.

So I bought the parts this morning and got to work.

The mower "before"
I decided to replace the air filter, clean the carburetor, replace the gaskets, replace the fuel line, and add a filter.  I couldn't think of what else to do.  

The parts
I was annoyed with how much gas I drained and won't be able to use.  The jar on the left was already nasty and dirty, but the gas in the jar on the right didn't even look bad.

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  I had to cut the new fuel line to fit the space, and cut it to add the fuel filter.  I wasn't sure which direction the filter should go until I found a note online that the filter has an arrow, sure enough, I turned it over and there it was.
The arrow is pointing down in this picture
 And then I took the carburetor off.  I was shocked at how much dirt was in there.  I later found that some of it may have fallen in as I was taking it off, but geeze!
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 Once I had it all back together, the fuel filter fit perfectly.  And I was excited to test things out.


I poured some special stuff in to help clean the tank and carburetor and fight ethanol issues, and then I had to run to the store to buy new gas.

There's the fluid in the filter
When I got home, I poured the new gas in and it sputtered for about 15 seconds before dying.  I was scared.

I started it up again and it sounded beautiful.  I mowed about half of the lawn (45 minutes) before someone pulled up the driveway and I had to stop.

I'm just glad I was able to get her going again, but the true test will be if she works after the 3rd or 4th job.

Sunday, June 16, 2013

It was time to get dirt-y

I finally gave in and had some quality soil delivered so that I could complete some of the projects around here.



Ten cubic yards of compost-soil mix was dumped.  When the truck pulled up I was a bit scared about how much ten cubic yards would be, but once it was dumped I knew I could use it all.

The first project was to finish the raised flower bed.


The second project was to raise one of the flower beds so that it was level and would help hide the foundation better.

It took a few more boulders that we brought over from the goat pen and several loads of soil, but we finished it.




I weeded the other flower bed and then we raised it so that it is almost level.  I'm thinking another wheelbarrow or two full of soil will finish the job.



There is still plenty of soil level for the next projects.



And then I took a quick break to repaint the rooster for the summer theme.












Sunday, April 14, 2013

Protecting the garden

The garden needs to be protected from chickens that scratch and mice that dig holes through it....

Keeping the chickens out seems like an easier task so I purchased 100 feet of deer fencing.




It's five feet tall so the birds can fly over it, but right after I put it up a bird came around and then couldn't figure out how to get out of the garden.  

I will need another two rolls to finish containing the garden and I will need to build a door at the entrance, but I think this will help to keep the birds out of the garden.

Next task: how to kill all of the mice that dig through my garden?

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Progress

I forced myself to get up and go finish at least one project.

So the youngest son helped me put the dots on the strawberry rocks after I painted the green stems and I finished painting the vegetable rocks.  I set them outside to spray the clear coat on top and got a picture.



Then I decided to try to brush the goats when I fed them.  I did manage to get a bit of extra fluff off them.  Trust me, you don't want to see it.  I did a quick clean of the chicken coops and then measured the garden so I could make my official planting layout.

Unfortunately either my measurements are off, my brain isn't working, or my garden hates me because I just can't seem to get an accurate diagram going...



Sunday, January 13, 2013

I think I can now do anything

The temperatures were dropping below freezing and the animals weren't able to get any water.  I could easily  find a water heater for the goat's water because it is a big tub and finding a heater was simple.  But finding ways to keep the three smaller water dishes for the chickens from freezing was looking too expensive, each new water dish was over $40 because they were new water dishes with built in water heaters.

And then I found information on another chicken blog that told me how to make a water heater for a few dollars...

Yes, I bought two tins from the store for a couple dollars.  Then I took the light bulb piece from two lamps and attached them.  I put them out there immediately to test them out, and sure enough that little 40 watt light bulb heats up the tin just enough to keep the water dish on top of it from freezing.

I also bought an outlet converter that only turns on when the temperature goes below 35 degrees, so the water heaters will all turn on when it gets too cold, but automatically turn off when the temperature warms up.  

I felt like a genius this day :)

Friday, December 28, 2012

Just a Little Landscaping

Last year I built 3 raised flower beds in an attempt to hide the foundation of the house and to add color to the front of the house.

The chickens like to use this one for a dirt bath and bed.


We have a big hill in the goat pen.  It's a mix of dirt, rocks, and trash.  Yes, the original owner dumped trash on the property and then they buried this pile.  We've uncovered pieces of a swing set, an oven, and a car so far.  


When we were putting the new goat house into the pen I decided to get some of the rocks and boulders out then, so I wouldn't have to move them around the goat house later.  I knew I wanted to use them to build another raised bed for a strawberry patch.

This is most of the pile of boulders and rocks that I pulled out.
 A few days later I carried and rolled them over to the side of the house.



I've been putting them together like a puzzle, trying to make them fit well enough that they won't fall apart once I fill the area with dirt.  Last year I had a cheap white wire fence and I had planted some bulbs in the ground and in pots.

The pots are still there

I need to get the last few boulders moved over, they are pretty darn heavy and I'm working alone so I'm not moving them as quickly as I'd like.  Hopefully I will get that done before school starts up again, then I need to dig out the bulbs from last year to transplant them before I fill in the bed with dirt.





Thursday, December 27, 2012

I'm Just a Girl With a Chainsaw

Nothing seems to be a better distraction for me than revving up the chainsaw and getting some work done.  

Last year a tree that was leaning towards the house slowly leaned further and further.  Eventually it landed on the roof.  It had been held up by grape vines and over time they just loosened.  I got onto the roof and cut the end of the tree off while two people stood on the ground with a rope around the tree pulling it so that it would fall away from the house.

Once it was down I was able to cut it up more.  Unfortunately, the pictures I had of this feat have disappeared.
This is the area where the tree was.  The shed is long gone, but the tree was just to the left of it.
I finally got outside last week and chopped down another tree that had been bent under the weight of the fallen tree and then chopped up all of the trunks and branches into bonfire sized pieces.

The tree I chopped down now because it was ruined by the fallen tree

Crazy vines hanging from trees and holding everything up

Our wood pile
I'm not sure if it is just knowing that I am able to accomplish these "man" tasks... Or the power behind the machine... Or the fact that while it is running I can't hear anyone yelling "Mom!!!!  He touched me!!!  He looked at me!!!  Mom!!!!" so it's a nice break :)

In any case, I love any chance I get to use the chainsaw.

Watch out for falling branches (that your mother sets on top of you for good pictures)

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Giving the goats something more

When I picked up all of those shipping crates I knew that I would make the goats an additional shelter.  I started building this towards the end of the coop project.

I've gotten much better at certain things so this was much faster.  I added the roof by using a piece off of another crate and reinforced the corners of the crate with 2 x 4s that would angle and support a roof.


I cut two different size doorways for a reason.  I was trying to give them more shelter from the wind and cold air and a small part of me hoped that the little ones would use the little door and the big one wouldn't be able to.


Kelly was already checking it out

I sealed the outside and the roof with wood sealer and I still want to add another piece of wood across the top of the doorways but I went back to working on the coop after I took these pictures.


The next day I put a piece of wood over the top half of the entry.  I decided (so far) not to cut the doors larger because the two smaller goats were able to get inside.  I'll wait to see if Jenny goes in later today.

Building another coop

Decided to put together information about how our chicken coop was built.  Our first one was made from the same material but was built the original way - horizontally.  I decided to make this one vertical for a variety of reasons.

First I found these huge shipping crates on Craigslist for $10 months ago.  When we went last time we could only fit one in the truck that I was using.


I found the man's phone number and called him asking if I could come buy some more from him and he agreed.  They were about an hour away

 
We were able to fit three of the large crates (they are over 6 feet long, 3 feet and 4 feet tall) on the trailer that I rented.  Then we fit a 3 foot by 3 foot crate at the back inside the last big one.  We also had some extra pieces of wood tucked in on the other side.  

This was the future coop.  By this point I'd removed the huge blocks of wood off the bottom by simply removing the entire bottom of the crate.  I installed some thick pieces of wood on the new bottom with wheels so I can move it into the goat pen easier and then flipped it up horizontally.



Got a new side put on where the former bottom was (took this off one of the other crates.)  And I painted it with wood sealer so that it can withstand the weather.


I added the nesting boxes that I made out of 3 gallon buckets from a dollar store and scrap pieces of wood. And I added three roosting bars.  I am worried about the top row of birds pooping down onto the lower birds so I may add a "poop bar" later.  A poop bar is a piece of wood that I would put under the roosting bar to catch the poop.  If I use linoleum or metal on it then it's easier to clean.


I sealed the floor but I am hoping to raise the floor a few inches.  Either by making the "floor" that they walk on be fencing so everything falls through and I just have to clean out the very bottom, or by actually making the floor higher and thicker than it currently is.