Here’s my very busy, very awesome weekend, related from the end to the beginning.
Two hours ago I finished laying 3 dozen paving blocks along the west side of the house. Here’s why:
The basement along the west wall has become more leaky this year, and we think it’s because turf has overgrown the landscape timbers that lie about 3 feet from the west foundation wall. This created a little dam…rainwater couldn’t overtop the timbers and flow away from the house. Major surgery was required.
I dragged away the timbers and found that they were completely rotten underneath…24 linear feet of termite food. Good riddance. I fit concrete pavers end to end in the trough where the timbers used to lie. Lucky for me they and the timbers were both 8″ wide. After I set the pavers good and tight, I took a spade and hacked away 4 wheelbarrow loads full of soil, creating a nice steep grade from the foundation wall out to the pavers. Here’s the general idea:
I pounded the slope with an earth tamper so nothing should wash away in the first hard rain. Here’s the finished product:
I was on a roll, so I continued the line of pavers out toward the screen house that we’re (slowly) building. (Brandon and dad, we built the lower deck framing with lumber you tore off the old deck in July. We’re going to lop off the uprights and put down decking planks, when we can afford it. We’ll eventually frame the screen house on top of the planks.) The pavers will eventually encircle a new garden that I’m going to build where the pool used to be. (Dad, the pavers you and I dug up equal about half of what I need for the whole job! Sweet!) Here’s he afternoon’s work:
OK, that was today from noon to 6. Here’s who I hung out with this morning:
Who’s that girl hiding behind that letter A pancake? It’s our goddaughter Anika! She’s 3 and red-headed and full of beans. She and her mom and dad, our good friends Cory and Megan, spent the night at our house after coming over for a weenie roast last night. Before breakfast, Anika and I took a walk in the barnyard, and she bagged her very first ear of field corn. But she couldn’t quite grasp the complex series of agribusiness steps required to convert this type of corn into something edible.
Maybe it’ll be better with a little butter on it.
That didn’t work, but we decided we could still nibble from the butter tub!
(Yes, permissive Aunt Shauna lets Anika get away with murder…)
Like I said, this post is going backward in time. I don’t have any pictures of our weenie roast last night, but we had a blast. Anika and I shared her first s’more while she sat in my lap by the fire. She decided she just wanted the chocolate, so I downed the residuals. We’re a good team.
Still further back in time, before the weenie roast we took Anika to see some farm animals! My friend Linda has all kinds of critters and was generous enough to let us come out for an hour. We didn’t take any pig pictures because the farrowing house reeked and we all just wanted to pet a pig and move on. The sheep were a big hit though:
They were gentle but frighty…they spooked even at Anika. Some of the yearlings were broke to show though, so they were tame enough to hand-feed. Anika ran back and forth with handfuls of corn, letting the lambs eat right from her hand. She said it was their “popcorn.”
It’s amazing how much I learned there, even being a farm kid. We never had hogs and hardly anyone in our county had sheep or goats. My steer-showing experience was a nightmare, so aside from Flash, my bucket calf, I never got up close and personal with livestock. So last night it was a huge treat when Linda let some of her goats out from their paddock. They trailed behind us like dogs, investigating every little nook and cranny. They were full of personality and completely endearing. Someday when I don’t have a 8-to-5 life, I think I want some goats. Anika and the grown-ups, the goats and Taffy the dog all walked around Linda’s farm, the night was warm and I was wholly content. I’m so glad I got to share such a fun time with my favorite little redhead.
-shauna-