Be Done With It

I am ready to be done with it!  Not just with politics, civil unrest, negativity, hate, etc. but also done with all the things I see that need to be done.  However, I know once I get everything done, I will see more that needs to be done.


At the end of each day, I need to inventory what it is I have completed, rather than list all the things that still need to be done, otherwise, I go to bed feeling unaccomplished, bogged down, and discouraged. 
<- This poster quote is by Ralph Waldo Emerson.


Saturday morning I worked at my blog from the previous week, while also doing a load of laundry.

Joe and I went to the barn at 11:00, first loading up more horse manure, and then Joe learned how to run the gator (Polaris) that John let us barrow.





We were going to make two trips, to get Art and Pat (seen left in the parking lot) to the trail head along with Maggie and I, and all the tools.


Once the tools were loaded, Maggie and I climbed in.  She was very nervous about riding in this contraption.  I had to hold on to her because she wanted to jump out.

I took this selfie and video while we were bumping down the trail (where the stable horses are ridden) to get to our new trail.  Pat and Art decided to drive their jeep out into the back field and walk from there.  We met at the trail head under the power lines where the Wildwood Livery Trail comes up the hill from #13 of Dorchester Golf course.

In the right photo, you can see that the cart path to the #14 upper, blue championship tee, is quite close to where Art and Joe are working.  We re-marked a few areas of the trail to better navigate through the woods down the hill, and not get any closer to the cart path.  Then we worked at rough clearing the trail.  Again, Maggie was off leash and roamed back and forth, checking on each of us.





The Kanes left after a few hours but Joe and I continued for another 90 minutes.  Then, when we did head back, I walked with Maggie instead of riding in the Polaris that she was so frighten of.  She would run up to where Joe was driving it down the trail, and then turn and run back to me.  In the left photo, Joe had just disappeared around the corner, but you can see his dust as Maggie races back towards me.

I think Joe rather enjoyed driving this old buggy, even though it had a few issues.  I hoped this would make trail building a little more fun for him.

Once home, I got to work sowing the winter rye seed Joe had bought for me.  I raked, spread seed, and covered it with a mix of horse manure and lawn mulching (I had to mow with the bag to collect the mulched grass and leaves).  The dark brown soil seen below is where I had planted the rye.   



It was dark before I finished, but with the back house lights and nearly full super moon I could see well enough to get it all watered.  When I came in, Joe reported that Stevie got caught in the heat duct again.  This time she was trying to come out of the bathroom vent under the vanity, which Joe had to unscrew to let her out of.   Joe and I ended the evening watching both our taped weekly survivor shows.



Sunday I was moving pretty slowly, felt a cold coming on, so decided to skip Church.  Nolan had picked Joe up before 8 am making my morning a nice quiet one.  They had tickets to a Packers Game in Nashville, against the Titans.  I finished and posted my blog and then went out at 10:30 to water all the new rye seed.  Our fall colors have not been as spectacular because of the drought, but there are a few trees that stand out, especially the red maples.


After a big lunch, I went to the barn, driving the SUV and loaded up the bins with manure.  Then Amiga and I went out for a ride.  Notice her orange neck band and my orange shirt.  Hunting season has started and we want to be visible and not look like a deer.

We tried out part of the new trail and then rode in the 'bean' field.  Zorro whinnied from his pasture across the way and got Amiga's attention.  Below is a nice close-up of him, that my phone took.



When I returned home, I spread manure over the rest of the seed that I had not gotten covered, and watered all of it again.








Joe got home just as I was finishing up at 5:30, well after dark.  I went to bed earlier than my usual 9:00 early.




Monday morning Stevie did it again!  This is the third time she has gotten into the heat ducts under the house (which we keep trying to block).  Once down a large hole, she tries to come out at a different vent cover (smaller hole) and gets trapped.  This time, Joe had to unscrew the cover under the kitchen counter to let her out (video).  I am ready to be done with this crazy cat behavior.

I spent a few morning hours watering new seed, new grass, and half of the landscape I have planted this past year.  Right after an early lunch, Joe and I loaded the SUV with bins, and tools, and Maggie, and went to the barn.  After getting more horse manure, we drove to the field where Art and Pat had parked the other day and we walked to the new trail head.  The right photo I took from the trail head, shows Joe walking back to the SUV at the end of our two hour work session.  Notice we have to go through the brush, but it isn't too far of a hike.



Once home, I got to work unloading manure while Joe and Maggie basked in the sun.  Maggie even takes little dog (cat) naps.  The sun is so low in the sky now, it only hits our deck for a short time during the day.  So Joe has moved his chair into the back yard.






I hate that day light is gone so early.  I would rather drink my morning tea in the dark (it is light by 5:30 am) and have more time to work outside at the end of the day (it is dark by 5:00 pm).  I wish they would permanently do away with Daylight Savings time and be done with it once and for all.

Tuesday Joe was gone golfing from ten till four so I spent most of that time out back working by the pond.  I transplanted 'grass sod' to the banks of the creek where I want to help hold back the sandy edges.  I raked some of the sand farther out onto the banks and then put down the sod.  Before photo on left.

The sod was not great because it had as many weeds as grass, but the clumps held together.  I got the sod from the edge of the pond (green in lower right photo) at the bottom of our back hill.  It is where the dirt had been piled from dredging two years ago, which is also why there was a step drop off into the pond.  The golf course never seeded it and it was kind of mounded in front of the pond.  It is green because it is weedy and I have been watering it, knowing I was going to move it.
You can't tell, but this is a two to three foot drop off to the bottom of the pond.  I planned to make the slope more gradual and will seed in the spring.  End of Tuesday's work seen bottom left and my completed grading of the slope (finished Thursday) seen bottom right.  The big rock seen sticking out in all three photos, can't be moved (I tried) and is normally four inches under water.  This gives you a point of reference.














There are also some large rocks I uncovered while moving dirt.  They are bulging outward into some of the slope, or upward from the pond bottom, seen in the right photo.

Joe and I hit the CC pool, hot tub, sauna, and showers, then picked up carry-out spaghetti and salad on the way home.  I took Maggie on a 8-9:00 super moon lit walk.

Wednesday promised to be warmer and I had things to do, so was outside by 9 am.  I moved the sprinkler every 20 minutes while moving dirt from down by the pond.  The bush (left photo) that I planted here two years ago looks to be 2/3rs dead.  I gave it, and several others a good watering also.  I hope all my landscape recovers from (survives) this drought.






The soil I was moving down by the pond was actually pretty good, other than some golf balls, rocks, and clumps of decaying leaves and sticks.  So, I piled some of it up for later use and spread the rest of it out over the sticks and leaves in the creek valley, seen right.



At noon, Joe and I went to the barn, loaded up more manure and then worked out on the new trail for 90 minutes.  Maggie enjoyed a bone that we had unearthed while clearing the trail.








We did manage to get all of the trail rough cleared before Joe left with Maggie.  I had planned to ride Amiga, and decided to see if she and I could get through the whole trail.  Seen right, we made it to the creek crossing.



It was a little rough going in spots, my knees were bumped into trees three or four times, my head hit several branches and then Amiga surprised me by actually jumping over the largest log, seen left.







Once to the other side (the Glade) we met up with Jan who just happened to be riding and had texted me.  Amiga and Cash were so glad to see each other.




Cash had gotten his stitches out earlier in the day and was doing well, but needed to be kept at a walk.  This was good, because I had already worked Amiga fairly hard.  She had done very well on the new trail, going up and down the hills, stepping over many logs and navigating the step ups and down.  







This was a longer and more strenuous ride than usual and Amiga held up well.  I let her graze on the way back to the barn, then removed her burs that I hadn't had time to deal with before riding.  Seen right, she looked like Alfalfa.  I brushed her down and treated her hooves before putting her in her stall for the night.  Hurrying home, I did some more watering as night fell upon me quickly.  Joe was at poker, so dinner and down time were on my own terms.

Thursday was warm and beautiful so I didn't spend much time here at my desk in the morning.  While moving the sprinkler around, I finished grading this slope down into the pond.  The view (left) was taken from the back of our hill.  The photo posted Tuesday (for a comparison) was taken from the bank on the other side of the pond, looking back towards this slope.  OK, I am now officially very glad to Be Done With It!
 



Joe and Maggie sunned before and after lunch.  In this photo, I really see a lot of Pit Bull in her (with the boxy head).  But like many Pit Bulls, she is a very sweet dog.  

After lunch, between sunning sessions, Joe helped me with painting.  He didn't stick with it near long enough, and I can see, there are hours of work ahead of me.  He painted with the deck stain, the new boards Jeremy had put on to rebuild safer steps up to the porches.  I painted with the house paint, getting the trim around this door, some other touch-up spots and then started on the exterior porch wood.

The old boards match the house color fairly well, but the new (yellower) wood sticks out.  It all needs two coats of paint to better preserve it.  Painting around the screens is the slow, tricky part.  Seen right, Stevie watched as I worked.  We ended the day watching both of our Survivor shows.


Friday dawned another warm day.  I hit the yard by 9 am, cleaning up some beds of the dead iris and mum growth along with lots of leaves.  And guess what, then I decided to do one more thing down at the pond.
 
The two boulders (seen left) make nice steps up out of the pond bottom, so I added one more large rock near the top (seen right), to complete the progression.
 
Joe and I did more painting.  The trim work takes forever.  Then, later, I discovered that the paint tape wasn't paint tape, and wouldn't come off the glass window in the door.  Now I need a razor blade to scrape it off.  Ugh.  Need I say, I'd like to be done with it.

I had planned to meet Jan at Stratford Dr to ride together, so left for the barn at 12:30.  Amiga did better out on the new trail, no bumping my knees into trees or jumping over logs.


Once we met up with Jan, we had a very nice ride together.  Amiga and Cash walked so quietly side by side and Jan and I caught up with each other's life, as we chatted.


I took these videos as we rode back over our new trail to get to the barn.  #1 - near the start of the trail from Stratford.  #2 - Crossing the creek and on up the hill.  #3 - Third and final video of Amiga taking us to the end (start) of the trail where it comes out at the power lines near the barn.

Amiga looking this way and that, at the #14 cart path.  

After taking care of Amiga when we had finished our two hour ride, I then brushed Zorro.  Seen left, he is showing off his clean mane.

It was a quiet evening with Joe gone, playing poker again.  I could hear the wind picking up while sitting here at my computer finishing this blog.  When I walked the dog, it smelled really smokey outside.  Wildfires continue to be a problem, especially in east TN.