Aaaahhh!

Today was gutter cleaning day.  I have heard a rumor that it might snow on Tuesday night. Today was the day to prepare.  I borrowed a 16 ft ladder from my home teacher.  I was tall enough to be able to reach my hand over the gutter and pull stuff out, yet feel uncomfortable up there.  I don't have a fear of heights, but I definitely have fear of falling and becoming a human vegetable.  I got them cleaned out and new flood lights put in outside the back door.  Yay for seeing outside at night when you need to go outside.  As a girl living alone I love knowing if something is lurking in the backyard when I am headed out.

Next year I am going to find a 20 ft ladder....I think it will be much safer. 

Another Body

 Today I got overzealous about yard work.  I had originally planning to rake up the remainder of the leaves in the backyard.  As I was raking I began to notice all of the little "baby trees" that I have been dying to remove for a while.  So, off I went on a major tree and lead removal activity.  The first picture I love because there used to be about 30 little trees knee to hip height.  I got them all removed, but then I found another little squirrel who met his demise.

 Here lying on the ground are a bunch of leaves, and elm trees twice my height, and some other tree the same height that I didn't want in my yard anymore.

BEFORE- You can see the large weeds/little trees hanging out back there by the garage

 This is a picture of where the trees were removed.  Treeless ground is lovely....it means less leaves to clean up in the fall next year.  Yay!

AFTER-All cleared

 This a picture next to the garage where i removed about 15-20 trees,  It looks better than it has the entire time I have lived here.  There is satisfaction in the little things.

These are several of my piles of trees and leaves.  It took me a total of 10.5 hours to get it all cleaned up.  I can positively say that I am sore today.

Fall Raking

 It is currently 9 pm here in MN and this part of the family is finally coming inside.  I have spent many hours raking the yard.  I know that the evening pictures are not the clearest for viewing, but I felt a need to display the work I have done and what is still coming in the future.  My very large trees have not dropped very many leaves.  I look up and almost feel a little depression kicking in as I realize how much more raking is in my future.

 Here is what I did not get to today.  I imagine that it is slightly less than what I did today (perhaps 14 bags).  You can see that I have raked the right side of the picture.  I don't want a huge flair up of wrist pain and numbness, so more will have to occur next week.

 The picture is for comparison.  This is what I raked today.  Yes I did not get every leave....plus they are still falling.

Here are the 19 bags of leaves sitting in my back yard.  We have to put them in the compostable paper bags for the city to pick them up.  I ran out so I put the leaves into 8 temporary bags, so that the piles I raked would not end up all over the yard again.  I actually enjoyed listening to music, breathing the outside air, and intermittently dancing and hoping my neighbors were not watching.  Although, I am not sure that I am prepared for this every weekend until it snows.  Then I get to shovel snow.  The joys of home ownership!

I did not get to spend all day outside.  I was required to read the latest book I am reading, for at least a couple of hours.  I also had to attend my first graduation for Rasmussen College.  I had not taught anyone graduating, but it is one of the requirements of teaching at a college.  At least only three of the schools were there and it took just 1 hour.  Yay for short graduations!  It made me look forward to my doctorate graduation.  Oh, the joys of a University of South Alabama Graduation!  Ann can attest that it was the greatest graduation ever!

There is a Body in the Backyard

This past week my dad has been visiting me here is cool Minnesota.  The weather has been wonderful for working.  We got a lot of things accomplished in the short amount of time.  I believe on of my dad's favorite parts of the week was when he buried a body in the backyard.  We were out getting rid of all of the little trees that were growing in my yard.  I also raked up a lot of twigs and leaves.  Dad in the meantime was getting soil out of my bags of sod and putting the dirt up next to the house.  While I was raking stuff up near the garage I found a body.  Don't you worry....I screamed like a little girl.  There it was lying there with its beady eyeball staring blankly at me.  What a sight!  I have near had a body in my yard.  My dad just picked up the shovel and dug a shallow grave, where we laid the poor guy to rest.

Today I talked to my neighbor about the body.  I found out that my neighbor has a bee bee gun, which he will illegally shot the invaders in his playhouse.  They have been breaking ruining his garage and playhouse.  There are some seriously conniving creatures around here. Poor little squirrels, rest in peace (at least the neighbor is no longer leaving warfarin (Coumadin) around to kill you).

Getting Down to Details

 Last week I had to take my new lawnmower back to HD.  It was no longer returnable, so it had to be repaired.  Luckily, my neighbor mowed my front lawn for me.  I got it back this week.  I mowed my lawn and then I did my neighbors front yard in return.  My whole yard to overgrown.  I don't want to look like I am retired and therefore spend all my time manicuring it, but the overgrowth of the lawn is driving me nuts.  I bought a hand edger a few months ago, but it bent in the first 2 minutes I used it.  I took it right back and decided at some point I was going to have to by something electric or gas run.  This weekend was the time.  It took me about 3 hours to do one side of my sidewalk.  Plus take out the weeds growing between the cracks of the sidewalk.

 In addition, I bought a couple new plants.  Not to be planted in the yard, but to make me feel more at home.  There is something about plants that makes me feel alive.

 Things are finally starting to happen here at the Passey Palace.  I was going to have someone else do my roof, but I decided that the warranty....and fact that they won't run out of business made me choose HD.  They put a sign in my yard, but haven't started work yet.  Every time I see the sign I laugh because I have the world's worst looking roof and they are advertising with it still in place.  Who is going to want a roof that looks like mine?

 My least favorite part about working in the yard it the dirt that gets under my fingernails.  I know there are such things as gloves, but sometimes it is just easier to do without.

This is the glimpse of the one side of my sidewalk.  You can see all of the growth in my sidewalk by the road.  I know that you going to be holding your breath to see when everything will be symmetrical.  I know this isn't the most pressing thing my home needs, but sometimes you just have to take care of the things that drive you the most nuts.

My Poor Old Trees

I think that this poor tree branch is a little more visible than the last one.  I have another big hanging, unattached branch.  Luckily, this one is away from the house, but that doesn't mean that I like it.  Unfortunately, this tree is dropping more branches than the others.  It is an elm tree, which is more prone to disease so it can't be trimmed until the fall when it is dormant.  I finally have people coming to trim up the rest of my tress, take away my personal tree spear, and take out my stump.  I am way excited.  Who knew that someone could be so thrilled with tree maintenance? Oh the little joys in life.