The Things I Did This Summer – July To October

joProjects: This is what I did AFTER completing another fence panel this afternoon.

I’m about to have a local audio pro install my new car audio upgrade. I had already ordered the Kia cargo floor from KiaStuff.com. Figured for less money I could use 3/4 birch ply I had laying around, a piano hinge & and indoor/outdoor self stick carpet tiles I bought at Home Depot.

A few hours later. I have a much stronger cargo floor. Needless to say I canceled my Kia Stuff order & saved the $185.00.
I also ❤️ the pull I made from a loop of carpet. 👍😍👍

With the lumber I had, the hinge and carpet cost about $40.00. Was worth it!

Now I have a solid place for my new twin 10″ subwoofer box to sit. All my new electronics will be installed below the new floor: line converter, amplifier, and sub amplifier & all the other fuses & wiring. Out of sight. Besides … the windows are tinted so darkly you can’t see into the back or the passenger seats. Saves me more money. 👍

#KiaSoul #KiaSoulClub #caraudio #cargofloor

Bees In Abundance!

The bumble bees are out in force this morning. They are groovin’ on the forest of multi-head sunflowers. These started out as two small plants last summer. They have overtaken that manicured front garden I created.

The purple coneflower plant became HUGE this summer too.
For me … this is a good thing. I like seeing all these sunflowers & coneflowers from my front window. 🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻

For the bees … they are having a party! 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝

I will eventually relocate the purple asters, mums, & day lilies somewhere else. Not sure where yet.

So much going on!

#flowers #gardening #flowergarden #coneflower #sunflower

Just updated:

DAMN it’s pitch black out & monsoon skies have opened up & it’s POURING RAIN with much lightening & thunder! WOW! Reminds me off a noreaster blowing in to the Jersey shore.

Don’t like the wind but we sure do need the rain. We are in a drought situation in the state right now.

Bring the rain. Tone down the wind! 💨💨💨

Lights just flickered.

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When it rains … it ….

now leaks in my basement. 😭😭😭😭

About a month ago I noticed after the last time it rained ,a few feet around my basement sump pump, the floor was wet & there was water still pooled on the sump pump pit cover.

I couldn’t figure out where all this water came from. I checked the sump pump breaker at the main breaker box—it was fine. I tested the sump pump & it pumped out water I fed into the pit. I checked the outgoing pipe for blockage—nope.

I cleaned up the mess & figured I’d have to wait (and remember) to check the floor when it did rain next.

So here we are today: I found the problem.

When the concrete guys installed my driveway, they ran over my street water main cover & cracked my water main pipe.

The repair did something to the old water main line. The guys from Cabrera Concrete and Foundation dug the hole to get to the new leaking water main that need to be repaired. They dug a good 4x4x4 cube out of the dirt. The plumber came did his part of the repair & everything seemed okay.

NOT SO MUCH.

I don’t know how they did it … but the OLD water main pipe now leaks rain water into my basement EVERY time it rains. This never happened before they dug to repair the water main break.

REALLY???????????? WTF!!!???!!!???

Seems I can’t win for losing these day! Grrrrrrrrrrrr!

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This was my down & dirty quick fix for the leaking old water main.

Used my saws all to cut off the elbows to straight pipe & then double clamped clear 1″ ID plastic tubing, and ran that into the sump pump pit. Done!

Good thing I went to Home Depot to get what I needed & got it done very early this morning, because it’s raining pretty heavy right now!

Guess I’ll see how it works out. 👍

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joProjects: Yard & Fence

Yesterday I decided it was time to move the piles of lumber that were placed in my back yard. I kind of knew the “grass” underneath wold be dead. Kind of why I did the move to the back garden.

I figured if something was going to die … might as well be weeds.

Though it was cloudy all day, even in the early morning, it was humid as hell & I sweated like a pig.

Once that was all done, I decided to cut the lawn. With all the rain these past few days it was getting rather wild. By the time I finished … I was finished! My clothes were sopping wet from sweat.

Today I worked on & finished fence panel thirteen. Only six more to go on that side.

The other photos are of all my sunflowers, super marigolds, & teddy bear sunflowers I have planted so far this summer.

The front garden has busted out with multi-head sunflowers. Awesome!

garden #fencebuilding #fence #pressuretreatedlumber #lumber #sunflowers

Just another day fence building.
There is something very comforting in repetition. Whether in construction or my artwork.

Each fence section is a repetition of acts. From digging the hole to choosing, dadoing, cutting to size the 6 boards that make a section. Then comes assembly & finally 2 bags of concrete & 2 gals of water.

Done.

Rest and repeat.

Makes me smile. 😀

Holy global warming (& or summer in the Midwest) Batman!
You know it’s bad when a 90° day is a reprieve!
🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵

My first “Red Sun” sunflower bloom. ❤️🌻❤️

I have this one goldfinch that feeds regularly on my multi-head sunflowers. Crappy photo through my living room window …. but. I love that s/he comes and feasts on the sunflowers. ❤️

Sunflowers A-Go-Go!

The big sunflowers are starting to bloom.

Loving the chocolate sunflowers & the bees are blissing out on the big yellow ones. 👍
#flower #flowers #garden #gardening #sunflower

joProjects: Whopper Orange Marigolds & Morning Glory Transplants

My whopper marigolds are starting to bloom. A few are already 3″ across and will possibly get to 4″. I started these from seeds. First time growing them … or any marigolds for that matter. They are pretty groovy! Can’t wait for them all to bust out. 👍

I also am attempting to transplant morning glory vines. The old fence on the other side of the house is COVERED with pink & purple morning glories. I found plenty of suckers that were already rooted. Dug those up and transplanted them to their new home on the new fence. Now we’ll see what happens & let nature take its course. I realize they can become invasive … but we’ll see if they take, first. 👍

Free vines/flowers = BONUS POINTS!!! 🌸🌸🌸🌸

#flower #flowers #garden #gardening #morningglory #marigolds

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Those are some “Big-Ass Sunflowers™”! They have to be 7-8 ft tall. The fence is about 6ft and the sunflowers tower over that! Plus they are on a slope … yeah… they are HUGE! I have to look up to see them … unless I’m inside looking out.

They are so beautiful!
🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻

They dwarf my rainbow birdhouse, the hydrangea, etc.

And I’m still waiting for those Teddy Bear Sunflowers to bloom. They are the plants in the front row. They will bloom pom-pom-like yellow sunflower orbs. First time growing them. They are sooooo close to blooming. Can’t wait to see them too!

#flower #flowers #garden #gardening #sunflower #sunflowers

joProjects: Fence: Side Done & Starting Front

Well it’s a rap for the side fence all 18 panels. Woot! I like the section step down I had to do with the last panels to follow the slope of the neighbor’s driveway. And the last 4×4 ends right where it should: not blocking the RR crossing sign. I planned it that way. Yeah right!

So of course I decided to do a fence section across the front of the yard to create another 4 ft deep flower bed, which will connect to the side bed. Sure …. why not! That much less grass to cut. lol

Can’t wait to get the flower bed planted & mulched! One thing at a time …

#pressuretreatedlumber #lumber #fence #fencing #homeowner #diy #flowerbed #theresnoplacelikehome

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Goldfinches are out in force! They are chowing down on all the sunflowers. These guys (and there are a few; male & female) are new to my flowerbeds. Didn’t see a one last year. Plant the flowers & they will come …. evidently.

Also there are 5 or 6 hummingbirds flitting around today fighting each other for the flowers (I just bought a BUNCH of new ones for the front) & the feeders. They make me laugh when they take a moment and perch on the new front fence. One on an upper fence rung, one just below it. Then off again to check out the new lavender plants.

It just amazes me the number of bees, butterflies (the monarchs are around now too), birds, & hummingbirds, et al, that now call my yard home & or a feeding ground.

I ❤️❤️❤️❤️it!!

sunflower #hummingbird #goldfinch #garden #gardening

FileUnder: The Things We See!

My garden has brought a plethora of wildlife to my yard. Birds, bees, and today my first ever White Lined Sphinx Moth (aka: a hummingbird moth)

At first glance I thought it was a small hummingbird. As it was feeding on flowers I was getting ready to plant I got a good view of this moth. Such beautiful markings! Amazing little creature!

(S)He was fearless! Didn’t much care I was standing right there. So of course I whipped out my iPhone & shot this short video.

I ❤️❤️❤️❤️it!!!

hummingbirdmoth #whitelinedsphinxmoth #flowers #garden #thethingswesee

joProjects: Front Garden Planted. 👍

Plants have been planted: yellow & purple cone flowers, mini black eyed Susans, lavender, & Russian sage. Plus my new 24″ “rainbow” garden spinner. Will look pretty sweet next season … I hope. 🤞🙂🤞

Now all I need to do is cover in cardboard & mulch that bed. I also need to dig out a 6″ trench on the inside next to the bottom 2×6 & remove the dirt in front … then replace with pea gravel. Don’t want dirt to be next to the wood, even if it’s pressure treated. The gravel will give good drainage.

Hopefully it gets done sooner than later. Looks like we have coolers temps for a week. Then 107° a week from Wednesday. WTF!!!! 🔥🥵🔥

Someone should tell Mother Nature fall & cooler weather is coming. 🙏

fence #garden #gardening #gardenlife #goodfencesmakegoodneighbors #gardenspinner

joProjects: Front Fence & Flowerbed

✅ Completed

As my paternal grandmother, Rose, would say: “Another job, well done, by the Treasury Men in action.”

The front has been fenced, cleared, 2×6 bordered, planted, trenched, stoned cardboard covered, & mulched. The rainbow spinner was just icing on the cake. 🌈🍰🌈

I let the sprinkler run for over an hour to saturate the cardboard & the dry mulch, and the flowers needed a drink too.

BTW … it’s cedar mulch … it smells heavenly!

I will be installing corrugated rusted steel garden edging tomorrow if it gets here early enough. It will protect the gravel from rain wash out. 👍

Other than that … I’m done with this project! Woot!

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

project #garden #fence #flowers #cedarmulch #mulch #peagravel #complete

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My first (red-tailed) hawk sighting in my yard today. Not the greatest photos … but had to act quickly.

#garden #birds #hawk #redtailedhawk

Out working in the garden… figured I’d take a moment on this beautiful Thursday morning & take some photos.

Didn’t know that caterpillars fed on sunflowers. Don’t know what kind it is, what butterfly/moth it will become. But a pretty cool find. 👍

#flowers #sunflower #garden #gardenspinner #caterpillar #futurebutterfly

Woking out in the garden again today & saw these two beauties flitting all over the butterfly bushes.

The first is a Red Admiral Butterfly. Only got one shot off before it went bye-bye.

The rest of the photos are of a Painted Lady Butterfly. I do believe it was the same one. Though there were a few flitting about.

Just whipped out my iPhone & started snapping closeups as best and as quickly as I could.
🦋❤️🦋❤️🦋❤️🦋❤️🦋❤️🦋❤️🦋❤️🦋

#garden #butterflybush #butterfly #butterflies #redadmiral #redadmiralbutterfly #painterladybutterfly

joProjects: Fence Materials Return

Over the past few days I’ve made three runs to HomeDepot to return lumber: 4x4s & 2x6s. My new Kia Soul roof racks sure come in handy! I also loaded up 5 bags of concrete in the car’s “cargo area”. Eleven 4x4s, six 2x6s, & 250lb of concrete. That was certainly a load! And early that same day I returned another ten 4x4s. My racks are only “supposed” to cary 150lb of weight. I’m sure those 4x4s were well over that.

Today I rented a 10 ft U-haul truck & loaded up the last thirty-four 50lb bags of concrete onto a wooden pallet—by myself. Not bad for a 66 year old dude! This way I could have a forklift bring them into HomeDepot. That certainly saved my body any more wear and tear. lol

And now the fence project is officially over for the season. Don’t even know if I’ll do the other side next season. We’ll see.

I am looking into buying and assembling a 8×10 ft vinyl shed. This way I can keep my lawn mower, wheelbarrow, cart, and other tools out of the basement. It’s a bitch to have to lug them down and up those stairs every time I want to use them. Plus it will give me more room to work in my new basement workshop.

We’ll see.

concrete #fenceproject #homedepotreturns #returns #refund

Bags of concrete gone; as is the pallet they were on. The tarp covering all that pretty much killed off all the grass underneath.
With my new GoJo 16″ wide electric tiller I tilled all that “dead zone” about 8″ deep. Nice new toy! Me likey!
Once I raked out all the dead grass & leveled out the patch, I dumped two bails of organic peat moss & spread that out evenly.

I mixed up a batch of 4:1 Fescue Grass & White Dutch Clover seed and put that into my hand seed spreader & covered the entire area. Then took a broad leaf rake and lightly “scratched” the surface to bury the seed.

Now I will water for an hour or so & then cover the patch with clear plastic. The plastic acts as green house & keeps birds or squirrels from eating the seeds.

As I was taking pictures I noticed the sprinkler was making its own personal rainbow. Awesome!

garden #lawnseeding #whitedutchclover #fescue #grass #lawn

B E E H A P P Y ! ! !
🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝

Bye-bye papasan chair!

Hello new gray all weather rockers & groovy new cushions. Rockers were over half off on Glamizon & the cushions were 75% off at Home Depot.

With the cooler fall weather coming soon might actually be able to sit out on my front porch, without turning into a puddle.

Welcome to my neighborhood:

Trains come through here ALL the time & at ALL hours.
Was on my way back from a recycling run and this is what I ran into. Not that I’m complaining. I get a mobile art show while I wait. 👍 🎨👍

Yup. Welcome to Joe’s Neighborhood.

#train #IndeMO #Independence #recycle #justanotherdayinmyneighborhood

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What a difference a year makes! A little before & after.
Pretty amazing! No wonder my taxes are going up! 🤬🤣🤬😂

Big Thanks To My Realtors: Scott Harvey & Fidl Z Partiz Hawil of Scott Harvey Real Estate Services LLC

#theresnoplacelikehome #whatadifferenceayearmakes #beforeandafter

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A River Runs Through It : It Is Monsoooooooooooon!

Welcome to the Midwest!

#rain #downpour #welcometothemidwest

joProjects: This is the last MAJOR project for the season. Though a ramp for my new shed is in the planning stages.

This was an interesting project. Bought the shed on Glamazon. I love the Tuff Blocks I bought straight from the manufacturer at a nice discount. No need to dig holes, placing the Tuff Blocks on top of patio blocks for leveling, 2×6 frame support, and stabilization—there was a little slope to compensate for. This way wood doesn’t even come close to touching the ground. 👍

The ordering wasn’t so bad, it was the shed itself. Not horrible. But you get what you pay for. Even with the foundation & shed base frame being square and level, there were still issues with screw holes not lining up on the back wall-by about an inch. The biggest disappointment was the doors being WAY off; to the point where I had to re-drill holes in the right door for the hinges so that the doors would actually close. Gak!

All in all … it’s a done deal. Finished. Started filling it up immediately. That much less I have to store in the cellar.

With every passing day—I’m such a home owner! 😂🤣😂🤣😂

#DIY #storageshed #homeowner #metalshed #tuffblocks

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