Boshe moi, the pollen vortex is frackin' killing me ( Read more... )

Wow, after weeks of mostly hot and stiflingly humid, the weather has been wonderful this week, sunny, clear, and right around seventy. I took advantage Monday to plant some azaleas to replace the enormous junipers I'd removed from the front of the house back in July. Not only should they provide more color than just dull green, but I planted then ( Read more... )

So, this morning I pruned juniper #2 with extreme prejudice, then lopped the carcass into manageable portions and fed it to the evil thicket. The arbor vitae will live till next year, at least, but I still need to trim them back some. Soon ( Read more... )

My legs are sore, my back aches, and my right index finger hurts when I move it. Yes, I've been playing volleyball ( Read more... )

First mow of the year today. It might have happened last weekend, but for the non-functioning of my lawn mower. My old adversary, the Briggs and Stratton two-cycle engine, strikes again. The first time starting in the spring is always an adventure. Normally I can get it to start by spraying a little starter fluid into the cylinder, but my trusty ( Read more... )

For obvious reasons, The Kinks' "Lost and Found" has been running through my head all day.

Waiting for the hurricane ( Read more... )

Today is the 4th of July, which means it was time for the 11th annual Casa Machina shrub trimming extravaganza. The spring growth surge is over, and it's time to do some hacking. Of course, I decided to wait until the hottest day of the weekend to do it...

( Shrubs and tomatoes... )

Mother Nature finally remembered to flip the switch on her the heating system last Sunday. It's been warmish since, even for the couple of days of rain we had mid-week. The winds have backed off a bit, too. Now they're merely annoying rather than absolutely brutal. The upshot of this more reasonable weather is that my body now aches like an achey ( Read more... )

The Machinamobile needed some serious engine repairs, so I've been driving a rental for the past couple of weeks. I got the truck back Thursday, and I returned the Ford Fusion to Enterprise yesterday. Nice car, although it felt weird driving a sedan. OTOH, it had a six cylinder engine, so it had way more zip than I'm used to. It also had a stick ( Read more... )

I am very tired right now. I woke up an 4 am and couldn't get back to sleep. Blech. I'd gone to bed at 10, so I did get some sleep. I don't understand why this only happens to me on weekends. On week days I always manage to sleep till the alarm goes off ( Read more... )