I have been insanely busy trying to get things done before fall sets in. So far, I have completed the project with our front median, started replacing the concrete sidewalks where they have disintegrated, replaced the steps for our side deck and repainted most of that deck, as well as other, less involved projects - just in time to start harvesting our garden and herbs. It has been a very busy summer. We have also welcomed a new member into our family - a cute, ragdoll calico kitten named Anck-Sunamun (Suni for short).
Front Median -
Out in front of our house, we have a 6′ median seperating our sidewalk from the road. When we moved in, this median was covered in rock but the weedstop below the rock was poorly put in and weedstop itself was breaking down. This median has been nothing but problems for us since we moved in - rock continually being knocked down onto the sidewalk, weeds (many noxious) growing unchecked in the rock, people slipping in the loose rock because of the incline of the median etc. Further, when I had to replace the street side shutoff valve to the house last year (buried 6′ beneath the median) it was a nightmare trying to remove the rock, dig to the valve and then fill the hole back in. I decided this year that the rock had to go.
the rock in front of our neighbor
First I removed the rock out front. This included a good deal of dirt as well just to get rid of the worst of the weeds. I then dug up the median with a shovel to a depth of 10″ and rototilled the broken up soil to finish removing the rocks and prepare to put down grass. After flattening the soil back out, and leveling it between the concrete sides with a homemade scraper, I planted a fast growing northern grass mix.
Inside of a week, we had grass coming up and now, two to three weeks later, we have a decent bed of grass. I still have to overseed the area again to hit the spots I missed, but the front is looking much better and it will be far easier to maintain than the rock was.
new grass growing
Now I just have to figure out what to do with all the loose rock and soil I pulled out.
rock and dirt that still have to find a new home
Sidewalk repair -
Again, when we moved in, the sidewalk leading to the apartment downstairs was crumbling badly. Each year, this has gotten worse and it has spread to a few other sections of concrete. This year, it was time to do something about it. First, I had to dig out and breakup the bad sections of concrete. When I did this, it became apparent what the problem was - at some time previous, someone had poured a 1″ cap of concrete onto an existing slab. It was this cap that was crumbling (though the concrete pad underneath was in pretty bad shape too.
After a day of digging, using a bar and sledge to break up the concrete into managable sections, and using a wheelbarrow to remove it, I had finished digging out the bad sections of sidewalk.
8 feet by 3 feet section at bottom of stairs to deck
This section at the bottom of the stairs to the deck, had been “free poured” - meaning that they didn’t even use forms. The concrete in this section varied between 2″ thick and 7″ thick. It was somewhat unsurprising that it had cracked and broken up.
11 feet by 3 feet section of sidewalk to replace
Today I will be building forms for pouring new concrete. Tomorrow I will level the holes out and put in gravel under the pour. I should be pouring these sections next week.
Garden and Harvest -
Our Garden did really well this year (we are so NOT planting squash next year - we have enough for years to come). Harvest is already underway with squash, cucumbers, peppers and some of the herbs. We still have at least 10 more days of growing season left (at least according the national weather service) so we should still get at least one watermelon, beans, tomatos onions, and more of what we are already harvesting.
A decent crop this year
A New Member of the Family -
A few nights ago, a calico Ragdoll cross kitten followed our soon-to-be son in law home from work. She stayed outside for a couple of days but everytime I came outside, she wanted to be petted and held. When my wife returned from New England, she wanted to see the kitten and it took all of five minutes for her to decide she wanted to keep her.
It has turned out to be a lot more painless than I thought. The kitten took to the litter box as fast as our older cat, Furby, did. It took her about half a day to figure out that the dog was harmless and a few more days to get Furby to stop hissing at her. “Suni” has become a new member of the family and she seems content to be so. We still have to get her to the vet to get her shots and in a few more weeks, we will get her spayed, but she has already charmed her way into our hearts.
Suni with our Beagle, Optimus
Anck-Sunamun - Suni for short
Moorcat