Today's post is brought to you by 'Bill'
Even the best laid plans are no match for an antique house. With high expectations and armed with environmentally safe cleaning products (to protect our delicate septic system as well as the creeks running either side of the lot) we scheduled the water to be turned on at the street by the Harrison* Water District.
All went smoothly, with no leaks or burst pipes, but when we went to turn on the oil fired hot water tank ............. nothing. After fiddling and diddling for an hour and a half i discovered there was a short in the fuse box. No cleaning this weekend! We'll have to call an electrician.
On a brighter note, Gordon* stopped by to say hello. He had removed some trees and a treehouse on the property last fall and offered to remove the construction debris for us at about a third of the cost of renting a dumpster. He had arranged with a friend to burn all the wood scraps for a bon-fire and haul the rest to the town dump.
So, with some time freed up i took to building those bird houses for our feathered friends and if they like them i'll build some more!
*North Bridgton's water is supplied by the town of Harrison, Maine, just to the north.
*Gordon is our local go-to guy for tree service, general home repairs, and all around Mainer-way-of-life consultant.
Birch Log Cabin
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Rocky the Squirrel and Other Tales
Spring has begun in Bridgton and our recent visit was all about raking leaves and uncovering early blooms. It was the most perfect weather for cleaning up after a long, snowy winter.
After opening all the windows in the Little Brick House, and slathering on the SPF 30 and a new pair of lime-green garden gloves, I set out for the backyard and didn't look back. A yard full of deep, matted-down, soggy leaves and scattered broken tree branches seemed very manageable when compared to what needed to be done inside the house.
There was two very small snow mounds at the end of the driveway, but, we expected snow-out* by the end of the weekend. We started in the front of the property and worked our way back without really knowing what we were going to do with our new pile of leaves: bag or burn,
that is the question...
When I needed a break from raking, I began cleaning the small garden plots. It was too early to weed - I know a blade of grass when I see one, but- grass roots run deep, and I didn't want to disturb anything. When Bill needed a brake from raking, he was moving boulders and rebuilding the stone walls that had loosened out of place. Great therapy.
We are searching for the perfect birdhouses for our yard. We want them to function well for the birds that come to visit with Rocky*. (i.e. we read that the "perch" outside a birdhouse hole, is a no-no because predators can rest there-who knew?) Bill may end up building them himself from scraps from the house and lath that was removed from the window walls in the Living Room. Maybe I'll select the paint colors.
It will be an exciting new season for us. We will never know what we will find upon our arrival!
*Rocky is a baby squirrel that has found our shed to be quite a comfortable nest. He greeted us in the morning and was playing and jumping all over the small trees in the side yard. He was on top of the shed watching Bill work in the yard. He seems to be a very happy little squirrel.
*Snow-out at the LBH was April 20th. I learned the term "ice-out" while working on a project in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire on Lake Winnipesaukee. In general, it refers to the date when the lake is ice-free There are many variations on the definition.
www.me.water.usgs.gov/iceout.html
After opening all the windows in the Little Brick House, and slathering on the SPF 30 and a new pair of lime-green garden gloves, I set out for the backyard and didn't look back. A yard full of deep, matted-down, soggy leaves and scattered broken tree branches seemed very manageable when compared to what needed to be done inside the house.
There was two very small snow mounds at the end of the driveway, but, we expected snow-out* by the end of the weekend. We started in the front of the property and worked our way back without really knowing what we were going to do with our new pile of leaves: bag or burn,
that is the question...
When I needed a break from raking, I began cleaning the small garden plots. It was too early to weed - I know a blade of grass when I see one, but- grass roots run deep, and I didn't want to disturb anything. When Bill needed a brake from raking, he was moving boulders and rebuilding the stone walls that had loosened out of place. Great therapy.
We are searching for the perfect birdhouses for our yard. We want them to function well for the birds that come to visit with Rocky*. (i.e. we read that the "perch" outside a birdhouse hole, is a no-no because predators can rest there-who knew?) Bill may end up building them himself from scraps from the house and lath that was removed from the window walls in the Living Room. Maybe I'll select the paint colors.
It will be an exciting new season for us. We will never know what we will find upon our arrival!
*Rocky is a baby squirrel that has found our shed to be quite a comfortable nest. He greeted us in the morning and was playing and jumping all over the small trees in the side yard. He was on top of the shed watching Bill work in the yard. He seems to be a very happy little squirrel.
*Snow-out at the LBH was April 20th. I learned the term "ice-out" while working on a project in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire on Lake Winnipesaukee. In general, it refers to the date when the lake is ice-free There are many variations on the definition.
www.me.water.usgs.gov/iceout.html
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