Tag Archives: projects

Have shovel, will travel.

May 13, 2022 Rivergirl 23 Comments

Hard as it is to believe after the apple tree planting fiasco of 2021, my husband was back at it the other day … ripping up the dead apple twigs and filling the holes with bigger and better new trees.

He came home with a beautiful flowering cherry I would have loved for the back lawn where I could see it every day….

So naturally he planted it on the far side of the barn where it’s completely blocked by the building and out of line of sight from our house.

It will however be prime viewing when playing pool in the man cave.

It’s a pretty tree and was an immediate bee magnet. In no time flat they were circling and we were stepping away.

I might just have to buy another for my viewing pleasure.

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Another gutter installation goes wrong.

November 3, 2021 Rivergirl 17 Comments

Out of nowhere my husband decided this section of gutter need to be replaced. And as usual, it didn’t go well.

When my other half works? OSHA cringes…

And my flowers die.

All was well until they got to the downspout.

It was crooked.

And leaking.

And kept coming apart.

When they reached for the screws and caulk?

I had to go inside before my eyes rolled up so far in my head they wouldn’t come back down.

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Planning is key.

October 1, 2021 Rivergirl 16 Comments

I went outside Saturday morning and found my husband had started putting sealant on the barn porch.

I used to do this every 2-3 years but since blowing out my knee last fall, the job fell to him this time.

He enlisted a friend to help and they were hard at it all morning.

I made them a nice lasagna lunch, cleaned up the kitchen and went out later in the afternoon to check the progress.

Things were rolling along fine until the end.

When my husbands superior planning skills were fully evident.

🤣

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Worst gift I ever gave him.

September 25, 2021 Rivergirl 12 Comments

After the landing rebuild fiasco, I thought my husband was done for the day….. but then I heard the chain saw.

And went outside to find that he had cut off the fallen section of apple tree we just had an arborist look at.

I wanted to pay a professional to trim the trees properly and what I got was this…

I swear how that man hasn’t killed himself is one of life’s biggest mysteries.

I sputter at him to be more careful all the time, to no avail…. but I figure I might as well video his escapades in case the life insurance company needs documentation for my claim.

The afternoon was spent cleaning up the mess.

And our poor tree did not look happy.

But at least there’s a nice wheelbarrow full of applewood….

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Of landings and apples

September 24, 2021 Rivergirl 19 Comments

Many projects are underway at Casa River and much thought is being put into them.

The little deck landing my husband threw together from leftover brick pavers years ago had heaved out of place and needed a little work.

But instead of telling me about it so I could purchase new stones that actually fit and lined up properly…. he asked a friend to help while I was picking apples.

It’s been a banner year for fruit up this way and our trees are bursting.

I see….. pie!

The downed section of tree was a bonanza.

Back at the unsupervised project?

Things were not going well.

And now we have a landing with faded bricks that is just a bit less than square.

🥴

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Because I sod we would…

August 3, 2021 Rivergirl 14 Comments

Rock wall repair completed, it was time to tackle the grass-less section of dirt. We’ve been abnormally dry for the past few months and our lush green lawn was anything but. The weeds? They’re doing just fine. 😡

We tried seeding the bald area, but of course the minute we did that… we had a gushing thunderstorm that washed it all into the ditch. Enter some strategically placed sod.

I’ve never sodded anything before so the fact that it came in nicely rolled little burritos tickled my funny bone.

The color doesn’t exactly match….

But it’s close enough for a ditch and will hopefully blend over time.

Trying to keep it moist enough to root will be a bit of a challenge with the drought….

But for $40 it was a quick efficient fix.

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Because I’m evil that way.

August 1, 2021 Rivergirl 16 Comments

Since the husband wasted our entire July 4th holiday weekend rebuilding the stone wall, before his helper left on the last day… I had my revenge.

And got them to put up the two missing shutters. You know, the ones that had blown off the house 4 years ago and the husband never got around to fixing.

That’s the husband stuck in the unforgiving shrubbery under the shutters.

Getting a ladder in there was no easy task.

But together they made quick work of it.

And the (extremely old, faded, really need to be painted or replaced with new) shutters were back in place.

It didn’t totally make up for missing fireworks and alcohol fueled celebrations, but I take what I can get.

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Rock Steady.

July 31, 2021 Rivergirl 11 Comments

Day 4, the finale.

And because no project ever goes smoothly at Casa River…. when they reached the end, something went wrong and piles of rocks had to be removed and replaced.

And right after I filmed that utterly riveting video (that WordPress decided to cut and only load half, for which you should be grateful)? They disturbed a mouse nest and were attacked by one royally pissed off mother rodent. But finally… late that afternoon, it was declared finished.

Okay, so it looks a little pregnant in the middle due to a slight bump out.

But at that point I don’t think their aching backs cared.

Before:

And though I do miss the curved corner, after:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

To be honest, he dug this one down too far as well… and I still wish it was taller on the high end of the grass. I’m not complaining just to complain…. but I’m the one who has to pull all the grass and weeds that blow in there from the mower because it’s too low.

But it looks a lot better than it did…. and in 10-15 years when Maine’s notorious frost heaving and shifting earth crumbles this one? We’ll probably hire someone to rebuild it again because we’ll be too old and decrepit. Maybe then I can have a high wall.

🤣

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