Sod Busters, Part 2

Terry has been working on the workshop since he has had a bit of a sabbatical from work. He has gotten many of his tools brought up from the house in town, gotten shelves put in and items arranged on them. Mowers have been tuned and various other projects tackled. Of course, there is a small, well-stocked frig up there too....that could have something to do with the dedication to the workshop projects!

One needed addition was some sort of ground covering in the area in front of the shop. We could not agree on a driveway material - I did not want gravel or any thing like that. I really wanted a permeable paver and found several types that would have been good. Unfortunately, there were none readily available in our area and the costs were quite high.

By process of elimination, we agreed that some bermuda grass would be the best choice for now. My mind flashed back to April 2011 when I enlisted some unsuspecting family members to come for a visit only to find 11 pallets of sod awaiting them!  Their help was much appreciated. This project only involved 3 pallets...and no relatives had to be enlisted!

Rain delayed the sod delivery one day, but a load of river rock did come yesterday and was spread right in front of the workshop's concrete apron. I arrived home from work today to find the sod-laying had just begun.

 Just getting started...

Making progress....

Frankie gets a ride...he is so spoiled!

I didn't get a photo of the finished project, but I will get it posted soon.

Weekend at the Lake

It is Labor Day weekend but feels pretty much like a normal weekend. My school district is not off on Monday, so it is just a two day weekend here. Even so, I am enjoying some restful puttering.

Carne Guisada is in the crockpot.

I have not tried to make it before, so it will be interesting to see how it turns out.

Terry decided that he was in need of smoke, so he is smoking a pork butt. It is looking good so far, but needs another 8 hours or so...

I think he is trying to make up for his last attempt which was not at his usual level. He tried to shortcut the process, and it just didn't work. We'll see if he can redeem himself!  We are certainly going to have plenty of food...anyone want to come for dinner? Seriously...

I bought a mister which Terry put in the hickory tree on Friday. All the birds love to come for baths a little cool down. I thought the hummingbirds, in particular, might like it, but it seems that they are mainly interested in food. There are swarms of them and we are filling the feeders twice a day!

Happy Labor Day weekend to all! We have food if you are hungry and in the neighborhood...REALLY....

Fishing with Frank

Frank, the dachshund, is obsessed with fish! His dad has been forced to give up fishing for the big bass and has been relegated to going for the quick, easy catch in order to satisfy Frank's obsession.

Trees

Today was the day we had the tree service guys come to cut down our dead trees. The drought took a toll on the trees up near the road and the workshop - eleven dead trees altogether. It was sad to see them go, but it was also fascinating to watch the crew work. Not many words were spoken - they all knew their jobs, as well as where to be all the time. They knew when to move if someone was working above them; they knew when to leave what they were doing to pull on a rope or help trim branches; they knew when to double check someone else's position. Seven people took care of eleven trees in under two hours. It was a finely choreographed event and amazing to watch!

Here are some highlights (I think my slow internet speed while uploading caused the blurry or pixelated places:

I am pretty sure I could not do this:

Work For The Week

Spring Break week has flown by! The weather turned out to be quite good...we did not get the rain that they thought we might, but it looks like we should prepare for a good soaking next week. I had some time to relax and some time to work on projects, so it has been a good week.

The ramp and porch have been exposed to the elements for a year now with no protection of any kind. It does not look bad, but I wanted to make sure it was nice and smooth before I sprayed on the preservative. I rented a sander and spent one day sanding the floor of the ramp and porch. Then I spent another day using a small handheld sander to get the handrails nice and smooth. Today, I could not put it off any longer...I had to start spraying on the preservative!

I got one portion of the ramp completed before having to dash into town to run some errands. This picture shows my progress (on the right side) at about the halfway mark

Tomorrow will be the second section of ramp. I will then be out of preservative and will have to order more before doing the porch itself. So maybe I can still get some weeks pulled and the grass mowed before Monday rolls around.

I tried to find some blue bonnets on the way from town to the lake, but there weren't any. I did see a couple of beautiful fields with flowers other than blue bonnets.

I am sure that most of my Texas friends will be able to identify the picture below, but I wonder how many of my Northern friends can name this plant?

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all!

Spring Break

It is Spring Break - how nice it is to have some time to kick back and relax!

The lake level is coming up, but it is still not back to normal levels. So far in 2012 we have received almost 17 inches of rain, which seems like a lot - it IS a lot! However, when last year's rainfall for the entire year was less than 20 inches, it is clear that we are still trying to make up for last year's deficit.

The rain has delayed my ability to sand the porch and ramp because of wet wood. (Oh darn!) After two days without rain, if tomorrow looks like it will be sunny, I may have to break down and go rent the sander.

In the meantime, I put together my little green yard cart today. It will come in handy when hauling things around.

...and I do have a few things to plant. Would like to have a dedicated, deer-proof garden spot eventually, but that won't happen this week.

It's Spring Break, after all! I am going to sit on the porch with my feet up...

Workshop's done, Spring has sprung!

It was amazing to have the windows open last night and to be able to listen to the wind through the trees! We have been blessed with quite a bit of rain, so the lake level is creeping up. It is still low, but better than where it was at the end of 2011.

The workshop is finished, although we still need to add electricity and plumbing. The mowers and 4-wheeler have been moved in, so it is functioning in some small measure. I thought I would be able to park my car inside one stormy night, but the ground in front of the garage doors was too soft and muddy...one more problem to try to solve!

Spring has snuck in and our temperatures today will approach 90 degrees before a cold front moves in tonight. The redbud next to our porch is putting on a show and daffodils will soon follow, even though they got beat up quite badly with the construction last year.

Porch sitting is a pretty pleasant thing to do right now!

NOW We're Getting Somewhere!

The workshop is finally taking shape, and we can begin to see what it will look like when done.  The rains and holidays delayed the progress, but we can see the light at the end of the tunnel now.

This is the front, which faces the house and the lake. The big boy toys, tools, lawn equipment, and (hopefully) cars will go on the right. The left will be storage and project work space. At some point we may add a studio apartment on  the left side.

Looking from the backside, we have plumbing connections for a bathroom in the near corner at the center of the picture below. That will be a project for later, too!

Workshop Delay

Today was supposed to be the day that concrete was poured for the workshop slab. Sadly, it is not going to happen. There was a slight misunderstanding/miscommunication between me and the contractor.

The enclosed portion of the building is 30' x 45'. Because the land slopes down to the lake, the edge of the slab closest to the lake ends up being about 24" higher than ground level. We will have a 10' covered section along that long side which will serve, in part, as a sloped drive up to the building. I made the mistake of telling the contractor that I thought that we would like to be able to sit under that covered portion if we were grilling or otherwise needing a break from some awesome project. He took that to mean that we wanted that covered area to be level rather than sloped. The problem is that it would not be possible to drive a vehicle from the driveway into the workshop with no slope!

When the concrete prep work was finished yesterday, I realized that we had a problem, so I had to call the contractor and break the bad news to him. He was not happy but cancelled the concrete and had his crew out today to be sure that it was the way I wanted it!

Here is what it looked like before the slope was added:

The section on the right side of the pad is the overhang section.

In this view, the overhang is at the front of the pad.

The views below are after they added the slope. Yay! We will be able to drive into the workshop!

So, the concrete is now scheduled for next Wednesday. Wonder if I can get each of the dogs to put a paw print in the wet concrete...just one?

Terry's Christmas Present

It is just a year since the construction on the new cabin began. We have really enjoyed living here - me since late April-early May and Terry when he finished his job in north Texas in August. Despite the drought and issues related to it - the burn ban, the continually dropping lake level, frequent watering of  my new grass - it has been a peaceful and relaxing place to come home to.

Terry is out of town again building a solar power plant in San Antonio, so it is mostly just me and the dogs with an occasional visit from Matt or Nick. Yesterday was the last day of work before the holidays, so I am looking forward to some serious R&R!

In honor of our one year anniversary of beginning cabin construction, it seemed fitting (or just plain crazy!) to begin another construction project. Our workshop/garage will soon be rising from the ashes of the old burn pile! I am so very glad to be rid of the burn pile and grateful that there will never be another one there! It was very irritating to continually find certain people were throwing non-burnable items on the pile...so, good riddance!

The shop will be a 30' x 40' metal building. Terry will have room (we hope) for all the vehicles, yard equipment and toys, as well as some workshop space. I hope to steal a corner for a storage area, and we are planning for the future addition of an efficiency apartment for guest overflow.

This is looking from the road side toward the house and the lake. The brown shed in the background on the right will eventually go away so there will be a better view of the house as you come in the driveway.

This is looking toward the road.

...looks like we are just at the edge of the water line...