Current Projects
Back to work on the West side fence:
This shows posts for the new gate. It will go in front of the old gate by a couple of feet. This is because it is really hard to get the concrete out, where the old fence posts were. The old gate was built "good neighbor" style, where the boards alternate sides. You can't see through it looking straight on, but you can look through at an angle. I don't know if "good neighbor" comes from alternating sides so that neither gets a bad side, or if it takes a good neighbor to want to see into his yard. I'll not build any more of that style. It looks pretty ragged after a few years.
This is how it looks now. I re-used the boards, after cleaning them with deck wash. The green algae and lichens that were growing come off pretty well, and the gray color is also removed. I really like the "distressed wood" look. The old hinge marks show and there are lots of "character" markings. This has a fresh coat of cedar toned waterproofing on it.
There are a couple of new (for me) features with this gate. Fifteen years ago I couldn't bring myself to buy a $15 set of hinges. I decided to go for it this time. The latch has the button you push to open it from this side. I've been wanting to make a rounded gate so I was glad to get the "new" saber saw from Dad.
This shows the back of the gate, before staining. Also shows the condition of the fence, and the boards that were used to make the gate. Currently the posts are set for the first two sections, which will be done this weekend.
Pond is Clean Again
The needles from the over-hanging trees ( cedrus deodara) are making the pond a mess! The needles fall into the pond and clog the pump. I've noticed that the whole tree gets a brownish tinge when the dead needles are starting to fall. We'll try to anticipate this and cover the pond with clear plastic when it happens next time. The blue trailing plants are lobelia, which have never done so well as this year.
Speaking of the pond, I wasn't going to go in for pink flamingos, roman statues or any of the nickie-nackie, cutsie- wootsie little decoration thingies, but the next photo shows the latest addition around the pond. Maybe he'll eat some of the slugs that eat the impatiens.
Don't know what it was, but something big was in the pond a few weeks ago. Pushed some heavy planters around, most likely looking for fish. Coons, opossums, or even a blue heron, most likely. Speaking of blue herons, here's a photo of a Blue Heron that landed on the big tree by the pond. Never heard of one in a tree before.
We may have some "natural selection" going on here. Last year a kingfisher picked off a number of our fish. I thought they were all gone, since they never showed. This year we started seeing them again, but very infrequently. Well, there are thirteen fish in there, but they stay out of sight. I think that goldfish who like to hide tend to survive, while goldfish that like to play out in the open tend to become food.
