Baby Trees!

 

TREES!!!!!

 

 

Three weeks ago (!) we went with our friend Jarrett to the Georgia State Farmer’s Market and bought 22 trees. 12 for Thomas and I and 11 for Jarrett – landscaping fiends that we now are.
You can hear the highway from Butters, so we knew we wanted screening trees that would grow fast and withstand, well, whatever.
So we got arborvitae – the same trees that my parents have in their back yard. Ours are ever so slightly smaller. Thomas had some deep seated need for fruit trees, so we also bought a granny smith apple tree. And I checked, it doesn’t need another tree to bear fruit.

So, we bought them Saturday and planted them the next day – luckily, we’ve been getting some pretty crazy rain, so digging all those holes wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it’d be. Still not a snap, but I didn’t want to cry. Always good.

The following weekend we installed a spigot outside and got our hose and sprinkler set up to water the new babies.

Then Thomas and our neighbor John took down the old chicken wire-esque fence that ran along the back of both our properties. They also tested out our new lawn mower and weed eater clearing out a couple truck loads of debris (plant debris, luckily). So then it was time to go back to the scrap yard. I never thought I’d be so familiar with the workings of scrap, but. . .at least it’s out of our yard and not in a landfill.

I think that’s all the pictures I have for this post – oh, there are some bonus shots of Greg’s massive wind chime and the chicken coop Dave P and Greg rebuilt for their new chickens. The chime was altered to include a bowling ball shortly after I took these pictures. And I haven’t taken any pics of the baby chickies yet, but might be doing that tonight. . .

Oh no! I forgot about my Valentine’s Day present! Thomas built me two cold frames so we could start growing flowers from seeds inside. Now we’ve expanded to tomatillos and artichokes and are keeping our fingers crossed.

Pansies!

Coldframe

My Coldframe and Cow Cat

Getting in the Mood

Thomas and Jarrett with his Cypress trees

Cypress Binding

Tree Holding Pen

TREES!!!!!

Thomas and the Granny Smith

I’m officially a Tree Hugger!

Tree Planting Booty

Bottlescape

Pointy Load

Thomas Climbing Fence

Thomas Squishing Fence

Loading up the truck

King of the Fence

Dave’s Coop

Before the Bowling Ball

Greg’s Windchime

Catching Up with Butter

 

Our First Christmas Tree with Dead Tree in the back

 

 

I know, I know. I said I’d update this literally months ago. So, let’s take a whirlwind tour of the past few months (yikes!)

Just before Christmas, we awoke to the sound of chainsaws next door. Thomas went to chat with the guys and was able to talk them into taking down our dead tree for less than half the estimate they’d given us a couple months earlier.
They were already out there with their equipment, that sort of thing.

So, Merry Christmas! We don’t have to worry about a tree taking out our house (or the neighbor’s) every time the wind blows!!!!
It was really bothering us – if we were in the front yard or on the porch there would inevitably come a silence when we were both playing a sort of horror movie in our heads, staring Dead Tree.

THe guys that took it down were definite pros – scary to watch, but totally in tune with the way of trees – dead or not. They took down four or five that Friday. Had a chipper with them and took care of all the little bits for us. Then they segmented the trunk and large limbs and piled them in our front yard.
All of our friends with fireplaces got seasoned firewood for Christmas this year!

We had a little casualty, however. The unidentified bush at the base of Dead Tree got smooshed. Well, half-smooshed.
It’s growing back nicely though – if  a little harsh edged. 

And now – Pictures!

Our First Christmas Tree with Dead Tree in the back

Our Cat! (plus two dead trees)

It Made a Really Big Boom

Halved Shrubbery

Crack!

Hollow?

Path of Destruction

Sawdust

Seasoned Fire Wood, Anyone?

Treescape

Kudzu Update

 

Kudzu on the Move!

Wee!

The saga continues. I think for many years to come, really, but this is just a short update.

After pulling all of the kudzu, ours and our neighbor’s (vacant house), we needed to do something with it.
Thomas met the guy who claims to own the house (though, according to the sign out front, it’s a bank, not a guy). But he said it was his, and was so thankful that we took care of his mess that he said he’d haul away all of the old kudzu for us. Something about owning a construction firm or something.

Do you sense a tone?
That would be because he never showed up and we still have mounds of kudzu drying up all over the Field of Despair. Well, I guess it’s the Driveway of Despair. Hmm, wonder if the Pit of Despair is anywhere near?

Re-enter Jerry’s trailer of wonder!
Thomas and I loaded it on up with piles of kudzu corpses and had it all ready to go down to Jerry’s for burning where it could then turn into useful fertilizer for his garden.

Enter freakish Atlanta gas crisis.
We can’t take it down to Locust Grove (about 30 minutes not towing who knows how much weight) until we can be assured that we’ll find gas to bring us back home and send Thomas off to work.

It’s been well over a week now. Thankfully Kelli and i can carpool a couple days a week and Midtown’s not that far away. But Thomas had to use my mower fuel so he could get up to a little tile job he had last night.

It seems to have eased ever so slightly today – Kelli and I were both able to fill up at the Citgo by our house; the ONLY station I’ve seen with gas in 4 days. They jacked the price of fuel up 20¢ though.
I know, it could be worse, but I thought that there was a price freeze in effect so that people weren’t getting gouged. Grr. Thomas filled up last night somewhere for about $4.39! Mom and Dad have $3.50 gas up in Michigan right now. (our gas is always cheaper than theirs)
I know a bunch of this is coming from people topping off whenever possible, but there must be more to it than that. ugh. I’m sleepy and cranky and well aware that things could be much worse than they are, but grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

 

Back view of the trailer

 

Turns out this was a three car garage

Remember I said we found an old structure? Our neighbors across the street filled us in on that – there was a three car garage that straddled both properties that was flattened by a falling tree limb.
Not nearly as dramatic and I’d hoped, but I think I’m ok with that.

Up next. . .

The COOLEST HV/AC MAN EVER!!!!!!!
We were lucky enough to find Mr. Dan Moss who is installing the new furnace that Thomas found on Craigslist. Yay Dan!!!!

I need to go to sleep now, but I have lots of pics and stories to post soon. Maybe even in the morning before work!

One pic now though – of a piece of old duct work (I think that’s what it was at least!)

 

Ode to Rust #1

Butters Torn Asunder

 

Butters doesn't look like a real house anymore!

It’s been an interesting few weeks. We’ve been working, but it’s the sort of work that just makes you say, “Look. what. we. did.” As in, “Oh shit. Now we’ve done it.”

It’s all for the best, in that we’re getting the big stuff done now, and right, rather than patching things for the time being, but. . .yikes. Thomas and I are both more than a little daunted right now, but there’s a big Butters’-shaped light at the end of the tunnel. It’s just such a long tunnel. . .

So what have we done, you ask?

We ripped out most of the panelling and ceiling downstairs in the kitchen and living room. It was original panelling (from the 1940’s – 1944, to be exact, as you’ll see in a minute) and someone had painted over all of it in the living room to make it look nice and dingy.
Plus, it’s just old and nasty looking, so. . .sheetrock it will be. (I know what it is now, but I’m still not sure if it’s two words or one)
So, we did that two weekends ago, and today we tore out the wall that I was so hoping that we could.

Once we tore off the panelling on that wall, we could see that it had a light on the ceiling (in the middle of the wall), so obviously, it wasn’t there when the house was built. “Load-bearing” “floor joists” “some phrase that I can’t remember now, but indicates that you’d best not mess with this thing” – I’m learning a whole new vocabulary branch. wee.
The our friend Dave (of wood floor fame) took a look at it and reassured us that yes, we could knock it out. (he went to school for architecture and may just be the smartest guy in Georgia (we love you Dave!!!!))

 Tomorrow, while I’m working away at. . .work, Thomas and Dave will be replacing the wires downstairs (“junction boxes” – another new term for me).
Last weekend, I went home for my cousin Nick’s wedding – I’ll have a few pics of that in here once I have them ready to go – I got an upgrade of Aperture yesterday and am still getting the hang of all the changes. 

To set the record straight. Thomas has torn everything out – I’m too much of a wuss. I tried. It didn’t go very well. I AM good at taking out trim, but the walls were tougher than me.
So, I’ve been cleaning everything up – taking piles and piles (and piles) of stuff out to the pile in the back (I said there were lots of piles!) or shoveling smaller debris into our garbage can or those crazy strong (and expensive) contractor trash bags.
Sounds little, but when I started, Thomas had a pile that was up to my chest in the living room – and that was before he started on the kitchen, so you get an idea of my task.

Oh, but I did get to find neat things that had been in the wall. A dogtag from an A positive baptist (we’ll be googling him), an old seal stamp thing, an old pack of Wings cigarettes, and the coolest of all, part of an old Atlanta Journal from April 8, 1944. It’s the sports page and the headline is about the Crackers playing at the Federal Pen with the Fort McPherson folks.
For those of you not reading this in Atlanta, a little backstory.
The Atlanta Crackers were the local baseball team (the legendary Ernie Harwell ((of Detroit Tigers fame)) was their announcer!), and they played at Ponce de Leon park. Umm, Kelli and I work there now! Our Whole Foods Market is on part of the land that once was the park. There are lots of old photographs of the park all over the café, if you come visit (which you should – it’s only the coolest WFM out there)
So there’s that – but there’s also the bit about the McPherson players. Fort McPherson is an army base about three blocks from our house.
Click here for more about Mr. Harwell and the Crackers. 

Enough of the chatting – you’re here for the pictures. I know it. you know it. here you go.

Butters doesn’t look much like a house downstairs right now.

Our Front Door to Be

Some of Our Finds

The Big Pile

The Bigger Pile (it’s bigger still now)

Thomas in the Butters’ Shell

Bigger Hole Where Wall Once Was

Spooky Thomas

Thomas starts on the wall

Look How Much Room!

A “Before” shot of the living room

More of how the living room used to look

This is the wall that is no more!

 

and now I’m going to sleep!