How's your week going? June 5, 2023

[ProudTVJunkie]

Wow! I don't know where last week went. I feel like I just made last week's post, and it's already Monday again. I hope you all had a nice week.

We did get rid of the metal from the old shed. We had to rent a van for the afternoon and haul it to the local recycling center, where we made a whopping $13.20 on the metal, not even enough to cover the $19.99 for the van rental. But the jagged metal shards are gone, and it's done, which is a relief. Well, almost done. The floor of the shed was covered with 2' x 2' concrete paver stones. Given that they've likely been there for decades, they aren't easy to move, but it has to get done because they are in the fenceline, and we should be having the new fence installed in a couple of weeks. So that's this week's project.

On the gardening front, my rose bushes in the front yard are in bloom and looking good. The lavender I planted is doing well, but some critter has been eating some of my other flowers.

tycho657, I hope your road trip is going well. I'm sure you'll be thrilled to finally make it to Maryland and relax a bit with family.

We visited with my brother-in-law and his girlfriend in Brooklyn yesterday. They just moved into a new apartment, and it's beautiful. Their building is right near the East River. There are walking paths along the water and some open space/parks where everyone takes their dogs...and it felt like everyone had a dog! As someone who loves the city, I'm very jealous.

So, please check in and tell us how your week is going.

[ProudTVJunkie]

Is anyone else being affected by the wildfires in Canada? We have a yellow, smoky haze over everything. I had to move some things from the backyard to the front yard, and I started having trouble breathing, so I guess the yard work I had planned for today will have to wait.

But we've never had anything this bad here before. Fingers crossed it doesn't last too long.

[Fjordmom]

ProudTVJunkie , re: effects of wildfires in Canada, yesterday it was a bit hazy here, nothing too bad, no smell of smoke, today was cloudy, cool and breezy with no haze, but tonight at sunset it seems a bit hazy.  Yesterday there were air quality alerts for the New England states and I guess it really depended on which way the wind was blowing and where you were as to how bad it was.  I was looking at Twitter about an hour ago and there were a couple pics of NYC, Brooklyn Bridge which had a definite orange glow.  The  Boston weather station was blaming it on wildfires in Nova Scotia, but when I did some research on CAnadian TV online yesterday, there are also wildfires in Quebec and Ontario.  Hope they are able to get things under control, hate to see the devastation of these fires both to humans and nature.  There have been a few times in past years when there has actually been a slight smell of smoke here even though the fires are in Canada or further out west.

Good luck with the paver stones, I continue to be amazed with all the work that you have been doing to get the house in shape!

tycho657 , hope your trip is going well. Enjoy!

All is well here, the goats are fine, my cats are almost 15 so they are slowing down considerably, though one of them is unfortunately declining alarmingly this year.  My tree removal project got done in late April, six large pine trees are now gone, along with a large maple that was looking questionable and a smaller black cherry that looked like it was on its last legs. I did hire the same crane operater we had back in 2015, only now he has a HUGE mobile crane!  When he turned the corner in the driveway to come up to the house, I was definitely in awe.  It was fascinating to watch the process of how the crane operater works with the tree climber who attaches the crane cable to the tree and then saws the tree so the crane operater can lift it up and away and over to the work area where the crew saws off limbs, then the excator operater scoops the branches up and feeds them into the chipper.  I have a three story house and the boom of the crane was at least another story-and-a-half higher when he had it extended above the roofline.  It's pretty weird to see a large tree "floating" across the yard as he moves it to the work area.  It was a bit daunting at first with the pine trees gone but now the deciduous trees are visible so it's a nice change and having the larger pines gone provides a bit more safety in light of how close they were to the house.

For those of you in the poison ivy brigade, I've been reading your travails with interest.  I did one round of spraying this spring when the temps finally got high enough, but it definitely is not a fait accompli, and last winter's weather seems to have been a boon to anything in a vine family, especially poison ivy!!!!  It has grown so fast and BIG in amongst my water garden planting area that I've just decided to stay away, I don't think I can kill the poison ivy without doing damage to my perennials there....what will be, will be.   I am still going to try to get control of the area that was underneath the largest pine that was taken down to see if I can at least get one area under control.  There's only a handful of shrubs and a couple small hydrangea bushes, so it may be possible.

[ProudTVJunkie]

Fjordmom, you are lucky it didn’t affect you too badly. Yesterday afternoon and evening were bad here. I had to move stuff to the curb for our monthly bulk pickup, and after two trips, I had to go back inside to catch my breath. The sun was a red orb in the sky with so much haze, and the air quality number jumped from 167 (unhealthy) to 302 (hazardous) in a matter of hours. It’s back down to 195 now. Still unhealthy, but it’s definitely much better than it was last night. Thankfully, we have an air purifier in our bedrooms. It really helped.

I’m happy to hear your goats are doing well and sorry to hear about your older kitty. It’s always difficult to watch our pets grow old.

Watching the crane remove the trees sounds fascinating. I would have loved to have seen that.

And thank you for the kind words about the house. Honestly, I always feel like I’m somehow behind or not working hard enough to get it all done. I had a list of things to get done yesterday, but it’s difficult to do anything when you feel like you can’t breathe!

[tycho657]

I made it to Maryland 🎶🎵😻 I have been able to spend the last 3 days playing with my great grandkids. Today we played inside as they have the warning about the air quality from the fires. I saw people wearing masks today when I went to Costco. When I returned to the RV I noticed that my power had gone off. After checking things out, flipping breakers, and tripping the GFI in the bathroom things are working again.
My Great grandkids have sure had fun with my cats. Presto loves to interact with them. Allegro loves to be brushed. Allegro does hide under the recliners when she wants to escape.

[ProudTVJunkie]

tycho657, Glad you made it to Maryland okay. It's great that your cats like the kids. That's fun for everyone.

And I hope the air is clearing up where you are. Our air quality is back down to 94 from a high of over 300 on Wednesday, so we're headed in the right direction. And it was great to see some blue skies today.

[DrvrTrnr]

My husband has been in the hospital since Tuesday, May 30th. He had a badly infected toe, something common for diabetics. He has a pacemaker and the doctor wanted to make sure his heart could withstand surgery. They did scans of his legs and there was a lot of blockage in the leg with the bad toe. The toe surgery was a success and the vascular surgeon cleaned out the artery a couple days later. He had trouble breathing on his own after that procedure so he was taken to ICU, sedated, and put on a vent. He was there for 2 days. Was then moved to a regular heart room for a few days. He has a wound vac for the toe and needs physical therapy, so he was moved to a rehab facility today. There is a silver lining to all of this: he hasn't been able to smoke since being admitted to the hospital and told his cardiologist and us that he won't ever smoke again! Words I never thought would come out of his mouth, lol. I'm looking forward to his full recovery and am sorry I don't even know what's been going on in the world the last 2 weeks.

[tycho657]

DrvrTmr glad he is on the mend. I pray he remembers that he is quitting smoking. I think when they need O2 to breath the light finally comes on to quit. John finally quit when he was put on O2 for a month. He never smoked again.

[ProudTVJunkie]

DrvrTrnr, When your loved one is in the hospital, it is like the rest of the world just falls away. I'm so glad he seems to be on the mend. And yes, hopefully, the determination to not go back to smoking sticks.

And don't forget to take care of yourself during all of this!

[larryholmes]

Wow...thankfully this situation seems to be under control. We will be thinking of both of you.