Spring Has Sprung

I seem to have so many things to get done this spring, so many that some days I’m not sure where to begin. I’ve got some projects in the yard which have me a bit preoccupied. One of those projects I was able to get done this past weekend when I found someone to come and grind our stumps out which were left behind after we cut down our Aus trees last winter. I would’ve thought it would be easier to find somebody to do the job than it was. I found a guy in the Yellow pages less than a mile from home. He came out last weekend while I wasn’t home to size up the job and he was to give me a call back with a bid. He never called back. Tammy saw him out back looking at the stumps so I’m (sorry) stumped as to why he never called to at least give us an estimate. I called another guy on Wednesday and he said he’d be by the next day around mid morning to quote us a price. When he hadn’t shown up by late afternoon I called his number and he said he was planning on coming out on Monday instead…hmmm…it would be nice to know that so I didn’t have to wait around all day for him. I told him not to bother as I had somebody else who would do it sooner than that. The other person I had in mind was a guy who had phoned me the previous day but I had told him I’d already found someone. He came out the next day and did the job for me for a very reasonable price of $100 for 3 stumps. The other guys had truck mounted units which no doubt would’ve torn up the lawn but this guy had the really cool self propelled unit which looked like something out of a sci-fi movie. I was happy with the job he did for us.

You wouldn't believe the hardiness of the Aus trees. Here's a photo I took of what remains of some of the logs I kept. They're alive and growing!

We’re still working on the 3rd of 3 windows above our kitchenette in the basement. We’ve probably got another 30-40 hours of work to do before it’s done, maybe less. I have a very hard time getting myself to do stained glass once the grass turns green but this year I’ll have to keep at it until this job is done.

We had some sick pups this past weekend. Toby picked up some flu bug and passed it along to Allie. The poor guys had it bad. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Toby pass up a meal until the other day. They’re doing much better now.

I've reached the age where stretching before a workout is no longer optional. I keep having thoughts of taking 20 minutes each day to work on stretching but so far that’s all they are—thoughts. I actually stretched for 2 minutes before today’s ride. Yesterday’s ride sort of reminded me of the rides I would do when I was in the Navy. I had no plan where I was going and just made it up as I went along. Those rides are usually the most fun. I’m enjoying playing around with my GPS unit while I’m out there and going back over the route data during my cool-down phase when I get home. Here’s yesterday’s route.

Anyway, that's about it from this end.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

David Crowder Concert, NWA188 and Photo Review

Image
I got up from laying down after the all-night shift Thursday morning and figured I'd better get a ride in while I could because the forecast wasn't looking so good. The temp was just above 40 with a northeast wind steady at 15 mph under overcast skies. 40 degrees is very reasonable cycling weather but the key is to be somewhat chilled when you start out. Being warm and toasty at the beginning leads to being sweaty, cold and clammy before the ride is over. While putting air in my tires before leaving I could tell that I needed a lighter top layer. I'm glad I made the switch. I loved the ride  ( Strava link ) and would like to have gone further but David Crowder was playing at our church and I didn't want to be late getting in line for some good seats as it was general admission. I considered a quick detour by Hosanna on the way home to get a pic of their tour bus but I figured I should really act my age. The concert was worth every penny and better than any of the o
Read more

Riding, Retirement and a Home Revisited

Image
I skipped out of work a couple hours early today to take advantage of some mild weather. I took the pups for a walk then headed west on my bike putting my heart, lungs, and quads through some paces. It felt so nice to be out there. I'd have stayed out longer but I had to be back to take Rachel to dance class for 5:00. It's possible that today will be the last time I'll have to take her to class if she passes her road test this Thursday. I'd like to have taken some time to hose down my bike. It's full of road salt and that can't be a good thing. Every large vehicle that went past me had a cloud of salt dust trailing in its wake and settling on me. I'll spend some time cleaning it tomorrow and have it ready for a ride on Wednesday after work. Speaking of work—I've been kicking around the idea of bidding on a staff job. Believe me, it's not something I want to do. It's about self-preservation. I want to work another five years to get Rachel thr
Read more

My Bicycle Ride to Babbitt

Image
Wow, what a trip. In planning for this ride, I figured I’d have only two weekends this summer when our schedules could come together to give it a go. The first of those two times came and went two weeks ago when a steady north wind kept me grounded. There’s no way I could have gone the distance into the wind, and what I was really hoping for was a stiff southwesterly breeze, but that wasn’t in the cards either. After looking at the wind forecast on Wednesday, I told Tammy that it looked as though we were looking at another no-go. I’d been watching the forecast the previous 5 days, and they consistently said to expect a light wind from the southeast. It wouldn’t be a headwind but wouldn’t be much help either. I came home from work on Thursday morning and looked at the forecast again, but it hadn’t changed. I got a couple hours of sleep, then woke up to work in the yard. Then, I decided I wouldn’t let the lack of a tailwind keep me from going…just so long as it wasn’t a headwind. I tol
Read more