Rain Gutters Finally - Great Service

Last week I called a local Ellijay rain gutter company for an estimate to finally get some rain spouts up. They're only needed on the back side of the house because the front runoff actually serves to water a flower bed that thrives.

Crump & Holmes is the name of the company. Run by Jarrod Holmes and his father John, the work was completed yesterday rather than the tentative date we had for later in the week. Great guys from the get go. I highly recommend their services.

John and his father... who incidentally has plenty of compost for free. The only concern is it's horse manure compost. Some web research tells me as long as it's broken down well it should work. Too green or smelly would result in lots of seeds germinating. I don't need an oat field in the backyard!

Next step is digging a trench so I can bury the drainage pipe shown in the background. Maybe now I'll have a drier yard?

Yikes, almost stepped on this critter while taking pics. He must like my new flagstone path. Sunny spot today. Saw another larger snake on the driveway too. Must be the cold weather bringing them closer to the house or maybe critters they like. Temps have been drifting into the lower 40's at night.

Red Wood Chips Have To Go!

Not only is the area fugly, but I do have to grade it better before the lawn reseeding that should be done by Sunday. All chips removed along with pressure treated 1 x 4" border. How's that for a hairless head and the gray? Wheeew.

And some critters living in a sub division underneath. I'm guessing moles.

With some leftover flagstone, the plan is a smaller pathway that extends the length of the house with some bushes and and other stuff...or grass in between.

The Tarp Is On The Field

More rain, but not as bad as some areas west of me shown on the map. Looks like 5-6 inches near Chatsworth and Dalton. About 1/2 inch today in my area (round circle).

Lookie here, the forecast! Maybe I can plant some grass seed. Only problem is those damned leaves that keep piling up on the lawn. Of course they're damp now. Blowing takes a little extra time, but how can I keep them off when new grass starts shooting up? I'll have to walk on it.

The rain delay pics...

It looks like I have most of the low areas taken care of except for a few puddles showing in the center. I figure about four cubic yards of fill has been moved into the area. One of neighbor kids who was over yesterday to see the dead deer in the woods (Oh stinky!) asked "that's a lot of hard work you do around here, Why do you do it?"

"It's good exercise. You'll understand when you get older."

For the 1/4 inch deep top dressing after the seeding. A combination of premium top soil and composted cow manure mixed with about 1/6 sand. The forecast looks good and I'd hate to lose this stuff to rain. I'll have about $250 in this project once it's done, not including the labor.

The Lawn Again...

Now that the rain age (kind of like an ice age, or so it seemed) is history it's drying out time. The lawn is still quite wet after ten inches in six days but aeration has helped. That project is over with, thank goodness. Now it's time to fix what I rushed into last summer; creating a flat lawn so the rain runs off better.

The above picture represents about 15 large wheel barrel loads in a combination of local soil, sand, and topsoil I picked up last weekend. Five or six more ought to complete the project. Sand? I thought the same, but local experts say it's good for keeping algae from growing.

The low spot collected a lot of that stuff and was always mucky when the sun didn't hit it. Poplar trees losing their leaves are opening up some of the shade. I'm thinking about bringing three trees down this winter to give the lawn some more sunshine, particularly during August and September when it gets very little.

Keeping an eye on the slope with a string line...

And I finally got around to calling in a rain gutter guy. With all that rain last week I had plenty of time to see where it goes once it falls off the roof. A good portion runs off the end of the roof in the foreground and into the low areas. I thought the culprit was rain water rushing over the flagstone path. That's part of it but not the largest cause. Expecting work to be done about one week from today.

Oh... and the bird feeder was moved. It was always hard to get a good view of who was in there when sitting on the porch. Moreover, once the back door opened they would scatter. Kind of looks crooked doesn't it? Expect to see some good bird pics this winter.

Rain Delay

Not much happening around these parts. Just waiting until the rains go away. No measurable accumulation after the big deluge Tuesday. Drizzle now and then with cloudy skies. Some sunshine Friday, but all the work areas are wet and muddy.

The inspector has arrived, but I have yet to see a report.

One of the heated discussions with UPS. They have failed to perform their duties. Package was due Tuesday. Still no sign of them.

Oh, I have been working on more lawn aeration. Much easier now with looser soil. Visited Buck Jones Nursery down in Woodstock this morning, but it was raining. Nice setup. Lot's of space where you can drive up and down aisles while looking. Sorry no pics but I did pickup some bulk topsoil. Sure beats paying by the bag at Lowes. I only wish the place was closer. $15.95 for a bucket (3/4 cubic yard)