It looked really good, and I did some on-line research, and everything seemed to be just about what it said it was. The only down side was that the customer reviews were all done about one month after purchase, so there was no response about how things actually grew there; on the positive side they were all pleased with the assembly end of it. So, all things considered it seemed like an o.k. deal. The next hurdle was that we had to pick up the two LARGE boxes (one weighed 150 lbs. & the other 165 lbs.) from Sam's the same day as the purchase, and we couldn't seem to connect with Chill---he who has pick-up and muscles. It was finally resolved, and we made the purchase on July 9. Guess what! The price had been reduced to $398.00. YEA! YEA! And Chill even opted to hire a friend/customer to build it for us. Yesterday was the big day.
Doesn't this look like a giant Lincoln log set?
Our hired guy called the night before to say he'd be at my house at 7:00 a.m., and he was. I'm always surprised to see that people actually function at this hour, but they do---eventually. Come on, Jaz and Keith. Hands off hips, and apply to construction.
Well, one of them got the message.
BTW Keith was apparently feeling the pressure of the on-line information that said two people working together on this project should expect to finish in 6-8 hrs. (Of course, I think they meant ordinary klutzes who only half know what they are doing.) As he didn't seem to need any help from us for a while I commandeered Jaz to the front yard to help me trim away some hedge to apply a Y spigot attachment to the front outside water supply so we could run a hose to the new garden. Well, that woman is manic when it comes to cleaning out something. Pretty soon we were pulling out vines, weeding, pulling up volunteer trees, hacking out lantana that just won't give up, and we managed to harvest five yard bags of debris. (Unfortunately, this tells you something about the state of my alleged flower beds as well.) They haven't looked so good ever.
When we went back to the back yard this is what we found.
At this point we discovered between Keith's and my treasure trove of drill bits we didn't have one to make a hole big enough to put a garden hose through, and he had to make a run to a nearby hardware store for a bit, and I begged him to pick up the Y connection for the faucet as well which he did. He was a joy to work with.
Jaz did some helpful holding of things as work progressed and figuring out the placement of the plastic liners for this giant container for plants. She really did good things. And what did I do to help this process along? Well, my job was to get water for everyone. Did I mention it was hot? Ten degrees cooler than a week ago, but 90-92 is hot enough to keep a good sweat going. It is likely that each of us drank at least two quarts of water out there. I was also fetching things like soap for screws, band-aids and wound cleaning foam, an array of bits of wood for leveling, etc. We were a pretty good team. Jaz decided to go get us something for lunch (Church's chicken) as she and I were beginning to walk into walls. But Keith, the real competitor, just wanted a Coke. Here he is putting in the final screws.
When it was done he asked, "What time is it?" I immediately looked inside at the clock in the kitchen and reported it was 2:00 p.m. Seven hours from the time he arrived which included getting the boxes into the area from the carport, opening, reading instructions, cutting a finger, conversation, and just being pleasant and courteous the whole time, and working mostly alone. I love it when people know what they're doing.
So what does this new construction look like? Well, it's gorgeous. Just take a look! (It's not tilted; I think I was.)
This afternoon, the day after, I was doing even more yard work; I won't bore you with what that included, but when I was taking out all the stuff to the curb for trash pick-up in the morning my backdoor neighbor was doing the same. I invited her to come see what we'd built. As she came up the drive she asked, "Oh, are you going to raise chickens?"
6 comments:
Apparently she has never lived near chickens. Or heard on the radio that chickens are being banned from residing in the city limits. (As are a large list of other domesticated farm animals). Or maybe they are offering a monetary reward to anyone who turns in the neighbors?
I had fun. I don't know what it is about being in someone else's garden that makes pulling weeds so much more appealing than doing it at my house, though. Of course, I have to actually plant the flowers in the bed at my house before I have any weeds to pull from it, don't I?
And thank-you so much for the inspiration to work on reducing the size of my posterior. You are a good friend. Now, please kindly erase the pics or superimpose shrubbery over that portion of the photo. Did I say please?
Thank God you didn't respond with, "Where do you want to put the coop?" And don't tell me how terrific fresh eggs are; I don't want to know.
I'm sure everyone sees you as your avatar depicts you.
half nekkid?
Hokey Smokes! I hope this means less bending, kneeling to do your gardening. How's this year's bed turning out, by the way? And didn't you tell me something about scaling back on the gardening so you'd be free to travel????
We crowded the square footage a bit so there is much competition for sunlight and space. However, we have been enjoying the tomatoes, zucchini, cukes, okra, basil, oregano, and (one) tomatilla. The peppers are finally showing signs of production and the yellow squash and green beans admitted defeat a while back.
Wow. I am humbled in the presence of that garden.
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