Home Improvements and Gardening

The outer fringes of Hurricane Gustav blew through our neighborhood last weekend with wind gusts of 65-70 mph. We didn’t have any real damage to our property … thank you Lord … but we did get a yard FULL of leafy bundles. I call them leafy bundles because there weren’t many large limbs down, just the smaller branches which are covered with leaves and acorns. Walking across the yard was frustrating, because with every step a leaf covered branch wrapped around our ankles and made us stumble.

It was time to pull out my two secret weapons … the Rubbermaid wagon that attaches to my riding mower and my Gopher. I LOVE that little gadget! It is the handiest thing for yard work. Our house is on a busy street, and for some reason people think our roadside is the perfect place to pitch their trash. Every time I cut grass by the street, I have to pick up beer bottles, hamburger bags, and various other pieces of litter, grrrrr! But the Gopher has made that easy work, and the leafy lawn left by the winds of Hurricane Gustav was the perfect candidate for more Gopher work.

Pick up the leafy bundle, put it in the wagon … repeat, repeat, repeat!

Untill the wagon is stacked high!

Then head to the pile and empty the wagon … repeat, repeat, repeat!

I worked on it most of the afternoon, but I have more to do this weekend, and I’d better be quick about it because I understand we may be having another guest next weekend … Hurricane Ike!

Keeping it real,

A couple of our trees had their tops broken out during Katrina. They stood tall and straight, like very large poles. We’ve been wanting to have them removed for some time now, and today is the day! We decided to have two extra trees removed, as well. This will make room for a proper parking area for our camper, and allow us to add a deck and boardwalk connecting the bedrooms along that side of our house and offering us a private outdoor area.

This was one project that was definitely over our heads! Can you see Noel in the very top of this tree? Large tree removal is job that’s best left to professionals. Noel has worked for us before, and we have a lot of confidence in his abilities. If you need to have a large tree removed, be sure to get a company that is bonded and insured, and check references! This is not a project to take lightly.

Keeping it real,