Tree removal

Tree removal

We had a big maple tree in the back yard that we had to take down because it was too close to the power line. This is the before picture, obviously.

Partly cut down.

Cutting down the main part of the trunk.

Taking off a piece of the trunk.

Another action shot.

Just a pile of logs. Some friends came a few weeks later and picked up all the logs - it took two trips.

Now there is clear air where the wire is.

This is the stump grinder. The operator is driving the machine over to grind down another stump. We had about five stumps ground down.

This is the stump grinder in action. The machine had a little diesel engine that drove a hydraulic pump that spun the grinding blade as well as driving the wheels.

Sorry to see you go, Mr. Maple.

More pretty flowers

Sorry I haven't updated the blog for a bit. I hope you enjoy these pretty flowers.

Most of these flower photos were taken on June 17th, 2011.

The roses are in the front flower bed, in front of the living room window.

These are the peonies in the back yard - that is a mock orange behind it that is rather overgrown.

We had a torrential rain storm on June 24th.

Accidental trap

No photo today, as you will understand why.

We had a lot of rain overnight on Wednesday night, but needed to water the plants under the house overhang. Freda picked up the half full watering can and then noticed that there was something in it. It was a chipmunk that had obviously gone into the watering can to get a drink, but then couldn't get out and drowned.

I used to leave the watering cans full so they were ready to use and won't blow around. I think I will either have to leave them very full or almost empty to avoid situations like this.

Sorry, little chipmunk!

Beautiful roses!

June 14th, 2011

This rose bush has a profusion of these pretty yellow flowers.

A pretty bud! Next time I will have to make sure that my reflection is not in the picture! haha

June 16th, 2011

These roses seem to last a long time!

The white rose bud has popped open with all its gloriousness.

This was a bud yesterday and is now partly open.

Peonies popped!

Wow - amazing what a difference one day can make!

These photos were all taken on June 14th.

This is the same peony as above, but the flower is a little bit younger. The pink seems to fade quickly in the sunlight.

The pink is so vibrant that it overwhelms the sensors in the digital camera. If I desaturate teh image so the flower looks normal then the foliage doesn't look right.

A view of the row of peonies beside the carport. All of these will have to be relocated or else they will die.

The beautiful white peony.

Birthday Peonies

These photos were all taken on June 13th, 2011. The title of this blog post is Birthday Peonies because June 13th was my dad's birthday, and his sister's birthday too!

We had a lot of rain and wind, and it resulted in these peonies getting mostly bent over.

The peonies are loaded with buds. It is nice to see that there a few varieties.

Snow white.

There are more of these deep pink ones than any other colour.

Electrical final complete

I took this photo through the window from the office - for some reason the camera focussed on the screen - funny! This is the vehicle from the inspector from the Electrical Safety Authority who came to do the final inspection of all the electrical work that I did.

So our electrical permit is closed - everything is complete.

Last of the debris

There was a small pile of debris under the carport that was left over from when the other debris was hauled away but this stuff didn't fit in the dumpster. The pile was a few sheets of paneling from the basement and the old kitchen sub-floor. Since the plywood and paneling was too big, I had to cut it up before I could put it out with the garbage - and the result of that work is what you see here.

This photo also shows the carpet of flowers etc in the front yard - these would have been growing under the huge junipers or cedar or whatever it was that was growing by the lamp post and totally obscured everything.

The flowers on the ground to the right of the lamp post are pots that Freda put together.

Most of the peonies are almost ready to burst their blossoms and look like this.

Some peonies have bloomed and look and smell gorgeous!

And in other news... I have called for the final electrical inspection on Monday.

No more tarp

Today, I decided to spend the day finishing off several fix ups around the house.

One of them was to remove the tarp off the chimney. This involved dragging the ladder out of the basement so I could take the tarp off. I took the camera up with me so I could document what the chimeny looked like, just in case I found something that needed a touch up.

But everything looks pretty good!

This is a photo from the other side of the chimney.

Here you can see the ladder sitting by the front step.

This also shows another thing that I did - that was fix the shutoff valve so I could turn on the hose. This required the following steps:

• move about 2 dozen boxes so I could access the main water shut off valve by the water meter
• shut off the water
• dismantle the shut off valve
• reassemble the valve
• turn on the water and test for leaks

So, it all went well except for the (you guessed it) disassemble the valve. I took off the handle, but then I couldn't budge the large nut that held on the body of the valve. Then I realized that there was a little nut over the valve stem, which is where the water was leaking from, so I took the nut off and went to Home Depot to see if I could get an O-ring or gasket or something. They didn't have anything that would fit because of the age of the valve (52 years old), however one guy at Home Depot suggested rolling some teflon tape and wrap that around the valve stem. So I did that and it worked well to stop the leak.

RIP little squirrel

We have a dead squirrel in the back yard. Not sure when it happened...... I just saw it when I let the dogs out and they both ran over to this furry lump on the grass.

I was afraid it was the bunny that we have seen around here, but I think it is the squirrel with the shortened tail. :((

From photo taken on May 8th:


Click here if you want to see the dead squirrel.