What we've been working on

After we had our deck integrasealed, Jim decided that we needed to do something about the rain water run-off under the deck because the staircase had shifted away from the deck a couple of inches.  So we created a couple of dry streambeds that would steer the water away from that area.  Jim did almost all the work himself because he had two truckloads of rock that had to be wheel-barrowed from the driveway to the back and I really couldn’t help with that so I played supervisor.  After the rock was done he did the same thing with mulch.  I think it turned out nice and we’ve already had some heavy downpours and the rain seems to be diverting nicely.

Before

Jim's a hard worker!

After

We realize that it won't stay this nice & clean but we're enjoying it while we can....

Invasive things

A couple of weeks ago Jim & I saw a program on the National Geographic channel about the Asian carp that are invading our rivers across America. I had already been aware of the Asian carp because I had seen other news pieces about them being in the Mississippi River and how they jump out of the water & can knock you out if you’re hit by one while boating along. Anyway, they are very invasive and the experts have determined that they’ve now reached Lake Michigan. Scary stuff if you ask me.


This post is not about the Asian carp but about another invasive species from Asia. The Bradford pear tree is a cultivar of the Callery pear which is from, you guessed it, China. I had read a while back that Bradford pears were very invasive and taking over roadways in the Northeast. I found it hard to believe that they were invasive but now I’m convinced. Jim cut down our Bradford pear tree when it split in two during a storm a month or so ago. Now, where the stump is there are a million little babies. Take a look at the pictures and you can see how far away from the stump the little “trees” are growing – some as far away as 10 or more feet. How’s that for invasive?

And I won't even get into feral pigs......

Some things are worth the money....

Anyone that’s been to our house recently knows that our deck was looking pretty bad. There were at least 3 layers of stain that were all blotchy and peeling so when I got a flyer from Integraseal with a discount coupon in the mail I showed it to Jim and we decided to get a bid. The salesman came out and as I was showing him the deck I mentioned that my brother had gotten them to do his deck. While we were sitting at the table going over stuff, he asked my brother’s name and when I said Matt Zimmermann he said, “oh yeah, Matt – he works at GM and lives in Lake St. Louis”. So I got an even bigger discount but the price was still pretty expensive. Jim & I discussed it and decided to get it done because there’s a 20 year guarantee and we wouldn’t have to stain the deck anymore.

A few weeks later one guy came over and power washed & integrasealed the deck. I couldn’t believe that he could do everything by himself in one day but he got it done. We had moved everything off the decks and from the patio underneath and the guy brought tarps to cover the mound of furniture and even the garden because it was quite a mess. He cleaned up afterwards and we left everything where it was because he came back the next week to sand the decks which was another mess because there was sawdust everywhere. Anyway, everything is done now and Jim & I spent last weekend cleaning & putting everything back in place.

Here are some before and after pictures.  We could have the deck stained but then we’d have to keep it up every few years so we’ve decided to go au naturel.  We love the look of the cedar and hope it doesn’t turn gray for a few years.

Garden

Peonies picked from the garden.

Siberian iris picked from garden, roses Jim gave me for Mother's Day, vinca vine & ajuga picked from garden

Siberian iris

Forget-me-nots

It's a jungle out there!

Garden with headstone.

Forgetfulness....

Jim & I went out to McGirk's Irish Pub in O'Fallon Saturday night because we love their food and they have a pretty awesome patio & garden area in the back where you can sit outside to eat.  We had stopped at Mattingly's in St. Charles but their patio was pretty lame so we just drank a beer and left.  When we got to McGirk's it was packed so we had to drink a beer while we waited for a table outside.  When we got seated and were looking at the menu, all of a sudden I remembered that our anniversary was in April and we had totally forgotten about it!  It was April 17 to be exact, almost 3 weeks ago!  I tried to act hurt and mad that Jim had forgotten but failed to convince him.  I thought maybe we'd been busy but when I looked at my calendar the 17th was on a Sunday and there was nothing going on that wekend.  Oh well, I guess old age is our only excuse.  I told him he owed me a gift....