June 4, 2014

There's a lot of catching up to do.

Yesterday was the one year anniversary of my job elimination.

It was also, ironically, the day that I got an email saying that another candidate had been chosen over me for the position that I interviewed for last week.

I actually wasn't surprised...or disappointed...or even upset.

I had come back from the interview in DC feeling very conflicted.

I need a job.

I need an income.

But it just didn't feel right to me. It wasn't the right fit for my skills and my experience.  

I knew before that email hit my inbox that they would choose someone else.

It was actually a little bit of a relief when it was confirmed.  

The decision was made for me and actually freed me from feeling the pressure just to take a job, to have a job...even if it wasn't the right one.

The right one is still out there.  I know that.

I was contacted a couple of days ago by that start-up magazine that I had negotiated with a few months ago. We are going to talk about a contract for the next edition.

If that goes forward as I would expect it will, I'll have an income while I continue to pursue other options.

Oh...and, I'm still in the running for that dream job of mine...me and about another 30 or so candidates!

.....

I've stayed busy with lots of other projects and self-assigned chores.

The moles persist in the yard and have been joined by several massive ant hills.

There are at least 10 or 12 of them.

I spent some time Googling "natural" ways to eliminate the ant hills.  Mom would like them to move somewhere else and not be harmed.

Maybe the moles and the ants could get together and start a new life somewhere else?

Somewhere, out of our lawn?

I found some information on using common grits on an ant hill.  

The worker ants take the sweet grits to the queen, she eats them and then when she takes liquid, the grits expand and well....

The queen dies and the hill dies.

You should have seen my Mother's face when I explained that to her!

We settled on ant stakes from Farm & Fleet that are supposed to do pretty much the same thing as the grits (which, by the way, did not work.)

We transplanted more ferns from the surrounding woods to ring an old pine stump on the perimeter of the yard, near the Prairie. 

The amazing fern.

We finally sprinkled those wildflower seeds on the edge of the Prairie as well.  We had barely finished raking a light protective covering over them when it started to rain.

Good timing.

We treated the wooden Prairie sign with Thompson's water seal and re-hung it in its place by the road. Mom had the sign made when she started her natural prairie project years ago. 

A sense of humor runs in the family.

We planted new trees around the yard and in the existing woods.

Grandma on the hunt for a spot to plant a new tree.

I took advantage of the nice weather and hung some early morning laundry to dry on the old clothesline in the back yard.

Laundry.

I spent Memorial Day (the day that marks the beginning of the tourist season here - the whole tenor of the city transformed by the influx of thousands of tourists - some who stay for the summer and some who just visit) power washing the deck.

Seriously, the whole day.

There were a few short breaks for rain showers.

It was transformative.

The mold, mildew and bacterial growth all sprayed away.

Where I power washed, and where I didn't.

The deck, in process.

I'll need to get some deck wash solution and follow it with a waterproofing treatment and it should stay looking great for a few years at least.

It looks great right now.

I also oiled the teak picnic table and two benches.  

That was an investment of time, energy and muscle. 

Two coats of oil, the first coat soaking into the freshly power washed clean surface of the furniture for 30 minutes. The second for another 15 minutes before wiping the excess and letting it sit for 8 to 10 hours.

I bought 4 citronella candles.

Mosquitos LOVE me.

And in Wisconsin...? The joke is that the mosquito is the state bird!

Best to be prepared.

I began a search for an umbrella stand.  To Walmart, Home Depot, Farm & Fleet. I found it yesterday where Mom had actually bought the umbrella last year or the year before. 

I bought it, assembled it this morning.

I dragged the brand new gas grill that has occupied a space on the basement floor for the past 2 or 3 years, up out of the basement and set it up on the deck. 

I bought the small liquid propane tanks for it and tried to get it to work last night, hoping to grill some cod, potatoes and onions.

Alas, it was not to be.

The igniter wouldn't work.  No sound at all.  I could tell Mom was nervous about the whole thing...liquid propane and all, as she stood hovering over me with that worried Mom expression.

I called Cuisinart customer service this morning and they are sending a replacement part.  

Just like that. 

No need for receipts or serial numbers or proof of purchase! 

THAT is great customer service.

Just sending a replacement part.

Simple instructions included to replace the faulty regulator.

Maybe we'll have grilled fish by the weekend?

I've had an ongoing dialogue with the lawn mower repair fellas.

Every spring, like clockwork, Mom has the riding mower and the push mower picked up and serviced for the season.

This year, that was followed by 4 inches of April snow, delaying the start of the lawn work.

When I went to start the push mower (preferring it over the riding mower for exercise) it wouldn't start.

It's a Toro.

Known for its one pull start guarantee.

I was on the phone to the lawn mower fella almost immediately.  

"Sounds like there is bad gas in the carburetor..." explained the younger of the two lawn mower fellas.

I asked why that wouldn't have been addressed in the spring maintenance that had been done? After all, it hadn't even been a month since the two mowers had been returned to us - all maintained.

I also asked him why I had found a HUGE amount of dry grass stuck in the venting area in the back of the mower. 

"Oh, I don't work on that part of the mower. Wouldn't have touched it." He explained.

I continued, "So you charge around $50 to perform maintenance on a mower and you don't actually perform maintenance on the whole mower?" 

Hmm?

Anyway, he agreed to come by to fix the mower.  Wouldn't take but a minute, he had explained.  Just need to spray "something or other" into the filter, it would absorb the ether and start right up.

I waited for him to come.

And waited.

And waited.

I called to see what was up.

"Oh, yeah...." the younger mower fella mumbled, "I forgot."

After some discussion, he was on his way with the can of the "something or other" to get the mower running.

It worked and I mowed the lawn, skipping over the areas of the yard where the wild violets were still blooming.

I went to start the mower again last week, to get the yard cut before the weekend.  

The mower would start, but it wouldn't keep running; stopping within seconds of starting.

On the phone again to the mower fellas.  

If I could bring the mower in, they could take a look and see what was going on.

I mused about why a mower that was almost brand new and had just had its routine spring maintenance would not be working?

I think it was completely lost on the mower fellas.

I loaded it in the back of my 4Runner and took it to A1 Saw and Mower in Reedsburg.

That was followed by a succession of follow up calls, checking the status.

Meanwhile, the rains continued and the grass, dandelions and weeds grew and grew and grew.

I called again on Monday. 

I was told that the rotating part that passes the spark plug and keeps it igniting was defective and when that part was ordered, arrived and opened, it had a note explaining that if that part was being replaced, an adjacent part would also need replacing.

Anyway, I should see the mower sometime today.

I waited and waited and waited, until yesterday...a beautiful sun shiny day in the 70s...and I just couldn't wait any longer.

I borrowed my sister's mower and started mowing the lawn, which I hope to finish later today.

Whether it's with my sister's mower or the one I've been promised will be delivered today, remains to be seen.

THAT is not such great customer service.

......

We have had regular nighttime visits from a very large raccoon, who scours the ground and crawls easily to the top of a bird feeder that sits on a post for food.

The other night, it was making it's way out on a branch where a wired container holds seeded fat for the birds, but the raccoon's weight was too much for the old apple tree. 

The branch crashed to the ground.

We'll have to find another spot on the tree to hang the Oriole's jelly feeder and the bird fat.

This is exactly why Mom, every night around sunset, removes the bird feeders from the trees and stores them in the garage for the night.

Pesky raccoon.

We also had to remove a bee's nest from just outside the back door to the garage.  

Again, Mom wished she could have just moved it without harming the bees and she agonized over spraying it and knocking it down.

She sprayed it a few times, but when she knocked it down, a live bee came buzzing out.

Hardy bee.

The bee, building its nest.

And then...there was the Hog Nose snake.  

Yuk.

Much bigger than the little pine snake I had come upon when raking near the edge of the lawn.

And it showed its displeasure with us as well, flattening out its neck and hissing that all familiar snake sound, as we directed it to the grassy ditch toward the field of alfalfa.

Nasty snake.

Hog Nose snake showing its displeasure by flattening its neck.

.....

Grandma, Harry and I went for a walk at Rocky Arbor State Park one morning.

It was following a rain storm or two...something we should have considered a little more, I think, before venturing along the trail we chose.

The first half of the trail followed along brackish standing water, prime breeding ground for mosquitos.  

We weren't on the trail for even 5 minutes before they were swarming around us...well, at least Harry and I.

Mom seemed to have some natural kind of repellent pheromone that I wished I had shared.

I was in shorts, tall rubber boots and a short sleeved shirt. Harry was in jeans, a short sleeved shirt and rubber boots. (The boots he calls his "Mr. MacGregor boots"...from The Tale of Peter Rabbit.)

Mom was in jeans, ankle boots and a long sleeved shirt, layered over a short sleeved shirt.

"The mosquitos are literally swarming all over your back..." Mom explained as she tried to keep pace and swat them away.

"You should have worn a long sleeve shirt," she advised.

"That bit of motherly advice would have been more useful before we left the house," I responded.

It was THE...FASTEST...EVER...walk through Rocky Arbor State Park. Ever.

It was truly miserable.

As Mom labored to keep pace behind me, I was practically dragging Harry along, holding his hand tightly and imploring him to "move faster."

Harry looked up at me and said in a very concerned tone, "Mommy, I don't think we're gonna make it..."  

And then followed a little later in the journey by, "I really think I need a nap..."

Mom was laughing so hard, her pace slowed and we got quite a bit ahead of her.

We finally found some relief when we reached a paved road which would eventually take us back to our parked car.

Perhaps it wasn't the absolute best idea to take a walk in a heavily wooded area, near brackish still water, following a few rain storms?

Yeah.

Respite from the mosquitos on the pavement.

.....

I've been taking advantage of having fresh flowers growing in and around the yard, by bringing them indoors to enjoy.

Daffodils, Lilac, Lily of the Valley, Irises and of course, ferns.

Lilac.

Harry continues to enjoy playing with his "cousins." 

I found him at my sister's running around with a garbage can over his head, chasing his cousin Tylor (yes, that's how it's spelled) riding or pushing a small version of a John Deere mower, who was chasing Uncle Gilbert on his actual riding mower.

Harry was giggling. Tylor was laughing. Uncle Gilbert (or "Gilbird", as Harry calls him) seemed nonplussed by how much fun could be had just chasing him around the yard.

Harry is under the garbage can.

We took a couple of rides on the Merrimac, WI ferry. 

Over and back.

We used to ride the ferry (although it's probably the same ferry boat) when my brother and sister and I were kids.

It seemed like it took a lot longer to cross back then.

It was a surprise for Harry.  I had just told him that we were going to do "something" fun.

When we arrived, he was SO excited, craning his head out the car window to get a look at the ferry boat coming slowly across the water to the dock.

We road it over and then turned around and waited in line to ride it back across.

About 15 cars or so make the trip each time, as well as bicyclists and pedestrians.

It was another beautiful day.

Perfect for a ferry ride.

Harry's first ferry boat ride.

Waiting for the return ride.

Fun in the sunshine.

Harry and I went mini golfing the other day too.

He was equally excited about the prospect of a round of mini golf as he had been about riding the ferry.

"I'm a lucky boy," he said to me as we chose our putters and balls.

Harry chose an orange ball.  I chose green.

It took a bit of time before I could calm him down enough to actually play. 

He ran from green to green consumed in his own excitement.

Mommy got a hole in one on the Par 4, 13th hole.  

And then another on 18.

We had great fun.

I'm a lucky Mommy, I thought.

Harry took this picture of me, Pirate's Cove Miniature Golf.