So this afternoon after finishing the wedding I was working on and an engagement set I'd promised, I set to work on what I knew was going to be a big day. I was keeping an eye on the weather and this had promised to be the nicest day this week...and luckily I'd done enough weeding to make it work.
I ran out, rented a pick-up truck, and then hopped on over to Home Depot and rented a rototiller!!
When I got home, Dougie (who knew I'd left on said mission) had decided to attack the killer bamboo patch.
Arial view:
You can see where I cleared the ground over the past few days...and Dougie's butt.
Anastasia realized that there was more concrete than I'd thought and so moved some cinder blocks and dug that out a bit-- more room for the grill! (No pic tonight).
Apparently Dougie had used a rototiller before, so I let him get down with his bad self in that department:
Then Anastasia and I team-worked it up shoveling the loosened dirt through a screen and sifting out the roots and rock. (And giving me Michelle Obama arms)
Also making the piggy piggy greedy magpies happy:
They're so bold! At one point one sat right on the handle of the tiller while I was only about an arms length away. I also took both of the above pics with a wide-angle lens (aka, I was not far away). At one point one of them grabbed a big fat worm or grub and danced around for a full minute with it before it flew off! I has the foods now!!
Also in our tilling adventures we found:
-A license plate (too rusty to read)
-A radiator
-A buried pet cat or dog (at least 20 years buried, it was all tiny bones, sorry Fluffy)
-A leggo dog (unrelated)
-2 wrenches (same set)
-A hockey puck, a golf ball, a tennis ball, a baseball
-A sharp tooth (like a canine) at least an inch long.
-Lots and lots of chicken bones and oyster shells
-Several cans (no lables)
-A milk jug
-A hershey's syrup container
-Lots of metal bits (a hook, an old bike pedal (?), screws, nails)
-Lots of broken teracotta, bricks, roofing slates, etc.
We also found a brick wall that runs perpendicular to the fence adjoining the cement slab... The current theory is that there must have been an out-building of some kind there when a property was subdivided and it got taken down all but the slab which is now under part of a raised bed over here and must be below the neighbors' yards (which are about 4 feet higher than ours) too.
Tomorrow, I plant things! And bundle sticks! And try to find patio furniture and a portable dishwasher before I need to return the truck at 4!
Another big day.
Introducing my new addition:
I got this off of craigslist yesterday:
An 18" Great States reel lawn mower. My mom got one when I was a teen and it was my chore to mow the lawn after my brother mowed the lawn (to make sure it was really done and to do the hard parts). It brings back memories. I was too tired last night to really give it a go, but I did a few swipes and it's pretty darn sharp. The sound it makes also makes me happy. The guy who had it lived out in Waltham and had intentions of mowing his lawn with it, but after a few go-rounds decided that he just had too much space to really use it. $40! A steal!
I'd also like to introduce his arch enemy:
50 gallons of smelly gasoline that has been sitting on the patio area for long enough that it's started seeping through the plastic and making rings on the concrete. I'm calling the city tomorrow and having it removed. It smells bad and it's DANGEROUS...also apparently after two weeks in direct sunlight (let alone years) it becomes useless.
Thirdly--
Anyone know what this is?
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