Saturday, so grateful

     The young man (soldier) that has been held by the Taliban for the last 5 years was released this evening.  He is from Hailey Idaho and this has been an ongoing struggle for all of us here.  I am so excited for his parents and loved ones.  He is in Germany now at a Hospital undergoing treatment.  Can you imagine losing 5 years of your young life to this?  Just so many prayers have been answered.  I am so grateful.

     Hub's and I worked all day in the yard.  He actually had the mowing done before I was up.  I did a quick run through of the house upstairs and then hit the yard.  Hub's hit a sprinkler head and has decided to put up an 1 or two brick high wall in the back of one of the 100 foot beds in the front yard so the mower can sit on the wall as he mows.  We went and priced brick and took measurements.  But we had so many other projects today we did not get any bricks to start.

     We took a big load to the dump, then stopped at the sprinkler store to get a larger head, that actually will hit more of the flower bed and more of the yard.  We found a pond pump at the sprinkler store.  I will go back on Monday to talk to the pump man as he was not in today.  I still have about a $170.00 credit with the plumber so I think he can set it up for me.  Hub's and I then went to lunch and bought him some new high top light work shoes.  We had to get oil for the truck so he could change it as it is due.  We purchased chicken feed and dish soap.

     Came home and I started to plant the final plants I had purchased on sale and hub's fixed the sprinkler head while I put a batch of bread together.  While it was raising, I pulled everything out of the shed and swept it out.  Hub's started cutting branches off of the trees that are making it hard to mow.  I was able to consolidate some weed and feed containers and also Preen all the flower beds.  Hub's carried up the last two bags of bark for me and I finished the bark in front.

      There wasn't a lot to throw away in the shed, but I did find a big bucket of Rabbit pellets that were old.  We had 4-h rabbits about 16 years ago.  How did we miss that?  Lot's of old junk and garbage, scraps and containers thrown out and then I put the snow tires in the corner that have been sitting out in the driveway.  I put away the snow blower and ice melt that have been on the back deck.  I put away the spreader that was on the back deck.  I put away the  pressure sprayer that was on the front porch.  Then I put the tiller away so that it can be taken out quickly to till between rows on the garden.  Whew!  Hubs has a lot of tools and he does not put the large stuff away it drives me crazy.

     Hub's had a truckload of branches from the dogwood, oak, ash and blue spruce tree.  The lawn will get so much more water with these trees pruned.  He should have done this a long time ago, but was afraid I would get angry as I love my trees.  But I did not realize it was causing him trouble to mow.  Hitting the sprinkler made me realize he was ducking under branches.  Oh and I found a big bag of sprinkler heads in the shed as I was cleaning.  So we did not need to go and spend $14.63 on a new head, we must have at least 10 of them, but I did find a pump at a much cheaper price so maybe it was okay.

     I had hub's help me take apart the small chicken coop and I washed it out and collapsed it, ready for the next batch of chicks.  It is put away in the shed and I cleaned all the chick feeders and roosts and put them in a bin in the shed.  Then I cleaned out the chicken coop and put fresh straw in the nesting boxes.  By the time I was done, hub's needed help loading branches into the truck.

     We went to the movie Maleficent tonight and I really liked it.  It was a fairy tail with a twist.  Then we went a got a few groceries for dinner tomorrow.  I stocked up on chicken breasts that were on sale.  It was a long day, but I got almost everything done I wanted done and then some.  Did not get the canoe put away, but I will even if I have to get one of the boyfriends to do it for me.  We were able to add a few more stacks of wood to the wood pile with all the branches hub's cut down.  He did however nick the extension cord for the chain saw with the saw.  He was trying to cut up branches.  So our 100 foot heavy duty cord is kaput.  We bought this back in college to plug our car in at night during the sub-zero temperatures.  It is so old it doesn't have the proper 3 prong ends.  I was glad to see it go.

     The yard is looking better.  I did not get to touch the rock path I have torn up or the pond area and the garden needs to be weeded again.  Ugh, no rest for the wicked.  I will just keep at it a little everyday.  I will need to get the truck emptied again as the bamboo and pond clean up and the rest of the weeding will fill it
once more.  By the end of this coming week I hope to say the yard is done for the season except for the normal round of weeding.

I am going to bed, I need to rest!

Kim