Chapter 356

(In order of appearance)

Happy Birthday to JoAnn

and

Happy Father's Day

It seems that I start every blog now with a picture of Nitro so here he is cool and comfortable on his favorite perch over the air conditioner.

The big project around here is to tidy up the "alley" alongside the house where we have been putting our things to go to the dump "later" including the roof  we took off the house. Things just piled up year after year.

Ever wondered what the inside of a propane tank looks like? Just like the outside!

 Bob dreaming up his excuses how to keep this stuff off his plate at dinnertime.

I have several of these volunteer plants in our garden. It looks like it might be zucchini. If that's the case, I've gotta pull out every last plant. The world doesn't need any more unwanted zucchini!

Now this is how you trim tree branches.

Digging through the debris is like an archaeological dig. As we dug through the layers, we found evidence of different projects we've done over the years. Scraps from Bob rebuilding the teardrop, carpet from one of the bedrooms, and wood from various projects were found as we dug through the layers.

There goes the last of our old hot tub.

Ripping up the tree stump that fell during the Inauguration Day storm...whenever that was.

The old gate we made from fence panels. There's a reason people don't make gates out of fence panels. They are too flimsy.

We unearthed Picnic Rock. Before all the garbage got dumped in the ally, Picnic Rock was in a grassy area under a huge maple tree by the tire swing and playhouse. This rock has hosted many, many picnic lunches and tea parties over the years. I was happy to see it again.

Another archaeological find was the puck from our boxy hockey set.

This is what happens when a giant rock get stuck in the bucket of the tractor. Bob climbs inside the bucket and puts a chain around the rock.

If you have nothing better to do, here is a video of Bob pulling the rock out of the tractor bucket.

We got rid of all the big stuff, but we still have a bunch of little stuff embedded in the dirt. We are probably going to haul some compost over and put in some new dirt to cover these odds and ends up.

We also pulled some old fence posts from the old field fencing we had and a couple of rocks out of the yard that have been reaching up and grabbing the lawn mower blade more and more over the years.

This is huge rock. Over the years Bob has tried to dig this rock or chip the top off and it's always ended with the same scenerio. Bob cussing and the rock winning. Now that we see the size of it, no wonder to dig it out with a shovel didn't work!

All the little detritus (left over bits) kept falling out of the tractor bucket so Bob made a nice clam shell lid for it 

that worked perfectly to get the job done.

Since Picnic rock is a legacy rock, we have to put it in a place Reagan can picnic on it. Although I thought her newly remodeled yard was an excellent location for it, we will most likely have to keep it in our own yard.

Picnic Rock parked safely by the garden on it's snow sled until we can decide where to park it permenently. 

We had a lot more stuff back there than we thought we did!

We filled a 40 yard dumpster and could have used more room. Once the area grows grass, it will look like it did years ago. The next step is to buy a container car and replace these sheds. Bob promised to fix it up so it doesn't look too much like Seattle homeless housing.

Reagan helping Daddy fix breakfast.

Someone certainly has a sense of fashion these days.

Keeping Daddy company while he fixes dinner.

Poor deprived child! She only has one book in her book basket.

Reagan and a buddy at the park.

Tree hugger.

Loving the tea set Mom and Dad got her for her birthday.

Tea for everyone.

Keeping occupied while Mom and Dad work on the backyard remodel.

 More dress up.Apparently the sunglasses are an important accessory in Reagan's fashion book.