Pond Progress

Today fish joined the pond. A dozen $0.35 small feeder goldfish are now swimming around. I added a strawberry pot so they would have shelter from the sun and from critters. I also bought and had delivered .28 tons of Rocky Mountain Flat Cobble. I thought this would be enough to complete naturalizing around the pond. It turns out a quarter ton of rock is not that much. I think I can use about two times that much more. We shall see when I get them installed. I also picked up a preformed "stream". My initial idea on the pond included a stream on the north end, but it turns out mother nature combined with the grading of the lot conspired against me and the slope in the yard went the wrong way. WIth the preformed stream I should be able to support it underneath and get it to flow south. LIttle did Peg know when she came to visit that I would have her moving rocks from the driveway to the pond.

 

 

New Pond New iPad New Blog Tool

I got a new iPad yesterday - an iPad Pro - because my old iPad is now possessed. So far so good on the new iPad except I learned that the blogging editor I have been using for at least four years is no longer available. Therefore I am trying something new. Darn I hate change that I have not planned.

Second time using this. Yesterday we went to Rock Mountain National Park. I dropped the girls off at a trailhead and then found a comfortable spot tio relax, lean back, and read. It is a rough life. They had a good two hour hike and I read and snoozed and took some photos.

 

 

 

Landscaping!

Our landscapers are finished. All that remains is pond construction (they did the hard work, the hole) and large pots/planters which we have to purchase and fill with soil. I like the look. Mostly 1 1/2" river rock with on clump of river birch and a half a dozen mugo pines and a few boxwoods. Everything else I want in planters. We have drip irrigation to the plants and I can hook into the irrigation lines to water the planters as we add them.

While the hole for pond is there, much work remains. I am working first on the whole for the skimmer, then I will figure the shape and place e t of the stream. The filter and falls will go at the beginning of that. Then, underlayment, rubber lining, and then rock and planters for the edges. A couple of weeks I think.

This past week I was in Redmond with the family. Not much excitement there but it was good to see John, Kristie, Avery, and Anika.

A couple of weeks ago we traded in our 11 year old, 183,000 mile trusty Volvo on a Cherokee. We call this our Colorado car. Brady named it Snow.

 

Shorts

Shorts. I've worn nothing but shorts since I have been in Longmont. Shorts, short sleeve shirts or tshirts, sandals. That has been my uniform and I am spoiled!

Today our landscapers are here to begin on our basic landscaping plan. For the past couple of hours they have been cleaning up the yard of its collection of weeds, natural vegetation, and erosion control barriers. There is a lot of work involved in just this prep work and I am glad they are doing it. They are going to dig my pond, and that is most of the work. I will add the liner and the skimmer and the filter and decoration.

Remembering

Our anniversary was on July 1 - we have been marriend for 27 years now. It seems pretty amazing. When I am remembering our anniversary I also remember Sharon's mom who passed away a year and a day after we were married. She was a wonderful person and mother who took me in without question. She seemed to alway be smiling and everyone seemed to love her.

A year after Sharon and I were married her mom was in the hospital with heart issues. She died during an angiogram. The night before her procedure I was sitting at her side in her hospital room and we were holding hands and chatting. During that conversation I said, "I have a confession, I don't like Christine." Her response? "I don't like her either, but she is my daughter and I love her. We all have to love her." That's the kind of special person she was. We should always be so loving.

Is It July Already?

Wow. Time flies - or is it Time Flys?  So many projects so little time. What have I accomplished since our last visit? Three ceiling fans are up and a fourth is ready to go. More boxes are unpacked and I feel some organization has hit the basement but there is much more to go. Sharon and I both got new bicycles this weekend and most importantly, she is happy with hers and will hopefully ride it more. Mine is a mountain bike and will supplement my pavement bike. I am happy. Our window coverings are almost all up. We are still missing one in the living area and one in the downstairs office. We have one for the powder room but it is not yet up. We have ordered solar shades for the back deck they will really help with the afternoon sun and are motorized for ease of use. We have selected a landscaper and should be on their schedule for the first week of August. We will have some mugo pines and some boxwoods and a birch tree. Most of the back yard will be river rock with a pathway from the garage to the porch and from the porch to a flagstone patio. They will dig a pond for me about 8 feet long and 3 feet wide and 18" deep. I am ordering a new skimmer and filer falls plus liner. I've got a pump already. It should be easy to get the pond in, but I still have to decide how to surround it. I bought wood for the kitchen pull outs and have all of the drawer slides - self closing, but have not started on the project.

Another Week!

Just over a week since my last entry and it is time for an update.

Sharon is at the end of her second week of commuting to Green Bay from Longmont. She leaves early Monday morning and returns early Thursday evening. All flying and no driving which makes her happy. Going out to dinner on Thursday evening in Longmont can be an issue with restaurants closing at 8:30 or 9:00 when Sharon's flight is delayed. If she arrives on time we should be able to make it to Longmont by 8:15. But, why am I complaining?

This week I have built and started using my new table saw and dust control system. Sweet. This Rigid saw is a major improvement over what I have been using. It is quieter, has a bigger table, and a better fence. And, combined with the dust control system, I don't have sawdust flying everywhere. Before I can go into production on kitchen pullouts, I need to build a worktable or two and move boxes around in the basement. I also need better lighting. It is dim down there!

I am now a volunteer on the Architectural Control Committee for the home owners association. This could be interesting. I interviewed with them last Saturday and they told me my yard was not in compliance. Huh? I just moved here. 

We have ordered window coverings and I have met with two landscapers, and bought furniture, and rugs, and ceiling fans, and odds and ends and I feel we are bleeding cash. But, as Sharon says "Do it right." It is expensive to move and perhaps more so to move into a new house that needs window coverings and landscaping and a bot of new furniture, and ceiling fans, and other things. We are making it ours.

We have been to the Longmont farmers market the past two weeks. So far our finds were heirloom tomatoes, a rosemary plant, and some zucchini. With a trip to Lowes for soil and trips to two nurseries, we have herbs growing on the front a back porches. Nice.