The Trouble with Frank

I think I mentioned in a previous post that our “resident” mallard drake, Frank, seemed to be having foot issues. He’s been limping rather severely off and on, sometimes to the point of nearly falling over.

Over the weekend, I found out what the trouble is. It isn’t that there’s something wrong with Frank’s left foot. It’s that Frank’s left foot is missing. GONE!

When they’re out in the yard, standing in the grass, it’s very hard to see their feet. I made a point of training the camera on Frank’s feet the other day.

This is Frank. He’s so cute.

This is Frank’s foot.

Or Frank’s leg anyway, sans foot. You should be able to see a webbed foot right there. But you don't. What in the hell happened, Frank?! Poor guy.

The mother started arguing that he was that way when he first came. I scratched my head on that one. Then, I remembered the VERY FIRST photos I took of Frank and Jemmy.

Lousy though they may be, the photos are clear enough to show that they are standing not in the grass but in the driveway.

And, you can see that Frank had two feet on May 7.

The trauma also seems to have taken its toll on the color around his head. It was once vibrant and green. Now it's still green when the sun hits it just right, but not with the vibrancy it had last month.

This is Jemmy -- at our "pool."
I bought one of those small kiddie pools a few weeks ago and it has been a constant source of amusement ever since. The birds, the ducks, the squirrels, the bunnies -- EVERYBODY uses it! It's kind of a pain to keep clean, but I don't mind.

And while Jemmy still shows up a few times a day, at least for this week, Frank has been a no-show. I hope he's OK. We really like him!

A Birthday Give-away: Win a B&D 24V Trimmer!

It’s Ozzie’s birthday (he’s 13!) – but the gift just could be for you.

In a first of its kind contest at This D*mn House, a Black & Decker 24 Volt Cordless String Trimmer/ Edger with PowerCommand™ is up for grabs. Ozzie and I are both very excited about giving something away! And thanks to our friends at Black & Decker for making it possible.

You just read my review (and if you haven’t, go do it now) so you know what you might be getting! Believe me, you want this. Take it from someone who HATES yard work!

There are THREE ways to get your name in the hat. Please note, while you can do all three, you can do each ONLY ONCE (for a maximum total of 21 entries). Here’s how to enter:
· Leave a comment on this post – 1 entry (post-related, please)
· Tweet this post’s link – 5 entries
· Write a blog post – 15 entries (your post must contain a link to the contest post)

For the latter two, please let me know you’ve done it! (You could even make THAT your comment on this post and earn another entry.)

What you get: the trimmer/edger, charger and 24V battery with a retail value of $139.

Contest ends at 12:01 a.m. CDT Sunday, June 27. What are you waiting for? Good luck!

A Tale of Two Yards

You can’t tell it now, but the front yard was a horribly overgrown mess this time yesterday. (In fact, I think that might even be understating it.)

I made a few stops on the way home, went to the doctor with the mother (more on this later), and was still outside to the yard by 2:45. THREE mowings, four bags of clippings, and four hours later …

Oh, and it DID reach 90 (and felt every degree of it). Thankfully, the A/C is on and the house is SO comfortable. It really was the first thing I did when I got home yesterday!

You can’t really appreciate the yard unless you know how bad it looked to start with. (And I wasn’t smart enough to snap a before picture.) Ours was the only house in about a three-block radius that wasn’t neatly mowed. Since we get a lot of foot traffic, people were actually gawking and pointing, too. Embarrassing. Well, I guess they’re taking note of the difference today.

But, of course, there’s still the back yard. And Oh. My. God. I so do not want to deal with it. Here’s why. These pictures don't really do justice to just how overgrown it is. It's insane. But, it's my destiny, for today at least.

Assuming I survive that, I may start cutting boards for the shed. It should be a fun day ...

This D*mn Lawn

The moon was back again this morning. This time, it was full and bright in the morning sky, thumbing its nose at the rising sun. No ominous black cloud, just pure beauty. In fact, I could still see the moon for the first part of my commute, even as I began to glimpse the sun breaking through the morning sky.

Before the rain rolled in and began clouding up the sky, yesterday was also a beautiful day. Sunny and 71 degrees! Today is to be a repeat performance – minus the rain – with a high of 73. I will have to go out for a walk today as this is the last of it for a while. It’s day like this that help sustain me when it’s 30, 15, or 2 degrees.

Standing across the street, I got a good look at my lawn this morning. Or, I should say, the dead brown straw that appears to be passing for my lawn right now. Man, it looks awful. I’m glad that I don’t have to worry about mowing it yet, as we all know how much I love yard work. But still, it looks like some seriously bad carpet.

I need to get some weed and feed. However, the last time I used that stuff, it seemed like we had more dandelions than ever before. It was like it fed the weeds instead of the grass! I probably should do something to it though. I probably should already have done something to it, but you know I was a little busy last fall.

What do you do to treat your lawn? And when?

Schizophrenic Weather

Some days it just isn't worth the fight. Today was one of those days.

It was clouded up already when I got up. The forecast didn't give me any better news. The Doppler showed cluster after cluster of showers headed our way. The good news: the plastic-covered mortar was safe.

While I made no progress on the porch yesterday, I did get lots of things done. I got the yard mowed -- front and back, thank you very much -- and was really impressed at its performance without a bagger. (I purposely left it off when I did the back, planning to go back over and bag since I hadn't cut back there in two weeks!)

But once I'd cut, the mower had pretty well mulched it! Just a few little spots where the cut grass was strewn about. Impressive.

I went to two hardware stores (one where I purchased the mortar) bought 100 more bricks, hit Wal-Mart, grocery stores ... lots of running around. After coming home, unloading, putting everything away, and then mowing, I was beat. But I did laundry.

So, I'd hoped that today could be devoted to the porch. I really wanted the larger portion done, except for digging around the outside edge. But Mother Nature was not in a cooperative mood. The house was dead center of black clouds and blue sky. Dead center. Weather could go either way. Guess which way it went?

I decided I'd start out by cutting some bricks for the outer edge. I didn't get the first brick cut when Rain Round 1 began. I unplugged the RotoZip and put the cord under the carport. Twenty minutes later, the sun was out.

This set the stage for the afternoon. Schizophrenic weather: It's raining. Now it's not. Yes it is. Now the sun's out. Now it's pouring. Wait, here comes the sun.

After hours of this, I really thought it was done. I spent the next hour setting down a row and a half of bricks and loading up a new supply to within reach. Suddenly, the wind gusted, the sky darkened, and it poured. POURED.

Screw it. I quit. I put things away or under the carport and went in, completely and totally disgusted. I decided to hit the showers. It was great to get all the dust off of me. The sun was blazing through the windows as I got dressed. The sun has been back out for the last two and a half hours now.

Mother Nature, you're a real beeotch.

Wackos, Weather, & Wasted Effort

It was a goofy afternoon to say the least.

With the mercury hovering at 94, I got the yard mowed. I was having some issues with the hose (still don't know why the water pressure is so weak) when I saw someone pull up at the neighbors' house. They were still gone on their long weekend jaunt but I was minding my own business and didn't say anything.

I look up to see a man with a clipboard staring at me. He says he's friends with the neighbors and that he was getting signatures in his bid for the presidency. "That's nice," says I. "Good luck." I told him that I'd sign his petition but I thought I'd be wasting my time. At this point, I was boiling hot, exhausted, soaking wet, aching, and hungry. I was not to be trifled with. But I was polite.

Then, this clown starts telling me his life's story ... and hitting on me. Yeah. I was filthy, with my hair pasted to my head with a combination of sweat and dirt. The dog has never smelled this bad (except for maybe the time many moons ago when he rolled in poop.) He came close to guessing my age, and said he was 63. I didn't have the heart to tell him that he was just a few years younger than my parents. But then he gave me an out. And I was getting very cranky.

"That tree needs to come down," he observed. I wanted to tell him he had a gift for the obvious but instead said, "Try convincing my mother of that." (The battered pine has never been right since the hellatious storm of nearly two years ago. She has been close to giving in on it, but always backs out at the last minute.)

"Your mother lives here, too?" Oh yes, I tell him. And she's sixty-five. Luckily, he got less chatty after that and finally left. Later, my neighbors returned from their trip and when they came to get their mail I related the tale of the presidency petition. My neighbor looked at me dubiously. "You're kidding, right?" I assured him I was not. "He's crazy, you know."

Yeah. Tell me about it.

I decided to get cleaned up before taking the clippings to the dump. (A leisurely shower courtesy of the new water heater.) I loaded four bags up and drove off. When I got there, I found the fence closed up. It was 5:30 p.m. and the sign said the hours were noon to 6. I've wasted time, effort, and gas in 90-degree heat. Now I have to take them home and unload them. Nice.

I stop to pick up my allergy drugs at Walgreens on the way back. The pharmacy tech pushes a single script across the counter. There should be two. "We have to call the doctor on this one. It's no longer available so he'll have to prescribe something else."

Great. After a variety of experiments, I finally get a winning combo -- and they have to change it. Lucky me.

Ridin' the Storm Out

OK - Can we be DONE with rain for a while? Just for a while? I know by July when my grass is burned up I'll be beggin' for rain, but right now, I'm sick of it. Sick to death of it. Don't care if I ever see it again.

Most excellent friend Chele was having a graduation party for stepson Cody (YAY Cody!)on a day "sporadic showers, no torrential downpours." Uh-huh.

It was sprinkling as I arrived. That shifted to a light rain and then ... winds that blew off tablecloths and nearly toppled the canopies they had set up. A strong, drenching rain. So much for no torrential downpours. It continued to rain on and off during the evening and I had quite the light show on my drive home. And the closer I got to the river, the more spectacular it became. Had I been in a position to get somewhere to take pictures, I'd have loved to try and capture shots of the lightning I was watching. It was amazing.

We really needed this rain -- NOT! The ground was already saturated earlier today, so I can just imagine how it will be tomorrow. I want to work on the shrubs but they are completely soaked. Thinking that it just isn't going to happen. Maybe I'll try to set some stuff up outside and do some painting instead. It's not supposed to rain tomorrow.

Uh-huh.

Yards Are Nice ... Sometimes

I b*tch pretty mightily about yard work. And why not? I hate it. My grandfather always said that yards were useless. They would have a purpose only if they were "blacktopped and parked on."

The older I get, the more that old man's point makes sense and sounds good to me. But ... then are times like this evening.

Toby the Cat, desperate for friendship of creatures of any kind, was thrilled to at least for a brief moment have not one, but TWO bunnies in his front yard. He likes to sit in the front door or in the kitchen window and chatter at whomever or in some cases whatever (once, a plastic bag that happened to blow into the yard) will sit in his visual range.

I had just enough time to fire off a single shot before both bunnies darted over to the neighbors. Clearly, they came for the clover. The blacktop? That probably wouldn't attract too many.

This is what I got, shooting right through the full-view storm door.