Cop Car's Beat

Updating Front Landscaping - Completed

It's been a busy week, so I am a bit late getting the final installment of this series posted - not that my blog doesn't take precedence over everything else on our schedule.

Mid-Morning on May 8, 2023

The guys are finishing up preparation for adding dirt to level out the area followed by sodding.

End of Workday on May 8, 2023

The photo was taken this morning, my having forgotten to close out the series. All* work was done by the end of the workday, Monday. I received an email with the invoice for the work on Tuesday, and the check was in the mail in time to be picked up from the Derby USPS station with the final pickup of the day at 5pm.

BTW: We received 2.15" of rain after Midnight this morning.

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• All done with what can be seen. What cannot be seen is that the hookup to the irrigation system does not work. As JoJac's irrigation system specialist had left the company, I told them to leave the system as it is and I will get Edward, of TenderCare, to troubleshoot the installation. It seems to be a wiring problem since, manually, Ryan was able to get a geyser of water from the valve onto which they attached the new tubing. The wiring runs through a pipe around the foundation of the house to the diametrically opposite corner of the house. It was installed by TenderCare in 2000. This year's replacement of the controller (inside the garage) was the second replacement. Splicing of the wiring leaves a mess of spaghetti (below photo).

Updating Front Landscaping - Progress 2

Mid-Morning on Cinco de Mayo

Having corrected the slope of the foundation planting areas to re-establish drainage away from the foundation, there was a patch of grassy lawn that needed to also be re-graded. The crew stripped away the sod of the bare area in the left photo (below). They would then bring in a load of dirt to level out the area and prepare to roll out new sod in the area. One catch: The tree crew, in removing the gingko tree last November had failed to remove the main root. Why, I don't know. They did a good job of grinding down/removing stumps/roots from the other 25 trees that they had removed over the years. This one, they had covered with a mound of dirt, protecting my ignorance. I was thankful that the landscaping crew is from the same company.

The guys worked on the huge root ball and, noticing that they were using a small hatchet, I took our axe out to them - fortunately, it's having been sharpened recently. The tools were not up to the task. Eventually, they brought in a Bobcat and experimented with "pallet fork" for a while before settling on using the "loader bucket" to make about 300 passes with it, blading the root ball off, bit-by-bit.

In the first two photos, the weed barrier (landscaping cloth) has been installed in the foundation planting areas and irrigation hose laid out. There is an individual drip line to each bush - extending to the driveway that is to the right of the house.

The next photo shows a little machine that they had used to strip off the layer of sod - standing beside the gingko root crater before they brought in the Bobcat. [That's my axe at the right edge of the photo.]

Mid-Day on Cinco de Mayo

By mid-day, they were at work on the gingko root with the Bobcat and "loader bucket".

 

Nearly Quitting Time on Cinco de Mayo

By the time the gingko root ball had been reduced sufficiently to allow continuation of the lawn work, it was too late to pick up and install the new dirt and new sod. That will wait until Monday, when they return. As shown in the photos, below, the crew used the Bobcat and "loading bucket" to lay rock over the weed barrier and irrigation hose/drip lines. The photos show the rocks laid on the right foundation planting area. The left foundation planting area was also rocked before the crew left.

Below are photos of the equipment parked at our curbing.

Updating Front Landscaping - Progress

At the end of the workday on May 3:

Mid-Day on Star Wars Day:

At the end of the workday on Star Wars Day:

 

Insects are returning/coming out of hiding.

Updating Front Landscaping

Before I forget, I'll start documenting the work that is being done in the front of our home. JoJac's was delayed in completing a job in Wichita, by last week's rain. They were finally able to start on the improvement to our front foundation planting areas - well, improvement to two-thirds of the front foundation planting areas.

Per Bogie's request that I document the "before" and "after" state of the front foundation planting areas (a good idea as she knows that I routinely fail to document the starting state), The first two photos document the areas being changed - before the work was started.

The next photo is the JoJac crew, just getting started - Brady and Junior. JoJac's Landscape Manager, Ryan, is still up in Wichita at the time the photo was taken.

Remotely related, the next photo shows three clumps of daisies that I transplanted from the above area last Friday.

Hungry mouths on the front porch

Hunky Husband likes to keep track of what's going on in the miniature swing that hangs on our front porch - purposed for providing a good nesting site for birds, keeping them from trying to nest atop our wind chimes. This week is cool and cloudy in our area, so I didn't even glance at the swing as I went out to get the newspaper this morning. HH looked. He saw that baby birds were being fed out there! The whole family (kids from last year) of house finches joins in the task of raising youngsters. After this clutch fledges, they will help the next clutch. Papa gets in on the duty, too. There isn't enough light for me to be able to see much, but I did discern at least two hungry mouths up there.

It is a good thing that Fahnestock came!

Each Spring and each Fall, a technician from Fahnestock comes to our house to service our HVAC system - mostly replacing the air filter in the plenum and cleaning out the dirt and debris from the vanes on the outside air conditioner enclosure. Today was the day for Spring 2023. Ron came to do his thing. As I wished to discuss the outside air conditioner installation with him, I went outside with him. Gloriosky! Bogie's lily-of-the-valley (LOV) plants and our midget root beer iris that are on that side of the house are abloom!

The first photo shows the plantings just to the northeast of the air conditioner unit including the LOV plants and three hostas. The succeeding two photos were taken closer to the LOV plants to better show the lovely blossoms.

I have always loved LOV, choosing them as Hunky Husband's and my boutonniere and corsage flowers for our first wedding (1958). At our last house, I had planted LOV on the bank of our creek (1969) and they had taken over, providing stability to the creek bank and blossoms for our enjoyment. At this house, I have spent far too much money on LOV starts that did not start. Bogie took pity on me and sent me some full plants last Fall. I blogged about them at Yay: Lily-of-the-Valley starts last September.

In addition, the next photo shows our midget root beer irises in bloom. Annually, they are our first-blooming irises. 

In defense of my not having noticed the blooming plants on that side of the house: although for the past few days I've been thinking that I needed to take a bucket of water to the LOVs, I had not done so. The only reason I've been on that side of our house is to pack the sprinkler system anti-backflow valve installation (at the far corner of the house from the A/C unit) to prevent it's freezing in the several hours of 30-degree (F) or lower temperatures that we endured the second night after we had the sprinkler system activated for the season.

Hunky Husband keeps me updated on all things B-52

An article by Tony R Landis from a couple of years ago, New Power for an Old Soldier—Re-engining the B-52 Stratofortress, starts with the following paragraph:

"There is an old joke that runs through the bomber fleet that when the B-1 and B-2 bombers are retired, the pilots will be flown home from the boneyard in the B-52 Stratofortress. With the recent proposals to re-engine the Boeing B-52 fleet, that may have some truth to it. This legendary aircraft has outlived nearly all of the aircraft designed to replace it. This brief history will take a look back at many of the efforts proposed to keep the B -52 fleet upgraded with new engines since its inception."

The article goes on to delineate the history of proposed power plant upgrades over the years since 1956.

The above photo of the B-52 is included in a posting by Sasha Brodsky on the Popular Mechanics website, The B-52 Is Getting a Big, Ugly, Fat, F***ing Upgrade: The re-engined bomber is about to be deadlier than ever. Brodsky's posting starts with the following paragraphs:

The B-52 is the aircraft that keeps on going, and new upgrades will keep it in service for at least a few more decades.

The U.S. Air Force’s B-52Hs will soon be designated B-52Js when they receive Rolls Royce engines and other equipment. The bomber, informally known as the “BUFF” (Big Ugly Fat F****r), is also getting updated weapons, radar, and communications gear.

Now you know - the B-52J is one step closer to realization. (There will be no B-52I because of possible confusion between the digit upper-case I and the digit one (1).

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My own postings on the B-52 include the following:

B-52s make noise - 8/28/2022

Data mining find of 5/10/1967 - 5/6/2021

TRESTLE - 5/5/2018

"Looks aren't everything." - 1/20/2018

A really old War Horse, the B-52 - 12/2/2017

Sumac, still

Last June, I posted Paying for my sins gives me exercise concerning my efforts to eradicate the sumac that was trying to take over the world. I had been foolish enough to buy and plant, against warnings by my nurseryman, four or five plants in areas in which I thought it would be easy to exert control. Oh, foolish me. I had opined, "It will take a couple of years (at least) for me to totally eradicate the plants/roots since I don't believe in using poisons...." Now, not quite a year later, I have found that the main root of the plant in front of the house - that I had not completely dug out - is sprouting out in two places. I started work on it, this morning. After 20 minutes' work, I had to come in to rest my back. It may take me a few days.

Why, yes, since you ask, I'll admit that the sumac is growing in one of the areas that JoJac's is to re-landscape in a week or so. Why not leave it to them? I've found, to my sorrow, that I don't completely trust their landscaping people to do as good a job in getting the sumac out as needs to be done. After all: If I, myself, did not do a great job, last year, what makes me think that they won't be tempted to do a "good enough" job, covering it up with the rocks that will be in that area? I caused the problem and I plan to address it, myself!

TenderCare is to turn on the sprinklers, this afternoon. Then, perhaps we'll have some result from the seeding that was done in March - if the seeds are still around. This is how the front yard looks.

ADDITION of 4/22/2023 - What the main root looked like when I completed digging it out.

Deepening Spring

Spring is, again, an off-and-on thing. Today we were in the 80s (F), but tomorrow we're to be in the 40s. Of course, the days when the wind and temperature are great for doing yard work, I've had other things scheduled. Oh, well, I'm still enjoying all of the blossoms.

First photo, below, was taken of our newest Oklahoma redbud tree. It is now in full bloom and the showiness of the blossoms keep me from noticing the limbs on which nothing has budded out. Even with the reduction in limbs, the tree is lovely.

In front of the house, adjacent to the leather-leafed viburnum, is a tree that sprouted up uninvited several years ago. Each year I've trimmed it back to the height of the chokeberry bushes that were to the other side of the viburnum - which have now died, to be replaced by JoJac's in a couple of weeks. I took photos because the volunteer tree/bush has such lovely blossoms. For some reason, I've been thinking over these years that the tree is a Damson plum. (I had a Damson beyond the driveway for a few years, so not impossible). If you can identify it better (Bogie?), I'll be happy to know what you think. (I don't remember what the Damson blossoms looked like.)

We had just a smattering of rain this evening, the clouds of which allowed us to open the living room blinds. A small flock of cedar waxwings were enjoying eating buds off of Adam's trees and a couple of male American goldfinches played tag with our Eastern bluebirds.

More spring

Trees

Today, I finally got around to photographing the crabapple tree that I had thought was in bloom. As it turns out, if I saw blossoms on that tree this season, they have completely disappeared. What I do see are fresh, tiny leaves - a pretty red color that may have appeared pink with sunlight filtering through them. There was no sun when I took the photos, below.

 

 

 

 

While our largest, most expensive redbud tree looked dead last week, it has blossomed out on nearly half of the tree - not abundantly, but enough to see that the tree is not totally dead. The limbs that are closest to the camera in the next photo are dead. The limbs on the side of the tree away from the camera have, as can be seen in the photo, blossomed out.

The next two photos show some of the smaller, but free (as in they came up voluntarily) redbuds. 

Phlox

The phlox colonies (descended from Bogie's starts) are looking even better, this week.

Violets in the spring

As usual, the wild violets have sprung up in the area that was previously at the edge of our woods. They are beautiful.