Black Dog has moved! The website hasn’t been getting much love since I bought my house – things have been pretty busy. But, the website needs attention, so instead of sending email updates about the house, I’ll post updates here. That also means you can click on any picture to make it bigger. 🙂
This weekend I tackled the lower part of the yard. With all the recent rain, the weeds really needed attention. There was some blood & lots of sweat, and even a couple of broken weed-eaters, but in the end the place looks much better. Also took out a couple of trees and broke in a new (4 stroke!?) weed eater!
Saturday morning I picked up some hand-me-down tractor implements from my brother. Tim gave me a rotary lawn mower, a rototiller, and a big chain harrow… which is great because with all the recent rain, the weeds have gotten taller than George!
Dad came over to help me get the mower installed correctly on the back of the tractor. After a couples of beers and fussing with bolts and pins for a while, we got it mounted.
It was my first time using a mower like this, and there was a bit of a learning curve. It took me 3 or 4 full hours to mow the big lawn. With practice, Tim says I can probably cut that time in half.
This part of the yard is still mostly weeds… but at least now they are short! Eventually, this will all be grass. There will be a gravel driveway to the Eucalyptus trees at the back of the property, where my workshop will go.
After a few hours, the majority of the yard was mowed. But I still had to trim the edges, so I turned to the very first yard power tool I ever bought – My trusty echo weed eater. I hadn’t used it in a while and it was looking a little worse for wear, but it always worked before, so it should work now right..?
NOPE! It started and ran for a few minutes, but bogged down and died if I gave it any gas. I fiddled with it for a half-hour, but I was losing daylight and needed to move on. Well, that’s ok – the previous homeowner actually left a weed eater behind. Put some gas in it, some fresh line, should work right?
NOPE! It ran just fine, but it was built like a child’s toy. It lasted about ten minutes before the spinning bit at the end literally broke in half.
I’ll get the echo serviced, and keep it as a backup – but I broke down and went to Joe’s to buy a new one. I probably needed a bigger one anyway, with the yard this place has. The new one has a “mixed gas 4-stroke” motor, meaning it still takes mixed gas but CA feels better about its emissions. I don’t know if that actually makes it run cleaner- but it definitely makes it sound meaner. Click the link on the right to hear it in action.
Ignore the dirt drag marks in the grass. The mower has one wheel that doesn’t roll well. I’ll have to fix it before I can mow again.
Well, that was most of the weekend. It was nice to have a couple of days of sunshine, though all the rain has made the plants very happy. The wild irises mom planted have started to bloom, the Camellia bush covered in bight red flowers, and this little purple hedge burst open with little purple flowers I haven’t seen before. I’ll be researching that one to add a few more, for sure.
Happy Monday! -Danny
who is the handsome older gentleman?
Ha – I don’t know, but he’s got good genes!