Sunday 28 April 2024

After the frost...

It was cold in the morning, but warmed up to 17 ℃ by the afternoon. I was watching carefully!

 Taking advantage of the sunshine, I had a new idea for cleaning up the fountain. This is how it looked before and after during. Usually, the algae dries up over winter and falls off. I've been scrubbing like stink. 



I tried a shower brush, (ineffective), then wire brushes (my dad's, better), and ran out of elbow grease. 

My t-shirt was covered in little green bits.  The videocamera wouldn't fit in my pocket and I figured out why. In another "don't tell the kids" moment, I realized I had my sundress on inside out.

The idea of the handy attachment for the drill popped into my head. I think the drill bits were my dads. There are three of them. I was bad to not clean the fountain before covering it up for winter, but you do the crime...  I bitterly regret not having a backup battery. I used to, but it pooched out on me. I worked until 4 and gave it up for the day. A shower was quite welcome.

I wanted to get an image, a reminder for the fall when I put it away again.

drill from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I went out to work during my second wind, and frightened Fred. He was poking around the wood tarp and scared me! He had an old burrow there, here is #1b, under the wood pile. I filled that one in.

I think they have a burrow in the middle of this garden beside the flag pole.


Can you see in the hole? There is a paver they have dug under, and I hope my hydrangea lasts. Now that we have two, I'll bet there will be more.


The little twerper has created burrow #5 in the garden! It's great and rather hidden. Burrow #3 has dried, it was filled with water, spring melt. 



Back out front, I found the first lily bug of the season. Oops, time to find the Neem Oil.


I thought I'd take a photo of my tulips. You never know who will take a liking to them! Both deer and cottontails like them. 

I tried a snazzy photo of the Lenten Rose, but it wasn't focused properly. It could have been great!

Barbara asked about 'Labbit' but it is just a name  Well, we still use pet names for critters. Back when we'd see a bunny, one of the grandies would call it Labbit. That term stuck. So cottontail or hare, they are all Labbits, but, as I've been told, not all bunnies are rabbits! Now we've two, I am sure we will have more fun.

@tz_garden asked about the deer fence. I ordered netting last year, and JB picked me up some stakes. It worked really well. This is what we can look forward to later in the summer. 


15 comments:

Anvilcloud said...

You are quite a worker. Enjoy this Sunday. I think it is supposed to rain a lot.

Barbara Rogers said...

Ah, you may have a family of Freds this year. At some point last year you determined Fred Sr. was male! Labbit does sound just right for all long eared jumping bunnies! Good to get the drill to clean the algae. I hope some sunshine also dries it away.

tz_garden said...

Oh wow, from your last picture I see why the netting is worth the task! Gorgeous. The fountain, what a messy job. and hahaha at your inside out, we've all done that.

Elephant's Child said...

Those errors come back to bite us don't they? I am sure you won't leave the fountain unscrubbed next year.
Our temperatures are much the same at the moment. Your mornings are a little cooler than ours, but our top temperatures are much the same.

Christine said...

Frost..oops.

Cloudia said...

I enjoyed my Sunday visit. Thank you. Have a beautiful week. Aloha, Jenn

Tom said...

...battery tools are fabulous, you need several batteries.

Thomas said...

If you have a pressure washer, try it on the fountain. It cleans mine up in a jiffy.

Red said...

Fred gives you lots to discover. I wonder why they have so many burrows?

Kay said...

I really admire your energy. Cleaning that fountain IS a ton of work.

Hena Tayeb said...

That sounds like so much work.. I would have given up. Good for you!

River said...

The garden is looking lovely, I hope the netting continues to work well. Is lenten rose also called hellebore?

David M. Gascoigne, said...

So much work in the spring! Condos are looking better by the minute!

DeniseinVA said...

You always impress me with what you do around your home. I love my visits and you do inspire me. Happy week to you :)

DeniseinVA said...

I can't remember if I already left a message (one of those days) but just in case I didn't, love your post as always :)