I don't owe you an explanation but...........

A little hiatus , friends and neighbors. I took a little time off from all the yard activity because of
1) the rain
 2 ) because
3) I haven't really gotten that much done that I could photograph or that I felt was worthy of documentation
4) hey , I'm retired - I don't HAVE to do anything ( Twila said this to me , but I don't think she means it )

Well , of course ,there have been SOME things happening and since it's too dark for pictures right now and I feel like writing this  , I can just blithely prattle on now and then try to produce something of substance tomorrow.
Some of what I've been doing, is trying to clean up around the front and back yards and garage and try to consolidate and catalog all of the various materials I currently have on hand for all of the various projects underway and planned. In anticipation of an upcoming and greatly anticipated visit by my son Jim , his lovely wife Jenna and their little dog Popper ( a rescue Basenji ) who we will be babysitting while they travel on to New Orleans for a few days I have been doing some "patch " work.

When we got the new fences installed , they did a great job of making them level and even. Unfortunately , the ground beneath them is anything but , leaving some impressive gaps that that very inquisitive little dog could all too easily exploit to investigate the neighbors yards which she would most certainly do if allowed to indulge her curiosity.
I had some years ago, after being kicked to the curb by the demise of TELXON ,spent a summer of what I thought was to be my retirement putting in a concrete deterrent to keep our dog SPIKE from digging under the fences to visit the neighbor dogs. I dug out a trench about 1 to 2 inches deep and between 1 1/2 and 2 feet wide just inside the fences ( a LOT of digging ) and then mixed quikrete in a wheelbarrow and poured that into the trench. It made a nice walkway for Spike to "patrol " the perimeter of the yard and kept him from being a nuisance to the neighbors.
Anyway , the new fencing left a gap in some places between it and the ground  , and also between the fence and the walkway. In the wider gaps I was able to install a quantity of brick I had accumulated and for other portions I used plastic edging which had surrounded the garden plot where I hope to someday build a shed using pallets we are currently collecting.

I can't help but think of Clint Eastwood as I talk about this. From several of his movies :
Improvise , adapt ,overcome
Endeavor to persevere
Maximum utilization of available resources
And when it comes to doing the concrete work again - A man has GOT to know his limitations

I know it doesn't sound like much or look like much but it really was quite a bit of work , especially since I had to keep stopping to fix the wheelbarrow. Due to constant flexing ,several bolt heads holding the barrow to the frame had broken through the bottom of the barrow. My solution was to save the tops and bottoms from a can of mushrooms and use them as oversized washers. I also had to remove the tire which had gone flat , allowing the valve stem to retreat into the core of the wheel so that it wasn't accessible for reinflation. The wheel and axle assembly had to be completely removed and the tire taken off the rim and then reseated with the stem available for reinflation. Pumped it back up , reinstalled it ,  and it seems I'm now good to go.
Twila suggested that we could just get a NEW wheelbarrow but I think she appreciates all the effort I put into refurbishing this old workhorse. It has really come in handy over the years and I have a certain sense of pride for being able to fix it. Making that old , rusted , concrete coated hardware eventually bend to my will and determination was a victory of sorts. A small one to be sure. But a victory.

And I think I finally have MOST of a plan for putting a small wall around my big oak in front and what I plan to put into the other side of what was the other flowerbed in front of the house. And of course , the new concrete walkway from the sidewalk to the new gate on the side of the house .

I'm not sure how long things are going to continue to be on hold. Twila will be leaving me ( again ) for about a week to be with her mom and brother in Pennsylvania and we have ( finally ) contracted with Mr. Gary Harmon to tear out our 20 some year old rug(s) and install new flooring in the living room ,hall , and two bedrooms. Mr. Harmon has previously remodeled the kitchen after we had water damage ,installed tile flooring in the entryway ,dining room , and kitchen , remodeled the master bath and replaced the floors in both bathrooms. House by Harmon.