Spring 2006 driveway gate etc
From Electron Cloud
The old driveway gate and the corner post to which it was attached has been falling apart for quite a while. I already replaced the other gate with a welded steel one (which you can see a little on the left); a neighbor threw out a section of iron fencing a few years ago, and last year I just cut it in half and stacked up the pieces. Now I suppose I have to try to make the wider gate to match. I like the hinges though; they swing both ways. I welded them up from pieces of angle iron, and they attach to the block pillar via embedded anchor bolts, which I welded to the rebar that is inside. So I put the anchor bolts into this new pillar on the opposite side as well. It's a little tricky to weld down in the cavity inside a block after you have laid it, but the result is very sturdy. It took two weekends to build the pillar. There are about 4 bags of concrete just in the footing for it, then one row of block which is below soil level, and 9 rows high above the soil level, and the whole thing is filled with rebar and concrete, so I hope it will be sturdy enough to support such a wide gate. If it doesn't feel right, I can have the new gate ride on a wheel, like the old one did. I'm also thinking I might be able to support a carport awning on this post some day if I get around to that project. For now, at least the fence and old gate isn't swinging in the wind, so I can put off building the new gate for a while longer.
I also got the overgrown grass and dead rose branches cleaned out. I last did that several years ago, but it sure is a pain to maintain. Nothing is a worse combination than tall grass and chain-link fence. Besides there is some kind of ground cover plant which grows faster than the grass at first, and then later succumbs and gets overwhelmed by grass; and the stems just get tangled up in the weedeater. But I bought a rototiller since the last time I tried this chore, so that made it somewhat easier; and I removed some of the dirt so that when I wash the driveway, the water has a place to go. The house next door is for sale now, and I haven't managed to convince the current owner to put in a block fence, even offering to pay for half of it, and even though they were doing a whole-house renovation before putting it on the market. Hopefully I can make a deal with the new neighbors when we get some, or if not, at least put in a concrete curb at the bottom of the fence, to try to keep the grass contained. Maybe the chain-link fence is better for the roses because they get sun for more of the day.
I had a business trip a couple weeks ago, and when I got back, Tasha naturally had to try out the suitcase; she always likes to sit on or in anything that is new to her.
A few weeks ago I repainted part of the garage; I wanted to get it done before the cats-claw (climbing vine) started to grow back. It grows very fast this time of year. There was an old stump which I finally managed to remove, and an old fence post. I fastened the pool backwash pipe to the wall, and painted it too so that the sun won't destroy it too fast, and put down a couple square feet of paving stones where the water hits the ground. When the grass gets thick around them, maybe they will stay put.
The roses bloom a lot, but only for a while. I spread manure on this part of the lawn this year; that's why it's so green. It gets watered when I backwash the pool filter.
