Which Is It

Which is it? Genius? Or redneck?

I guess you're wondering what that's all about, don't you? I got it into my head last year that I could save my dryer lint and put it out for the birds to make nests. After thinking about it for a while I figured I could use Don's wire collapsible fishing basket to put the lint into, but it took me a while to figure out how to hang it outside for the birds. I wanted to keep it dry.

*cue the inspirational music*

I used a shepard's hook that you can hang flowers on and got Colt's big old umbrella to put over it. I wedged the umbrella handle down in the middle of the lint and hung the basket on the pole. Scout wired the umbrella to the hook with a coat hanger. Wa-laa! It worked. It even survived the storm that went through our area the first night so I hope this will keep my lint from getting rained on.

Well, which is it? Redneck, or genius? I think it's brilliant but I'm prejudice.

I used to feed the birds in the backyard near the mulch pile but had to quit. It was like a fast food restaurant for my cats. I bought a couple of big feeders and hung them in the front yard under my magnolia trees. I can see it from the kitchen window. The feeders hold five pounds of food so I don't have to refill them all the time. I just have to take my bucket of seed and step ladder to reach them. They're higher than my head. I have them hanging from the limbs of the magnolia with coat hangers. 

I have a cute little hummingbird feeder that I like to hang on a shepherd's hook outside the kitchen window. It's time to dig it out and hang it back outside for the summer. It's fun watching them jockey for a spot on the feeder. 

One year our garden was damaged by a storm and knocked the corn over. The pole beans took over the garden. Weeds sprung up everywhere. Hundreds of little yellow goldfinches came down and feasted on the garden. I never saw so many yellow birds in my life. It was beautiful. Ever since then I've tried to keep a feeder with thistle in it for the goldfinches. 

You may think I'm weird for saving my lint and putting it out for the birds, but I think I'm paying if forward for nature. It's all in the eye of the beholder. I think the birds are beautiful to behold. Don't you?

AS ALWAYS

PIO

Redneck Engineering

I told you that we had so much water running under the house that we had to put a sump pump under the house when it rained hard didn't I? Our old sump pump quit working so Don bought a new one. It wouldn't fit under the house where the old one was so Don put it under the house through the hole in the hallway. It's not attractive, and we can't shut the doors because the hose has to run outside to drain the water, but it's better than nothing. Don cut the hole in the hall floor a while back so he wouldn't have to crawl all the way under the house. The crawlspace is very small and claustrophobic. We've done lots of things around here that aren't particularly kosher. This is just one small example of our handy work.

                                     

The hose had to run from the hallway, through the living room, and out the front door.

Notice the black hose is attached to another white hose to make it long enough for the water to drain into the front yard.

All covered up and back to "normal", whatever that is, around here. Watch the soft spot!

I know this looks really, really redneck but you gotta do what you gotta do to get by and this is the only way to get the house dried back out. Don's going to dig a hole and put a bucket under the house for the sump pump to sit in. Hopefully we will be able to figure out how to get the pipe to run under the house and maybe next time we won't have to leave the front door open when it rains and floods. Now you know why I hate it when it rains.

We've already decided to build up the flower beds in front of the house to keep the water from running under the house. We have to put up new guttering, too. If that doesn't work, I don't know what we're going to do.

We took the old guttering down when the guys put our metal roof on the house a few years ago. Whereas most people feel inconvenienced by the rain, we live in dread. We have always had to deal with flooding when it rains too hard, but when the roof started leaking it ramped up the fear. We put buckets under the drips, hoping it would quit raining until we got the new roof on. You don't know how thankful you can feel when it rains and you have a new roof. It will make you smile. I didn't mind the rain after that until recently.

Ever since we got the gravel in our driveway last year, when it rains, the water funnels towards the house. It has become a mess. The situation became obvious when we could see a brown muddy residue after the rains running down the side of the graveled driveway. It's also running over the grease trap in the front yard. That clogs up the kitchen sink. Oy! What a mess.

We get all our neighbors runoff when it rains. This has been a running battle ever since we bought the house. We bought it during a drought and it was high and dry. Right after that the rain gods, or the fickle finger of fate, or whatever you want to call it, decided to switch tactics and the drought broke. It would rain so long and flood so badly, it felt like we were living on a boat. Water surrounded the house.

After we moved here Don's stepfather, Charlie McAllister, helped us level the yard and make the runoff turn away from the house. Charlie used to be a bulldozer operator and he knew what he was doing. The problem is, our property is a couple of feet lower than the property next to us. Every time it rains water runs down the ditch between our property and we take on water. I'll be glad when we finally figure out a solution.

I just wish we could afford to move somewhere high and dry. I'm tired of living in a dry riverbed. 

AS ALWAYS

PIO