Oh, yeah, Spring has sprung here in Nebraska. The sun’s warm rays are inviting us to be outside. The flowers are blooming. The birds are tweeting their Spring time songs. The grass is green and wants to be mowed. Ah, life is good. Don’t you think? It’s a wonderful time to be alive. Yeah, I’m feeling just a little pumped up today even though I can’t get outside due to the misty nonproductive rain. I wish it would just rain already. This one and two tenths of an inch is keeping me from gardening. I tried to get some things planted yesterday and only half the carrots and four Swiss Chard seeds were nestled in the soil before the rains came. So the alternative is to make ice cream.
No seven year old worth his salt would be caught without a nerf rifle within arm’s reach would they? Here we are mixing up the recipe for Lori Dunn’s grandma’s ice cream. After a taste or two, I convinced Bradley it wasn’t for us to drink but had to be frozen in the ice cream freezer. It was pure torture for him to have to wait the 45 minutes for the ice cream to freeze. Finally the ice cream was frozen and the moment of truth came.
After a spoonful and then another and then another, I asked how it tasted. He responded, “Oh, yeah, it’s great Grandpa.” So, Lori, I guess it passed the critic’s test and if a seven year old can make it, then anyone can. We each had a big bowl and packed the rest away for another time. Oh, yeah!! (My comment).
The Daffs are really strutting their stuff this year. Over to the right just out of the picture the Tulips are budding up to try to put on a better show than the Daffodils. Next up will be the Iris just around the corner to the left. Everything is waking up from the long winter slumber. Soon these Daffodils will be long gone and the hostas will take over. They beautify the flower bed in their own way and they don’t even need flowers to do it. So there how about that?
Cindy, help me, help me, help me. Tell me what to do with the wild bushes in the back of the Daffodils? Do I just trim them off or just cut the long buggers or what? I just want to cover the foundation blocks. I’m hoping they will bush out. This is about the fourth year for these bushes. They were cute little twigs when I planted them. Now I think they need a little trimming. What do you think?
Most of you know how much I love plumbing. Yes, this is another story about plumbing. Back a few blog posts I wrestled with a simple plumbing project that turned ugly and ended up with a total cabinet, sink, faucet, and under the sink plumbing replacement. Well, since that old sink drain hadn’t been used for a decade or more, it didn’t surprise me when it started slowing down when draining and then just stopped. So here’s old Nebraska Dave’s way of drain cleaning.
Here is my version of a poor man’s power drain snake. I drilled into the drain about 10 feet and hit something hard. After wrestling with it to dislodge what ever it was, phase two was implemented. I really love wrestling with a drain snake in close quarters.
You can see by the mess that it got ugly with the drain snake. It definitely required some cleanup when this project was done. OK, this is kind of an invention of my own. It’s a compilation of pipe fittings to fit the drain pipe with an adapter to fit a garden hose. This is one of those inventions that can either be the greatest thing since sliced bread or an oh, dog gone it why did I ever do that kind of a thing. It’s why I auger out the drain as best I can first. Since drains were not intended to have pressure on them and old pipes tend to get weak in certain spots too much pressure can blow a hole in the pipe or connection real easy. So I wouldn’t recommend this procedure for the faint of heart. Anyway, I turned the water on just a trickle to check if the drain was actually opened up. My water meter gives off a clicking sound when the water is running and water flow can be heard. Clicking was happening and water flow was heard so full force wide open water flow was implemented. Ten minutes of water flow to flush out anything in the drain totally out to the main sewer line under the street seemed like the right amount for this job. Everything went back together great as it should because it’s all new and life is once again grand in the half bath.
I’ll leave you with a question. I have been working at Terra Nova Gardens. I have it plowed up; smoothed out with a disc; and ready to start the fence building. I have discovered some kind of plant beginning to sprout up. Let me give you a picture and see if you can tell me what it is.
I thought I saw some evidence of daylillies under all the weeds last fall when I was scouting out the property. Could that be what these are? If so, I’ve found another treasure that I can use. It has been a great treasure hunt on this property for sure. My grandson is convinced that we will find gold some where if we just keep digging. Wouldn’t it be funny if he actually found some? Well, I’m not holding my breath for that one.
I hope everyone is enjoying the official arrival of Spring. I know I sure am. Be safe in the garden. Warm up those muscles before the heavy digging or lifting and I’ll catch up with you next time. We will sit and chat a spell; have a cup of coffee; and solve all the gardening issues of the day.
