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- Re-caulked kitchen sink. Good. Keep that water out of the cabinet below!
- Fixed paper towel holder (magnetic ends were loose) - bar stays on holder now. I didn't know there was a magnetic element to that holder.
- Started bathroom door repair to seal bottom. Upstairs bathroom I guess. It has been scraping the floor for many years.
- Pruned olive and oak tree from porch roof. This is very important for fire safety. Hard to reach.
- Pruned apricots, grapes, plum, wisteria, oleander. Looks nice cleaned up.
- Cut plywood for new racks in corral shed.
- Loaded large cast iron sink that was burned into truck and haul to dump.
- Installed 3/4”X1 3/4” sill board at base of linen (blanket) closet with magnets.This is to keep the mice out (recent mouse activity was observed). I had noticed mouse activity in recent years and cleaned a few times...Here's hoping that was their only access point. Many thanks for sealing it up! Looks good.
- Cleared brush and tree logs along crushed fence (near old chicken coop site). This is an ongoing project and will require new fence wire for about 100 feet plus a termination post to end fence and pull wire taught. Huge job! Victor and I have made progress over the past couple years but were not skilled enough to take it this next level. We were very happy to see so much progress in clearing the oak off of the fence and rock wall. Last year, we also made progress on the part of the tree on the other side of the road. There actually are at least two trees involved, one having fallen into the other. Jake had cleared it just enough to get through. We cut limbs off, cut to fireplace log size, stacked in woodshed, created kindling with little sticks and hauled and stacked all the in-between sized material for the chipper. That is now gone :-) Yes, there is still more work to get it cleaned up. Thanks for getting this chunk done.
- Tried to pump, but seemed like battery was dead, so recharged battery and no change. Allan will have to look at this (I have notified him). Peter, please scan and send Allan's bill to me. It's easy for me to type up for sharing with the Board and then I keep a copy for maintenance and historical records. I am happy to continue as Shangri-la archivist.
- Measured upper tank for painting project. We have the paint in garage and also measured for ladder mount to be fabricated in Sacramento and brought up so ladder can be installed permanently and not against tank. Hurray!
- Repaired the stone wall behind round table. Nice to have that put back together.
- Filled in "pot hole" in clay below High Hopes road using road gravel from large pile. Could use some more in that area. I think what you are referring to as a pothole is the run-off ditch that Jake put in hoping it would deal with the clay slip and slide problem during the wet season. I am of the opinion that the pile of "gravel" is pretty lousy material. I think Kurt's theory is that over time the gravel in there will get compacted and solidly set in the clay. We'll see. It could be a seasonal task to fill that spot for summer and then dig a run-off trench again for rainy season. Or, just be aware that the ditch is there and slow down. I am not advocating any particular approach.
- Emptied fireplace of ash - put around trees Well, my interest has been piqued. I have been aware of this practice but am not confident that I know best method of application or which plants welcome it and which would not. I think having a list of which of our trees to do this for and which to avoid would be helpful. I know evergreen trees, apples and azaleas all require acid soils. So it should not be put on those. I'll do some research that can be posted.
Supplies
Purchased and delivered:
- New Melitta "pour over" coffee maker (someone melted handle the old one - not Melitta brand) FYI: there is a backup Melitta cone designed for the pyrex coffee pot and other miscellaneous coffee making tools in the cupboard to the left of the sink. They are old but functional if ever needed.
Thanks to all who helped with these tasks for el rancho.
Ingrid
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