Rainy And Cold

It's cold this morning at 8:46am ... 44° but at least the sunshine is bright after three days of rain. I can tell by this first photo that the 40+ photos did not post in the order I took them, nor in the order I uploaded them. So the stories might jump around a bit and seem out of order as you look and/or read. 

My friend sent me a photo of the pizza she had made over the weekend. Can you believe that pizza crust is made out of shredded chicken. She sent me the recipe from a keto chef on Instagram.

It has rained a few times this month, totaling 6.1" after our three days of rain this week. This photo is from a few weeks ago. I have seeded the yard a few times. One grass seed mixture has clover in it and you can see where the clover growth has done quite well. After more research it was suggested I use perennial rye like they use on golf courses, for the area I live. I bought a bag of that grass at Menards along with some manure compost.

Will this work better than the Kentucky Blue grass mixed with Fescue? I should find out that answer next summer. 

This is before the compost, where I planted the new seed over Scotts top soil at the end of the first week of October or just after my last blog post. When I had pulled up the crabgrass and the large leaf plantin, that left bare spots of dirt ... so more soil, more seed. A few days later I had extremely hard rain that probably washed away or drowned most of the new grass seed.

Yet, it survived and I cold see signs of growth the following week. 

I started watering my cactus every Friday this summer. It doubled in height.

Since I moved here in May 2021 I had been mowing the lawn with a mulching block off plate. After I bought the John Deere in 2024 I bought a block off pate for that mower also. I would notice at times once the grass would build up under the deck, weird noises as my blade was trying to move through all the grass collected. A few weeks ago I decided to remount the grass shoot which would keep the deck clear of built up grass.

If commercial mowers are not mulching the grass they mow then why me? Plus during my dog walks I saw that me and one of the next door neighbors were the only once mulching our grass. Luckily I had all the pieces and hardware I needed still on the shelf ... but the hardest part was how to get that rod through those two springs, where each spring had tension.

These photos are in reverse order ... the one above is when I finished the job.

I needed to mount this shoot on that metal bracket and I knew I could find the process on YouTube. After a couple of videos I found one that actually showed how to get those two springs in place while keeping the tension that was needed as you slide that long rod through the holes on the bracket and shoot. The tension of the springs would keep the shoot in place.

After my first mow with the shoot instead of the mulching block out plate ... I was happy with the decision. So much that I did the same thing with my Toro push mower that I use to mow the backyard inside the fence. Luckily there was not a spring involved. My lawn now had a much cleaner, sharper cut. 

I once had a large palm plant that Ava knocked down onto the floor. Months later after recovery or trying to recover it in the large pot it was in ... this spring I cut everything back and what was left was put in two smaller pots. I wanted to see if they could grow again.

Slowly but surely it is growing back, with a new shoot on each plant.

Walter's normal position as I watch 12 hours of college football every Saturday.

I hate these photos posted in reverse order from the order I loaded them. This is my $1.50 hotdog with a coke that I buy at the end of each trip at Costco. I have been doing the process for twenty years but at different Costco's.

Unlike many Costco shoppers, most of the time I can get in and out buying only what is on my shopping list. That yellow box contains three small loafs of sourdough bread. I only need to heat up the stove to 425° and bake the bread for 10 minutes. Fresh hot sourdough bread with a tub of butter is the best. 

Last week I had cooked my second loaf. I had cut about three slices with some grass fed butter and enjoyed it. While the bread was hot I wrapped it in a towel and put on top of my Nija Foodi, back in the corner of my counter. I put things there so Cletus will not take things counter surfing and eat anything I have there.

Well I forgot the bread was there. I drive out to Toyota on the other side of town and when I get back, that towel I had wrapped the warm bread in was laying on the kitchen floor. I knew immediately what had happened ... and Cletus showed me I was right ... there was some sourdough bread crust hanging from his jowels as he stared at me. LOL He reminds me a lot of Stella.

Morning naps while I drink coffee and read the internet. 

The dark dirt is manure compost. No smell and a much finer texture compared to topsoil. Depending how things look next spring ... my next option might be what a reader suggested a year or two ago ... put down sod.

In August I decided I didn't want my 2024 Subaru Forester Wilderness. I didn't drive it much and never the way it was designed to do. It had off-road capability in case I ever went back out to Arizona to visit. I did not want to spend $40,000 for a 4Runner either so I started searching for FJs again (my favorite vehicle) and older 4Runners that were in good shape. I did NOT see this in my search when I was looking but found out later I needed to expand my search requirements to see it.

At the end of my month long search I bought this 2015 4Runner SR5 Premium, which means it came with all the bells and whistles. Great maintenance record on CarFax and two owners. It had beat out the three FJs I was looking at at the time, even after I test drove one 77 miles away.

But just like houses for sale I check my bookmarked pages daily for cars for sale too. 10 days after I buy this I see the local Ford dealership has a 2010 FJ for sale but no photo on the ad. I forget about it until 12 days later ... I am bored and curious when I still see the ad had no photo.

I grabbed my cup of coffee and took a drive out to the other side of town to see what kind of FJ they were selling. As soon as I found it in the back of the lot I knew I was in trouble. Right off the bat I recognized it as a Trail Teams model, only 1500 of them made.

With no salesman around to bother me, I set my phone down and crawl underneath it. While on my back I crawled from the front to the back looking for that infamous rust damage all FJs are noted for. (long story). I didn't see any rust at all. By the time I get to the rear bumper I can tell I have a major problem.

22 days ago I had bought the 4Runner, a car that I really liked. But this is a FJ in great condition, no rust and I could see whoever owned this had taken good care of it.

Long story short ... I broke my record of 27 days for owning a car before trading it. I owned the 4Runner for 22 days. I love my decision. I have taken that Brush Bumper Guard off and last week decided to put it back on. It might protect me this fall if a deer decides to ruin my day or from poor drivers that make poor decisions driving ... like in parking lots. 

The 4Runner I traded in, sold within 4 days after they listed it for sale. Someone got a really good old 4Runner.

Will the new grass seed survive this much rain? I will post pictures next month to show you the results.

You can see that perennial rye was coming in after five days. 

Hopefully this compost will help with my hard clay dirt.

I got an early start on covering the air conditioner this year. 

Luckily my backyard absorbs water very well. 

At the end of that driveway in Hereford Arizona is a structure I am interested in buying. I know the area well from the time I lived in Sierra Vista. In fact I have driven on the dirt road where this is located.

Mountain views 360° and all of those outbuildings are part of the property. Yes I know ... looks awfully small with all the dogs I have. Plus a fence would be needed in the back. That solar system is NOT connected to the grid, which is good. The neighbors have electrical power from the utility company if I would want or need that put on the property. Has a septic tank and his own private water well. 

Yes I have called the listing agent which is the owner. I then called the agent she recommended since she cannot sell her own property as a real estate agent. Very nice build on the inside of that 14x40 building. Honestly I can see myself doing this deal.

It would be quite a change for me, the dogs and the hounds, compared to my small city on the Ohio River. We live out towards the top of the photo, out of view.

My friend Meghan and her boyfriend moved back to Sierra Vista from the Chattanooga TN area, to buy the Sun & Spoke Bicycle Shop. Good for them, good for the shop and good for the town of Sierra Vista. 

So yes, like this time of year, almost every year that I can remember (except 2019-2020) my brain cells start scrambling where thoughts are a mile a minute, options put out on a spreadsheet, photos downloaded for further analysis and a lot of "what ifs ...."

Probably the best thing I could do during these times is ... 

.... pull off the shelf, 7 seasons of Longmire and binge watch between days of college football games. I did season one last night ... probably my all-time favorite show.

No worries ... I am good and healthy, the dogs and hounds are good and happy and it's bright sunny day here in "the tropics" of Southern Indiana.