More Gophers

Gopher tortoises....a nuisance with whom we must coexist (but why can't you live across the street in the drainage easement? Or next door somewhere in the 6-acre vacant lot?)

And then there are pocket gophers. Cute little devils, right?

Wrong!

Another bane of our existence. These little critters, 5-14" in length, wreck havoc with our yard. They dig burrows...looongggg burrows, and deposit the spoilings from the tunnels in various size mounds in our yard. 

The Mister was at one of the local farm stores. I suggested he get a certain type of trap which may be effective. The store did not have the trap, but the Mister did have an enjoyable time commiserating with other guys perusing the anti-rodent options. He came back with a sonic stick:

I was thrilled. (Now just how many women do you think would be thrilled to receive a Mole & Gopher repeller?!)

I immediately went out and plunked that thing between two huge mounds the gopher had made the night before. 

The next morning....

what to my wondering eyes did I see? 

Another *%$^& mound right in front of me!

Gopher Tortoise

Our area is home to the endangered Gopher Tortoise. 

Of course...our 'soil' is almost pure sand,

a tortoise can dig a burrow in a heartbeat!

Our pastures have several tortoise burrows, 

(they don't make us very happy!)

although we are not certain whether the burrow openings 

 belong to one tortoise, or to several.

Their burrow systems can be quite extensive 

and are home to many other critters. 

Vickie's checking out a newly-active burrow.

With the advent of warm weather, s

the gopher's have come out of hibernation.

(We are curious...how do they know??!!)

Here's our guy...or gal. 

She was on the move,

looking for something! 

I like the beasts, but with horses around, their burrows are a

 bad accident waiting to happen.

OK...so we don't have horses now, but who's to say we won't want them later?!

 

Doing Wheelies?

 

Oops!

Apparently the lug nuts on this wheel were loose. 

They finally pulled out of the wheel hub,

and the tractor dropped onto the axle.

The Mister has some work to do to get it all put back together again.

Yard Pick-up; Round Two

Now that I have burned the yard debris closest to the fire pit, it's time to begin collecting from further out. 

I fired up the rattletrap Gator, grabbed a chain and began hauling branches over to the fire pit.

Last fall some of the trees were trimmed so the RV could fit in the driveway. 

Many Most of the branches that were trimmed, lay where they fell. 

I had my helpers with me.

Anytime we fire up the rattletrap Gator, they come running.

After I made four trips hauling large limbs, 

I hooked up the $20 wagon I found at a yard sale.

I filled the wagon and the back of the Gator with smaller

branches and debris.

Then, back to the fire pit.

It was time to get cookin'.

You can see the fruits of my labor all around the Gator.

Oh, and the red barrel? It's a pickle barrel that has been repurposed as our water hauler,

and it this case, as a reserve 'fire engine'! 

The branches all had to be cut to reasonable lengths for burning. 

And of course, the Mister has a tool for that! 

By close of day most of my morning's haul lies in ashes in the fire pit.

 

Spring

Blueberry blossoms

Dogwood blossoms

Azaleas

Crepe Myrtle leafing out

Turkey Oak leafing out

.... Live Oak leaves turning brown?

It's about to happen.  We are about to be inundated with falling Live Oak leaves. For those who don't know, the Live Oak is semi-deciduous. It keeps its leaves through the winter. In the spring the new leaves emerge almost immediately after the old leaves fall. Because of this the tree appears to be green year round. 

It's a messy time. Between the leaves falling, and the pollen coating anything outside, 

wrecking havoc for with allergies, it may not be the best season of the year down here!

It's Here!

If you play Mahjong, you know!

Each year the National Mah Jongg League sends out it's new card some time before April 1.

The card shows what hands players may use. 

Hands are similar to rummy hands, for the uninitiated. 

The cards are highly anticipated by players, 

offering a welcome change in ways to complete a Mahjong.

The new cards also help to level the playing field for newer players

as no one is familiar with the selections, the choices are new for everyone. 

Oh, and if you noticed that I have spelled Mahjong two different ways, 

Mr. A-I-nstein tells me there are:

dozens of ways to spell the tile-based game due to it being a transliteration from Chinese. Common variations include Mah-Jongg, Mahjongg, Mah-Jong, Mah Jong, and Mahjong. 

Behind Curtain Number One

My bedroom has a sliding glass door that opens onto the pool area. It's lovely to lie in bed and peer out at the pool,  the three-board fence and the woods & pasture beyond. Some day I even dream that a horse could be standing by that fence. It's nice...until the pool service tech comes at 7:15am to check the pool. Oh, he's not bad to look at - but I'm certain that doesn't work both ways!

One morning the Mister came out of the shower, only to see the 'pool boy' outside. 

It was time to make a curtain. I have the fabric, including the lining. I was going to make drapery panels for the bedroom at our previous home - and never did so. 

And sew...the fun begins!

The curtain is going to go floor to ceiling - 95"

I need to sew two pieces together to make a panel that will slide over the door. 

I began the process on the floor, but once I sewed the two pieces together, 

I didn't have floor space large enough. 

I brought in a folding table that we had.

It was the perfect height to extend my ironing table.

On this particular day it was beautiful outside,

so I let a little bit of the outside in!

Last night I was able to hang the curtain up. 

I like the tchotchke shelf above the door, but it eliminated the option to use typical curtain rods.

I purchased a ceiling mount slider at IKEA months ago, and it seems perfect! 

I will still need to do some more work on the curtain. After it hangs for a week or so I'll need to 

adjust the hem, and 'train' the pleats. 

Right now, done is better than perfect!

Sorry, pool boy...no more free peeks! 

(That, and on nights with a full moon, we will have a little more darkness for sleeping!)