Whatcha doing today?

[j.w]

@Rex love your ambition but take it easy somewhat and get well soon

 

[sissy]

what do people think of the dole banana import of 18 million dollars worth of cocaine in the boxes

 

[Gemma]

Today is "paint day"! I'm painting the flowerbed walls around the house and garage

 

[sissy]

I am waiting for my new trimmer to come this week and will keep the other trimmer for the light duty trimming .Lowes was great 27cc straight shaft for 84.50 cents and sent me a 25 dollar e-mail coupon for extra attachments .

 

[j.w]

Nice job @Gemma and did you glue all those rocks together? The color stands out very nice against the green grass!

 

[Gemma]

Nice job @Gemma and did you glue all those rocks together? The color stands out very nice against the green grass!

Thank you!...those are not stones, it's sculpted concrete!
We needed something to define the flowerbeds and hold the mulch, and the usual landscaping bricks just weren't cutting it especially on the side of the garage where it slopes quite a bit.
After looking at several different options we decided this was by far the cheapest way to go, and the added bonus is that there is nothing to re level in Spring.
I refresh the paint once every 2-3 years and that's all I do to it
Here you get the idea..we built it up using anything we could find that would reduce the amount of cement, we caged it, then filled it with concrete and gave it the stone look.
I like the wall around the garage because since it needed to be higher I was able to sculpt larger stones, and also because even though we used the same brand of concrete, we ended up with two different products...around the garage was much better and held it's shape, but when we did the front the concrete was not the greatest, I could only do small looking stones and it was clear it was a totally different concrete quality even the fact that it dried white instead of gray

 

[j.w]

Ok thanks, what a cool idea! So all that junk was covered in concrete and then you sculpted it all as you went along before it dried. Wow!

 

[Tara]

That looks good @Gemma , thinking I may try something similar. I have an area I need to section, as the rain water puddles in an area where some trees fell in a storm some time ago, making a rain garden next spring, so I may borrow your stone idea.

 

[Gemma]

That looks good @Gemma , thinking I may try something similar. I have an area I need to section, as the rain water puddles in an area where some trees fell in a storm some time ago, making a rain garden next spring, so I may borrow your stone idea.

Thank you!
We built it a few years ago and have not had any issues with it other than a couple of small cracks (easy fix) we love it!
My only suggestion if you build this, try to fill it as much as possible or chipmunks will burrow under it to nest inside the wall

 

[Lisak1]

What a clever idea @Gemma !

 

[JamieB]

This morning it’s kitty cuddles! And last night was too. The three littlest ones are missing momma, and that makes my bigger ones jealous, so I’m swarmed! The three smallest messes on the bed, so I get to go change all the litter so I can train them. Their mom raised them on the porch, so they just went wherever, so I have to refresh the cat instincts to potty in the litter box. I’ve only got two that are small enough for them to get in, the big one has sides too y’all for them yet.

 

[sissy]

the kittens here have gotten big but still can't get them to trust me .Had to catch my neighbors dog again Brea got loose .This will be my next project they are made from pvc pipe and it is cut and melted

 

[JamieB]

the kittens here have gotten big but still can't get them to trust me .Had to catch my neighbors dog again Brea got loose .This will be my next project they are made from pvc pipe and it is cut and melted View attachment 116054 View attachment 116055 View attachment 116055 View attachment 116056

Cats that don’t get socialization before I think it’s 4 months old, will always have an inate distrust of humans. The amount of socializing they get effects how much they trust humans. All of my little ones get handled from the time moms show them to us, be it from birth or 4 weeks old. I’ve seen some that were feral adults who tamed down enough to accept a touch or two, and eat near humans, and I’ve seen cats handled as kittens who never wanted to be touched again. I’d say use the trap neuter release method to prevent more babies from being born, then enjoy the mouse and snake reductions. If you look around, you may find a local cat rescue who will do the TNR for you.

 

[sissy]

these were stray kittens from the cats my neighbor brought home and neglected .I could not stand to see them starve .No cat rescues around here ,closest is 5 hours away .I am trying to get my local animal shelter to bring the traps back again and catch them .I told them you fix them you can bring them back and I will feed them .They do it at my local dump so why not here .I have built a home for them to be dry and warm and insulated it really well .My neighbors are idiots .They got a chihuahua and poor Rosa (my name for her )comes here to eat and they have not fixed her yet .The last 2 dogs they had got hit by cars .They just do not care .This is the cutie .I put fresh cold water several times a day when it is hot

 

[JamieB]

I hate to see that. I can be a bit harsh, as in my barn cats have the whole survival of the fittest, where predators are conceded. But they are all fed twice a day, and they have places to hide from predators. I protect the little ones, raise them if Mom disappears, and try to find good homes for ones not suited in either coloration or disposition. Loosing cats to owls and the occasional coyote is part of nature, loosing so many to chemical poisoning was very hard. I bawled my eyes out.
I’m the kind of sucker that would claim a neglectful neighbors pets as my own. I couldn’t afford to get all the females I had fixed, but I’ll be doing so over winter when I can keep them inside, once I get caught up on bills. The local shelter offers discounts for that, and I have to figure out just how many females I have. I know I have 2, 1 adult, 1 about 5 months old, both of which would be a good pet, but ok as a barn cat.