So far today (4:30 PM) the high has only reached 99, with a heat index of 101. Yesterday we were over 100 degrees. It was supposed to get to 104 today.
I have to start getting up earlier and getting out to get some work done. Monday is to far back for me to remember. Yesterday I worked outside several hours. I came in around 2 PM, by then the temp was 90 degrees. Kathy said it was more like mid 90's by the time I came in.
Today I don't think I was even out for 2 hours before coming in around 1:30. It was 91, with a heat index of 95, when I came in.
I've been working on an area where I can park our motor home. Since we have been here we have it parked on the "inner" circle drive. We can drive around the "outer" circle drive but it is easier to back up and turn around to get out of the driveway.
The plan is to make a 16-18' wide level area out from the bottom of the rock retaining wall for the barn. The rock retaining wall was continuous along the side of the barn and then turned out to encircle the cedar tree.
In the photo below I've already removed part of the wall.
This is looking at the area from the rear. There is a large enough area behind the barn so that we can turn the motor home around and drive it up between the barn and the cedar tree. I've already done some serious pruning on the cedar and will have to do more before I can drive the motor home through the gap. The limb I still have to cut off is 14-16" in diameter, at the main trunk. It sticks out towards the barn and will fall on the barn unless I force it to fall some other way. I currently don't have enough chain or good rope to tie to the limb, and to something for an anchor (my pickup?), that will allow me to park the anchor far enough away so that the limb won't fall on the anchor.
This is where I stopped this morning. Monday and yesterday I used Carl's skid steer to move the rocks that I couldn't lift and dug through the area between the cedar tree and the barn. I have a lot of leveling yet to do (I am definitely not a skid steer operator) but I'm headed in the right direction.
I've also have a lot of retaining wall to build. I think the wall corner, by the post in the photo below, is about the right elevation now. I have to build a section to go back up to the barn and another section to go to the cedar tree. Those are the short sections. I also have to build a taller section along the barn where I dug out between the cedar and the barn, as well as a section that is now missing around the tree.
I hoping that I don't kill the tree. I think I helped offset the damage to the roots when I cut off a 14-16" branch right after we first got here. I read that deciduous trees drop their leaves during droughts because that helps them conserve water. I don't know about cedars but hope that by removing two large limbs I am helping it do the same thing. I let the hose run on the "island" around the tree for over an hour yesterday. No water came close to running over the edge of the "island".
When I look at his area it looks huge. The motor home is 41' long and the barn is 54' long. If I park the motor home so that the front of it is flush with the front of the barn, the back of the motor home will be in the middle of the window you see at the extreme right edge of the above photo.
There isn't close to room enough to drive forward off this area. We will need to back up into the area behind the barn and then drive out past the other side of the cedar tree.
Highs are forecast to be 99, 98 & 99 for Thursday thru Saturday, with a 30% chance of some thunderstorms. We sure could use about 72 hours of nice steady rain. I think it is to late to help the crops, but the rain might save some trees from dying.
This morning the appliance repair man came out to work on our new Whirlpool refrigerator. In June we paid Sears over $3,400 for a new refrigerator and range. Our check cleared our bank on July 2nd. They were unable to deliver the appliances until June 20th. The ice maker never worked and today was the earliest they could get a repair man out to look at it. Surprise, surprise - he didn't have the right part, the water control valve for the ice maker, and has to order it. Currently he is scheduled to come back next Wednesday to install the part.
Between TV's, ranges (I had to do the propane coversion on the range that we purchased) and refrigerators it is easy to understand why our nation is in such a mess. It appears to be impossible to buy anything good today.
Good afternoon to all and may God bless you and yours.
Wow can not believe how much you have gotten done since we were there just last week!
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