The old shack/shed is gone.  As are the mold,  mildew, mice, and termites.

This little mini CAT claw just chewed it up and …

layed it by the side of the road!

Now Poor Claus Kitty didn’t know what to think when he went out the next morning!  We had to keep him in all day to make sure he didn’t get in the way.  He went out and sniffed all around the foundation, but nope,  no more mousies… he was feeling dejected for a bit, but then he went accross the road to hunt in the savana…

Oh noooooooooooooooooooooooo, we’re at it again.  We are fixing a few things here that needed doing.  Problem is, we hired Larry, Darrell and Darrell to do them

Some of the lowlights:

1. They installed the plumbing for the washer at a height of only 2 1/2  feet from the floor.  Why?  Because they look ugly and this way you won’t have to see’um.
2. I asked for smooth pipe under the house to vent the dryer.  They put in smooth where I can see it, but switched to spiraled expandable ducting under the house.  Then to make sure I couldn’t see what they’d done, they put cardboard over the outside vent to block the view!  That is a fire hazard!
3. They are so fired!

Now I have to hire a new guy to do it all over again the right way!

Oh well, when it is done the right way, I will have a new mud room laundry room combo.  Then when it rains and all the clay gets good and squishy I can let the dogs in and get their paws cleaned BEFORE they can run about the house muddying up my floors and jumping onto the furniture!!!  SUCH A MESS!  (pictures to follow)

Sturnus vulgaris.  It seems such a fitting sounding name.

The first Starlings were introduced to the United States in 1890.  It is said they were released in Central Park in hopes that all of the birds mentioned in Shakespeare’s works would become established in the New World.

That wish has become a reality.  They are now a plague here in the states.  Starlings are dirty, and they are lazy pirates that take over other birds nests,  throwing eggs and babies out onto the ground.

These starlings flew down in an instant, and stripped my dogwood of its berries in less than five minutes.  The berries that my lovely nesting eastern blue birds rely on for food in winter.  Truly irritating, and even a bit intimidating… like something Hitchcockian.

So what can be done now?  Hmm…A nursery rhyme comes to mind…

“Four and twenty black birds baked in a pie…”

We have some MONSTER Oak Trees on our property and they have not been properly pruned in forever.  Well, trees this big drop BIG limbs in the wind and rain.  So I called an arborist.  Can you say EXPENSIVE?

Never mind the cost, it was worth it to make sure the trees were done safely for our sakes and for the trees.  Now that it is done I won’t have to be afraid to sit in the shade anymore!  BTW, I tried to get this one all into the picture, but it was impossible, its just too big!

Cost to prune?  4 massive oaks and one little dogwood = $2090.00

Take care of your trees.