New Toys

Some nice new toys from my mum to the doggies....:)

Deck Transformation!

The last few weekends we've been transforming the deck - giving it a good thick coat of paint to cover the cracks and hopefully make it last another 5+ years (until we can get trex....which after this adventure, we've both decided is a splendid idea!). The good news is the structure of the deck is in really good shape. The bad news is the boards and railings were in really poor shape. So a lot of pressure washing, sanding, rescrewing, supporting and painting later....and we have a deck we're happy to sit on....:) Make note.....it turns out spindles on decks have ALOT of surface area....this project took at least triple the time we thought it would! But we're happy, and it's a cheap fix, which also makes us happy....:)

The sanding phase. Luckily it's been super sunny and warm in Maine this last few weeks! 

The house when I bought it! Snow on the ground, but note the bright blue shutters and the brown deck. 

Pre-deck project! 

And the final product! There is still some touch up to do, but rain is forecast for this weekend, so we're happy with where it is for a while. 

The deck boards to start.....

Sanding made them change colour.....

And the final product! We went for a grey/blue on the boards and handrails, and white on the spindles. It looks awesome, and we think it goes with the house super nicely. 

The stairs pre...

The stairs...post! I do like the two colours, and note here the new shutter colour - more of a dark blue/green....less luminescent.....like so much in this house.....:)

Couch snuggles

After a day at the grooming salon, someone was a little needy and climbed up on the couch. Then climbed up on top of me and wanted to play. Our snuggly Miss Barkley. 

Signs of summer...

For me it's not just the tulips or daffodils that are starting to show, or the birds that have appeared at the feeder, or the hooting of the owl in the backyard......but the transformation of Miss Barkley Bear, to Miss Bare Barkley! 

Fuzzy Bear

Slim and Sleek! See, it was all fur.....:)

First BBQ of the summer!

We had the first BBQ of the summer this weekend - hot dogs on the deck at lunch - yeah! It's getting warm fast, though the nights are still down in the 40's. This weekend it was all about the garden again, getting it ready for summer! 

The under-deck area used to be covered in ivy - to the point where it was ripping up the deck boards. I pulled it out of the beds and pruned it way back on the trellis this weekend. Re-mulched the beds and planted a few new plants. Some bulbs have even come up - surprised to see them in an ivy bed so thick! 

Our rock garden area - cleaned up of leaves and planted some lily of the valley. It's tough finding enough shade plants to go here, but we're going to reclaim some stone to make a stone fireplace for this area soon, so it'd be nice to have some flowers in the backdrop!

The veggies are in! Under their little wax paper tepees! These "hats" help keep them warm at night, and protect them from deer eating the shoots - i'm hoping they work, it's all an experiment to see if we can extend the growing season here! 

There used to be a large decorative bush here. We pulled it out this weekend and replaced it with blueberry bushes (4 in total) and rocks reclaimed from the woods - "Blueberry Henge" we've called it! Not sure i'm going to have enough patience to wait the year or two before we get berries!

Blueberry Henge! The stones were originally placed so I could pull the hose around and not damage the plants - but we liked the henge look so much we pulled up two more rocks and placed them on the inside....:)

House projects....

 Various projects around the house have been going on - this weekend was a little overcast but we did get a bunch done in the garden. Last week was the first week without the temps going below freezing, and it looks like this week is the same - so i'm going to try and get some veggies planted soon!

No fully finished photos unfortunately - but here are some of the deck as it is now, and the compost heaps...

The deck, mid washing - it turned from grey to brown! 

The deck, pre powerwashing

The deck, after powerwashing! Now we need to sand it and paint it to hopefully make it lasta a few more years! It's in pretty rough shape in places, but it's safe and sturdy, so if we paint and seal it, we're hoping it'll last a little longer until we can afford to start replacing it. 

We've been clearing an area behind the house for compost bins and eventually a chicken house and shed. There's a lot of small trees we've taken down, and a friend is going to come over and help us with two large trees that really need to go. Brandon build two bins from pallets we found discarded from a local lumber yard - all told this project cost $20 with the extra wood needed to strengthen them! 

We have a Pooh pile. Separated from the regular pile by a double wall of pallet and some plastic sheeting (added later), this will be for the rather large 'deposits' we seem to get from two dogs, two cats (compostable litter) and two birds (newspaper and sawdust). Once it's composted we can throw it out in the woods or around trees or ornamentals without fear of it being eaten by a certain pooch........as happens now if we don't get there first...... 

And the Tigger pile. Well, I didn't want to call it Non-Pooh...:) This pile is for just kitchen waste and hopefully will make compost for the garden veggies! 

Brandon, picking up 'deposits' for the Pooh Pile. 

Chief cat-food taster at work....

While wandering the aisles of Pet Smart, Barkley decided to take a detour and tried to convince us the cats wanted Friskies......

Happy Easter!

Okay, i'll admit it, Brandon and I completely forgot about Easter. To the point where we loaded the car with recyclables to take to the transfer station and got all the way there before the penny dropped that it was Easter, so they wouldn't be open! Brandon's brother and sister in law were in town from Seattle, staying with his parents in Skowhegan, so they all came down in the afternoon for a tour of the Darling Marine center and Pemaquid lighthouse. 

It was a beautiful weekend - sunshine, 65F - so we worked in the garden on saturday and sunday morning. Taking down some smaller trees, clearing up leaves, reclaiming some of the yard from years of overgrowth. We even got the deck furniture out and basked in the sunshine for a little while on saturday. 

Touring the Darling Marine Center. 

Everyone thought our new "safety" sign on the pier (which we scuba dive off) was funny.....

At Pemaquid point.

Promoted!

After a WAY TOO LONG process - i've been promoted! Rather than Assistant Professor, i'm now Associate Professor. No tenure, no hard salary, but it's still a boost. I had to get letters from outside folks to evaluate my file, and some of them were super, brought me to tears in fact with how nice some of them were. I do love the University of Maine, it's such a supportive department, everyone has been super.

So, onwards and upwards....as Associate. Maybe Barkley got a promotion too?

Snuggling by the fireplace

After a few weeks of 50F weather, it's turned chilly again - AND we have 5-8 inches of snow predicted for tomorrow! I for one am excited, spring is not my favorite season here - otherwise known as mud season here in Maine! 

The fireplace has been a huge hit all winter, I splurged and bought some new dog (and cat) beds that look a little tidier by the fire than multiple crate pads.....but it seems the cats have taken over.......

D'Argtanian

Cozy cozy

Zoe

Porsche, our other old lady, unfortunately went missing this last weekend. Pretty sure she's taken her walk in the woods, and at 15, had had a pretty good run. 

Zoe and Porsche taking over Barkley's new bed...

Owls Head State Park

Took a short trip to Owls Head State park, just 30 minutes away from where we live. A short walk down to the ocean, a bit cold, but it was nice. We took Barkley for some one on one walk time. She ate dead mussels, seaweed and crab legs.