Month: June 2026

Summer is here! Pam did some “trimming,” the Gilson is running but not operational, and a trip is planned. Here are the details!

We will start with Pam’s “trimming” project. Every year there is new growth on our trees and shrubs, and sometimes this new growth overlaps onto adjoining plants. That is when Pam gets out her loppers plus shears and gets to work.

This year the lilacs, butterfly bush, and honey locust all were trimmed back to some extent. The result was a trailer load of branches to be taken to the town’s brush burning area.

The results are a neater-looking yard and easier-to-mow-around areas between and under the various plantings. This is maintenance that Pam performs every year.

In other yard news, the day lilies are beginning to bloom, adding some color around the yard.

Turning to mechanical projects, I have made progress on resurrecting the 1985 Gilson lawn tractor. It is now running, but is leaking hydraulic oil in a big way. I will have to get it up on blocks to be able to work underneath it, a task for later this summer. I am glad it is running, however!

I have begun another long-term project: building a log splitter. Why? Well, Felicity and Peter burn firewood in the winter, and there seems to be a fair amount of wood I can salvage in our area. Felicity paid about $225.00 a cord for wood (delivered) last fall (3 cords total), so if I can get some wood together for them it will save some expense in their tight budget.

For those not familiar with firewood, a “cord” is a pile of wood 4 feet wide, 4 feet tall, and 8 feet long, or 128 cubic feet of wood. Generally each piece is 16″ long, so three pieces end to end make up the 4-foot width.

The local tire shop had the bones of a splitter sitting behind their building so I stopped to ask the story behind it. I was “gifted” the splitter to “get another piece of junk off my lot.” I managed to drag it home and get the wheels to roll, a beginning.

Now I will begin to hunt up the required parts and pieces, and I think Facebook Marketplace will be my friend in this endeavor. I need a motor, control valve, hydraulic oil tank, pump, some metal for mounts, and hoses to connect everything.

I have three other events of note:

1. The neighbors are moving out to a farm house left to them by Ben’s father. We were on cordial terms with Ben, Kayla, and young Liam, but it will be much quieter when they are gone.

2. I will be going to Colorado soon to meet up with friends and ride some ATV trails. My next post will be delayed until I return home.

3. A guy says he will be here tomorrow (Sunday) to purchase my Yamaha XJ motorcycle and assorted parts and pieces. I hope he does, as I need the garage space to work on the Gilson and the log splitter. The sale of the XJ will help fund both projects.

Addendum: XJ has been sold. (Sunday)

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Penny

In Himself’s garage, stuff leaves and stuff fills the empty spaces. So it has always been.

Rock on.

Today’s Humor:

Heart House flowers always have a progression of blooming, dying, then another round coming into bloom. This post will cover some of the early June flowers and a look around the yard. A few more critter photos are also in this post. Enjoy!

The iris and allium are done blooming but the peonies are just starting to hit their stride. We have three varieties/colors: deep red, pink, and white, all blooming at the same time.

Honeysuckle and tiger lilies are also in bloom.

Grandpa Otts and hollyhocks are doing well; the hollyhocks and day lilies are budding out and will be among the next round of blooming flowers.

Various other tasks have kept us busy. Pam planted our newest spruce tree and cleaned out the patio building (annual job after cats use the space in the winter). She is relocating the rhubarb plants and generally keeping the flower beds clean and neat. I will add that the north bed looks excellent this year, probably the best it has since we have been here.

I have been working on the Gilson lawn tractor and ordering parts as needed. It has been a slow process and still no guarantee the resurrection will be successful.

Another task: cutting and stacking firewood created by the oak trimming project. The wood is now stacked up along the side of the catio.

Keep in mind: These chunks are from branches of the old oak!

We did take a trip to eastern Iowa to drive by a few houses Pam had seen advertised for sale. Only one seemed worth the drive, a 5,000 square foot monster in Clinton, Iowa, but it needs more effort and money to repair than we want to take on at this point in our lives.

On the way home we stopped for gas at the Iowa 80 truck stop, billed as the “World’s Largest Truck Stop.” It was no great thrill.

As the last part of this post I am going to include a few cat photos. These seem to be popular with readers of this blog, so here you have Reese and Stirling.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Penny

Taking a quick look at events in 1776: Thomas Jefferson spent most of the month of June 1776 in his Philadelphia [rented] room, drafting the Declaration of Independence. For inspiration, Jefferson used as reference various philosophical ideals of governance, as well as the new governing articles of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Undoubtedly, Jefferson realized the long-term historical importance of the document he was being asked to produce. Pressure!

Rock on.

Today’s Humor: