Creatures are Stirring!

While at the computer last week a 4 foot tall wild turkey showed up in my peripheral vision. I thought; am I finally losing it? I turned to look out the window and there he was, standing on the front lawn, on his way across the property and into the woods. What a rush! I couldn't get my camera to take a photo fast enough and missed the shot.

A couple of days later, I found a baby kitten curled up on the front porch! Not more than a couple of weeks old, she scurried off under the back porch. She showed up again the next evening and was like putty in our hands. She must have been a straggler whose Mom (thankfully) came and got her in the night.

This is typical, and over the last 5 months I've encountered a family of deer running across the front yard in the pouring rain. Armadillo that stopped traffic while they crossed the road. Chipmunk, squirrel, bat, hawk, geese, woodpecker, humming birds, fleas, ticks, mice, wasps, bees, and a host of other creatures that go bump day and night.

This is why Dusty has made her station under a 75 year old chesnut tree that sits smack in mid-property. She's gonna catch a critter, even if it kills her. Terrier-ist!

I learned last week that we've now officially entered BEAR season! This should be interesting. Or terrifying. I'll keep you posted.

Two Decks Down, Four to Go!

Georgia people love their decks/porches. Almost every home has one, and almost without exception you'll see a couple of rocking chairs or a porch swing drifting in the wind when you drive by. You know the scene, Ms. Scarlett O'hara sittin on one of um, swattin flys and drinkin mint julips...... Spit and Glue is no exception. Matter of fact, we have SIX decks.

The down side? Someone (us) has to keep them clean. Most of the time it's a matter of a broom and a hose. But a couple of times a year, they have to be power washed. This is a huge job, so we take them on one deck per weekend for 6 weeks straight!

To date, we're 2 decks down, with 4 to go.

Unfinished Business!

Don't get the wrong impression. We're living in a clean, dry and comfortable environment at Spit & Glue. The roof isn't falling in on us, we're not living with dry-rot or mildew or termite damage. On the contrary, the structure is sound. After all, it's been standing for 125 years, so we figure we're out of the woods when it comes to the overall integrity of the buildings.

Our issues have to do with keeping up with the basics while bringing the place up to par with the rest of the homes on the market in rural Georgia.

Aside from every day maintenance, we have a boat-load of little things that never got finished, such as unpainted door frames and baseboards and............... ohhhh don't make me spell them all out. Just look at a few of the photos to get an idea.

And So We Mow!

Mowing the lawn is traditionally "A Mans Job" right? however, I know many women who don't think twice about dragging out the mower and edger to do the job themselves. But on this property, they'd be thinking more than twice about "taking on the lawn".

The difference here is that we're talking about 2 hairy acres that need mowing at least twice a month in spring & summer. We don't put on a cute gardening hat with matching gardening gloves and clogs to push a shiney-red mower up and down the yard until it's perfect.

No, we pretty much gear up with machine washable head covering, goggles, long sleeved shirt/pants, and nasty canvus shoes so as not to lose a toe or an eye to flying debris. It's all about getting the job done without the company of fleas, ticks, and mosquitos.

We ride an old, noisey rickety lawn tractor, nursing it along as it spits, groans, hickups, and sometimes stops all together, leaving us in the learch, and at the mercy of a handiman who knows a little about mechanics. We then convince him to fix it, but at the least possible expense. If he can do it with Spit & Glue, even better!