I was up Saturday morning by 7am. I probably could’ve slept longer, but that would’ve put undue pressure on my day’s planned activities. Mindy woke when I got out of bed but as expected, decided to sleep longer. I prepped some Starbucks and exercised before heading out with Ykraps. Something wasn’t right with Ykraps. We heard him let out a shrilling cry in the middle of night, and he moved about tenderly like something was hurting him during our walk. He yelped again a couple of times while we perused the neighborhood. My guess was that it’s his hip. He’s 10 years old. I returned from our walk and fired up my laptop so that I could log into work. I sipped my first cup of coffee all the while checking out what was going on at the shop. Mindy & Bella joined me downstairs just before 8am. That’s unusual for Mindy. She often sleeps until 9am or later. It was a beautiful morning, this first day of September. The temperature was 58 degrees and it was crystal clear. We sat on the deck for a spell where I played guitar. Meanwhile, Mindy and Bella picked a few tomatoes. By 8:40am I donned my running attire and took off out the door. I ran along Trabue & Hague taking in the scenic late-summer air.
My run concluded around 9:20am. Mindy was whipping up a breakfast burrito concoction upon my return. After checking in with work and seeing that things were under control, I was eager to head out & get the slit seeder. But Mindy had other designs. She really wanted me to stick around for breakfast. Against my impatient will, I did. But I used the tme wisely. I called Sunbelt rentals to confirm that they still had a slit seeder available. Turns out that was a good move, because the Hilliard store had all three rented out. I called another Sunbelt located in the Georgesville Rd. the Lowe’s store and learned that they had one. The only problem was that I would need to have it back Sunday morning since they’re open seven days a week. I decided to try the only other Sunbelt located on the west side –West Mound St. They had one, and the same deal was available there. I wouldn’t have to have it back until Tuesday AM. Cool. I ate my breakfast and then changed into shorts and tee shirt. At 10am Mindy’s longtime friend, Chris Steele dropped off his two boys for us to watch while he and his wife attend the Buckeye game. Mindy talked Chris into a breakfast burrito before he departed. I was out the door soon after Chris and Tamara left.
I stopped at my dad’s to hopefully pick-up his trailer. He was home but didn’t answer the door – busy with the mannequins I assume. J I went ahead and took the trailer anyway. I didn’t think he’d mind. It didn’t’ take long to get to Sunbelt, although it seemed like I got stopped at every light. Their operation is efficient and obviously well rehearsed. While waiting to get the machine loaded, I saw a familiar looking face – Duke Mathews, or at least that was who I thought it was. I hadn’t seen Duke since elementary school. I would say it was a wonder that I recognized him except for the fact that he hasn’t changed much. Still looks like Duke! I didn’t want to embarrass myself so I didn’t approach him. He seemed to know the Sunbelt dude rather well, too. So, after loading the slit seeder I asked about the guy he was just talking with. He said, “you mean Duke?” Apparently Duke’s been a long time customer of theirs, and runs his own very successful stone mason’s business. That brought a smile to face hearing the good news! It seems that so many of the kids that grew up off of N. Sylvan avenue came upon hard times. Good job, Duke!
I headed home with the lawn contraption. However, before I could do any lawn restoration I had to drop the trailer and go fetch some fertilizer and grass seed. I headed to Lowes since they have the best selection of grass seed. I got three 3lb bags of Pennington grass seed. I selected a blend of three turf-type fescues and blue grass. I bought a bag of starter fertilizer that should cover 5,000 sq ft, too. If I was going to go this much trouble, I was going to do it right! Back at home I still couldn’t sow seed just yet. First, I had to mow the grass extremely low in the areas needing over seeded, per the instructions. It also called for core aeration which I had done last Thursday evening. And since I had the mower out, I decided to cut the entire lawn. That took the usual 1.5 hours.
I scalped the areas of concern fairly close. They certainly didn’t look pretty, but then again that wasn’t the idea. The idea is to expose as much of the soil as possible to the blades of the slit seeder. I decided to start out back. I did the first area without remembering to engage the seed drop lever. That meant that while I cut some nice slits, there was no seed left behind. I had to go over that entire area a second time. J I began getting the hang of it, though. It was tough doing the sloping side yard, but I did the best I could. I moved out front to do the entire stretch between the street and walk as well as the slope on the Westside of the house that took such a beating. I finished around halftime of the Buckeye game.
I moved from over seeding to tree pruning in a jiffy. I cut several low hanging branches from back yard trees making quite a pile to haul out back. Mindy donned some gloves and gave me a hand all the while the kids played out back. Neighbor Mike came on back with his kids to fish. I offered up the use of the slit seeder. His entire front lawn burnt up this summer. All he needed to do was to buy some grass seed. He & Mindy entertained all the kids out back while I began replacing the shed hasp and lock with a much more secure version. That didn’t take long at all. Chris and Tamara returned from the Buckeye game around 3:30-4pm. They hung out for a while, too.
During all the action a stray black poodle showed up in our back yard. He/she didn’t have a collar/ID, but was very friendly and very smart. This little dog immediately began playing with Jacob by fetching a deflated ball lying in our yard. Soon Jacob and this poodle which we temporarily named Trixie bonded. This dog could catch a ball five or six times bigger than her head on a fly, and then would try to carry it with its front paws. It was truly amazing watching it play.
Soon, the crowd thinned and Mindy & Bella departed for the grocery leaving Jacob and I alone with Trixie. Jacob soon left to go play in the neighbor’s yard leaving Trixie alone with me while I watered flowers. Great! The dog wanted to play fetch all the while I watered. I did my best to keep her entertained. But once I was done I headed in through the garage to get a long overdue shower. I emerged clean and refreshed not ten minutes later. By then neighbor Mike was back and eager to take me up on the offer to use the slit seeder.
I helped him wheel it down to his house and showed him how to use it. Just then some older woman showed up asking if I had her dog. What? She later said your wife called and said that you have my dog, Holly. Oh! Well, we did have your dog but it apparently left our yard after I went in to shower. She was not happy with me. I could tell by her tone and body language. She asked why I didn’t tie it up. I asked why it didn’t have a collar or ID. I also explained that she couldn’t be too far since it had only been ten minutes earlier that she was there. She left in disgust. Mike and I both quipped that we’d run away too if she were our master.
Inside, however, I felt bad for her as it was quite obvious that this dog meant the world to this woman. But her anger was misguided. She strolled the neighborhood all evening hollering for her doggie and posting signs on everyone’s front door. Doing the math, I called Mindy on her cell and asked if she called this woman and how. Turns out, she saw the signs posted as she exited the subdivision on her way to grocery. I told her that if she would’ve called I might have secured the dog knowing that the owner was coming after her. Mindy figured I wouldn’t answer anyway. Come to think of it, she was right. I rarely answer my phone.
By the time that Mindy got home from the store I was fully engaged in work related matters. After putting away groceries, Mindy had sweet corn soaking in the sink. We were planning to grill steaks and corn. Mindy talked with Renee who we thought was coming over. She canceled, however, while the corn was cooking. It ended up being just Mindy and I. After our tasty steak dinner we got in the hot tub. It was an absolutely beautiful evening. I needed the water therapy badly.
My run concluded around 9:20am. Mindy was whipping up a breakfast burrito concoction upon my return. After checking in with work and seeing that things were under control, I was eager to head out & get the slit seeder. But Mindy had other designs. She really wanted me to stick around for breakfast. Against my impatient will, I did. But I used the tme wisely. I called Sunbelt rentals to confirm that they still had a slit seeder available. Turns out that was a good move, because the Hilliard store had all three rented out. I called another Sunbelt located in the Georgesville Rd. the Lowe’s store and learned that they had one. The only problem was that I would need to have it back Sunday morning since they’re open seven days a week. I decided to try the only other Sunbelt located on the west side –West Mound St. They had one, and the same deal was available there. I wouldn’t have to have it back until Tuesday AM. Cool. I ate my breakfast and then changed into shorts and tee shirt. At 10am Mindy’s longtime friend, Chris Steele dropped off his two boys for us to watch while he and his wife attend the Buckeye game. Mindy talked Chris into a breakfast burrito before he departed. I was out the door soon after Chris and Tamara left.
I stopped at my dad’s to hopefully pick-up his trailer. He was home but didn’t answer the door – busy with the mannequins I assume. J I went ahead and took the trailer anyway. I didn’t think he’d mind. It didn’t’ take long to get to Sunbelt, although it seemed like I got stopped at every light. Their operation is efficient and obviously well rehearsed. While waiting to get the machine loaded, I saw a familiar looking face – Duke Mathews, or at least that was who I thought it was. I hadn’t seen Duke since elementary school. I would say it was a wonder that I recognized him except for the fact that he hasn’t changed much. Still looks like Duke! I didn’t want to embarrass myself so I didn’t approach him. He seemed to know the Sunbelt dude rather well, too. So, after loading the slit seeder I asked about the guy he was just talking with. He said, “you mean Duke?” Apparently Duke’s been a long time customer of theirs, and runs his own very successful stone mason’s business. That brought a smile to face hearing the good news! It seems that so many of the kids that grew up off of N. Sylvan avenue came upon hard times. Good job, Duke!
I headed home with the lawn contraption. However, before I could do any lawn restoration I had to drop the trailer and go fetch some fertilizer and grass seed. I headed to Lowes since they have the best selection of grass seed. I got three 3lb bags of Pennington grass seed. I selected a blend of three turf-type fescues and blue grass. I bought a bag of starter fertilizer that should cover 5,000 sq ft, too. If I was going to go this much trouble, I was going to do it right! Back at home I still couldn’t sow seed just yet. First, I had to mow the grass extremely low in the areas needing over seeded, per the instructions. It also called for core aeration which I had done last Thursday evening. And since I had the mower out, I decided to cut the entire lawn. That took the usual 1.5 hours.
I scalped the areas of concern fairly close. They certainly didn’t look pretty, but then again that wasn’t the idea. The idea is to expose as much of the soil as possible to the blades of the slit seeder. I decided to start out back. I did the first area without remembering to engage the seed drop lever. That meant that while I cut some nice slits, there was no seed left behind. I had to go over that entire area a second time. J I began getting the hang of it, though. It was tough doing the sloping side yard, but I did the best I could. I moved out front to do the entire stretch between the street and walk as well as the slope on the Westside of the house that took such a beating. I finished around halftime of the Buckeye game.
I moved from over seeding to tree pruning in a jiffy. I cut several low hanging branches from back yard trees making quite a pile to haul out back. Mindy donned some gloves and gave me a hand all the while the kids played out back. Neighbor Mike came on back with his kids to fish. I offered up the use of the slit seeder. His entire front lawn burnt up this summer. All he needed to do was to buy some grass seed. He & Mindy entertained all the kids out back while I began replacing the shed hasp and lock with a much more secure version. That didn’t take long at all. Chris and Tamara returned from the Buckeye game around 3:30-4pm. They hung out for a while, too.
During all the action a stray black poodle showed up in our back yard. He/she didn’t have a collar/ID, but was very friendly and very smart. This little dog immediately began playing with Jacob by fetching a deflated ball lying in our yard. Soon Jacob and this poodle which we temporarily named Trixie bonded. This dog could catch a ball five or six times bigger than her head on a fly, and then would try to carry it with its front paws. It was truly amazing watching it play.
Soon, the crowd thinned and Mindy & Bella departed for the grocery leaving Jacob and I alone with Trixie. Jacob soon left to go play in the neighbor’s yard leaving Trixie alone with me while I watered flowers. Great! The dog wanted to play fetch all the while I watered. I did my best to keep her entertained. But once I was done I headed in through the garage to get a long overdue shower. I emerged clean and refreshed not ten minutes later. By then neighbor Mike was back and eager to take me up on the offer to use the slit seeder.
I helped him wheel it down to his house and showed him how to use it. Just then some older woman showed up asking if I had her dog. What? She later said your wife called and said that you have my dog, Holly. Oh! Well, we did have your dog but it apparently left our yard after I went in to shower. She was not happy with me. I could tell by her tone and body language. She asked why I didn’t tie it up. I asked why it didn’t have a collar or ID. I also explained that she couldn’t be too far since it had only been ten minutes earlier that she was there. She left in disgust. Mike and I both quipped that we’d run away too if she were our master.
Inside, however, I felt bad for her as it was quite obvious that this dog meant the world to this woman. But her anger was misguided. She strolled the neighborhood all evening hollering for her doggie and posting signs on everyone’s front door. Doing the math, I called Mindy on her cell and asked if she called this woman and how. Turns out, she saw the signs posted as she exited the subdivision on her way to grocery. I told her that if she would’ve called I might have secured the dog knowing that the owner was coming after her. Mindy figured I wouldn’t answer anyway. Come to think of it, she was right. I rarely answer my phone.
By the time that Mindy got home from the store I was fully engaged in work related matters. After putting away groceries, Mindy had sweet corn soaking in the sink. We were planning to grill steaks and corn. Mindy talked with Renee who we thought was coming over. She canceled, however, while the corn was cooking. It ended up being just Mindy and I. After our tasty steak dinner we got in the hot tub. It was an absolutely beautiful evening. I needed the water therapy badly.
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