North Carolina – Mermaid on a Raft

June 3, 2024. It’s June already, almost half a year gone, and in a few short months it will be a year for the boys and me in North Carolina. The older I get, the faster the time slips away.

We’ve been very busy this last month, weeding, mowing, weed whacking, and watering. It’s a good thing I enjoy being outside. I have neighbors on both sides of me that I rarely see outside. I’ve added a few flowers to my main flower bed and completely filled the 2′ wide bed between the house and the sidewalk. That might be my favorite flower bed.

I think I’m going to paint that drain extension black. It bugs me.

Most of these were $2.00 flowers from Walmart.

I love the variety of colors and textures with these plants.

Originally the crepe myrtle had white stones around them, I got as many out as possible and filled it with mulch. It looks much better.

These Asiatic lilies were gorgeous, too bad they only bloom once.

This is my Romaine. I’m sad to say I threw it all out. The sun was brutal and scorched it.

These are cosmos and zinnias that I planted from seed.

These are out of control. Zinnia and Cosmos

My neighbor’s husband bought me this petunia for Mothers’ Day. I thought that was so sweet of him.

I laid this hand trowel on the steps and somehow it got wedged between the boards. It remained there until Bill came and removed the step to get it out.

We came across this turtle three times on our field walks. It’s a Yellow Bellied slider and it’s a momma because we saw her laying eggs.

Bill and Highway came on May 16th. He brought a new 18X48 above-ground pool. Our neighbors in KY ended up with two pools and she gave us one. Absolutely amazing, and it saved me from buying one. Thank you Judy!!!

I tried to do the right thing and follow the rules by applying for permits. It’s done nothing but bite me in the butt. Never again will I apply for a permit. It’s nonsense, and the employees in that department are not very functional.

The first thing we did for the pool was measure a 20′ circle. Then we had to remove the turf from the circle. Bill rented a machine that peeled the turf up, but we still had to remove it all from inside the circle.

We were in the midst of removing the turf to outside the circle when my friend Margy showed up with boots and gloves. She came to help. We got all the dirt out, leveled the circle area and then we had to throw all the turf in the truck so we could take it to the dump. The three of us loaded all of that in the truck, it was a hot dirty sweaty job.

Bill’s truck was full. He and I took it to the dump the next day. It weighed a ton and we had to unload it by hand. And it was HOT.

Once that was done we laid the ground tarp and a thick blanket-like cover for under the pool.

The blanket for under the pool and Highway, the idiot.

We then started setting up the pool. Once it was set up, we began to fill it. I had previously called the water company and told them what I was doing. They said, fine, no problem. I was mowing the grass and Bill came out and said I had to look at the water. It was no longer clear, it was rust-colored. I called the water company and they said the lines probably needed to be flushed. They came right away to do that.

We waited until the next day to continue filling the pool. The water was clear. We were both busy and not checking the water. It got awful again, filled with rust. By that time it was almost filled.

We ended up emptying the pool and starting over. There was still some sediment but by shocking and continuous vacuuming, we got it looking pretty good.

This is what was left after we emptied the pool. By this time the boys knew what was happening and were anxious to swim.

Bill had been working on the deck the whole time, even though we didn’t have the permit. Screw them. It’s a small deck but it’s big enough for what I need. We had to place it where it is because of the septic and the drain field, there’s not a lot of extra room.

Starting the deck. Bill had to dig holes to concrete the posts in. This left a LOT of dirt under the deck.

The backyard was a construction zone. Today, 6/4, it’s all cleaned up again.

I’m so happy to have a pool for the boys and me. We will use it a lot this summer.

Once we put the steps together, we called the boys up. They both jumped right in the pool.

We have nothing but a field and woods behind and the neighbors aren’t very close. It’s certainly not Kentucky but it’s still pretty private. The house you see in this photo belongs to people who do not go outside except to their car or to mow the grass.

Max jumps in the pool, gets out and turns right around and jumps in again. He does this several times in a row. I think he likes jumping in. All 3 of them have been using the pool often. We had to put a gate that could lock at the bottom of the steps, it will be useful to keep the boys from jumping in at their 9PM potty time.

Everything looked great, except under the deck. It was dirt and the dogs kept going under there. I got the brainstorm to put artificial turf under it. I got it as level as I could, sprayed it with weed killer, laid cardboard, then weed barrier, then the turf. It’s like a doggie playground. I’m quite pleased with the way it turned out.

They love it if I’m under there with them.

It will certainly cut down on the dirty dog situation. I can vacuum it too!

Bill was planning to leave for Kentucky tomorrow but the inspector, who I was told would be here today, said our name wasn’t on the list of inspections. They better come tomorrow. Funny thing, I asked a few neighbors with a pool and deck and they said they never got a permit. I guess I’m the idiot.

If you’re looking for me in the next few months, look no further than my backyard.

Have a super summer everyone!

11/2/2023 to 11/12/2023 (That’s how long I’ve been trying to do this blog)

On Sunday and Monday, the last few days of October, I was outside in the backyard, catching some rays. I had 2 dog cots out there and my chaise, it was beautiful and sunny for two days. Then Tuesday was gloomy, ushering in much cooler weather. This morning it was a balmy 30 degrees when we started our walk. In the blink of an eye, the weather changed. I really don’t mind the cold weather, it feels good and I know Max loves it because he’s always in a fur coat. Luckily I have my dog hair-covered fleece leggings that are warm enough for cold winter walks.

The dogs and I have been hanging around the house most of the time. I usually walk them 3 times a day, morning, early afternoon, and after dinner. I try to wait until after 8 on weekdays so that most of the “going to work” traffic is gone. After dinner I wait until 6-ish, most people have gotten home and are inside. Then on the weekends, I try to walk before 8 AM, when people are still sleeping. I have met a few people walking their dogs, that’s the easiest way to meet people in a neighborhood. Several people comment on how well-behaved Max and Barrio are. They don’t know that they are secretly psychopaths, that Barrio does the loop around the house, crying, with a toy in his mouth for 30 minutes at a time, or that Max has to smell my breath every time I eat something. Max has food issues, Barrio has mental issues.

All day long. I pick up the toys and put them in the basket. He takes them out.

Thoroughly into his peanut butter and yogurt-filled Kong.

Right after we moved here my neighbor said I needed to get my yard treated for fire ants. I hadn’t seen any and didn’t bother to call anyone. Then we had torrential rain and the fire ants came out in full force. I found out just how much fire ants hurt, and how much they itch and then blister, by stepping into a nest in flip-flops. My fear was the dogs getting in them, especially Max with the tons of fur on his body. I called several places to come treat the yard and they were all booked out for a few weeks. Most charged $125 and said I would need to have it done a few times a year. I called several different exterminators. One guy came out and said he could do it that afternoon but it was $200; however, there is a year warranty. So if I see fire ants again within the year, they will come back and spray. That sold me. He came back that afternoon and treated the yard. The front yard didn’t have as many nests as the back so I was letting the dogs out front to go to the bathroom. I kept them in for a few hours after the yard was treated and he said to give it a good week to kill the ants. Ten days after he treated the yard I decided to let the dogs out back again, it’s fenced out there, and much easier to keep an eye on them. We were just coming in and Barrio was on the porch jumping around and licking at his feet. Damn, his back legs had fire ants all over them and they were crawling up his legs. I tried to get as many off as I could, then took him out front to the concrete and the hose. I laid him on the driveway and washed them off. I was picking ants and squishing them but they were still crawling on me and biting me. I took him back inside, stuck him in the tub, and filled it up. I shampooed him really well and rinsed him a few times. Once he was dry I gave him a Benadryl and canceled my dinner plans for the evening. I wanted to keep an eye on him. He was groggy but not scratching. I didn’t want to put anything on him because he would lick it off. He was fine the next day. I called the guy who sprayed and he said he could come on Tuesday. He re-did the whole yard. He was surprised there were so many new nests after he treated the yard. This time seems to have done it because I don’t see any ants in the nests. However, I see so many nests along the road when I walk the dogs, it’s crazy.

My neighbor Joyce told me about two groups I should join, one is a local FB group for our neighborhood and the other is called Next Door. That’s an app, once you download you enter your zip code and are in a chat group with people in your area. The first time on there I saw a woman post that she wanted to meet people and didn’t know how or where. She said if anyone was interested in hanging out to message her. Totally out of the norm, I responded. We messaged a few times, and then she came over to meet me and walk the dogs with me. She lives about 5 miles away. Since then we have gone shopping and we do Saturday night dinners, checking out the local restaurants. Margy and I went to Mezcalito twice, it’s really good and the atmosphere is not your typical Mexican restaurant.

On the other side of the plants is a large bar area.

These were chicken quesadillas with a side of fries.

Last night we went to Longhorn’s. It’s a meat restaurant and it smells like a cooked cow in there, but they serve several chicken dishes and other no-meat options.

These were called Firecracker Chicken Wraps. They were sooo good. There was an avocado lime dip for them.

My friend from PA (she lives thirty min. north of me) is coming down tomorrow and we are trying the new Thai restaurant. I’m excited, I love Thai food.

I have been sitting on the outdoor furniture couch I bought in KY because I left the leather couch in KY for Bill. Sitting on the outdoor furniture isn’t bad for a little bit but night after night, my butt was screaming. It was so uncomfortable.

I finally broke down and ordered a couch and oh my gosh, what a difference.

It’s so comfy, my butt is extremely happy.

One of the things I liked about this house was the fact that there were no houses behind my yard, it was just fields. I never gave much thought about the fields, until one day a week or so ago. I was in the yard on my chaise, the dogs had their cots out there and we were chilling in the sun. I kept hearing a noise but didn’t give it much thought until it got closer. Damn. They were cutting the fields and producing a huge haze of dust. I schlepped everything inside and got the boys in too, just in time. It was dust and tiny particles of the crop that had been previously planted everywhere.

I hope they are done cutting here for the year.

Now we can see the deer better and the dogs can bark at them.

I live in the flight path of Seymour Johnson Air Force base. It is home to the F-15E, strike eagle. Luckily, they consistently fly over the house and I am captivated every time they do.

The following is from the internet. The F-15E Strike Eagle is a dual-role fighter designed to perform air-to-air and air-to-ground missions. An array of avionics and electronics systems gives the F-15E the capability to fight at low altitude, day or night and in all weather.

The aircraft uses two crew members, a pilot and a weapon systems officer. Previous models of the F-15 are assigned air-to-air roles; the “E” model is a dual-role fighter. It has the capability to fight its way to a target over long ranges, destroy enemy ground positions and fight its way out.

To me, these planes scream FREEDOM. God bless our military.

Margy and I went downtown and checked out a few stores. They are revitalizing the downtown area.

Flowers and plants are two things I love.

My boys, sitting in front of the ratty nasty steps to the back porch. This house needs some serious love.

I was on the back porch reading, it was sunny but super windy. All of a sudden my neighbor’s pool flipped completely over. A few days later they turned it upright and set it where it was supposed to be but it doesn’t look very good. It may be usable, who knows.

This is a new painting Trace did, I got a print and framed it. He sees many goats when he is climbing, this one is amazing. It feels like he’s looking right at you.

I rarely take my phone when I walk the dogs but happened to have it this morning, the sky was beautiful.

I just got back from walk #2 and it’s damp and cold out with more rain predicted. I just made a chai latte and I’m going to plop my butt on my new comfy couch and read.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone and thanks for the push from Florida Maryanne. This would have still been in the editing process if you hadn’t messaged me.

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Tag: North Carolina

The boys of summer

The ants from hell.