One More Thing to Fix

I think today was pretty productive. It was a relatively good day overall, with some minor exceptions.

I woke up around 9:00 a.m. and made it outside by 10:00.

When I stepped outside this morning, it was about 50 degrees. It was cool, but it was also really comfortable.

I didn't have much of a plan.

So I took the tractor and decided to check on the burn pile and see how far it had burned down overnight.

Before heading that way, I decided I should take one of the tractor implements over toward the barn. It's time to start getting those things organized and stored where they belong too.

Yesterday I moved the back blade over there.

Today, the post hole digger.

When I got to the burn pile, it was still smoldering from yesterday. Most of the vegetation and wood had burned down, and what seemed to be left was mostly dirt and ash, probably from turning the pile over and digging material up from underneath.

Not really sure what I wanted to do next, I decided it was finally time to take down the ladder that's been leaning against the side of the workshop since we purchased the property last year.

My partner has told me several times that we should take it down.

The problem was that it was covered in ivy.

I didn't think it was poison ivy, but I also didn't really want to find out the hard way.

Today I decided to use the tractor to pull it down.

I slowly and carefully pulled the ladder away from the building, making sure it wasn't attached to anything and wouldn't damage the workshop when it came down.

I pulled it out onto the main lawn in front of the workshop and stood there looking at it.

Well...

You know I couldn't just stop there.

So I drove the tractor around behind the workshop and decided to push through the weeds to see if there was any more garbage or trash hiding along that side of the building.

And wouldn't you know it...

There really wasn't.

An old bicycle.

Part of an old lawn mower.

An old pressure tank.

And that was about it.

Nothing major.

Everything went into the metal scrap pile, and now that side of the workshop is clear. At some point, I'll actually be able to mow around back there without worrying about what I'm going to hit.

Once the ladder was down, I took a picture of the ivy and did a Google image search.

Apparently, it's an Oriental Bittersweet.

It's neither edible nor poisonous and doesn't cause the type of skin irritation poison ivy does.

So I guess there was nothing to worry about after all.

I went back to the burn pile and pushed it around with the tractor loader to get some air underneath it and hopefully keep anything buried underneath burning.

Wyatt and I headed back to camp for a little break.

He was a little loving today.

Well...

He is everyday.

He loves attention.

According to the news, there is a nor'easter coming up the East Coast. I don't expect it to have much impact where we are, but I figured today was probably my best opportunity to take down the inflatable pool and get it put away for the winter.

I've been planning to do it for several days, but other than draining the water, I hadn't gotten very far.

When my kids were little, they had inflatable slides and things like that. Whenever I packed them away, I cleaned them with Simple Green. It always did a really good job of keeping them from getting moldy and preventing the dirt from staining them too badly.

So I decided to head into town, get some lunch, and pick up a bottle of Simple Green.

I stopped at the bakery and had a chicken salad sandwich on a croissant.

It's honestly one of my favorite sandwiches.

It's light.

It's delicious.

You just can't go wrong.

Then I headed to Walmart, picked up the Simple Green, and started back toward the farm.

This time, I decided to take the scenic route.

One of the properties I passed has done something really cool.

They cut a track through their field.

The last time we drove by, I couldn't figure out what they were using it for. I thought maybe dirt bikes or something, but the track was grass and wasn't torn up, so I wasn't really sure.

Today I got my answer.

There were little go-karts sitting on the track, maybe the size for a kid 8 years old or younger. I can only imagine how much fun they must have driving around that track on their own property.

It looked awesome.

I continued up the mountain and came across this beautiful view.

Today was just spectacular.

The view was beautiful, the leaves are changing colors, and now there are even more oranges and reds starting to appear.

It seemed like today there was one beautiful site after another.

Eventually, I made it back to the farm.

I didn't really have a great plan for how I was going to clean the pool.

It's a soft-sided inflatable pool, so I couldn't exactly step inside and start scrubbing it.

So I improvised.

I hooked a 20-foot strap around a tree, slid it underneath the pool, and then used the tractor and strap to pull everything tight.

Essentially, I hung the pool on a giant clothesline.

I keep finding new uses for the tractor.

It might be one of the most useful pieces of equipment we've purchased so far.

Once the pool was hanging, I filled a bucket with water and Simple Green. Then, using the pool brush, I scrubbed everything down, rinsed it, and removed a large amount of the leaves, debris, and dirt that had accumulated on the bottom over the past few weeks.

Normally, the pool has a cover.

But we'd had some heavy storms, and the cover filled with water. Eventually, the weight of all that water pushed the cover off and into the yard.

Then the leaves started falling.

One bad thing became another.

The pool looked pretty dirty when I started, but after the second and third rinses, it looked much better.

It wasn't perfect.

It certainly wasn't brand new.

But from my experience, the Simple Green should help keep it from getting worse and might actully help remove some of the dirt while it's rolled up and stored. Hopefully, it'll prevent some of that dirt from sticking and staining.

The thing is big and heavy and not easy to move around.

Short of refilling it with water, climbing inside, and cleaning it that way, I really didn't see a better option.

I guess if we set it up again next year, I'll have to spend some time giving it another cleaning.

Honestly, I'm not even sure we're going to refill it next year.

Considering the amount of work it took to fill it, maintain it, drain it, clean it, and now put it away, we might be better off with a hot tub or something more permanent that can simply be drained and winterized.

Once the pool was clean, rolled up, and wrapped in a tarp, I picked the entire thing up with the tractor and brought it over to the barn.

Eventually, I'll get it inside for storage.

But for today, it's wrapped up outside waiting for me to make enough room inside the barn.

I can't really put everything away until I finish cleaning the barn so there's actually somewhere to put everything.

I can't put the horse before the cart, as they say.

Then I decided to check the burn pile again.

It had burned down really well.

It was probably about one-third of the size it had been when I started.

Most of what remained was ash and dirt. There was still some organic material, weeds and plants that hadn't completely burned, and even a few 2x4s that had been buried underneath.

But for the most part, it was dirt and ash.

So I decided the best thing to do was start cleaning it up.

I began moving what remained of the burn pile over to where I found the pile of logs a couple of days ago.

My thinking was pretty simple.

Eventually, those logs need to be burned or dealt with anyway.

I might as well move the ash and dirt over there and make that the next burn pile. As I continue turning and moving everything, the logs underneath can slowly burn down or eventually rot.

Either way, the old burn pile needed to be moved, and that seemed like the best place for it.

I was just getting close to finishing when I noticed something.

The right front tire on the tractor was flat.

Not just flat.

The valve stem had been pushed inside the rim, so I couldn't even access it to try to put air in the tire.

And wouldn't you know it...

This is the same tire the dealer claimed they fixed just two weeks ago.

Of course, today is Friday.

Which means tomorrow is Saturday.

My only real option is to take the tire to the tire shop, which is almost an hour away, and have them either replace the tube or straighten out whatever happened. I guess worst case is they will put a new tire on the rim.

So tomorrow will probably become a tire day.

Nearly an hour there.

Nearly an hour back.

I'll probably make the best of it, do some laundry, get some lunch, and hopefully they won't take too long repairing the tire.

By the time I made it back to camp, it was somewhere around 5:00.

Maybe a little earlier.

But close enough.

I was dirty.

Dusty.

Grimy.

Smelly.

Wet.

Stinky.

Honestly, I was probably the dirtiest I've been in a while.

So I went straight into the shower and scrubbed everything off.

And now...

I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing for dinner.

Honestly, I'm not even sure I'm hungry.

Maybe I'll just snack on something later.

Overall, though, today was a pretty good day.

Another section behind the workshop is cleaned up.

The pool is cleaned and ready to be stored for winter.

Another tractor implement is where it belongs.

The burn pile is almost completely gone.

And for once, when I pushed into an overgrown area expecting to uncover another garbage dump...

I didn't.

I'll take that as a win.

Of course, the tractor now has a flat tire.

Because apparently Memory Lane can't let me get too comfortable.

... and as I finish this blog I can see Wyatt sitting outside content, the king... the ruler of all Memory Lane.

~ Making Memories