"Weekend Doin's"

[Karl Laustrup]

Friday May 9th, 2008

GOOD MORNING "CREEKERS"!

The mowing season is upon us. Yeah, I know that you southern boys been mowing for a while now but, I just did mine for the first time this past week. Felt good to get on the JD with the mower deck instead of the snow thrower.

After trapping, and disposing of, upwards of 18 moles last summer, it appears the moles and I are going to resume our war. They have made swiss cheese out of my back yard. I've always had a problem with them, but over the last three years or so, it's gotten really bad. There hasn't been anything going on in neighboring lots so I don't know where they're coming from, or how I've gotten so lucky to have what appears to be the majority of the mole population of Wisconsin in residence on my one acre.

While the foot is still being problematic, I am able to accomplish some things before it starts hurting really bad. So, I'm going to finish up in the basement and then turn my attention to the shop/garage. I've still got a good days worth of work in the shop, to just get cleaned up and ready to do some WW'ing. Hopefully, by the end of the weekend I'll have accomplished both of my objectives.

What's happening in your part of the world?? We do like to hear your plans for the weekend. Just remember, they are plans. Everything is subject to change.

Hope your weekend is enjoyable, productive and SAFE.

Karl

[Russ Boyd]

I'm building the footings for my shop. FINALLY!

[Matt Meiser]

Woodworking wise, I'm planning to get the sides glued up and all the other pieces cut to size for the bookshelf I'm building my mom. I'd like to finish that up this week so I can move on to other things. Tomorrow afternoon we are going on a fund raiser bus trip up to one of the casinos in Detroit. I'm not planning to try my luck too hard as lucky as I got when we were in Vegas. Sunday I image will spend most of the day over at my parents' seeing as it is Mothers Day and my mom has been out of the country for the past 2 weeks.

[alex grams]

work on bookshelf to go along with the desk i made for the wife.

Also, do some crown molding and yard work

[Mike SoRelle]

I've been working with my 13 year old daughter on some wall shelves for SWMBO so we'll be finishing those up tomorrow. For mothers day proper I plan on manning the grill for dinner and otherwise just enjoying the day.

Moles are evil Karl, but they are good for target practice.

Mike

[Craig McCormick]

Shop wise I hope to get a counter top installed on what will become my sharpening center and shop sink cabinet. I may also start planing the used lumber I acquired to sheet my shop ceiling.

The grass didn't grow much his past week so I get the weekend off for that. Got a bid to have my property laser leveled yesterday. My flood irrigation water does not cover the whole yard. The high spots are too high and some of the berms that help contain the water are too low. He will laser grade the whole acre and fix all my berms for $1700!

Have fun,

Craig McCormick

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Work on completing a cabinet for the shop.

Sunday, Mother's day things all day..Sharon and I call our mothers.....the kids will call Sharon.

Maybe take a short 200 mile drive up the Clearwater and Lochsa Rivers.

Last night I had to attend a sales presentation and ate the best steak I've ever eaten. Sunday, it's no cooking day for Sharon so.....I'm going to fix brunch and then supper. I think if I buy a bottle of dry red wine, red onions and the right steaks I can do imitate that steak.

[Jim Becker]

Karl...hope the foot feels better soon. On the moles...if you have a lot of them, it's because you have a lot of what they like to eat: grubs. Work on remediation of the latter and you'll have less issue with these subterranean rodents. Did my second mow of the season yesterday after a false start on Wednesday that required removing the deck off the tractor and fixing a blade that just was not spinning...seems a bolt worked itself loose over the winter all by itself.

My weekend will entail finishing up Nastia's "new" room...I just have some trim work to complete and then a complete cleaning. Once that is done and we have her moved in, I have to get up on the extension ladder in the great room and vacuum off the barn beams...years of regular dust as well as construction debris have got to go before I start moving furniture into the space. I still need to do trim work in there, but the painters finished yesterday at about noon and I can put in the trim with the furniture in the room with no problem. Everything I will be doing in that respect will be pre-finished. Then we start moving some other rooms around...

I do need to get into the shop to get the glass in the wet bar doors, but that also means a major shop cleaning...it's trashed right now for some reason.

[alex grams]

Come down to Houston Jim, I've been mowing my yard weekly for the last month at least

At least my tomato's and bell peppers are producing like mad, already have probably a hundred tomatoes on the vine with the roma's nearly 3-4 inches long and the better boys about the size of baseballs.

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

if you have a lot of them, it's because you have a lot of what they like to eat: grubs

I never realized that. I do know that Skunks and various birds also love grubs, and skunks especially will do a number on a lawn to get at 'em. I usually use Grub-X or some other pesticide, but I've toyed on and off with the idea of using "milky spore" to "innoculate" my yard against grubs. has anyone here ever used it?

[Grady Cowardin]

Come down to Houston Jim, I've been mowing my yard weekly for the last month at least

At least my tomato's and bell peppers are producing like mad, already have probably a hundred tomatoes on the vine with the roma's nearly 3-4 inches long and the better boys about the size of baseballs.

Any secret to the Bell Peppers? We can get them to sprout and jump to about 6" and that's about it. They get the morning sun as they are on the east facing fence but after about 2pm they are in the shade since that's the hottest time etc. I would love to have Roma's growing as well.

[Tyler Howell]

Come on Gimpy, get well soon!!!
Back up at the new place. Went to the cities for some brief business and got trapped by three days of $$$$ truck repairs.
Pretty P.Od with no wheels, nothing to do and so much that needs doing at the new place.
I'm here now. spending time unpacking and setting up the shop.
Going to plant some trees this week to replace those lost in the big fire last year. Also hope to get together with creeker Rick Schubert.

I think all of those fall under the catagory of WW.

Have a safe weekend.
TJH

[Clara Koss]

Friday May 9th, 2008

GOOD MORNING "CREEKERS"!

The mowing season is upon us. Yeah, I know that you southern boys been mowing for a while now but, I just did mine for the first time this past week. Felt good to get on the JD with the mower deck instead of the snow thrower.

After trapping, and disposing of, upwards of 18 moles last summer, it appears the moles and I are going to resume our war. They have made swiss cheese out of my back yard. I've always had a problem with them, but over the last three years or so, it's gotten really bad. There hasn't been anything going on in neighboring lots so I don't know where they're coming from, or how I've gotten so lucky to have what appears to be the majority of the mole population of Wisconsin in residence on my one acre.

While the foot is still being problematic, I am able to accomplish some things before it starts hurting really bad. So, I'm going to finish up in the basement and then turn my attention to the shop/garage. I've still got a good days worth of work in the shop, to just get cleaned up and ready to do some WW'ing. Hopefully, by the end of the weekend I'll have accomplished both of my objectives.

What's happening in your part of the world?? We do like to hear your plans for the weekend. Just remember, they are plans. Everything is subject to change.

Hope your weekend is enjoyable, productive and SAFE.

Karl

you're so funny...maybe that's attracting the moles, your unscarry personality....

[alex grams]

Grady,
One of the biggest problems i had last year with my garden was water control. If you plant your garden in Houston you have to fight the rain, it either is flooded or cracked dry ground. The top 3 inches of soil where i live is the rock hard clay, which is hell for fresh plant roots to get through.

I ended up building a garden that is about 2' above the surrounding yard, and using pavestones as a wall for it. I added about 50 pounds of pelletized gypsum and mixed that in, with about 3-4 inches of sand, then the rest was good humus, peat moss, and garden soil. I busted up the original ground below the garden as much as I could, then mixed that all up, and then planted away.

The gypsum will break down the clay that forms the crust of the ground (i am on the west side by the reservoir) and then you get some better drainage into the ground below the clay. It will take about a year before the gypsum really starts moving, but after about 2 years of doing this, the clay barrier should be mostly broken down.

I would advise as much sun as possible on your garden (this for tomatoes, jalepenos, bell peppers, other plants needs may vary). Ours has a straight east/west open sky and gets sun from about 9am to 6pm. We have about 3-4 bell peppers at the moment about baseball size, and more on the way.

Something else to consider (and i am newer to this, so could be open to debate) but higher nitrogen fertilizers will make tomatoes drop their blooms (same may apply to bell peppers, but I'm not certain). If you fertilize, use a low nitrogen fertilizer. I've had plants in the past bloom like crazy then produce little to no fruit.

Here is a pic of the garden arrangement, it is much nicer to be able to control the water and not worrying about the plants flooding.

[Karl Laustrup]

Thanks Jim. I do know about the grubs being good food for the moles, as well as skunks, racoons, possums and who knows what other creatures that like to tear up a lawn. On the plus side, something is digging for the moles as I'm finding some pretty big holes where the mole tracks are.

Between the above mentioned animals, I'm thinking I might as well get some dynomite and just start chunking dynomite sticks into the backyard. What ya'll think??

On advice of many different people, up this way, I used barn lime on the entire lawn last summer. 50+ bags worth. It's a lot cheaper than Grub X but, it's a pain to spread. It doesn't seem like it's done anything to contain the grubs. I'm thinking the moles are wintering under the slab of the garage. Maybe I could drill holes in the slab during the winter and put something to kill them in the holes? DYNOMITE!!!!

You know what Clara, you are probably right. I think I'll get my mean and nasty face on and go out there and scare them to death.

Karl