...taming the back yard, 1.5

yesterday...we left my "patch" setting up...
today...the first thing I did was to glue it to the door...
[where it will "set-up" overnight...]
of course... my clamp was just a bit too short...
to fit as the manufacturer intended...so I "jury-rigged" it ...
using a trowel for leverage and the expansion lever of the clamp...

I actually looked up the term ...it is "jury-rigged"...
which means an emergency repair from whatever is at hand...
NOT "jerry-rigged" which comes from "jerry-built"...
and means built with inferior materials & poor workmanship...
an intentionally fraudulent item...built to sell, but not to last...

so now that I've gotten that out of my system...



we move on to today's target areas...
the corner next to the house, by the gate...



half of the massive "pile o'leaves"...
behind the gate, next to the fence...



the other half of the "m p o'l"...
on the other side of my cover/cushion storage bag...
in front of the fence...looking towards the garage corner...
[yes...that IS a kitty/critter door...
in the garage door...that REALLY needs paint...]



from the other side of the "bed"...
looking towards the fence/garage corner...
across all the crap I need to sort/move...
[sigh]

after cleaning out the corner next to the house...
I decided that the 1st half of the mpo'l...
which had been greatly added to from the corner, had to go...
my question was "how ?"...

I have a limited amount of exertive physical maneuvers...
in my aging body before I lock up in a spasm of arthritic pain...
so I needed to minimize my efforts...
in the most efficacious way I could dream up...

this was my first attempt...



use my mini clamps to clamp the plastic bag open in the can...
fill it using the plastic grain shovel...
the spillage just falls in the can to be disposed of later...
then unclamp the mini clamps...and lift the filled bag out...

the concept was sound...
BUT...
the mini clamps ripped the bag
when I stuffed the bag too full..
[also when I didn't stuff it too full...]



it was all I could do to get the bag out without it falling apart...
I ended up just dumping it into the green waste can...

NOT the outcome I had wanted...
and... it took too much time and messing around...
not to mention effort on my part...

I eventually found a box of stronger bags[Forceflex]...

there was still some tearing...

BUT...

I finally figured out that that it would "work"...

if...

a] I was careful HOW I clamped...
and...
b] I didn't stuff the bags so full...



several sweaty, sneezy hours... and 9 bags later...
I had disposed of the leaves...from the patio area anyway...

also 2 planters the bottoms came off of...
the metal cart that was rusted through...
the past-its-date cat food...
a mile of creeper vine...
a rusted wood holder...
a ton of brittle plastic[in the trash can...]
and several disgusting old cat beds...

as well as having sorted out and stored...
a LOT of potting supplies...

having had enough...I sat down, had a drink...
and noticed the grapefruit on the patio table...

there had been a bunch of grapefruit on my tree...
I had picked..and tried to eat them...
they were all pith...or dry & woody [frost damage...]
so I reluctantly threw them away...
all that is, but one...

it was heavy...and felt like a grapefruit...
so I kept it... I just hadn't checked it out yet...
since I was hungry...I peeled it...
it looked good...



then I tasted it...yummm...
just what I had in mind when I bought this tree...
sweet red grapefruit...juicy... no sugar needed...
a perfect snack... sitting in a breezy backyard...
the Piglet on the prowl...and the blue jay harassing her...



here you see my "true dwarf" "Rio Red Grapefruit" tree...
and the good news [for me, anyway...]
it has 7 or 8 immature grapefruit on it...



click on the picture if you want the particulars...
of this tree variety & grower source...
[I got it at OSH...a couple of years ago...]



here you see the clean corner, by the garage...
where there was a huge pile of leaves...
the "bed " to the right is where the huge pile of crap was...

you see my hibachi grill...
the 2 planters that still HAVE bottoms...
a glass water bottle that may some day...
be a wonderful terrarium, again...
and one of my 2 strawberry pots...
with some rosemary setting on it...



by the fence...the bakers rack with plants...
this was before I moved the cover/cushion storage in front of it...



the old coffee table with all 4 ferns on it now...



the cover/cushion storage in place...



the corner by the house...



and the patio area...

I need ...

a large drink [of water...]
several Excedrin...
lunch...
a shower...
& a nap...

[not necessarily in that order...]