MJ's little flock

[MaryJanet]

A truly delightful picture.
I started out strong fueled by a small bar of dark chocolate marzipan. Pieces just flew into place.
Then Nightshade came to rescue the situation and ensure that I was able to enjoy the puzzle for much longer.
Apparently puzzles are something NIghtshade and I do together!
I was missing an edge until the last few pieces (my eyesight probably) and I was sure Nightshade had lost it for me!
Thank you for that - it was a great puzzle.

I'm so glad the puzzles give you both a new hobby! Does Nightshade like helping you with physical jigsaw puzzles too?

 

[MaryJanet]

The builders are here today, putting posts up. I'll share photos later.

5 of 8 posts are in and some of the props are out. They're doing the remaining 3 on Wednesday.

I already feel like the house is starting to smile. Not a big smile, no teeth yet, but a definite smile

 

[MaryJanet]

My brother gifted the chickens a mirror today.

They've ignored it, or maybe avoided it, all day.

Not Blossom who was profoundly offended to see another cat in the run.

Look at her tail hairs bristling!

She came to terms in due course.

 

[RoyalChick]

5 of 8 posts are in and some of the props are out. They're doing the remaining 3 on Wednesday.

View attachment 3755900

View attachment 3755901

View attachment 3755902

View attachment 3755903

I already feel like the house is starting to smile. Not a big smile, no teeth yet, but a definite smile

Oooh - it is really coming together!

 

[RoyalChick]

I'm so glad the puzzles give you both a new hobby! Does Nightshade like helping you with physical jigsaw puzzles too?

I think one of the reasons I am enjoying these is that I used to like doing physical puzzles but it is very hard to do with cats. A puzzle of any complexity causes them to swipe pieces off the table and chase them around the floor. And if the picture is at all interesting they will even mess with the parts you have completed.
Nightshade is doing all of that, but at least I am not crawling around on my hands and knees looking under the sofa for a missing piece of sky!

 

[MaryJanet]

Oooh - it is really coming together!

Let's do a before and now.

 

[RoyalChick]

Let's do a before and now.

View attachment 3756335

View attachment 3756336

Ooooh!
I know you were thinking about planters - have you thought about some hanging baskets?

 

[MaryJanet]

Ooooh!
I know you were thinking about planters - have you thought about some hanging baskets?

I had them when I first moved in and they looked lovely - I planted lobelia and it looked wonderful. But the overflow accelerated the subsidence. That might not happen now the veranda platform is built to today's standards and with today's materials. However, the other problem is that baskets dry out in very quickly in the heat and wind so they need daily or twice daily water. That's OK in the chicken run where I'm tipping out the hens' water daily anyway (I keep a watering can in the run and it gets used every day to water hanging basket mini gardens, two of which overspill onto Janet and Joyce's lavenders). But it would be a nuisance on the front veranda. I'd have to ask for baskets to be a section of the future irrigation system and I'll still worry about causing future subsidence (I could line the baskets with thick builders' plastic). However, I'm making some inroads to boxes around the front at ground level, which will also serve a safety function by directing visitors to the steps. I talked to my brother about it and we're going to ask the builder about making them for us out of a hardwood when there's some more money available. From what I recently learned about timber prices, I imagine it'll be around $8k for the timber, plus labour. I won't use any other material because the dimensions and shape are unusual so it needs to be cut to fit and I don't want it overheating in the sun, drying out and killing the plants. There's still the problem of getting water to the biggest one, so that might have to be a wick-watered box. If one is going to be wick-watered, the other one might as well too. That means both boxes would be lined with think builders' plastic to prevent water leakage.

None of these plans are for the short-term. I think I made an earlier post with a long list of expensive works to follow after the veranda. The boxes are yet another expensive task, which will go on the very end of that list. At my age, I have to earn it before I can spend it - and the earning part is slow.

 

[MaryJanet]

One of the unique geographical problems is that during a heat wave, your potted plants need your help the most, but if you venture outside long enough to water them, you'll fry and eventually get skin cancer. So, people often water their pots and gardens with irrigation systems on timers, so the water is delivered shortly after sunset. That way the plants have the night to replenish before facing the heat the next day. But it means your pots get the same volume of water automatically delivered as the rest of the garden, so they need to drain off, or you put in a more expensive irrigation system that has different sections in it.

Putting in an irrigation system means either trenching or laying irrigation pipe so that it's visible, and it's unsightly. Trenching is expensive.

 

[MaryJanet]

I think one of the reasons I am enjoying these is that I used to like doing physical puzzles but it is very hard to do with cats. A puzzle of any complexity causes them to swipe pieces off the table and chase them around the floor. And if the picture is at all interesting they will even mess with the parts you have completed.
Nightshade is doing all of that, but at least I am not crawling around on my hands and knees looking under the sofa for a missing piece of sky!

Blossom was no help at all on the Christmas puzzle! She mostly left it alone, but on the days she took an interest, it was cat-astrophic. I need to get one of those felt roll-ups for packing away a partially completed puzzle.