My left shoulder was giving me fits, a great deal of pain. At first I would take a Naproxen Sodium pill (Aleve) that kinda made it livable. Then my personal doctor said no NSAIDs other than your baby aspirin. Finally, she relented and said do not take more than four a day.
She had an X-ray done and referred me to a Orthopedic Surgeon and also had an MRI done.
I made to the Orthopedic Surgeon. He looked at my MRI (and I do mean my MRI, it is in my possession). He lifted me arm and moved about a little bit and said, "You need a shoulder replacement, you are bone on bone at the moment." He also gave me Cortisone shot and said that it would not do much for me.
And the shot did not do much for me. He then referred me to another Orthopedic Surgeon who does shoulder operations.
I got to see the second doctor, found out he went to LSU med school. And that he was indeed from New Orleans. He was a much younger man that the first Orthopedic Surgeon (who informed me he no longer did operations). And he also said the new doctor was the best one in the Fort Worth region.
I was impressed with the second doctor. Like the first doctor, he said bone on bone and no relief until the joint was replaced. He also said I may not recover all my range of motion but I would get pain relief. It is my left shoulder, not my primary use arm so yes, I can tolerate a good bit of loss of range of motion and not worry about. He said often the range improves with time.
He showed me on the joint displayed on his lap top computer what we were going to do. Basically, it is a total replacement of the rotator cuff with a new synthetic/plastic material that will not wear out. I will not have to come and get a grease job every so often, it is once and done. The big recovery he said was the reattachment of ligament that had to be removed for the operation. That and stitches were the big issue. And there would be some soreness for a while.
He was intent upon selling me to do the operation. I said I was ready right now to have it done. Pain relief was paramount to me.
He said recovery is about six weeks. I am sure in that time is some rehab also. But that I would get paid relief immediately. And I could quit taking Aleve or getting Cortisone shots.
My biggest issue is getting the grass cut while I am recuperating. I am pretty sure I can survive that. I do have to get clearance from my Cardiologist but I get to see in just a couple of days for a Nuclear Stress Test. So that is easy. Now it is just a matter of getting the operation scheduled.
Sunday, August 19, 2018
Saturday, August 11, 2018
Oncologist . . .
A while back while at my Cardiologist I commented about the bruise blotches on my arms and the easy bleeding I have been experiencing from my lower arms. So my Cardiologist referred me to the Oncologist to do a platelet study of sorts.
Well I had the appointment with the Oncologist and the first thing she said was, "You are old and have had a life time of sun exposure and your skin is reflecting that experience. The splotches or bruises are perfectly normal of a person of your age." In other words, you do not have a problem with your skin.
But her expertise was in Hematology - blood. So she had me bled, that is did a series of blood tests one of which one was platelet oriented. And one of the tests could only be read at their big lab in downtown Fort Worth. So the tech said go to this address, I will forward the request and they will do all the blood work. So I charged off to Fort Worth medical district and to their lab/central office for the Oncology Group. I found the place easily and parked.
Up to the second floor I went and at the desk, the attendant said, "Yes, we got the request. Have a seat and we will call you for the blood drawing." That took about 20 minutes. I saw at least five of six people go into the area where they were doing the blood drawing. And in I went and they took four vials of blood out of me. Sort of a continuing operation.
I had a follow up appointment with the Oncologist and got the results. She said you are "extraordinarily normal." There were no platelet issues to worry about. She smiled and said, "Out you go, no need for further testing."
So I trooped out to the front desk and they did something I thought was strange. They took a picture of me. The clerk alleged it was done to be able to remember who I was. I am sure they do that to all their patients that go into remission except I did not have any remission to worry about. I had no signs of cancer.
That is a big thing with me. My father and my grandmother both died of breast cancer. My father alone had four different bouts with cancer. In his middle ages he had skin cancer on his lip and on his cheek, both were treated with radiation. He had smoked but only cigars and a pipe. He of course quite smoking.
Many years later he had the bain of all men, Prostate cancer. That was taken care off and he had no more problems in that area. Then in his mid 70's he developed a sore on his left arm and examination confirmed it was Melanoma. Of course this is his third go round with cancer and second time with Melanoma. They dug out all the cancer cells in that area and remove a couple of lymph nodes which were negative. That incision healed, big scar but healed over.
Later when he was 80 they doctor repaired a hernia, hiatal hernia, common in older men. But while examining him, found a lump in his breast. That lump turned out to be breast cancer. And he had a radial mastectomy removing his breast.
Some years later he complained of not having enough energy to complete a round of golf even though he used an electric golf cart in his play. The doctor did a biopsy on his arm thinking he may have bone cancer. That turned out to be negative but they discover cancer cells going in to do the biopsy. They were breast cancer cells. The diagnosis was terminal breast cancer. He passed away seven or eight months later.
The scary part is that the lower Mississippi River Valley from Natchez to the Gulf of Mexico has the highest incidence of cancer in the US. It is common in that area. I am sure of two things, the first is all the exercise I did in the military and later in my life forestalled any serious heart disease. Yes, I have heart disease probably part hereditary and probably part exposure to Agent Orange in Viet Nam. But all the exercise kept in good shape. The other is that after the age of 21 years I moved away from Louisiana and the Mississippi Valley. At first it was only to Alexandria, LA but I was really there for less than a year, the other time spent in Viet Nam. After that I was Germany, then Virginia, Korea, California, Ohio, back to Germany and finally I retired in California. After I retired, it was California, New Mexico and Texas. All I have done since then is visit Louisiana briefly.
So I was confident I would not show up in this recent span of time with cancer and I am well beyond when my father started having cancer issues. I guess there is something good about left home on career jaunts well away from the source what ever it is. And I have been all over Europe, Asia and Africa. But no cancer as of now, 78 years of age.
Ultimately it is healthy living and exercising that has protected me so far. Yes, diet changes, better medicine and host of scientific improvements have all helped. But no cancer - hooray!
Well I had the appointment with the Oncologist and the first thing she said was, "You are old and have had a life time of sun exposure and your skin is reflecting that experience. The splotches or bruises are perfectly normal of a person of your age." In other words, you do not have a problem with your skin.
But her expertise was in Hematology - blood. So she had me bled, that is did a series of blood tests one of which one was platelet oriented. And one of the tests could only be read at their big lab in downtown Fort Worth. So the tech said go to this address, I will forward the request and they will do all the blood work. So I charged off to Fort Worth medical district and to their lab/central office for the Oncology Group. I found the place easily and parked.
Up to the second floor I went and at the desk, the attendant said, "Yes, we got the request. Have a seat and we will call you for the blood drawing." That took about 20 minutes. I saw at least five of six people go into the area where they were doing the blood drawing. And in I went and they took four vials of blood out of me. Sort of a continuing operation.
I had a follow up appointment with the Oncologist and got the results. She said you are "extraordinarily normal." There were no platelet issues to worry about. She smiled and said, "Out you go, no need for further testing."
So I trooped out to the front desk and they did something I thought was strange. They took a picture of me. The clerk alleged it was done to be able to remember who I was. I am sure they do that to all their patients that go into remission except I did not have any remission to worry about. I had no signs of cancer.
That is a big thing with me. My father and my grandmother both died of breast cancer. My father alone had four different bouts with cancer. In his middle ages he had skin cancer on his lip and on his cheek, both were treated with radiation. He had smoked but only cigars and a pipe. He of course quite smoking.
Many years later he had the bain of all men, Prostate cancer. That was taken care off and he had no more problems in that area. Then in his mid 70's he developed a sore on his left arm and examination confirmed it was Melanoma. Of course this is his third go round with cancer and second time with Melanoma. They dug out all the cancer cells in that area and remove a couple of lymph nodes which were negative. That incision healed, big scar but healed over.
Later when he was 80 they doctor repaired a hernia, hiatal hernia, common in older men. But while examining him, found a lump in his breast. That lump turned out to be breast cancer. And he had a radial mastectomy removing his breast.
Some years later he complained of not having enough energy to complete a round of golf even though he used an electric golf cart in his play. The doctor did a biopsy on his arm thinking he may have bone cancer. That turned out to be negative but they discover cancer cells going in to do the biopsy. They were breast cancer cells. The diagnosis was terminal breast cancer. He passed away seven or eight months later.
The scary part is that the lower Mississippi River Valley from Natchez to the Gulf of Mexico has the highest incidence of cancer in the US. It is common in that area. I am sure of two things, the first is all the exercise I did in the military and later in my life forestalled any serious heart disease. Yes, I have heart disease probably part hereditary and probably part exposure to Agent Orange in Viet Nam. But all the exercise kept in good shape. The other is that after the age of 21 years I moved away from Louisiana and the Mississippi Valley. At first it was only to Alexandria, LA but I was really there for less than a year, the other time spent in Viet Nam. After that I was Germany, then Virginia, Korea, California, Ohio, back to Germany and finally I retired in California. After I retired, it was California, New Mexico and Texas. All I have done since then is visit Louisiana briefly.
So I was confident I would not show up in this recent span of time with cancer and I am well beyond when my father started having cancer issues. I guess there is something good about left home on career jaunts well away from the source what ever it is. And I have been all over Europe, Asia and Africa. But no cancer as of now, 78 years of age.
Ultimately it is healthy living and exercising that has protected me so far. Yes, diet changes, better medicine and host of scientific improvements have all helped. But no cancer - hooray!
Tuesday, July 31, 2018
The Fan . . .
We are going through a really hot spell here in East Texas. Always on the edge of a semi arid climate we depend on irrigation wells to keep our lawns green and air conditioning to stay cool. But in the garage where I spend some time there is not air conditioned, just a fan or two.
A few years ago, well maybe more than a few years, I bought a killer floor fan. It is a high velocity fan about 15 or 16 inches in diameter. It could move a lot of air and I positioned it near the door so it could suck in the cooler air and cool of the garage. It did a very creditable job but then age caught up with it.
When starting up it would squawk and squeal like it had a bad bearing. But it would run. Then it started just stopping and maybe restarting later when it cooled off. I took the switch assembly apart but all the parts were okay and there was no burnt or charred items so I knew it was functioning like it should. So I figured the bearings had gone bad.
So while considering getting a new fan and tossing this one I decided to take it apart. I took the blade guard off and was able to the three blade fan off of the shaft. Not problem, it was held in place by a set screw and that was easy to get off.
The I attacked the fan motor case. It had a series of nuts and bolts around it that held the two part case and the rear fan guard in place. That was easy enough. But splitting the case was a bit more of a challenge. I was able to get it about a quarter of an inch apart, not near enough to do anything. I did not want to break or bend the case just in case I could really fix it.
After a bit of working it back and forth I got the front case off, or at least the front half of the case off. The outer electrical winding was firmly held in place by the rear half of the case. I found both the front and rear of the rotor held in place by a simple sleeve type bearings. I got the rotor off and it was in good shape. And the motor did not have brushes so that was not the problem.
I got the rotor out of the rear mount, not a ball bearing but a sleeve bearing was used in the front and rear to support the rotor. I thought maybe the shaft was galled up or the like and that was not the case. I got the rotor out and the shaft was just fine. I looked and in the rear bearing support I saw a piece of thin rear thrust washer. It had broken into two parts. I was able to fish out the bigger piece and I discarded that altogether. I figure since the fan is constantly pulling forward a rear thrust washer was of no importance. That is the shaft will be always pulling forward and thus it was just really a thin spacer.
I got my tube of trusty silicon grease that I have had for years and with a screw driver took a dab and place it in the rear support housing. Since there was not galling and apparently what grease was in there had long ago disappeared, this new stuff would work for me. I then place a dab of the grease in the front sleeve bearing. I smeared a little on both ends of the shaft. I noted that there were two or three front thrust washers and left them alone. That tube was acquired about 20 years ago to use on a dot matrix printer shaft for lubrication. I have used the grease on my models, etc. However, I got that tube of grease from Radio Shak which is not longer in existence.
I reassembled the rotor shaft and fan motor housing to the rear fan guard. I then replaced the fan blades and put the front fan blade guard back in place. Got it all screwed back together, guard in place and plug in the power. Then I turn it on. wha-la, the started right up and ran at its old top speed again. I had saved the cost of a new fan and this would continue to run for a while yet.
Sometimes it is worth while to take things apart and see if you can fix them.
A few years ago, well maybe more than a few years, I bought a killer floor fan. It is a high velocity fan about 15 or 16 inches in diameter. It could move a lot of air and I positioned it near the door so it could suck in the cooler air and cool of the garage. It did a very creditable job but then age caught up with it.
When starting up it would squawk and squeal like it had a bad bearing. But it would run. Then it started just stopping and maybe restarting later when it cooled off. I took the switch assembly apart but all the parts were okay and there was no burnt or charred items so I knew it was functioning like it should. So I figured the bearings had gone bad.
So while considering getting a new fan and tossing this one I decided to take it apart. I took the blade guard off and was able to the three blade fan off of the shaft. Not problem, it was held in place by a set screw and that was easy to get off.
The I attacked the fan motor case. It had a series of nuts and bolts around it that held the two part case and the rear fan guard in place. That was easy enough. But splitting the case was a bit more of a challenge. I was able to get it about a quarter of an inch apart, not near enough to do anything. I did not want to break or bend the case just in case I could really fix it.
After a bit of working it back and forth I got the front case off, or at least the front half of the case off. The outer electrical winding was firmly held in place by the rear half of the case. I found both the front and rear of the rotor held in place by a simple sleeve type bearings. I got the rotor off and it was in good shape. And the motor did not have brushes so that was not the problem.
I got the rotor out of the rear mount, not a ball bearing but a sleeve bearing was used in the front and rear to support the rotor. I thought maybe the shaft was galled up or the like and that was not the case. I got the rotor out and the shaft was just fine. I looked and in the rear bearing support I saw a piece of thin rear thrust washer. It had broken into two parts. I was able to fish out the bigger piece and I discarded that altogether. I figure since the fan is constantly pulling forward a rear thrust washer was of no importance. That is the shaft will be always pulling forward and thus it was just really a thin spacer.
I got my tube of trusty silicon grease that I have had for years and with a screw driver took a dab and place it in the rear support housing. Since there was not galling and apparently what grease was in there had long ago disappeared, this new stuff would work for me. I then place a dab of the grease in the front sleeve bearing. I smeared a little on both ends of the shaft. I noted that there were two or three front thrust washers and left them alone. That tube was acquired about 20 years ago to use on a dot matrix printer shaft for lubrication. I have used the grease on my models, etc. However, I got that tube of grease from Radio Shak which is not longer in existence.
I reassembled the rotor shaft and fan motor housing to the rear fan guard. I then replaced the fan blades and put the front fan blade guard back in place. Got it all screwed back together, guard in place and plug in the power. Then I turn it on. wha-la, the started right up and ran at its old top speed again. I had saved the cost of a new fan and this would continue to run for a while yet.
Sometimes it is worth while to take things apart and see if you can fix them.
Sunday, July 22, 2018
Drat, That Irrigation System . . .
After having spent a ton of money getting both the well pump being lowered (an additional forty feet) and a new pump, I am experiencing control valve problems. The old pump was simply worn out, they usually last 8 or 9 years but this one lasted 16 years, not bad at all.
Most of my control valves are "Dirty Water" valves, that is they can tolerate the amount of sand in the water. The sand is very, very fine to the extent when you taste the water it is sort of grity. In normal valves designed to be used with city water systems, there is not such debris, it has all be filtered out. And you can get a sand separator installed but they must be back flushed occasionally and do develop rust holes in the sides.
We had a separator, got it welded up once and there after removed it and threw it away whe it developed another hole. I replaced most of my control valves with the dirty water valves. But there are a few of the clean water valves still in use.
And one of them acted up. They get stuck open, run and run and run until the well is over drawn. The up side is the area gets well watered, the down side is nothing else gets watered as the well is not capable to supply more than one irrigation circuit at a time (only so many gallons of water per hour). Luckily for us, this valve was the last one in the series, that is it was the last one to run last night. So the other 9 did their job.
So I had to take it down, clean it out and reassemble it. I was able to get farther down into the valve this time, cleaned out the old sand with an old tooth brush and running water. I got it reassembled, bled the air out and once that was done the valve worked like it was supposed to do. It shut down and stayed shut down. When they get curded up with sand, they tend to stay open or on.
The valves are not complicated, a diaphragm, spring, and solenoid. But are indeed sensitive to grit (aka fine sand). This time when I reassembled the valve I added a little grease to the assembly. I know that the lubrication will wash out pretty quickly but it will get the valve functioning correctly for a while.
We are going through a terrific heat wave and the grass is suffering from lack of water. Our yard stays green because we can water it. If we were to use city water which we do inside the house it would cost three or four hundred dollars a month to irrigate. That allows us to amortize the well in about a year and half. Our well when first installed cost about $5,000 to drill, get the pump, pressure tank and hook it up to the existing irrigation system. Today that cost over $10,000.
The well has been in use for 16 years now. And of course is showing its age (a new pump for instance, they do wear out) and me cleaning out control valves and sprinkler filters. The sprinklers are easy to deal with but you have examine them every once in a while to make sure they are working correctly. Usually a brown spot shows up and one needs to take the sprinkler head off and usually the little nylon plastic screen is full of debris. Wash the sand/dirt and/or debris out and reassemble and the sprinkler works just fine. Lawn mowers and weed eaters can also do a number on exposed sprinklers.
So it is constant maintenance. I am adept at it having had two previous sprinkler systems. It is just one of those things.
Most of my control valves are "Dirty Water" valves, that is they can tolerate the amount of sand in the water. The sand is very, very fine to the extent when you taste the water it is sort of grity. In normal valves designed to be used with city water systems, there is not such debris, it has all be filtered out. And you can get a sand separator installed but they must be back flushed occasionally and do develop rust holes in the sides.
We had a separator, got it welded up once and there after removed it and threw it away whe it developed another hole. I replaced most of my control valves with the dirty water valves. But there are a few of the clean water valves still in use.
And one of them acted up. They get stuck open, run and run and run until the well is over drawn. The up side is the area gets well watered, the down side is nothing else gets watered as the well is not capable to supply more than one irrigation circuit at a time (only so many gallons of water per hour). Luckily for us, this valve was the last one in the series, that is it was the last one to run last night. So the other 9 did their job.
So I had to take it down, clean it out and reassemble it. I was able to get farther down into the valve this time, cleaned out the old sand with an old tooth brush and running water. I got it reassembled, bled the air out and once that was done the valve worked like it was supposed to do. It shut down and stayed shut down. When they get curded up with sand, they tend to stay open or on.
The valves are not complicated, a diaphragm, spring, and solenoid. But are indeed sensitive to grit (aka fine sand). This time when I reassembled the valve I added a little grease to the assembly. I know that the lubrication will wash out pretty quickly but it will get the valve functioning correctly for a while.
We are going through a terrific heat wave and the grass is suffering from lack of water. Our yard stays green because we can water it. If we were to use city water which we do inside the house it would cost three or four hundred dollars a month to irrigate. That allows us to amortize the well in about a year and half. Our well when first installed cost about $5,000 to drill, get the pump, pressure tank and hook it up to the existing irrigation system. Today that cost over $10,000.
The well has been in use for 16 years now. And of course is showing its age (a new pump for instance, they do wear out) and me cleaning out control valves and sprinkler filters. The sprinklers are easy to deal with but you have examine them every once in a while to make sure they are working correctly. Usually a brown spot shows up and one needs to take the sprinkler head off and usually the little nylon plastic screen is full of debris. Wash the sand/dirt and/or debris out and reassemble and the sprinkler works just fine. Lawn mowers and weed eaters can also do a number on exposed sprinklers.
So it is constant maintenance. I am adept at it having had two previous sprinkler systems. It is just one of those things.
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
Death . . .
We, my wife and I, are of an age where our friends are dying. It is trying to hear of someone you knew passing away. It just does not fit in correctly.
Recently a local friend who had been dealing with a patch on his back via Veterans Administration treatment suddenly was entered into Hospice for cancer. And then with in a week, he passed away.
That was shocking to me. Last year in August we drove up to Denton to a model airplane swap meet. While driving up there he was sedate but he was always a quite kinda of person. We got there and we wandered all around the place looking at the wares for sale by owners. Lots of junk, but the old adage about one man's junk is another man's treasure holds true at these events. But a careful shopper makes good bargains.
I noted he did not buy anything but I did not think much about it. I did not buy much either, I am pretty selective now days. Not that I can not afford it, I just do not need it. And I do not have space for it either.
We had our fun and returned back to Weatherford. I dropped him off not thinking much about it. It literally was he last time I saw him. I shall miss him.
He had tried to retire once but his wife was going to school for an advanced degree, so he had to go back to work. He worked at the local Ford dealership, driving people home, picking them up and running the housekeeping operations of cutting the grass and cleaning up the buildings. He liked his work but fretted about getting his team to do the work. Often, the team had team members that were assigned to him by the owner/manager who had hired them as a favor for someone. And they often really did not do very good work. But he was stuck with them and could not let them go without clearance from the big boss.
Now he is beyond that point. No more of those kinds of worries. And we worry about his wife as she too has medical problems too. I am sure I will next see his house up for sale and she will move on a care facility of some sort.
It is the fate of age, it always catches up with us. We are just growing old. I mourn for him in a detached way as I know my time will also come to pass.
Recently a local friend who had been dealing with a patch on his back via Veterans Administration treatment suddenly was entered into Hospice for cancer. And then with in a week, he passed away.
That was shocking to me. Last year in August we drove up to Denton to a model airplane swap meet. While driving up there he was sedate but he was always a quite kinda of person. We got there and we wandered all around the place looking at the wares for sale by owners. Lots of junk, but the old adage about one man's junk is another man's treasure holds true at these events. But a careful shopper makes good bargains.
I noted he did not buy anything but I did not think much about it. I did not buy much either, I am pretty selective now days. Not that I can not afford it, I just do not need it. And I do not have space for it either.
We had our fun and returned back to Weatherford. I dropped him off not thinking much about it. It literally was he last time I saw him. I shall miss him.
He had tried to retire once but his wife was going to school for an advanced degree, so he had to go back to work. He worked at the local Ford dealership, driving people home, picking them up and running the housekeeping operations of cutting the grass and cleaning up the buildings. He liked his work but fretted about getting his team to do the work. Often, the team had team members that were assigned to him by the owner/manager who had hired them as a favor for someone. And they often really did not do very good work. But he was stuck with them and could not let them go without clearance from the big boss.
Now he is beyond that point. No more of those kinds of worries. And we worry about his wife as she too has medical problems too. I am sure I will next see his house up for sale and she will move on a care facility of some sort.
It is the fate of age, it always catches up with us. We are just growing old. I mourn for him in a detached way as I know my time will also come to pass.
Saturday, July 7, 2018
The Well . . .
We have had a water well for irrigation purposes almost as long as we have owned this house. The well is about 200 feet deep and goes into the Paluxey aquifer. The Paluxey is a river, more like a large creek, west of us but apparently feeds this aquifer. There is another aquifer below it but it is well over six hundred feet down. And that is quite expensive to drill to.
We live in the city limits and one would ask why a well. The City of Weatherford thinks extremely highly of their water. It is extremely pricey. I cost us about $6,000 to drill our well and have he pump and electrical work done. We amortized that in two years. So since then the expense of the well has been maintenance of the system and the electricity to operate the sprinkler system and run the pump. I would guess that would have been maybe $100 or $150 a year. And for that we have a green yard.
Of late the well has been acting up. We had the well people check it out and it ended up with a new pump to be installed. That was $1,790 but once every 16 years, well that is not much. While we were at it we had the pump lowered down deeper into the aquifer. We added 40 feet of pipe. So now we know we will not cavitate the pump.
So we are about to green up again. I have been running the water extra cycles to get the grass green again. Surprisingly the grass responds quickly, in just a couple of days it is nice and green again.
Few people do not realize we are in a semi arid zone, next to desert almost. We get seasonal rains in the Spring and they suffer through a long hot and dry summer. We get cracks in the ground and the trees seem to suffer through it all. Watering keeps the trees healthy too.
Now back to fixing sprinklers, adjusting them, cleaning them (yes, they have little filters to catch debris and some times stop up). I consider an irrigation system as a source of constant maintenance. It is just upkeep but it has to be done.
We live in the city limits and one would ask why a well. The City of Weatherford thinks extremely highly of their water. It is extremely pricey. I cost us about $6,000 to drill our well and have he pump and electrical work done. We amortized that in two years. So since then the expense of the well has been maintenance of the system and the electricity to operate the sprinkler system and run the pump. I would guess that would have been maybe $100 or $150 a year. And for that we have a green yard.
Of late the well has been acting up. We had the well people check it out and it ended up with a new pump to be installed. That was $1,790 but once every 16 years, well that is not much. While we were at it we had the pump lowered down deeper into the aquifer. We added 40 feet of pipe. So now we know we will not cavitate the pump.
So we are about to green up again. I have been running the water extra cycles to get the grass green again. Surprisingly the grass responds quickly, in just a couple of days it is nice and green again.
Few people do not realize we are in a semi arid zone, next to desert almost. We get seasonal rains in the Spring and they suffer through a long hot and dry summer. We get cracks in the ground and the trees seem to suffer through it all. Watering keeps the trees healthy too.
Now back to fixing sprinklers, adjusting them, cleaning them (yes, they have little filters to catch debris and some times stop up). I consider an irrigation system as a source of constant maintenance. It is just upkeep but it has to be done.
Doldrums . . .
Extraordinarily hot yesterday. Then out of nowhere blows up a nice shower. Rains about 20 minutes and soaks everything. Better than watering any day of the year. Muggy later but a cool night and AM very pleasant to walk my mile and half this morning.
We had the well tuned up and I have been watering extra to get back to even so to speak. Had some dry spots and used the hose pipe and individual sprinkler to work on those parched spots. That surely greened them up and now the rain has done a better job.
Front grass on the left side of the yard really looks bad. I am thinking the yard people who do the spreading of fertilizer got the wrong stuff on the yard. I will do some of my own spreading and see what happens. But regardless the grass is in really bad shape. Water helps but it is not the be all, need some nutrients to make the grass grow.
I know it is kind of hot to be putting out fertilizer but something needs to be done. I can see where the tree man droves some tree spikes in the ground to fertilize the tree. Those spots are nice and green. So that tells me we need to do something.
I did not cut the far back last grass cutting session. It needed to have a rest too. It does not get treated by the yard people. We are going to start getting them to put stuff down back there too. But you can not even see the difference between where I cut the grass and where I did not cut the grass. Pretty bad.
Oh well gives me something to do and worry about.
We had the well tuned up and I have been watering extra to get back to even so to speak. Had some dry spots and used the hose pipe and individual sprinkler to work on those parched spots. That surely greened them up and now the rain has done a better job.
Front grass on the left side of the yard really looks bad. I am thinking the yard people who do the spreading of fertilizer got the wrong stuff on the yard. I will do some of my own spreading and see what happens. But regardless the grass is in really bad shape. Water helps but it is not the be all, need some nutrients to make the grass grow.
I know it is kind of hot to be putting out fertilizer but something needs to be done. I can see where the tree man droves some tree spikes in the ground to fertilize the tree. Those spots are nice and green. So that tells me we need to do something.
I did not cut the far back last grass cutting session. It needed to have a rest too. It does not get treated by the yard people. We are going to start getting them to put stuff down back there too. But you can not even see the difference between where I cut the grass and where I did not cut the grass. Pretty bad.
Oh well gives me something to do and worry about.
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