Reclaiming the Shack: The Ugly, Unabridged Before Photos

We are experiencing a shot of glorious, sunny, unusually autumn-like weather this week.  For example, it was 58 degrees when I let Ruby out this morning, and the high temperature this afternoon may make it to 80.  It's been like this for two days already, which means that these are perfect conditions to tackle a project that's been haunting me ... the dumping ground that exists inside our cute little outbuilding that we affectionately call "The Shack".  (You have seen glimpses of this building in some of my photos, but I don't remember ever showing you what the inside looks like.)

The building is nice and straight ... it's the door that's crooked.

 

 

There it is, beside the greenhouse.

 

That's The Shack with the green metal roof with that great vent on top.

When we bought this place in 2002, The Shack was piled full of junk.  (real junk ... not the good kind that some of us hunt down and pay money for.)  It had a cracked concrete floor that was fourteen inches below the door sill, so it was quite a step over and down to go inside.  One summer, I cleared out that junk to install a new floor system ... to make it solid, level, and dry. 

 

 

Doesn't every gardener have an enormous, embarrassing pot dump?

 

I designed the floor framing to be sort of like a deck, with double outer rim joists, a double central beam, and field joists that are hung from joist hangers ... all of this was to lift the framing off the floor and to make it independent of the homemade rock-and-mortar foundation.  Ran out of plywood toward the end of the project, and never took the time to get more and finish the job.  Soon, we started to gradually load the building with our OWN junk.  (sigh)

 

 

 

In the interest of full disclosure, I admit that I had tidied up a little bit before I thought to take these photos.  The central path you see wasn't quite as wide as it is now, because I had to move some things in order to have room to walk through while I worked.  The worst of what I cleaned up was two large bags of potting soil that were exploded and spread around by a groundhog.  In fact, I am fairly certain that there is a groundhog living in the northeast corner under the floor ... evidence of this is the damage done to four foam stool cushions, three of which are chewed to pieces and one is completely gone.

See in the center of this photo how the floor isn't finished?

 

The stain on the floor in the lower left corner of this photo is from what the groundhog did to the potting soil.

 

 

My goal for right now is modest ... I have to empty the building.  I can't do this by simply moving everything somewhere else, because there ISN'T anywhere else that will hold it all.  Since I'm not using the greenhouse to produce roses for sale right now, it can serve as a temporary home for some of this stuff.

 

Lots of treasures in this photo!

 

 

These windows will replace the Shack's current tiny shed windows.

 

 

I'm having to make some hard decisions about other things ... am I REALLY keeping things to use in the future, or to fix up and sell, or is this a glimpse into the beginning of full-out hoarding?

 

I love this door that I got last year at the Habitat ReStore in Richmond.

 

 

1940s metal Jamestown kitchen cabinets in good condition ... another treasure.

 

 

It's a wonderful 13 feet from the floor to the ridge beam, once I remove the beaverboard and framing of the dropped ceiling.

 

 

This is what I have decided to do ... when I come across something that I know I will never use again, I will get rid of it immediately.  Some things (not many) are in a pile to be taken to the dump.  Other things that I don't want or need are being photographed and immediately placed on Craig's List in the 'Free' section.  This provides a little bit of instant gratification for me, and it makes the recipients happy at the same time ... win win for all of us!

 

This heavy-duty bubble wrap was once the insulation on the inside of my greenhouse.  Now it will help keep someone else's chicken house warm in the winter.

 

Flashing for the greenhouse skylights, that I didn't use.  These are going to a new home later today.

 

Gnarly picket fence sections will be craft projects for a lucky young lady.

 

I have been scribbling measurements and sketching design ideas like crazy.  I can ABSOLUTELY imagine what this little building can be when it's finished.  (My 'Cottage Ideas' board on Pinterest contains everything I see that may serve as inspiration as I move forward with this project.)  For now, though, I have to concentrate on the important things: 

1.  Sort and store (or dispose of) all of the items that are currently inside the building.
2.  Take up the plywood on the floor, evict the groundhog and clean up his mess.
3.  Install vapor barrier and insulate the floor.
4.  Reinstall the plywood.
4.  Remove the dropped ceiling and all of its framing.

I think it's realistic to expect that I can get this done before winter (in addition to the other projects around the place that I have in the works).
 
I fell in love with this little building the first time I saw it while we were here touring the property with our realtor.  It's a perfect size (17' x 23') with its own electric supply.  There is no plumbing, but that's okay.  I knew when I saw it that I could rework it into something really special ... think of it as a Folly, or a studio ... or, maybe one day, a little shop of my own. 

Having Breakfast with Ruby

When I have cereal for breakfast, the routine is always the same.  Right now I'm working on a box of Raisin Bran Crunch, and I like it best with a banana cut up into it.  As soon as I pull a banana off the bunch, I can count on having company.   

Ruby loves banana.  She knows right where to be for the process, too ... the cabinet in front of her nose contains a pull-out trash can, where she knows I will be standing when I peel the banana.

Notice that she's still lying on the rug, even though she knows that the banana is peeled and she's practically drooling with anticipation.  This is because we have trained her well ... she has to sit to get treats and she has to lie down to get the REALLY good stuff (like cat food cans and banana pieces.)

I break off a little piece of banana butt, give it to her, and our morning routine is complete.

This started years ago with Daniel.  He used to hang out in the kitchen, hoping for a treat or a scrap, which he rarely got.  I had a brainstorm one day, and I began to experiment with different foods, to see what he would and wouldn't eat, taking advantage of his excitement.  Found that banana was one of his favorite things.  He always used to get a really funny look on his face while he was chewing it.  When Ruby joined the family last year, she was cautious about banana at first ... but big-brother Daniel liked it, so she figured that she would, too. 

... and the tradition continues.

Flowers on Friday -- Hollywood Cemetery

We have had more rain than usual this summer, which is fueling unprecedented summer grass and weed growth.  The crew at Hollywood Cemetery have all they can do to keep up with the grass at the cemetery, and the rest of the landscaping has had to take a back seat to mowing ... sounds like what's happened here, too.  Our summers are usually hot and dry, and grass goes dormant, so there is ample time to do summer clean up on trees and shrubs and roses.  Not this summer.

It had been six weeks since I visited Hollywood Cemetery to check on the roses there.  We got the roses there off to a good start this year during our Volunteer Rose Day in March, and my own garden has needed as much of my attention as I can give it right now.  Yesterday seemed like a good day to hop into the Jeep and take a drive to Hollywood.

My first stop is always the Musk Rose in the Crenshaw plot.  Summer is this rose's best season (as it begins to bloom later than most other roses, and it does well in our hot weather.).  The sweet fragrance of this rose met me on the breeze even before I entered the fenced plot where it is planted.

 

 

 

 

It is not unusual for large, older examples of the Musk Rose like this one to have a few canes that revert to the original form of the species and begin to produce single flowers (flowers with only one row of petals).  This is a charming feature of the Crenshaw rose, and we are always very careful to remove as few canes as possible when pruning ... so we don't accidently remove the single-flowering ones.

 

 

See the single flowers on the left center of this photo?

 

I visited about forty of the 130+ roses at the cemetery yesterday, to check their condition, how well they are doing after their spring pruning, and making note of anything that may need attention right now.  One rose that needed some immediate help was the 'Duchesse de Brabant' on the Armistead plot.  I found that it was almost completely covered by a rogue wild grape vine.

 

All it took was a quick word with Donald, the grounds supervisor, and the problem was corrected right then.  Donald stopped what he was doing and went right over to take care of it.  He cut the vine off at the ground, pulled it off the rose, and made note to have a member of his crew dig the rest of the vine out of the ground as soon as he could.  The rose is pretty sad looking right now, but it will recover fairly quickly.

I'm pretty sure that the rose on the Bland plot is 'Carefree Beauty'. 

The red China rose on the Dorsey-Cosby plot was hugely overgrown before volunteers worked on it in March.  To my eye, it is still way too tangled with old, unproductive growth and needs some more work.  Yesterday wasn't the day for this, so I made a note, took some photos, and moved on.

Our rainy spring and summer have not been kind to the China roses, which are struggling to keep their leaves in the wet conditions.

 

 

 

 

There were some roses of note in the far sections of the cemetery, over toward Jefferson Davis's grave.  The Lyons plot has two nice roses on it ... probably 'Champneys' Pink Cluster'.

Near the Lyons roses, there is a pink rose that was just starting a new cycle of bloom.  It looks a lot like "Natchitoches Noisette" to me, but I can't say for sure at this point.

It's not all good news today, I'm sorry to say.  Among the roses I visited, I found three with Rose Rosette Disease.  I told Donald about them, and he assured me that they would be removed either today or tomorrow.  As far as I know, none of these three are significant or rare ... I guess this is something to be thankful for.

Barnhart plot, Section K

 

Branford plot, Section D

 

Tompkins plot, Section D

Whenever I'm at Hollywood, I don't usually spend any time in the newer section of the cemetery.  I did yesterday, though, because I wanted to get some photos of the roses on the newer graves for the program about Hollywood and it's roses that I am working on for a conference in November.  The roses in this section are mostly Knock Out, which is appropriate for new graves I guess.  Yesterday, I saw a statue that I had never noticed before ... a sweet life-size concrete dog, wearing a collar with what I assume is his mama's inscription.  So touching.

 

 

By the time I finished for the day, I was tired and sweaty and slightly sunburned where I forgot to apply sunblock.  It was a good day, and I got a lot done ... it's always a good day when I'm at Hollywood!

Got Dead Bananas? Make Banana Bread.

We call 'em Dead Bananas.  You know the ones I'm talking about ... those last couple of bananas in a bunch that sit on the counter for a day or two too long, and they get too dark and squishy to eat.  Don't throw them away!  Put them in the freezer and save them until you have enough to make Banana Bread.

The banana on the far left is probably too far gone to use.

My Banana Bread recipe is a pass-along recipe that has been in my mom's family for a long time ... I will have to remember to ask Mom to tell me which relative she got it from.  It makes the best Banana Bread I have ever tasted!  (This recipe is not for our gluten-free friends, unless you can make appropriate substitutes in place of the flour.)


Banana Bread

1 stick butter, softened
1 cup sugar
4 large, or 5 small, ripe bananas
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour

If the bananas are frozen, thaw them on the counter or in the microwave.

Cream butter and sugar using a mixer (I love my red Kitchenaid mixer!)  Add bananas, eggs, and vanilla, one at a time.  I put the salt, baking powder, and baking soda in at this point, so they get mixed into the batter thoroughly.  The final ingredient is flour ... mix it in on low speed, and only until it is gently stirred into the batter.  Do not overwork or overbeat the batter, or your Banana Bread will be tough.

Smooth batter into a prepared 9 x 9 pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 40 minutes.

That's all there is to it!  Banana Bread is one of our grandson's favorite things to have for breakfast ... one of my favorites, too.  The secret is to use black bananas, because they have the most flavor.  They're kind of icky to work with, but it's well worth the ick factor to have results that are this delicious.

Warning: This Post is All Over the Place

Sitting here trying to make sense of all of the photos I have taken recently, and it can't be done.  I'm rarely without access to something that I can use to take a picture (two cameras, my phone, or my iPad), and I have been known to take dozens of seemingly-random photos on a given day. 

Can't make these weave a cohesive theme, except that this is all stuff that I saw over the past couple of days.  There's a lot of stuff here for you to see this morning ... you may want to refill your coffee cup before you get started.

The weather has been cloudy and cooler than normal for the past two days.  Two thunderstorms on Thursday night dropped a lot of rain ... after which the sky was a beautiful shade of pink.

All that rain made the soil very receptive to weed pulling ... which is what I did all day on Friday.  My Rose Field is horrible (I'm not overstating the situation by using the word "horrible"), and I am beginning the process of reclaiming it by starting on the center aisle.  While I worked, I was distracted by dozens of butterflies flying around me ... attracted by the thistles there that are taller than I am.

 

By mid-afternoon, I had cleared my way about halfway down the center aisle.  Where there was once fallen roses and weeds as high as my shoulders, I now had the beginnings of a real live path again.  It's not pretty yet, but it's passable and I'm energized by the progress and will keep at it when I can ... I let this once-beautiful garden get into such a sorry state ... and I'm determined that one day it will be beautiful again.

Now that it's August, there are only a few roses blooming ... most of the garden is in between cycles, and everything is gearing up for the fall flush.  I did find a few roses with photo-worthy flowers on them.  It's important for me to concentrate on whatever I find that's beautiful while I work, so I stay motivated and energized to keep on with the awful job of pulling and cutting all the weeds.  At least the weather was relatively nice, and I really like working outside ... even if it's a nasty job that I'm doing.

'Country Doctor' ... I didn't see the tiny spider on the bud until I was editing the photo.

 

'Renae' on an arch in the Rose Field, blooming despite the sorry conditions.

 

'White Cap' is my BEST climbing rose!

 

 

We caught Groundhog #4 on Friday afternoon.  It was an adult, and he/she went to live with the others at the abandoned house down road.  I didn't bother to bait and reset the traps on Saturday.  While I worked in the Rose Field, The Husband was mowing for most of the day ... so the remaining groundhogs laid low because of all the noise and commotion.  I will be setting them today, though.

 

 

 

 



 

Speaking of The Husband, he is currently working on a portrait of a friend's granddaughter.  Here is the artist at work, putting the finishing touches on the underpainting ... soon to begin adding details and highlights to make this portrait come to life. 

 

 

 

I had to run to Lowes for something on Friday, and I did a bit of window shopping in the tile department while I was there.  I found the most beautiful watery blue glass tile mosaic sheets!  Mind you, I nave no projects here that I can use this on ... thought I'd pass it along in case any of you are looking to add some sparkle and color to one of your projects.

 

 

 

Japanese Beetles are still here, though I think their numbers are dwindling.  It's been a longer Beetle Season than I remember in recent years, hopefully they will be gone in another week or two.  I left them alone this year ... too much other stuff to do to spend precious time knocking beetles into buckets of soapy water.

 

Japanese Beetles on 'Perle d'Or'

 

 

My Hummingbirds are still draining my one-quart feeder every two days.  I could stand at the kitchen window, or by the feeder on the deck, and watch them for hours.  It's amazing how close the little critters let me get, as long as I'm standing still.  Took this photo with my iPad ... I was close enough at the time to almost reach out and touch the feeder.

 

 

 

The pets here are always a source of cute photos.  Dorothy and Alice like lounging on windowsills ... the ones here are 12-inches deep, so there's plenty of room for them to stretch out.  Dorothy's favorite place is her shoebox in the dining room window.  Alice is usually on the cat bed in the family room window ... for this photo, though, she was keeping me company in the sewing room.

 

Dorothy loves her shoebox so much, I don't have the heart to move it.

 

 

Cute cat lounging on a cat pillow ... perfect!

 

 

Today dawned bright and sunny, with a light breeze.  It's a beautiful view out the window, beside me as I'm sitting at the counter in the kitchen. 

 

 

 

Temperature is cool, and it looks like it will be a perfect day to get back to work in the Rose Field.  Having made such good progress out there for the past two days, I'm excited to get back to it and see what else I can accomplish. 

 

Happy Sunday, Everyone ... it's a beautiful one here in Hartwood!