7-14-16 Throw Back Thursday

Posted on by Robyn

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I’m on vacation this week and part of next, and have pre-written and scheduled posts to publish automatically every day.

I’ll be posting on Instagram while I’m gone (which automatically posts to the Love & Hisses Facebook page as well as Tumblr). If you’re not on Instagram, Facebook or Tumblr, no worries – I’ll do a massive roundup post once I’m home from vacation, so you won’t miss anything.

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Throw Back Thursday: Dirt Mountain.

Way way way back in 2011, we had a pond dug way out in the very back part of the back forty. Initially, the guys who dug the pond were supposed to spread the dirt over the back forty in an attempt to make it less soggy out there in the winter. When Fred saw how much dirt there was, he got nervous that the entire back forty would be a foot higher than the front part of the property, and he had them pile the dirt up into what we came to call Dirt Mountain.


George and Gracie thought this was AWESOME.


VERY awesome.


SUPER awesome.


They spent plenty of time up there surveying their property and their flock.

Time moved on, weeds grew all over Dirt Mountain, and it got to the point where the weeds were so thick that we couldn’t even move around on Dirt Mountain. This was an issue because that was where the girl ducks liked to go and make their nests. Earlier this year, Fred couldn’t find one of the girl ducks. We went over Dirt Mountain the best we could, but it was just too big and too thick with weeds, and it was entirely possible that we were going to look out one day and see her coming down off of Dirt Mountain with a bunch of baby ducks. We did NOT want this.

Fred called a couple of places and talked to a few people, and at the end of April, some guys came and spread Dirt Mountain out over the back forty.


This is what it looked like just before they began.


No more Dirt Mountain!

The girl duck never did show up; we’re assuming that whatever got one of the boy ducks also got her.

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The same day Dirt Mountain was going away, the guys we’d hired to replace the side door showed up to do their thing.


I have hated this door since we bought this house. It’s ugly, it’s cheap, it’s rusted.


I like the new door much more, but I think it looks funny to have so much white wood above the door. SOMEONE (not me) apparently measured wrong when measuring for the new door, so the door we got was smaller than the one we had, and they had to cover it somehow. Still, I like it more than the old one, even though I think it looks odd.

The funny thing is that now it’s the door on the left that opens – from the center inward – whereas before, it was the door on the right side that opened from the right-side in (I hope that makes sense.) So if the cats want in, they sit by the right door and wait for it to open, and when the other door opens, they are momentarily confused. I’m curious how long it’ll take them to make the adjustment.


Here’s a shot of the side stoop – we had a handrail put around it earlier this year. Eventually, we’re going to have it stained.


We also had the house painted, the front porch painted, and the front door replaced.

It’s been busy around here the last few months, can you tell?

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Previously
2015: Roundup: Lucy.
2014: And then he sat there, all “What is that noise? I sure wish it would stop.”
2013: No entry.
2012: No entry.
2011: He’s hit that gawky stage.
2010: OH, was I livid!
2009: No entry.
2008: All in all, a very good weekend.
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.

Comments

18 thoughts on “7-14-16 Throw Back Thursday”

  2. Crooked Acres is SO adorably charming! I’d want to come right in and make myself at home among the kittehs 🙂

  3. I love your house and property so much. It’s much more interesting than my boring suburban brick home in the Houston area. I was surprised to read you and Fred want to sell the place, but I understand if you feel you are too far removed from convenient stores, etc. I would love to live there (I think). Thanks for sharing pix of your home with us. It’s charming. And of course, I love hearing about the cats!

  4. The house looks wonderful. I think you could put some kind of homey decorative geegaw above the new door in the extra wood space and it would look just like you planned it that way. I got a bit of a lump in my throat when you showed the pic of Dirt Mountain being gone. I always associated Dirt Mountain with George and Gracie and today brought back the sadness about them being gone. But they are together and have great memories of their adventures on Dirt Mountain. We had mulch delivered this weekend and of course I called the pile of 12 cubic yards Mulch Mountain. I hope you are having fun on your vacation.

  5. I love that early 1900’s style bungalow architecture. What year was your house built? (you’ve probably mentioned that at some point in the past, but I don’t remember)
    The wide door frame does look a little odd. You could paint the outer 4-5″ of it the same color as the walls, or leave it as is and you’ll just get used to it.

  6. Lovely place, Robyn! Only the house and the front yard seems like a handful! I can’t imagine all the work you guys have with the whole property!

  7. It’s truly a lovely house. I wish you and Fred could live there forever, but I also get that it’s more work than we know and y’all are getting to an age where you’d like to ENJOY your time around the house rather than constantly having to work around the house! 🙂

  8. Awww George and Gracie…but I like to think of them having an even bigger dirt mountain at The Bridge that they are racing and rolling around and yet staying dazzlingly white the entire time! 🙂

    Beautiful house! I like the new doors and I don’t think the woodwork looks too wide. Most houses that age had wider baseboards and molding anyway, at least mine does. But you could always add some decorative wood scrolling up there (at Lowes or Home Depot) or even some metal scrolling if you wanted a contrast.

  9. House looks great! I love those beautiful hydrangeas by the porch. Such pretty colors!.

  12. The house looks beautiful! Awwww dirt mountain… Hope you’re enjoying your vacation. I, too, LOVE the hydrangeas.. I have tried 3 different bushes in 3 different places… but nope. Hydrangeas must not like me. You have the quintessential southern home.. complete with a tin roof! I LOVE IT!

    1. For the hydrangeas, the key is to keep “pouring” the water to them. People usually don’t understand that when they are blooming they need lots of water and then they will keep blooming. Extra water especially when it is hot. A product called Ironite helps and if you can’t find that use Holly-tone. Also, they need to be pruned back, in some varieties all the way to the ground, some in half. Depends also on the variety what time of the year to prune. Good LUCK!
      A professional landscaper

  13. Bahahaha about the cats not understanding the door. I understood the opening perfectly. I’m sure they will figure it out in time.

  14. The shot towards the front of the house is so inviting! I know you are not actually way out of town, but it looks like you are deep in the country at the end of quiet lane. I grew up on a farm and know how much work it is to just keep the grass mowed. I understand your desire to move back to town (I’d never want to live on a farm again!), but it will be sad when there are no more Crooked Acres pictures to share.

  15. Your house is adorable! and I like the new door too.

    i was wondering what happened to dirt mountain. I get why you did it, but I kinda liked that thing.

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