Famos Amos

Even though I hadn't been in the area for over a month, when I got back for my visit, I was in the local free bi-weekly paper, the Broad Ripple Gazette. It wasn't about the Dome or anything I'd actually done, it was just because I joined the Broad Ripple Village Association.

Now to figure out what to do...

....With the matching (see below) hole in my back yard.

Fun times

The jackhammer was very key to this program,although it was "fun" for about four minutes of the several hours I actually used it. Also, when I dropped it on my shin, that hurt. Still does, in fact.

Sorry, BTW, to my neighbors. I had ear plugs on, but you probably didn't...so sorry for the noise!

Back yard during

Same thing...on the back side

End, for now

Here is the newly-created hole in my front yard.

During

Mid-process. The front looked like it was going to be "easier," since a lot of the walkway was already broken up, but it wasn't as the concrete was very deep.

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

Especially when things have been in place for a 100 years. And they are concrete.

My first weekend home in 10 weeks or so, and I decided to spend it sweating and generally trying to break my back and arms by breaking rocks all weekend long.


Here is the before/Front...

Looking up

As part of the "cool it now" program, changed the light to add a fan in the upstairs bedroom.

Grass Update

Quick shot of August grass...not perfect,but better than a hole in the ground...

Closet Space

Remember this first attempt at making a little more closet space in the upstairs bedroom?

No? Here's that disaster....

Well, finally had another run at it. Using a little more on the "support" side of things. Also, did another round of "this should really go, pleats edition" to help reduce the weight. It was still up when I woke up the next day, so that was an instant improvement.

Dig done

The weatherhead now has nothing attached...

More of the modest dig, pt. 2

Also had to dig underneath the deck, which was a pain.

So I ran the tubes and lines through my perfect ditch myself, and then Randy from Dowty sorted out the "hot parts" at the ends and then I got it all covered and planted some grass, which actually took quite well...

Very nice to have the deck not have that line hanging there. Of course, the umbrella I bought...the stand I had for it doesn't fit.

Diggin' it

So, the big idea is that with the power line running between the house to power the garage being alittle in the way, and seemingly a lot threatening, to bury the thing. I've had this in mind for a couple of years and finally, with the purchase of a mega umbrella for the deck, decided to move forward on it. Since it's silly to pay an electrician to dig, it was voted that an english major might be best suited for the job.

Donna pointed out that "it looks too perfect" about the subsequently-dug ditch. Goes to show, you shouldn't underestimate what an english major, and his cultivator that actually works well to loosen the soil and then be dislodged, can do.

Some shots from the first segment of the project, including the patent-pending "Mole-Cam" view....

Window Dressing

Again...Picked a little bit better in terms of ones that "don't die instantly..."

Hopefully.

Green Piece Indy--

Turns out I'm not the only blog in town...

Meghan and Renee run Green Piece Indy, a twice-weekly blog eblast about things we can do to sore a little higher on the Green Index*.

So check it out and sign up, they have a ton of good ideas and information, as Indy has a "lot of improvement" possible in this category...

They also do videos, and even though this isn't the Broad Ripple Farmers Market...we'll still post it...

Publish Post

*I just made that up.

What's this 'gravity' you speak of?

Well, let's call it "Rain Barrel 2.0" Last year's deployment of of the RainCatcher 2000* was pretty successful. I barely used the water from the house to keep things growing in the back yard.

However, my extraction method was pretty poor. Namely, I'd unload water into a bucket, and then take the bucket to wherever I was watering. Paging caveman. So while it was a good way to re-use water, it also made me feel pretty stupid, suspicious that there might just be a better way somewhere out there.

Indeed, this year I am targeting two improvements-1) use this "gravity" situation to my advantage, raising the barrels and attaching much longer hoses to them so I can just water away without having to carry anything. 2) Last year, the mosquitoes were pretty bad, since it was kind of like I was hosting a party for them all summer long. But I've got "mosquito rings" in them this year, so we will see if that works....I can already testify that they seem to be better, but it's early yet...

In anycase, this is a much better set up and even though (see below) I do have the outside faucet up and running, this is a good way to put the rain water to good use...

Fairly slopping looking in this photo, I know...but lets just call it "for illustrative purposes...."

*actual name.

Farmers Market...

I'll admit; I didn't even actually end up buying anything.

But I was, not having been home for a weekend since early April, no less happy to be at the BR Farmers Market this weekend...

SOLD!

The Clearydome Clutter and Redundancy Reduction Plan continues apace, with the latest (quick) sale being this cafe set. Put it up for sale on craigslist at lunch, and before dinner it was sold and on the way to a new home.

This was a gift from mom, so hopefully she misses this post, although she'll at least appreciate that it is part of a bigger effort around here....

What, is that a problem or something?

The rain barrel project got a great upgrade this year as we added hoses to them so I could just water wherever I wanted to, having--pictures to follow--set them up on stacks of pavers to give the added edge of gravity.

So this year, instead of unloading the water into buckets and then carrying the buckets to the destination of watering, like a complete idiot, this year I've got the hose thing going on. The rain barrel program made it so I barely used my outside faucet last year, which was kind of cool.

So this year (and there is another story about this faucet**), when I turned the water to the outside faucet on, I could hear it splashing about outside. SO I turned it back off, and went to investigate...and found...that the entire thing came right out of the side of the house.

What, is that a problem or something? So in another chapter of Clearydome Irony, the very same year that I sealed up the area where the faucet came out of...is the same year that it (for the second year in a row...) froze up, but this time enough so that it broke the connection and the entire thing came free.

So, the decision was made to re-locate the faucet so that it was in a fully frost-free environment. Hopefully, this will mean that in the future,

***I won't get a phone call some 10 minutes into the start of the Daytona 24 from my neighbor saying, "there is ice coming out of the side of your house..."

Hopefully.

Rudy Red

As part of our horticulture getting to know you tour, 2009...just a quick intro to Rudy the Red, an oriental Maple in the back yard. Planted in October, 2008 and still with us today.

Rudy was recently deemed enough of a ClearyDome fixture to actually have its tag removed (what are the genders for trees, BTW?), something that has not yet been accomplished for some of the other trees that management has planted(although, leaving the tag on them DOES at least make it that much easier to remember what kind they are...).

Two last ones

Two last shots-one of the reflection as he left, and the other just a bumper shot of the collected affectations.

Gone, Rusty Gone...

Here, in case the concept was not clear enough, is where Rusty WAS. Before being sold. Abstract?

Jibby Says HI

Got an email today while I'm in Connecticut, and the rest of the world is in Indy for the 500...Jibby stopped by to click this pick of his bike in front of the dome. There are slated to be at least four people staying at the Dome this weekend...please enjoy your stay!

Sincerely, Management...