Project Completed

Old Puppy Cabana, at the height of its glory

New, improved Puppy Cabana, 99.9% finished:

Lower to the ground, lower roof for more shade, more natural look, with deck still needing to be treated (too humid today).

Side view. Still no puppies test-driving. Perhaps if I leave their yard, and walk discreetly around the garden, they will try it out.

Broccoli needs to be picked before it flowers. The cuke plants in the milk jug are exploding, and will need to come out soon.

The gourds are up. I fear this will be one of those years when ALL the gourds come up.

The volunteer potato/horseradish rows are growing by leaps and bounds. The horseradish is companion-planted with the potatoes to ward off Japanese beetles. Neither of these plants needs special water or soil, they just seem to grow no matter what.The big wide horseradish leaves also shade the potatoes so I lose very few to sunburn (sunburn is what happens to potatoes laying on the surface, and results in green patches. Don't eat those potatoes. They will make you sick.)

This is the planned potato bed, the one I actually planted this year. The compost bin is in the middle, and it has three cuke plants around it, which so far haven't done much of anything (last year they loved it here. Fickle things).

My much-neglected rose bed. Every year I fully intend to clear it out, add to the colors with new rose bushes, plant strawberries in with them, and straighten up the little wrought iron fence that really is there,but you can't see (for all the weeds).

And every year I spend so much time, effort, energy on the food beds that the poor roses get left behind. But they bloom anyways, in spite of needing trimming and pruning.

This year they did get banana peels planted at their feet, which may account for this display.

Drifting back nonchalantly back to the puppy yard, I spot Max trying out the new deck.

If it pleases Max, the rest of them will be a breeze, since Max is the grouchiest Scrooge of all pups.

Max has cleared the way for Chewy to test the other end of the deck. Apparently it's a good spot to sit and dream of rabbits to chase.

Or of blogs to write. All he needs is a laptop.

Too Many Projects

Day Two of the Cabana Re-Building: The whole frame was rotted, so we trashed it. Using treated lumber, the frame was rebuilt, and dropped almost 6" in height. In nine years, our "puppies" have aged, and lost their eyesight. The lowered deck, plus the removal of the sunning ramp, will lessen the chance for sprains and broken legs jumping up and down.

I'm thinking a larger version of this would be nice out in the yard, underneath the pergola I've been wanting.

The base of the roof attachment was rotted out on both sides, so it the legs were cut down, and then rebuilt with treated lumber. Overall, it'll be about 6" shorter, which will increase the amount of shade on the deck.

After taking in the tools, we sprayed the puppy yard with flea repellant, and then made pizza.

Tomorrow: treating the base and deck with Thompson's Water Seal, then reattaching the roof to the deck.

If we get done early enough we're going to see Star Trek.

Yah Memorial Day!

There Can Never Be Too Many Projects

We have 4 dogs (5 until very recently), and as a result have given them their own fenced yard, and a private entrance to said yard with their own doggie doors and ramps.

Then we decided to spoil them with their own puppy cabana. This is the finished product 9 years ago, complete with a climbing ramp, but just prior to shingling the roof.

During the last 9 years, we've moved fence lines, trees have grown up, the pups dug a shallow hole under the cabana to lie in, and with all those combined factors, moisture has eaten away at the wood, and rotted it.

So this Memorial Day weekend, instead of putting together the water pond, or building a shallow water pond on the terrace, we're tearing apart the puppy cabana, and replacing 80% of it. At first, we thought only 3-4 deck boards needed replacing. The roof had to be removed to replace those boards, and that was when we discovered the mega-rot.

Since this is Virginia, Memorial Day is synonymous with extreme heat, so out came the pop-up canopy to work under.

Next the entire cabana deck was removed. Some of it may be usable, maybe.

Then again, maybe not.

Tomorrow: rebuilding, repainting (everything that is brick red now will be forest green, with a natural deck treated with Thompson's), and reassembling (with some design changes to accomodate the aging puppies).

Hopefully, next weekend we might get to finishing the water pond, or at least hooking up a usable hose. Meanwhile, the water barrels are half-full and we have a 30% chance of spotty rain showers this week.

Also today, more peppers planted, broccoli is coming along, romaine lettuce is heading up nicely,and the city water was left on with soaker hose for the blueberries, as they are just tinging with purple and need all the water they can get for a good crop.

And you thought we weren't doing anything!