This was our 2013 Jayco Flight Swift 198 RD

THIS WAS OUR 2013 JAYCO FLIGHT SWIFT 198RD, PARKED AT THE TOMBSTONE TERRITORIES RV PARK IN ARIZONA



Wednesday 26 May 2021

Very busy two weeks

Light rain is forecasted here in our area for today. Gosh I needed a break from garden work anyway and it is a bonus for not having to water the newly planted flowers, shrubs and vegetable plants. The month of May is always busy for me but the last two weeks I worked nonstop and I am not done yet! 


The new concrete driveway looks great.  The concrete expert came twice a day to water it for two days after pouring. Then Benno took over with watering four times per day for the next 3 days. After that we got some help in the form of rain for a day. The reason for doing that watering is to strengthen the concrete in a slow drying process after the chemical process between cement and the aggregate had kicked off during the first 24 hours after pouring, according to “Garth” our concrete expert. The wooden forming was taken off after two days and the stress release cuts were also made.  I spent almost a day to clean up the gaps between the grass and the concrete of debris and then I purchased a dozen bags of 25 lb. of black earth from Rona (Lowes Canada) to fill the space with. After that I seeded it and I keep watering every day hoping for the grass to grow. This will be the end of the concrete story. J

 




We decided that a perennial flower/shrub berm would look nice opposite the little flowerbed that we already have at the water meter, which is located at the end of driveway. So off I went to shop for edging stones. That was quite a load and I am glad we have a pickup truck to put those in. Next the question was how much soil would it take to fill that new flowerbed and buying that in 25 lb. bags was out of the question. Benno hooked up our utility trailer and we went to a local wholesaler to purchase a little more than a yard of topsoil, basically the whole utility trailer full, that we both shoveled into the circle of edging stones that I had placed onto the grass.

 


As I did with the two other berms that I had created, I purchased a heavy ornamental rock to place onto the middle of the berm. Again, I am glad we are having a utility trailer, as it was loaded with a forklift onto it and then back home the trailer was positioned so that we used the ramp at the gate of the trailer for Benno to wrestle the rock down right onto the berm.

 


The fun part was going out to all the nurseries to shop for plants, flowers and vegetable shoots. I did that several times, although time consuming, to find what I was looking for. It seems because of the cool spring some of the shrubs and flowers have not arrived yet or are still very small.

 

Some of the radishes are ready to be harvested

I surprised a rabbit as it was going to nip on the buds of the Azalea
that is probably why it has only so few blossoms


In the meantime Benno built a new post for the electrical and water outlet for the RV, which will fit even under the open slide. He wanted to use cedar wood and none of our local stores had any. We ordered online and went all the way to Wallaceburg to get it, quite the drive for a piece of wood. The new post was painted, although the wood looked also nice unpainted, but this way it is even more weather resistant. We are waiting for a solar light with “Bengal Blue” LED light to brighten up in the dark, shipped from Amazon.

 



Our truck was allowed to drive over the concrete a couple of days ago and is back in the garage. The travel trailer, however, has to wait a while longer (about 28 days after pouring) before it is coming home to its new pad. 



Hopefully some of my perennial flowers and shrubs will have some buds or blossoms to show in my next post. Thanks again for dropping by.

 

Tuesday 11 May 2021

Happenings at our place

Yes, I know another blog post is overdue so here it is. While the spring weather has been rather disappointing here in our part of the province with abnormal cold days and several frosty nights, we went ahead and tried to do all the things we had planned anyway. Every year at springtime I look forward to the blossoming of my Azaleas and just about every year, just as the shrub is in full bloom, we get some heavy rain ruining the blossoms. However, for a few days the red blooms looked good until the rain came down. 

 

















The Hummingbirds, Finches, and Orioles arrived about mid April and I spotted a Brown Thrasher in the yard among the Robins. I put out the usual sugar feeders and some grape jelly for the Orioles, but what I hadn’t counted on was that other birds, like the House Sparrows and Wrens, all like the jelly too, and they are fighting over it!  

 










































































It was in our plan to do something with our driveway this year. For the most part is was covered with gravel up to the concrete pad that is to the side of our house. I have been struggling keeping the weeds at bay that sprout out of it no matter what I do. Also at the side where the travel trailer is parked, we have a bit of a retaining wall made from 4x4” pressure treated wood that developed a bit of a slant. With the purchase of longer travel trailers over the years the space between the RV and the garage has become pretty tight to maneuver our truck. So a few weeks ago we took out the first two of the ornamental shrubs that were next to the concrete pad so we could widen the pad for easier access to the garage. I had to relocate a bunch of spring flowers too and saved some of the good dirt from the flowerbed.

Next Benno went and dug up a section of the drainage pipe from the RV pad so it could be extended since our present trailer has the drainage outlet further back. Also the post for the electrical hookup and water faucet were dismantled and Benno will construct a new one.

 
















We had hired Ciliska Contractor, a local company close by. We know their quality work because they did our seeping tiles and sump years ago and other jobs on and off for us, who sent a crew to start working on the driveway. They removed the clear stone gravel, brought more sand and a different type of gravel was installed to compact and prepare the ground. Then the area was graded with the help of a laser level that sat on a tripod so the lane will be slightly sloped for water runoff. The retaining wall that was made from pressure treated 4x4 wood got ripped out and for several hours Benno painstakingly pulled out the long rebar rods with a vise grip that were holding the old layers of 4x4 wood together. The whole driveway and RV parking spot were then covered with wire mesh inside of the concrete forming. In the existing concrete pad there were holes drilled into its sides for the insertion of rods to bond the new and the old slabs and to insure they sat at the same level. 

 



















In-between we had a weekend and then the concrete trucks were booked out so we had to wait another day. Finally the concrete was poured. It took 18 cubic yards to fill the new addition.

 

For a final photo of the driveway you have to wait a couple of weeks, I guess. And you know I just realized that we could now easily park a 52 foot Tiffin Class A motorhome in front of our place. 

Now that's a thought ;-)