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Two Goats and a Donkey!

Sunday, March 7, 2021

Sadly, Sunday is almost over and Monday is looming its ugly head. This was a very productive Sunday, however. The hubby and I went to breakfast as we normally do on Sunday. We usually go to Hardy's over on Hardy Street in Hattiesburg, but on the way there, a tree was lying across Jackson Road, so we ended up going to Ward's on Hwy 49 for breakfast instead. It was a nice little change-up for us. We ate our breakfast slowly, chatting with each other as usual, and we decided we'd spend our day a little differently than we normally do. What with it being a beautiful spring-like day, we opted to go back home and do some spring cleaning on my porch and storage shed.

The porch was first, and it had gathered quite a clutter over the winter. The first step was to decide what to keep, what to trash, and what to put out by the road for anyone interested to claim. Once that was done, it was off to the shed, which was not quite as simple and straight-forward. My storage shed is 12 feet x 12 feet, and it contains, among many other things, my riding lawnmower, my huge garden tiller, a couple of wheelbarrows, a big dumping cart that can be pulled by hand or can be attached to the lawnmower to be pulled that way, three metal shelving units, a huge ugly handmade bathroom vanity that someone gave me over 10 years ago, sheets of plywood and luaun, yard and garden tools (pitchforks, shovels, rakes of various kinds, hoes, a sledgehammer, etc), a 100 gallon aquarium, two 29 gallon aquariums, a pair of wooden white porch posts, an old bicycle, and a multitude of other items.

Again, as with the porch, decisions had to be made. Some were easy, some were harder, and some were damn near impossible, but over the course of the day, decisions were made. All three aquariums were put out by the road, along with one of the flimsy metal shelving units. Other items that made their way out there included a folding metal chair, several old aquarium accessories, buckets and pails galore, home decor items that had been stored for 10 years or so, and probably about half the shed ended up either out there or in the garbage can. I sure hope I don't generate much household garbage this week, because that can is full up and the garbage truck doesn't run until Friday. I also sent several items home with the hubby. Once we were done, I marvelled at how spacious the storage shed now seems! Well, until we started putting back in items that I decided to keep (or items that simply were not on the chopping block for decisions anyway, like the mower and tiller). But even putting the big things back in there, plus several items that had been sitting out in the yard because I simply had no room in the shed to store them, like my Christmas yard display of 2 reindeer and Santa's sleigh, 2 huge dog kennels/crates I had bought for my previous flock of chickens (Rhode Island Reds, I had gotten 6 of them, and 5 turned out to be roosters - more on those later), plus Max's little crate that until last summer had been in the house, and a few other items, even with all of those things, the storage shed is easily 600 pounds lighter lol, and has much more room. It's amazing what one can end up collecting/hoarding over a decade.

Once all that was done, we went to lunch at Sonic (a very late lunch, it was 2pm when we were done and got back home again), then time for a little "personal time", then the hubby went home. I also sent home 2 goldfish that were in my 75 gallon tank. They and an angelfish were the last inhabitants of it, and the angelfish I put in my 60 gallon tank with some other fish - hopefully they'll all get along. I've decided to take the 75 gallon and rework it as a Walstad-method tank. The Walstad method employs using a layer of soil as part of the substrate of the aquarium and is also known as a "dirted tank". Normally one doesn't use actual soil in an aquarium, but that method does and many people swear by it. The soil layer is "sealed" by a layer of fine gravel or sand so that it doesn't mix into the water. Or so I understand. Before I actually employ that method, I will definitely research it completely to ensure that's how I want to go with the tank. I would imagine there are only certain fish you can stock in a Walstad tank, ones that won't constantly dig into the substrate and release the soil into the water, and if that turns out to be fish I don't care much for, then obviously I won't be using that method. The two goldfish I sent home with the hubby will be going into his small pond/water fountain in his yard, where he already has quite a few goldfish and a few koi. In addition to the 75 gallon and the 60 gallon, I also have a 10 gallon aquarium that houses a rex betta, whom I named, aptly enough, Rex. I really need to get a couple of corydoras catfish to keep with him for company and for cleanup crew on his tank.

One final thing, then I'll close out this entry. Yesterday afternoon, we went to Lowe's after dinner (Olive Garden, wonderful seafood alfredo, I'll be having the half I couldn't eat for dinner tonight after publishing this as a matter of fact), and I found a gorgeous hanging pot geranium that now graces my porch (and I'll have to bring it in tonight since our low is supposed to be 36F, per Siri). Pictures of it are below, along with pics of the 10 gallon tank and of Rex and of the storage shed. Also tossed in is a picture of Max from just a few minutes ago, and also a picture of a jar of crushed egg shells. The egg shells will be used in my garden this year to put around my tomatoes. They're supposed to reduce the risk of blossom end rot on the tomato fruits and also discourage slugs and snails from attacking the plants. I usually have 2 of my farm-fresh brown eggs every morning for breakfast (except for Sundays when the hubby and I eat breakfast out), and after I crack the shells, I'll rinse them out and pop them in the oven at 225F for about 25 minutes. Afterwards, they more brittle and easier to crush, and also have been sterilized so bacteria and other funky germs won't grow in the jar. And with that, I will bid you, gentle reader, adieu and I hope you have a perfectly lovely evening.

George







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