August at the Charlton house has been a time I have never really looked forward to in the past, courtesy of the need to regularly mow the quick growing vegetation (can’t really call it grass) as a result of winter rains and mild daytime temperatures.
This year though August was different. Not because there was any less growth but because I lashed out and used my tax return to buy a ride on mower. This cut mowing time for the 2/3 acre block from a full day to just a couple of hours, freeing up time to spend on renovations.
The trip the weekend of the 5th and 6th was the first mow with the ride-on. Shirleen Abbey and Skylar had headed up the Friday 4th and Emily and I followed early on the Saturday morning with the ride-on mower on the trailer. After unloading the mower on arrival I was looking forward to seeing how the new mower performed but I had to repair it first… the trip up the Calder had caused an ignition wire to come loose. Fortunately it was an easy repair and I was soon able to cut a swathe through the thick lush vegetation, giving the yard a bowling green look.
The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing with little more work done before heading home.
By the weekend of 19th and 20th the yard was more than due for another mow. This time it was just Skylar and I who made the trip up the Calder, and again the ride-on proved its value… mowing and trimming were done within a couple of hours, leaving me time to dig up an old concrete spoon drain in the side yard. Again the ride-on showed just how versatile it can be, this time by hooking up the yard cart to its towbar allowing me to easily cart the concrete to the rubbish pile in just a couple of trips behind the mower, rather than making several trips with a wheelbarrow.
After finishing that job I cleaned up and paid a visit to mum before joining Philip and Janet for dinner.
Sunday morning was cold and frosty, but the sun soon warmed the air allowing outside work possible without freezing the fingertips. Sunday’s job was to replace the weatherboards on the west side of the house where they had been removed to install the hot water system plumbing. After finishing I had a little time left to remove some timber which had been fixed over the outside of the front door frame to facilitate a screen door concealing the original Victorian features.
Next trip will be more mowing and planting of some fruit trees which are being transferred from the Somerville house. Cant wait!
My little tractor
Skylar was going to sand some dado but decided to take her sandpaper to bed instead
Weatherboards reinstalled