It sounded so simple

AlittleSalt · October 19, 2015

I'm in the process of getting some things painted outside so they'll be ready for next spring's garden.

This is part one, and thankfully, I can say it is finished.

I gathered all the 1 x 2 garden stakes to trim and paint them so they won't rot so easily while being used in-ground. Simple right? No. I got them all together, washed them, cut off the rotted part on some them, culled the ones that needed it. Sorted them by size, started painting them and realized there are over 100 stakes here.

I know that I am 50 and live with a couple of really painful nerve diseases, but somewhere in my evaluation of time process - I must still think I am 20 and can still move mountains or something. I figured 3 days tops and the stakes would all be painted. Wrong. 9 days later...

AlittleSalt · October 19, 2015

This was suppose to be simple. Paint the compost bin. Take off the 1 x 2s and paint those white. (They were put on with screws to make this easier.) Then paint all the rest of the boards red. No, it can't be that simple.

I started unscrewing the 1 x 2s and noticed the lower board they are screwed down to is now underground on both sides of the fence. So no putting it back the way it is now - which means rebuilding it. And then I started thinking, "There's no reason for the sides of the compost bin to be so high." And "There's no reason for it to be 11 x 5'." Then I started thinking that the compost bin is located where it is because it receives sun until around 3pm... A perfect growing place for tomatoes here in Texas.

So, it looks like I will be making some major changes, and the compost bin will no longer be there. I can cut the pickets in half and make a 20' x 3' tomato bed instead.

kurt · October 19, 2015

Whenever I have to reinstall stakes I found of you take a larger than stake end PVC sprinkler cap and use it as a protectorate pounding "cap".Saves on possible split wood and those never failing hammer strike "misses",OUCH.

Worth1 · October 19, 2015

This thread makes me think of killing vampires for some reason.
I have no idea why.

Worth

AlittleSalt · October 19, 2015

Hammer strike misses would be awful. I use a 2 lb. sledge. That's a good idea with the sprinkler cap.

Halloween is 11 days away. I guess I'm stocked up on vampire stakes.

I staked out the bed and showed Jan when she got home. She likes the idea. I have a few months to think about it. I'll go ahead and paint the 1 x 6es barn red and store them in the barn so they won't get any more weather damage.

Worth1 · October 19, 2015

When I was a kid I was scared to death of vampires.
As far as I was concerned they existed they were on our place and they were going to get me.
I would lay awake for hours at night guarding my room I would go to sleep with my hands guarding my neck.
My bedroom had a spring window and one night it came flying open by itself.
My family even had me convinced they were all vampires.
It was like this until I was maybe 12 years old.
They stopped because I think that since all of the guns were in my room I might try to kill all of them.

One night they waited until around one in the morning and my dad sneaked into my room with vampire teeth.
My mother and sister were guarding the door and was going to hold it shut while my dad sucked the blood out of me.
But I was ready for them and had it all planed out.
I had a baseball bat sprung out of bed and beat the devil out of every one of them before they could stop me.
This is absolutely true I'm not making it up I was scared for my life

.
Its Funny now but it wasn't then.

No wonder my Siamese cat hated them.
Worth

AlittleSalt · October 19, 2015

When I was around 4 or so years old, my father liked watching King Kong/Godzilla movies. I used to have a recurring nightmare that Godzilla was in Fort Worth tearing up the tall buildings and was headed straight for our house in Cleburne.

My paternal grandmother used to tell me that my father was the devil himself. I could see logic in that and believed her.

Bipetual · October 20, 2015

Robert, for some reason I thought of Tom Sawyer looking at all those stakes.

I don't think adults fully realize the terror they can inflict on little kids.

BackyardFarm · March 4, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worth1

This thread makes me think of killing vampires for some reason.
I have no idea why.

Worth

Ahem.

Break-off-in-case-of-sparkly-vampires-biggerstaff-family-23718336-500-642.jpg

Could this be why you're reminded?

AlittleSalt · March 5, 2016

I have already used 79 of those stakes. But after I build the fence/supports for the tomatoes and print out nice MS Word font laminated labels. I can pull most of them up.

Okay you two, there is only one kind of vampire around here and they collect taxes. My painted stakes will not harm them - in fact, they'll figure out a way to add another $100 a month for a painted stakes tax and then add a late charge just because.

October 19, 2015	#3
kurt Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Homestead,Everglades City Fl. Posts: 2,493	Whenever I have to reinstall stakes I found of you take a larger than stake end PVC sprinkler cap and use it as a protectorate pounding "cap".Saves on possible split wood and those never failing hammer strike "misses",OUCH. __________________ KURT

October 19, 2015	#5
AlittleSalt BANNED FOR LIFE Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 13,333	Hammer strike misses would be awful. I use a 2 lb. sledge. That's a good idea with the sprinkler cap. Halloween is 11 days away. I guess I'm stocked up on vampire stakes. I staked out the bed and showed Jan when she got home. She likes the idea. I have a few months to think about it. I'll go ahead and paint the 1 x 6es barn red and store them in the barn so they won't get any more weather damage. Last edited by AlittleSalt; October 19, 2015 at 07:58 PM.

October 19, 2015	#6
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	When I was a kid I was scared to death of vampires. As far as I was concerned they existed they were on our place and they were going to get me. I would lay awake for hours at night guarding my room I would go to sleep with my hands guarding my neck. My bedroom had a spring window and one night it came flying open by itself. My family even had me convinced they were all vampires. It was like this until I was maybe 12 years old. They stopped because I think that since all of the guns were in my room I might try to kill all of them. One night they waited until around one in the morning and my dad sneaked into my room with vampire teeth. My mother and sister were guarding the door and was going to hold it shut while my dad sucked the blood out of me. But I was ready for them and had it all planed out. I had a baseball bat sprung out of bed and beat the devil out of every one of them before they could stop me. This is absolutely true I'm not making it up I was scared for my life. Its Funny now but it wasn't then. No wonder my Siamese cat hated them. Worth

October 20, 2015	#8
Bipetual Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Illinois, zone 5a Posts: 579	Robert, for some reason I thought of Tom Sawyer looking at all those stakes. I don't think adults fully realize the terror they can inflict on little kids.

March 5, 2016	#10
AlittleSalt BANNED FOR LIFE Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 13,333	I have already used 79 of those stakes. But after I build the fence/supports for the tomatoes and print out nice MS Word font laminated labels. I can pull most of them up. Okay you two, there is only one kind of vampire around here and they collect taxes. My painted stakes will not harm them - in fact, they'll figure out a way to add another $100 a month for a painted stakes tax and then add a late charge just because.