Tangental Projects

 I'm still working on the west side drainage.  So many roots...  But there is some progress.  At the down side of the drainage trench I have a large obstacle.  The Shed.  Its always been there, and I have been working around it for decades.  So, I figure I can make a trench around it.  Inside of that process I found that I also needed to shore up the foundation for the shed, which is another task in this very same spot.

 The whole of the shed and the area around it have largely been untouched.  There is a big Cedar tree on the North side, and there was a very large Maple of the South side of the shed.  There was also a Pine tree growing out of the foundation in front of the shed.  These roots are all cross woven under the shed.  So I've been taking out some roots while excavating the footings for the retaining wall.  To the left is the trench for the drainage pipe.

 The original plan was to have the retaining wall and the drainage trench in front of the shed.  Well, the choice of stones for the retaining wall left no room for a trench drain here.  We need two things in this space that holds only one.  I don't want to look at a drain, or trip over it either, so we'll change the trench to a pipe, and bury it beneath the retaining wall footing.  I made good progress on the trench last weekend.  Then over the past couple days I have been working on the North face retaining wall footing, and removing roots.

 I have a thin sliver of land in front of the shed to do both of these projects.  The East and North sides of the foundation have soil eroding under the foundation.  So I had to decide weather I wanted to scrap the shed altogether, or fix it up again.  In the middle of the drainage project I decided I should do the tangental project simultaneously.

 Now lets back up for a second.  This is a drainage project, hydraulics.  So I have to deal with drain slope in order to get the water where I want it to go.  Then, also, in relation to the drain pipe, I need the retaining wall at a specific depth, and some head space between the retaining wall footing and the top of the drain pipe.  At a auspicious place on the foundation we can calculate the depth required of the trench for the drain pipe.  Then we can get the pipe in the right place, and everything after that is re-assembly.  Then there are just a couple small obstacles left, besides the roots.  There are two sprinkler heads directly in the path where I want to run the drain pipe.  Maybe those are more legitimate hydraulic projects.  Happy Computing...

Southwest Corner

 This corner of the house has been on my blog before because of the Brambles.  My neighbor calls the Devil Weed.  Yeah, I can relate because wild Berry plants are very thorny.  This started as my annual clean out the brambles event, but I wond up refreshing the whole corner.

 There was a very large Euonymus taking up this whole corner.  I dialed it back considerably to take off dead wood, and try to invigorate the plant.  Growing out of that same space I have two Hearty Hibiscus plants.  The pink and purple one is heartier than the white one.  The Hibiscus flowers are heavy, and cause the whole plant to bend over.

 I also found another Hearty Hibiscus over buy the Yeopan Holly, and a Nandina.  The start of the job was to take out the Brambles, and I was a little more thorough this time going after the roots.  Then, in that process, I am pulling weeds in general, and sometimes that includes a lot of volunteer plants.  The Ruellias are always happy to grow into space that is not for them.  The Yeopan Hollies are the same, going wherever they want.  Then I added the red mulch to give a finished look.  The garden stuff is never finished, were just sprucing it up a little, then it will grow back into a mess...  LOL!

Maple Root

I got down to the root of the problem...  We need more power.  The idea of completely excavating this root was too much digging for what I was trying to do here.The answer was brute force.

 I didn't need to preserve the wood, or protect anything around that area.  The idea was only to remove the root that was blocking my path.  I had already cut the end of the root directly in the way.  The other end of the root went down toward the trunk.  So I thought maybe I can just break it.  It has been a few years since we removed the tree.

 But I still needed the right tool.  I have a hydraulic floor jack which does generate enough force, but has a rather short throw.  So I got a Farm Jack which does seem to be the right tool for this job.  However it is rather awkward, and precarious.  I used some 2x4s to make stabilizing braces that attach at the top clamp of the jack.  I'll use this jack to pull some fence posts soon.

 This was the first configuration of the chain.  That didn't feel right, so I moved the chain closer to the stuck end of the root.  Then gave the chain a couple wraps around the root.  I also moved the hook part of the chain down from the large runner  Then I applied enough force to break the root.

 With a couple attempts I was able to mostly break the root.  Then after some prying and wrestling I was able to get the root out of the hole.  That was a task...

 Just a little Saturday Afternoon Fun with Doggo...

Minerals and Summertime

 Why does it seem that atomic science is always associated with radioactive elements?  Maybe because you can do neat things with those elements, but Hey!  There is a whole rest of the Periodic Table out there.  You know the rest of those atoms are pretty cool too...  LOL!

Look at copper and all the neat stuff it can do.  Look at that , I am off track already.  Um, yeah its, uh, Summertime, the season of mineral deficiencies.  I have had some great success using minerals to help my recovery after strenuous work outside.  You sweat a lot more during the Summer, and electrolytes are a big part of that process.  So you are spending more electrolytes, and it would make logical sense that you would naturally be craving, or needing more.

Did you know that you can run out of electrolytes and potentially die from a severe deficiency?

Well, I have some experience with this.  I was hospitalized for Hyponatremia, which is an extreme sodium deficiency.  This was maybe 4 years ago.  I was aware of sports drinks, and even used them periodically.  I was nutritionally aware, thinking I was doing everything right.  I was, and still am taking a colloidal mineral supplement.   What I found out then was that I am not getting a large enough volume of the electrolyte minerals, not salty...

Now, just recently I had another event where the symptoms were very similar to Hyponatremia. This was very familiar to me in a feeling really bad way.  This time I have been getting more electrolytes.  Also still taking the colloidal mineral supplement.  I didn't really put it together until I tried something new.  I had been using a popular sport drink with a "classic" flavor.  I've got a nice, mined mineral salt that I use on food.  I'm getting lots of minerals, but somehow have a mineral deficiency.  The hard part is figuring out what mineral that is.

This was sort of a happenstance thing.  An associate had given me this trendy electrolyte powder that you dissolve into a liquid.  I looked at it cautiously, but took it.  Then when I was feeling really bad, and grasping at straws for a solution I remembered the electrolyte powder, and tried it.  It didn't have any instant effects.  It took a day or two to notice that I felt better.  I formulated a theory then dug into the interwebs.

So the mineral du jour is magnesium, and the deficiency is called Hypomagnesemia, a protracted deficiency of  magnesium.  The funny thing about this is that I have magnesium supplements, and I guess I don't like them.  They are gummies covered in sugar, kind of candy like.  There are some observations I have made about these things.

 The colloidal mineral supplement is great.  I'm going to continue to take it because it provides a large spectrum of minerals in tiny amounts.  This stuff is rather miraculous in this way.  What I wasn't seeing was that they are trace minerals which means there is a tony amount of each mineral.  With the electrolytes you need mass quantities...

The mined mineral salt is very flavorful, which is because it is loaded with trace minerals.  A large spectrum of minerals in tiny quantities.  I'll continue using this one because it tastes good.

The popular sport drink with the "classic" flavor had a critical omission for me.  It contains potassium but no magnesium.  I get plenty of sodium, no problem there, don't really need more.  Potassium was there, but maybe not enough.  It was the magnesium, not there, that was the root of the problem, and the sickness.  This illness kept me in bed for several days, and by what I have read could have been fatal.  Not eating the Gummy Magnesium and not getting enough magnesium elsewhere caused a dangerous deficiency.

Another product that I had been using in this same realm of interest is that seltzer with the plopping, and fizzing.  I think that is a good product, and I never really took it with the idea that it was for electrolytes.  However it does contain a massive dose of sodium, but I don't think you can consider it to be "electrolytes," plural, unless it has potassium and magnesium.

Since I have gone through this I looked at the market place and noticed that there are a lot of good electrolyte products out there.  You just gotta pick the one that has the right stuff for you, and your condition.  Stay Salty...

 

Little Obsticle

  Every project has its prerequisites, and deviations.  I try to look at these things before starting a project.  But sometimes I get surprises like that time when I found misassembled irrigation pipes was causing the fence to rot, Moisture and Fence Failure.  This time it is also moisture, but drainage, and preemptive.

 The vertical trench is my drainage trench, and crossing the drainage trench is a Maple Root.  OK, we just have to exorcise the Maple Root, and we can get on with it.  LOL!  Great Plan.

  So I go straight at the place where the Maple Root is in the way of the Drainage Trench.  To use the saw I have to get the dirt out of the way.  Red Flag #1, Texas Clay Soil...  Now starting to excavate...

Yes, this is close to the area where the trunk was, and this was a big tree.  After getting down into the ground away I realize that this root is a lot bigger than I visualized... 

 I'm gonna have to work this some more before I can get a saw on it.  But, you know there is always a silver lining.  Now I know exactly where the phone line, cable line, and irrigation supply lines are...

Chiles 2026

  I got to plant new Chiles this weekend.  I've been working on the yard mostly over the past couple months.  So I finally cleaned the winter out of the Chile garden, and am ready for the heat...

 There are some plants that have been there and persist.  Mainly I pulled out the winter weeds, and then planted the 10 cages.  The Chiles are Habanero, Cayenne, and Chile de Arbol.  What has persisted over the winter are Oregano, Sage, Onions, and Lemon Balm. 

 I pulled a lot of usual plants like Wild Strawberries, Clover, and Grass.  Also lots of my perpetual friend Trumpet Vine.  I did also find one tiny sprig of Poison Ivy, and made it go away...

Muckworking

 There is another fence project on the west side.  If there is an untamed portion of the yard it is the west side.  It is open, and level which are problems that I want to take care of this spring.  First it is open which creates traffic through my side yard, wildlife, and otherwise.  Next it is level, the one part of the whole yard that is level.  This is a problem because the water doesn't move.  Peanut Galley erupts "You need a French Drain!"  No, I need drain slope.

Previously there was a lattice structure here that held climbing plants.  There was a white Rose plant that grew on it for years.  But I had issues with whatever I was growing there because of drainage issues that took a long time to realize.  I always knew it was swampy, but didn't make the connection to the problems with the plants in that area.

 As I started to dig into the problem I realized also that there was only a couple of inches of top soil, and then hard clay underneath.  This is a problem for plant roots, and absorption, and retention of water.  Also the entire side is level so low spots turn into long lasting ponds.  The biggest pond is right where I want to build.

 This area is typically overgrown with Ruellia which are a cane like plant that produce purple petunia like flowers.  They are commonly called Mexican Petunias.  Well they hide this swampy patch well, and love the water.  They grow like crazy, and hide the swampy mess underneath.

 So, first before I build anything I need to drain this area.  When we did the fence work here it was relatively dry because it had not rained for weeks.  But this area was still moist, and I used mulch to limit the muddiness.  So the next thing to do is to make a drainage trench to get the water out of here.

 I'm looking for the lowest spot I can get to be the outlet of the trench.  Then I work up the hill into the level area.  This will help me map the low spots in the side yard, and I can begin to move soil around to expedite the drainage.  I call this Muckworking because we have had some significant rain this week, and the west side yard is sloppy wet, and I am digging.  Very messy, but good because I am just a kid playing in the mud...