I’ll tell you. I wish I had an anonymous blog where I could write about the other 95% of my life. One where I could write about all the other things I do besides mowing the lawn, going out to dinner and installing water filters under the kitchen sink.
I spend about a half hour each day doing the things I write about in this blog and the other twenty three and a half hours doing the things that are actually important. I would love to tell someone about all my business ideas and various strategies I have to deal with the finer points of life. See, I don’t even want to get into it here because these topics are sensitive.
I guess the reason I want another blog is because I would most likely get comments pertaining to my posts. Those comments are something to respond to. I know there are people out there who are interested in the same things I am interested in. I hate seeing the glazed over eyes of the people who I attempt to discuss certain things with. I would like to create a little club for people who are like me. Trust me, they are hard to find.
I know I am not going to set up another blog. That’s silly. Those who try that usually fail. There are usually about five posts that people whip up there and then it sits dry for a year. Eventually, the plug gets pulled. Nah, I’ll stick to this blog and just keep all my ideas to myself.
Now, if I could set up a third blog just to rant and rave about my feelings on the lazy among us as well as politics…let’s not even get me going.
Have I told you lately that I enjoy the Connecticut coast?
So it snowed on Saturday night. We didn’t let that stop us on Sunday. Sunday’s weather was perfect for a ride in the car to see what was going on down in Old Saybrook, Westbrook, Clinton, Madison Center and Guilford Center. I really wanted to see what Branford Center looked like, but we were getting a little ahead of ourselves. We’ll have to visit that another day.
It’s so strange to see a totally different culture from what we’re used to around here. I mean, it’s not totally different, but people along the coast seem to enjoy boating and golfing a bit more than we do. Also, if the number of restaurants is any indication, they enjoy eating too.
Okay, I’ll give you the 2 minute rundown of what I witnessed on our drive through these areas:
- Old Saybrook has a nice coast line. Too many people in that town for my taste.
- Westbrook has a few huge marinas, so if you are into boating, that’s your place to be. They also have the Water’s Edge Resort and Spa which looks very nice.
- Clinton was pretty cool. They had a huge nursery called Clinton Nurseries that appeared to hold a massive amount of compost behind a fence. When I say massive, I mean massive. The main street was tight and historic looking. Good for getting out of the car and walking around.
- Madison looked like it was the most wealthy of the towns we visited. There was some sort of a Santa gathering on main street and perhaps a parade. There were all sorts of people around who appeared to really love their town. If I live there, I would probably love it too. It’s really nice.
- Guilford Center was nice as well, but smaller than the rest. It’s a great looking town with a fairly large green. I bet I would like that during the Summer.
Once we hit Guilford, we turned around to head back. As we were driving, my lady indicated that she would be interested in visiting a beach. Since I have always wanted to walk on a beach in Winter, I thought it was a great idea.
The first beach type area we came across was Madison Beach. It was a pretty cool area and was located right past Madison Country Club. We hung out for a while and took some pictures which I will post below. The funny thing about this beach was the wind. On shore, there was a bit of wind, but not really all that much. When we walked out on a rocky area that jutted out about 100 feet into the water, we could hardly stand there because it was so windy. Strange. I’ll tell you, when it’s 37 degrees, the wind really cuts right through you.
After that, we stopped off at Hammonasset Beach State Park. Now this was the bomb diggity. I didn’t even know that Connecticut had beaches like this (again). The park is pretty huge and even offers camping. I could totally see us walking up and down this beach for our daily exercise. Great sand, great water and interesting features. I’ll post the pictures below.
After that, we stopped off at a diner in Old Saybrook and headed back. It was getting dark, so I figured our day out on the Connecticut shore was just about over. Till next time…
Madison Beach looking West towards Chipman Point
Madison Beach looking South past rocks towards Long Island
Madison Beach looking East towards Webster Point
Standing on rocks looking back towards Madison Beach, CT
Sea Gull at Madison Beach, CT
Sandy area at Madison Beach
Boats tied up at Madison Beach, CT
Standing on Madison Beach looking at Tuxis Island
Statue of James Madison in Madison, CT
The First Congregational Church in Madison, CT
The First Congregational Church in Madison, CT sign
Rt.1 East heading through Madison, CT – #1
Madison, CT fire department
Rt.1 East heading through Madison, CT – #2
Rt.1 East heading through Madison, CT – #3
Shops in Madison, CT
Rt.1 East heading through Madison, CT – #4
Rt.1 East heading through Madison, CT – #5
Hammonasset Beach State Park sign
Looking West on Hammonasset Beach, CT
Looking East on Hammonasset Beach, CT
Looking out at Long Island Sound from Hammonasset Beach
Looking out at water from Meigs Point, Hammonasset Beach
From Meigs Point, looking back towards Webster Point
Well, I did it. I sprung for the MoistAir 14 Gallon Humidifier. It works pretty nicely.
A few weeks ago, there was a snap in the air. I thought, “Oh no. Here we go again.” I had to light up the pellet stove and with that comes dry air. I woke up a few mornings with a dry head.
I had known that I was going to get this humidifier since last year. I wasn’t looking forward to spending over $100 on it though. As you might remember, I purchased another one last year and it couldn’t cut it. I thought the evaporative route might be better traveled.
MoistAir 14 gallon humidifier
MoistAir evaporative 2,900 square foot humidifier
This humidifier is supposed to cover 2,900 square feet and evaporate 14 gallons a day. Having run this little machine for a few weeks now, I would agree with the manufacturer’s claim. It certainly pulls the water out of the tanks and puts it into the air. We have the unit set up in the basement and we constantly hear the gurgling of water. The only modification we had to make was the slip a few tiles underneath the front of the unit. For some reason, the water wasn’t coming out of one of the tanks. Since I put the tile under there, it has been working great.
By the way, there are three fan speeds and three humidity level settings. I forget what we have the humidity settings on, but when I see moisture on the windows, I turn it down.
One question: Just wondering why the people who made this humidifier thought it was necessary for it resemble a 1978 station wagon. Fake wood grain went out a few years ago.
I have been discovering so many things about the state of Connecticut. It’s really an interesting place with such a variety of weather, lifestyle and landscape. An area that I have been getting to know a bit more is the Western Connecticut shoreline.
After this Summer’s many visits to Essex, CT, I decided that it would be good to do a little further exploring. I really like the water, so I decided to go further South and take a look at Old Saybrook, Madison and Branford. After giving these towns a quick once over, my eye kept going to Branford. I don’t know, there’s just something about it.
I must say, my curiosity is piqued. Who knew there were all those little islands down there (Thimble Islands)? You can spend an entire year just getting to know Connecticut’s coastal towns.
I told you I was going to take some pictures of the leaf mulch and compost. You should have never doubted me.
My little plan of mulching the leaves into the grass instead of raking them up is working out very well. You would be amazed at how much you can condense a big pile of leaves. If you mow over them a few times, it’s like they aren’t even there. Also, the new John Deere X300 Mulching Kit works great. It saves a lot of time and makes me happy to think that all these leaves are going to break down into the beautiful leaf compost that I am about to show you.
Let me post the pictures. We can talk about it later.
Area in the woods where I dumped last Autumn’s chopped up leaves after I bagged them
Wheelbarrow and screen used to sift leaf compost
Wheelbarrow with nice leaf compost
Holding some perfect leaf compost in my hand
Worm in compost
This year’s leaf mulch still on lawn
Leaf mulch mixed in with blades of grass
Pennington Smart Seed used to overseed lawn
Spot seeding using Pennington Smart Seed and leaf compost
First off, I am going to tell you that this is what Autumn is all about…getting out there and playing with nature. There’s nothing like it. Sometimes you just have to take a break and smell the air.
I wanted to mention this before I forget. I am now using Pennington Smart Seed for my overseeding and spot seeding because there is a little something strange going on in the bags of Scotts grass seed. If you look at the “Inert Matter” percentage in the back of the bag, you’ll notice that it’s only a few % in the Pennington Smart Seed bag. If you look at the Scotts grass seed with the new Water Smart technology, you’ll see that the inert matter is up towards 50%. That means that there is around 50% actual grass seed and 50% other stuff that isn’t grass seed. Now, I’m not saying that this is a bad thing, especially if you are trying to grow grass during a warmer season or a warmer climate and can’t water new seed all the easily, but for me, I would prefer buying the most grass seed as I can. Enough about that.
So did you see this pics? Pretty nice, huh? It’s hard to believe that it only took one season to break down those leaves into that compost. I am guessing that dumping the leaf mulch into the woods helped. The worms were sitting there waiting for it. The worms are the ones that did all the work. Notice how I said “leaf mulch.” Yeah, I think the chopped up leaves break down a heck of a lot faster than leaves that are just raked up. Those types of leaves tend to mat down and get wet. They turn into compost much slower.
I got about four wheelbarrow loads of compost out of the woods the day I took these photos. I screened it and used it to cover up and seed some areas of the lawn there weren’t doing too swell. I know it’s late in the season for planting grass, but I figured that much of the other grass I planted in early September is just starting to germinate, so this round should be fine. Also, in the grass seed that I bought, there is a high percentage of Perennial Ryegrass, which germinates very quickly (like four days). The other other types of seed in the blend will take a bit longer, but I have faith that it’ll be just fine.
If I had some advice to give (which I do) someone who lives in a cooler climate like I do and who wants to do some overseeding, I would say to do it October 1 instead of September 1 like everyone suggests. Unless of course you have an irrigation system on your property. I say this because September is still quite warm and it is very difficult to get grass to germinate on dry soil. Hey, if you can figure out a way to get out there with the hose twice a day and water your entire property, then go for it. As for me, I’ll wait for the cooler weather and let mother nature take her course. As I said above, the new grass really started coming up around October 1. I am attributing that to cooler weather and more rain.
I got up nice and early this morning. I didn’t know this, but Laura had taken my recommendation of setting the alarm clock to go off an hour earlier. I think this is the first step to getting old. When I hit 4AM like Seinfeld’s grandma, that’ when I call it.
I made the coffee and started my morning waltz around the property. I am sure you have heard all about that by now. This morning was pretty good…nice and clear sky with tons of dew on the grass. About half way through my stroll, I decided to go back inside to grab the camera. I didn’t have anything in particular to take pictures of, so I just took random shots.
Here they are:
White Chrysanthemum buds
Purple flower with dew on the petals
White flowers in garden
Morning dew on Fine Fescue grass
Early sprouting of Perennial Ryegrass
Single water droplet clinging on Perennial Ryegrass blade
This is a project that I have been waiting all year to do. It’s called, “Overseeding the lawn” (the correct time of year).
Every time I have put down grass seed, it was during the hottest, driest time of year. The seed didn’t do much because there was nothing much to do. Eventually, I think it actually grew, but that was months later when things cooled off and the rain returned.
They say to overseed your lawn in early September. This is because, like I said above, the Summertime drought is most likely over and rain falls more frequently. Unfortunately for me, the ten day forecast shows ten perfectly orange pictures of sunshine. Only me.
The reason I did the whole lawn dethatch, aerate and overseed the day I did was because of the rain we got the previous two days. In order to properly aerate, you need moist soil. If the soil is too dry, the aerator can’t get down into the dirt deep enough and you won’t pull a substantial plug. I got plugs that were about one and a half to two inches long. I would offer a picture, but it’s been about a week since I did this job and the plugs are all dried up and not very attractive.
I thought I would breeze through this particular project. In actuality, it took longer than expected. First, I dethatched the grass. I did this by towing the dethatcher I bought at Home Depot around the yard. Since grass and thatch kept clumping up in the tines, I had to stop frequently to clean it out. After that was done, I put the bagger back on the mower and mowed the grass at a height of three inches. I know the general advice is to mow at one inch or less when overseeding, but I just didn’t have the heart to scrape the dirt when I had no guarantee of rain in the future. I am not about to water 11,000 square feet of grass either. Mother Nature is going to have to take care of this one.
After I dethatched and mowed, I pulled out the tow behind plug aerator and did my thing. I did a few passes over the lawn to make sure I roughed up the dirt enough. I did a good job, but I still think I should have done more. It’s just that while doing this kind of thing, you want to get it done. Driving around in circles isn’t all that entertaining.
Okay, so once the aerating was finished, I filled the seed spreader up with my custom mixture of Kentucky Bluegrass and Perennial Ryegrass. I chose these two types of grass because the Kentucky Bluegrass is just awesome looking and it is supposed to spread to fill in bare spots. The thing is, it takes forever to germinate. The Perennial Ryegrass is a good looking durable grass that germinates much faster and will fill things in while waiting for the Bluegrass.
As I said above, it’s been about a week with no rain and there isn’t much action out there. I have been watering certain areas with my sprinkler because I have no illusions that a huge thunderstorm isn’t going to come and wash all the seed off the front hillside. I want to get that grass sort of anchored in there before that happens. Otherwise, I will have to let nature take its course and wait for the grass to grow on it’s own. I also have some seed left over to spread out if need be.
Here are some pictures for you.
Bare spot in lawn with hole from tow behind plug aerator
Bare spot in lawn with Kentucky Bluegrass and Perennial Ryegrass grass seed
Bag of Scotts starter fertilizer
Oh yeah, I also bought two bags of Scotts starter fertilizer. Each bag is supposed to cover 5,000 square feet. I haven’t applied this yet because the directions say to water in immediately after application. Since I can’t water the entire lawn, I am going to wait for right before the next rainfall to spread this stuff around.
I am eagerly awaiting September 1, so I can overseed the lawn. I know I have mentioned this on more than one occasion, but I guess I’m just excited.
I went over to the Depot today to look for a new lawn spreader. Actually, I went to Sears first. No luck at either place. They are all plastic garbage. I already have one of those green seed / fertilizer spreaders, but the reach isn’t as far as I would like it to be. I have been considering a tow behind spreader, but all the reviews I have read practically everywhere tell me they are junk too. Apparently, the little doo-hicky that opens and closes the area that the seed comes out of is made of plastic and doesn’t do its job very well. I am looking for a nice quality spreader, so if anyone has any advice, I’m listening. I am also willing to give up my current spreader after I get a new one, so you just stay tuned.
While I was at Home Depot, I thought I would stock up on some grass seed for my upcoming overseeding event. I did all my research and decided upon Kentucky Bluegrass. This type of grass spreads and fills in bare spots and thin grass, so that’s what we need. Also, it has that nice dark green color that everyone loves so much.
It’s amazing, I created a few bare spots in the lawn early on in the Spring and they haven’t filled in yet. I guess the current grass doesn’t spread on its own at all. I really like the spreading quality of some grass, so that’s what I had my heart set on.
Scotts Kentucky Bluegrass grass seed mixture
Scotts Kentucky Bluegrass grass seed
I opened one of the bags this afternoon because I couldn’t wait anymore. I was surprised to see such tiny little grass seed. This is the stuff with that “water technology” something or other. My goal was to sprinkle a little on some bare spots that are close to the garage. I want to see if anything happens before I go all out and do the whole lawn.
I roughed up the bare spots with a pitch fork and put a really small amount on each area. Then, I roughed each spot up again. I’ll give it a few weeks and report back what happens. From what I have been reading, it takes a good long time for this grass seed to germinate. With the cooler Summer and all the rain we have been having, I’m not concerned with the Summer heat doing a number on this seed. Also, the reason I only put a small amount of seed on each spot is because this seed was crazy expensive. I am going to use it very sparingly so it will cover the entire lawn.
The other day, Laura and I were talking while we were walking. It was a full out walk and talk. I was telling her how I was looking at pictures of Naples, Florida online and how there were some pretty good looking beaches there. It’s really hard for me to tell Laura about places I look at online because she always assumes I want to move there. I suppose I have somewhat of a track record in that department.
As we continued our walk, I kept telling her how I just wanted to walk up and down a beach for a good long time and how good of exercise I though that would be. She seemed to agree, once I mentioned the sport of it. If it’s just a regular walk, it’s no good. If there’s something in it for us, I guess so.
I kept on talking about different places and their benefits when I turned to her and said, “I think I just need a vacation.” I instantly thought of Turks and Caicos. For those of you who have never heard of that, Turks and Caicos is a small cluster of islands in the Caribbean. They aren’t all smothered with resorts and hotels yet, that’s why you may not recognize the name. I have been thinking about visiting Turks and Caicos for years.
When we got back to the house, I let Laura loose on the computer. I told her to feel free to find a nice vacation for us. She came back with some options, but nothing really floored me because there weren’t many “all inclusive” options on those islands. Thinking back to Punta Cana, all there was were all inclusive resorts. The biggest resort on Turks and Caicos is Beaches Resort, and it’s all inclusive. It looks great, but it may be a little too “family friendly.” Much (or all) of their marketing is geared towards kids. I’m talking Sesame Street stuff. Although, they do have those big floating tricycles and a water park. Hmmm.
Anyway, for the past few nights, I have been trying to locate an all inclusive resort on a nice beachy island. I want some place that’s not overbuilt and preferably with white sand beaches. I want to walk out into the water really really far, so the shallower and bluer the better. I am getting a little depressed as the search goes on, because there is so much to look through and all the islands have so much to offer. Punta Cana was easy…all the resorts were all inclusive and the beaches were awesome. There was nothing to think about. Fly down, get on a bus to the resort and get drunk. Now, that’s what I’m talking about.
Okay, I’ll get to the point of this post. During my search for the ultimate Caribbean island, I have browsed through many pictures and videos. Just a few minuted ago, I came across a rather unique video offered by Best Destination Travel TV. As I watched it, I started thinking about how well the commercial (or whatever you want to call it) was written and though out. I just had to share it with you. Take a look at it and let me know what you think.
I found this funny video on YouTube about bottled water. I’m sure you’ve all heard about the negative impacts all those bottles have on the environment, from the creation of the bottles to their disposal. The actual water inside the bottle isn’t much better. Chances are, you are probably getting filtered water from New Jersey.
After I watched this video, I started thinking, “Are people so terrible for drinking bottled water?” You know, half of the time, people drink bottled water when they are on their lunch breaks from work (or similar situations). They are sitting in some pizza place and really aren’t that turned on by drinking a bottle of soda or juice with their food. What’s left to choose from? Water. They don’t want to go ask for a little paper cup worth of tap water from the guy standing behind the counter, so they buy the bottle. They buy it because it’s available.
My feelings are, if you’re going to beat up on the bottled water industry, you better start beating up on the soft drink and juice industry too. I’m not saying this because I like bottled water, I’m just trying to be fair. I don’t think I have ever even bought bottled water. I wouldn’t exactly say that’s because I’m intelligent, probably just because I didn’t want to spend the money.
