That was the last straw. We needed to mow the acre today and I had Dennis start my push mower so I could mow the front yard and around the house. As I was finishing up, my eye caught the north side of the house. Admittedly the north side of the house is about 25′ from the neighbor’s driveway and we don’t spend any amount of time in that grass area. What my eye caught was green moss like discoloration on the white siding. We have had a wet summer with very little full sun shining on the north side of the house.
I finished mowing and the put on old shoes to begin washing off the house. I had a brush that I could telescope the handle to the height I could manage and yet reach the height of the greenery. I set the hose attachment for a sharp spray. When I started spraying water up to the roof line, the muddy rivets of water began to run down the siding. I followed up brushing what needed it with a cleaning solution, followed by rinsing. A bit weary but also feeling satisfied on a good job done.
This actually all worked out well. In July we had worked on the slope of the yard on the north side of the house in relationship to the foundation for a good run off of water rather than having it pool close to the house. That was less than good dirt. It had a lot of clay in it. With all the rain, we are confident that the dirt mixed with clay has firmed up. Now with the house washing it needs to dry up a bit.
Dennis was making a run to Fleet Farm and I rode along. As I sat in the pickup waiting, I noticed that their pallets of summer products was getting quite low. I got out and checked. They had 10 bags of garden dirt left. We came home with those 10 bags. In the next days or perhaps weeks, we will be putting this black garden dirt on top of the clay on the north side of the house. This is not a quick half day job for us. The bags were 40 lbs. at the time they were trucked to Fleet Farm, but with them being out in the weather, I think they might weigh a bit more. We have lots of time to get this done. It will need to be put on and raked. You know me: nice and tidy. Dennis wants to try the water activated seed that is put on with a harden house leaving a blanket looking covering. From now until then we will be collecting cardboard boxes to cut apart to protect the foundation of the house from the seed spray landing where it will do no good but make a mess on the concrete.
Lordy, Lordy, if it is not one thing it is another. It is good to get this stuff done as it is warranted while the weather is nice. The weather was chilly this morning turning out to be a good day for a workout. That chilly morning spurred me on to make a batch of chili. Having a large enough batch to have some in the freezer doesn’t hurt either for a quick meal sometime down the road.