Fighting Nature

Staying at home at our pond during this pandemic is not always relaxing.  It takes work to keep the house, lawns, and pond maintained so they are safe and attractive and usable.  In fact, maintenance at the Peterson pond can be a challenge and time consuming. 

As I have mentioned before Mike spends a lot of time clearing the pond of moss and underwater grass.  He does a lot of research to find out what would work best on eliminating these problems.  Usually this results in the use of some chemicals and a sprayer and a boat.  However, the other day, he was so frustrated with the results of these methods, that he came up with one on his own.  He grabbed a pitchfork from Morton Building #1 and headed towards the pontoon boat.  The next thing I knew he was out on the water using the pitchfork to pull coon tail grass out of the water and on to his boat.  Then he went back to land and threw it off the boat.  Based on the load of grass on his boat, I would say this method was pretty effective and visually satisfying.

On another day, I noticed some white spots on the sidewalk in our front yard.  It looked to me like someone had splashed paint on the concrete.  However, then I noticed the same splotches on the brick on the side of the house and on the roof shingles above it.  Mike decided that we had wild turkeys visiting us at night.  Needless to say, I did not want turkey poop in these places so Mike hauled out his power washer and cleaned the house.  

It took awhile to put together all the clues that led to us finding an exterminator to handle our next problem.  First, Mike began noticing little piles of sawdust on the chairs on our back patio.  The chairs are protected from the elements by being stored under the balcony.  Then I noticed bees hanging around on our balcony.  I thought that was a bit odd as there were no flowers up there.  Turns out, I was incorrectly assuming they were honey bees.  Next, Mike was out in the back yard using the grill when he noticed a bee flying around the patio.  As he watched, it disappeared into the treated two by twelve wood rafter.  Sure enough when he looked closer, he saw a perfectly symmetrical half inch in diameter round hole.  With the aid of his phone, Mike figured out we had carpenter bees.  They were laying eggs in those holes.  I called the exterminator and hopefully the carpenter bees now go further afield to find wood to use for their nests.  

Right now, Mike and I are being forced to actually relax in our home.  It is pouring rain outside.  Once the rain clears, who knows what new problems will occur but right now, we will just enjoy our place.