Jay Gaulard Blog

Ice on Trees - Photos

Tuesday, December 11th, 2007

I took some pretty cool photos this morning of all the ice on the trees. I heard that the midwest got hit hard. We didn’t get hit nearly as hard. Things are icy, but it is actually really nice outside. It is warming up fast, so you can hear all the ice falling from the trees out in the woods. It’s a really neat sound and very beautiful.

I was walking around outside this morning with my coffee. Just what I always wanted. About halfway through my little walk, I realized what I was doing…

Putting Up the Deer Fencing

Saturday, November 10th, 2007

I have to say, my days have been pretty full and this blog has been helping. I really enjoy doing things in life and writing about them. Perhaps I should’ve been an author. Nah…the minute someone expects something from me, I don’t want to do it anymore. Half of the fun of writing here is the surprise for my readers.

Now, today’s project was fun. Actually, it was today’s half project. The first half of the day was spent writing the “Funniest” post. Did you know that I put that into Microsoft Word to spell check it and it was five pages? FIVE PAGES!!! Who does that? At least I had a good time writing it. At one point, I had to stop typing because I was laughing. I think it was the “Craig biting into the egg sandwich” part. C’mon, that was funny.

I thought it was a good day to put up that deer fencing I bought at Lowes yesterday. The weather was nice and brisk. I had the plastic fencing and posts all ready to go. I pulled out my not-so-great staple gun and proceeded to staple the fencing to the beams below the porch (behind the arborvitae). My staple gun has a little problem that it developed during my screening of the porch. It only likes to spit a staple out every fifteenth try. It gets rather frustrating. I got most of the back part done when I went into the basement and oiled the gun. I went back out to give it another shot. WOW, it didn’t work any better. Determined, I went back into the basement and took the staple gun apart on top of the dryer. After fiddling with it for about ten minutes, I realized that I could not put it back together. I am not sure if it was because there were too many parts or if it was me. You know when you take something complicated apart…everything is fine until that one little part pops out of where it is supposed to be? Then, while reaching for that part, something else pops out? That’s what happened. I slid the staple gun off the dryer and into the garbage. I wasn’t going to play that game. The damn thing didn’t work anyway. It’s a shame because it was fairly new…I mean it was a few years old, but hardly used. Whelp, there’s another trip to Lowes.

Yesterday, during my checkout, the nice cashier gave me a $10 off coupon, good for my next purchase. I decided to use it today on some very exciting things.

First, I picked up a new Stanley SharpShooter “AntiJam” staple gun. It was only $15 and change. I really looked for a better one, but they don’t exist. It works fine. I also got the recommended staples to go with it. Maybe that was my problem? I don’t know.

Next, I got a nice little drill bit set. I am so sick and tired of messing with the dead bits I have. I keep hoping that somehow they will heal themselves while sitting in the basement and become sharp again. It’s like that old Larry Miller milk joke…when he says, “Hmmm, maybe I’ll just put this back in the fridge and it will be fresh tomorrow.” Anyway, the set I picked up is a 16 piece DeWalt Pilot Point drill bit set. They are nice and shiny and I like DeWalt. DeWalt has yet to let me down and I know the company offers quality items. Thank you DeWalt. Also, they are shiny.

Lastly, I picked up some new accessories for my Dremel. That Dremel kicks ass. I have used it a few times already in some tight situations. I give it high marks. Since the cutting disks wear out kind of fast, I got some more of them. I also picked up some finishing abrasive buffs. I am going to use them for the tile in the bathroom. Some of the tiles need to be cleaned. These two attachments use a fancy Dremel EZ Lock piece for a faster accessory change. It’s pretty cool.

What about the deer fencing? Ok, here goes…

Well, what do you think? Now, I can rest a bit easier knowing that my prized arborvitae will be eaten, but not without a fight.

Soaker Hose for the Garden

Tuesday, June 19th, 2007

As you may know, I like to plant things and admire the things I plant. I even like Planters Peanuts. I take it personally when things droop or die.

You may also know that the success of any new plant depends on many things, but one of them is the amount of water they receive. So many people sit there and watch the trees and shrubs that they just planted a few days ago die. I would think that many of them scratch their heads in wonder.

If you ask any of my neighbors what I do in the evening, they would probably tell you that I like to walk down the road and back as well as water the gardens. I do water a lot. I always knew that my hose and sprinkler method was not the most efficient way to do things, but that’s what I have to work with.

Laura came home the other night with a new shipment of plants she got from her friend. We planted them with some success. Some are taking off and some are half dead. Since such new plants require a lot of water and a lot of attention, I decided to get some of those soaker hoses I have heard about in the past. They are much more efficient than regular watering methods and are partially made with recycled tires. It’s all good.

If you are interested in water conservation via soaker hoses, you can check out these resources…

- Saving Water Partnership
- Fiskars Bulk Soaker Hose
- Garden and Soaker Hoses (EPA)

I have to say, these hoses are pretty cool. When you turn them on, you just watch them get wet. I did this last night and wondered if they were actually doing anything. Then, I dug my hand under the mulch to see that they were.

Save some water, give ‘em a shot.

More Plantings in the Fall

Sunday, October 1st, 2006

I can’t wait for Spring! I know that might sound a little weird, since it’s not even cold yet. The reason I can’t wait is that I am so excited to see what all the great plants and bulbs are going to look like when they start growing. I want to see the new growth of the shrubs and trees too.

Yesterday, I received a package from Holland. It had the 150 bulbs that I ordered back a few months ago. Apparently, they wait for it to get cold in Holland and then ship them out. It takes a few weeks for them to get from Holland to the U.S. I think from now on I am going to go to the local nursery for my bulbs. I really don’t have the patience to wait three months for these types of things. Anyway, here is what I got:

- Mountain Bells Mixture (deer resistant)
- Blue Grape Hyacinths
- Giant Crocus Mixture
- King Edward Tulip
- Economy Tulip Mixture
- Alpine Rosy Bells
- Beauty Dutch Iris Mixture
- Early Stardrift
- Giant Daffodils

I saved a spot in our front garden that was just screaming for these bulbs. There were 150 bulbs overall, so digging a separate hole for each one would have been crazy. I got a rake and pulled back about six inches of mulch.

I put the bulbs in according to height. The tallest ones went to the back and the shortest to the front. They have varying bloom times throughout the season, so I staggered them in with one another, so I wouldn’t have rows of flowers and rows of nothing.

After I placed all the bulbs in, point facing up, I covered the area with the mulch again. This garden area is only about 20′x10′, so in the Spring, it’s going to be bursting with color. Over time the area will grow, as I continue to edge around the border, pushing a few inches of soil in every time and adding more mulch in the Spring.

Next to the lamp post at the end of the driveway, there was Hosta that has been trying to grow all summer. I kept running it over with the lawnmower for some reason. I don’t know why, since I really like this plant. Yesterday, I got a bright idea (that happens every so often). I dug up the Hosta and separated all the small bulbs.

This photo is just a sample…there were about 20 bulbs. I decided that this plant would look great as a back row of lush green for the garden. I planted each bulb about a foot apart along the entire back row.

Hopefully these will grow nice and big. As I was planting, I had a little nightmare. I dreamt that the evil deer came and ate all my bulbs and Hosta. Right after I was done having my nightmare, I ran down into the basement and grabbed the Deer Scram and Liquid Fence. I spread the Deer Scram and erected the fence immediately. I covered the whole garden. I am also going to buy some of the real deer fencing today. You know, the black thin plastic stuff you see on people’s bushes.

One last note - we got another tree. This time, I went to the local tree farm near the airport I practice at and looked around for a 6′-7′ tree that I could fit in the car. I came across some Flowering Bradford Pear trees. There are some pros and cons to the Bradford Pear, but since this is a close-to-the-house tree, we needed something that would stay relatively small. If it is damaged on our watch, we will just get another one…no big deal.

The Shakespeare Festival at Boscobel - The Two Gentlemen of Verona

Thursday, September 7th, 2006

Every year, towards the middle of August, Laura and I venture to the Shakespeare Festival at Boscobel in Cold Spring, NY. This is one night a year we really, really have a good time. It reminds us of the culture in this world that we miss so much by focusing on work, day in and day out.

Last year, the show offered “The Two Gentlemen of Verona.” I am not going to attempt to give a review of the show, as I am sure there are people out there who could write much better than me. Here is one from the Utah Shakespeare Festival. What I am going to try to do, is to sell the show and experience to you, and hopefully my photos can do that. You really do deserve a unique night out like this.

I have to say, the whole experience is a good one, from the drive over the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge, through Beacon and down along the Hudson River into Cold Spring. It’s a beautiful ride. Continuing through Cold Spring and finally arriving at Boscobel is a pleasant surprise every time. The parking at Boscobel is even nice. The lots are shaded by trees and tucked back from the road. There is about a quarter-mile walk from the parking lots to the tent area and the mansion.

The gardens are especially nice on a cool, clear evening.

I always spend a good amount of time browsing around the gardens, getting good ideas for the future. I seem to forget that the fun is right around the corner. It is kind of like stopping and getting attached to the first ride you come across at an amusement park. You can’t stop there. I eventually snap out of it and wander onto the lawn.

This has got to be one of my favorite places in the world. Just being among people who are having such a good time with their wine and food makes me forget all about every day business. It reminds me a little of “Alice in Wonderland…”

We usually walk around for a while and wait for them to sound that the show is about to start. We have yet to set up camp and relax with our food and wine. This is a definate for next time.

When we hear them asking us to take our seats, we make our way to the tent to enjoy the show!