The leaves...

[gerisullivan]

...are out of all but about five feet of the front gutter. The five feet I still can't reach, even with the platform ladder I bought back in June. But most of the gutter is finally clear...before the first snowfall...and the part that was threatening to fall off the house all together is once again nailed into place. It now seems likely to last the winter instead of certain to suffer catastrophic failure in the first big storm.

And I may even be able to wrestle the platform ladder into the rhododendrons and clear out those last few feet. I'll hope to try again in daylight.

While I'm both happy and relieved to have dealt with the immediate problem, I'm even happier to report that the new ladder is a total win. It's the first time I've cleaned that gutter with total ladder comfort and confidence. It's wider than a standard step ladder and has a small platform to stand on. It's far more stable, which comes in really handy on the uneven ground near the house. Easier on the feet, too. Win.

We won't talk about the leaves on the ground. Deal? Deal!

Comments

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

So much for that deal... ;-)

Then again, if we weren't talking about leaves on the ground, I wouldn't have just learned the term "Sheet compost," and it's marvelous!

Around here, there's a lot of compost the thickness of a sheet, thick blankie, and lofty comforter combined.

As for going over the grass (and sheet compost) even once with a lawn mower, well, I expect that would work better if said lawn mower actually deigned to start.

I even had it serviced this year, durnitall anyway.

[don-fitch.livejournal.com]

I think "sheet" in this context means something like "flat layer" and is closely related to "lasagna gardening". It's the natural/prehistoric way soil is created, of course, but it doesn't include the heat of a compost pile, which tends to destroy weed seeds & pathogens. I understand It's sometimes also called "lazy gardening" (which is something I tend to be in favor of). But in vegetable gardens I believe that digging with a spading-fork about a foot deep every year creates good soil, much faster. I think someone ... I don't know how accurately .. calculated that natural leaf-fall & sheet-composting creates fertile soil at the rate of about one inch per 100 years. I'm not that patient, and will do a little work to make it one foot per ten years.

[n6tqs.livejournal.com]

"One Pull" serviced the lawnmower, right?

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

Yes, it was One Pull. But I'm more inclined to blame my own propensity toward small engine abuse and (quite possibly) a poor purchasing decision in terms of mowers than them.