Weekend updates

The major event planned for Saturday was sealing the driveway. I had agreed to the work late Friday evening so everything requiring a vehicle that we needed to get done Saturday had to be planned around not having access to the driveway through Sunday morning. The person doing the sealing had said he would like to begin around noon. So, since Mama and I were in desperate need of feed, we made the trip as early as we could Saturday morning. As Mama was getting things ready to feed Grandpa breakfast, I ran a load of trash to the dump. Grandpa had purchased a new mattress for their bed and I needed to get the old mattress out of the garage. That took only a couple minutes, but I was relieved to have it done. It takes about two hours to get to the feed store and back and Mama wanted to make an extra stop in Forestburg at a Dollar Tree to look for one particular item. That stop did not add to much time to our trip since we drive right by the store as we make the drive to Muenster. We were able to make the round trip and get home in time to feed the bottle babies and offload the feed well before noon.

I spent the next hour moving blocks and the rails we use to enclose the bed of the pickup away from the front of the shop so there would be access to all the blacktop. Then I took the time to clean along the edge of the blacktop by the buck paddock as well. In their walking of the fence line at the driveway, they had managed to cover the edge of the drive with dirt to the point that grass had invaded the blacktop there. I also cleaned out two deep sunken spots in the driveway that have recently showed up. The man doing the sealing promised to fill those holes as well. While I was doing all that, Mama decided to make a Walmart and Tractor Supply run with Grandma. I was just finishing up when the man doing the sealing showed up. Once the gentleman – working on his own – blew the driveway clean of loose rocks and leaves, he began to apply the sealant.

He did not hurry. I was impressed with how thorough and careful he was to apply the coating. This was not a water-soluble rubberized coating. This was an oil-based liquid tar he put on the blacktop. He started at the shop and worked his way around the entire driveway. It smelled like tar and oil, so I am fairly confident that this will last longer than the last application of sealant. We were given a two-year warranty. I was impressed with that. Grandpa watched from the bay window in the dining room. He was also impressed. Mama loved the result. It took the gentleman about two hours to complete the task. We were cautioned not to drive on the new sealant for at least three hours, but we had already set things up to leave the surface untouched through the rest of Saturday and overnight. It was not cheap, but it was – hopefully – worth the expense.

When the drive was about three quarters of the way sealed, Mama called to let me know she and Grandma were on their way home. I advised them to pull through the middle gate and drive all the way around to the back of the property and come through the yard to the house. That route was shorter and safer for Grandma than to come through the garden to the house. When I was telling her where to park the vehicle, she told be she had not expected the driveway to be inaccessible yet so she and Grandma had bought a lot of stuff that needed to be hauled to the house. I am pretty sure she just forgot about it because she had bought one hundred pounds of feed, a case of water bottles, two large packages of toilet paper, and ten bags worth of groceries. I got a wheelbarrow (Grandma’s suggestion) to pack the groceries across the yard, through the sunroom and into the house. It was a new experience for us to haul groceries in a wheelbarrow, but it all worked out.  

The weather was windy and cold throughout the day Saturday. We were forecast to be well below freezing overnight. I was a little concerned about the sealant, but the vendor assured me that all that needed to happen was that the sealant be allowed to cool, which was clearly going to happen with the ambient temperature. So, in preparation for the overnight freeze I had covered all the exterior faucets and plugged in the heat tracing where applicable. We were ready on that count, but Mama and I were worried about our fruit trees, which are in bloom and beginning to set fruit.

Since we were advised by someone we trust to do so, I got up at 5:30 am Sunday morning and sprayed the two fruit trees in the back yard to cover the blooms and tender budding fruit with water that would freeze in the 27-degree temperature. That coating of ice would prevent the blooms by being suddenly warmed by the sun which would cause the frost on them to “pop” killing the bloom. Thawing the ice would prolong the change in temperature and spare the buds the instantaneous change which causes the bloom to be killed. In order to have access to the hose to spray the trees, I had to disconnect and drain the hose then place it in the garage overnight. If I had left the hose out, it would have been frozen in the morning, thwarting my need to spray the trees. Hopefully that will work as expected. Time will tell.

Also Saturday night, Victoria picked up Rosalee so she could go to church with us Sunday morning. That little one always adds a large measure of busy to our lives. She is not necessarily difficult. She is just always busy, both physically and mentally. Always wanting to include someone in her play. Fortunately, her focus is not on any electronic device. She really plays - blocks, dishes, cars and dolls. Often all at the same time. It is delightful to hear her conversation as she plays.

All in all, it was very busy day Saturday – stretching into Sunday morning.