Projects for Dad!

First are pictures of my fence. Then are pictures of how neighbors have reinforced their fences (and this is how I'm envisioning fixing mine). Last is a spot of drywall that needs fixing if this is something else that you want to do. :)

MY FENCE

This is on the inside of the yard. You can see where the picket has split and the bolts are pulling out from the weight of the fence sagging.

Back side of the fence:

In the next 4 pictures, you can see these little short pieces that are bolted onto the left side of the metal post. These little short pieces are what the hinge-side of the gate are bolted onto. This is a major reason why the fence is sagging so much, because it's putting too much leverage on a small piece of wood.

Top hinge for the gate:

Middle hinge for the gate:

Bottom hinge for the gate:

This is the latch side of the gate from the alley. The frame of the gate itself could use some reinforcing as you can see the gap in the framing joint. This would be a good candidate for some of those metal reinforcement plates that we talked about.

There are some other spots along the fence line where the cross-pieces are cracked. I've angles screws into some of these spots, but they could use better reinforcement as will be shown below.

NEIGHBORING FENCE REINFORCEMENTS

The next two shots are how some other fences around here are reinforced with 2x4's bolted up against the cross-pieces. I would think we could use those metal reinforcement plates to help secure additional 2x4's instead of just angled screws which have a tendency to split the wood.

DRYWALL

The crack on this corner section of drywall has been slowly moving up the wall for years. The orange peel texture on it is very brittle and pops off if you push on the metal corner reinforcement that is under the spackle. Presumably it's because the house has shifted and settled. I'm not sure of the best way to patch it since the metal part itself seems to be a bit buckled. Maybe it can be better nailed into the drywall to flatten it out and then texture over it...? This is adjacent to the pantry door, and you can see the step-stool you made for me on the left so you'll know where in the house this is.

Moths on Pink Yarrow

I don't know what type of moths these are, but they're teeny-tiny (the size of my fingernail), and they LOVE my pink yarrow!

Desert Willow Seedlings

This is the first time I've started desert willow (Chilopsis linearis) from seed. I've had terrific success germinating them in 4" pots by spritzing them daily with water from a mister bottle and then keeping the pots covered with a clear, upside-down drip tray (to keep the soil moist but still allow sunlight in). The seeds should be planted shallow (just barely covered with soil) as they need sunlight to germinate.

The internet tells me to overwinter them indoors in pots the first year and then plant in the ground next spring. Supposedly the seeds lose viability rather quickly. I plucked these off of the tree (select brown pods that are dry and starting to split open) and seeded them the same day.

The seedlings below are from the tree in my back yard ('Bubba') which I got 20 years ago from Garden World in Abilene. They are still displaying their cotyledons and are just starting to grow their first true leaves. I've started four pots of these, and all germinated successfully in about one week.

Desert Willow seedlings

 

Desert Willow 'Bubba'

 These are the first seeds I started back in the summer, and these came from the tree over at the park which has more white in it than the tree in my back yard. August 10, 2022; pictured with two chocolate ghost pepper plants:

 

Transplanted into 1-gallon pot today:

Desert Willow transplanted into 1-gallon pot

Chocolate Ghost (Bhut Jolokia) Heirloom Peppers

I bought these seeds on clearance back in the summer and potted them up back in July which is a bit late to get production before it freezes in about a month from now. I'm going to overwinter them in pots and transplanted them up into 1 gallon pots today.

Pictured below with a dessert willow seedling:

Chocolate Ghost Pepper (Bhut Jolokia)

Mother of Millions, Kalanchoe laetivirens (Bryophyllum)

I bought this plant last year at the Lubbock Garden & Arts annual plant sale. It was a bit rough and unruly but has filled out and developed a more balanced form and has probably doubled in size. It IS making babies everywhere, ha ha!

Bryophyllum is a subgenus of Kalanchoe, and the species is native to Madagascar. Laetivirens may be a hybrid between K. daigremontiana and K. laxiflora.

Close-up of little plantlets that rim the serrated leaves.

My succulent plant stand on the patio. K. lativirens is on the lower shelf, back left.

The little plantets drop of and take root everywhere. I have started several new plants by putting these in pots. Any strays will die this winter as this plant will not tolerate freeze at all.

Yarrow and Larkspur

These pictures are from the front flowerbed where I installed a flower bed last year.

The wild yarrow I dug up at the farm last year when I was home mowing. It appeared to have a very slightly pink blush at the time but this year is fully white. 

The larkspur is from the hummingbird seed mix given to me by a neighbor, and that was REALLY beautiful! The larkspur blooming now sprouted last fall, and there are also some Four O'Clocks just starting to pop up.

We got 1" of rain a couple of days ago so I'm hoping more seeds are about to sprout because I know there are a LOT out there!

Mini Orchid

I picked up this mini orchid on clearance at Walmart for $4 back in mid-April. It was out in full sun and was very dry so the leaves are a bit funky, but it's held onto all of its blooms since I brought it home.

Tonight I put it in a cloche since regulating moisture can be more challenging on mini's. I'm planning to get a pretty plate for it to sit on instead of this plastic drip pan.