Proof is in the flowers.
The tree hydrangea in the shade garden is a late summer bloomer. This view is from the house side
This is the view from the fence at the swamp. Notice how you can tell where the deep shade is - right where the blooms stop
The Autumn Fire sedum that I placed in the new roadside garden is starting to blush. Actually this is a picture from last Sunday, the blush has advanced since then.
The maples haven't started turning, although I wouldn't doubt that the swamp maples will start their change very soon. In recognition of the changing seasons, last weekend I tackled a job that I was dreading, fixing my primary snow blower.
Last year, at the end of February, my Sno-Tek blower quit throwing snow. The engine is fine, and the auger would turn, just very slowly. I ended up doing a lot more shoveling that day than I had planned. With storms coming on a regular basis, I bought a simpler Craftsman snowblower to finish out the season. the Craftsman don't throw snow as far (by about 1/2) and direction and angle of the chute are managed purely by hand (the sno-tek is controlled by cables). The Craftsman is fine as a backup, but the Sno-tek far outclasses it and I needed to get it fixed.
I was pretty sure that it was a matter of a stretched attachment belt not being able to turn the auger strongly. Sunday I decided to attempt fixing it. This was a bit daunting to me since you have to entirely separate the front of the machine (or in the manual's technical speak, the "attachment") from the engine and controls portion of the machine. I didn't really figure taking it apart would be a problem (I excel at demolition), just getting it back together again would be my issue. Here it is apart
The offending belt
The new belt installed
Totally back together
3 hours it took me to do probably a 30 minute job, but it is done. Well, I think it is. Although I added oil (I had drained it a couple of weeks ago), I did not add gas or attempt to start it or run the auger. It was hot and muggy, and the engine depends on cold air and snow to cool, so I wanted to wait for a cooler day. Hopefully it is all set, but the verdict is still pending.
Everyone's Autumn Joy sedums are doing better than mine. I planted three of them (last year?), but only one has survived and it is not thriving. They (and ice plants) do not enjoy saturated soils!
Your hydrangea and sedum are doing you proud. It takes a little (!) longer when we do things ourselves, but it is so satisfying and much cheaper. Well done! (I just throw the spare parts, of which you seem to have left none, into the junk box.)
Posted by: Cop Car | August 25, 2019 at 09:49 AM
P.S. That is one clean machine!
Posted by: Cop Car | August 25, 2019 at 09:51 AM
No parts left over for this job - amazing!
Posted by: bogie | September 01, 2019 at 06:34 AM