Wednesday, October 7, 2015

New front door and turds in the wood shed

Ever since we bought the house 12 years ago there has never been a proper front door on it. It only had one of those storm doors you can swap out the full length mosquito screen for a glass panel in the winter. As there is a proper door between the entry foyer and the house, when I rebuilt exterior of the house six years ago, the most expedient thing to do was pop the same cheap screen door back in.
And things being the way the are it got left like that for a long time, mostly because the front foyer was the cat's favorite place to observe the outside world. But we had to put her down a couple of years ago.
So last week I finally got motivated and put a proper door on the front of the house.
And finished the siding.
Problem now is I can't call it a tar paper shack any more and the tax assessor will surely jack up my property taxes. I am inclined to leave the front steps off, as it thoroughly confuses the usual crowd of happy clapper holly roller bible pushers, political campaigners and other undesired rif-raf.
Then last Sunday we noticed a definite Eau-de-Skunk in the wood shed behind the garage.
So I got to poking around and started what has become an annual autumn ritual, sorting my saved project remnants. I yanked everything out of the rafters . . .
and discover some critter has chosen my overhead storage as a suitable place to relieve himself
So I remodeled my rack system for more head space down the middle and less critter friendly toilet space.

10 comments:

  1. Cute. You could add a lifting-bridge, kind of medieval touch. The depositions are thick...what sort of critter you think it was? BTW, is 'critter' a deformation of 'creature'? It isn't in my donkey killer.

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    1. Now that's a good idea a lifting bridge on the front of the house, that would confuse people for sure. Yes critter synonym of bicho in Spanish, ergo non specified small animal. I suppose it must be the opossums, or perhaps the skunks that are leaving the turds. I have only seen a racoon here once, but the opossums are often seen. More recently a skunk has been visiting. They seem to like the pears that fall of the trees.

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    1. I suppose that would pretty much make the opossums the culprit. I once spotted one sleeping on top of a straw bale I had stashed up high in the wood shed, so I figured it must be them.

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  3. Hey Mike, isn't it nice to have all that wildlife around? Kinda like having extra kids, lol. Sounds like it's time for pampers, lol. You're place looks really good. It's does'nt look as big as I thought.

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    1. Hi John, the property is 150x150 feet. The house is 20x24 feet. The garage is 24x24. As far as houses goes it is quite small for American standards. I am beginning to think it is time look up Possum recipes.

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  4. That's a lot of poo! I like the idea of no steps but of your wife is like mine it won't be allowed!

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    1. Hi Kev, most of the turds were quite dried up so I suspect they have been there for some time. I haven't seen the possums since last winter. As for the steps we have lived without them for six years and haven't really missed them. Sure makes it easy for mowing and snow plowing without having them in the way. The daily use door is the back one. The front door is mostly decoration and obnoxious solicitors.

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  5. You'll have to build the steps; it'll always annoy you if you don't. Lovely house, a classic.

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    1. Hi Cro, thanks for stopping by, its been a while. Inevitably I will add the steps but as the back door is more convenient for daily use we really have not missed the steps at all. And like I mentioned it keeps the riff-raff confused. I'd like to use three granite slabs for steeps but they don't come cheap. Priced them out at over 3 grand, so I will likely just build some wooden steps as it used to have. The look of the house has changed a whole lot since I rebuilt the exterior six years ago. It had no over hangs at all, just an ugly vinyl clad white box. A poor man's house when it was built in 1937. Still is, now its just a pig with lipstick. Here are a few photos of the exterior rebuild job I did six years ago. http://isserfiq.blogspot.com/2014/12/got-living-room-done-mosltly.html

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