Sprung Spring — 2008 Edition

Now that most of us here in the states have sprung forward, it seemed right and natural that I started in with the spring chores, today.

The day started pleasantly enough with unclogging the drain to the sink in our front bathroom. It had been running increasingly slow for about a week, so I figured it was time to nip it in the bud. I brought out the snake + drill combo and started in on cleaning the pipes. When I was done…there was no drainage whatsoever. Grrrrr. After a bit of lye and bleach (i.e. Drano) to soften things up a bit, I had another go. After a bit more struggle with the metal serpent, I finally achieved the goal of water flowing all but effortlessly down the drain. YES!!! And it only took about an hour of holding that bloody cordless drill. Arm got just a wee bit tired.

Next on the agenda, a branch from our backyard tree that was overhanging the roof more than I was happy with. Since the tree hasn’t yet leafed out this year, it seemed the ideal time to tackle this project. I got out the pole saw, extended it to its max and found, to my dismay, that it was still several feet below the target. Climbing up as high as I could on an A-frame ladder got me to where I needed to be…just barely. With arms fully extended, I started sawing. As with the drain, this wasn’t a quick and easy process. With each stroke the branch swayed and the saw would either bind in the cut or jump out, requiring a re-positioning. I fought the arboreal limb for forty-five minutes before it lost the battle. I have to say that once on the ground, the branch looked much larger than what I’d expected. I’d cut off almost two meters. At least the house can rest easy for one more year…on this side, at least.

I bought a new smoke/CO alarm to replace the one that went all nutso on Sunday when I tried replacing the battery. Unfortunately, dinner arrived before I could install it. Guess I know what I’ll be doing first thing tomorrow :-)

All-in-all, a good first day. The first of a great many days of upkeep, repair, and modifications. It’s going to be a busy year. There’s a lot to catch up on.