Chit Chat in VOLTVILLE Thread #2 :)
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I think that is awsum's problem. He has a forest that he is treating like a lawn. He needs to cut down a few trees, or else leave them there. Unless he is also dealing with a tyrannical neighborhood association.
I think I need that "Hoover" from Spaceballs.
The problem is the number of trees, needless to say. We have six big oaks, a few big chestnut and a few big maples along the back property line. On the other side of the fence, not our property, it's basically duplicated. On the west side it's a forest of oak, maple, black locust and everything else imaginable in the Northeast. The front has a line of about twenty or so assorted medium sized trees and a few big maples. Cutting any of them down, other than the one sweet gum, just isn't going to happen, so I'm stuck mulching leaves every fall and again first thing in the spring. Well, it's only a little over an acre.
The problem is the number of trees, needless to say. We have six big oaks, a few big chestnut and a few big maples along the back property line. On the other side of the fence, not our property, it's basically duplicated. On the west side it's a forest of oak, maple, black locust and everything else imaginable in the Northeast. The front has a line of about twenty or so assorted medium sized trees and a few big maples. Cutting any of them down, other than the one sweet gum, just isn't going to happen, so I'm stuck mulching leaves every fall and again first thing in the spring. Well, it's only a little over an acre.
Awsum, my BIL (they live in the 'burbs) rakes the leaves, fills up a big garbage can and then puts the weed wacker in there to break them all up. He takes the busted up leaves and uses it for mulch, they get pretty finely chopped. Of course, they probably don't have as many leaves as you do to start with, but maybe you can get rid of some of your collection that way.
My method is to do nothing with them, lol, leave those leaves alone!
My method is to do nothing with them, lol, leave those leaves alone!
Well, maybe if I had an 18 cubic yard garbage can that might work, LOL. The mower has a 48" deck on it so it can take a big "bite", but with the amount of leaves I keep it down to half the deck width to avoid clogs. If I let them just lay there it'd be a foot deep in the spring after the first year, let alone after a few years. I do pile it all in a pen I built out of 4 foot tall wire fence, roughly 12x20 feet, and rake it around every now and then to keep it "turned over" and aerated. It does produce some good mulch and I use that to fill in low spots, along with a good dose of lime since it is kind of acidic.
I hate the black locust trees... huge ginormous thorns of evil!!
they like to jump out at you!!! We cut them down cuz they hurt... older folks on blood thinners don't need them in their yards.
I burn anything fiance wants me to, kudzoo and muscadine. We don't have anything in the yard but sweetgum and pine and we want to get rid of the pine because of the dang pine bark beetles. Those Little buggers get into everyone of our pines... ugh!
Terry, it was good to hear from you and know Rave is OK. I don't know about everyone else, but I missed you guys.
The latest on tutoring.
The new girl is doing wonderfully lately. She has an amazing memory. I have a list of 10 words that the kids get from former reading where they didn't know the word. I explain it at the time, but it comes up again in that list of fill-in-the-blanks, where I make sentences for the 10 words, and the kid has to choose which word goes into the blank for that sentence. Before they begin, I have them read the words, and if they need to figure out what the word is, they sound them out with help from me. I explain again what it means. Sometimes, I put a picture of the word on the page so they can see it. Today, there were 3 words on the list the new girl didn't know. I had her try to sound them out, and she was not too good at that yet, but she's getting better. But when we finally got them pronounced and she said them a few times, she knew exactly which sentences they belonged in. She is really good at this. She is also really good at reading comprehension, where she reads a short piece and then answers multiple choice questions about it. 100% every time! She is having a lot more trouble concocting sentences. We worked a little on dividing up 2 run-on sentences, and if they are simply 2 sentences and not real complicated, she knows now where to put the period. I had to write them myself because I couldn't find any worksheets on the Internet that were simple enough. Another thing I have to address more is that when she writes, she often doesn't make spaces between words. There's just so much to work on, I need to decide which things to focus on. The next time, she's going to write something for me again, and I'll be eager to see if anything has improved. She is getting better at not making up words for the stories she reads aloud and is reading the actual words more.
But today, the other girl her age started doing that. I joked with her that she was catching this from her friend. Is it contagious? This girl is still struggling through The Jungle Books. We don't get much read because it's so hard, but she wants to do it, so I'll stick with it. I can't see how it can harm her to read something beyond her level if she is not getting frustrated and bored. Otherwise, she is doing well. I think she is almost catching up to her brother, who is 2 years ahead in school.
And her older brother is doing well, too, though a lot of his handwriting is sloppy enough that I have to ask him what he wrote. He really needs to slow down and focus more. When I first started tutoring him, I wondered if he was ADD, and though he's probably not enough to be diagnosed, I bet he tends a little this way. Still, he's very smart and curious, and if he can get things more under control and be more careful, I think he might become a doctor or scientist. He's really interested in how the human body works and where all the organs are and what they do, etc. But right now, he's off on another tangent, which is OK, too. He has to write a report about Philadelphia, PA, for school, and I just happened to have had a reading lesson on the Constitution. He was excited to learn that the founding fathers concocted it in Independence Hall, but was more curious about the Declaration of Independence, which I thought we did already, but he wants to learn about it again, so, OK, we'll go to that and then, since we just read about the Constitution, then the Bill of Rights.
Finally, the little boy. He is slowly learning to speak more English. I'm working on some basic words and having him write them and then I tell him a sentence, like, if the word is "did," I ask, "Did you do your homework?" Then he spells out "did' and then writes it. I was teaching him to read the colors, and he knows how to read "red," but I think he's hazy on the others. Maybe he also knows "blue" and "yellow." I think it's hard to teach him to write and spell when he still isn't very verbal in English.
I showed everyone a book I got from the library that has pictures of skeletons of different animals. They were all fascinated, especially the 2 girls, but the older boy didn't want to look at it. His lesson was over, so off he wanted to go. Even the little boy seemed to be interested, but the new girl most of all. She loves pictures and analyzes them at length and takes in every detail.
So, to sum up, the kids are doing well, each in his or her own way.
The new girl is doing wonderfully lately. She has an amazing memory. I have a list of 10 words that the kids get from former reading where they didn't know the word. I explain it at the time, but it comes up again in that list of fill-in-the-blanks, where I make sentences for the 10 words, and the kid has to choose which word goes into the blank for that sentence. Before they begin, I have them read the words, and if they need to figure out what the word is, they sound them out with help from me. I explain again what it means. Sometimes, I put a picture of the word on the page so they can see it. Today, there were 3 words on the list the new girl didn't know. I had her try to sound them out, and she was not too good at that yet, but she's getting better. But when we finally got them pronounced and she said them a few times, she knew exactly which sentences they belonged in. She is really good at this. She is also really good at reading comprehension, where she reads a short piece and then answers multiple choice questions about it. 100% every time! She is having a lot more trouble concocting sentences. We worked a little on dividing up 2 run-on sentences, and if they are simply 2 sentences and not real complicated, she knows now where to put the period. I had to write them myself because I couldn't find any worksheets on the Internet that were simple enough. Another thing I have to address more is that when she writes, she often doesn't make spaces between words. There's just so much to work on, I need to decide which things to focus on. The next time, she's going to write something for me again, and I'll be eager to see if anything has improved. She is getting better at not making up words for the stories she reads aloud and is reading the actual words more.
But today, the other girl her age started doing that. I joked with her that she was catching this from her friend. Is it contagious? This girl is still struggling through The Jungle Books. We don't get much read because it's so hard, but she wants to do it, so I'll stick with it. I can't see how it can harm her to read something beyond her level if she is not getting frustrated and bored. Otherwise, she is doing well. I think she is almost catching up to her brother, who is 2 years ahead in school.
And her older brother is doing well, too, though a lot of his handwriting is sloppy enough that I have to ask him what he wrote. He really needs to slow down and focus more. When I first started tutoring him, I wondered if he was ADD, and though he's probably not enough to be diagnosed, I bet he tends a little this way. Still, he's very smart and curious, and if he can get things more under control and be more careful, I think he might become a doctor or scientist. He's really interested in how the human body works and where all the organs are and what they do, etc. But right now, he's off on another tangent, which is OK, too. He has to write a report about Philadelphia, PA, for school, and I just happened to have had a reading lesson on the Constitution. He was excited to learn that the founding fathers concocted it in Independence Hall, but was more curious about the Declaration of Independence, which I thought we did already, but he wants to learn about it again, so, OK, we'll go to that and then, since we just read about the Constitution, then the Bill of Rights.
Finally, the little boy. He is slowly learning to speak more English. I'm working on some basic words and having him write them and then I tell him a sentence, like, if the word is "did," I ask, "Did you do your homework?" Then he spells out "did' and then writes it. I was teaching him to read the colors, and he knows how to read "red," but I think he's hazy on the others. Maybe he also knows "blue" and "yellow." I think it's hard to teach him to write and spell when he still isn't very verbal in English.
I showed everyone a book I got from the library that has pictures of skeletons of different animals. They were all fascinated, especially the 2 girls, but the older boy didn't want to look at it. His lesson was over, so off he wanted to go. Even the little boy seemed to be interested, but the new girl most of all. She loves pictures and analyzes them at length and takes in every detail.
So, to sum up, the kids are doing well, each in his or her own way.
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Thanks Sandy. It's good to know somebody cares.
You're all a great bunch but I don't fit in here, which was shown by my last post. Good bye.
Hey Volties. I bet you thought you were rid of me but I've been lurking. Happy Belated Anniversary Lizzie.
I've been really busy all summer and fall finishing the frog pond, cutting firewood and helping BF finish the storm shelter. I'm still gathering firewood even though I have enough to last me the winter. It's fun...what can I say.
The weather this week has been incredible. Sunny and in the 70's. Yesterday Rave and I went fishing on the river that borders her BF's property. We had a nice sandy beach (sand bar really) and had the river to ourselves. I caught the first and biggest fish (catfish) but Rave had to show me up by catching 3. A catfish, a sauger and a small sturgeon. We threw them all back. Her BF said that the sauger and sturgeon are the rarest fish in the White River so Rave was really glowing with excitement.
BF created a mountain of dirt, digging out the storm shelter, for me to haul to the back yard to level it out. I hauled enough to make a walk-able path back there and then put gravel on it. I still have 1/2 the mountain to move and more gravel to get but it's going to be really nice when I get done. No more slipping and falling on my ...after a rain.
Rave is doing fine but very busy working on her 4 websites that she has her jewelry on. She is doing very well with her sales.
Later.....
Boy is it cold out there.
I wish I had your weather, Terry.
Terry, I am so proud of you for getting so much accomplished. You place sounds amazing. You have some great goals. And a frog pond is such a neat idea. I bet that was a big job.
I am so glad RAven is doing okay. I was really getting worried about her.
Your fishing trip sounds so cool. We don't have sturgeon so I will have to come back east to catch one.
I have been out early to feed the critters and work on the yard. I am inside warming up before I do another round of raking. The burn line says today is a permissible burn day!
Hiya Gang! Yeahhhh ... like Terry said: I've been so busy that I can't see straight. I now have stores on eBay, Etsy and Bonanza. And I have a page on FB dedicated to those businesses. Dang, it takes a lot to set all of that up and maintain it!! There is so much photography and editing and correspondence. 'Bout wears a gal out! But, I've been doing well. That is, until last night. One gal that has purchased five rings from me (to the tune of $1,145) decided that she wants to return them for a refund. Her explanation is that she got into an accident and didn't have any insurance covering her vehicle which was totaled. My return policy clearly states that "I will accept returns on items that are not as described or pictured or are defective in some way." It doesn't say a word about them being returnable because you didn't have the sense to insure your vehicle! And, she's already packaged them up and sent them to me! They're supposed to arrive today, but I'm not gonna open the box. I might just "Return to Sender". I was so angry that I didn't sleep most of the night. Today I'll be calling eBay and Bonanza and seeing what I need to do. Sooo frustrating. *sigh*
I haven't been spending all of my time on business. The weekends are reserved for my BF and we've been doing some fishing and whatnot. Terry and I went to the river on my BF's family property as she mentioned. Never know what you're gonna pull outta that river. It has some pretty rare fish in there. Sure surprised me to catch a sturgeon! It was an exceptionally beautiful day for November and I sure am glad that we got some fishing time in together.
Anyhow - I only backread a few pages. Enough to find out that y'all are okay. Forgive me for being absent pleeeaase. Even reclusive wood nymphs have to pay the bills.
I haven't been spending all of my time on business. The weekends are reserved for my BF and we've been doing some fishing and whatnot. Terry and I went to the river on my BF's family property as she mentioned. Never know what you're gonna pull outta that river. It has some pretty rare fish in there. Sure surprised me to catch a sturgeon! It was an exceptionally beautiful day for November and I sure am glad that we got some fishing time in together.
Anyhow - I only backread a few pages. Enough to find out that y'all are okay. Forgive me for being absent pleeeaase. Even reclusive wood nymphs have to pay the bills.
Raven
I am very proud of you to get your business going. So much work I am sure.
It is a huge accomplishment and not everyone could do it.
I am very proud of you to get your business going. So much work I am sure.
It is a huge accomplishment and not everyone could do it.
Cool rave! I have a friend who was importing stuff like that, still has them (lots of silver too) and was thinking on selling online, don't know why he didn't do it yet.
Nice to see yours works!
Terry we want you, come back please.
Nice to see yours works!
Terry we want you, come back please.
Just talked with eBay. They read the conversations that I had with this gal and said that she has no complaint at all. I should "Refuse" the package when it shows up. They agree that she has no legitimate reason to ask for a refund. Whew!! Now I just hope that Bonanza responds the same way. I feel bad, and mourn the loss of a big buyer, but not if she's gonna pull stunts like this.
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