“Bottle Tree” delivered…

…for my next door neighbor.

Bottle Tree in new location

Planter soil added

Now neighbor can add bottles

Pansies in planter

smiley-face-two-thumbs-up-winking

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Bottles after dark with a flashPostscript, 6:00 PM: While I was in the CARE dining room, for supper, my neighbor placed bottles on the “tree.”  Color of bottles difficult to appreciate in this flash photo.

Click to enlarge for better view.

Bottle tree in sunshinePostscript, Thursday, December 15, 2016, 12 noon: Picture of “tree” in sunshine.

Lots of “oops” !!

Started raining about two-thirty

Temperature at seven AM

Oops, overturned planter

Overturned Cape Honeysuckle

Right side up

Rust on sections of bottle tree

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Not enough cement in the centerBecause I had two bricks–and two sections–to support the center, I failed to notice (yesterday) not enough cement in the center. “Oops!!”

Four holes drilled… for drainage. Clear Rust-Oleum sprayed to prevent rust. I was amazed to see rust after (only) a few hours of rain and moisture.

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Holes drilled for drainage

Rust-Oleum

Wiping away rust

Trip to Lowe's for cement

More cement for the center

Preparing base for bottle bush

Bottle tree and bottle bush

Support for bottle bush

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Sprinkling rain

Temperature at one-thirty

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Oats for breakfastwimpy“Wimpy, wimpy, wimpy!!”  I hoped to “wiggle” the planter with “Bottle Tree” across the ground into position on the south side of my trailer home. I didn’t have Wheaties for breakfast; I had slow-cooked steel-cut oats! Planter just too heavy; I’ll have to recruit a man to move it.

Something to think about: A gallon of water weighs 8.34 pounds. I’m told I probably used three gallons of water when I mixed eighty pounds of Quikrete. Hence, the planter had/has (more or less) an additional twenty-five pounds. Let’s not forget the weight of the cement block I added in the center.

Cement mixer !!

Unpacked six bottle things

Temperature when project started

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SunshineIt was a reasonably nice morning (a reasonably nice day)!! Yours truly was very anxious to prepare a cement base for another Bottle Tree (it’s a gift). The thermometer was “deceiving” because a rather cold wind blowing, and occasionally fifteen or twenty sprinkles of rain. It’s weird (I know) but I enjoy the strenuous task of stirring the concrete.

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Getting ready to mix concrete

Mixing

Empty eighty pound bag

Temperature near end of project

Project completed

Size of bottle treeWhen the concrete hardens, I’ll spread the branches slightly and spray on a clear protective coat of Rust-Oleum. When third section is added, total height of Bottle Tree will be over six feet. Sadly, only twelve “branches” for twelve bottles.

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Temperature when Lorraine went indoors

Bottle Tree close upI said “sadly” because forty “branches” on my Christmas Bottle Tree. (The $5.00 “display rack” converted to a Bottle Tree.)

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Lorraine gets a ride on a tandem bike.Second thoughts

 

 

 

 

I’ll “rob” the other Bottle Tree of the third section so I can add fourth section to enlarge this “tree.”

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If you are considering a unique purchase for your garden, check the large variety at Hopfrog Market. I’m impressed with the quality of the products–and (imho) they are less expensive than other vendor websites I’ve visited. Tell Mr. Dave that Lorraine sent you?!

Saturday info

AccuWeather at five AM

Temperature at five AM

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woman-sleeping-with-zzz“Concern” about temperature(s), and plants, makes me exhausted!! I went back to bed and, gratefully, slept until 8:45. ~~ Hard to believe, we’ll see seventy degrees before the weekend is over!!

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Approaching nine AM

Sunshine beyond my patio

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Temperature at nineIn preparation for the next freezing weather, I’ll buy a heater for the tarp shelter. I’ve now documented numbers indicating under the tarp shelter is as cold as outdoors. Furthermore, actually colder when the sun is shining.

Today, I’m questioning my sanity: “Why am I involved in so many physical and mental projects?”

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Postscript, Saturday afternoon: Lowe’s was one, of several, stops during  a few hours away from home. This heater was inexpensive but appears very durable.

Tarp door needed

New heater

Temperature in greenhouse

Temperature at two

Matching number, temperature at four

Temperature at five

No frost, no freeze !!

AccuWeather at two-fifty

My thermometers at three AM

AccuWeather at five-thirty

My thermometers at five-thirty

AccuWeather at seven AM

My thermometers at seven AM

No frost at seven AMYours truly is so grateful to report no freeze so no damage to my plants.

oh-happy-day

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AccuWeather at nine-fifty

My thermometers at ten AM

Temperature in greenhouseNow, this is very confusing!! Is it actually eighty degrees inside the greenhouse?? It is in full sunshine so **possible** but looks strange to me!!

smiley-face-curious

AccuWeather at eleven

My thermometers at eleven AM

Likewise, confusing: Why are my numbers different from AccuWeather’s numbers for Livingston??

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Temperature in greenhouse at twelve noon“Curiosity killed the cat, satisfaction brought it back.” For comparison, I put another thermometer in the greenhouse and expected identical numbers.

Matching numbers

Temperature in greenhouse at one

New batteries

Finally, matching number for greenhouse at two

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Outdoor temperature forty-seven degrees

AccuWeather temperature at four-thirty

smiley-face-two-thumbs-up

Watching the temperature plummet

Today, I repeatedly checked temperatures and documented the drop in temperature. At 6:40, the meteorologist said “Freezing from midnight ’til nine.”

Ten day forecast

wind-blowing-cloud-wearing-a-cap

Temperature at two AM

Temperature at six AM

livingston-weather-dec-8-at-eight-thirty

burr-spelled-out

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Temperature at eleven AMJust before eleven, I walked outdoors, into the woods, to take several pictures of the porch and ramp in their “final resting place.” burr-3I was wearing a coat and hat but got chilled to the bone!! I checked the covers–over the plants–and many need more clothes pins to hold the sheet (or tablecloth) in place.

Temperature at two PMAccuWeather says Real Feel is thirty-eightAccuWeather says “Real Feel” is thirty-eight degrees.

Temperature at four PM

white-stick-figure-with-a-thermometerEven indoors, with the thermometer reading seventy-five degrees, I’m COLD!!

Temperature at six PM

accuweather-at-six

Wind chill temperature at six AM Friday

Covering the large plants…

…prior to freezing temperatures.

livingston-weather-dec-8-at-eight-thirtyYESTERDAY, before the “colder” temperatures, I covered the large plants. I’m so “wimpy,” I didn’t want to approach the task with the temperature in the forties!! (Forty-three degrees outdoors, at 8:30 AM, as I prepare this message but “Real Feel” is thirty-seven.)

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Mexican Petunia blooming in December

Yellow Butterfly Vine

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Mexican Petunia et all

Turk's Cap, Mexican Petunia, et al

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Outdoor thermometer

burr

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Mandevilla, Cape Honeysuckle, et al

Impatien probably will not survive

Jim & Roger at work !!

smiley-face-with-cameraYESTERDAY, I took pictures while the guys dismantled the porch and ramp, and hauled it to the “graveyard” of old porches and ramps. I paid for the remodel, in September 2015, so felt like “my” porch and ramp was going “bye bye.” (These are barely a few of the dozens of pictures taken.) This explains why I was too tired to prepare this blog yesterday. Not that “picture taking” is so strenuous but time-consuming– plus the task of covering the plants.

Preparing to move the ramp

Porch and ramp useless to new neighbors

Sheer genius

Moving a section of the ramp

Two heads are better than one

Ready to roll

Just off the highway (1)

Lunch was delivered through the window

CARE Center in the background

Traveling on our right-turn lane

Just off the highway (2)

Headed for the graveyard

Destined for the burn pile?

Graveyard of old porches and ramps

Awesome improvement

An elevator to assist

They will return

smiley-face-santa

oh-happy-day