Nose to the grindstone

We all have tolerance levels for various things, like lawnmowing and house cleaning. I have kept my mind focused on getting things done outside. Cleaning flower beds and flower pots and doing some fundamental cleaning on my corner of the garage.
In the meantime, things tend to get left undone in the house. So today I kept at it till it was done and on top of that I cleaned a bit deeper and more thoroughly than I normally do. So tonight I am tired but gratified to have it clean and off my list for at least a day or two.
I did ride out to Bullhead farm on Thursday and I have a few pictures of the day. The first one that comes to mind was a flash of red. I was crossing the trestle bridge with no mind to stop and then I saw a flash of red on the outside of the rail and so I stopped to see what it was. It was a vine that climbed up onto the bridge.
This was the flash of red that caught my eye.

 And this is a better view of what it was.

 And then I looked up and saw a bigger flash of red in a tree!

 River pics

I do not usually take pictures from this part of the bridge. The rail is exactly in the wrong place for me to get good photos up river or down river.
Before I rode the trail I was looking out the front door and spotted this boy taking his dog for a run. The traffic was much busier than usual and I thought it to be a dangerous situation.

And then there is my geranium. It was gifted to me in the Spring and it was a little too big for its britches so I repotted it. It has really come into its own this summer. It is so sad to know it will not make it past winter. Anyone want to adopt this grown-up baby.

Today's photos

Butch and I have been a whirlwind of activity today. Yesterday Jason helped me get my landscape fabric over my hostas with holes cut so they can grow through. To back up a bit, I had been wanting some hostas so I asked a Master Gardener I know if she planned to thin some hostas or knew anyone who was and she told me that it is a myth that hostas need to be thinned. She said hostas are one plant that will take care of itself. On one hand that is good news for after I have them established but not so good for when I want some to plant. So rather than run myself ragged trying to find some, I ordered some online and Butch helped me get them planted last Friday. I received them last Wednesday, planted on Friday and they were visibly growing on Sunday. Not bad so far. $30 for 11 plants. So today I wanted to get them mulched. I put bowls over the plants to speed up the mulching process. Butch brought me the mulch and I finished in no time. I took this photo while waiting for the mulch. The upside down flower pot is another project.

I was going to toss the orange pot because it was past its prime but decided to turn it upside down, paint it and add a plate for a bird feeder. In the picture, it is an experiment before painting to see if I thought it was worth the effort. I did and will take a picture of the finished project later. Also while waiting for the mulch to arrive I took these photos:

Painted lady with frazzled right wing on miniature hollyhock.

             
 Lawn mower garage and storage shed and Rhubarb patch

Then Butch went golfing and when he returned he did some maintenance on the motorhome. Checked the batteries and filled them with water and cleaned those two bins. I went for a bike ride, not all the way to Winkleman's Switch but only to Rogers Road. There was a strong southerly breeze this morning. I stopped at this spot and kicked all the walnuts off the trail. There were other places where there were walnuts but this was the worst spot.

These next shots were taken as I was sitting at the computer looking in the back yard birdbath/satellite dish. I kept all three of these shots because this young house finch is saying something different in each one.

 Finished feeder project