I vacuumed my backyard today, well, not all of it, but some. You might ask why I would do such an odd thing as that, so I will tell you.
It started last fall when I fell through some rotting boards of our deck, luckily not getting injured in the process.
We put some planks over the hole and left for Arizona, where we camped near my brother, Rollie, and his lady friend, Tata, south of Quartzsite. Clifford and I returned to our home-base in southeast Utah in early April, due to travel restrictions, thanks (NOT) to Covid19. Rollie and Tata stayed longer in Arizona and enjoyed some good camping until the temperature reached 100 degrees and they decided it was time to head north.
In mid-May Rollie and Tata stopped by our place on their journey from Arizona to Montana. The week they were here was special, as it was good to see them and Rollie helped us rebuild a large portion of our deck. Tata, being an extra good cook, made sure we had tasty and interesting meals all week long. A couple smaller projects were tackled and we made two scenic outings (next blog). It was a fun and busy week for all of us.
Rotting boards removed 
New framework 
Deck planking started 
Rebuilt deck
Since a mostly new deck was now in place, it needed staining, which Clifford and I did, but since one things leads to another, we decided we should sand and stain the picnic table (which Clifford built when we still lived outside Santa Fe, and which had followed us from there to Idaho and now to southeast Utah). And since we were sanding the picnic table, it seemed sensible to sand the old park bench that I had rescued when we moved here.
Decorations and flowers Landscaping in front of deck
So I geared up for the sanding with a mask, and eye and ear protection.
The picnic table didn’t need much, but working on the bench – old white paint, probably not lead-free, was all over the ground. And since I am trying to make the backyard into a bird refuge (lots of bird baths in this dry environment), all those little flecks of toxic paint were a problem.
So, I took the vacuum cleaner and vacuumed up the yard, three bags full, until every speck of white was gone.
Now I’m ready to stain, wondering what will lead to what next. (Note to self – next time do your work on the sidewalk outside the fence so you can easily vacuum up the mess.)
