SIPPO LAKE PARK

Monday, June 24 - We took a little field trip and break from working around the yard and visited Sippo Lake Park this afternoon.

The park consists of 202 acres of deciduous forest, wetlands, old fields, and mixed shrub areas. The area features a variety of habitats for wildlife viewing.

There are over 5 miles of hiking/walking trails through the forest and grasslands. There is also a 100-acre lake where one can fish (bluegill, crappie, carp, catfish, yellow perch, and bass), launch a boat, or simple enjoy walking around the beautiful grounds..

We found the Sanders Wildlife Rehabilitation Center especially interesting. Located in the Sippo Lake Park, The Rehabilitation Center is fully dedicated to wildlife rehabilitation. A trained staff of volunteer veterinarians care for over 2,000 sick, injured and orphaned native animals each year with the goal of releasing them back to their natural environment. The center also houses non-releasable wildlife that are used as program ambassadors.

The Center is open to the public and you can see most of the animals in pens. There is an intensive care unit that is closed to the public.

The Exploration Gateway at Sippo Lake Park is a center of nature, culture, and life-long learning established in June 2007 as a partnership between the Stark County Park District and the Stark County District Library.  Portions of the facility are available to the community, including three banquet and meeting rooms and a Video Conference Center.

The Gateway also is home to Perry Sippo Branch Library, Congressman Ralph Regula Canalway Center, FeLeap’s Lily Pad Gift Shop,  and Herbert W. Hoover Foundation Science Classroom.

The only wildlife we saw during our visit.

We walked the mere five miles of trails. It was a beautiful day and a great day to take a break.

The End

We apologize for not thanking our readers in our last blog for giving us the name of our new little bird.

Male Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Also, thanks to those who tried to help us with out unidentified weed. We are using full-strength Roundup with some Dawn mixed in. Marsha sprays everyday. We THINK we are finally getting a hand on this pain-in-the-neck.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

 

OUT WITH OLD AND IN WITH THE NEW…WINDOWS

Friday, June 21 - Paul tackled replacing the living room windows today with the help of his trusted assistant, Marsha.

Very old windows

It was interesting to see how the old windows were held in place. Very different than the modern windows in today's homes. They almost seem to build the windows in place using all kinds of nails. One almost needs to totally destroy the windows to get them out.

What a mess. Ignore Marsha's feet in the photo.

Paul did manage to remove the windows in one piece. Pretty heavy wood windows too! Once the windows were out, Paul had to reconstruct the openings to accept the new windows.  Of course we got a rain shower while the windows were out but no harm!

With Marsha's help the new windows were placed in the openings and shimmed to be level and plumb. Marsha's job is to keep the window from falling out of the opening and place the shims from the outside.  Pretty good looking carpenter's helper!

Once Paul is satisfied with the installation, he screws the window in place.

Marsha then stuffs insulation around the window for a tight seal. She then chisels off some of the old caulk. The previous owners smeared caulk all around the windows making quite a mess. Marsha was able to remove most of the caulk that will not be covered by molding.

Paul finished the installation by nailing filler boards around and between the new windows. These will be used when he finishes the installation by installing vinyl brick molding on the outside. He also trimmed the windows on the inside with vinyl jamb extensions and window casing.

The job wasn't all that bad. If you undertake this job, allow yourself plenty of time.

Before

After

When the money comes rolling in next month, we will replace the end bedroom windows, and we then done with the front of the house. Stay tuned to see what we are doing in the backyard.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day.

WILDLIFE, CRAFTS AND WEEDS

Thursday, June 13 – We are continuing our home improvement jobs. More on that in the next blog.

Marsha loves her bird feeder. But not some of the varmints that visit the feeder.

Now look what you did.

These she likes.

Notice the bungee. Our squirrel-proofing idea.

Anyone know the name of the bird on the left? We have never seen one of these before.

We have spotted a ground hog eyeing our garden. Even though we put a fence around it, we can never be too caution with that varmint. Paul put a live trap out hoping to catch and relocate it. Well, we did catch something but not a ground hog.

A face only a mother can love.

Relocation time.

When we were in Mission, Marsha learned another new craft, Swedish Weaving. She completed her first project. She made three table runners for our living room tables. She said they turned out perfect. Thanks again Donna and Suzie for introducing her to yet another hobby.

Marsha is pretty good with identifying grasses, flowers and weeds. But this one has her stumped. We sprayed them with Roundup but to no avail. It has a root system no bulb system. We dug up a few and took them to our local nursery. Several people looked at them and had no idea what they are. They suggested using Roundup at full strength and adding some dishwashing soap. The dishwashing soap will help the Roundup adhere to the leaves. If anyone knows what this weed? flower? is and how to kill it, please let us know. We appreciate your help.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day.