March 2, 2006. It's Spring cleaning time. We had three eighty foot oak trees removed from our back yard this week (You don't realize how high that is until you see somebody up there). They should have been cut down eight years ago when we moved in. All three leaned toward the house and one practically leaned all the way over it. I've looked nervously out the window at that tree swaying on many a windy night. We still have more than a dozen oaks, so it didn't make a big difference in the appearance of the yard, but hopefully a little more sunshine will find it's way through now. We also bought a pressure washer this week. That's something else that we should have done years ago. It's too hard to borrow one or rent one and in either case you have to work yourself to death to get everything you want done in one day. So now we have our own and can clean, clean, clean whenever the mood hits. The main use will be for our house. On the sides that get the least amount of sun, the pollen and mildew start to build up when it's damp and, since our house is yellow, the green doesn't look so great on it. And of course there's the deck, patio, and driveway (I would say cars, but I'm not much of a car washer). Now if I can borrow a truck to haul some mulch, fertilize the yard and sow some grass, we'll be ready for Spring.
Today's photo is of the New River. The New, contrary to it's name, joins the Nile as one of the oldest rivers in the world. The New, which begins in the mountains near Boone, North Carolina and flows through Virginia before reaching the confluence with the Gauley in West Virginia where it becomes the Kanawha, also joins the Nile as one of the few major rivers in the world that flow South to North. Believe it or not, that info doesn't come from Google, but from my summers spent at Boy Scout camp on the New River's banks.
