Sunflowers Are Planted

After seeing family yesterday I got home early in the afternoon, plenty of time to tackle some more spring chores.  I got the back steps power-washed so ready to seal when we get a nice day after a couple dry days in a row, and I also planted sunflower seeds.  I planted more strategically than last year and all are caged so hopefully we get more than one successful sunflower plant this year.  Not long after planting we had a storm come through before the sun came out again.  Mother Nature watered my seeds for me, so I hope that's a good sign.

The corner of the house and porch seemed to be the best place, and where the lone sunflower grew last year, so I fenced off the area and planted several seeds among the day lilies.

I planted a couple at the corner of the garage nearest the fire pit last year, and they started off well before being destroyed by a critter.  I planted a couple there again yesterday but caged the area.

Then I looked around for another good spot.  We have the bare area along the fence in the tree stump area, but hard to cage them in there and we're thinking of putting some kind of bushes or shrubs there.  So I decided to try the back corner behind the lilac.  If you look close at the left, you may see new lilac growth coming from where I had to cut down the old growth due to the new fence.  I'll let it grow as long as it's not directly under the fence.

Now, we wait and see. 

First Mow & Mother's Day

Today was a beautiful and sunny 69ºF and the lawn has had it's time to awaken and grow tall so after work today I mowed for the first time this year.  Unfortunately a bit too breezy and a chance of a passing shower later so no fire again tonight.

Madison is again promoting Low Mow May for the pollinators, but I still believe it's mostly the weeds in the lawns that are used for pollinating and not the grass, so really no matter for my lawn.  Although, I have been seeing a new weed in various areas of the lawn this year, and a ton of it everywhere else this year, too, actually.  I'm not sure what it is yet, but I've been fighting it as best I can in our yard.  It seems to crowd out the grass where it grows so it appears it will be an issue for some time with having to patch/reseed in areas eventually.

This weekend is Mother's Day for us, so I will again be going down to see her Sunday morning.  I'd not mentioned this here yet, but she has been recovering from a procedure so my sister stayed with her for a few weeks and I've been going down there on weekends since then.  But the good news is she's recovering well and will surely be fully independent again soon.  I've been taking her baguette and a sample of parmesan cheese pennies once and will again be baking in the morning to take her more baguette and cheddar cheese pennies for Mother's Day.  And my sister and her kids will be there so will be good to see them.

Other than that, I have lots on my list to get done this weekend but we'll just have to see.  I'd like to get the back steps power washed on Sunday afternoon and start on a fenced area where I will plant sunflowers soon, plus all the usual weekend chores will still need to be done.

So a busy weekend here, but welcomed after a long winter and a spring that has dragged on before really springing just recently.  Have a happy Mother's Day or otherwise have a great weekend!

Friday's Fire and Today's Plantings

The weather was dry and the winds were low for the first time on a weekend night in some time, so Friday evening I had my first official fire of the year.  It had been a busy day and evening, so after grilling out brats for dinner and having a few drinks I was able to spend a few hours by the fire.  It was a relaxing time, including a call with my Mom, so I hung out there until about 10 p.m. before coming in for the night.  I look forward to more relaxing evenings like this coming up.

Today we went to the garden center early and got a few seeds and seedlings along with a nice hanging pot for by the front door.  That might be it for this year but for we still have to get something to put in the pot at the bottom of the steps out front.  I can post a pic of the front later when that happens, but as for the back yard the purple puffballs along the porch are now in bloom and what is left of the lilac bush is in peak form right now.  I am seeing some new growth from the old lilac that I had to cut due to the new fence, so hopefully that back side of the bush will be able to fill out well in the next few years.

For the tree stump area I had moved part of a hosta from the north corner (out of picture, left) yesterday where it was right by the fence to the south corner by the firewood where that hosta had been dug out for the yard leveling and fence installation, plus a small piece that fell off I transplanted in front of the stump.  The only other work done is adding some good dirt, wildflower seeds, then more dirt on top of the old stump and the area in front of it.  It's too rotten now to put potted plants on it so we'll try to grow plants in it, but, we'll see what the critters have to say about that, too.

In the gardens we have much more planted today, but it's always an adventure with all the critters so we'll have see what happens as the summer goes on.  Starting at the top left we have garlic, planted last fall, and today Kate planted a row of radishes in front with chives on either side.  Top right is four jalapeno plants, caged, with leaf lettuce on the left and dill and cilantro on the right.  Bottom right is the raspberries, while bottom left now has sage and basil, caged, among the few remaining strawberry plants.

Soon it will be time to plant sunflower seeds.  I'm thinking of fencing in the corner with the day lilies where I grew the one last year and trying to grow several in that area this year.  I may try to plant some in other areas, too, but they will have to be protected, probably caged, for quite some time until they get big enough.  All we can do is try, and as long as we look at whatever we get as a bonus then we'll come out ahead.

I've still not mowed, though I did use the strimmer in many areas again today, but probably within the week I'll have to give in and begin the ritual.  We've also begun spraying, pulling and digging out all the weeds, another summer ritual.

Our temperatures for the foreseeable forecast appear to be right around where windows open will be questionable, day to day.  We have the heat turned off right now so conserving house warmth will be the priority.  Still, this is a good time of year and things are looking good.  Cheers, everyone.

Springing

Yesterday was a beautiful day; sunny, breezy, warm and the second day of the year with windows wide open.  Clouds started moving in about the time I took these pictures, and it's overcast and rainy today.  The grass is now green almost everywhere, but while I've used the strimmer around the edges I have yet to mow.  Many trees have leaves opening, others still just buds.  Flower beds are filling in nicely but, as usual, the tree stump area needs some work - especially since the new fence.

The stairs look pretty bad due to the "transparent" stain (as opposed to "clear," which is very different) coming off.  Hopefully a good power wash and another coat will penetrate the wood more and stay better.

In the gardens we have garlic coming up in one and raspberries in another.  There's still some strawberry plants in one but like growing tomatoes we've given up due to the critters.  And there is one empty that we'll just have to see what happens when we get plants and seeds.

I'm still waiting to have the first real fire pit of the year.  Rain, wind and cold have kept me inside so far.

And the cats liked the warmth and open windows of the porch, as Basil demonstrates here.

Things are looking up, I think.  At least weather-wise.

More New Fence

The fence installers left me two pickets from the back fence that they removed in the corner and replaced with new, plus 8 new pickets.  This gave me an idea to build a small section of fence behind the compost bin.  I discussed with neighbor Jane first and asked if I could zip-tie the section to her fence and she was real nice about it.  So, this morning I went and got 2 more fence pickets and 3 cedar 1x3's and this afternoon I put it together and installed it with my wife's help.

If you look close in the picture below you can see a hammock a couple yards over, and it's by a fire pit.  They often have fires when I do and is within sight, so a small section of fence will block that view from our firepit.

And every other direction is our house and the sides of 3 garages with just one open space that by chance had that neighbor standing there when I took the picture below.

I'm satisfied.  This is about as private as we want right now.  In an hour or so I'm going to go out and have the first fire of the year.  Then about an hour after that I'm going to watch a live Megadeth concert from Buenos Aires, Argentina, as I sit by the fire.  It's been a beautiful day out and should be a nice evening.  Cheers, everyone.

New Fence II

Our new cedar fence was installed yesterday with few issues.  In fact, they were done by noon, a couple hours before the daylight very noticeably dimmed due to the partial eclipse we had here. We like the new fence a lot, it looks real good and the back yard feels so much more private now.

I set up three cameras to capture the installation.  Trailcam One just captures pink pictures and video now so was unused.  Trailcam Two was on the side steps pointing down the lot line and was set to take one picture when triggered.  Trailcam Three was strapped to the back steps and was set to take a time lapse with pictures 15 seconds apart.  (Side note: Trailcam Three was bought just a few days ago, the same camera as Trailcam One since I couldn't find another with a forward facing screen and time lapse.  Let's hope Three lasts longer than One did.)  I also put an old Galaxy phone of mine on the back fence to take video of the whole morning.  The crew leader also set up his phone by the back steps to take his own time lapse, and I took pictures with my phone, so that makes 5 cameras covering the action that morning.

When we had the back fence installed late in 2020 I learned that it was good to be there when it happens.  They had plenty of questions and I was there to answer them to get the fence put in the way I wanted.  Again, it was very good that I was here.  One big issue - they weren't told to have the good side facing in (Madison is one of the few cities that lets you do that, otherwise you are required to install the good side facing the neighbors).  So if I had not been here our fence would have been installed backwards.  Tree roots and the back corner were also a bit of an issue, but easily overcome.

Below are the time lapse video from Trailcam Three and a sped up video from the Galaxy.  I couldn't figure out a way to make a video of reasonable length with the over 600 pictures Trailcam Two took, except manually which would take far too long to be worth it.

We got the wood stacked again after work today, so now I just have to have a fire for the first time this year!  Hard to believe, but having a fire will be easier, more comfortable and private now, I think.

If that's not enough, I'll put some pictures of the process that I took with my phone after the break.

Final Fence Prep

The last thing to do before having the fence installed was to move the firewood, and we dumped it to the ground this afternoon.

We put down a tarp with cardboard on top of it to try and prevent any of it tearing up the soft sod, and we just pushed it over.  It fell neater than I expected, so it was just a matter of moving the rack and bringing up the ends of the tarp where we could and covering the whole thing with other tarps, using some logs to hold it all in place.  Then just a quick rake of the lot line and we appear to be ready for the fence installation (tomorrow, as noted in the comments of the last post).  The rain should be mostly over for today, but we may get a little more overnight then a better day tomorrow for the installation, though I expect it to still be pretty muddy.

Now, my back has been an issue for the last few weeks, and this prep for the new fence hasn't helped any.  I don't have much time off at my new job but I'd like to be here when the fence is installed, so I think I will call in tomorrow for my back so I can be here to oversee and answer any questions they may have - and I do remember they had several questions when they did the back fence a few years ago.  It may be stretching the truth just a little bit to call in, but it's not a complete lie and I will feel much better being here to supervise everything.

Google calendar just now reminded me that tomorrow is my 15th blogday, too.  I'm hoping for a smooth fence installation and a better back for my blogday, please!

Fence Delay

It started snowing by 2:00 this afternoon, a heavy, wet, accumulating snow.  It's due to snow through tomorrow and into Thursday morning, per the forecast.

I called the fence place this afternoon to see if they still planned on putting in the fence tomorrow.  I told them I wanted to be there for it and didn't want to take a day off work unnecessarily, so I wanted to know today.  My ultimate response was that they normally look at the weather in the morning before making that decision, but understanding that I wanted to be there and the probability that it would be put off anyway, they rescheduled the installation for Thursday.  Temperatures will hover around or just above freezing so I don't expect too much snow on the ground, but it will certainly be muddy.  And might make the firewood dump more difficult, now tomorrow or maybe early on Thursday.

The drive home from work this afternoon was a bit tricky and slow as the roads were covered and slippery while traffic was ramping up to rush hour.  But work has been going well and I'm becoming more comfortable with my role and responsibilities.  Not unpleasant at all, but still feels just very different for me.

Yesterday And Today II - More Fence Prep

Preparation of the property line for the new fence had stalled since the last post, very much due to weather and my back.  Yesterday I got the call, they want to install it on Wednesday and I thought we'd be ready so Wednesday it is.  As previously planned, new neighbor removed his fence and took most of the dirt away yesterday.

And when I got home this afternoon I grabbed a bucket for a few plants and roots and the garden rake.  I shaped the area as I thought would best bring the yards together, bringing a pile of extra dirt to the middle.  New neighbor came out and took that pile away.  He also took away the timbers that held back the dirt for another project of his.  He was making this easy on me.  We did some more spreading and evening and were both satisfied with the result.

I'm going to call it ready for the new fence, except for the firewood.  That will happen Tuesday evening.

Yesterday And Today

Yesterday I completed getting the bulk of the plant matter out of the strip of the stump area by the fence, 4 five-gallon buckets full.  My back is definitely tight and sore, but I've had it lots worse.  I asked the new neighbors if they needed any free dirt, and they said yes so hopefully they can take most if not all of it for us.  Below is what it looked like when I got done yesterday.

And here it is this afternoon, after several inches of wet snow from about midnight until noon today.

Tomorrow should melt most of the snow that is left, but our weather looks to be pretty wet until the middle of next week.  While this does hamper the preparation for the fence installation, besides agreeing to take away at least some of the dirt the new neighbor also let me know of plans to remove their fence soon, as well.  Hopefully things fall into place in the next week or two, but again, I won't let the fence be installed until we're ready.  I do look forward to that first fire after having the new fence installed and everything else - mostly the firewood - back in order.

But, March will be March, after all.  I forgot to say it last post, but Happy Spring Equinox, everyone.

Baking and Fence

I made two rounds of baguettes last weekend, pizza dough, and an odd recipe for cool ranch corn bread.  The first round of baguettes were marred by the gold non-stick surface of the baking pan coming off onto the bottom of 2 of the 3 baguettes.  I've used this tray since the middle of last year with no issues, so not sure why it happened now.  I contacted the seller and they apologized and refunded my money, but now I have to get a new baguette baking tray and they all have a non-stick coating.  We were able to cut off the affected parts of the bottom of the baguettes and ate the tops.  The next day I made more and used the same tray, but with parchment paper.  Pizza dough is pretty easy, no matter the recipe, and went straight into the freezer for future dinners.

The cool ranch corn bread is another recipe from the vlogger that I got the peanut butter bread recipe.  Quick and simple, but nothing to really jump up and down about.  He said it tasted like a cool ranch Dorito, and I thought corn tortilla versus corn bread with that seasoning might work.  I'm glad I tried it but I won't make it again.

Last Wednesday I signed the papers and put down a deposit for the fence to be put in on the East side of the back yard.  At the time, he said they were scheduling about a month out, but on Friday I got a phone message saying our fence would be installed the next Thursday.  I don't think so.  We have a lot of work to do on the fence line before that can happen, and it won't be done by then.

On Sunday morning I took the chain saw to the lilac bush, which is now half the size, if not less.  The firewood I plan on dumping to the ground the day before the fence will get installed, then afterward put the rack where it will go and restack the wood.  Seems easier than moving and restacking the wood twice.  And we're going to have to dig up about 3 feet of the stump area all along the fence line to get a gradual decline to the neighbor's yard, to where the ground level should be if it had not been built up around the tree that was there.  Only then the fence can go in.

It's going to take a lot of work, but it will get done.  I got a start on it this afternoon only to find out the city drop off site is still on winter hours until April, which means they're open only during my work hours.  We can put the plant matter into the compost bin if needed, and hopefully we will find neighbors that need the dirt or else it will sit in the garage until I can get rid of it.  Another problem is the weather.  We'll be cold for the rest of the month with some snow expected.  I'm hoping to work on it a little at a time to save my back.

The fence company knows I don't want it installed this week, and we discussed the first week of April.  I probably won't get an exact date until it gets closer, but I will not let them install it until I'm satisfied we are ready.

All That, And Cheese Pennies

As the days grow longer and the temperatures are warmer I'm reminded of how I haven't really walked the neighborhood since starting my new job.  Winter temperatures and very active work days seemingly justified the break, but my wife has suggested we start walking again when it gets a bit warmer and I think we should, too.  We can enjoy watching the neighborhood wake up from winter and grow into summer, until it's too hot to walk outside, maybe.

I'm not sure if I mentioned this yet, but since commuting every day I'd been saving dashcam videos of egregious traffic violations/stupidity/arrogance.  I soon stopped bothering as it's become so common in these times that I see at least one and often several egregious things every day.  Running red lights, not stopping at stop signs, cutting people off in traffic with not even a blinker, stupid speeds, tailgating, or you name it.  This just seems to be the new normal.  Look both ways, folks.

I've not yet had a fire this spring, but I'm sure it will happen in the next few weeks.  There have been crocus coming up in the lawn for at least a week now.  (I always want to type 'krokus' because of the band!) The new neighbors really opened up the other side of their back yard for access to trim the black walnut trees, which look real good now.  It's been 3.5 years since we had the back fence replaced and we've considered putting a matching fence on that side ever since, and now's the time.  There will be much more on that coming soon.

Yesterday I perused King Arthur's website for a quick and easy recipe for something I could make with what was in the house and I came across this recipe for Cheese Pennies.  Today, I decided to make them as a distraction from the Badger game, which they were not favored and did lose.  It was interesting getting the dough to come together, but with a bit of water it got there.  Everything was pretty easy and was done in a short amount of time.  They taste like one of the name brand cheesy cracker snacks but have a home made texture.  I got 69 crackers and the recipe says about 80, so I may have sliced some a bit thick.  Overall, a fun experiment and a tasty, cheesy snack.  Good to try but not sure if I'll ever make it again.

And finally, before I forget to post these, I came across a recent PBS video of a show about Madison.  I found it interesting and noticed they did one about Dodgeville last year.  They're almost a half hour long, so only for the interested.  Links to the Madison and Dodgeville PBS videos are under those words.

I'm looking forward to spring, a big fence project, and more backyard privacy.  Among other things, of course.

Solstice Firepit

 Happy Winter Solstice, 2023.  Finally the days will begin to get longer, though winter has barely begun for us.  We've had a taste of snow and really cold, but mostly have been a bit warmer than normal (above freezing) and that is expected through the holidays.  There is plenty of rain in the forecast that would otherwise be snow, too.

I've not had that many fires this year, but I do like to have a fire on the winter solstice when I can.  This year, today was fully cloudy and damp but a few degrees above freezing so I made myself get out there for likely the last time until Spring.  We're in for a mild winter, they say, but we'll see.

Happy Solstice, everyone.

Sunflower Seeds And #1 Neighborly

It was apparent by the mess outside the back door this morning that the sunflower had indeed gone to seed and those seeds had been discovered.  Squirrels had been getting at it this morning, while the cats watched diligently and silently from inside the porch and bedroom window, just feet away.  If I was going to harvest any seeds to plant next year the time seemed to be now.

Thankfully only a small part of the seeds had been pilfered so far, so I was able to get a good amount rubbed off into a small box.  They do seem a bit moist yet so I'll have to let them dry out before storing them until spring.  My mind starts to wander thinking about different places to plant them in spring, but no sense thinking about that as it is still about 7 months away yet before they'll be planted.

And while I'm thinking of it, I mowed the whole lawn today.  Only notable for the few times I've had to mow this year.  I believe it's only been: May, once; June, 1/2; July, 0; August, 1 1/2; September, once - today.  So I've mowed the whole lawn only 4 times and the back yard an additional 2 times through September this year.  Incredible, really, just absolutely incredible.

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In other news, Madison was fashionably ranked number one on yet another list.  This time it is for the Most Neighborly City in the US, 2023, after being ranked second last year by neighbor dot com.  Madison has consistently made these kind of lists and has often topped these kinds of lists in the last several years.  No matter where you live it's easy to take what is local for granted, but there are actually a lot of good things about this area.  I often seem to find more and more to take for granted around here.  More lately, I've been trying to make an effort to take more advantage of many local amenities, but there's always more that get missed.  We have a really good zoo in town that I haven't been to in years, and I feel bad about it every time I think of it, for example.

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Finally, it's the new fiscal year this weekend.  Normally not very notable but we're headed for another government shutdown at midnight due to the intellectual toddlers in Washington, and for the second straight year I have to work on a weekend.  Tomorrow afternoon I have to sign on for a few hours to get some end-of-fiscal-year work done and do some testing due to system updates for the fiscal year changeover, and I'm really not happy about it.  And since I work on government contracts but for a private company we will have business as usual if the government shuts down, but without funding it will be hectic catching up on payments once the in-fighting in the Senate and House gets resolved.

We all have to work together if we are to survive.  The way things are going now, we're doomed.

Exhausted Sunflower*

The sunflower looks exhausted.  This holiday weekend is the second heatwave since it was at peak bloom, here, and still not much for rain chances in the extended forecast.

I haven't mowed the front in a month, since August 4, but I have mowed the back since then, on the 17th.  There is still green in the lawn, though starting to tend brown in areas.

Otherwise, I worked a 12 hour day on Thursday to get some mandated overtime hours in so I didn't have to work on Saturday, only to have overtime canceled on Friday.  I still hate my job - my employer, to be accurate.  But, it is what it is for now.

I made baguette yesterday but inadvertently preheated the wrong oven, top instead of bottom, so it didn't turn out quite the same due to the missing steam.  Instead of 3 baguettes I made 6 demi baguettes to give some away, but we'll keep these.  They're still real good and I'll give it another go tomorrow morning.  It's hard to keep them short, and short enough for two per row on the tray, so the practice will be good for me.

Happy Labor Day weekend, everyone.

100º Sunflower Baking

I'm not sure what the official numbers were, but I saw 100ºF actual temperature and 117ºF as the 'feels like' temperature on Wednesday.  It was over 90% humidity in the morning but was down to mid-40's at the hottest part of the day, which is still more than enough to be very palpable at that temperature.  It was our first 100 degree day since July 2012, in a worse drought that year.  Thursday was much the same, just a few degrees less.  Kate dug up an old pan to put out with water for the critters so we did that and I threw some peanuts on the stump area to help bring them in so I could put out the trail camera to see what happened.

This new trail camera shows the temperature on the pictures but not the video, which is disappointing.  I've searched through the settings a few times, but the option just isn't there.  The video below is clips with pictures here and there, all in timeline order, of that time of the week so you can take a moment to consider the temperature and time of day.  The water pan wasn't used a whole lot yet, but it was a new thing, too.

Other than that, last post was the sunflower at its peak.  I now have a bungee cord helping stabilize it as it appeared to be leaning more, and with the heat and heaviness of the bloom the top is looking a bit more droopy.  And if you look close, the small one does have an odd, small attempt at a bloom.

You can't tell, but yes, I've been watering.

I also did some baking today, trying a new recipe for the second time.  It's a very versatile French bread recipe and a full batch makes a lot of dough.  This batch I made into 4 burger buns with 4 pepperoni and cheese rolls below those, and hot dog buns and a baguette on the right.

Oh, I was off work for an appointment today, so I had the time.  Have a great weekend, everyone!

Full Bloom

Eken Park Festival and 10 Foot Sunflower

We made our way to the Eken Park Festival for a couple hours yesterday.  Had a few drinks and tried to keep to the shade as it was pretty hot out.  Today is even hotter (currently 91ºF but feels like 100º with the humidity) so if it was today we wouldn't have gone.  In fact, most people at the festival were parked on the hillside in the shade, content to watch the band and other happenings.

Much smaller than Atwoodfest, but a nice local gathering, nevertheless.   It was within walking distance but because of the heat we decided to drive to a friends house a few blocks away then walk down to the festival together.

We're going to be pretty hot this week, up to 100ºF (~38ºC) actual temperature possibly, so I don't expect to be outdoors much, including my walks.  And while we had a couple rains recently there is nothing in the extended forecast.

But the sunflower is starting to bloom.  The two in the corner are dead and the one by the house may still get a small bloom, but I've loved watching this last growth spurt of the big one.  Vertically, it is just shy of 10 feet tall, but if you measure at the angle of the stem it is 10 feet tall, so I'm calling it a 10 foot sunflower.  Yes, only this one successful plant out of many seeds, but I've learned lots and the entertainment it's given me this summer is well worth it.  I look forward to next year.

Sunflowers Update

The big sunflower is over 8 1/2 feet tall now, almost as tall as me standing on the landing outside the back door.  Certainly taller than my lovely 5 foot 4 inch wife who kindly agreed to pose next to it for scale.  

All of the sunflower plants, even the smaller ones and the barely alive one behind the one in the corner, are finally starting to grow their flowers.  Whether they all come to fruition we'll find out, but I expect at least the big one to bloom eventually.  This has been an interesting experiment, and I look forward to growing sunflowers again next year, though maybe a different type.

Low Mow Summer

We got some rain early last week, some beneficial rains for a change.  The first things to start growing back were crabgrass and all the other weeds before the grass started greening up again.  Me, being pragmatic, first attacked the weeds by pulling and spray before attempting to mow for the first time in a long time.

To backtrack, this year I mowed the whole lawn for the first time on May 13, then mowed just the back yard on June 4.  So an unusually long time between mows with a one mow May, a half mow June, and zero mow July.

The state of the lawn yesterday.

After tending to weeds for a couple days and after a day grace period to give the spray time to work, I tried to start the mower and it wouldn't start.  It was really hot out, so I figured I'll try the next day.  The next day was the same.  It was even hotter out but I texted a mechanic friend who told me anything carbureted would run like sh - poorly in this heat, so I waited but was still unsure.  The following day, last Friday, I tried it again in the morning but it just didn't seem like it was getting any gas, so I called the service I've used to come out and tune up this and the snow blower every couple of years.  They came out on Monday this week, diagnosed the mower and tuned up the snow blower.  The mower went back to the shop and I hadn't heard back all week until this morning, and they delivered it back around midday.

A relatively simple fix, if expensive by having home service and delivery.  After 14 years a little dirt in the gas tank and carburetor and a pump that stopped working was preventing the engine from getting fuel, so a clean carburetor and tune-up and it starts on the first pull, as it normally has except for the first start in Spring.  I could have gotten a new mower for the price of this whole episode.  Not as good of a mower, but still my next mower may be electric to basically eliminate these maintenance costs.  No gas, no oil, no spark plug, so essentially no engine maintenance and I can sharpen my own blade.

So I finally got the lawn mowed this afternoon, after 61 days.  Pretty incredible for this time of year.