Preparing porch for paint. Weeded Patio. Shelsky's from Brooklyn Great Horned Owl

ok--my children are here scolding me---they have come to New Jersey to help me get things in order--one of my many tasks is to write about their/our efforts and I have fallen woefully short.

I will try to rectify that situation.

I will write about my efforts of the first week later and now write about the blessed children and their work.

They arrived at about 3pm on Saturday--laden with snacks from Shelsky's Smoked Fish in Carrol Gardens.   Sarah was starving on arrival (I myself had already eaten an excellent little salad of potatoes, tomatoes, smoked sardines and roasted red peppers but was happy to eat again)  We immediately set the table for another meal of pastrami smoked salmon, Eastern Gaspe smoked salmon, cream cheese with chives, baked salmon salad, smoked white fish salad and a seeded  rye bread from Orwasher's (sold at Shelsky's).  For more Shelsky specifics:  Shelsky's

Well fed, we started making lists--the first task was to put primer on the front porch.  Last year, avid followers of this site might re-call a new porch--floor, ceiling and all was built--mostly by George and Johnny.  They'd only gotten one coat of paint on the porch floor at the onset of winter--as I washed off layers of winter dirt and sticky pollen, I noted the wood was cracked and weathered--and after talking with George decided the priming and second coating of paint (I'd bought it all last september) would be the first task of the weekend.

Before painting, serious washing.

A trip to Lowe's for sponges, paint brushes, gloves for the porch--a weed wacker to start clearing the road, an extra propane tank so as not to be so worried about running out mid-grilling---and then back to begin the serious washing.

We started with sponges and mops, emptying buckets of soapy and clear water--then Sam figured out how to pull the hose from the pump room--and effectively sprayed the porch clean. 

before

We stopped for the night--the plan was to paint first thing in the morning--before the sun hit the porch.  The advice from George:  stir the paint well--and don't paint in bright sun-light as it will do something bad to paint.

After

But first we would take advantage of my excellent weeding of the back patio (and excellent food shopping as well) and grill asparagus, red peppers, hamburgers and hot dogs...

more before

From the patio, we saw--the first time I'd ever spotted such a thing--a great horned owl--on the willow tree by the lake--despite the distance--it was enormous and magnificent--horns clearly visible.

I'd never seen them, but these horned owls are not all that new jersey rare--read all about them:  Great Horned Owl

Dinner eaten, kitchen cleaned, in an attempt  to replicate the great treat of my long-ago childhood evenings, we drove to Dairy Queen.  Sarah and Sam got chocolate dips--I wanted my classic small hot fudge sundae with half caramel and half hot fudge--but due to failure of memory ordered butterscotch instead of caramel--which was the hard topping for the dip not the gooey sauce I craved--making another visit imperative.