Chapter 5 “The best laid plans of mice and man…”
I woke up Friday morning at the normal time. I get up at 5:46 each morning. I have often thought about why 5:46 instead of say 6:00am. I do not set the alarm clock so the time to get up was not something I decided on. Possibly it was preordained that I should rise every morning at 5:46. The time I get up has little or nothing to do with this story.
After my normal morning duties, I decided to revisit my ramp project. The weather on Friday was predicted to be perfect for any outdoor activities. I had planned to have assistance with the last phase of the project. My plan was to have my son mixing the cement as I worked to keep it in place inside the slanted forms.
I decided that I could not pass this perfect morning, I would attack the project myself. The cement bags were in the back of my Dodge pickup, and yes the Dodge pickup was able to haul all eight bags a total of 640 pounds of dry cement mix. I backed the pickup into the back yard, parking close to the shed.
80 pound bags of cement are very heavy, especially to a retired person. I found that I could move them to the edge of the tail gate without lifting, where I had positioned the wheelbarrow. I then cut the end of the bag off, the dry cement began to fall into the wheelbarrow. As the bag emptied (became lighter) I moved it closer to the edge until empty.
I was able to do each part of the project without causing any ill effects on the outcome of the entire project.
This morning (Saturday April 26th, 2014) I ventured into the back yard to remove the forms from the cement ramp. The following two photos show the project.
Yes I did replace the dirt around the ramp prior to taking the photos.
After my second time of walking up the ramp I decided I would rather have a step. Walking down the ramp is ok for senior citizens but walking up was not comfortable. The cement blocks on the left is my step and will be used when I am not pushing something into or out of the shed.
I have pushed the wheelbarrow with 100 pounds of left over dry cement in it, up the ramp without any problems.
The End
On another subject; my neighbor was working in his garden pulling weeds, so I, not wanting to be outdone, decided to do the same. It should be known that my yard is mostly weeds this year, but my garden did not have weeds growing in it. My garden has Bermuda grass growing in it rather than weeds. Grass grows in the garden but not in the yard, just my luck.
I hope your day is weed free.
Don Ford
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