Gutters

We needed our gutters cleaned, and I tried out Gutter Plumber for the first time, and was very pleased with their service. In particular, the responsiveness is unparalleled.

One of the upper gutters in the back, below the 3rd floor bathroom window, sags a bit and water pools there. One imagines delighted mosquitoes raising countless generations of their children there. Unfortunately, this was not something that the team was able to fix, so it may be worth trying a different service next time, but maybe this is something no one can be reasonably expected to fix.

The total was $240, and while that's a ton more than the $95 Reliant has been charging us, I will say I think they were quite a bit more thorough. They send "before" and "after" pictures. It might make sense for us to alternate between Reliant and Gutter Plumber, since we need someone twice a year.

Here are the before pics:

Gutter Plumber's notes, for my records: "Pitch is fine. What was affecting water flow was all the asphalt and muck as well as the bent screens [which we had them remove]. There was one area where we had to put in a new clip middle of house section but I found no pitch issues at all." We had "pounds of moist debris and muck and the water not draining that smelt like sewage.   We cleared those lines really good and they flushed out well.   The screens sitting down in the lines did bend the gutters slightly and that why we had to put 3 new clips on the  middle right side but honestly you should be fine now as long as you take care of the gutters in Spring and Fall."

Here are the after pics:

Lurking under leaves

I finished raking today!

I found a few things lurking under the leaves.

There were two of these little lizards (although both pictures are of one). Last year I mistakenly identified these as salamanders, but as my dad pointed out when he saw a dead one a couple weeks ago, they have scales. So lizards.

Why are the alliums coming up already (foreground)?! Is this very bad? Is it because the leaves kept the ground warm?
Also the nettles and forget-me-not still look very much alive, despite winter. We'll have more frost later this week so we'll see what happens.

And what are these coming up in front, in my tulip patch? Crocuses from last year, it looks like?

Not pictured: some fat slugs, which were dispatched.

Bulb planting map

I finished planting bulbs ages ago but forgot to post the map.

I am still raking, of course, but the end is near. I probably will have done about 50-60 bags this year when all is said and done. I didn't do the front because we paid someone, so that probably accounts for the difference from last year (75ish), and maybe I got more efficient (I now know to rake when the leaves are damp, because they pack best).

I have started looking for a replacement for the threadleaf coreopsis moonbeam that did so poorly in my back plot last year. I see mixed things about the need for sun among moonshine achillea (yarrow, A. hybrida), and mixed things about deer resistance among shasta daisies. Yellow corydalis (Corydalis lutea = Pseudofumaria lutea) seems like it is worth a shot.

Still more bulbs

I finally finished planting all the darned bulbs today. And I finished my map of where they are - they're in the red spots.

My dad was here over the last several days and he voluntarily did a lot of raking! But there are still...so...many...leaves. I keep making trips to the dump with them.

Look how gorgeous the Japanese maple is in the background!