Next week's projects

I talked with the Dad tonight, discussing vacation plans for next week. They have nothing planned so I suggested that the lad stay here for Easter and the following school vacation week. I have a lot of outside work to be done and it seems reasonable that the lad shoulder half the yoke. The Dad thought that was a capital idea. Now to break the news to the one whose ears must have been positively burning.

Outdoor projects are as follows:

Deck
* Remove everything from the deck, including left over stack of fire wood.
* Scrub the deck floor down with some oxyclean (I like it better than bleach and it does the same excellent job)
* Lightly sand deck railings.
* Apply white stain to the railings and clear sealer to the floor.

Yard
* Apply organic fertilizer.
* Clean out raised beds and prepare for planting.
* Buy mulch that matches the neighbor’s and spread in front of the house.
* Dig out dead dogwood tree.
* Replace it with something (as yet to be determined...).
* Chop down a few of the volunteer sumacs that are trying to grow through the back fence.
* If time and weather allow (and they probably won’t), slap a coat of white stain on the picket fence.

The lad’s assistance is absolutely required if all these tasks are to be completed by the end of next week. So far, the weather looks like it might cooperate long enough to get the deck squared away, but probably not the fence. The rest of the tasks aren’t entirely weather dependent.