May was similar to the previous couple of months, which is another way of saying; I goofed around on indoor & outdoor projects around the house and shop, mowing dad’s grass and other to do projects at his place. Worked on a couple of my automobiles, and helped old friends with their construction projects. To be certain, I did all of that while making sure I didn’t encroach into the AM hours I have reserved to sleep in, drink coffee and read all of the news and visit my favorite web sites.
The biggest outdoor improvement was getting a number of shrubs and trees planted, and getting a lawn started. A portion of the property that fronts highway 45 lacks any sort of privacy when cars and trucks drive by. Most of the 220 feet of frontage is shrubs and small trees. For the open area, I went with holly bushes and an arborvitae tree which I planted at the property boundary with our neighbor to the north.
The construction phase in 2022 and last year, created a large area around all 4 sides of both buildings that was exposed subsoil and weeds. Our excavator came by at the end of April to spread topsoil everywhere it was needed. We planted 200 pounds of grass seed and covered it with straw. By the second week of May, grass shoots could be seen coming out of the straw cover. By Memorial Day, the straw was no longer visible and I mowed all of the newly planted areas for the first time. We’ve been really fortunate with timely rain so I’ve only had to water the new grass a couple times.
An annual tradition in May is old friends arriving “back home again in Indiana” to attend the Indy 500. My motivation to attend the Greatest Spectacle in Racing has waned over the past several years, but such is not the case for a number of people we have known for more than 50 years. We hosted a reunion/luncheon for them and our Bloomington-based friends. A good time was had by all. Alex and Lacey made the trip over Memorial Day, and it was great to see both of them. Alex was able to hack a way around the local TV blackout of the race. Unfortunately, Travis, Lynn and the boys had to cancel their plans to be here.
The last bit of news involves the 2 acre parcel adjacent to our north property line. It has a dilapidated mobile home, lots & lots of trash and a couple abandoned vehicles. The owner (Bryant) was an electrician and a drug dealer. In August 2022 we learned he had been found unresponsive in his car behind a local McDonalds at 3AM. EMS was unable to revive him. I learned this when I met his mother, who had traveled from Maryland to see what was going on at her son’s residence. I started sending her text messages in the Fall, telling her I wanted to purchase the property after Bryant’s estate was settled. She always responded promptly telling how long, slow and frustrating the probate court system is, especially when Bryant didn’t have a will, but did have a demanding ex-wife. She sent me a text for the first time last Friday, telling me everything was signed and settled. I replied, confirming I still want to purchase the place and am now working to determine a fair price to offer her. I hope to have more on this story next month.
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