WP668 Puttering

We are still puttering around with little jobs on WP668.

Over the weekend and yesterday night, John got our backyard
caboose all ready for the rough electrical inspection. In Santa
Clara County, there are two required inspections for electrical
work done under a building permit: the rough inspection
(where the wiring cables and trenches and boxes and switches are
opened up for viewing), and the final inspection (after all
of the wires and plates are put away and screwed down). To keep a
permit open, there have to be inspections at least every six months. WP668
has two permits open, one for the stairs and the other for the
electrical. When the inspector was out for the rough inspection of
the stairs he also looked over the wiring and gave John an idea
of what he wanted to see for its rough inspection. Next step is
to schedule the official electrical rough inspection visit.

While John was finishing the wiring, I painted more external lettering on
WP668. It takes several coats of yellow paint for each set, so I can
only use the stencils when the weather is dry plus I have a whole day to paint, let dry, and paint again. I have three more sets
of letters to paint, including the big WP 668 on each bay window. I am
leaving the bays for last because we still have to touch up the paint
on one bay window and prime and paint the other. For more lettering
and stenciling information, check my blogs:

November 27, 2007 and

December 4, 2007.

In between painting, I have been weeding. I have pulled up bucketsfull
of volunteer bluegrass, burclover, buttercup oxalis, creeping woodsorrel, mallow, scarlet pimpernel, plus some horrible creeping green weed with purple flowers whose name I don’t know. It is pretty and breaks easily
but if ignored twines around and mounds and strangles everything. Months
of rain have encouraged the weed seed to make its bid for next generation
survival. I cleared out the flower bed along the driveway – removing the
weeds so that the California poppies, sweet alyssum, gazanias, and fennel
can grow all summer. John used the torch to burn more weeds out from
between the bricks in the garden walkways. I also moved some red rocks
into a ring around my new Evergreen Pear tree (Pyrus Kawakamii) so that I
can mulch it against the summer heat. We are getting ready to install
my new cactus garden between WP668 and the house.

Last week, I pulled my red Barbara Karst Bougainvillea vine off
the fence and enclosed it in three ornamental black metal panels.
I want to make it grow into a multi-trunk upright tree like the ones
I saw in
Mulege, Baja Mexico. My Bougainvillea fought with all of its long
thorns but it is now firmly (if unwillingly) bound in a 6′ column with a
fountain of vines coming out the top. I hope this works!

This week’s heap of yard waste waiting for pickup in front of our house is about 3′ high and 4′ in diameter.