Tuesday, June 14, 2011

HAD TO GET MYSELF RESCUED OFF OUR OWN ROOF TODAY

DSC_0005

NO IDEA WHAT TONIGHT'S FLOWERS ARE BECAUSE WE HAVE A BUNCH OF FLOWERING SHRUBS & WILDFLOWERS THAT I CAN'T IDENTIFY 

It’s true, I got myself up onto our carport roof this morning but couldn’t get myself down again. We have a Mulberry tree behind our carport & Kelly noticed the branches were stretching over & rubbing against our carport roof. Only way to trim those branches back was to get up on the roof with a saw & clippers. Climbing up ladders leaning against a building has never been a favorite thing for me to do & I have avoided doing that for a long time now. As I stood & looked up at the roof edge I figured because it wasn’t very high I could probably handle it although the whole idea was against my better judgment. Went up the ladder with my clippers & bow saw just fine & made the transition onto the roof. It’s transitioning off the roof that is always the tough part.
 DSC_0003 DSC_0001 DSC_0002

WE ALWAYS HAVE A GENEROUS HELPING OF WILD MUSHROOMS GROWING AROUND OUR PLACE 
It’s a steel roof we have on the carport so there was no problem for my running shoe traction, or so I thought. Trimmed up some branches & moved closer to the edge to get another branch when I made the mistake of stepping on a clump of pine needles. That was the instant end of any traction I had & my feet went out from under me & the clippers flew out of my hand & over the edge of the roof.

IMG_0508

THIS PHOTO SHOWS THE STEEL ROOF ON OUR HOUSE WITH THE PESKY PINE NEEDLES & WHAT LOOKS LIKE DUST IS ACTUALLY A FINE SLIPPERY PINE POLLEN 

I was on my back now slowly sliding down the roof towards the edge. I was able to brace my feet on some of the large headed roofing screws & stopped myself. Carefully pushed back up the roof & away from the pine needles & roof's edge. Made it to my feet again OK but the experience had unnerved me. When it came time to climb down off the roof a few minutes later I just did not feel comfortable transitioning from the roof to the ladder. Made a couple attempts but I was too nervous about it & afraid of falling. Not likely a fatal fall but definitely an ‘ouchy’ fall that could end up with a broken arm or leg. So, there I was, stuck on my own carport roof.  And not even a peanut butter sandwich in my pocket for later either because I gave up eating peanut butter last week......again!!
DSC_0013 AWWWW NUTS!!  NOW WHAT DO I DO!! 
The Motor Home was only a few feet away & had it been 50 years ago I might have been able to jump onto it’s roof. Walked back to the other end of the carport & considered climbing down the Mulberry tree, but once again, maybe 50 years ago that might have worked. It was about this time that I noticed our Park’s maintenance man, Ron go by on his ‘skid-steer’ machine. He had a big bucket on the front & I knew he could extend that up in the air so without further ado I called to Kelly who happened to be home on a rare day off.  I asked her to go get Ron & have him come back with his machine. Well, minutes later Ron came rolling into our driveway with a big smile on his face. Kelly, also with the same big smile on her face had already grabbed a camera. Yes, I felt a little foolish alright but better that than feeling the pain of a broken arm.
DSC_0014

IT'S RON & HIS BIG YELLOW MACHINE TO MY RESCUE 
Ron raised the front end loader up as high & close as he could & I didn’t waste anytime making the short hop into the security of that big solid steel bucket. Glad to get down & get my feet back on the ground again 10-4!!  I will not ever be doing that ladder thing again….not ever, not never. I am through with shaky ladders & roof transitions!!
 DSC_0015  DSC_0018 DSC_0019

DSC_0021

THANKS RON:))
GYPSY just traded in her big Ford dually pick up truck on a nice little Toyota Highlander. Getting used to a different set of wheels is always a challenge & especially in this newer age of techno wizmo’s & gizmos. Very easy to get one into a state of muddle for sure.
DSC_0007  
A lot of folks have more than one computer in the house these days. Lots of people are also on sites like EBay, Craigslist & Amazon. Always lots of wheeling & dealing going on. I wonder what the chances are of two people in the same household, using the same EBay account at the same time could unknowingly bid against each other.......on the same item!! Well, guess what, it happened to one of our fellow bloggers who many of us know. Check out KAREN'S POST & scroll down to the words….”Oh, speaking of Father’s Day.”

DSC_0008

Hank & Herald, our Park’s two handymen, came today & installed the new carpet on our porch. Along with my staining of the deck a week ago this completes our front porch & deck project for the summer. It was Hank & Herald who built the carport that I was stuck on earlier today too. Sure was glad Ron got me down off the roof before those guys showed up to do the porch carpet. I could have undergone a rather grueling razing for being stuck up there on the roof of our own carport.

 DSC_0023

HAROLD & HANK INSTALLING OUR FRONT PORCH CARPET TODAY 
Another fellow blogger noticed something in my post’s photo of our little Motormouse a couple days ago. Thought it was a good piece of awareness that John from THROUGH GATES OF GRACE sent me in an email & figure it might be helpful to other GPS owners. John, in part wrote: “While looking at your photo this morning of "Little Motormouse" sitting on the passenger seat in your motor home, I believe I might have seen your GPS in the basket on the floor. We kept ours in our vehicles for some years without ever having a problem. During our travels this past winter season, our GPS (Doctor Zaius) up and died. When I investigated further by reading on line and talking to the smart guys at Best Buy, I was told that the number 1 reason GPS units go to the happy hunting ground early is due to heat in vehicles. Sometimes the death is quick but more often it happens over time.”
DSC_0004
GROANER’S CORNER:(( The police were going door to door warning everyone to evacuate because the river was rising. One door they came to, the man said "GOD will save me". The river continued to rise and he was forced to move everything to the second floor of his house. A man in a boat came by and offered to save him. Again he said "GOD will save me". Pretty soon the second story was flooded and he was forced to get on the roof of his house. A helicopter came by and tried to save him and yet again he said "GOD will save me". It wasn't long before the house was completely covered and the man died and went to heaven. He confronted God with "Why didn't you save me, GOD?" And God said " I sent you the police, a boat and a helicopter. Why did you stay in the house?"
----------------------------------------------------------
EMAIL THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))
stargeezerguy@gmail.com
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right
now...... AL.

21 comments:

  1. Never quit eating peanut butter .. see what happens!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Peanut butter keeps you young and able to jump far and go onto high places! Just ask a squirrel.

    ReplyDelete
  3. You were certainly lucky to have gotten off that roof intact, and we are all lucky that Kelly was at home with the camera to record the event. I hate climbing on roofs too, but I was able to climb up and get back off the fiver roof, but couldn't do it with the truck camper.

    ReplyDelete
  4. OMG Al, be careful, roofs are not something to fool with.

    A friend of my parents' fell off his roof when he was in his 60s and broke his neck. He spent the remainder of his life as a quadriplegic. Not fun!

    Things happen so fast! My BIL fell off his pool deck (he's had it over 25 yrs) and broke his leg in 2 places.

    Please be careful!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Like you I hate ladders and especially hate that transition from the roof to the ladder on the descent. Never thought of having Brenda bring the front end loader over to let me down. Guess I better teach her how to operate it.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am glad you were rescued and that Kelly was there with the camera. I am not laughing at you I am laughing with you ( hope you're laughing ) I got stuck on a roof years ago, like you I just couldn't make myself go over the edge onto the ladder.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Absolutely no way would I get up on the roof of anything. Breaking my ankle has made me the biggest wimp ever. I am so cautious because those were the longest four months ever when I was in the cast and a wheel chair. Glad you didn't get hurt.

    But giving up peanut butter is sacrilegious.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow, Al, that was lucky for you! Ladders and bloggers don't seem to have very good karma it seems, but yours was good today. The blue flower looks like a Geranium macrophyllum maybe Johnson's Blue, one of my favorite perennials, not related to the pelargonium that are called geraniums. The pink flowers are some kind of phlox, depending on whether it's big or creeping on the ground. There are lots of escaped domestic phlox out there, in addition to a gazillion natives.

    ReplyDelete
  9. you are a better man for asking for assistance!..and smarter too!..no broken bones made today a good day!!..lesson learned..pay the 'young ones' to do the roof work!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Why is it that you are giving up peanut butter? I need to clean the roof of the MH, but I'm not crazy about getting up there either. Especially with no one around except Emma. :(

    ReplyDelete
  11. OMG!!! That's just too funny! Glad that Kelly caught it all on camera!

    Nice way to end my day by getting a good laugh, thanks Al.

    MnM

    ReplyDelete
  12. If you had to get stuck on the roof, then what a great thing that Kelly was there on a rare day off and Ron was just going by with his bucket rig...good coincidence. I am glad you were not hurt and all things said, you are on the ground again.
    Moral of this story...Keep eating your peanut butter sandwiches.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I'm surprised you got into that big scoop. Most people don't like bucket seats.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thanks for the shout out on my blog!

    Glad you were smart and didn't take any stupid chances!


    My dad got stuck on a roof to shovel off snow, and the moving snow knocked the ladder down. He was hugging the chimney to stay warm! The only one to come down his road was his arch-enemy, and dad HID behind the chimney rather than let the enemy see him! Geeeeesh... finally a few hours later, a young kid came down his road and he hollared at him to set the ladder back up.

    *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
    Karen and Steve
    (Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
    http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  15. LOVED the post today..You were very lucky you didn't end up like Wylie Coyote and go over the cliff! Also love your new carpet and the work you have done on the porch.
    Have a great day, and stay "well grounded".

    ReplyDelete
  16. Glad that sorry had a happy ending! Aren't skid-steers the best!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Glad that sorry had a happy ending! Aren't skid-steers the best!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Sure hope those pesky black squirrels weren't watching you get rescued from the roof. They might hire their own machine operator to "assist" them in reaching all the bird feeders!

    Glad you made it down o.k. Stay off all roofs, but never stay off peanut butter sandwiches!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Oh my! Glad it all turned out okay but hope you learned to always have a peanut butter sandwich with you because you never know if you will get stuck somewhere. No More Ladders!!

    ReplyDelete
  20. I fell off a ladder two years ago and will now only climb up a step ladder-period. This adventure would make a great argument for living in your motorhome full time :)

    ReplyDelete
  21. Interesting day you had - on the roof with the pine straw. Good result from good thinking....and nice neighbours/handymen with the right equipment.

    ReplyDelete