Thursday, June 17, 2010

Gutter Balls

Yesterday afternoon, before my trip to visit General Mayhem at Camp Sweaty Scout, I made my quarterly trip to the roof to clean out the gutters. There’s always something in my gutters, from our maple tree’s “helicopters” in the spring to leaves in the fall, and snow and ice in the winter. The gutters around the northeast corner of my house constantly clog, back-up, and spill over the edge. They have for five years, no matter how many times I cleaned them. Yesterday, I think I discovered the source of the backup. I completely dismantled the downspout. When I did, I discovered this
















Recognize it?


It used to look like this



















I have no idea how long this ball was lodged in the downspout of my gutters, but it was deep down the shaft. Water could get past it, but debris was trapped behind it. By locating it I may have ended the Hoover Dam of guttering.

The southwest corner of my house was a different story entirely. It’s never been a problem, so I was surprised that I found this



sticking out of the downspout. Apparently the biggest source of summer time gutter clogs is my children and their play toys.

The trip to Camp Sweaty Scout was pleasant. When I arrived everyone was in a good mood. General Mayhem seemed genuinely happy to see me. He spoke to me more last night at a scouting event than he has in the past 2 ½ years. Sorry Teachermommy. I threw in another fraction there. I listened to him enthusiastically explain the highlights of the week’s events, and watched as he ran off to join his troop in preparation for the family night skits. As I watched him run off I was struck at his physical size. His shoulders are getting broad. He’s gaining bulk. The skinny, pre-pubescent boy is almost gone, replaced by a growing man’s body housing a genuine, playful, kid at heart. It’s fun to watch.

7 comments:

Daniel "Captain" Kirk said...

Ah, yes, kids' toys. On the roof. In the gutters. In the yard. In the toilet. And let's not forget sharp, pointy toys in ambush on the floor in the middle of the night.

Hooray for Camp Sweaty Scout. Hooray for General Mayhem. Hooray for growing boys!

Anonymous said...

Wow. Looks like that tennis ball has been there for awhile...it's a good thing you didn't have trees growing out of your gutters like my neighbors do!! :)

Watching your kids grow up is so very satisfying...and just a bit scary!! Here's hoping that the playful kid-at-heart part never goes away!!

Unknown said...

That round brown thing looks like it needs some frosting on it but I don't know who would be nuts enough to eat it. Never mind. Bad idea.

So glad to hear the General was so happy to see and be with you. That's a good thing. That he's happy at camp is a blessing.

Great blog.

Michelle said...

I'm going to plunk bricks on my kids heads so that they cannot grow without my permission-hahahaha! I'm being selfish here-you don't need to buy more clothes or shoes then. Oh, maybe I should figure out how to stop their feet from growing? lol

Kathleen said...

Awww...on General Mayhem.

And glad you found the source of your gutter problem. Maybe now you can spend less time on the roof.

Brownie said...

gutters are a problem. Our's is very high with no trees nearby. Sir didn't want to put a grid over the top to stop the leaves - he said no leaves would get in there.

It would be wrong for me to say "told you so" right?

The Pirate Mom said...

I guess you could say you had a BALL cleaning out the gutters...?