Yup. I'm a Homeowner

Have had the house for more than a year, but I'm still having those little "homeowner" moments.  The sort of things that I just wasn't willing or able to do back when I first bought a condo.  And today it was, "If you're not willing to stand on a ladder and clean your gutters with a plastic serving spoon, you're not ready to be a homeowner."

I do intend to hire someone to clean my gutters -- it is definitely the type of thing I'd rather pay someone to do.  This was more a question of emergency maintenance -- I just wanted to get up there and clean the gutters surrounding the skylight over the front entryway, in the hopes that this would prevent the next rain from spilling in my front door.  After all, when it rained heavily, the rain poured down from this thing right in front of my door, when the gutters are supposed to prevent that and carry the water harmlessly away to the corner of my driveway.

I figured the right tool for this job was a trowel.  As I do not garden, however, I went with the big plastic serving spoon.  (It was actually the ideal size.)  Armed with my spoon, some work gloves, my "yard waste" bin, and a ladder, I investigated the gutter right under the skylight.

"Well, there's your problem," (as Adam Savage would say).  The gutter was full of mud, dry leaves, twigs, and standing water.  It was completely clogged in the corners right by the door.  Look, I don't want to say it was bad, but I found two little green plants growing there -- with leaves and everything.  I had me a pretty big spoon and I must've scooped several dozen spoonfuls of muck out of there.  I scooped so much my arms got tired.  (And I asked myself, for the umpteenth time, "Why didn't I hire someone to do this before the rains?") 

Of course, from my perch on the ladder, wedged in between the gutters under the skylight, there wasn't a whole lot of maneuverability, so I didn't always nail the waste bin with my spoon.  Resulting in me covering my walkway, my clothes and my ladder with gutter goop.  (And, every once in a while, I'd turn and brush the back of my head against the gutter, so I'm pretty sure it's in my hair, too.)  But, like a good little homeowner, I just said, "oh well," (after saying, "ick") and hosed down the ladder and the walkway when I was done.

Although the gutters are not what I'd call "clean," they are in fact, "cleaner," and may well prevent further unfortunate incidents the next time the heavens open up above my house (round about Sunday, I think).  And I can now say that I am, in fact, capable of clearing my gutters.