More Random Things

1.  I got my 2nd Moderna Covid shot yesterday.   What a STRUGGLE (I joke)!  Actually, I just drove 15 minutes to the shot center, was in and out in 20 minutes (and only that long because there was a required 15 minute observation period) and 15 minutes home.  Seriously, from the time I walked in the door to the time I had my shot and my vaccination card returned was only 5 minutes!

I had only the least sensation of any shot.  Well they DID stick a 1" needle in my arm, after all...  But at least that is all over for now.  When time has passed, I will get a Covid test to see if I had it asymptomatically last year.  If that would be detectable after the shots, of course.  I'm planning to have an annual physical in June; I'll ask about that then. 

I'm curious because I have felt oddly tired since last Fall and tend to lay abed for longer than I used to.  It might be several things.  Age, Covid itself, mere boredom from home-restriction due to the virus concerns, or even Season Affective Disorder.  I've had a mild problem with SAD for a couple decades.  

It varies.  Some Winters are mild and I am out more so little problem.  Other years Winter is harsher and I get less sunlight exposure.  I don't mind fluorescent bulbs and have "daylight" tubes in most fixtures, but I don't know if that helps much.  The only true sunlight is sunlight.  I know there are special bulbs available.  Everyone seems to have some odd minor problems...

2,  All the indoor seed-planting is complete.  Next comes some early outdoors plants.  Beets, spinach, beans, carrots, leeks, radishes.  My tomatoes will be a bit late as I got them planted late.  Some are for "normal" transplanting out and some are for grafting attempts.  I used to go to great lengths to plant heirlooms early with devices designed to keep them warm (wall-of-water cylinders and hotcaps), but I am convinced now that it doesn't seem to matter.  Tomatoes transplanted out "late" seem to catch up and possibly surpass the earlier ones.

My bell and hot peppers didn't emerge well this year.  They aren't any older than the tomatoes (which came up almost 100%) but some seeds don't store as well as others.  I may have to buy some pepper seedlings in May.

3.  John showed me how to drain the gas tank on the brushmower (and then of course I should add new gas).  And he told me I need "starter-fluid" to squirt into the carburator to get the engine running while new gas is pulled in.  Wait, does he mean "starter fluid" like some people use to light charcoal or some specific gas engine stuff with the same name?  I need to ask.  

4.  A half of an old tree in my neighbor's yard fell over into mine. It is substantial. Fortunately, none of it landed on the 4  small flowring trees I planted in Fall 2019.  Part of me says "sure I can cut it apart".  The sensible part says "call a tree company".  I'm not 35 anymore.  But I WILL wait until the backyard daffodils have lost their leaves and the bulbs are safely underground again.  

The tree guys do great work and they work hard, but they don't pay much attention to landscaping.  They have a goal.  Cut stuff up, drag it out. throw it into the grinder.

I'll call them when there is little to damage.  The fallen tree isn't actually causing an immediate problem.

Random Things

A few unusual things:

1.  I got a recall email notice from Chewy.com a week or so ago.  Turns out a bag of dry food I bought was a "possible recall" but gave a "lot #" to check on the back of the bag.  There was no lot # of the back or anywhere else I could find.  I called the manufacturer to ask where the lot # was supposed to be.  Their system was overwhelmed, so I left a message.  Along with the name/email/phone, I asked if some marketing idiot had arranged for the lot # to be printed on the top part of the bag that you have to rip off to open it.

A couple days later, I called Chewy to see if they knew where the lot # was printed.  They didn't.  You might think they had been asked about that previously and gotten the information, but apparently not.  On the other hand, I had a wonderful conversation with the Chewy representative about our respective cats.  She didn't know about cat-blogging and asked for the address, which she looked at on the spot!  She read the header (so I know she looked), and said it was a wonderful idea.  How a Chewy representative didn't know about cat-blogging seems odd.  But she said they were sending a new whole bag, so that was nice.

The manufacturer called back 2 days later.  She said the lot # can appear anywhere on the back of the bag but it is randomly placed and COULD be at the rip-off top in rare instances.  She assured me that it is intended to be seen.  I have my doubts that a modern processing plant would print the lot # randomly.  She did say that if the seller did not replace the product (that is the usual arrangement, I gather), they would.

It's  not like they would compare addresses, so I could get a 2nd free bag of food if I wanted.  But I'm honest.  On the other paw, I could give it to the animal shelter.  I may think about that.

2.  My parents had a Purple Martin (bird) multi-nest-site in the 70s.  They usually got nesting Martins.  When I moved here, I set up one myself (they are on poles in a cluster).  Martins like to be in groups.  Martins arrive from S America in March/April depending on weather.  Yearlings arrive first and are called "scouts, as they find artificial nesting sites first and the older birds find THEM and set up nests.  Here is a successful colony...

I got scouts several times but no mating pairs for a few years.  Starlings tend to take over the nesting sites (on the right in the picture).  Then a new design came out that discouraged starling.  I bought a new pole nesting system.  The entrance is crescent-shaped and starlings are well, "too fat".

I got scouts then too but no mating pairs.  I saw some successful colonies in the neighborhood, but none liked mine.  They like open fields and I had too many trees and even shrubs bother them.  I gave up, but the pole and nesting "gourds" remained in place because I had better things to do than dissemble it and sell or toss it.

So 3 days ago, my Good Neighbors asked if I would sell it.  Deb had this idea of sticking it in the backyard for their "swamp birds".  Well, I didn't want the thing, so I told them to just take it.  I mean they have been so helpful, it it wasn't of any value to me.  Deb wants to paint all the gourds different colors and hope they attract nesting birds.  

They refused "free" so I said $20.  Yesterday John said he would come over today and get it.  Hurray, junk out of the yard!  

3.  They both arrived and Deb showed me pictures of their new cat (to prevent me from trying to help John pull it up I suspect - she is convinced I am still too fragile).

I have a picture of the cat on my new iPhone XR but I haven't learned how to upload pictures from there yet (I bought a book to read about the XR and will study it soon).  But it is a nice little female black cats with a white bib, from a shelter.  I think she named it Olivia but now she pronounces it " O Love Ya".  

She has had cats before, but became excited for a new one after taking care of mine when I could walk or get to the litter boxes in the basement.  Not that The Mews came out often when a stranger was around, but I DID manage to hold Marley and Ayla at hallway length so she could see them.

Not that I would fall off a ladder deliberately, but if that resulted in another shelter cat being adopted, that was good "accidental" result.

4.  They invited me to join in their 25 cent weekly poker game.  Given their kindness, I assume it was for a fun activity.  But I'm not a gambler.  And I probably have no "poker face".  Besides, I can never even remember whether a straight beats a flush.  I probably have "tells" all over me.  That's death in poker.

I played "penny-poker" in college and usually ended with more pennies than I started with, but my winnings were from "high-low"; a game seldom played now.  That's where the best and worst hands split the pot.  I had NO problem assembling the worst hand!

So I told them I was happy to play Hearts, Spades, Cinch, or Gin Rummy (maybe even Bridge) 25 cents per hand.  They declined.  I play for pleasure of winning.  I am BAD when money is involved.

5.  I decided to try myself at some mild gardening outside today.  Parts of my garden and flowerbeds are over-run by invasive flowering vines a neighbor planted a decade ago.  Their's were on open ground so they mowed them to death when they realized they were a problem.  But they are in my flowerbeds and thriving.  MUCH harder to remove.

I attacked them in a raised bed today to test what my arms could still do.  It went well!  Hours later, I feel no soreness.  That is VERY encouraging.  Shovel and garden fork work went well.  I was able to dig out all the invasive vines (so far as I can tell).  There were some sapling in the bed I cut down last year but the stumps were still there.  I got most out.  

Enough to dig the soil loose and set up a 6" concrete remesh supported by a couple metal poles at an angle.  The point is that the metal mesh is facing the afternoon sun and the Romano pole beans will hang down for easy picking.

6.  John (The Good Neighbor) is experienced in gasoline engines and I am not.  I can fix a few things by logic, trial, and error, but he actual knows what he is doing.  I have a brush mower that I used once and could never start again.  I forget to drain off old gas in Winter and that causes problems.  Well, to be honest, I expected to use each one another time that year but didn't.  Gas gets "old" and accumulates some water as it sits.

After he collected the Purple Martin House assembly, he looked at the 2 machines I couldn't get running.  He showed me where all the parts were and what I needed to do for each.  I have a general understanding of gas engines, but it is more theory than practical.  John knows practical.

He showed me the detachable tube that drains the old gas.  He showed me where access is and where to spritz starter fluid into the carburator.  

So I have a good idea know about what to do.  John assured me he would be happy to help when I got starter fluid, but this is a case of "Mark Try First".  LOL!  But I won't hesitate to ask for help if I fail. 

7.  John has side-gigs repairing stuff.  He does it on the driveway, so I see sometimes.  Everything from refinishing old furniture to gas-powered equipment.  So I offerred him the old riding mower.  It smokes. He said that's not worth fixing (bad rings and I barely know what that is), but then he said he had an engine that might fit.  So he is welcome to it.  Otherwise, it goes to the landfill where some company takes working parts.

8.  I have my 2nd Moderna Covid shot scheduled for Wensday.  That will be a relief.  Based on past history of vaccines, I will not have reactions.  I'll still wear a mask and maintain social distancing though.  I could be an asymptomatic carrier.  I wouldn't know without a test for previous infection and I think the vaccine shots mess up the test.

That's enough "weird" for today...

A New Riding Lawn Mower

It was time!  The old 'White Outdoor" riding mower was nearly 25 years old.  I limped it along the past several years.  It needs annual professional repair (about $400 a shot).  The charging system stopped working last year, so every start or stall needs a jump-start and it complains "NNOOO" even then.  And it cuts unevenly these days.

The tires go flat in a few weeks and, they are sneaky about it.  The tires are stiff enough so that air-pressure loss isn't immediately visible.  Until, I make a sharp turn and the bead breaks (tire separates from rim).  If any of you have ever tried to re-bead a small stiff tire, you know how difficult that is.   I should have put inner tubes in them years ago.

The local outdoor yard equipment shop is awful.  High prices, and it takes a month.  When it opened, there were good owners, but they sold it to people who are sullen and greedy.  Most mechanaics understand "make it go good", but with these new guys, you practically have to write a detailed repair ticket yourself.

So this year, when the engine started clunking and clanking when I jumped it making grinding noises as it s l o w l y started, I decided I had had enough.

I research Consumer Reports (CR) magazine, of course.  They got me my last 3 cars (all really good) and with pricing information that made the salesmen complain bitterly at first and try to deny the data.

This year, all the top models of riding lawn mowers were John Deere.  But I made the "mistake" of looking for negative reviews of them "just in case".  Naturally, I found some.  "The transmission is weak",  "you can't tow anything uphill", the dealer doesn't honor the warranty".  But other people loved them.  Well they sell snowplow attachments, back soil plow attachments and give a full 2 year warranty, so how weak can they be>  And CR tests equipment very thoroughly.

After carefully comparing the suitable riding mowers in the most recent CR  article and ratings several times, and considering my modest requirements (not trying to tow anything heavy around, gentle upslope, high rating for even cutting, good mulching rating, etc), I settled on an e-130 John Deere.


Naturally the local Big Box store didn't carry it, but going to the John Deere website, I found a local dealer (who actually had the CR price).  I called.  First, they answered a long list of questions I had about the E-130 that weren't in the specifications.  Like, do the tire valves face outwards or inwards (inwards ones are REALLY awkward).  I said we had a sale.

They told me they could give me the best price if I went back to the John Deere website and my Zipcode would actually direct the sale back to them (manufacturer incentives are really high right now).

When I expressed some doubt about that, the local guy stayed on the phone and directed me through the website, getting me to both the appropriate mulching kit and inner tubes.  I purchased.  Sure enough, in 15 seconds, they got confirmation of the sale!


I picked it up today.  Cant use it yet, it has been raining.  Well, it should dry out By Sunday morning (slight chance of rain in the late afternoon, so say 1PM mowing. 

But here is a separate nice part!  I got help!  I am saving more for a post tomorrow, but if you have read this far, tune in tomorrow!  I pay myself by the word (joke).

A Gripe

I finally got my riding lawn mower back yesterday.  The first thing I did was mow the front lawn of course.  It seems to be working.  I brought it the the local mower repair shop because it was suddenly hesitating and then stalling.

I told them I suspected a fuel line blockage because (bizzarely) I found bits of a leaf in the gas tank last year.  And though I got most of it out with an aquarium net I bent into a shape to fit in, the engine was sure acting like there was something in the fuel line.  I can do some basic stuff, but I don't mess with fuel...  Plus, it needed a tune-up, a blade-sharpening, and oil and filter change. 

When I got home that day I looked at the repair ticket and all it mentioned was "Service 1 - hesitates and stalls but will start again after about 15 minutes".  So I called them.  I was told "Service 1 is the basic tune-up and oil and filter change.  The rest was the additional problem". 

OK... "Service 1" WOULD be the basic tune-up stuff and blade-sharpening.  So I waited for an estimate.  after a week, they called and said the hesitation and stalling was due to a failure of both ignition coils (2 cylinders, 2 coils, 2 spark plugs).  Don't worry, I had to look that up.  Its what sends an electrical charge to the spark plugs.  They gave me a price and I accepted it.

I wondered though why both would fail at the same time, but I thought back to when I was so broke I had to struggle to repair my old car and there was a single ignition coil that controlled all 8 cylinders. 

Funny short story:  I had a friend who worked at a car dealership.  One day, he opened my car hood and showed me all the parts (most of which he said were to reduce the performance of the engine for emission control reasons).  But one part he showed me was the ignition coil.  It couldn't be sealed tight for heat reasons.  But if you ever drove through a puddle and the car stalled, it was because the ignition coil got shorted by the spray.

So I understood about the ignition coils on the mower.

So they went about replacing those 2 parts (apparently they are separate on a mower.  Falling asleep yet?

Well, they called Thursday and said they were going to have to clean the carburator and fuel line (another $25).  Yeah, yeah, just do it...

So I picked it up Friday.  The experience was not good.  First, they had to jump start it.  When I asked about that, they said I needed a new battery.  Well, I had to do that too, but I thought a tune-up would solve that. 

So I asked the mechanic "This is a repair shop, right"?  He agreed.  "Shouldn't that have been something to be fixed"?  He said it wasn't on the repair ticket.  OK, he is just the mechanic and he does what the repair ticket says to do.  But they sell batteries!  Why wouldn't they have offerred to replace it?  Fine, I can buy a new battery anywhere.

But the engine gave a whiff of smoke and I asked about that too.  He checked the oil level and said it was a bit high and should probably be changed.   You want a definition of a lawn mower mechanaic?  He wiped the oil dipstick clean ON HIS PANTS, LOL!

And that's when the horrible truth hit me.  There had been no oil and filter change!  I went back to the front desk and asked about that.  The guy there said it wasn't on the repair ticket.  So I asked about the tune up.  Ditto! 

I told him I had specifically asked for that AND called the next day asking about it.  AND was assured that "Service 1" included that.  He said no, the "service" numbers are just a list of problems the customer mentions.  He said the woman I talked to just writes up repair tickets and wasn't there at the time to ask.  But they would be happy to do the tune up and oil change.  For more money.  And they were backed up for a month.

I took my mower home and I will never ever bring anything to them again.

I can change the oil and filter.  And the tune up probably wasn't necessary.  I had removed the spark plugs and cleaned and gapped them last month. 

But Jeez, what a bunch of idiots!

If I was younger, I would set up a competing business on the side.  No customers should be treated like I was.  The mechanics seem OK; it's a management problem.