New Riding Mower

On May 2nd, I mentioned that my new purchase sitting on the trailer attracted attention from a neighbor and 2 passerbys (male).

No we did not practice social-distancing.  Not because we are guys, not because we are "brave", and not because we think we are immune.  In the moment, we just forgot.  A new piece of equipment made us forget about the present problems.  We were back "before".

I equally feel sure that somewhere at almost the same moment, there were some women gathered together who engaged in some accustomed group activity (I will not speculate on the activity, it doesn't matter), and equally forgot about masks and social distancing for a brief few minutes.

But yes, we were careless.  But, after we got it started, backed off the trailer, and I drove it to the shed and returned, we talked for a awhile.  And (equally without thinking about it), stood about 6' apart.  No one specifically mentioned it, but we just did it automatically.

I sure hope nothing comes of it, and the odds ARE rather slight.  Some habits are hard to break.  We want to shake hands, we want to be close to other people, we want to communicate without having to raise our voices.

Habits are old; the pandemic is new.  We err in this new situation sometimes.  All we can do is our best.

The Historian Anthropologist in me says women hug to express trust and closeness.  And that men shake right hands to show they are not holding a weapon (which is one of several reasons "lefties" were viewed with suspicion LOL).  It also determined which side a warrior would pass a stranger by assumed sword-arm and that carried through to cars by habit.

One could argue that we in the US drive on "the wrong side of the road"due to a lack of historical sword-culture.  I think of the oddest things sometimes...

Birdie Surprise

While sharing the view of Birdie-TV with Ayla a few days ago while sritcinbg her on her windowsill, I noticed something odd.  At the goldfinch thistle-feeder, there was a bluish bird very likje te finches eating seeds.  There's a "blue finch"?

I tried to get a picture right away in case it was an "exotic" but it flew away too fast.  I had a pair of "exotics" once in a front yard tree.  I could only think of them as "small black egrets".  A few weeks later, I saw a 'Wild Bird Seed' store newsletter mentioning that a pair of "Enhingas" had been spotted in the area and it showed a picture.  That was them and they had spend time in MY yard!

The newsletter is a bookmark in my Peterson Guide.  They are tropical to semi-tropical.  Why they were here, no one knows.  There hadn't been a freak storm to pull them here.  Maryland is hardly even semi-tropical (though you wouldn't know that i most Julys and Augusts).

So I thought this might be something similar.  I considered flipping through my Peterson's Guide, but quite frankly, the internet is better.  I typed in "images of US blue birds"  It showed several and one was a direct match.  I have a male Indigo Bunting in my yard.  I've seen it at the feeder several times over a few days, so I hope it is staying here.  I hope there is a female and a nest.

Reading up on Indigo Buntings, I understand they are natural here and I am practically in the middle of their Summer range.  But I have never seen one before.  My guess is that my yard has slowly evolved into a place that attracts them.  They like wood edges and shrubs; insects and small seeds. 

Much of the backyard used to be wooded, but over the 33 years here, I have been changing it smaller specimen trees and shrubs.  I have planted a patch of meadow flowers and one for bee/butterfly/hummingbirds.   The yard is mostly organic (but I can't keep the poison ivy at bay with careful herbiciding).

So here's a free internet picture...


Wouldn't it be spectacular to see some male Indigo Buntings, Goldfinches, and a Cardinal in the same picture?

I've read there are Baltimore Orioles in my area too, but they stay high in trees and I've never seen one of those either.  That would be nice too. 

Riding Lawn Mower, Part 2

Well, I was discussing the new riding lawn mower.  Now for more...

As I pulled up in front of the house, the cross street neighbor waved hello and asked how things were going.  I patted the mower, so he came over to take a look.  I keep forgetting his name.  So I tried to back it off the trailer ramp.  Couldn't figure out how to start it!

OK, this is kinna "guy stuff" but maybe educational to you ladies (but you know you want to know).  Here is a great "guy" day.  Laugh all you want...  Works for us.

The neighbor was admiring the new mower.  And I don't know how to start it.  Nor does he!  And he had a John Deere mower previously.  Everything is different!

So I and the neighbor were examining the push-buttons and control icons and labels "Hey this one says "cruise control" and moves up and down.  And the neighbor "This pedal of the other side looks like a brake".  Meanwhile, we can't find a key or keyhole, so we assume there is a button.

As we were examining the new (and rather odd icons on some buttons) a guy jogger stopped.  Guys have "new equipment" radar, you know.  So we were looking at the different controls, and a guy in a van saw us and stopped too.  I know the guy across the street mainly by waving while we do yardwork. I've never met these other two.  It is routine for guys who don't know each other  to gather around new equipment.  And part, not ever meeting again.

So there are 4 of us figuring out how the new mower (sitting in the hauling trailer) worked.  Keep in in mind that I could have asked the salesman how everything worked except for 2 things.  First, I expected it would be obvious.  I'm not used to buttons and levers labeled with icons (some of which are rather bizarre).  What on earth would a little box with a spray mean?  And arrows that go in and out mean up and down?  OK, whatever...

And keep in mind that the manual was in my car 10" away.  But what's the fun in reading that?  There are some usual routines with riding lawn mowers.  To start the engine, you need a key, the brake pedal has to be depressed, the parking brake has to be off (or on), etc.

We finally found the keyhole.  It was covered by a label.  Yet, there was no key though the salesman had driven it onto the trailer and taken nothing away!?  We decided there must be a master key.  I said, aha, and grabbed the envelope with the manual,  No fair looking at it yet, but there was a lump of 2 keys.

I took a key and inserted it, turned it, and NOTHING!  OK, it had to be a combination of pedals.  Probably depressing the brake and then turning the key.  NOTHING.  Baffled...

Then the van guy said "Hey, look, there are instruction on the floor of the deck"!  Ladies, if you ever wondered why we don't notice a lipstick color change or even hairstyle, it is because we see the "whole you" and details be darned.

We all immediately focused on the floor instructions.  Why that is different from reading the manual in the first place sort of escapes me, but it mattered that we as a group found it.

It wasn't a written list.  Rather, it was just arrows pointing to levers and buttons with actual words (no weird icons).  It was simple from there.  I set the speed control to beyond "fastest" (guessing it was the "choke", depressed the brake pedal and then pushed the yellow button with the fountain icon and turned the key.

Started right up!  So obvious...  The guys helped me guide the mower off the trailer and down the 6' long 8" wide ramps onto the ground.  I drove it into the shed.

I came right back out of course, because the guys knew I had to secure the ramps into the trailer, and I owed them some thanks and "guy talk".

So we discussed hunting and fishing and one guy said he had seen turkeys, and there are deer everywhere here.  And we each took a turn bragging about some hunting and fishing.  We all one had some experiences at something, so that made it a great day.

And things turned to our times here.  Why one 200' street is called "Uncle Willies Way", another is called "Garner's Road and why the upper area was a field before garden apartments were built there.  Apparently, the area was once a farmland owned by "Willie Garner".  The good news is that there wasn't a beer in sight.  We were just collected randomly figuring out the controls on my new riding lawn mower...

When I pushed the ramps into my trailer, everyone decided that it was time to get along with what they had been doing before.  I bet I never talk to jogger and van guy again,  But it sure was nice of them to help.  And I have sometimes been "van guy" (in an SUV) stopping to help someone randomly.

What a great day Friday was!

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 New Thing For Me

I've been listening to old music on the computer all night by themes and answering gardening questions on a forum.  But I suddenly had a thought.

I did something neat this morning.  It might be routine for some people even "duh", but it was new to me.

I like sci-fi.  I like Marvel movies and characters.  One of my favorite scenes in a Marvel Movie is in X-men:  Apocolypse where Quicksilver is saving the people in the exploding Xavier College.  And one of my favorite songs is The Eurythmics 'Sweet Dreams' and they were together in the scene.

So I searched the scene and found it.  But no music.  So I opened 2 windows on Firefox.  One held the scene, the other had the song.  I got them open up close enough for them to nearly match!

For me, that is seriously good stuff.  I don't normally figure out how to do things like that that.  Sort of a "one thing at a time person".

I'm gonna go do that again now...


...



Later, OK 5 more times, actually.

And he MOONWALKED  It was amazing to me.  Its like the Rubik Cube.  I can't do it even with instructions...

I haven't figured out what the brief dart thing meant but it was so quick even in slo-mo.

The Aquarium

I have a 30 gallon with community fresh water fish.There are some bottom-feeders like Corys and an algae-eater who keeps the glass clean.  There are a couple of Tiger Barbs and maybe a dozen Minor Serpa Tetras.  There are also pair of Marigold Platys. 

Platys bear live young.  The young never survive in a community tank.  They get eaten by the other fish nearly as fast as they are released.  I have come to hate that.

But I also have live plants and the "anachris" floats on the surface in a rather dense mat.  Baby fish hide in there. 


I disturbed the surface a month ago, and saw "something" dart out that was immediately eaten.  I realized it was a baby platy that I chased from its sanctuary among the floating plants.  I felt horrible about causing it to flee and be eaten by my action.

So, 2 weeks ago, when I opened the top of the hood to feed the fish, I happened to notice 2 tiny little eyes among the shelter of the plants.  It was a baby Platy that had survived its first few days.  With my reading glasses on, I saw it in various places for several more days.  Little black eyes hiding in the plants.

I've bred various fish in my life.  Bettas, cherry barbs, gouramis, and fancy guppies.  They each need special conditions, but most of all, safety from other fish.  There are even V-shape tank add-ins for live-bearers so the babies fall through and Mom doesn't eat them.  I should buy a new one.

Because Mom looks gravid again.

I haven't seen that Baby Fish for 3 days.   And I feel guilty...

Bad Days

I feel like I am falling apart lately. 

Need a new car (current one is a 2005 Toyota Highlander) and can't decide whether to replace it standard or keep it and buy an all electric sedan.  I only do errands around town, so an electric makes sense.  But sometimes I haul mulch or compost in a trailer, so I need some power.  I could almost buy a golf cart for my errands...  LOL!

Need a new riding mower.  I'm too old to push the regular ones around, self-propelled types with their constant speed are too difficult around the details of the yard.  Besides, I started with the push mowers at age 12 and hated it.  Eldest sons get all the hard work.  So I looked at Consumer Reports for a new riding mower.  Listed several, but when I looked up pros and cons, a lot of sites said those same mowers sucked at slopes or even dragging a yard cart behind.  I chose one anyway.  But the local store that sells my chosen model (John Deere E130) is closed (convid19). 

Iza's departure has left a hole in my heart.  I want a replacement.  Maybe "replacement" is the wrong word.  I have have space in my heart for another and I want it filled soon.  I am not good at waiting.  But the local shelter is closed, the Tonkinese breeder can't commit for 2 months, and the Siamese breeder is awaiting a new litter before she knows "who is who" I think.  But does have a 3 year old striped Siamese (Lynx?).

Impatience on all is driving me to distraction.

I know, I am lucky to even have minor concerns like this.  I don't have to wait in miles-long lines to get volunteered food like many people are.  I don't have loved-ones dying in hospitals alone.  I am comfortable staying at home.  I have 2 wonderful cats. 

I feel like a damn fool even mentioning these slight problems.  But Iza's loss has me all unbalanced.  I suddenly have nightmares.  I don't enjoy cooking and eating recently. 

I should just delete this.  But telling the world how I feel helps...

In the movie 'Conagher' a cowboy wanders around as a "hand".  He meets a widow named "Evie" who is managing a farm.  He "drifts", she stays.  She attaches notes to tumbleweeds.  An early internet...  He finds a few and wonders who she is (duh). Eventually, he does pull out one of her notes from his pocket and she admits to writing them.  Happily Ever After...

I feel like my posts are notes tied to tumbleweeds sometimes.  I'm not looking for someone, as Evie was not exactly looking for someone either, but my posts are often my connection to the universe... 

Thank you to all who read here.

Iza's Marker

I've been slowly building Iza's marker box to match that of Skeeter and LC.  They were bit of odd constructions with lots of angles.  The detailed work seemed a sign of respect.  So I copied them for Iza.

Somehow, tradition matters to me about OTB cats.  I want a sense of continuity and equal respect, so the markers have to be the same.

I started by taking one marker box into the basement and measuring it carefully.  It felt a bit weird having the marker box in the basement, but it was meant with respect.

Then I started cutting and assembling new boards.  It was very comforting, and I did it with Iza in my thoughts.

I cut pieces of preservative-treated wood ( for durability) to size, tilted the table saw blade of 30 and 60 degree angles to match the previous markers, and made some slight adjustments (not all boards are exactly the same thickness and width).

But I got it assembled with wood glue and clamps to hold it all together.

One can never have "too many clamps" but this didn't require all of mine.  

I didn't get all the angle cuts perfectly, but weather will expand the wood slightly.  I've learned to leave slight gaps on outdoor wood.

I leave the back open on these because I don't want to encourage critters to hide an burrow over the cats.

Here is the constructed memorial marker box.  I sanded some slightly mis-matching edges and added countersunk exterior-grade screws.  Glue won't hold long, but screws will.

And then I used rubber cement t attach the last brown resin cat figurine I had.  They came in 3,  Skeeter, LC, Iza...

Closeup of the Iza figurine... I apologize to her that it was the least expressive of the 3, but I really wasn't expecting to use it hoping to find more of the original set.  Or so soon.

I have brass letters on order for delivery in a week, and will attach them then.

Pansies

I meant to show 2 colors of pansies I have not seen before, Tuesday, and forgot.  And not that I know much about pansies.  But they seemed unusual...

I've never seen a purple/white pansy with a  with a bottom of yellow.

And these seem unusual to me.  Actually, they are slightly more lighter orangish than this, but I couldn't adjust the pic for the right color.   My camera has thoughts of its own sometimes, and I don't know enough about tint management.

Aside from that, I had a lot of the 16 cell pack pansies that were actually multiple plants per cell, so I got a lot of rather interesting combinations of 2 colors in one spot and even 3 in a few.  Don't you love surprises like that?

Earth Day 2020

Let's say a strange message appeared on my monitor a few days ago.  Let's suppose it came from The Galactic Confederation and went something like this...

"We have received some primitive signals from you.  We assumed they were some sort of sign of intelligent life or maybe a request for membership.  So we investigated.  After all, we have a few picobots around every planet that develops so much as pond scum...

Your application to join us is denied.  

We consider you all to be blarts.  You lay waste to your planet, you are all divisive and warlike, and you eat each other.  WE do not approve.  We note that you are attempting local spaceflight (and badly, we will say).  We will make sure you do not succeed at that until you get yourselves united, organize your resources better, and learn to get your individual energy from non-living renewable sources.

And BTW, we have detected your attempts to discover us.  Your efforts are both puerile and easily thwarted.  We have a whole world dedicated to presenting you images that look very nice and are meaningless.

If and when you "get your act together" in the picobots judgement, WE will contact YOU.  Meanwhile, we would appreciate it if you would stop trying to  galacticAI.univ us.  It's just static and goes straight to the junk balik.   We have one poor Scopinea who spends all day deleting your nonsense and while we give him that function, he is a sad case by our standards though we suppose hesheit would seem like a genius to you.

So fix your own problems before you try to leave your planet.  If you do, we will know." 

Ack Thbbft!

Mark

Fix it before you leave it...

Flowers

The Mews have not decided who will host the Thursday Garden Tours and I haven't collected the pictures of the Saucer Magnolia and the Daffodil Bed as they bloomed for a slideshow yet, so I wanted to show the Happy Pansies in the deck pots for now...

The warmish Winter and soft Spring has let tem grow better than they have in any previous year here.

If the pots look like they have too many of some color and not enough of others, it is because they got all the ones that weren't blooming at the time I planted the outside large mass. 

I was expecting some randomness surprises, and I got some.  

But that was the point, LOL!

The massed planting is doing well, though the Winter weeds have grown suddenly.  I had dragged the scuffle how between them in January, but apparently the weeds either grew back or new seeds germinated due to me disturbing the soil.   

Maybe they looked better in March.  Fewer flowers but fewer weeds...

I would hoe again, but newer demands command attention for longer-term benefits.  I have perennials and self-sowing annuals to plant in the Meadow and Pollinator Beds, wild blackberries and other briars (and some poison ivy) to dig out in the back non-lawn area.  It took days with the brush-cutter to chop all the wild stuff down last Fall, so I don't want to let that escape again.

But the Pansies sure have been a pleasure since October!