Snowblower

I have a fully working snow blower!  Hurray!  Of course, it wasn't just THAT easy...  I couldn't just order it, pick it up, bring it home and start it up.  It should have been, but NO...

I had ordered a Troy-Bilt Storm 2620.  That basically means it clears a 26" path and has a 20" intake scoop.  It has a 208 cc gas engine.  It's a 2 stage model, which means it is also self-propelled (single stage means you have to push it yourself) because with a sloped driveway, pushing uphill on a snowy surface didn't seem like a safe idea.

I was originally going to order it direct from the factory (Troy-Bilt) because it was $100 cheaper and free shipping.  But then I noticed in the fine print that the item would be shipped freight and I would be responsible for unloading it (or arranging and paying for secondary local delivery). And that the box was a dead weight 200+ pounds, I wasn't thrilled with the idea.  200+ pounds, 5' height off the back of the truck...  No.

The local retailer is Lowe's, so I went to visit.  First, I wanted to examine the dispersal chute that some reviewers had complained about.  Second, their website offered free in-store pickup (it was a special order, not regular stock).

When I got there, the only Troy-Bilt displayed was a different series entirely, was 15' up in the air, and I couldn't check out the chute.  But the desk clerk said that if I ordered it through the store and not the website, it was the same price, plus they would fully assemble the machine.  So I ordered it at the store (prepaid of course - which did not turn out to be a problem of any sort).

They would call me when it was ready for pickup.

So they called a week later.  Well, they called but it was their computer message machine trying to talk to my answering machine and the results were garbled.  2 days later, I got a call from a real person, saying the assembled snow blower was ready for pickup.  I visited the next day.  It took the service desk 10 minutes to get a clerk up front.  Off he went to retrieve my assembled snow blower...

20 full minutes later, he wheeled a cart out.  With a sealed box on it...  That box was fastened so solidly that it looked like tornado testing equipment!  I pointed out that it was supposed to be assembled.  The clerk said there were just 2 braces to attach.  I looked at the picture on the box and saw cables, adjustment braces, a chute control rod, etc. 

I looked at it for a moment and decided it was going to take 30 minutes just to take the box apart, so even if "assembly" was only screwing one knob onto a control lever, it wasn't worth it.  Besides, if I assembled any meaningful part (and it appeared I would), I would be blamed if it didn't operate properly.

I told them to take it back and assemble it fully.

2 days later, they called again and said it was fully assembled and ready to go.  I got there and it was!  I checked for any unconnected cables or loose bolts.  They loaded it onto my trailer and I got it home safely.  No problem getting it off the trailer either.  I have ramp boards.  So the snow blower was sitting there in my garage.

Naturally, I wanted to make sure it was operating.  So I opened the owner's manual package and there was an assembly instruction guide.  I checked every step of it to see if they had done it properly.

They hadn't...  I was not terribly surprised!  The first thing I found wrong was the dispersal chute control.  The chute is supposed to swing from full left to full right via a joystick on the handle bars.  I went left just fine.  But it only returned as far as straight forward.  I fussed with it to see if it was just sticky.  Nope, it stopped solid at straight forward.

So I looked at the control to see how it worked.  The handlebar joystick turns a rod that goes to the chute and a gear changes that to rotary motion.  There is a cotter pin connection, and the rod can be "pinned" in half turn rotations.  Don't worry about that, it just means that the rod can be "pinned" in the wrong position.  The assembly guide did not specify exactly how to do it correctly, but it was strictly mechanical, so I figured it out easily enough.

After unpinning it, I moved the chute straight forward manually and repinned the control rod.  It worked perfectly!  Full left to full right.  Yay!

I couldn't find anything else in the basic instruction guide that seemed wrong, but I did look the machine all over for loose bolts and such.  When I looked at the skid plates, something looked odd.  The skid plates are metal bars that keep the bottom of the snowblower scoop just above the driveway surface so that the scoop doesn't catch every driveway crack or get worn off (as the blade of a snow shovel has a reinforcement bar along the front edge).

The skid plate is at the bottom...

So the skid plates were above the surface!  They can't "skid" if they aren't touching the driveway.  I went searching through the actual user's manual to find out about that.  The manual said that the skid plates are factory adjusted upward for shipping and they should be adjusted to the desired height before us.  Well Lowe's hadn't done THAT either.  Surprise surprise...

Loosening the bolts holding the skid plates was a real chore.  They must have been put on with an air compressor wrench.  Like the way that car tire lug nuts are put on so tightly it take Goliath to loosen them if you have a flat.  (BTW, I make the car shop put on my lug nuts with hand tools, not the air wrench)

I tried a regular crescent wrench and could not loosen them.  I resorted to pounding the wrench with a deadblow hammer.  I succeeded only in slightly rounding the nut.  I pulled out my socket set (and recalled one reviewer mentioning he had broken a 3/8 inch socket drive doing just that).  My 1/2 inch drive doesn't have a socket small enough, so I had to use my own 3/8 inch drive.  It took a lot of effort, but the bolts finally came loose.

I figured the scoop didn't need very MUCH clearance, so I placed a 1/4 inch board under the scoop and lowered the skid plates down to the garage floor.  When I tightened them back up, all looked good.

Then it was time to start the machine for a test.  Well, I sure didn't want to be snowed in and discover it didn't work!  I was a bit nervous about doing it correctly.  There's a key, there's a choke, there's a throttle, there's a primer, there is an electric cord to connect to the starter (it has both electric and pull-cord start), and a starter button.  Then, when it starts, you have to adjust the choke, turn down the throttle, and disconnect the electrical starter cord.
OK, other than the electric starting cord, that's the same process as starting my riding lawn mower.  But I've been doing that for years and know where everything is.  Well, without the priming and without turning the key. Anyway, I steeled myself to begin the process.

I plugged in the snow blower.  Moved the throttle to start.  Opened the choke fully.  Pushed the primer 3X ("there's no place like home, there's no place like home" - LOL!) and pressed the starter button.  It felt like a NASA countdown!

No where in the instructions do they tell you to RELEASE the starter button immediately...  So while I was listening for the sound of the engine, I missed hearing a grinding sound of the starter still be forced to turn over.  Maybe 5 seconds of that before I released it.  No damage I hope...

The engine was running, I turned off the choke dial, I adjusted the throttle lower, and disconnected the electrical cord.  It runs smoothly and purrs like a kitten.  I let it run a full minute while I tried out the augers ("the spinny things that throw the snow"), the forward gears, and the reverse gears.

Now all I need is some snow...

Good Day

It was a good day today!

First, I planted crocus bulbs for my best friend.  He has back problems, and I like to plant stuff, so it works out well.  Plus, he has a really good soft lawn and it is easy.  I should have taken pictures, but I forgot to bring my camera and I forgot to ask him to bring out his.

The planting system works great.  He marks the spots, I dig a square foot hole in the ground.  I lift up the sod, shave the bottom flat, use a cultivator to loosen the soil below, and set the crocus bulbs in, and set the sod back on top.  He steps all around the sod to eliminate air pockets.

I would do that in my own lawn, but even after 20 years of improving the soil, the grass does not grow very thickly.  I get 4 hours of sun on most of my lawn.  I try to dig up sod like at my friends house and all mine falls apart.  So I am giving up on lawn crocus bulbs.

The good news is that I am planting hundreds of them in the border between the lawn and flowerbeds.  A foot of yellow, a foot of purple...mm It also means I will be able to reset the plastic edging a bit lower.

The other good news is that the pinstripe boys won the first series.  That's Yankees.  I started follwing them in the early 60s when they weren't winning.  I didn't live in a city that had any particular connection to any major league team.

Go Yankees!

A "No Match"!

Just as a joke, I searched for the equivalent of basically "cat-like things"  Got ZERO!  Yay...

"Your search - felinopomorphic - did not match any documents."

A Snow Blower!

I finally bought one after 3 12+ snowfalls last Winter, I gave up shoveling and paid teenagers to do it at high cost.  I can't do it anymore.  I'm 60...

I researched all the various brands and sizes carefully.   There was a Consumer Reports article last year, and reviews from many owners at various sites.

I was between Troy-Bilt and Craftsman (Sears).  But a lot of people recently complained that the Craftsman  changed from being built by Troy-Bilt, and the new ones had crappy motors from China that the Sears repair people called "junk' .  So I went direct for Troy-Bilt.

I have never had a Troy-Bilt machine that wasn't perfect.  And for the money, their machines are great.  So I have a Troy-Bilt Storm 2620 snow blower on order.  It should arrive in a week fully assembled from the local Lowe's store...

I can't wait for snow this Winter!  Pictures when it arrives...  More when I get to use it...

Milky Spore Application

Well, I finally did it again.  2 years ago, I spread Milky Spore across all the lawn.  This time, I did it through the woods and field areas.  Milky spore is a bacteria that targets white grubs like Japanese Beetles in the soil.  It is not harmful to beneficial insects or worms.  The bacteria infects the grub, multiplies, kills it, and sends billions of new bacteria into the surrounding soil.  If/when there are no more grubs the spores go dormant until new grubs appear.

It is very effective stuff.  It isn't easy to use though.  The dust can be harmful to people and animals if inhaled.  So you need to wear a respirator (N-95, R-95, P-95, or HE filter).  I had one.  Plus disposable rubber gloves.   Local home store stuff...

You basically have to put down a teaspoon of this microbial powder every 4' in a grid.  The first time, I did it with an actual teaspoon.  That was hard because you can't just drop the stuff onto the ground from a standing position.  So I had to squat and stand up every 4' (that's about 900 times).  Fortunately, this time I found a spreader available cheap.

I used that this time.  It was SO EASY!  Its a 3' tube with a shaker at the bottom.  You tap it on the ground every 4' and it deposits the teaspoon. I chose a calm day with a rainy day to follow.  You don't want exposure to these microbes but rain or watering sends them safely into the soil.  I kept the cats inside today.

Milky Spore should keep down the soil grub population for 20 years.  Grubs attract moles,  voles use mole tunnels, and voles eat plant roots.  Getting rid of the grubs means fewer moles means fewer voles, means fewer plants killed by voles!  It takes a couple of years to really take effect.

The application from 2 years ago is working, because this year I only saw one single mole tunnel in the lawn.  But I still saw a lot of them in the wood and field so that's where this application went

So here is the stuff!

The shaker bottom...

The 3' tube of the shaker...

The N-95 respirator...

The N-95 box that had 20 respirators I thought only had one!  

Decks and Other Constructions

Previously, I mentioned construction failures.  Today I show successes.

The small rail is now firmly attached to a metal brace...

The corners are seriously attached with pocket hole screws!

The top rails are solidly attached with 3"deck screws...

And I am fighting the warped deck board with a soaking towel. 

My strongest clamps are not sufficient to force the warped board down flat, so I am using water to encourage the board flat...  Water on the top should force the board flat again.  And then I will keep that board there with several 3" deck screws.

I'm close to rebuilding the 20 year old deck, but there are good reasons to maintain it "tolerably" for another year...

Repairing the Deck

I've been annoyed at these deck failings for a decade.  I thought of attaching splines or Dutchmans to the corners. I didn't like the idea.

Then, a few days ago, it occurred to me that I had bought a Kreg pocket hole jig a few months ago for building a table.  I decided to look and see if it would work on the deck.

It did.  Without any experience at it, just briefly skimming the instructions, it was all obvious.  The one thing they fail to tell you is how to remove the clamp platform (you slide it towards the back and it releases upwards).

I attached the several top rail corners with the pocket holes  I was AMAZED!  Only 2 screws in each top rail connection and the entire top rail was as solid as steel!

Call me stupid for not taking "Before" pictures of the high deck rails.  I too often forget to take "Before" pictures when starting projects.  But here are some "After" pictures.


Here's the "stuff" I was using...

Here is the pocket hole jig...

Here is the nicely joined corner of 2 top rails...

Here are the pocket holes.  They weren't perfect cuz it was my first time and the clamps on it were hard to arrange.  But these pocket holes pulled the joints up tighter than any box or finger joint.  They were SO rigid, that I could not make them shift slightly in ANY way.  WOW!  You HAVE to try this!

Next time, the lower deck with it's own unique problems...

Decks and other Constructions

I will say straight out that I am a very functional structure-builder.  By that, I mean that nothing ever falls (my friends say I seriously overbuild everything).  But it is never especially pretty.  I don't have the artistic skills to make visitors say "Oh what a lovely deck".

My simple goal is that anything I build be functional and durable.  Artistic comes in last place.  If the deck stands rigid while 20 people are doing a conga line on it, that is a successful deck to me.

I mention this to explain my latest project...

The foundations of the deck are solid.  There are angular braces that make it rock solid; I have more of those than any deck needs, but more is better than less.  The foundation of the deck is is made of exterior glue, 100's of deck screws, 6" lag screws, and 8" carriage bolts.  But the less structural parts are weak.  I had no training at it, and there were errors.

The top rails are wide and flat (the better for leaning on).  For example, I would never use nails again, but deck screws instead.  But I attached the top rails to the posts with simple nails.  20 years ago, I did not realize that heavy boards would move.  I know better know.

Over the years, the toenail connections of the top boards failed, some deck boards warped up, etc.  I decided I needed to either completely rebuild the top or repair it.  I decided to repair it,  The deck itself is a solid as a cement base.  I think I could drop a car on it without damage.  But the top needed repairs.  The side rails and the front rails had completely disconnected.

Corners of the top rails had separated after 20 years and the top rails wobbled a bit.  Some deck boards had warped up pulling the nails loose.  Some deck rail tops were twisted.  Nails were coming loose

Here are examples:

Tomorrow, I decide to get at "Fixing It".  Time to take action...

Mom

My mother died today of natural causes.  She was 83 years old.  My father was with her at the end.  To my knowledge, they loved each other unreservedly all their years together.

I loved her while a child, I admired her while a teenager, and we were friends all the days of my adult life.   As her first-born child (of 4), I probably received an unfair amount of attention, and I thrived on it.

From the day I left home to attend college to the time about 5 years ago when Parkinsons Disease robbed her of her ability to write, we corresponded regularly.  Her letters were always insightful, humorous, and responsive to mine.  We enjoyed challenging each other to be clever.  If she wrote about a party invitation she had sent out in rhyme, I would respond in kind pretending I was accepting (we lived far apart, so it was only in fun).  We enjoyed each others wit and wisdom.   We wrote about our cats' antics.  She always loved Siamese cats (and here I am now with two).  When she could no longer write letters by hand, she obtained a Brother word processor and typed out letters with great difficulty.  Sadly, she became unable to do that in the last few years.  My lifelong correspondent was gone, and it does not work by telephone.

She gave me her sense of sly humor, a love of the vagaries and frustrations of the English language, an appreciation of classical and broadway music, a love of reading and writing, the impractical beauty of flowers, and a love of cats.

I would not be the person I am today if not for her.

She met my dad the first week at college and they never dated anyone else from that day.  Dad was a year ahead, so she graduated in 3 years to catch up.  She was a promising stage actress in college, being the leading lady in several college plays, but did not attempt a career at it.

She was happy to be a wife and mother.  She was an avid golfer. She told Dad she wouldn't date any guy who didn't play golf, so he learned the game and became an avid golfer himself (getting to a zero handicap at one point).  They played golf constantly for decades.

MEMORIES

Learning to cook:  I was chief potato peeler and masher.  I cracked walnuts for her wonderful banana cake (I have never seen a banana cake remotely like hers).  When I left home, I used to ask her for the recipe.  She would laugh and say I would get the recipe when she died.  Fortunately, she sent it to me 10 years ago and I have made one every few months since then.  She also made a Boston Cream Pie (a cake actually) to die for.  But I lost my sweet tooth after college and she stopped making it.  But she sent me off to college with basic cooking skills, and that has done me well ever since.

Classical and Broadway music:  We listened to classical music at dinner most nights.  I came to love it.  But my best memories are of broadway musicals.  We learned all the songs of Camelot, The Sound of Music, Tenderloin, etc.  Her favorite was Tenderloin.  We memorized every song.  To this day, I can pretty much sing all the songs at will.  She loved it so much that before the recorded album was released, we would write down the lyrics as they were played on the radio.  Yes, there WERE stations that played broadway songs back in the 60's.  And just a few days ago, my best friend recalled that I used to sing the Camelot songs to myself while in college (I don't remember that, but friends know things about you that you don't know yourself).

Her endless childhood stories:  Everyone tends to repeat the same stories of their childhood.  The ones that you learn to anticipate word-by-word.  I know how she got her first cat, how one of her brothers accidentally killed his first dog, how she cut her wrist open closing the glass door, the stories of her relatives, etc.  I know them by heart.  But I will never hear her tell them again...

Learning to sew:  Yes, I learned to sew; few guys do.  I was always curious about how things worked.  I must have expressed some curiousity about sewing at some point.  I learned the basics.  She taught me to hem pant cuffs, do a chain stitch, and darn socks.  I'm not very good at it, but I can get by.  That's another thing more guys should learn.  And from what I understand these days, more women, too.  Maybe I should mention that her Dad was a tailor...

Language:  Mom taught me to read before I entered Kindergarten.  That may be common today, but it was rare in the 50s.  Parents read to their children, but she encouraged me to read to her at bedtime.  I recall going to the town library to get my library card.  I had to write my name and address.  I could have written a short essay!  Apparently, I was a surprise to the librarian because of my young age.  I read voraciously.  By the time I was 12, I had exhausted the "teenage" reading library and was allowed to check out adult books.  I thank Mom for that lifetime gift.  I have been a reader all my life.

Humor:  I'll combine creativity and humor here.  Mom taught me to love language, puns, and humor.  She was creative in everything she did.  An example:  The club they belonged to had a "Crazy Hat Party" once.  Dad made her a cardboard hat with a wide brim.  We attached my Ben Hur Chariot Race figurines all around it.  2nd place had some peacock feathers on a regular hat.  Mom won by a landslide.  There was no such thing as "over the top" with her.  I learned to be creative in everything I did, thanks to her.

I mentioned party invitations earlier.  Mom loved to entertain at parties.  She loved themes.  If the theme was "Beach", there would be fishnets on the walls and driftwood tables.  The invitations she sent out would be crafted in beach-theme poetry.  The food and drinks would be beach-oriented.  When they moved away from me to NH, she would always send me a copy of her poem invitations.  I loved that, and replied in poetry as if an invitee (none of her guests ever did).  My best was a rendition of 'The Raven'.  She loved it!  Her party-throwing days ended 20 years ago so there have not been any clever and delightful party invitations since.  I miss that.

Cats:  Mom was one of the best cat-namers I ever knew.  She would research languages to find the right names.  She loved Siamese cats and we had 2 while I was growing up.  Both were named "Pretty Little Girl".  But it was "Kenani" in Hawaiian and "Hai U Phin" in Thai.  I had a series of wonderful gray tabby cats through the years and tried to give them clever names, but it wasn't until 3 years ago that I got Siameses of my own.  My names weren't as fancy, but when I explained to Mom that their names were from a story about Cro-Magnon characters and described the story, she thought they were very good names.  She could never remember the names of my previous cats (she always called Skeeter "Skeezix" and LC "Elsa"), but she remembered Ayla and Iza correctly.

Nature:  When I was a child, Mom took me around the yard putting out bits of yarn for the birds to make nests with.  Then we rejoiced at seeing the yarn in nests in trees later.  It taught me how to notice bird nests in trees to this day.  And there was "Squinty the Squirrel".  Squinty had one eye.  Mom left toast crusts on the kitchen windowsill for it.  Squinty was a regular visitor for several years.  Later, Mom became the official burier of birds that crashed into the house windows.  We had a whole mini graveyard.  She taught us that animals had lives too.  And that lives end.

There is so much more, of course, but I have to stop somewhere.  It's been a sad Summer.  My sister died suddenly last month and now Mom.  They are the first deaths in the immediate family.  I hardly know how to deal with this.  But putting some of it in writing helps.

I'll end with 2 pictures.

Mom and me...

Mom and Dad a few years ago...

Goodbye, Mom.  I'll miss you all the remaining days of my life.

More on Hummers

I occurred to me today, re-reading my last post about the hummer, that there was more I wanted to say about these delightful little things.  While I have a feeder back by the toolshed (so they won't be disturbed much), I get the most enjoyment from them at the feeder that hangs under the house eave at the deck door.

They visit that one often.  When I can stand still just inside the house for long enough, I am often rewarded with a close-up view of them feeding.  They can see through the glass doors, and if I move, they leave.  They are brave for wild birds, but 2' away is too close.  So I have to remain very still and become part of the furniture background.

I've had a few opportunities to get pictures of them at that feeder. 

I don't try too often, but it is nice to have some close pictures.  Maybe I will get one hovering some day...

Remembering...

Hummingbird Encounter

Many years ago, when I put out my first hummingbird feeder as an experiment (never having seen a hummingbird around the yard), I was stunned to find a hummingbird attempting to get at the feeder as I stood deciding where to hang it.  That certainly answered any questions I had about whether there were hummers around the yard and whether they adapted to feeders easily.

I have enjoyed my hummers every year since, having between 3 and 5 hummers in the yard.  One year I even found a tiny nest in a 6' cedar sapling I was about to remove.  The cedar remains there to this day, about 15' tall now.  If the hummers like to nest there, I sure won't bother it.

Well, today, I had a replication of the original experience.  I regularly provide new nectar every 2-3 days.   I was carrying a fresh feeder out to the back toolshed and lifting it toward the hanger  when a hummer came by anxious to feed from it!

It whirrred around the feeder and looked at me from 10,000 different directions.  So there I was, standing there like the Statue of Liberty, holding the feeder as motionless as I could.  It finally chickened out and went to the salvias (which they love).  I gratefully hung the feeder up and took the long way around the garden so as not to pass near the salvias. 

It was a rare moment, and one that I will cherish.

Compost Tumbler

There may be a hope for the compost tumbler after all.  I had really criticized it HERE. 

At first, I mainly used it to keep rich tempting kitchen scraps from the groundhogs and other critters.  I could never get it to heat up enough to really compost stuff quickly.  But I may have figured it out.

But to back up a bit...  In past years, I would look at the barrels of produce waste in the grocery stores and wish I could get them.  My requests were always refused.  But I am persistent.  This year, the store managers suddenly say "yes".  I have gotten 6 bags of corn husks and other unwanted produce debris.

I finally have enough stuff to fill the compost tumbler bin.  You would be surprised how compact a whole trash can of corn husks gets in just a week.  But then it was all green stuff and that doesn't make a good compost blend for aerobic breakdown...

Well, I get a daily newspaper (which uses safe soy ink) and I have a paper shredder.  Aha!  Nice "brown" stuff to add to balance the decomposition.

In the past 2 weeks, I have added about as much dry shredded newspaper to the bin as green material.  I've made it a point to turn the bin several times each day.  It's heavier to move, but not unmanageable.  I can tell the balance is better and that the materials are getting mixed well.  It doesn't smell bad.

I know all about anaerobic vs aerobic breakdowns, so I know it is finally working right.  Best of all, it was HOT inside (140F) when I opened it today.

I finally got enough stuff inside, and the right mixture...

Yay!!!

I still think a regular compost bin is far superior, but I have to give SOME credit to these rotating things.  With a lot of care, they can work "OK".

So, The Flowerbeds, Part 2...

Here are some of the (approximately) same spots that I showed in the last post...

Even the gravel path was covered in weeds...

 

There is actually bare soil to be seen!

 

 The Skeeter Memorial is clear again...

 

The LC Memorial is still hidden, but that by a shrub I am going to relocate this Fall...

 

 This part represents about 1/3 of the flowerbed.  Another 1/3 is Bell peppers and daylillies and is weeded.  I'll show that part next time.  That will give me a few days to weed the remaining 1/3!

So, The Flowerbeds...

At least most of the flowers have survived the drought.  Unfortunately, the weeds did better.  I cringed everytime I walked past them in the brutal Summer heat.  Watering the flowerbeds was almost like feeding lambs to wolves in order to save some lambs, but it was still hard.

In the past week, I have made great progress in weeding the flowerbeds. 

Here are some horrible "Before" pictures...

There are more, but you get the picture. Half the growth is weeds.  Well, a few days ago I started getting at the weeds.  I have a procedure...

Wait for the afternoon shade to spread, bring out the radio, bring out the camera, bring out a beer in a gel-pack, apply mosquito repellent, and start pulling weeds up by the roots carefully.  You would think that, after a couple of years, I wouldn't have a weed problem. 

It doesn't work that way.  Nature brings weed seeds in from everywhere.  There is no stopping it.  I swear that if I sterilized a square foot of soil and covered it with heavy plastic, there would be weeds happily growing a month later!

ARGHHHH!


But I can destroy a month of weed growth in a limited are in a day.  About 50 square feet a day in a tightly growing flowerbed, anyway.  It's tricky weeding a flowerbed with no paths.  I have to carefully slide my feet in between plants I want to keep.  Then I have to bend every whichway following weeds through the desirable plants down to the roots.  Then pull them gently till the roots come up or dig at the spot till I get the roots.

I don't just pull the weeds loose at ground level, I really work at getting the roots.

Well, I made good progress.  Here is the pile for today...

The weed pile was 3'x3'x2'high.  I'm going to let them desiccate there for a few days before I add them to the compost tumbler bin. 

Fortunately after several years, I have the compost tumbler reaching a good temperature.  Enough to kill most of the weed seeds, I think.  But more on that next time...

Well, Finally!

Hurray!  It has been raining several inches the past 2 weeks.  Finally, I am off dedicated watering duty and can pay attention to the weeds again...

The weeds are legion!  They have thrived with the watering better than the flowers and veggies, and they nearly took over the entire garden without my usual lethal attention.

The corn tried to do well.  It grew, but the heirloom variety I tried (remembering it from childhood) "Golden Bantam" was not what I remembered.   I was excited at first...

And it looked really good!

I picked it at the right time (just as the silks dried), but I hated it.  All starch, no sweetness.  And I tried leaving another for the silks to dry longer, but that was worse.  Then picked one ear earlier.  It was all terrible!   Like eating a raw potato, only chewier...

I have been spoiled by modern sweet hybrids.  I'll accept that and will plant the hybrids next year.  Unlike tomatoes, I like the new ones better.

More about the flowerbeds in a couple days...

Jennifer

I figured out the scanner.  Here are her young pictures...  This is my memorial to her.

She was such a happy child.  I delighted in every move she made.

When she was very young, she loved to play peekaboo with me.  The box is where the christmas ornaments were kept.  When it was empty, she loved to hide in it an pop up.

In no particular order...

This is the most precious picture I have of her...Absolute happiness.  She loved that Raggedly Ann doll for many years.

Drinkin the Big Brother drink... Above.  And wearing my hat,  She loved that.  She always thought my hats were special.  Wearing my hat always made her feel great.

One of her earliest moments.  That is Hai U Phin in the doll bed.  Jen loved that cat.  As did I.

Jen asleep in my old bed.  She always liked my red and yellow walls. 

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Jen posing for a picture.  She loved to be photographed.  I wish I had taken a 1,000 more,,,

 Jen with Hai U Phin...

 The oldest picture I have...  Jen as a teenager.

 My dear little sister Jen...  44 years old, gone forever...

The spots in the photo are accidents of time.  But I want to think of them as stars in the cosmos.  She deserves to go out with all the stars around her.  She would have liked the idea of "cosmic"...

Intelligent, organic, loving, good mother, friend...

Farewell good sister, good friend...  My life is emptier without you in it.

Casual Police Shooting of Pets

Warning:  Rant follows...

I assure you I am not against policemen in general.  They are important members of our society.  I wouldn't want there to NOT be policemen.

I generally try to understand when policemen feel they have to shoot or taser violent people  Or violent dogs that truly threaten them.  It isn't easy sometimes, but I try.

And I don't care as much about dogs as many people do.  I'm a cat person.  I had to build a high fence around my yard to keep the cats safe from large dogs that roamed free.  So I don't love dogs...

But things seems to be getting out of hand when policemen can can shoot dogs as a matter of convenience when entering a house.  When improperly invading the house of innocent people, for example. In that case, police conducted a full SWAT-quality house assault on a family who were unknowingly delivered a package of drugs as part of a drug pickup trick.  The police casually and routinely immediately shot the dogs who barked at the intruders.

What good dog wouldn't bark at intruders?  They even shot one dog who was trying to run away!  That is wrong.  And I don't even like dogs.

And now, a new example of gun-madness by police.  Washington, DC has named Keith Shephard as the officer who shot Bear-Bear on Monday night. Bear-Bear was a Siberian Husky who was playing in a community dog park when Shephard, allegedly fearing for his life, shot the husky in defense.  Dog Park, get it?  A place where dogs get to run around together and be a temporary pack.  That involves a rare chance for the dogs to see who is the Alpha Dog!

Maybe it is true that the shot dog was aggressive.  But it was a dog park.  They are supposed to run around.  If you don't like it, you leave.   I once grabbed a large neighborhood dog by the spike collar and led him home.  He was scared, I was scared. But it didn't require a gun.

This is going beyond dogs.  I'm getting REAL pissed about too many policemen using lethal force on people and animals who don't really deserve it!  Tasers are killing too many people.  Policemen are shooting people too casually.

Do people have to start carrying guns to protect themselves from POLICEMEN?

It starts with shooting dogs casually.  Then Tasering people.  Then shooting people.  I don't like the way this is progressing.

I understand that police work CAN be dangerous, and that too often, policemen become used to dealing with criminals.  

But when they start to assume that everyone and even every dog they meet is a criminal or lethal threat deserving to be killed on sight, that has to stop...

Refrigerator Problems

I replaced an old refrigerator in 2000.  Mainly, I was tired of the fridge section on the bottom (I reach into the veggie tray a lot and the bending over was getting really tiring), and the door opened the wrong way.  Laugh, but I didn't know doors could be reversed at the time...

Well, right after the new one was installed, I learned the door stayed open unless deliberately closed because it was mis-leveled.  I could adjust the levels.  No problem.  Right!

I ended up detaching a wheel and having the whole thing fall on my hand (10 years ago).  I escaped serious injury, but ended up with a front corner on a block of wood.  There it sat for 10 years.  I kept meaning to have a repair service fix it properly, but I let it go.

Well, last year, the cooling started to fail.  I kept moving the control knob to more cooling.  Two weeks ago, I reached the maximum cooling setting.  I'm not stupid, I knew that meant it was running less and less eficiently, probably due to dust bunnies around the cooling tubes behind the fridge.  But I could pull it out to clean it because of the missing wheel.  I even found my owners manual and wrote down the repair telephone number to have the wheel replaces and the unit checked next Monday..

I waited a week too long.  The fridge failed last night!  This morning the fridge temperature was 60F.  The freezer is working just fine, which saved me about $50 in frozen foods.  I know it stayed cold because I keep an ice cube in a small sealed container.  I've done that for years, and it is a good trick.  If you are ever away and the power fails then returns, you will know because the ice cube melts then refreezes flat.  My ice cube was still a cube.

Fortunately, the old refridgerator is still working and down in the basement.  I moved everything I could to it, but there was a lot of stuff I couldn't feel safe about.  All stuff like mayonaise, salad dressings, and raw meat had to be trashed.  And I through out some stuff that was probably safe to keep (mustard, ketchup, tartar sauce).  Why take any chances for cheap stuff?

The old fridge warmed up in the time it took to fill it with the sodas and veggies and fruits and pickles from the upstairs fridge.  It took hours to cool down below 40F.  I suppose I can't even trust the milk I bought today.  So it goes tomorrow.  I guess I put too much volume at 60F in the old fridge for it to cool it all down quickly enough.

The aggravating part is that the soonest brand name repair appointment I can get is next Thursday.  Another generic repair place might be able to come out Tuesday, but I won't know til Monday.  I won't blame them for that because they keep appointment slots open for people who have refrigerated medications to deal with.  Those they take immediately.  That actually says good things for them.

But I may be dealing with awkward cooking arrangements for almost a week.  Blah...

At least I'll get the front wheel replaced so that I can pull the refridgerator out every few months and clean the coolant tubes...  But it serves me right for not dealing with this last year! 

More Problems

Well, I have to apologize.  I haven't really been doing anything worth mentioning lately.  Everything has just been to maintain the yard and house, and nothing worth taking a picture about.  I water the garden, spray some weeds, do laundry. Wow, how exciting...

OK, I have a few pictures but they are embarrassingly routine.

Here I am watering some plants...

I get bored holding the hose for 6 -7 minutes, so I jam the spading fork into the lawn and stick the hose nozzle in it.  It really works quite well, and I can pull weeds in the next part of the beds while the hose does it's thing.  Or sit in the shade and drink beer.  Guess which effort has been winning out in this heat?

Here is the groundcover I am watering.

It is called 'snow-on-the-mountain' and not happy in this MD heat.  It loves NH!  But it looks good April-June, survives July-August, and looks good again September-October in the shadiest areas.  Mostly, it is tenacious and keeps sending up fresh leaf stalks.  Each of these clumps were mere single leaves last Fall.  Next year, it will be a full groundcover.

The front hosta bed is looking good...

This is from May, but they haven't changed any (well, they have some flower stalks).  Watering 2x weekly has helped.

I picked some tomatoes 2 weeks ago...  Those were eaten up in 4 days.

Sadly, it was so hot in June that I only have small fruits developing now...  It was too hot for them to pollinate.

And it hasn't been much better in July.  So far, I have had 20 days over 90F degrees this month.  Today actually dipped below 80F, but I wasn't able to take advantage of that.  More about that tomorrow...

I picked my first ripe bell peppers of the season yesterday...

I was surprised the purple ones ripened before the red or orange ones.  I've grown purple ones a couple of times in the 90s, but these are the first to grow well.  They aren't as sweet as my Red Lipstick variety, but they look good in a salad.  They turn gray-green when sauteed, so I use them fresh.

Gee, I guess I did have some things to post about...

Raingutters Again

Well, at least I cleared the gutters over the deck today.  I have a mesh screen over them now.  I think I will pull them off.  They don't work!

They get covered with oak flowers, leaves, and twigs.  It finally occurred to me today that the rain runs down the roof, hits the debris on the top of the raingutter mesh, and flows right over it onto the deck.


Now, when I originally built the deck, I installed a proper flashing against the house.  In spite of that, rain got into the basement wall below.  So when I had the deck door replaced 5 years ago (believe it or not, but LC the cat cracked the double pane seal by head ramming it - I was there when it happened), I had the professional replace the nearby boards and the flashing.

Then again, the gutters fill with debris even with the covers and block the downspouts, so maybe the rain is backing up into the walls from there.  I don't know.  So I am going to take the covers off so I can clean them out a couple of times each year until someone designs a gutter cover that actually works.  From the research I've done, NO gutter cover actually works...

So I used a stepladder to clean out the gutter and downspout hole over the deck.  The cover made it a miserable effort, but I managed it.  Then I got out the old extension ladder.  The nylon rope had rotted (nylon rope rots?).  I found a replacement rope at the Home Depot.  I put it on wrong the first time and had to re-install it while it was up because I couldn't lower it because it was caught in the gutter (stabilizer bars wedged in the gutter covers).

Don't laugh yet, it gets better...

When I had the rope attached correctly, I pulled on it.  The pulley popped off.  I'm going to buy a new one as soon as they go on sale.

Meanwhile, the gutter has loosened right over my corn, and the washout beat several plants right out of the ground back when it rained in early June.  I replanted them and placed a sheet of plywood at an angle against the house to deflect gutterfall (naturally, that was the last rain for a month).  I only had to do that because my attempts to install new gutter nails was useless.  I think the board on the roof is rotted.

Meanwhile, 3/4 of the raingutters are clogged with debris.  I fear it is time for a roofing/gutter professional to do some repairs. 

Poison Ivy and Hoses

1.  The last of the poison ivy is turning a lovely shade of yellow as it dies.  YAY! 

2.  I finally moved different lengths of hoses around to get them matched to the lengths most useful.  I have a 4 outlet gang valve at the house.  2 of the valves hold hoses. 

1 hose goes to a post 20 feet from the gang valve (so I don't have to drag the hose through my flowerbed).  The hose there now just reaches another post and hose that extends the reach into woods (where I have astilbes and hostas  and ferns).  The hose there reaches a 3rd post and hose that reaches to the back of the yard where there are goatsbeard shrubs (Aruncus dioicus) that need more water than nature provides.  I got tired up coiling and uncoiling 150' of garden hose just to reach the back of the yard...  But the last hose broke and the repair coupling leaked in spite of my best efforts.  So I needed to replace it.

The other hose goes along the fence to the garden way in the back yard opposite the wooded area.  I only needed 50' of hose there and had 100'.  Well, that hose is now at the last stage of the woods hose train.

The front yard hose was too short to reach the corners, so I bought an additional one a few years ago.  Great, now I could water the neighbors' yards.  That one alone is long enough for the front yard.  So the older shorter one there is now in the garden area!

Don't worry, it all works out perfectly.  But It sure took a lot of stretching hoses out and pacing off their lengths to figure out what needed to go where...  And a lot of moving them around and sealing the new connections with plumbers tape.  I think the neighbors were quite entertained watching me drag hoses back and forth.  LOL!

3.  I did buy one new hose.  I regret it though.  I went for the best.  An industrial quality unkinkable 3/4" hose that is UV and mold immune.  Sounded great!  But the hose is as stiff as a board.  It is nearly impossible to coil on a hose holder.  It is now the first hose in the front, where it will almost never have to be uncoiled move than a couple of coils.  Meaning that if I have to water the mailbox daylilies (a rare event) I will need to undo only 2 coils of it.

The good news is that, in case of nuclear war, there will be 2 things left on the property - moles and that garden hose.

RAIN!!!

Finally, it rained yesterday!  And not a thunderstorm of 20 minutes where a lot of the rain would wash off the concrete-like lawn.  It was a nice steady drizzle 3 separate times.  It only totalled 5/8", but every drop soaked into the soil! 

Merely 1 hour after the first morning rain, I could see underwatered plants perking up all around the yard.  Even plants that I had been watering every few days looked happier.  It takes a LOT of watering to match even a meager rain! 

Still, we are just entering the traditional dry season, so I expect it is going to be a long hard Summer...

I'll try to put a good spin on it:  The mosquitos are having a harder time of it than I am.  Even those damn Asian Tiger mosquitoes need "some" water to lay their eggs in.  May they all die unreproductively...

Back At Work

I meant this to post July 8th, but typed 18th, so it didn't show when I expected.  The reason I'm doing this will be obvious when I post about "today" tomorrow...  LOL!

July 8th - Well, with the beastly temperatures of the past month, plus straining an ankle (twice) so that I was limping around pretty bad for 2 different weeks, I have gotten back on some projects the past few days.  But first, some summary about the weather:

High temperatures - The average high here is about 80-85 degrees in June.  We had only 2 days that were (barely) below average.  We had 12 days in a row where the temp got above 90, and we set local records on 2 days (99 and 100 degrees).  There is a measurement called "degree days" where the daily high degrees above 65 are accumulated (a high of 85 means there were 20 degree days for the date).  The "normal to date" is 431.  The "actual to date" is 713!  In June alone, there were 472.

Rainfall - We haven't reached the average rainfall for any month this year.  Normal to date is 19".  So far, we have had 13.6".  My lawn already looks like it normally does by mid August.  Ive seen poison ivy plants dying from the lack of rainfall.  I seldom water the flowerbeds, but I have had to do it every few days for the past 3 weeks because the plants wilt so badly. The garden veggies do get regular watering, but that is routine in any year. 

I don't use large water-sprinklers, mainly because I can live with the lawn grass going dormant for the summer, and because little of my flowerbeds and garden (non-lawn) benefit from large rectangular watering patterns.  So I water by hand in specific spots.  Standing in one place watering is too boring, so I have learned that a D-shaped spading fork handle holds a hose nozzle quite nicely.  Stick the fork in the lawn, aim the hose nozzle to fall only on the flowerbeds, leave it in one spot for a good 5 minutes (quite a lot of water in one small area), then move it 6' to the next spot.

The downside is that I have to stay outside the whole time (about 2 hours).  The upside is that, instead of holding the hose, I get to sit in the shade listening to the radio while sipping on a beer (or two).  And while sitting, I get to watch the local wildlife.

For example, today I watched a hummingbird feed from the butterfly bush, some salvias, a cardinal flower, and a daylily.  I watched the finches feeding at the thistle seed feeder.  I watched cardinals at the sunflower feeder.  I saw squirrels chasing each other through the trees.  I watched hundreds of bees at the various flowers.  Most are bumbles, but there are also a fair number of honeybees around my flowers I'm organic and I think that helps them), and I have learned to recognize a number of smaller less-common native bees.

I have even noticed that many of the "bumblebees" are actually Sphinx moths (aka hummingbird moths).  Sadly, the Spinx moth caterpillar is the dreaded tomato hornworm, which can really chew up tomato leaves.  But they aren't originating here, because I thoroughly inspect my tomato plants for them every week.  So I can enjoy the adult's graceful nectar-feeding habit at the flowers without worrying that their babies are eating my tomato plants!

Speaking of the tomatoes, they are doing very well.  I have 8 plants of 5 main season heirloom varieties this year (Brandywine, Cherokee Purple, Prudens Purple, Aunt Gertie's Gold, and Tennessee Britches) plus one regular cherry tomato growing from a hanging bucket.  There are a few fruits "breaking color", so I should have my first ripe ones soon.  I can hardly wait!

I did the 3rd (and possibly last) poison ivy spraying for the season today.  There is an overgrown corner of the backyard I have been clearing out gradually.  I would dig up scrub saplings and regular vines for a few feet across and 20' wide, then expose another large clump of poison ivy and spray it.  Then 2 weeks later, rake those away and dig up a few more feet.  I will reach the fence next time!  Then I can decide what to do with the spot.  I think I will plant azaleas.  The spot seems good for them, and they are relatively low maintenance.  I sure don't want any more lawn...

I was lucky with that area.  It was originally for stacking firewood.  But I don't use the fireplace much anymore and the wood started to rot.  It got overgrown in the first place because I didn't need to get at the old firewood and it became a dumping space for cut saplings.  I was afraid there would be hornets or yellow jackets in there, but thankfully, none.  No termites either, which surprised me.  I think I can just spread the decayed firewood around on the ground as mulch for the azaleas.

I am hoping to get back to projects with some photo potential this week...

Happy Independence Day, America

As has been my habit for many years, I went out on the deck and read the Declaration of Independence aloud.  I do not shout it, there is no audience, and I do it for my own pleasure and remembrance.

But I thought I would also post it here because it is worth seeing the entire document...

---

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.