Almost Delivered

The DR brand self-propelled brush mower arrived at the nearest delivery depot they use today.  Its a Fedex depot.  I chose that because DR ships stuff freight and the options were (since a freight truck can't back up into my driveway and get out in my dead end residential street):  I offload a 250 pound crate from the truck (yeah, right) at no charge or the truckers uses the tailgate to lower the crate to ground level and pushes it off (on the street) for $99.  I considered that, as the mower is probably mostly assembled and it would mean I mostly had to break the crate apart (we are not talking cardboard boxes here).

For no charge, I could have it delivered to a depot and pick it up or arrange redelivery into my garage.  Well, it was a Fedex depot, and they deliver stuff in trucks that can manage residential driveways.  And I could pick it up for free if I drove there and they would load it on my hauling trailer.

So I called Fedex about residential delivery.  I should have called them before I ordered the brush mower.  The depot is out of my delivery area.  They can have it redelivered by a contract company though.

But the Fedex person asked a question I did not expect.  "Do you have permission from the shipper to have a 3rd party pick it up and deliver it to you"?  I had to admit I did not specifically have such permission.  So they are emailing the shipper to receive that permission.

When you get a question you did not expect, it can be hard to think of follow-up questions on the spot.  So I said, yes please email the shipper.

Afterwards, it occurred to me I should have asked why permission was needed.  After all, the shipper had completed the delivery (to the Fedex depot).  Why would they be involved in any further movement of the crate? 

In my working career, I was very good at asking follow-up questions to surprises like that.  These days, not so much.  It might be age, experience with the subject matter at work, less frequency of experiencing surprise questions these days, etc.

But anyway, now I'm waiting for a company to give me permission to have a 3rd party pick up my crate at a depot and deliver it into the garage.  I expect they will grant such permission as a routine matter.

I could drive 40 miles to the Fedex depot and pick it up at any time.  But towing a heavy crate on a 5'x8' trailer is not the safest thing in the world.  And I really hate driving long distances.  40 miles with a trailer is "long" to me.

Everything will get resolved successfully eventually.  I can't WAIT to cut down that 1/8th acre of blackberries, plant some specimen trees and get that part of my back yard back!

Movies

I'm not a great movie-watcher.  Mostly sci-fi.  But I've watched some good movies.  One was 'True Grit'  (some movies are just unique) and today I found a remake offerred from 2010 free TV.  I had some doubts.  The Texas Ranger seemed sexist.  I mean, when I first switched to the movie, he seemed a bit "stalkish".  So I went elsewhere, but I went back.  I mostly never like remakes.  And I hardly ever remember names.

So, the girl character was right, Rooster Cogburn was right, the Texas Ranger was mostly right (Glenn Campbell seemed more honorable in the original) but got better as the movie went along.

The bad guys were good as actors (and bad guys are seldom good actors). 

In fact what impressed me was that all the characters were as good or better than the originals.  I think even the bad guys did a good job of being bad.   If there was an award for "best remake", I would suggest the 2010 version of 'True Grit'.

Watch it if you get the chance...

Odds and Ends

1.  I had to dispatch another groundhog a few days ago.  I've gotten in the habit of finding their burrows, stuffing the carcass into the opening, and covering the opening with the dirt from around the burrow.  Well, this last one made a weird entrance that was just under soil level.  I covered the carass and tamped down the soil.  I do that because I figure new varmints MUST sometimes intersect old burrows and the existence of a dead groundhog ought to discourage the new ones.

I noticed some movement around the burrow the next day, and realized there were 3 vultures standing on my toolshed!  I went out (and they flew away) and discovered just a slight exposure of the groundhog from pecking at the soil. 

I've seen nature shows that state that vultures find dead food only by sight.  They are wrong.  The burrow was not visible at all due to thick overhanging overgrowth.  They can smell as well as see.  After I covered the carcass with 4" more dirt, they came back the next day.  So then I covered it with heavy boards.  They haven't been back.

2.  I lost power today.  No storm, no lightning, it just went off for an hour.  That was a surprise.  The bigger surprise was that my computer went off.  I have a backup battery for it, but it didn't activate.  I did some chores by dim daylight (cleaned litterboxes, collected trash, prepared veggies and chicken for dinner, and listened to a battery backed-up radio.  I have buried electrical cables here, so outages are rare.  Which means I forget how much I depend on electricity.

I had to laugh at myself when I tried to open the garage door (electric opener), walked into rooms and flipped light switches, etc.  I've read that leaving too many electrical things on after a power failure can throw circuit breakers when the power returns from sudden demand, so I went around and turned off everything I could expect for a couple lights to let me know when the power returned.

3.  It has been raining for so long that my tomatoes and beans are dying.  I picked all the ripe tomatoes and most are cracked open from all the water and fungal diseases are rampant.  Fortunately, I have 3 tomato plants that are under the rainshadow of the overhanging roof.  I means that in dry times, I have to water them more, but in rain, they do better.  And they are all looking healthy and loaded with fruits.

4.  The mosquitos are breeding like crazy.  The ground is so wet, the larvae are surviving in places one would never expect.  Even when I drain planting pot saucers carefully each day, there is enough moisture left (and new rain) to keep them alive.  I even found some growing in a slight depression in a tree branch (I drilled a hole through the depression on advice from a garden site).

5.  The constant rain is depressing.  I stepped out on the deck yesterday just as the sun broke through briefly (must have been the one hole in the clouds for hundreds of square miles) and got a bit silly.  I pretended I was burned by the strange light in the sky.  As if I was Gollum tied with an Elven rope).  But seriously, everytime it isn't actually raining, I let the Mews out so they don't go stir-crazy.  They have been stuck inside so much for weeks, I'm cleaning the litterboxes 2 and even 3 times a day.  Which tells me how much of their "business" they do outside...

6.  I may have gotten the mower running again, but it isn't a happy engine.  I mentioned fishing some debris out of the gas tank.  It makes funny noises when it does start, so I suspect some debris has been sucked into the fuel tube.  I've looked, but the fuel line is cleverly hidden from DIYers like me.  I can't even figure out how to get at it.  I've lived here 30 years.  The first mower lasted 10 years.  This one is 20 years old.  It might be a good time to just buy a new one.  New ones cut better and more levelly and use less gas.  I might buy a "zero-turn mower".  And maybe I just want a new one.

7.  Speaking of "new ones", my Toyota Highlander is 13 years old.  Things are starting to go wrong.  It only has 28,500 miles on it (I don't drive much).  But age matters too.  Last year, I brought it in for regular maintenance.  They did the work, but suggested I replace the timing belt, all engine belts, and the waterpump.  IIRC, they suggested a cost of about $1,000.

I declined at the time, but they planted a seed of concern in my mind.  Now I worry about the timing belt breaking.  That means the car just STOPS and there isn't anything you can do about it.  You can only have it towed somewhere to have a lot of work done.

Well, I've been thinking it was time to replace the car.  I've been hoping to wait for a decent electric vehicle that could tow a small utility trailer (or even a fuel cell vehicle), but I don't think I can wait much longer.  

Because I called the dealer and asked about the cost of the timing belt and the other work.  Over $2,300!  I'll call a non-dealer repair shop and get an estimate, but it probably won't be much different.

Which leaves me in a slight dilemma.  I don't want a new car with all sorts of internet connections built in (privacy concerns plus I just wouldn't use them - but tell me why I might want them) and I don't like to buy used cars (someone traded it in for a reason). 

I am considering a new Toyota Highlander (for familiarity) or a Subaru Forester.  Both have top Consumer Reports ratings and I am used to SUVs.  Since I drive so little, gas mileage isn't a concern.  I also have some idea of buying a renovated car from my younger days plus a small electric-only vehicle for local errands. 

Oddly enough, a renovated Pontiac Bonneville Convertible or Eagle Vision (my 2 favorite cars I've owned) and a small electric wouldn't cost much more than a new Highlander (and there is a shop in town that specializes in services old cars). 

8.  I mentioned the house is 30 years old.  It needs work.  I redid the roof and siding a few years ago, but the inside is OLD.  30 year old cheap carpeting is literally something to sneeze at.  I'm almost afraid to vacuum it lest it just falls apart.  I'm fine with most of the house.  I don't need any walls removed, kitchen renovations, etc.  But my furniture is like that of a college grad in his first apartment with old hand-me-down mismatched stuff from the parents and leftovers from previous roommates.  I have windows that can't be opened, and plaster-patches left over from electric work 3 years ago.  It is bwyond DIY work for me.  I need to change all that and get a general contractor in here. 

9.  Time for a new Will, too.  What I arranged in the 90s doesn't match what I need today.  Different family needs, different charities, and my assets have changed too (the stock market I poured savings into in 2009 has been very very good to me). 

10.  The house is a mess.  I used to clean weekly before Dad moved here in 2012, I cleaned more often when he was here (to avoid listening to his beloved Fox News), but I've been lax since he left.  There may be some cobwebs in the tall corner of the staircase from his time here.  I need to spend some time catching up. 

11.  I have 2 toolsheds.  I built one 25 years ago.  The other was built by a professional 10 years ago.  Mine leaks.  If it ever stops raining before Winter, I will replace it.  Properly, this time.

Enough for now.

Bad Lawn Overseeding Advice

So, to make sure I didn't forget anything since the last time I overseeded my lawn, I went to the internet.  OMG, what nonsense I found.

WikiHow seemed like a good place to start.  What they said at first matched what I remembered.  But then it got weird.

They had 2 sections; overseeding an existing lawn and seeding a new lawn.  I ONLY looked at the overseeding part.  They said to cut the grass short (right), and dethatch if necessary (right) and rough up bare spots (right).

But then they said to till the soil 1-2" deep and rake the debris away.  Whoa!  Why cut the grass and then till it away?  That is for new lawns.  They messed up their instructions.

So I looked at another site about lawn care.  They said to overseed your fescue lawn in early September (here) when the high temperature is 55-70F.  OOPS!  The temp isn't 55-70 until mid October at best (here).  And fescue germinates best at 75-85F.  Another fail!

Where do these sites get their information?  Do they just ask some random stranger?  Do they just make it up?

I'm going to visit WikiHow and see if there is a way I can correct their disinformation.

Meanwhile, my plans to overseed the lawn are at a standstill.  Not because of bad internet advice, but because of weather.  I thought I had things planned well.  The soil was wet, but there was a 4 day forecast of non-rain.  The first morning, I would aerate the lawn and mow the existing grass short, rake a few bare spots caused by my trailer to help the seed settle in, and spread the seed.

As mentioned previously, I got half the yard aerated and mowed when the mower ran out of gas.  It was afternoon the next day before I got it running again and finished the job just in time for a surprise rainstorm (and it rained the next day too).  You can't spread seed in wet grass.  It sticks to the exiting grass blades (now reaching the soil), and rain makes the seeds rot.

Well, I could wait a few days for it to dry out.  No such luck.  It kept drizzling off and on for several more days.  Then there were thunderstorms for a couple days.  And now there is Hurricane Florence coming.  Heavy rain will loosen rooting grass and kill it, and unrooted seeds will wash into ripples across the lawn downslope. 

So I've been forced to wait.  The good news is that Hurricane Florence is predicted to take a more westerly course when it makes landfall in 3 days.  And then it should move east again as it weakens.  So maybe now more rain for a while after the weekend.  Then I can do the preparation all over again and finally spread the grass seed. 

We have had an bizarre number of rainy days this summer, and some weeks have had a lot of volume of rain as well.  My 6" capacity rain gauge has been filled a couple times, and 2" every couple days is routine. 

This is really unusual.  A decade ago, it was routine to have the soil in my lawn crack open from dryness in August and the grass go brown and dormant until late September.  Today, I pushed a 12" screwdriver into the soil easily right to the handle.

Weather variations are maddening!

9-11

Never forgive, never forget. 

I remember the images of people leaping to certain death to escape the flames.  The swan dive of one woman.  Another women pushing her hands against a building wall as she fell to avoid having her skin ripped off by contact.  I remember the buildings falling in seeming slow motion.

I remember seeing the 2nd one start to fall and my co-workers thinking at first that it was a news repeat of the 1st and me shouting that it was the 2nd too.

I remember the "thud" under my feet when the plane hit the Pentagon.

I remember everyone crowding the street with their cars to get away and thinking the last place I wanted to be was in a traffic jam like a sitting duck.

I remember standing on the roof of the building, a block away from the White House, watching the skies for the 4th plane.  And relieved to hear the passengers had attacked and overpowered the hijackers over Pennsylvannia.  And then so sad to learn they had all died forcing the plane out of control of the hijackers to save others.

I will not forget this event just as my parents did not ever forget Pearl Harbor.  I will not forgive this event just as others will never forgive WWII atrocities. 

And I expect that history will reveal that some of our Middle East "allies" knew about this.

Another Day In The Life, Part 2.

So it was Friday.  The mower still wasn't starting.  But the battery was turning over the drive shaft like crazy.  It should have started.  I mean, all that happened was that it was running fine, ran out of gas and I refilled it.

I'm not a gas engine mechanic.  I know the theory better than the reality.  But theory helps.  I can do some simple things.  So after trying to start it again, I went for the basics.  I removed the air filter and beat the dust out of it.  I checked the oil (fine).  I checked the throttle to make sure it was working (it was).  I looked at the manual to see the things that would prevent the engine from starting (blade engaged, brake not on, no gas, spark plug wires firmly attached, etc).  None of those.  Mower just wouldn't start. 

I tried a trick I learned from a mechanic about spraying some carburator cleaner into the carburator and then trying to start the engine.  I saw some drops of gas spitting out of the top of the carburator.  No go.

It was hot and humid and I was getting pissed.  I went inside and made lunch and drank a lot of water.

Later I went back out and asked the mower why it wasn't starting.  I pulled the spark plugs.  They were fine.  Very clean.  No deposits or oil.  The gap looked right.  Put them back in.  I decided the carburator just wasn't getting gas. 

So I took off the gas cap and looked inside.  There was a BUNCH OF DEBRIS ON THE BOTTOM!  HUH?

So I figured I had to get that stuff out.  As far as I could tell, you can't remove the gas tank with out removing the engine and I sure wasn't going to do THAT!  Far beyond my skills.  I was about to try crushing an aquarium net to "fish" around in there to collect the debris, but I remembered a weird little "grabber" gadget I had for retrieving lost screws around engines and under tool benches. 

I grabbed onto the largest piece and pulled it out carefully.  It was a piece of gasket!  I looked at the gas cap and saw it matched a stud to hold the piece.  OMG!  The gas cap gasket broke and fell into the gas tank after I filled it the day before.

I took several more pieces out.  And, to my surprise, some of them were bits of leaves!  I can't figure out how THEY got in there.  Long story short, I removed a dozen bits of junk out of the gas tank. 

So the mower started right up after that, right?  Wrong!  But I'll say one thing for Walmart batteries; they keep chugging.  I got weird sounds, hisses, and a slight thunk.  And all of a sudden, it started.  I was not expecting that. 

And you better believe I drove it all around the yard for an hour mowing the last parts of the lawn short and recharging my brave little battery!  I even got all the grass clippings piled into two 3'wide rows.

That was so I could rake them into piles and cart them to my compost bins.  You can't lay down grass seed on clippings because the emerging roots need soil contact.  I collected 3 trash barrels full of grass clippings. 

Success sometimes comes hard.  A bit of knowledge, a bit of "just trying stuff", a bit of looking for the odd problem, and a bit of luck makes a difference.

Now all I have to is rough up the bare spots with a rake and spread the grass seed all over the lawn.  I have fescue grass here.  It clumps rather than spreads, so it needs to be reseed every few years to stay looking full.  But it is a vigorous grass.  Bluegrass would look nicer, but it gets too hot here and I don't get enough sunlight for it.  I spread a sun/shade mix of tall turf fescue when I renovate.

And I read up on the procedures each time I overseed, just to make sure I don't forget good hints.  Apparently, my experience is better than many internet sites, because you wouldn't believe some of the nonsense I read this week!

And THAT is tommorow's post...

Another Day In The Life, Part 1

So, I decided to renovate the lawn.  That means cutting the grass down to 1",  aerating the lawn, collecting all the grass-clippings so that new seed can reach the ground and get some sunlight, and watering the lawn slightly 2x a day to keep the seeds moist.

I thought I had the timing perfect.  Aerate the lawn with my core aerator (pulls 3"x1/4" plugs of soil out of the ground and deposits them on the surface.  That allows air and water and fertilizer to get deep into the soil, and reduces compaction.

And since I was going to be dragging the aerator across the lawn with the riding mower, I would mow the grass short in a pattern that threw the grass clippings into just a couple of 4" wide rows.

Then I would rake the grass up and save it for the compost pile.  Then spread the grass seed.  The weather forecast was for occasional rain for the next week.  Perfect for the seeds to germinate in 80 degree temps.

Well, that was the PLAN...

The aerator has a tray on the top for putting heavy stuff on the top to make the aerator tubes sink deeply. 

I bought solid cinder blocks for it years ago.  And I added more weight this time (the ground was a bit dry).

No plan works...  As soon as I started (1 pm Wednesday), I discovered the aerator tires were flat and one was tire was off the wheel.  I had to take all the heavy stuff off and raise the end of the aerator off the ground supported by bricks.  Taking off the tire was awkward.  There was one bolt on the outside and 2 on the inside.  Only the farthest inside bolt held by a wrench allowed the outside bolt to be loosened.  With the wheel off, I had to reinflate the tire.

Of COURSE it didn't have a tube inside.  That would have been too easy.  I had to get the tire re-seated onto the metal wheel in order to get any air to stay in it.  I know from past experience that pressure on the outside of the tire can get the tire re-seated onto the wheel.  I spent an hour struggling to do that, to no avail.  Well, I worked at a tire company briefly, and I remembered they had an air-pressurized tube that went around small tires to press the tire to the wheel.  I don't have one of those.  I was dripping with sweat and worn out, so I stopped for an hour.  Drank 3 glasses of water.

When I was cooled down, I tried to think of ways to squeeze the tire onto the wheel.  I have an air pump to add a lot of air through the valve all at once.  With that attached to the valve, I tried twisting a rope around it, and I tried turning a loop of rope with a crowbar.  That didn't work.  I tried putting the tire in my bench vise and using some wood clamps across the tire in 3 directions.  That didn't work.

Damn!  I finally thought of ratcheting straps (like you use to hold a boat to a trailer.  That was awkward.  12' of strap around a 8" tire takes a lot of winding.  And the straps I had only get to 6' short (from 12').  I finally managed to hook the end of the strap at a point where the ratchet would really tighten.

It didn't work.  Well, not the 1st time or the 2nd or the 3rd or 4th.    But eventually, by pounding the sides of the tire with a rubber mallet, the seal finally caught suddenly!  YAY, HOORAY, and HALALULEAH!!!  It caught suddenly and filled...  I couldn't find anything on the tire that said what PSI to fill it, but I went for 12 as that seemed tight but with a slight "give".

So I brought it back outside and put the wheel back on the axle.  Being a sensible type, I also  checked the other tire.  It was at "0" but the bead to the wheel had not broken.  So I dragged the air pump outside and filled it to 12 psi too.

By that time it was 5 pm.  I decided to stop for the day and make dinner.

Thursday, I went all around the yard, aerating and mowing at the same time (very slowly so the aerator tubes could sink into the soil).  Just before I was done, the mower ran out of gas.  Well, I had more gas in the can, so I refilled it.  And then the mower wouldn't start again! 

OK, I guess I put a lot of stress on the riding mower hauling the aerator around with all that weight on it.  But why the mower wouldn't start was confusing.  I'm barely competent with gas engines.  I thought maybe I flooded the carburator.  I decided to stop for the day and I covered the mower with a tarp due to the possibility of rain.

And the next day is tomorrow's post...

More In The Life

1.  Sometimes the silliness never ends.  I previously mentioned that the new lawn mower arrived without 2 simple bolts and 2 simple knobs (fancy screw-on nuts).  I called the company and gave them the model number and serial number they needed to send me the missing parts.  They arrived.  Well, "some" parts arrived.

They sent me one knob and a "camshaft adjuster".   So I called the company again yesterday.  20 minutes on hold with music that alternated between barely detectable and silent.  I got an agent.  I explained I had received the wrong "missing parts" and gave her the ticket number.  She got that right up on her computer and confirmed my name.

So she checked the details of the ticket and found the original person I had spoken to had mis-entered the model number.  She was very apologetic.  After checking with the technical support office, she confirmed the error and the correct parts.

As part of "customer service", they are sending me a 2nd mower blade along with correct parts (and we discussed exactly what those parts were).  I doubt the additional mower blade will be of much value.  I'm using this small electric mower for trim work, so I doubt the blade will ever need to be replaced or sharpened.  I did appreciate the offer. 

So in a week, I will have the correct bolts and screw on knobs.  I already have the handles secured with blots and nuts I bought yesterday at Home Depot.  Works fine.  But it leaves the bolt ends sticking outward where I am sure to catch myself on someday.  The knobs would cover that.

But the deal is that the bolts were missing to begin with, I had to spend 30 minutes on hold to get the initial request (with was a failure), had to call a 2nd time (20 minutes). 

2.  I have sometimes gotten leg cramps laying in bed at night.  I started eating a banana each day a month ago and taking magnesium supplements (both suggested in a vitamin book I have) and hadn't had any cramps at night since then. 

Until 4 days ago.  My right calf muscle suddenly cramped and it was worse than before.  I remembered that the muscle cream (Aspercreme - contains aspirin) said something about relieving muscle cramps and smeared some all over the area.  The cramp went away almost immediately, but the next morning the muscle was tender and painful when I walked for about an hour.  It actually felt that the muscle was ripped.

Then 2 nights ago, the left calf muscle cramped and it was worse.  The Aspercreme helped but not as well.  Walking around (which usually solves the problem) was only partially helpful.  I had to carefully sleep with that leg fully extended.  The next morning I was limping around an hour.

I feel fine again now, but that stuff is painful.  And it makes it a bit worrisome about what positions I sleep in.

3.  I had some kitchen stuff I wanted, so I went to Bed,Bath&Beyond with discount coupons in hand.  My pepper grinder had broken, a timer had failed, my corn-butterer broke, my wine bottle foil cutter wasn't cutting anymore, I wanted a small slotted spoon to get olives out of the jar, and I wanted a good wine-puller (one on those neat things that you just push on and the cork "magically" comes out).

Oh the hardships of life... 

But I discovered the BB&B prices were idiotic even with the coupons.  $25 for a good salt grinder? Or matching pepper grinder.  And even funnier, buying the 2 together as a set was MORE expensive than the 2 individual.  Those people are NUTS! 

They wanted $8 for a corn-butterer. 

So I went to Amazon and found the same stuff at half the price (but oddly, the corn-butterer at almost 2x the price.  The stuff I want doesn't meet the Amazon threshhold for free shipping, so they sit in my cart waiting for something else to add.

4.  My riding lawn mower collects grass clippings around the exposed belt drives.  Cleaning them all out is a pain.  But I have an electric blower.  I bought it to blow fallen leaves off the screened garden enclosure because last year snow collected on the fallen leaves and actually bent the metal poles supporting the top.  And then I blew all the fallen tree debris off my deck.  Sure beats sweeping.  So It occurred to me to try it on the grass clippings in the mower belts.  Worked great!

5.  I mowed my spring bulb bed.  Mowed the butterfly bed bed too.  The electric mower is impressive.  I plan to cover both to supress weeds.  This year, the weeds took over.

6.  Dug into the trailer half-full of compost.  Filled up 8 kitty litter tubs full in a yard cart.  But they were all soaked with rain in spite of a tarp covering the trailer.  So they will have to sit inside a week to dry out.  I need the compost dry so I can sift it through a 1/4" screen to mix it with peat and sand and vermiculite for seed starting soil next Spring.  The rest will go onto the butterfly bed to improve the soil.

7.  Cooked a lot yesterday.  10 chicken thighs marinated in leftover olive juice.  Baked in a roaster pan with 2 sliced lemons, 4 shallots.  Added a cup of olives and some cornstarch slurry the last 10 minutes.  Came out great!

8.  While walking off the leg cramp, I noticed my motion-activated floodlights were on.  I looked out a window and saw a deer frozen in place.  It was looking at my remaining hostas.  I finally snuck out the side door and ran at it yelling and screaming.  THAT got it moving away fast.  I should get my crossbow set up (stringing it is a pain).  Deer don't fear us these days; time to give them a reason.

9.  Need to replace the roof on the old toolshed.  25 years old, and shingles are missing, leading to rain dripping into it.  I originally just put 4'x8' sheets of interior plywood on top with shingles thinking that was good enough.  I didn't know about roofing felt then.  I can't lift whole 4x8 sheets anymore, but I can cut them in half and match the cuts on the roof.  THEN I'll add roofing felt and new shingles.  I have to remove the existing roof first though, and I'm not looking forward to that.

10.  I saved a few Sweet Flag plants from my pond renovation this Spring.  I put them in tubs of water.  One tub just died off for some unknown reason but I noticed there were tadpoles in the water.  OK, I'm a curious person so I netted as many as I could into a bowl of water and brought them inside.  It took a while the shift them from bowl to bowl until the mosquito larvae were gone.  But they are inside and I'm going to watch them develop to frogs.  I added some aquarium plants to the bowl for them to nibble on and put a pan splatter screen on the top (in case I missed a mosquito larva).

Farewell John McCain

John McCain was not of my political party.  John McCain was not of my politics. 

But he was a unique person on the political landscape.  I admired him even when I disagreed with him (which was often).  But it wasn't "always" either.  And that "always" is the thing we have lost these days.  The ability to sometimes agree with people you normally disagree with is essential to democracy...

A Soviet Chess Grandmaster (I forgot who) once said "I sometimes forget my opponents have good ideas too".  That applies to politics too.  John McCain sometimes had "good ideas too".  He was a very good Senator, who spoke honestly and directly.  That is a quality we will all miss.

We will never know whether he would have been a good President.  He might have been a great one or a terrible one.   History suggests mavericks can go either way.  I've tried to think of when he would have been a better President than the person who won.  It's difficult.  He probably would have been the right person to campaign against Gore in 2000.  I would have been twisted in knots about that choice, and either would have been better than Bush.

In 2008, I was torn between McCain and Obama, but decided that Obama was likely better at organizing the office and managing the affairs of government.  It wasn't easy.  My heart was for McCain, my mind was for Obama.

The deciding factor was that McCain would bring the Republican party into power and I thought the Democrats would do better overall.  But it was very close.  Both men seemed honest, honorable, and thoughtful.  And Palin mattered.  It signaled to me he was a good Senator who maybe didn't have a great talent for choosing qualified people to work around him.  There is something to be said for getting good subordinate executive managers.   Just look at Trump for examples of that.

If it was "just the President", I would have gone with McCain, hoped that Obama would run again in 2016 with more Senate experience, and won then. 

But that is all water over the dam now.  We have lost a person who was so very honorable, brave, and willing to think for himself.  Yes, "honorable, brave, and willing to think" does not necessarily mean a great executive,  but it is probably better than the opposite.  We could sure use more people like him than fewer.

Farewell John McCain...

A Day In The Life

I wake up and the mews are all around me.  Marley is under the covers, Iza is at a corner of the bed, Ayla is on the other side pushing ito the crook of my knees.  I can't move.

So I pet them all sitting up to let them know I an GETTING up and breakfast is on the way.

The cats are fed, so I do MY morning stuff.  Get dressed, brush teeth, etc.

I walk out on the deck to see what the day is like.  If it looks bad, I go in and check The Weather Channel on the computer.  Stay on the computer for an hour...  I check Statcounter and it isn't working.  All zeroes.  It wants me to reload "code".  I look at the instructions and decide to do it later.

Turn on the TV to see what Trump has tweeted overnight.  Usual nonsense.  Heat water for my green tea.  Make a half sandwich for lunch (with celery/carrot/cucumber strips) and read the newspaper.  I'm 3 weeks behind.  Which is cool because it means I can skip the sports section, read the bad predictions in the editorials, and get straight to the comics. 

Lunch done, go out to see if the bird feeders need refilling, drop a few goldfish flakes in the small pond, stare at the 10th acre of wild blackberries that need to be cut down (someday), pull all the weeds in one framed garden bed.  Pick beans and tomatoes.

Hear a truck in the driveway.  Oh good, my electric mower arrived.  I got tired of fighting to start the gas powered one.  It for trim work.  I still have the riding mower for the bulk of the lawn. 

Drag the electric mower box into the basement.  The instructions are wretched.  Drawings are way too small.  But I'm not new at this.  I figure everything out, except there are special-fit bolts missing.  I call the company.  They want my purchase number, serial number, and model number.  I understand why the last one matters, but why the serial number?  Do they think I would spend 20 minutes on the phone to get 2 free bolts? 

Well, maybe they can track the serial number to the poor sap who boxed my mower so they can execute him and dishonor his entire family (its from China).  But the nice person says they will send my the missing bolts in 5-7 business days.  I could get them from Home Depot for $2 but it is the principle of the thing.  I will will stupidly deny myself the use of this interesting new toy until the bolts arrive.

So I go outside again.  The pollinating flower garden is a coplete failure this year.  Massive weeds.  I decide to pull them out.  After the 3rd mosquito bite in 2 minutes, I go inside and spritz my arms and neck with Deet.  The weeds are 3' feet tall, but pull out of the dry soil easily.  After those, I focus on another variety and pull those.  Last, I get the crabgrass and mock strawberry out.

There is almost nothing left.  A few Purple Coneflowers.  I'll have to start again.  This time, I will cover the bed with black plastic to smother all the weeds and hope that leaves me a new bed for next Spring.

The Meadow Bed has problems too, but at least there are flowers growing.  I'll try to pull weeds tomorrow.

I collected rainwater for a few days in large trays.  So, before the mosquitos find the water, I transfer it to smaller containers.  Those 12# kitty litter containers are good for that.  And I found a few large funnels on Amazon once that make it easy to fill them.  The funnel is the size of a  helmet.

The saved rainwater is for my 6 Venus Fly Traps.  They need pure water; tap water is poison to them.  So I have about 12 gallons of rainwater now, capped and stored in the basement.

Back in the basement, I find a large envelope on the floor.  Not addressed to me.  Huh?  Don't even recognize the address.  Must have been stuck to the lawn mower box.  Great!  Now I am obligated to return it to UPS.  I saw the truck go down my street, and went to get it to hand it over.

But OF COURSE, I had left the car outside on the driveway for the first time in several years so I could clean the garage a bit.  So I had to go back upstairs to grab the car keys and get the envelope out.  Missed him by "THIS MUCH" (shades of Maxwell Smart).    5 seconds...  And I had stood inside for 10 seconds debating whether I could flag the guy down...  He who hesitates...

So I went back inside.  A few things to do there.  I wanted to rearrange some stuff hanging on the bedroom walls and add some.  So I needed my small container of picture hanger hooks.  Which were nowhere to be found. 

They were supposed to be in the kitchen junk drawer where things like tape, batteries, flashlight bulbs, birthday candles, bag clips, etc are kept.  Not there.  So I had a mental picture of them in a small drawer of one of those storage boxes you get from hardware stores.  Checked them all.  No hangers.  I KNOW I have a lot of pictures hangers "somewhere.

I ended up reorganizing my shelves of odd nails and screws while searching for the picture hangers.  Did a good job too!  Old bags of nails are now in small boxes and labeled.  All the different toggle bolts are together in a plastic bag.  Weird stuff like old deadbolt locks (with keys) are in plastic bags.

But no picture hangers.  So I had a list of stuff that was cheaper to buy at Walmart (butter, milk, ginger ale, etc).  So off to Walmart I went.

Found almost everything on my list (they didn't have a small slotted spoon for scooping out olives from a jar).  Walmart just recently reorganized the local store.  Couldn't figure out where most stuff was.  A clerk showed me the picture hangers.  I found a nice little set of 200 pieces of various sizes.  But they were goldish-colored and I thought that might be weak aluminum.

So I went to the kitchen aisle and found a magnetic refrigerator clip.  Brought that to the picture frame hangers and learned they were steel!  So I returned the magnet clip to the proper spot, and bought the hangers.

Getting home, I decided where to put the day clock and the remote minimum/maximum thermometer display.  Picture frame hangers can be a pain.  The nail has to go in at an angle.  I measured the spot carefully and went to tap it in with a small hammer.  The nail and hanger went flying!

So I had to get down and search the carpet.  While I was there, I was looking at a doggie bed I bought for the good old days when Ayla and Iza napped together thinking "room for two" would be good.  Of course not, but the thing has sat in the bedroom ever since.

So when I removed it looking for the nail and hanger, I saw that there was a lot of cat fur bewhind the u8nused bed.  I carefully brushed it away (didn't want to suddenly stick the loose nail into my hand).  I ended up with a football-sized fluff of cat fur... 

And no nail or hanger.  Oh wait, there is the nail!  Half solved.  So I went and got a magnet and moved it around the carpet.  CLICK!  Hanger found!

THIS TIME, I tapped the nail in slightly on it's own.  THEN put the nail in the hanger and tapped it.  Worked great.

Added the min/max display below that.  Now I have a whole bedroom wall to add other stuff to.  And that is a project for another day.

Because it was time for dinner.  Mine.  Don't worry, the Mews got 3 meals during this whole day, and 2 or 3 more coming.  Since I was pretty worn out from the day, I kept it simple.  Thawed out a BBQ chicken thigh, made a quick tossed salad, heated up some thawed cooked red beets, and tossed an ear of corn in the M/W for 3 minutes.  Dessert was mixed chopped fresh fruit.

A typical day...



In the pouring rain...  Yes I had an umbrella. 
But I had left the