Good morning!!!!

[daugen]

water bottle?
check
sweat band?
check
new floppy hat?
check
sun tan lotion?
check
off we go
into the wild blue yonder
Popgadget gets to do that almost every day.

 

[wngsprd]

Mid 90's on the menu for the day. Feels pretty good out there right now.

RNG, you impress me more with each project. Can I pay you to move here for a month?

Watered the garden yesterday morning, and for kicks, turned on the hiking/GPS app on my phone...because I'm still carrying only a half gallon at a time to keep the weight down to 5 lbs. and therefore making dozens of trip back and forth to the water tub. I showed my wife the mapped track...it looked like a sewing machine had stitched back and forth across a little piece of ground...totalled 0.8 miles.

We made a dump run yesterday...extra large load after having company all weekend...then on to town to our favorite Mexican restaurant for lunch...hadn't been since the C. virus closed it...better than ever.

Yesterday, the Elsa forecast was little or no rain here for Thursday...now it's up to 1 to 2 inches, so will get some things done outside today, including searching for a small leak in the barn roof.

I need to make new tops for our cornhole platforms...I made them for my wife years ago...used best quality treated lumber...the tops are old-formula treated plywood, but one has developed rot...so was planning on using the old tops of the outdoor ping pong table and cutting to size...not sure what the material is, but my son warns of inhaling the fibers...so I'm looking at UV resistant plexiglass and other materials...I'll need to cut a 6" round hole with a jigsaw, and possibly cut the sheet to size. Anyone used plastics like this and have any suggestions?

 

[txdon]

Happy Anniversary Randy and Ellen! I hope y'all are having a great day.



The folks in our capital are saying the vaccine prevents death from variants. One news source I heard on the radio says they are claiming it takes days and days for a delta variant test.

My oldest kid is just now 16, and I don't believe we will get her vaccinated just yet. They are talking about all kinds of symptoms in some kids...like heart inflammation....etc.

Delta variant is here. 3 cases of delta variant are traced back to camp and 6 people who were fully vaccinated got covid. Sounds like Covid 19 and the Delta variant were both infecting people.

150 COVID cases, including Delta variant, detected in mass outbreak at Texas church camp

In an update Tuesday, Galveston County Health District officials said the 57 lab-confirmed cases are in addition to more than 90 self-reported COVID-19 cases from both county and non-county residen…

www.kxan.com

Kyle I agree with you on the vaccination of your 16 year old. The heart inflammation frequency is unsettling. At least now you can make knock knock jokes to her.
Knock knock.
Who's there?
Joe
Joe who . . .

 

[txdon]

I need to make new tops for our cornhole platforms...I made them for my wife years ago...used best quality treated lumber...the tops are old-formula treated plywood, but one has developed rot...so was planning on using the old tops of the outdoor ping pong table and cutting to size...not sure what the material is, but my son warns of inhaling the fibers...so I'm looking at UV resistant plexiglass and other materials...I'll need to cut a 6" round hole with a jigsaw, and possibly cut the sheet to size. Anyone used plastics like this and have any suggestions?

Corn hole platforms require specifics, don't mess with the Association.

The American Cornhole Association requires platforms be a 48" x 24" rectangle made from 1/2-inch plywood. The front of the platformstands 2-1/2 to 4 inches tall and the back of the platform sits 12 inches off the ground. The plans for this project follow those requirements.

 

[Popgadget]

Good morning
It’s 75 already going into the 90’s. Clear with thunderstorms a possibility this evening.

Yesterday went pretty smoothly, lots of errands, productive in the shop, and got all the mowing done. I always started with the Lazer around the fences and obstacles, and then used the big pull behind to bulk out the open spaces. I’ve found that if I start with the big mower, I don’t have to mow as much with the Lazer, which saves time and the tractor is air conditioned.

Today will be mostly in the cool shop with a few errands to break the day up.

 

[PJSprog]

72°F and clear-ish skies this morning, going up to 91° today. Looks like we get a bit of a break tomorrow at only 84° for the high.

I've never had a reaction to poison ivy, Ron. Guess I'm one of those weird people. Hope you get yours cleared up.

I guess The Wife has decided she likes kayaking. She's too short (just under 5'2") to lift them up to the car top rack, and I was moaning and groaning a bit this weekend when lifting them after paddling for a few hours. So, she decided to look at trailers again. We ended up ordering one from Malone, who says it may be between 2-4 months before we get it. She also looked around last night for a better PFD that is made more to a woman's form. Found one she likes and ordered it, too.

I may have to start playing gigs again.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

The water situation for California just gets more grim. This year's fire season is very worrisome; glad RNG has done so much to his
property to keep the consumables away from his home and buildings. But I bet those fire breaks won't seem all that wide if the fire front is
headed at you.

For years California has neglected the reservoirs, and now is even removing the dams, some for environmental reasons, some because the authorities that maintain them can't find the budget to do so. This is a man made problem, the result of poor planning and failure to prioritize public safety.

I was just starting to clear more brush when things dried out to the point it was no longer safe to do so. One spark from a chainsaw or bucket on a rock and I'd be fighting a fire of my own creation. One of the lightning caused fires jumped its containment lines north of here last night, Drew. When the wind comes up, even the biggest fire breaks aren't big enough. It's still early in the fire season, yet already firefighters are stretched mighty thin, and all they can do is try to cut fire breaks and contain it instead of working to put it out. Again, poor planning and failure to properly prioritize public safety by providing adequate staff and resources.

 

[kenmbz]

Morning all, hot and sunny after really noisy thunderstorm last night, only about 1/4" of rain.
Bugs really love this weather.
Got another coat of varnish on bench and first coat on topside of the planks. Starting to look good.

Ron- stay on top of the poison ivy, don't let it spread, very annoying stuff.
Wngsprd- I remember the last time I cut plastics I used a special blade and had to go slooow to not melt. Sorry, don't remember blade type, maybe on line somewhere, was not that special, just certain number of teeth/inch.
RNG- that is some big project- but having your own fire fighting kit is a good insurance policy. My fire hydrant is actually my pool, and the local fire dept.

Stay safe and be well.


Who knew squirrels liked trampolines?

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Good Morning!!!! 68F @ 7:00AM. Sunny. High 101F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.
Another Excessive Heat Watch starts Friday morning, running through Monday. Highs will reach 111F, and lows will only drop into the upper 70s. Thank goodness for air conditioning and margaritas.

Sorry to hear about the poison ivy, Ron. I've had pretty good results from Triamcinolone Acetonide cream USP, 0.1%, a prescription I got from my MD. I also find that if I scrub it with water as hot as I can stand, it takes a lot of the itch away. I'm envious, Paul. I get poison oak by just looking at it.

You could pay me for a month, Billy, but I'm not sure I'll be worth a darn after this project is finished. Sounds like you're gettin' plenty of exercise, though!

Got a call from a pro arborist on the pole saw I've got for sale. Said he had the same saw but someone stole it. I chuckled a bit, and told him I had an older chainsaw for sale a couple years ago, and when I went to meet the buyer, he told me his saw was the same model and had been stolen, and he wanted to see if the one I had for sale was his! I reassured this buyer I got the saw from my local Stihl dealer, not his work truck. Anyway, the buyer said he'd pay for my fuel if I delivered it, so it looks like I'll be heading south to meet him, probably having dinner and an overnight near Sacramento with an old buddy. With all this hot weather, I could use a break from the trench, and a trip to the liquor super store down there to restock the beer cooler, too.

Happy Hump Day, folks!!!

 

[RedNeckGeek]

And here's one for Eric and his pond monster. This was posted on the neighborhood FaceBook page:

Little Foot Farm​

Before 2020 and after 50+ ducks 2021 - what a difference they made to the algae buildup on the pond.
Having livestock that roam/use the pond made it really difficult and expensive to treat for algae. Couldn't use chemicals as we have fish, cows, and sheep and the safe treatment that colors the pond is too expensive to maintain and did not work all that great as we used it last year. So we came up with the plan of raising free range ducks that would forage on the pond and eat the algae and in the fall we would then butcher them to feed us throughout the coming year. I would say our plan was very successful!
If you have a pond with an algae problem, ducks are the solution!