Good Morning!!!! 66F # 7:30AM. Sunny. High 93F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Slept in a little, even though I hit the hay at 8:30 last night. Then was up for several hours after midnight, then trying to get back to sleep. Like Ted, just have a lot to do in the next week or so, trying to figure out how to fit it all in.
Sorry to hear about the sting, Rick. Time to go on patrol with the wasp & hornet spray can?
I like the way the painted aluminum came out, David, and the new top seems to fit very well. But does your ROPS not come up all the way now?
Both HDs I went to out here last Thursday looked like ant hills someone kicked over, Ted. It's also a three day weekend, and I agree that a lot of people were using the time to work home improvement projects. It was the same in the grocery stores with people getting ready for picnics or family dinners.
Nice redwinged blackbird, Ron. Around here, they're a sign of summer, as they fly south for the winter.
Clever use of the old wheel, Randy. Are those pansies with it?
Put a few hours in mowing yesterday and did as much as I wanted to in the upper meadow. The canopy/ROPS on it are high enough that I need to do some pruning to keep from damaging the lights, but getting to that little bit of extra grass just doesn't seem like it's worth the work. Looks like about eight hours of running at 2000 RPM has sucked down half a tank, eight and a half gallons. And at that RPM, the Diesel particulate counter advances very slowly. By this time next year, I hope to have a bigger flail mower, one that isn't shadowed so much by the rear wheels. And one that has a larger diameter that doesn't get choked up as easily.
After a late lunch, I headed back into the trench to finish cleaning it out. It was much drier than the lower section, but just as full of rocks. It doesn't take much in the way of size to stop a shovel, making me appreciate that backhoe all the more. Just kept picking away at it, following the conduits, trying not to move the one with the power line in it too much. Was able to retrieve the 2x12 plank I'd placed over the damaged section, that was also buried; now it needs the mud cleaned off. I think I'm going to end up pulling all the conduit back out of the trench once the old power line is out of the way. Then I'll be able to pick it for rocks one last time and lay down a layer of clean dirt. More work, and more sifting, but all I need is half a truck load of sand, and the trucking fee is the biggest part of the cost.
Still had several hours of daylight left, so I started sizing up the solar panel install. Seems like I have all the parts needed, but needed to update the drawing to take into account the diameters of the mounting hardware. Also took the time to reread the installation instructions, which seem pretty clear. Just not sure how I'm going to get to all the fasteners, especially on the upper rows. Might end up leaning a ladder against some of the panels, and that doesn't sound like a good thing to do.
They opened the boat launches on Lake Oroville Friday, but not the houseboat rentals. Lots of folks out fishing, even more water skiing or dragging inner tubes around. Looks like a good way to spend a LOT of money, all in one short weekend.:laughing:
More mowing on the agenda for this morning, then start installing panels this afternoon. I hope to finish that, but we'll see...
hope this won't be on going issues.
