Good morning!!!!

[txdon]

Good morning! The cold has finally sunk down to central Texas. 50˚F heading to only the upper 60s with a few high light clouds. Yesterday's rain total at the house was 1.16", report from the Farm was 2". The farm's web stated it was open but bring extra shoes or boots. With the sunshine yesterday afternoon and today it should be good by the time I go back to work/play.

Yesterday was fruitful day at mom's with the pipeline being settled but then I noticed a half dead tree in her back yard and 3 large limbs had fallen already. At the rate it is dying it will be totally dead in a few weeks. I called the tree man to take that one out and trim the one with branches that overhang the garage and to cutdown another century oak that has been dead a year close to her road to the house. I'll meet him next week when he comes out with his bucket truck and supervise the job.

We are preparing for "Favorite Machine Day" at the Plant based meeting tomorrow. We have two machines to demonstrate on how to make plant based milk. I just got one in last week and am making 4 batches of soy bean milk to use as samples tomorrow with the new machine. My wife will make cashew milk and oat milk with the other machine. The reason for 2 machines is that the soy milk must be boiled and the new machine has a heater in it to boil the milk while blending it. The first batch, on the new machine, tasted like a vanilla milkshake, using only one date as sweetener.

 

[wngsprd]

Temps kept dropping this morning to 39F, so built a fire in the stove...ahhh! My wife couldn't sleep last night, so still in bed...when she gets up, I'll be her hero. Pour over coffee is made and in her insulated mug.

 

[Rich B1]

Good morning! 36 now, was 36 when we got up at 6. Supposed to get to 44 today…. We shall see.

The wood burner has been going since yesterday afternoon. Feels good in here. Wife is at the dentist. Should be home soon.

I am waiting for the power company to reconnect power to the barn. We had some work done on the barn, guy doing the work wanted the power disconnected. The power company has been great to work with during this.

Got all 3 saws done yesterday. I need bars for 2 of them, not to be found locally. So either expand the search or use Amazon/eBay.

Not sure what I will get into today….surely I will find something

Everyone stay safe out there

 

[PJSprog]

31°F and clear skies this morning, going up to 51° today.

Wife had already started moving stuff into the spare bedroom before I got home from work. She got the bed headboard and footboard in there and the rails attached. We carried the chest of drawers up the stairs, but couldn't get the dresser around the corner at the bottom of the stairs, so we carried it outside and around. Now, it just needs the new mattress and box springs, which we're getting this weekend, and I need to move the television wall mount.

Republic was kind enough to finally pick up our trash yesterday. Wife found another company that says they service our area, and their monthly fee is lower than we currently pay. Still need to do a little more research on them, but already looks promising.

You guys in Ohio and Kentucky already getting snow ... I'm not ready for that yet.

Good morning, gents.

 

[daugen]

happy to reports labs in range, AIC at 5.9, marginal but ok, cholesterol in middle, chemo report negative.
That's my trifecta, good for another 10,000 miles.

was lectured again to reduce carbs and sugar and cleared to eat all the eggs I want, and even regular cheese, in moderation.
Carbs create sugars, more than body needs or wants, goes to fat and concurrently is the food cancer cells love.
Broccoli and blueberries, broccoli and blueberries...

waiting for day to warm up a little, then going out to wash car. It got scratched by roadside branches when some guy on his phone crossed over the center line and drove me almost
into the bushes. Lot of scratch marks but rubbed off with finger. Will wash it with carnauba wash and wax and then hand dry it, scratches should come out.
Gosh I wish they would outlaw hand held phones in cars.

going to freeze tonight, it's that time to pick the garden clean, except for radishes.
well, better a small pepper than no pepper.

hope you all have a safe and enjoyable day.

Mostly, I didn't need a five ton 70hp Massey but gosh was it fun to own...
To use a hydraulic boom mower, nice to have some weight in tractor.
I'd like a six cylinder diesel for once.
Actually I think IH once made a larger hydro tractor (called Hydro??) and New Holland has an IVT but don't know if it has a foot pedal.
The only other reason to have a larger tractor is a bigger grapple and bigger stuff to pick up.
just dreaming

dreaming about tractors is time well spent...





Case IH 245, Kubota L5740, Massey 2615, Massey 1230, Massey 4707, Farmall Super A

never had more than four at one time...that sure made my life easier on the NC farm not having to swap all those implements.
The Kubota was the nicest to operate a loader with or do close up work, like maneuvering around parts of my barn where I could smack the top of the tractor
if i wasn't careful sticking nose of tractor under shed roof. That inching around work was hugely easier for me with a hydro pedal vs a clutch.
And I never liked the feeling of "burning" the clutch to go forward a little at a time.
Massey makes a 100hp version of my old 4707, just hopped up, still a big three cylinder engine.
I like the sound of engines, and machinery. I'd like the sound of a straight six.
The tractor version of the BMW 3 liter straight six.

At some horsepower level you are forced into complex video screens and software that John Deere, for example, has a proprietary lock on.
If I could I'd like an all mechanical EMP proof tractor. I think only the Farmall would survive an EMP.
I bet Lou has some old iron that would survive too.
Not exactly high on the list of reasons to choose a tractor.

perhaps the trick is just to have a second tractor. Maybe a nice shiny all mechanical IH 806, or a First Gen JD. Some classic tractor that will
always be desired. Even when we all have gone to electric. Electric can be turned off. Once you get that old diesel started, not much will stop it.
56 out now, time to get to work

 

[m7040]

Good morning
Colder 35 going to 45 but no frost or snow

Slept in longer this morning than normal. Was out of firewood inside so first order of business was to bring in more firewood. The shoulder is still in pain during certain movements. Very irritating and does not seem to improve and there may be some ligaments /tendons damage that does not seem to recover. Try to use my left side to save it.

Got the fire going and nice and warm for wife to be comfortable when she got up later. Cody helps with bringing in firewood by carrying sticks for starting and he got his favorite Green Cabbage leaf as reward.

Getting ready to make breakfast. Always a surprise what she will make. Today she says frikadelle is on the menu which is a Danish meatball dish.

After breakfast I will walk 2 or 3 miles and do my leg exercises followed by my usual strength training and pushups

After the trees were cut down yesterday there is a lot of cleanup to do. The front end loader can grab the branches and logs but clearance is not there for driving it out so will have to do some cutting to trim back long pieces.

The Makita chainsaw is ready for pickup at HD. Still waiting for ignition coil for the MS 261C. I thought my saw was MS 291 but it is actually MS 261. The little cordless Milwaukee recip saw works really well for smaller branches.

Our world traveler daughter arrived safely in Belgium yesterday and is moving on to Berlin tomorrow.

Our other daughters second job at a sports bar was disappointing with poor management so she is looking for another job

 

[Mark P.]

Good Morning, currently 49° going to 58°

Have a sheep showmanship this afternoon at the fair..Hope to get there before the traffic slows everyone down..

Hope everyone has a great day..

 

[daugen]

Mark, enjoy the Fair. Sounds like a lot of fun.

M7040, what an amazing family you have, you have a lot of folks to keep track of.
A lot of productive adults now who are lucky to have you and your wife be there for counsel.
They will always be your kids no matter how old. And grandchildren are usually wonderful.
Christmas at your place must be mighty busy.

All good

 

[m7040]

M7040, what an amazing family you have, you have a lot of folks to keep track of.
A lot of productive adults now who are lucky to have you and your wife be there for counsel.
They will always be your kids no matter how old. And grandchildren are usually wonderful.
Christmas at your place must be mighty busy.

All good

Thanks,
It keeps us busy following the kids and also gives us satisfaction in mentoring and helping them become successful.

Glad your testing worked out well. A couple of years ago a blood test picked up intestinal cancer indication that was repeated after several tests. I spent some time online to see about interactions with other meds and sure enough found out a prescription medication was a likely suspect for the positive results. Stopping the medication did the trick. Wondering how some doctors just don't seem to check those things??

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Good Morning!!!! 61F @ 4:00AM. Clouds and some sun this morning with more clouds for this afternoon. High near 85F. Winds light and variable.

Catching up:

Sounds like a nice trip, Drew. Glad you avoided the rear ender.

The kitchen's coming right along, David. When can I move in?

Same with the '03 540 BMW I had scootr. Don't miss that one at all.

Sorry to hear about the hockey injuries, SC. Any way to stop playing?

The Stihl dealer here usually has a sale on chainsaw chains and bar oil about this time of year, Rich. Maybe yours does, too?

Congrats on the buck, Joel. And welcome to the GM thread!

The Unifi DreamMachine and CloudKey functioned as NVRs, Paul, but had limited storage capacity. I'll upgrade to one of Unifi's dedicated NVRs as soon as they are available, even though I wouldn't recommend Unifi equipment to anyone anymore.

You guys reporting snow: Knock it off! It's way too early in the year for that sort of nonsense.

Just checked the WU weather station at Bridgeport, CA for last Friday morning, and it was reading 25.6F when I went out to try to start the motorcycle. And the bike wasn't having any of it. So rather than frying the starter and running down the battery, I ducked back into the motel room for a few minutes in hopes that the fuel in the cylinders would get a chance to vaporize. And sure enough, it fired right up when I tried again. What a relief! But the grease in the steering bearings and under the throttle were nice and stiff, kinda like me trying to get out of bed these days, giving me the impression that it just didn't want to do anything fast until it got warmed up. But the electric grips and jacket both did a great job keeping me toasty, and it was a beautiful day otherwise with crystal blue skies and lots of pretty leaves to peep at. By the time I got to the east entry gate to Yosemite park, it was time to take off the fleece jacket and heavy gloves, it had warmed up so much. And by noon when I rolled into Markleeville, it was time to take off the electric jacket and open up all the vents as if it was summertime again. The farther west I went, the more congested the roads got, and riding nose to tail in traffic on a twisty mountain lane isn't my idea of a good time. In spite of the GPS, I got where I was going and the motel clerk found the reservation and all seemed well.

But coming back from dinner we noticed some shady characters in the back parking lot outside our room, and it was pretty apparent they were dealing drugs from a room down the way. A call to the front desk got us moved to a room on the other side of the motel where we felt a lot safer. The cell phones worked, but the WiFi there didn't, and someone had ripped the telephone out of the wall. I've had great stays at Best Western motels in the past, but this was a "SureStay by Best Western", and was pretty shabby by comparison. But the location was great, close to restaurants and shops, so we made do and had a nice time anyway.

I did get up to San Francisco to see the exhibit of Roger Dean's paintings (he's most famous for his record album covers for groups like Yes and Uriah Heep), and a rock art poster show, but the traffic and parking situations had me glad when we headed back south on CA 1 along the coast. Remember that giant pumpkin I mentioned last week? We passed through Half Moon Bay, CA on the way to and from San Francisco, and each time the traffic coming the other way was STOPPED for miles north and south of town. Our timing was a lot better than those going to the pumpkin doings.

The next day we did a little hiking in the redwoods, and watched pair of old steam locomotives at Roaring Camp, a place I found on the map by accident. Got there too late to take a ride, though. Shopped for some new camping gear at REI, but was bewildered by all the choices. Need more homework. The Patagonia Outlet store didn't have much in the way of discounts, so nothing new came home with me. Santa Cruz usta be a nice place, but the congestion and homeless presence had me happy getting back on the road yesterday. The ride was uneventful, and the hummers were happy to see me fill the feeders back up after my arrival.

Just one example of the crazy drivers we ran across...

The front gate wouldn't open with the remote control when I got home, so I had to fool with that. Some wires were loose on one of the connectors, at least that's the only thing I could find out of place. When I reviewed the security cam video for the weekend, I found several instances where the gate opened and closed itself while I was gone, like it had a mind of its own. But at least the cameras were working, and I found no new error messages in the network logs. Seems like it's always something...