Good Morning!!!! 53F @ 6:45AM. Sunny. High 71F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph.
Lots of nice wildlife and weather pics lately, folks. Thanks for sharing. About this time of year, when the grasses are just starting to grow again but aren't very long, the deer will eat just about anything. Had one eat a jade plant that was parked on the front porch, and an agave, too. But they don't seem to care for any of the herb plants or plants with strong smells in the leaves: Sage, rosemary, lavender, and artemisia are all safe. But the same oils that the deer don't like make them good fire fuel...
I should get some traps set out in the garage, Wng. Been finding balls of fluff the mice have put in some of the toolbox drawers. I do have one or two in the house, but so far, there've been no takers.:thumbsup:
Finished up with marking the last of the trenches yesterday, then switched over to the cement mixer. Learned that the rims were too small for the tire mounting machine, and that the tires are old and hard, making for a delightful time with the tire levers. Managed to get one tube installed and back on, then pinched the other, so I got to have that wrestling match twice. Had some time to kill while the patch was drying, and gave the starter cord a pull on the engine, and it locked up solid. Once the spark plug was out, I got a geyser of rusty water spouting from the hole. Seems that the muffler on top of the engine isn't much of a rain shield, and the exhaust valve being open didn't keep the rain out. No telling how long it's been that way, but the piston does still go up and down, so at least the rings aren't frozen. I checked the oil and it isn't all creamy, so maybe no water made it into the crankcase. Then I found the gas cap was loose, and sure enough, there was rust in the tank. Took it off, pinched off the fuel line, and filled it up with Evapo-Rust to sit overnight. So today I'll rinse the tank out with steaming hot water, blow it dry, and see if the engine will fire. I did get a spark from the plug, it has compression, so if the plug stays dry and I put gas in it, it should run. If not, it'll be time to shop for a new mixer, a much bigger one this time.
Hope everyone's week gets off to a good start!