Good morning!!!!

[RedNeckGeek]

RNG sounds like quite the trip to town and you are still plugging away on solar install. What is your humidity like there?

Even better, Bruce, the Check Engine Light stayed out. That new neutral position switch looks like it's working.:crossfingers:

Humidity has been in the mid forties. Feels muggy, but nothing by eastern standards. And it's high enough that the power company isn't threatening to turn off the juice. Not that I care so much about having power now:laughing:, but I care a lot about not burning down the rest of the state.

 

[wngsprd]

It looks like the fox pups down the hill are having a great time.

 

[wngsprd]

I got about 60 pix of them playing and tumbling and then finally they got plumb tired out.

 

[txdon]

Good morning! 70s to 90s African dust day. Yesterday was bad today will be the worst day for central Texas. It looks like a fog or lingering smoke. I feel I should wear a facemark outside to protect from the visible particles. The trees in the distance look gray, not green.

Good pics Ron and Wngsprd.

RNG it sound like you are on top of your solar learning curve.

I can't take the suspense anymore, I will have to dig up a few potatoes to see if there in anything under the lush greens - tomorrow.

Kyle, any motive for the stabbings, was he even a Giddings resident and has he been identified. If he had drugs in his system they really ought to go after the suppliers, the town needs to band together.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

Good morning to all! Low of 56, nice now, but temp will soon go up to 94. Dry, dry, dry, ..... the weather guessers are now predicting our monsoon rains will not show up for at least another 10 days! It is really brown and crackled now....

Wng, I hope they can find what is wrong with Coco and get a treatment plan in place that works.

BEF, same for your kitty cat.... hard to see a pet in pain and we cannot do anything about it... hope it gets better!

David, glad to hear that Sophie s eye / vision is better.... hope it stays that way this time...

Ron, that is a great pic of the hawk. Our local hawks are much smaller, but still maintain good rodent control. We occasionally see eagles soaring high above.

Drew, I am happy to hear that you are doing laundry.... after what you have gone through, consider it a blessing, not so much a chore... you sound like you are really getting back to your normal.

RNG, I, too, am amazed at your cognitive ability with the solar system. David is up there too! When you guys start talking about it, I am lost after the first sentence! If I ever get a system, I know who I am going to call!

I got a very early start yesterday, so did not post. I went into the big city to pick up an order, went to Costco again for the remaining containers we needed, then back home for just a brief time. I had gotten an email about a BIG r/c estate sale of two master modelers. I need to upgrade / replace a lot of my electronics, so thought this might be a prime time to do so.....

My son finished up work early, and he took the rest of the day off to go with me. WHAT A JOKE! Yeah, there were a few big 1/4 scale planes at phenomenal prices, but the rest was really just junk. They guy running the sale said a reseller came first thing in the morning and bought all the good radios, receivers, motors and engines. My son was able to find an older 72mHz radio that was just like the one he sold 10 years ago for $50. I found one ... only one receiver (that must have been missed) for $25. Very disappointing to drive an hour each way to find most of the good stuff gone. Oh well...

Today will be back on the hobby shack project. Wifey started to get all her sewing and crochet supplies into bins and out on the shelves, we will get the rest out there and organized. Some of the bins are already filled with some old family photos and most of our mementos from over the years, some will get displayed out there, but that will not be until after we get everything else situated.

Everyone have a great day and weekend!

 

[daugen]

YouTube

interesting new video on Makita battery operated mower. First time I've seen four batteries in unit.
I started with Makita back when they made that 9.6V stick battery, bet a few of you had one too. Then graduated up to new system,
one battery in small handheld leaf blower, two batteries in larger leaf blower, and one battery in very powerful driver drill, two batteries in cordless hedge shear.
All the Makita equipment has been very high quality, and yes likely the price indicated that. But they never break or wear out. I bet this mower is very expensive with all those batteries, but if one already has Makita equipment and a supply of batteries that come with them, maybe not so bad. I was also surprised to see this was a self propelled mower, that would run a full hour on a double set of batteries.
Makita reminds me of Honda, just about everything they do is a winner.

the hand held blowers were just perfect for cleaning out mower/tractor radiator screens.

700 bucks including all batteries, not so terrible. Comparable to top of line Honda mower.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Makita-...9fIS7DfqKwp-FXtWIcgaAqvbEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

Forgot that I took some sunset pics last evening. Not sure if it was from the wildfire smoke or the Saharan dust....

 

[txdon]

Drew, I think you put up the wrong Youtube on the mower. ???

 

[Bird]

I started with Makita back when they made that 9.6V stick battery, bet a few of you had one too.

Had one??? I've still got mine. Haven't used it in awhile, so I'd be surprised if either of the two batteries would take a charge now, but I think I'll go out in the shop and just see if they will.

 

[ronjhall]

RNG, I let the experts call what birds I take pictures of. Wngsprd called it a Red Tail. I remember using one of those machine moving tools many times. The ones we had, had oak handles.

It was a fun doing the stairs at neighbors yesterday. Took Sassy with me. The little dog took off with his wife. Following her around yard responding to all commands while weeding and watering gardens that I have worked hard training her for months. Maybe I should stop calling Rat Dog. Then she will respond like she did for her.

LS, great pictures.

 

[daugen]

Drew, I think you put up the wrong Youtube on the mower. ???

oops, sorry yeah that was a depressing video on the world soybean agribusiness
try this:
Hard Testing of Makita's new outdoor power tools - YouTube

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Vet says cat has urinary infection and high white blood count. Will get us antibiotics.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

Had one??? I've still got mine. Haven't used it in awhile, so I'd be surprised if either of the two batteries would take a charge now, but I think I'll go out in the shop and just see if they will.

I just took two of those Makita drills to a local donation center... yeah, the batteries were shot. Somebody will take the time and replace the batteries and get a good drill out of them... could not kill them being used commercially.

I am really really happy with the Rigid tools I have been getting. They have lifetime service agreements , including replacing the batteries.

 

[rswyan]

76F and mostly cloudy @ 11:00 ... although the sun is popping through at times.

High today predicted to hit 79F. Possibility of thunderstorms this afternoon, some of them could be severe.

Looking at the pavement out the kitchen window it does not look like it rained overnight. I suspect that most of the storms went north of us (thankfully) - but they were bad enough (60mph+ winds) that the News5 weather guy was on 00:30 giving updates.

Dry food put in dishes for older cats, Squeak let out into garage for her morning "inspection" trip.

Downloading 21 app updates to phone ...

Cornell Lab of Ornithology's NestWatch app added. Due to recheck nest boxes later today.

Need to clean out old hopper style feeder, fill it, and get it put back up. Might swing over to Eddie's Bait Shop and pick up some mealworms for the bluebirds.

Probably some mowing on the agenda for the day, assuming no rain.

Hope everyone has an enjoyable, productive, and safe day.

 

[sodamo]

67°F and .16 inches rain.

A pretty morning. Think I’ll stay home today, make another stab at getting a weed whacker running.

Prayers for all
Be safe
Have a great day

 

[RedNeckGeek]

All the Makita equipment has been very high quality, and yes likely the price indicated that. But they never break or wear out.

I started with a drill and that stick battery many years ago, Drew. Then I updated to a drill and impact driver combo with the 18v battery. The tools were good, the batteries, not so much. After only a couple of years I had to replace one because the charger refused to even try to charge it. Not long after that, the second battery followed suit. I looked for a gen-u-wine Makita replacement, but the reviews on Amazon told the same story I had. Found Chinese knock offs a few years ago that, aside from having sticky latches, have been working fine. Then I bought a Makita battery powered angle grinder, and what an anemic POS it turned out to be. Very easy to stall, even with the thinnest cutting blade, and the battery won't last long enough for even one cut. I'd dump Makita in a heartbeat, but the the price of jumping to a Dewalt or other, more highly rated, manufacturer is pretty high, and my DIY activities have dropped off to the point that the pain of using the Makita tools doesn't happen often enough to motivate me to switch. I wish I had your great experience, but it just hasn't been so.:2cents:

 

[RedNeckGeek]

They have lifetime service agreements , including replacing the batteries.

The Levolor vertical blinds that went belly up a few weeks ago had a "lifetime" warranty, too, Ted.

Except Levolor defines "lifetime" as the lifetime of the blind, not me. And you have to look very carefully at the warranty statement to figure that out. In the case of the vertical blinds, that "lifetime" is 10 years. My blind was 10 years, 3 months old. "Sorry, sir, your blind is no longer under warranty. But the good news is we can sell you a new headrail for just $300."

Uh, no thanks.

 

[Thomas]

Ron.
Those pictures you been taking would be great for calendars and postcards. :thumbsup:

 

[Thomas]

I got about 60 pix of them playing and tumbling and then finally they got plumb tired out.

Those picture are worth 1000 words Billy,...tennis half fill with catnip than watch fox pups play. :laughing:

Give Coco BIG ole hug for me wish the very best.

 

[txdon]

I
I am really really happy with the Rigid tools I have been getting. They have lifetime service agreements , including replacing the batteries.

I had Rigid tools lifetime batteries but when I went to claim new batteries there was a problem. I ended up giving the set to goodwill. Like RNG you must read the fine print.
Then I had the problem with the EGO 3 year battery - again fine print excluded me because of the definition of an authorized dealer.

The limitations in the Rigid is that it must have been bought at Home Depot and you had to register them within 90 days of purchase and you must bring the equipment, to an authorized RIDGID service center, along with a few more requirements like have your Customer ID number and verification that the tool has been upgraded to Lifetime Service Agreement - Lifetime Service Agreement | RIDGID Professional Tools