Good morning!!!!

   / Good morning!!!! #119,341  
Good Morning!!!! 66F @ 5:30AM. Sunshine and clouds mixed. High 89F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph.
AQI 173 and 162, inside and out. It was a nice, clear, and clean air afternoon and evening, and cool as well, so I opened up the house for the first time in at least a month to get some fresh air. Awoke a few hours ago to find the smoke had returned, and now it's inside as well as out. Once the sun is up I'll run the furnace fan again and clear it out. Timing for the upcoming power outage seems to be slipping into Sunday early morning; why do these things always seem to happen in the wee hours? That also means the winds will be rocking the windows and porch cover, making sleep unlikely. Probably catch up on nap practice Monday afternoon.

Sorry to hear about Bo, Rich. He looked to be a grand old Tom, even though you two didn't get along. He was luckier than a neighbor's rooster, who was his wife's pet, but would try to spur him whenever the two crossed paths. The bird was booted to his ultimate reward when it pulled that stunt one too many times. I got the same treatment when I visited, and am not ashamed to admit to not missing it at all.

Looks like a beautiful spot for a picnic, Ron. Your cider story reminds me that there is an apple growing region east of Sacramento, and the orchards stage celebrations in the fall each year. Now I'm thinking I could perhaps swing through there on my way to the next smog test, on a week day, and get my own gallon of cider...

Pretty sure this year here there will be no in person voting. I've been voting "absentee" as long as I've been able, and a few years ago the reasons needed for going absentee were dropped so that everyone who wanted to could vote by mail. One key feature that so far has worked to keep the count honest is requiring us to sign a signature card when we elect to vote by mail. We also have to sign the back of the ballot envelope. The two signatures are compared when the envelope is received, supposedly by an election worker volunteer. New this year is an online tracking system we can use to ensure that the ballot is received and properly counted. I haven't done it yet, and I need to, but that same system can be used to ensure that I'm registered, and to let me see how I signed the signature card. That way the envelope signature will match the one they have on file. It will be interesting to see how they validate the I'm me when I sign into that system for the first time.

Our online CV19 reporting system says we now have had 2774 confirmed cases, more than 100 times the number we held so long in the March-April time frame. 44 deaths, 14 now in the hospital, and 49,854 tests done to date. Lots of other statistics there, too, but they show that the rate of infection seems to be slowing these last three weeks since the school kids went to all online classes. But the 18-24 age bracket has twice the number of infections as the next most infected bracket.

That flower looks a little bit like an agapantha, Bruce, but those are lavender colored.:confused2:

You've met some really nice people in North Carolina, Drew, and it's sad you're gonna miss 'em. But it'll also be nice to get back to old friends in Pennsylvania, too, so I guess it sorta evens out. I wouldn't wish what you've been through on anybody, and wouldn't look forward to putting together another kitchen and household, either. I'd probably do most of my shopping in second hand, consignment, and antique stores, trying to find copies of favorite tools, kitchen gadgets, and maybe even furniture. It would take a lot longer, but the junk that is sold new today is just that.

I think some people will pay anything to get what amounts to a full race bike they can ride on the street, Drew. And BMW is more than happy to take their money. Seeing as how most of their products lose half their value in the first five years, though, I don't think they make very good investments. Not very practical, either, as the specialized parts they use won't be available in the relatively near future.

Glad to hear Coco is feeling more like her old self, Bill. I hope you get that skunk soon, and not the other way around.:D Would a few moth balls keep it out from under your shed? Never much cared for the Browning A5. The first one I bought beat me to death, and was traded off after a couple years, as was a newer Japanese version I inherited. Now I'm shopping for a gas gun to replace my pump, just gettin' too old and delicate I guess.

Your secret is safe with us, Eric. But since you post under your real name, you might want to google yourself and edit that post just in case your modern technique shows up in the search results.:laughing:

Bear and moose keeping you on your toes, eh Thomas?:eek:

Thanks so much for sharing your root bucket plans, RS! It's nice to be able to stand on the shoulder of giants once in a while.:thumbsup: That and the downforce adapter for the auger will make great winter projects once it gets wet enough here to start makin' sparks again. Did you use anything special steel wise, or just plain old hot rolled?

Stunts like the ones we're seeing, Paul, are a pretty good hint that the "management information systems" in place at those companies are a joke, and management doesn't even know it.:muttering:

Still no sign of the TriMetric here, David, or the contractor that's supposed to supply it. How does the Emporium Vue compare; maybe I should just get one and install it myself? I'll catch up with you off line on your Unifi stuff...:thumbsup:

The only way I can see to make the seat shutoff switch less sensitive Chris, is to install a jumper wire around it to disable it. It's up inside the seat somewhere, and pretty hard to get to...

Worked some more on the van's EGR system yesterday, trying to figure out of the Back Pressure Transducer was working. Blew air through it, sucked vacuum through it, probed it with little wires, but couldn't make hide nor hair of how it worked. Did some googling and found a video made by a fella that has the very same problem. Applied his test method, and the one here failed, so I have another one on order. He also mentioned that the steel tube that leads up from the exhaust system gets clogged easily, and I found mine to be totally clogged, too. His unbolted, mine was a press fit into the intake manifold. Nothing a little wiggling with a pair of ViceGrips couldn't fix, though. Got it cleaned out using drill bits and pieces of welding wire. And more ViceGrip wiggling to put it back. Between those two things I think I've found the smoking gun I've been looking for, but won't know for sure until next week when the new part shows up at the Subaru dealer.

Not sure what today will bring, but I need to do some clean up in the garage before much of anything else gets done.

Hope everyone enjoys this first fall weekend!
 
   / Good morning!!!! #119,342  
Good morning. It was 64° and very foggy here earlier. Sun has pretty well burned it off now and we're expecting a sunny day and 87° this afternoon.

Yesterday was my monthly trip into Katy / Richmond to drop off recycling, Sam's Club, Total Wine, Discount Tire, etc.

It was 59° when I left the ranch at 6 a.m. and I watched outside temperature, in the truck, climb a degree about every 5-6 miles. When I got to the Richmond house it was 70° but still just 61° at LCR.

We're (OVFD) selling raffle tickets at a local winery this afternoon so I'll take our big raffle prize .. JD Gator over to display. Our big fund raiser is next Saturday so .. we're on a big push to sell all 2000 raffle tickets. We had a slow start, due to the Covid, but sales have really picked up in the last two weeks. The fund raiser was originally scheduled for the first weekend in May so were 5 months late. I've had to store the Gator in my shop since January.

IMG_2441.jpg

Today will be a low production day at LCR but, tomorrow, if winds are low .. some burn piles .. will burn! Tractors .. still idled after 10"+ of Beta rain. On Monday, I need to take the NH and cutter down to cut along the road near our VFD Station to get ready for next weekend.

Hope everyone has a great start to your weekend.

Prayers to all.
 
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   / Good morning!!!! #119,343  
We are getting some much needed rain this morning. I am hoping that it will be a little less dusty Monday when I mow.

One key feature that so far has worked to keep the count honest is requiring us to sign a signature card when we elect to vote by mail

I think here they are using the signature from our drivers licenses. The only trouble with that is you sign with a stylus on a touch pad and mine looks like something produced by a drunk chicken.

Things are getting weird here. The paper today had a picture of a local gun shop. The ammunition shelf was almost bare.
I hope those of you who pray will pray for our country.

Chris
 
   / Good morning!!!! #119,344  
Eric.
" what is the story with the moose "urine pits" ? My knowledge of them comes from watching Bullwinkle on tv -maybe that was in an episode I missed."
Only happens during mating season..the rut..bulls will paw the ground than urine to leave there scent for females also warn other bulls,and sometime bulls will roll in urine pit than do for walk which spread scent.
Mature whitetail will urine as he walks to spread the scent during rut season,and if your lucky enough to get close you can smell him.

When I was young and living in Colorado we used to hunt deer and elk. Quite often you could tell if elk were in the area either by the smell if it was a herd of young bulls, as they hung out together in the early rut season. If it was a herd of cows you could hear then "clucking" as they travelled through the trees grazing. The cows were typically led by a "lead cow" and trailed by an older mature bull.It seemed that the cows were smarter than the bulls and made much less noise moving through timber than the bulls, especially in the rut or pre rut, as the bulls were always sparring with each other and tearing up small trees as they travelled. Lots of fun to watch.
 
   / Good morning!!!! #119,345  
Yesterday was my monthly trip into Katy / Richmond to drop off recycling, Sam's Club, Total Wine, Discount Tire, etc.

It.

Total wine is owned by David Trone, my Liberal Democrat congressman. He got the seat thru a ridiculously gerrymandered redistricting to eliminate my old good Republican congressman.

How much are raffle tickets?
 
   / Good morning!!!! #119,347  
Things are getting weird here. The paper today had a picture of a local gun shop. The ammunition shelf was almost bare.

That's been the case here for quite a while, and in Oregon earlier this year as well. People are frightened by the authorities' inability to protect their safety, and the threats being made by the Democratic party to confiscate their firearms. They've also seen the chaos that California's new background check for ammunition sales has caused, and since Harris was formerly the Attorney General of California, reasonably conclude that a similar system will be implemented nationwide if Biden wins in November.
 
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   / Good morning!!!! #119,348  
74° with rain, it’s been sun then rain all day, high is to be 75°. We have about .75” of rain overnight. No watering flowers today.
Woke up at 1:30 for a bathroom trip, went back to sleep about 5. But I slept til 8 so overall not too bad.
Wife is visiting her mom today so I might find some work in the garage.
I need to weld a spacer onto my 3pt hitch garbage wheeler lift, it lets the container lean back too far to suit, I end up towing it instead of carrying it. The one I had on my 3000 series Cub Cadet worked better but I lost all that in the fire three years ago. This is the rig on it.
IMG_2643.JPG
 
   / Good morning!!!! #119,349  
71F and mostly cloudy @ 12:00. Headed up to a high of 80F for the day. Supposed to be even warmer tomorrow (by a couple of degrees)

Black and grey squirrels out by bird feeders. Woodpecker tapping on siding just outside window.

Guy on CL has an ad for "clean fill, mostly sandy type soil" for what seems like a reasonable price (delivered, locally) may go ahead and give him a call.

First item on activity agenda will be to refill Water Buffalo then see if I can come up with another rhododendron to fill that last planting hole after I finish prepping the hole.

After that remove shrub bucket take pic of backside for RNG, then put on pallet forks and move some pallets around.

Need to get back to mulching as well.

Probably see about hanging some Irish Spring in a couple of spots if I have time.

Hope everyone has an enjoyable, productive, and safe day ... :thumbsup:
 
   / Good morning!!!! #119,350  
69°F and .02 inches rain.

Need to trim up the dog’s area. I think the little one prefers not to get his butt tickled when doing his business.

Dealer confirmed the oiler cooler is on order so hopefully he might get it next week. Need to power wash the oil from engine compartment.

Prayers for all
Be safe
Have a great day
 
   / Good morning!!!! #119,351  
Drinking first cup of coffee. 48ー with clear skies this morning. Heading to 79ー with lots of sun. I did get a couple of small projects done yesterday. Both of them sealing up old vents into cellar. Still have one more to do. Grocery shopping this morning. Then visit on of the local Cider Mill for some fresh cider.
Finally found where the fruit flies were coming from. A small bag of potatoes had dropped down behind a bin under kitchen sink. Everything rotted in bag. Took everything out from under and thoroughly cleaned.
It is always fun watching squirrels trying to figure out a way to get at bird feeders.

Nice tree rat picture ... :thumbsup:

Glad you found the source of the fruit flies.

RS, I see lots of weeding next year.

LOL ... next year ???

You should see the northwest and southeast planting beds NOW ... weeds are coming on like gangbusters ... :confused2:

Got to get them mulched this weekend ... before it's totally out of control ... :laughing:

11% for another week.

That's good. I think I am going to pick up a 24' aluminum extension ladder, and a ladder stabilizer.

It's getting to the point where I'm having a hard time handling the Werner 28' fiberglass extension ladder ... an aluminum one will reduce the weight by more than half ... :thumbsup:

Also gutter covers for the pole barn gutters. Think I'm going to go with these:

https://www.menards.com/main/buildi...5-4-pieces/1585243/p-1494310841625-c-5812.htm

... if anyone has any input.

Got a quote for new gutters the other day for the house, plus gutter covers for house and pole barn ... it was insane money (almost $10K ... after discounting the "retail" price by $4K ... :shocked:)
 
   / Good morning!!!! #119,352  
One key feature that so far has worked to keep the count honest is requiring us to sign a signature card when we elect to vote by mail

I think here they are using the signature from our drivers licenses. The only trouble with that is you sign with a stylus on a touch pad and mine looks like something produced by a drunk chicken.

That's not the only trouble - people's handwriting/signatures change over time, can be effected by sickness or a temporary medical condition, plus the fact that the people evaluating the signatures are not trained handwriting experts.

The only way such a requirement should ever be implemented is if the state is required to provide the voter the opportunity to cure the defect after the ballot has been disqualified due to an alleged signature mis-match.

BTW - it's not keeping the count honest (bi-partisan election judges do that) ... as much as it is attempting to eliminate vote fraud, stemming from impersonating another.
 
   / Good morning!!!! #119,353  
Wngsprd, good news on Coco 🤙
 
   / Good morning!!!! #119,354  
Also gutter covers for the pole barn gutters. Think I'm going to go with these:

https://www.menards.com/main/buildi...5-4-pieces/1585243/p-1494310841625-c-5812.htm

... if anyone has any input.

Got a quote for new gutters the other day for the house, plus gutter covers for house and pole barn ... it was insane money (almost $10K ... after discounting the price by $4K ... :shocked:)

FWIW, in 2011 I had gutters and downspouts installed here. The price was $4.45/foot for steel 5 1/2" fascia (the biggest he had) gutters, and $55/downspout, installed. He used a machine to roll the gutters on site, worked alone, and was done in one morning. I figure it was about 150' of gutter, 6 downspouts. The total was $1176.65. And I didn't have to get on a ladder, even once.

But I think I'll be on one for a while today, making sure that there is no leaf litter or pine needles in the gutters now, even though I was just up there a month or so ago. More wind tonight, and we'll soon be under another Red Flag warning. The fires to the north are contained, but they're far from out, and while optimistic reports from CalFire's media reps are nice to hear, I'm not taking any chances...
 
   / Good morning!!!! #119,355  
FWIW, in 2011 I had gutters and downspouts installed here. The price was $4.45/foot for steel 5 1/2" fascia (the biggest he had) gutters, and $55/downspout, installed. He used a machine to roll the gutters on site, worked alone, and was done in one morning. I figure it was about 150' of gutter, 6 downspouts. The total was $1176.65. And I didn't have to get on a ladder, even once.

Yeah ... I let the guy (salesman) get about halfway through his dog and pony show before I told him that if their website had all the technical info I was perfectly capable of reading it and making an evaluation of their product and I was mainly interested in the bottomline number.

So he gave me the first number (without the $4K discount, after he had given a competitor's cost which was higher) and asked me what I thought.

I told him I thought it was a heck of a lot of money ... but I used a much different word ... :D

Poor lil' feller ... :laughing:

Don't get me wrong: it seems like a great product (lifetime, transferable warranty, money back guarantee, very highly rated, etc.) ... but he'd probably be better off pitching it in the tony neighborhood where their HQ is located.

FWIW, I had 148' of 6" K-style put on the barn, plus 4 oversized downspouts, probably around the same time as you mention and it cost around what you paid. Similar deal: local guy, his kid and helper, had his own machine and formed them on site, using the color of aluminum I wanted that matched the barn trim.

Plus it included a 30' run for one side of the shop and the downspout for that.

But I think I'll be on one for a while today, making sure that there is no leaf litter or pine needles in the gutters now, even though I was just up there a month or so ago. More wind tonight, and we'll soon be under another Red Flag warning. The fires to the north are contained, but they're far from out, and while optimistic reports from CalFire's media reps are nice to hear, I'm not taking any chances...

Yeah ... better safe than sorry ... :thumbsup:
 
   / Good morning!!!! #119,356  
Rich, sorry about Bo, but thank you for the enlightenment. Sounds like some entertaining times.
 
   / Good morning!!!! #119,357  
Just got back from looking and testing the DK 50...nice tractor...started easy, seems like adequate power. My 4520 has 46 PTO HP, the Kioti has 40...that's probably close enough for my needs. I liked the shuttle shift (my favorite transmission...none of the power loss compared to a hydro) and overall condition of the tractor. It seem to have the Deere desease of the paint fading pretty quickly if not stored inside.
Other then needing a good cleaning, the Kioti is is very nice for a 9 year old tractor that spent it's life outside
One thing I really liked was how robust the front axle...much heavier then the 4520. It (the Kioti) has much larger front tires (my estimate about 33% larger) then the Deere compacts
So, my 4520 is for sale...I have a guy stopping by tomorrow...hopefully, he'll show up
 
   / Good morning!!!! #119,358  
Wish I had a bigger tractor spreading this dirt. BX23 is low on power for getting a scoop of dirt. But it sure beats a shovel and wheel barrow.
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Need to stop the water flow or it will wash out again.
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   / Good morning!!!! #119,360  
had a nice lunch today, only three tables full in whole place so stayed well distanced.
First time I'd eaten out in a restaurant since last April.
Filled my car with non ethanol premium while in town plus got cash from bank to pay campground rent this afternoon.

nice sunny breezy day out, warmer than expected at 83
 

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