Thanks for the feedback, RS.
My pleasure.
In all candor, I'm not sure if the deer are even eating any hosta here yet - treated or otherwise.
When I saw them in the morning this last time it looked like they had been browsing on the low branches of a newly leafed-out maple tree.
These the two are where I sprinkled the deer repellent:
And this is the area southeast of the house where we planted a bunch last year which I have not treated. No obvious damage that I can see so far, but I didn't inspect it real closely either:
Gonna have to get on the weeds in that patch (and a few others
) here this next week.
I use a 1 gallon plastic pail for the Deer Scram, filled from a 5 gallon bucket of the stuff. I just grab a handful and sprinkle it on. Went through two gallons of it under the solar panels. I got an email reply from the Deer Scram folks, who said my five year old batch may have lost effectiveness.
I take it that it was not a recent purchase of the stuff then ?
(as in a recent purchase where the supplier provided five old repellent)
My recollection is that it didn't have much effect when it was new, either, which is why I still had most of that five gallon pail left.
IC.
I've been looking at fence charger reviews, but like most anything you buy on Amazon, there are enough bad reviews about the solar powered ones to be cautious. Some companies have good support, some don't. This will be a Prime purchase for sure.
Ours (which is AC, not solar, and which we only had up a short time back in the day when we had a garden) seemed to due a decent job. Got it at TSC, was a Zareba brand - which I understand is supposed to be pretty decent.
Looking on Amazon it seems most of their stuff is rated at 4 - 5 stars. Might be worth a look.
FWIW, the
Stealth-CAM on the patio has been in action for almost three years now with no problems, other than that I haven't been very good at checking it or keeping the batteries charged. It uses a dozen AAs at a time, and they last a loooooooong time. Never seen anything on it but me or visitors.
Good to know ...
It will trigger on the hummers, but the image quality isn't such that you could tell if they're male or female. If I get a chance today I'll try to post an image or two.
Thanks for doing so.
Part of what made this such a great country was the freedom for its people to manage risk in their own ways, and to enjoy or suffer from the consequences. I hope things continue that way, but lawyers, politicians, and insurance companies are doing their best to destroy that freedom, among others.
Part of the reason why that occurs is failure at the individual level.
Imagine what it would be like if there was no legal requirement for everyone to carry at least liability insurance when operating a motor vehicle.
I was finishing off the last of the mowing yesterday, thinking about how much faster and easier it's been this year with the bigger tractor. It's more stable, and even though I have caught a rear up hill wheel lofting a couple of times, there've been no heart-in-mouth moments like in previous years. Part of that is because, at least in the upper meadow with all the trees, I mowed in the uphill direction, then looped around to a less steep area to come back down. That or just backed down on the freshly mowed pass.
That would be my inclination on how to approach it.
For some reason on the back meadow, I started mowing downhill, in grass tall enough I can't judge very well what the ground looks like. So when the wheels start to slip, instead of just spinning instead of moving the tractor forward, in the downhill direction, the tractor tries to take off and I end up slamming the FEL down to stop it. So I'm thinking I'll take another swap at the back meadow, mowing uphill this time. That will let me avoid a lot of time with the weed eater, one tool I really don't like using.
I also remembered that I ran a sprinkler line up to the top of the upper meadow, where the new water tank will go. Not sure what condition it's in, as CalFire cut a fire break up there after the 2016 Saddle Fire. But if I can get it working again, I can hook up a hose and start excavating the terrace for that tank, knowing I can put out any grass fire that work might start. So that's what I'll be up to today.
Be good to get that tank in and filled before you get into peak fire season.
Seems like every time I take something to the Stihl dealer for repair, they change out the carb. I guess it's easier to replace them than it is to rebuild them.
Time is money ... and when they are working on your gear, it likely be your money in the end ...
