Texas Spring/Summer Thread

[jinman]

Well, it finally got hot enough that I fixed the air conditioner on my pickup truck. The compress/evap part was working great, but my blower motor was hit-or-miss. It would work when I first started the truck and then keep running (slowly and inefficiently) until I stopped the truck and shut it off. I could drive to town with air conditioning (sorta) and when I started to come home, the blower would not work. I was sure it was overloading for some reason, maybe binding in the bearings.

It's been that way for two years. I needed to haul my trash to the county drop-off site and I knew it was gonna be a very hot ride back. So, I pulled the truck under the shade tree and took out the blower motor. What I found was that the blower motor was full of leaves. I cleaned out the leaves and held the motor while turning on the switch. It roared to life and seemed to have renewed energy. I sprayed some lube onto the bearings just for insurance and put the motor back it. Now the blower really puts out air and doesn't overload. Once more my old '96 Dodge diesel has come through for me. I drive that truck at least once a week to haul trash and it seems to just keep going despite its age and 375k miles. :cool2:

 

[bindian]

Well, it finally got hot enough that I fixed the air conditioner on my pickup truck. The compress/evap part was working great, but my blower motor was hit-or-miss. It would work when I first started the truck and then keep running (slowly and inefficiently) until I stopped the truck and shut it off. I could drive to town with air conditioning (sorta) and when I started to come home, the blower would not work. I was sure it was overloading for some reason, maybe binding in the bearings.

It's been that way for two years. I needed to haul my trash to the county drop-off site and I knew it was gonna be a very hot ride back. So, I pulled the truck under the shade tree and took out the blower motor. What I found was that the blower motor was full of leaves. I cleaned out the leaves and held the motor while turning on the switch. It roared to life and seemed to have renewed energy. I sprayed some lube onto the bearings just for insurance and put the motor back it. Now the blower really puts out air and doesn't overload. Once more my old '96 Dodge diesel has come through for me. I drive that truck at least once a week to haul trash and it seems to just keep going despite its age and 375k miles. :cool2:

It's amazing how leaves can get lodged in odd places. Every once in a while I get an odd low key noise, at highway speed, and it usually takes a few days to find a leave stuck inside the hood or door.
hugs, Brandi

 

[robbyr]

Kyle; I would sell him. Hadn't really thought about "loaning" him, but that might be an option too. His name is "Hereford". I know, original. I wasn't trying to give names, so that I wouldn't get attached. :laughing: I had 3, and sold "Gray" and "Red". Hereford was gentle enough that I wasn't too worried about liability, since neighbors sometimes have horses here for a couple of weeks at a time.

Glad to know my wife isn't the only one who names the cows. Couple of the wierdest ones are "Bon Bon" and "Ain't got milk":laughing:

 

[robbyr]

Found this outside but not sure what it is. Need y'alls help identifying it.

 

[Bird]

Glad to know my wife isn't the only one who names the cows. Couple of the wierdest ones are "Bon Bon" and "Ain't got milk":laughing:

I guess I'll always remember the milk cow we got when I was 5 years old; a Jersey name Popeye. Mother hated that cow because the cow always wanted to fight her. Popeye was very gentle with men and kids but wanted to attack Mother. The guy Dad got Popeye from said the only thing he could figure out was that his wife always wore pants, or slacks, on the farm and my Mother always wore skirts; never slacks. But since Dad had to spend one night a week in Oklahoma City, Mother had to milk that cow Wednesday night and Thursday morning. But we worked out a solution. I'd go get Popeye in the barn, put her feed in the trough and then stand there by her head and pet her while she ate, and while Mother slipped in, sat down on the stool, did the milking, got up and left. So Popeye couldn't turn her head and see Mother. Mother was very happy when Dad got Popeye bred to a Jersey bull and got lucky with a heifer the first time. If you haven't already guessed it, that heifer was named Sweet Pea.:laughing: Sweet Pea was raised as a family pet, and when she had her first calf and became our milk cow, Dad sold Popeye.

 

[Bird]

Found this outside but not sure what it is. Need y'alls help identifying it.View attachment 327298

That looks exactly like the one I have in my backyard. It's a dust collector, but I don't know what that stuff is that got in yours.

 

[robbyr]

It might be dust or maybe a spider or something been in it?

 

[jinman]

I just put 2 gallons of picante sauce in the freezer. This time, I made it hotter by adding a couple tablespoons of seeds and not cleaning out all the seeds from each pepper. I tested it and it seems just right or will be when it ages out a little and gets even a bit hotter. I'm pretty sure I'll be the only one to eat this batch. In another week, I'm sure I'll need to do the same thing again. Tomorrow I'm gonna slice my monster tomato and make me a tomato, lettuce and mayo sandwich on toast. I'm gettin' hungry just thinking of it.:licking:

This morning my wife started laughing while picking squash and zucs. It seems we missed a zuc that was hiding down near the ground on the backside of the plant. The zuc weighed 4 lb 2.8 oz. My wife is looking up her zucchini bread recipe. I also weighed my 1st Israel melon that I posted a photo of earlier. It weighed 5 lb 11.4 oz. I'm letting it sweeten up and fully ripen for a couple of days and then I'll cut it and post photos.

 

[robbyr]

steaming and peeling tomatoes to put up some picante too. It usually is good I'm just not fast at making it.

 

[farmgirl19]

70% chance of rain for Sunday and Sunday night! I'll get some areas of the lawn mowed early in the morning. Only needs it in some areas, since we've had no rain, and most is turning yellow. Once I finish mowing, maybe I can weed eat some too.

I added a new spinner to the steering wheel of the JD, and greased all of the zerk fittings today. Did a little tractor work, and was 99* by 11:30, when I came back indoors to begin dealing with the garden harvest. I think the cooler temps will be MOST welcome, but actually NEED the rain more!