Good Morning!!!! 62F @ 7:00AM. Sunny. High 88F. Winds NW at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.
The Fire Weather Warning has been escalated to a Red Flag Warning, lasting through Monday. Humidity is at 26% now, dropping into the single digits later today, with winds in the mid 20 MPH range, gusting higher.
Thanks for the feedback, RS. 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. 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. 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.
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. 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.
There's nothing like having the right tools for the job, Paul. Makes doing the job right the first time easy. My collection of welding clamps is equally impressive, bordering on the obsessive some might say.
I'm not a big fan of the Chinese, and there's no doubt they're a world power that puts their own interests ahead of being a responsible world citizen. Often to the detriment of their own people. I hadn't heard of the deorbiting space lab, Drew, and only hope that it's empty when it hits the atmosphere.
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.
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. 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.
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. They also put in a new fuel line, and adjusted the valves. Yes, this newer Stihl two stroke engine has valves in it. Something I didn't know because there's no mention of how to adjust them in the owner's manual. It was explained to me that instead of the valve gap closing up with use, which is what usually happens on air cooled engines, the gap on these engines opens up. So the piston is working against more compression during starting, and that makes if very difficult to pull the cord. The dealer adjusted the valves, and now it's once again easy to pull the cord. I haven't tried to start it yet, though. Supposedly the Makita pole saw will be ready for pickup at Home Depot next week.
Put the water tank purchase on the Visa card yesterday. That'll juice up this month's cash back bonus! They said it'll be at their place next week, so I need to get crackin' on that terrace.
Hope eveyone enjoys their weekend!
