Good morning!!!!

[rswyan]

86F and sunny @13:45, HI 89, headed up to a high of 88F. Going to be a hot one today so will likely avoid any really strenuous activities in the sun. Chance of scattered thunderstorms on Thursday, other than that it looks pretty dry throughout the rest of the Ten Day.

Welcome to the Dog Days of Summer.

Woman woke me up this morning to inform me that her car battery was dead so she was taking the van. Ok, sure. (She had volunteered to go in today to cover for someone that had a funeral to go to)

Apparently having the doors and trunk open most of yesterday afternoon flattened it.

So will need to get the battery charger put on ... once I get The Squeak back in from her safari and can open the garage door.

Need to remove the iris and hemlock plants from their bags and water them (all are potted) and probably check various other plants to see if they need watered as well. May go ahead and put the new valve on the water buffalo once I get it emptied.

Have determined that the east side of the frog pond is probably the best place for the iris and peonies - it gets a good amount of sunlight - probably at least 8 hours (from 9AM to 5PM or later) during the summer. So will start removing things that are currently stored there (grapple, MMM, another pallet of lumber) to other locations so I can spray it and kill off the weeds.

Speaking of spraying, that will be on the agenda for later today and tomorrow - no rain and winds are supposed to be lighter. So I'll go ahead and get another tank mixed up.

Clean out 65 gallon spray tank and figure out what I need in the way of fittings to put a shut-off on the drain and then adapt that to a garden hose connection. Get it mounted and strapped down to a pallet.

Also need to hose off some industrial shelving I got from a friend so it can be brought inside. Original plan was to use for temporary racking in the fish room, while I built the wooden racks. May forgo that at this point, opting to just get the wooden racks built and instead use the metal shelving to set up a workbench + storage shelves back in the utility room.

Once I get the patio area out back cleaned up and the legs cut for the new sawhorses and those put together I can start moving all the lumber that's stored in the family room out to the patio so it can be sanded and painted.

Other than that, refill hopper feeder + any others that need it, clean out birdbath and refill.

Still seeing a number of bluebirds in the area, flying around ... don't know whether any are still laying eggs. Need to check nest boxes.

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

 

[rswyan]

BEF hope for a good result on your kitty.

 

[Bird]

Have I mentioned before, more than a dozen times, that I hate hot weather? Only 88 degrees with no breeze at all this morning while I was mowing the yard. Sweated off 2 pounds. And now it's 97 degrees out there. It does make you appreciate a good cool shower.

 

[sodamo]

Because of increased covid?

Mowing temporary suspended HI 100 (temp91F). Batteries heat protection will not let me recharge.

No doubt a factor. Host had planned for an open air gathering on their covered lanai, but the rain meant it would have been closed in. Just being extra cautious as all attendees are fully vaccinated. I wouldn’t have cancelled if at our house, but respect others’ choices regarding theirs.

 

[Bird]

I have no idea what it's like in your area, but in this area, we've had a terrible time with the Department of Public Safety Driver's License offices. My daughter and granddaughter have had a terrible time getting an appointment for granddaughter to get her first driver's license; haven't gotten it yet. And then with the pandemic it's been so difficult for anyone to get into a driver's license office for anything that the state has said you won't be issued a traffic citation if you should be stopped and have an expired driver's license. The Denton office was small, parking lot small, etc. The last time I renewed my own driver's license in Denton, I got there about an hour before it opened and was only second in line. But since then things have gotten much worse.

So finally, the state decided to build a new facility in Denton. That new facility opened last week; much bigger facility, much bigger parking lot, many more employees, more than twice as many employees waiting on customers, etc. So just out of curiosity, I drove by the place about 4:40 a.m. yesterday and found only 5 people sitting by the door waiting for it to open at 7 a.m. In other words they were going to be sitting there at least 2 hours and 20 minutes to be sure they could get in; I have no idea what time they got there. I drove by again about 6:30 a.m. (half hour before opening) and there was well over 100 people lined up outside.

About 9:30 a.m. I was curious enough to drive by again, and no one standing outside; lots of cars in the parking lot, but still plenty of parking, so I just decided to walk in and see what the place looked like. More than 100 people sitting in the two waiting rooms, but a nice young lady started showing me around a bit, and happened to mention that, in Texas, we can now renew our driver's license two years before it's due to expire. Mine is due to expire in a year and a half, so I asked, "How about going ahead and renewing it?" So she checks on her computer and tells me I have to have my birth certificate OR a passport to renew the same license I've had for 65 years. So now I'm really curious to see how bad things have gotten.

Since it's only 6.5 miles from my house, I came home, got my old certified birth certificate and went back. Got a number assigned, filled out a two sided one page questionnaire, and had a seat in one of the straight chairs, spaced about 3 or 4 feet apart, and sat there and watched the numbers on a screen as people were called to one of the clerks. I was called in just over an hour of sitting there. And a very pleasant young lady looked at my old license, birth certificate, asked if I had my social security card. I did not and she quickly said, "That's OK." She got my thumb prints, make a photo of me, and for $33 (charged on a credit card) gave me a sheet of paper showing my new license to be received in two weeks and to be good until January 2031. And I got home before noon.

So it still takes some time, but pleasant folks to deal with and a lot better than in the past. And of course I don't even expect to live to the expiration date on my new license.

 

[daugen]

went out and watered the veggies, then carried four pails of water to those butterfly bushes which
were looking mighty sad. I think 2 out of 4 will recover. Lesson learned about my water ditch.
Really would like to plant a couple of weeping willows there, they'd love it.
Just got in before sweat broke out
I'll do more watering after dinner

I'm hoping the tomatoes will be photo friendly when I get home, about half a dozen starting to turn.
Reminds me I need to order another digital scale. Have to know what the tomato weighs, right?
One hefty fellow looks to be a one pounder. Nice size for big sandwich slices.

about 94 out, doing laundry, packing a bag and for sure staying indoors.
Air is a bit grey out also.

 

[toppop52]

I have no idea what it's like in your area, but in this area, we've had a terrible time with the Department of Public Safety Driver's License offices. My daughter and granddaughter have had a terrible time getting an appointment for granddaughter to get her first driver's license; haven't gotten it yet. And then with the pandemic it's been so difficult for anyone to get into a driver's license office for anything that the state has said you won't be issued a traffic citation if you should be stopped and have an expired driver's license. The Denton office was small, parking lot small, etc. The last time I renewed my own driver's license in Denton, I got there about an hour before it opened and was only second in line. But since then things have gotten much worse.

So finally, the state decided to build a new facility in Denton. That new facility opened last week; much bigger facility, much bigger parking lot, many more employees, more than twice as many employees waiting on customers, etc. So just out of curiosity, I drove by the place about 4:40 a.m. yesterday and found only 5 people sitting by the door waiting for it to open at 7 a.m. In other words they were going to be sitting there at least 2 hours and 20 minutes to be sure they could get in; I have no idea what time they got there. I drove by again about 6:30 a.m. (half hour before opening) and there was well over 100 people lined up outside.

About 9:30 a.m. I was curious enough to drive by again, and no one standing outside; lots of cars in the parking lot, but still plenty of parking, so I just decided to walk in and see what the place looked like. More than 100 people sitting in the two waiting rooms, but a nice young lady started showing me around a bit, and happened to mention that, in Texas, we can now renew our driver's license two years before it's due to expire. Mine is due to expire in a year and a half, so I asked, "How about going ahead and renewing it?" So she checks on her computer and tells me I have to have my birth certificate OR a passport to renew the same license I've had for 65 years. So now I'm really curious to see how bad things have gotten.

Since it's only 6.5 miles from my house, I came home, got my old certified birth certificate and went back. Got a number assigned, filled out a two sided one page questionnaire, and had a seat in one of the straight chairs, spaced about 3 or 4 feet apart, and sat there and watched the numbers on a screen as people were called to one of the clerks. I was called in just over an hour of sitting there. And a very pleasant young lady looked at my old license, birth certificate, asked if I had my social security card. I did not and she quickly said, "That's OK." She got my thumb prints, make a photo of me, and for $33 (charged on a credit card) gave me a sheet of paper showing my new license to be received in two weeks and to be good until January 2031. And I got home before noon.

So it still takes some time, but pleasant folks to deal with and a lot better than in the past. And of course I don't even expect to live to the expiration date on my new license.

My stepdaughter ride on expired temp tag for over six months before the MVA finally sent the tags.

 

[txdon]

Got a notice, from the insurance co., that they will no longer cover bodily injury or property damage caused by specific breeds of dogs:
Akita
Cane Corso
Chow Chow
Doberman
Dogo Argentino
Mastiff
Pit Bull
Presa Canario
Rottweiler
Staffordshire Terrier (all)
Wolf or Wolf Hybrids
trained guard or attack dogs
Animals with a history of biting
Or any animal deemed dangerous, vicious, or potentially dangerous under state statue.

 

[PJSprog]

That smells like a lawsuit just waiting to happen, Don.

 

[Thomas]

Cat has diabetic keto acidosis. They are giving him insulin tonight. They want him in animal hospital but local one is full, would have to go further away.
The cat is 16 yo.

Finger cross with positive thoughts.