Good morning!!!!

[KilroyJC]

Mark- My + thoughts and prayers for a quick recovery.

Drew- I hope that all your travel plans go as planned, and will be sharing your adventures here.


David- Your spread is amazing. Thanks for sharing your pics. I am happy to read that your neighbor is reaching out and happier that you and Sophie accepted.


Wagtail- I am happy to read that the horses get along.


rswyan- I really enjoy those hairy little fish on pizza. Our dog loves the oil mixed into his food. Thanks for sharing your pics.


Kilroy- I am sorry to read about your neighbors; and even sadder to read about your gravel “delivery” challenges.


Ron- I’ve been feeding the birds here for ~45 years and I have never seen a Pileated woodpecker at our feeders. Nice picture; thanks for sharing.

It was a breezy overcast 51ºF for this morning's low temperature. The high level clouds have thinned, but the smoke remains and it has been a filtered sunny day so far with 23mph gusts recorded. It is currently 71ºF and this afternoon's high is predicted to be in the mid70ºF's; not too tough to handle.

It was a productive morning I found an electrician through "Craig's List" who will change the 60A fuses probably this coming Saturday morning. The rider mower fired right up and I mowed the vegetation in front of the house and set a walking path "complex" in the lower field. I really do not care that from above it looks like someone extremely impaired mowed the lower field.

Not as exciting as Ron's Pileated Woodpecker. A newly arrived Catbird just about to enter the avian fray around the suet cage

I go through life with positive thoughts and low expectation, hoping for the best, but not expecting much, so I am often “disappointed but not surprised”. However, Mrs tends to to take such setbacks as a deliberate personal affront…

 

[daugen]

time to conserve energy David

RS, how far are you from the Cuyahoga River?
you soon may see a really big ship going up and down it.
Some remarkable seamanship to get a 600 foot ship around those tight bends
in the River.
I'd like to see that...

I watch the YT videos of the big lake ships coming in and out of the Great Lakes ports,
for an old Captain, fun to watch.

Kilroy, RNG is a walking dictionary on home fire safety. He survived when others didn't.
just need a lot of open ground between your home and the woods.
Just more room to grow a bigger garden...

I'd also recommend a decent set of fire gear, burns are bad news. Smoke is almost as bad
I wonder what the fire company does with SCBA that are past dated and can no longer be certified?
If you are going to fight fires, you need some safety gear.
Safety first...

 

[Popgadget]

Got some wiring jobs coming up, and am fed up with the knock off automatic wire strippers I picked up several years ago that don't work. Gonna try a pair made by Klein

Also gonna splurge on a tie wrap tensioner/cutter that's supposed to work very well. Really tired of slicing my hands up on the sharp stubs left when I can't get flush cutting pliers on the left over stem.

You won’t regret either purchase. I have two of the strippers, I got one for my tool bag because the one on the bench worked so well.
I have the Panduit TyWrap tool and use it almost daily.

 

[KilroyJC]

That’s sad, Kilroy
Was thinking maybe some pics of license plates.

We used to have a sheriff’s deputy livin three doors before druggies (they moved last year). I suggested that an unmarked parked on his driveway with a license plate reader would work wonders. He proceeded to tell me how expensive the equipment was, and that it couldn’t just be used randomly blah blah blah.

I told him (factually) that I had run my agency’s Tehnical Unit for three years, I still have my pole climbing gear for installing wiretaps (ancient technologies now), and it didn’t matter how much equipment cost if it gets dusty on the shelf.

If there is no official interest, there is no point. I am retired, and unless Charlie gets inside the wire it is someone else’s problem. It sucks to fell that way, but it is the state of things out here.

 

[daugen]

Kilroy, they need to build a case. I'd go to head of state narcotics and lodge a complaint.
But it would take video preferably and/or pictures to build a case.
Not you wanting a better quality neighbor because he has a rusted purple Desoto on his front lawn.
But if you have repeated transactions documented, they can justify a search warrant.

If nothing else works, I'd plant a row of really big trees or tall shrubs. Sorry you've got that to deal with

 

[RedNeckGeek]

The house site would be solid on the ground —- I am not a fan of houses on stilts! But the lookout deck would be at ground level at one end and approximately 8’ to 9’ posts, above the road up the hill so it cannot fall too far

This house sits on a level concrete slab, that sits on on rock. No stilts involved. But 30' off the back porch the slope takes off downhill at anywhere between a 17° and 25° angle. And that's what the insurance companies don't like.

 

[jbrumberg]

We used to have a sheriff’s deputy livin three doors before druggies (they moved last year). I suggested that an unmarked parked on his driveway with a license plate reader would work wonders. He proceeded to tell me how expensive the equipment was, and that it couldn’t just be used randomly blah blah blah.

I told him (factually) that I had run my agency’s Tehnical Unit for three years, I still have my pole climbing gear for installing wiretaps (ancient technologies now), and it didn’t matter how much equipment cost if it gets dusty on the shelf.

If there is no official interest, there is no point. I am retired, and unless Charlie gets inside the wire it is someone else’s problem. It sucks to fell that way, but it is the state of things out here.

Kilroy- I come with a different professional perspective and sadly, I agree.

It was a good day. I got the rider up and mowing this morning. + Our 40 year old builtin convective oven/microwave the bed a couple of days ago. Of course cabinetry "standard sizes" have changed which leads to another way to go with unit replacement and this afternoon a really decent microwave was delivered. I "un-builtin" the microwave so they would take the old unit. I was able to replace the new unit within the existing cabinet cavity and this unit has 2X the cubic capacity and power.

I have some muscle groups complaining and now HH to calm their whining.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

I plan on lots of firebreaks and a cistern up there, for my personal FF use. Even though the local FD station is within view across the valley..

Uphill about 100' from the house sits a 10,000 gallon water tank that in turn feeds a 2500 water tank at the house. There are sprinkler heads on the roof all the way around the house, and the pump that feeds them is driven by what amounts to an off grid power system. The insurance companies doen't give a flip; they want a fire hydrant.

I'm 6.1 miles and 11 minutes from the nearest fire station that is manned 24x7x365, and the house is still rated Protection Class 9, the worst you can get.

There's nothing but bare mineral earth for at least 100' around the house.

None of that matters to the insurance companies. If you haven't already, make a few calls to some of the bigger insurers and see if they'll quote a policy for the house you envision. Then at least you'll know one way or the other if it can be insured, and if so, for how much.

You've mentioned that there's no cell reception at the land you've purchased. So no internet via cell. Same here. Have you looked for a WiMax provider that covers the area? Or maybe the telco has run fiber? If not, you're looking at satellite, and they all suck, even Starlink. And in many areas, Starlink is so oversubscribed there's a waiting list to get on.

Not trying to give you a hard time, just sharing a bit of my 13 year experience at this place, and some of the biggest regrets I have in moving here.

 

[m7040]

Went to HD and picked up a few more plants for wife. She had a not so good day and wanted some diversion and she loves driving and it somehow makes her pains more manageable.

Mowed a couple of areas including one of the tree plantings with long grass.
When putting away the mower it would not shut off with the key and noticed the gauges do not work either. Was able to shut the engine off by turning a lever on the injection pump. Tomorrow I will start to check this out. Maybe a wire got torn off by a branch but will start at the battery and work my way in from there to the fuse box etc

 

[KilroyJC]

Kilroy, they need to build a case. I'd go to head of state narcotics and lodge a complaint.
But it would take video preferably and/or pictures to build a case.
Not you wanting a better quality neighbor because he has a rusted purple Desoto on his front lawn.
But if you have repeated transactions documented, they can justify a search warrant.

If nothing else works, I'd plant a row of really big trees or tall shrubs. Sorry you've got that to deal with

I have installed a 5+ft fence and that corner of the property is very dense with rhodos and mountain laurel. And our shed provides some blockage, too. It is great visually, but sound travels differently than light…

CPS and Probation are there on a regular basis.

I made my complaint to the HOA when the county ADA was VP of the HOA board. And was told that I was the troublemaker for complaining.

Being retired means I have zero qualified immunity, and I already know I have zero backup here.

So I will post here in the wee hours and BMC about them. But we have to live here, and the CBA points to putting up with the noise.