Recent content by Obed

Working on the second round stack of firewood. The first stack can be seen in the background covered by a brown tarp. We have used up the firewood from the front half of the first stack. I cut holes in a vent pipe for the center of the round stack. This pipe provides a conduit for air...

The same storm knocked down a tree at the edge of the front yard. Unfortunately, it was also leaning against another tree. After cutting the trunk near the stump at an angle, this tree didn't fall. What I didn't realize was that the tree was lying on the tall stump of a smaller tree that...

Yes, I did get the tree down. It required cutting the leaning tree trunk at an angle so the tree could slide freely off the stump. I don't think I would have figured it out without youtube.

Now that I can post pictures, continuing where I left off... I removed what limbs I safely could from the top of the leaning tree. I then tried to cut the trunk about 10 feet from the root ball thinking the tree would fall to the ground. Nothing doing. The angular force of the top of the...

I was able to upload one file tonight then no more. I have tried it from 2 different computers using IE9, Firefox, and Chrome. I noticed this same issue 3 days ago. I can attach previously uploaded files as seen below. Obed

Cleanup I cut off some of the top of the widow maker that was over the basement driveway. NOTE: I had to stop this post prematurely due to troubles uploading files.

Gutters My wife called 4 gutter guys about the repairs and only one returned her call. Sometimes we are just glad we can find anyone to do a job and can't be picky about who we get. One bonus to the gutter damage was that gutter was originally installed draining water the wrong direction away...

Storm Damage (cont'd) Many of the downed trees are leaning against other trees. These leaners are known as "widow makers" because of the dangerous unpredictable ways the trees often fall when they are cut. While it is difficult to assess the size of these trees from the pictures...

Storm Damage Two weeks ago, when returning home from a day excursion with the family, we noticed hints of a recent storm as we drove down the driveway. The farther we got, the worse things looked. There was a straight line path about 200 feet wide with the tallest trees blown over. The path...

The new push mower seems to work well enough. I tried mowing in regular side cut mode and mulch mode. When in mulch mode, I didn't like the noise the mower was making in the tall grass. So I switched back to regular side cut mode. I installed this safety feature on my mower. I was...

Hornets Nests These are the first two hornets nests I've had to remove from the house since we built it. One nest seemed abandoned. The other nest had an occupant. I waited for the occupant to leave and knocked the nest down with a telescopic pole. The occupant returned but it no longer...

My New Push Mower It is a Troybilt TB130 with a 160cc Honda engine. It is not self-propelled. I can push a non-self propelled faster than I can walk behind a more expensive, heavier, and harder to maneuver self-propelled model. So I greatly prefer a push mower over a self-propelled mower...

Last weekend I visited some people who had these carpenter bee traps hanging on their porch. They appear to work. The bees crawl in the holes. When they crawl into the plastic jar, they cannot find their way out of the jar. I need to get some of these.

Replacing the Drive Belt on the Kubota Mower In order to fix the issue I had getting my mower to drive up a hill two years ago, I replaced the drive belt, tension pulley spring, and fixed the tension pulley. Unfortunately, the mower is having trouble moving again. So I decided to try...

Here's half of the winter spinach harvest from the garden.