Good morning!!!!

[RedNeckGeek]

Good Morning!!!! 61F @ 4:30AM. Sunny. High 76F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph.

Beautiful spring day with highs in the mid 70s yesterday. Deer were out in the upper meadow gettin' busy on the grass, then just layin' around on the ground they were so full come sundown. It was so nice out I had dinner on the back porch: A great big dish of that spaghetti'n'meatballs from the Instant Pot. What was left on the dinner plate'll make a nice lunch today.

The paint was dry on the replacement oil pan for the old motorcycle yesterday, so instead of finishing up the wiring I thought I'd install it. I'd drained the 40 weight oil the day before, so the old one wasn't such a mess to take off. The previous owner did me a favor by using a silicon based sealant, so it wasn't even too bad scraping off the old cork gasket. Thought I'd spend a few minutes looking for the leak, and quickly spotted three deep gashes across the surface where the oil drain plug sealed. Spent a looooong time draw filing 'em out, only to find that the leak was still there. With a rubber plug installed and a few ounces of rubbing alcohol in the pan, I could hold it up over my head and looking through a pair of Optivisors at 7x I could see a drip coming through the braze joint holding the drain plug boss to the pan. :duh: Close examination of the outside revealed a crack in the joint, and it was full of debris from years of being on the underside of the engine. Probably formed from years of over torquing the drain plug trying to get the aluminum or copper crush washer to seal over those three gashes I'd spotted. So I put the replacement pan on, even though cosmetically it was a bit more beat up. Used ThreeBond 1207, a newer tube in black. I really like the black color because it's easier to see against silver aluminum, and it keeps me from applying it too thickly. But black sure stands out on a silver oil pan, especially when I kept missing the hole for each of the twelve bolts and there was a dab of the stuff on each bolt so they wouldn't leak. In spite of my efforts to not put too much on, the sealer squeezed out quite a bit, and that got smeared around to add to the mess. At least it looked like a mess from what I could see, as trying to peer up overhead through the bifocal at the bottom of my lenses didn't produce too sharp a picture, which may help to explain why I had so much fun getting those twelve little bolts into their twelve little holes. Half a roll of paper towels and most of a can of spray solvent later and most of it was cleaned up, but I have a feeling I'll be finding spots I missed every time I change the oil.:confused3:

Think I'll head to town a day early this week and pick up some 30 weight oil for the old bike, then swing by and see if I can surprise the mechanic not working on the van. The thinner oil should make kick starting easier, and I'll be changing it out in just a few hundred miles anyway to flush away any debris that might have been left behind fifteen years ago when the engine was rebuilt. My last couple visits at the mechanic seemed to be staged so I'd see some activity when I walked in, but the amount of work done since the last time made it pretty clear that he was waiting on my arrival to do anything so it would look better for him. If I'm right, the engine will still be laying on the floor where I saw it last week, and it'll be time for another come to Jesus meeting.:muttering:

Happy Hump Day, folks!

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Good morning! Prayers for Ed and family.

I'm sitting here updating my wife about Ed's mom and we send our condolences.

Also told her of Randy and Ellen being an "item".

It is absolutely POURING RAIN IN BUCKETS here right now. I will drive my kids to school when it slows, tardy or not. Then I will debate going to work the 68 miles through the storm....my tires are so-so right now at about 50% tread. Maybe my mushroom compost will get soaked into the garden. This is the first significant rain we've had in a loooong time (over a month or more). We've been watering the garden with city water.

Have a blessed day all.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

RNG, you're up very early today. Or should I say up all night? Be sure to take a blood pressure pill before you go to the mechanic....


Don, you are right. The dewberries are getting a flooding drink.

 

[txdon]

RNG, you're up very early today. Or should I say up all night? Be sure to take a blood pressure pill before you go to the mechanic....
.

RNG won't need a BP pill he knows what to expect. However if the van is finished they might have to call an ambulance for a heart attack!

 

[Bird]

Good morning! 11˚ cooler than yesterday now at 60˚, the cool front blew in yesterday , then back up and is now pushing forward with severe thunderstorms. Whipper is inside sleeping. This storm is huge it extends from San Antonio To Memphis. Just what the dewberries need.

Yep, cool front has us down to 54 degrees this morning, going for a high of 60. And it appears that the rain might be over for us, so I just went out and poured about 2.18" of rain out of my gauge; puddles standing everywhere. So now the yard needs mowing, but I don't know how long it'll be before it's dry enough to mow. In other words, we got about 4 times as much rain as was forecast.

 

[farmer2009]

55 this morning and headed to 62 today. Rain all day. We weren’t dry but I’ve come to not wish any rain away. As the spicket can turn off any day and then have the key lost till November.

Will be decrusting in between rain showers today. Have a house and half left to do. Then start getting ready for a trip to Lake Chatuge, Georgia this weekend. Never been before.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

RNG won't need a BP pill he knows what to expect. However if the van is finished they might have to call an ambulance for a heart attack!

:laughing::laughing::laughing::laughing::laughing:

Supposed to be near record high temps around here this week, and the chances of the engine even being in the van, let alone running, are about as good as a snowball's chance in, er, out on the back porch...:fiery:

 

[toppop52]

We are about 6 weeks away from our last gray’easter, that’s those spring phenomenon here on the Delmarva where we get stuck under a marine layer with easterly flow and dreary cool days that last from 2 days to 10 days. Then the heat is on until about October. About 10 years ago the heat moved in the first week of May and didn’t leave, but late May is more normal.

 

[PJSprog]

42°F and cloudy this morning, going up to 56° today. This is one of the two dry days for us this week, as the blob of rain coming up from Texas has moved to the south of us for the time being. Friday is looking pretty decent as well.

The dogs have been very good at reminding us that Mud Season is indeed upon us now. The little one seems especially fond of playing in it.

 

[jbrumberg]

Good morning everyone-

Freezing rain showers early this AM. The rain has stopped and temperatures may react the mid 40F's today. I see periods of rain in my future this week. I agree with Buppies as to a "cool down" the first part of April. The models reflect waves of cold air in Canada ejecting down into the CONUS with brief "warming" periods trailing each cold wave. April 1 and 3 - 4 may have low pressure systems impacting the east CONUS with mostly rain, but possible elevation dependent snow and snow in the northern NE tier. I may see some snow with the second modeled system. In April anything weather-wise can happen around here.

David- I agree with RNG about the Ibuprofen for Sophie. It really messes with the GI system and liver and probably the kidneys. I really can not take or should not take OTC anti-inflammatory meds for reasons posted.

Eric- In hindsight I must have been delusional about my beliefs about how to "pick up" women, but I was dirt poor and did not have much else to offer. Once wifey-to-be and I started living together I gave her a cigar band ring, and many (~30) years after that she got her "rock." I hung it in the Christmas Tree alongside a really nice trilobite fossil that I bought. Wifey was not impressed with the fossil. I do not care what wifey thinks, it's a really nice fossil.

Wngsprd- Thanks. I am waiting for Momma bear and cub(s) to make an appearance in a week or two. Last year she had 3 cubs.

Randy- I hope that you have many more opportunities to show off the GF.

I think that it's a "no go" on the Saint Bernard rescue. I do not really understand Facebook, but it seems to me that the dog that we applied for was adopted to a ME family. I was referred to a FB St. B. "clearinghouse" by the Saint Bernard Rescue Group. What is is.

LS- I hope the MCL is tolerable today. Take care.

Ed- I hope that all is well with you, your Wife, and family.

My + thoughts, wishes, and prayers for all.