Good morning!!!!

[buckeyefarmer]

Been looking at Tucson, havent driven one yet.

Got turbo tax today, got most of info in tonight. Says I get a huge refund. I have to check for a huge mistake somewhere.

 

[mostly_gas]

Good evening all. 48F for the start, clear light breeze. Winds kicked up quite a bit, sky stayed clear and high temp was 70F. Forecast for tomorrow at 8AM rife time is 37F :confused2: Rode early to miss the afternoon winds, after lunch and nap finished the splitting .

Prayers for all.

 

[jbrumberg]

BEF- I am pretty impressed with the Tucson that I am driving. The AWD is pretty solid; the 4WD even more so. It has some decent pep when the pedal is to the metal too. I am curious as to the gearing between what is sold in CR and the USA.

The idiot upshift/downshift light is annoying.

 

[sseelhoff]

Sseelhoff- We have never been to the northwest part of Costa Rica so we decided to focus on that area. So far we have been to San Jose, Paquero, Santa Teresa, and Islita. Next week we plan to go to the Jaco area. Wifey wants to go back to Manuel Antonio State/Federal Park where I had the brawl with those freakin "not so cute" white faced capuchen monkeys. I will be making/taking a walking stick if we go there. And then back to San Jose and home.

I agree about this country's natural wonders and the friendliness of the Costa Ricans is amazing. I have been to Arenal three times. I have never seen it due to its cloud cover, but I could hear it. I had several 3 week tours of duty down there with my "retirement" job; mostly down in the jungles of the Osa Peninsula and Puerto Jimenez (where only the wanted and unwanted go) doing experiential learning and community service projects with high school/college prep (chemically addicted) children. One of my favorite areas is the Monteverde region with the cloud/rain forests and all the birdlife there.

Enjoy! We love CR. The last time we were at Arenal, it had erupted the night before. Sky was unusually clear. It was phenomenal. But that smell! Just a see bit sulphurry. And we got to see monkeys flinging poo at a group of touristas who had stopped to take pictures of those cute little monkeys.

 

[jbrumberg]

"..... And we got to see monkeys flinging poo at a group of touristas who had stopped to take pictures of those cute little monkeys"- Sseelhoff

I am really envious. That sulfur smell is something. It was really bad at Poas.

Poo bombs and "golden showers" and worse

The spider monkeys are the worst. I spent 5 days hiking in the jungle getting sticks, poo bombs, and body fluids dropping on me from the tree canopy. I had a bad attitude about monkeys before the "capuchen incident." I still like the howler monkeys and the male's vocalizations. I finally saw one in the wild in Islita at the place where we were staying.

 

[txdon]

Good morning! Ha finally beat Roy! Opps, it's Saturday, I guess it does not count. Actually the VFD pager woke me up at midnight. A smoke detector alarm was called in by an alarm company. The house was closer than the fire station so I went straight there and disregarded the trucks after finding no smoke in a vacant house. Good night.

 

[RoyJackson]

2018-02-10, 0402

20 right now with a bit of snow coming down. High...about 40 with a rain/snow mix. Reckon we might see an inch or so before it ends. That means I'll hit the walks and drive again.
Primary chore today is making a dump run.
When I cleared my neighbor's drive a couple days ago, I noticed his Gator was still on the fields below the house...probably stuck down there. I'll give him a hand getting it out, if he asks. Good guy, but a bit particular when he wants help. Actually, about all I could do for him is see if I can clear the road (wide path is a better description) with the tractor and hope I don't get stuck!

Added:
I've been suffering with really dry skin...bad enough to go to the doctor's. He prescribed prednisone and Benadryl as well as using baby lotion after my morning shower. Hasn't seemed to help much. My skin on my neck, lower back and arms is red and itchy to the point of painful. The skin is also wrinkled....almost like I'm turning reptilian (or The Elephant Man!).
Any recommendations?

 

[Ed of all trades]

Good morning all, was watching a movie with wife last night and the closed caption was double and at an angle, at least when I looked at it. Woke about an hour ago with a monster headache. Got up and took some neproxin. It's a little better. Ed

 

[Eric Salop]

Forecast is "breezy" today. That's a bit of an understatement. Despite keeping the range cooker fed with some big lumps of elm past 9pm last night, the firebox looked surprisingly empty this morning, the "breeze" had helped it consume every last piece, not a single glowing ember by this morning. Not that I'm complaining, the best part of cold weather is being able to make a new fire every day. I wonder if that fascination will fade if I ever grow up ?

The dumper was proving stubborn yesterday, I don't think it wants to leave me. It wasn't interested in hand cranking and I spent a few happy hours chatting to the mechanic, towing it up the track, then back down again. Eventually he got it running quite well, although the exhaust started to squirt out drops of diesel once the engine warmed up, putting out enough smoke to easily fumigate a small orchard, possibly even a small county. He reckons it's one of the injectors that is worn and not atomising the fuel, says he is happy to fix that later. Looks like the dumper should be leaving me as soon as transport is arranged.

Anyone else ever feel a little sad at the prospect of saying goodbye to a piece of machinery ?

 

[Eric Salop]

The Hyundai (Tuscon) we are renting has 6 speeds. .... If the gearing is the same in the USA we want one to replace our ancient Subaru Forester.

A pity you are so far away if you go for a Tucson, or I may have been able to put you in touch with an eager buyer for your old vehicle. Yesterday the mechanic asked me - several times - if I wanted to sell my old Subaru Forester. Turns out he has been restoring a VW Camper-van (English Vanagon) in his spare time and now is looking for a Subaru boxer engine to finish it off.

RNG, out of curiosity I asked him how long his restoration has taken. With great pride he showed me a picture of it and said it had taken five years so far as his wife put building their house at slightly higher priority. I got the feeling that much of the enjoyment is in the slow but steady progress, almost as much as it will be in the journeys to come when it is finished.