Good morning!!!!

[lostcreekranch]

Good morning. It was 64° here this morning and our high is forecast to be 79°. That’s a big improvement over yesterday when we got to 93°.

I did get another oak tree mostly cleared of yaupon, greenbriar, and poison ivy. Still some PI vines up in the tree but .. they should eventually deteriorate.





Lots of material staged for next burn pile.



I was hoping for some good rain on the ash from two burn piles but .. nothing in our forecast until next week. I’ll put the grapple back on the 55 HP tractor and get everything piled up.

I’ll probably take down a few cedars for the bottom of the pile first.

Hope everyone is safe and healthy.

Prayers to all.

 

[jbrumberg]

TxDon blue jay or that is what it looks like to me if woodpecker I do not know

12344 cases cv19

I vote for Blue Jay

 

[txdon]

I was thinking Blue Jay also till I saw it on the side of the tree pecking. I have never lived this far North so I’m not that familiar with the birds here.

 

[jbrumberg]

Modes of transmission of virus causing COVID-19: implications for IPC precaution recommendations

Some WHO information on C-19 including droplet sizes.

I read an interesting article about how droplets are directed away from clothing, etc. due to the micro-eddies of air surrounding us while walking as we push the air ahead of us as we walk. I need to re-find that article and share it.

 

[rswyan]

56F @ 11:00, and up until a few moments ago, very bright sunshine. Increasing cloudiness as the day progresses but it will still hit the mid 60's for a high.

Need to place order @ Home Depot for the paint Ron spec'd so I can pick it up at the same time I pick up the oil from Walmart, since they're basically right next door to each other.

Tomorrow might be a good day to do the pickup since they are calling for rain.

Probably more work today on consolidating the grass clippings into the compost pile, take advantage of the dry weather while I can.

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

 

[RedNeckGeek]

RNG glad you found your dash cover. What year is yours? No airbag so around 1980?

I think there are something like 80,000 claimants in the current dogpile, Drew. But when you look at the names, many are the same, indicating lots of folks have filed multiple claims. Most of them also list the claim amount as TBD, so at this point it's impossible to tell just what the magnitude of the financial liability really is. Yet somehow the bankruptcy court was able to hang a $13.5 billion number on it. Just another indicator of how out of touch the whole process is, largely because of the lawyers involved.

The van is an '87, but the dash is from an '82, the only differences are minor and cosmetic. The real problem with the old radio location is that the aftermarket A/C now takes up most of the same room that the old radio would have occupied, both height wise and depth wise into the dash. The only place left to go was up. Lots of safety features that we now take for granted weren't even a glimmer in their inventor's eye in 1987. No collapsing steering wheel, no air bags, no energy absorbing bumpers, no side impact I-beams, etc., etc. It would be a miracle if I survived an accident bad enough to result in million dollar liability on my part.:confused2:

 

[rswyan]

RS, I started buying Sams Club synthetic oil for my cars. I do not think is selling well. Last time I bought it. Was $15 a case. I see Costco is now selling their own brand of synthetic oil. Both are Dexos if you have a GM car.

Thanks for the tip ... :thumbsup:

No GM's here though (VW, Mercedes, FoMoCo)

Get a headstart on the grass cutting. May not need trac-vac.

I hope to do that (get a headstart) ... but barring some unusual weather (really warm temps and no rain for a prolonged period), realistically, it won't allow me to avoid the need for the Trac Vac ... at least in some areas.

Otherwise I might be able to get about half of it cut (the high ground) and at least avoid the need to pick that up.

Good luck on your starter repairs.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

And here is proof. This pic from a Camera phone captured a woodpecker during our golf course walk. This pic really makes Ron's pictures shine (you can laugh Ron). (And RNG you get extra points if you can identify.)

OK, now it's my turn to guess. Looks like a good sized woodpecker, black & white markings, I'd guess a hairy woodpecker even though I can't see its beak.

All will soon become clear on your guesses...

 

[Peter 315]

OK, now it's my turn to guess. Looks like a good sized woodpecker, black & white markings, I'd guess a hairy woodpecker even though I can't see its beak.

All will soon become clear on your guesses...

Can't wait.....................................

 

[rswyan]

... Grass getting long ... but still not at the "Critical" stage
this sure applies to my hair, not used to it being so long, neck gets sweaty.

Mine too ... I think it's been over a month since I had it cut ... I did at least shave off the beard though (4 or 5 months worth of growth) ...

Our accountant said I looked like Jeremiah Johnson when we went to get our taxes done ... :laughing:

 

[RedNeckGeek]

RNG- This PG&E travesty is almost unbelievable?. almost

For the fire survivors, who include people from all over Northern California, not just the Camp Fire, it has been their worst nightmare come true. In my honest opinion, the judge presiding over the bankruptcy has let it become a used car lot, with PG&E acting as the salesman, telling customers anything but the truth about what they're getting. Eighty-five dead in the Camp Fire alone, tens of thousands of lost homes, and instead of trying to compensate the claimants on actual losses, they're trying to make a "deal". Disgusting is the only word I can come up with for the behavior.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

I did get another oak tree mostly cleared of yaupon, greenbriar, and poison ivy. Still some PI vines up in the tree but .. they should eventually deteriorate.

Looks great, Rick. :thumbsup:

How are you keeping yourself out of the poison ivy? That's a skill I have yet to master. Seems like if I see poison oak, I soon start itching..:muttering:

 

[Bird]

55 degrees going for 76 today with clear skies. And I think I'm going stir crazy from staying home. Hopefully, there'll be some relief when I go to Walmart to pick up a bunch of things I've ordered; just hope they don't say too many of them are "out of stock" again.

Will wonders never cease. My appointment time to pick up $100 worth was for 10-11 a.m. But I was bored sitting home so I got to Walmart about 35 minutes early. And since 10 a.m. was the earliest available appointment when I scheduled this 3 days ago, I was quite surprised to see only ONE car there and 2 employees were loading his order. When they approached my car, I told them I was a half hour early, the guy asked my name, looked at his handheld "computer" and they went inside to promptly come back with my order, and the one guy said, "We had it all this time". And he was right. I got everything I'd ordered, both groceries and other things such as my wife's favorite dish detergent that I haven't been able to find for a couple of months, but got it today, and the beef roast with potatoes, carrots, celery, and onion that I'd ordered before and didn't get.

 

[AWSubie]

Will wonders never cease. My appointment time to pick up $100 worth was for 10-11 a.m. But I was bored sitting home so I got to Walmart about 35 minutes early. And since 10 a.m. was the earliest available appointment when I scheduled this 3 days ago, I was quite surprised to see only ONE car there and 2 employees were loading his order. When they approached my car, I told them I was a half hour early, the guy asked my name, looked at his handheld "computer" and they went inside to promptly come back with my order, and the one guy said, "We had it all this time". And he was right. I got everything I'd ordered, both groceries and other things such as my wife's favorite dish detergent that I haven't been able to find for a couple of months, but got it today, and the beef roast with potatoes, carrots, celery, and onion that I'd ordered before and didn't get.

Sounds like there will be some good eating in the near future!!! Bon appetit!

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Modes of transmission of virus causing COVID-19: implications for IPC precaution recommendations

Some WHO information on C-19 including droplet sizes.

As soon as I read that link title, Jay, the engineer in me wanted to compare virus droplet size with respirator specs. Here's a paper that contains a lot of good info on both respirators and surgical masks.

The take aways from this article for me were:

Surgical masks provide the wearer protection against splashes, but not against vapors in the range that are thought to be present in CoVid-19 transmission.

Respirators are rated by the percentage of particles they capture. So an N95 respirator captures 95% of the particles it encounters over the size range in which it was designed to work. The current test standards for that particle size seem start at 0.1 um, which covers the sizes most associated with CoVid-19 transmission. In my mind, though, I wouldn't be too comfortable with still breathing in 5% of the droplets containing CoVid-19 size vapors.

There are respirators rated at N100, but they seem to be the cartridge style that many of us use for applying paint and various garden and pest sprays. Now I'm thinking of following Jay's lead and wearing one of those on my next trip to town. Though I've already had problems making myself understood while wearing an N95 particle mask, and the full blown respirator may have me resorting to hand signals. So I would ask Jay to comment on his ability to communicate during his recent travels.

On a related note, my recent explorations at both Amazon and McMaster-Carr indicate that if you haven't already purchased such PPI, you're not likely to find it available in stores, and even if you do, you may be asked to demonstrate a medical or professional need for it.

Finally, Kyle has already pointed out that a temperature of 170F (medium rare for us steak lovers) is high enough to kill most pathogens, including CoVid-19. Placing a mask or respirator in a slow oven for long enough for it to come to that temperature and holding it for at least 20 seconds should suffice. You could also just leave it in the car with the windows rolled up, which wouldn't get to 170F, but the sunlight and dry air would presumably kill the virus after a few days. That's the method I've been using.

:2cents:

 

[sodamo]

66°F and .10 inches rain.

No firm plans beyond rototilling.

Prayers for all
Be safe
Have a great day

 

[sodamo]

You got it, Ron, feral pigs. Want some?

 

[sodamo]

RNG, the garden area is in my inner fenced yard. We have about 6 acres around the house that is pig fenced.

 

[jbrumberg]

Bird- I am happy to read of your + curbside pickup experience. It seems that different essential businesses and services are developing more efficient ways to get their products/services to their customers.

AWSubie- Welcome to GM.

RNG- Thanks for that link. They make both P100 cartridges and P100 fabric filters for that mask. I have not tried the fabric filters yet (they might breathe even easier). I find it easier to breathe with this respirator than a DIY bandana/paper face mask and I get no fogged up glasses. People appeared to understand my ranting and raving while I was wearing it. I am still wondering about how to sterilize the removable outer fabric filters w/i the cartridge or if I even have to if I use it every 15 days or so. 170ºF seems to be the temperature required to kill C-19. I can clean the mask with bleach wipes/alcohol/H2O2.

 

[daugen]

mowed the roadsides today, cool cloudy day. Then I put the rv away. Neighbor borrowed my Bush Hog 84 rototiller, I think it has all of 10 hours, fun to watch it work on his tractor while he tilled a patch that will be used for sunflowers. Rototiller ran quiet and smooth, particularly through our sandy soil.

I agree about camera pic quality, these two garden pics really aren't very sharp coming off my older Apple phone.

Now for a dunk in the hot tub and a quiet afternoon.