That's the Way It Crumbles, Cookie-Wise

[Yvonne Smith]

I have a cordless string trimmer, too, and I think that they are much easier to use than trying to drag that cord around. I used to have the regular gas Featherlite trimmer, but i am just not strong enough to start it or even carry it around anymore, so I use my little battery powered one from Walmart.
Bobby does all of the heavy duty weedeating nowadays, but I try to do around the flowers so they don’t get mowed down accidentally.

 

[Nancy Hart]

I have a cordless string trimmer, too, and I think that they are much easier to use than trying to drag that cord around. I used to have the regular gas Featherlite trimmer, but i am just not strong enough to start it or even carry it around anymore, so I use my little battery powered one from Walmart.
Bobby does all of the heavy duty weedeating nowadays, but I try to do around the flowers so they don’t get mowed down accidentally.

Yes! No extension cords! This one is as powerful, or more, than the other two. Battery stuff has come a long way in the last 10 years.

 

[Marie Mallory]

If you are over 5 years old, I believe there is a special talent required to be able to inhale a multi-vitamin pill---not the small ones, the big ones with calcium. It happened today. Lots of coughing but no trouble breathing. I still didn't believe it until I coughed up circus peanut orange with red specks. After 5 minutes or so, what was left just came flying out.

These pills are a pale blue color, not far off from my new blue wall paint. Sure enough, dissolved in water, it turned orange with little red specks. Any cough since this has a lovely honking sound. It may be that fancy pill organizer. I tried taking them all (4) at once one time. That didn't work well at all. Need to slow down.

Has anyone else ever inhaled a pill instead of swallow it? Don't care to do it again.

I'd never try to down 2 pills at once, lucky you didn't choke. I do have to be careful with powdered spices though, they can choke you too.

 

[Marie Mallory]

I have a cordless string trimmer, too, and I think that they are much easier to use than trying to drag that cord around. I used to have the regular gas Featherlite trimmer, but i am just not strong enough to start it or even carry it around anymore, so I use my little battery powered one from Walmart.
Bobby does all of the heavy duty weedeating nowadays, but I try to do around the flowers so they don’t get mowed down accidentally.

I just stick with the loppers, not good with trimmers. I leave those to hubby.

 

[Don Alaska]

I am one of the fortunate people who can take pills wholesale with no issues. Wife has a hard time getting one at a time down, especially if they are not coated or in capsule format.

I have been contemplating getting a battery-power string trimmer. I have a plug-in trimmer from years ago, and a monster gasoline-powered one that is too heavy for me to heft for long periods any more. My go-to is now my DR self-propelled, electric start, walk behind trimmer. We have much more than a small yard to deal with and the DR will take down small trees. It is NOT the DR mower, however. I got all the goodies on the DR so that my wife could use it as she is a small woman and has never been good with pull-start engines (or knots). She amazed her friends at church yesterday when she showed up with my small battery-powered chain saw and cleared a small tree that had fallen over the drive way exiting the parking lot there. I call her Super Farm Woman.

 

[Nancy Hart]

I just stick with the loppers, not good with trimmers. I leave those to hubby.

I can't handle loppers for more than 5 minutes at a time. You must have strong arms. I'm impressed.

 

[Marie Mallory]

I can't handle loppers for more than 5 minutes at a time. You must have strong arms. I'm impressed.

I started out with them 40 years ago, so guess I build up for them over time.
Nancy what gets to me using them is the bending over now. I can't stay bent as long when cutting vines ground level now.

 

[Yvonne Smith]

The bending over is hard for me, but if I am working in one area, I can use my “gardening chair”, which is just one of those plastic chairs from Walmart, and move it along as I go. If I am cutting something where I have to stay standing, then I can only do a little each time, because it is hard enough to breathe without being doubled over to cut something on the ground.

 

[Marie Mallory]

The bending over is hard for me, but if I am working in one area, I can use my “gardening chair”, which is just one of those plastic chairs from Walmart, and move it along as I go. If I am cutting something where I have to stay standing, then I can only do a little each time, because it is hard enough to breathe without being doubled over to cut something on the ground.

Those do come in handy, I used a little garden type wagon with a lid that I'd sit on. Hubby converted it into a welder stand.

 

[Axel Slingerland]

I'd never try to down 2 pills at once, lucky you didn't choke.

Only 2? My pill box has 8 for the morning and 9 for night. You just need plenty of water. Or in my case, Iced Tea...

 

[Marie Mallory]

Only 2? My pill box has 8 for the morning and 9 for night. You just need plenty of water. Or in my case, Iced Tea...

If I downed 4 pills at once I'd need more than plenty of liquid.

 

[Axel Slingerland]

If I downed 4 pills at once I'd need more than plenty of liquid.

The only time I have problems is from pills that start to dissolve if you don't swallow them quick enough. When that happens, I choke and sputter like my grandfather's 1934 Ford Model B Pickup Truck when it's carburetor failed...

 

[Nancy Hart]

Another sad outcome with the 3rd bluebird nest. Four viable eggs, a few days incubated, and the nest was abandoned.



There is a thread on Facebook from South Carolina where several people have experienced the same thing this year, for the first time.

Simple search says: Bluebirds may abandon their eggs due to predators, inadequate food, or the death of a parent.

The new fence has become an occasional perching place for our resident hawk. But why did the birds come back to the same nest a 3rd time after abandoning the 2nd if they were afraid of the hawk? I have never seen a male bluebird carry food to the female while incubating eggs for the last 2 nests. They both still went in and out of the box every few days since the day I cleaned it out, as if they are laying claim on it for next year.

Anyway, the birdhouse is coming down tomorrow, not to be put up again until next February. Maybe not until February, 2027. All these birds seem to be offspring of the first pair 4 years ago. Hoping for a different genetic line of bluebirds next time. Maybe I'm overthinking this.

 

[Marie Mallory]

Another sad outcome with the 3rd bluebird nest. Four viable eggs, a few days incubated, and the nest was abandoned.

View attachment 872

There is a thread on Facebook from South Carolina where several people have experienced the same thing this year, for the first time.

Simple search says: Bluebirds may abandon their eggs due to predators, inadequate food, or the death of a parent.

The new fence has become an occasional perching place for our resident hawk. But why did the birds come back to the same nest a 3rd time after abandoning the 2nd if they were afraid of the hawk? I have never seen a male bluebird carry food to the female while incubating eggs for the last 2 nests. They both still went in and out of the box every few days since the day I cleaned it out, as if they are laying claim on it for next year.

Anyway, the birdhouse is coming down tomorrow, not to be put up again until next February. Maybe not until February, 2027. All these birds seem to be offspring of the first pair 4 years ago. Hoping for a different genetic line of bluebirds next time. Maybe I'm overthinking this.

We have crows that chase the hawks, we saw one knock a rabbit out of one of the hawks mouth in mid air.

 

[Nancy Hart]

I can see why people get caught up in this epoxy resin pouring thing. It is an interesting process. Chemistry, physics, suspense and surprise, all rolled into one. Even if you have no artistic talent, you might stumble onto something that looks kind of pretty.

I've done 3 test runs with the new polyaspartic resin. Each used a small piece of HDF board covered with different combinations of shellac based bonding primer (Zinsser BIN), SW acrylic wall paint, and acrylic art paint. Then coated it with a layer of resin. If I had started out on the sink without any practice it would have been a disaster, but I still want to try it.

For example, the 1st test developed dozens of huge bubbles in the resin coating, but almost all were on the side where the resin was thicker.

(click to enlarge)


The 2nd test board had almost no bubbles, but a wavy reflection of mini-blinds from the window.



The 3rd test was not wavy. Some bubbles came back, but they were so small you could hardly distinguish them from specks of dust.

 

[Nancy Hart]

Found a double-yolk egg in a dozen large ones from Kroger. It means either good luck, or someone I know is going to die soon, or I'm having twins. I'll take good luck.

Dumped a cup of tea on the pc keyboard. Amazing how bulletproof keyboards are. At least the tea didn't have milk or sugar, only artificial sweetener.

It could be the hawk that messed up the bluebirds. Today she perched right near the bluebird house (which I still haven't taken down yet). I say she, because the females are larger than the males, and this bird is huge. I'd guess at least 15" tall perched from feet to head. Gigantic feet. They prefer mammals. Maybe she will thin out some squirrels and ground squirrels.

The squirrels have become so numerous and aggressive there is no way to feed birds with my current setup. It is the beginning of molting season, so the birds have mostly disappeared. Trying to figure out a way to make a bird feeder that hangs out an upstairs window this winter.

I'm going to need a new phone soon. Still like the Galaxy Flip Z. I've never lost this one falling out of a pocket. But the camera is no good. No zoom. Could kick myself for not keeping the old Galaxy S10e. It had a great camera. They say you can still use the camera even if you cancel the phone service. I didn't know that at the time.

 

[Don Alaska]

Found a double-yolk egg in a dozen large ones from Kroger. It means either good luck, or someone I know is going to die soon, or I'm having twins. I'll take good luck.

Dumped a cup of tea on the pc keyboard. Amazing how bulletproof keyboards are. At least the tea didn't have milk or sugar, only artificial sweetener.

It could be the hawk that messed up the bluebirds. Today she perched right near the bluebird house (which I still haven't taken down yet). I say she, because the females are larger than the males, and this bird is huge. I'd guess at least 15" tall perched from feet to head. Gigantic feet. They prefer mammals. Maybe she will thin out some squirrels and ground squirrels.

The squirrels have become so numerous and aggressive there is no way to feed birds with my current setup. It is the beginning of molting season, so the birds have mostly disappeared. Trying to figure out a way to make a bird feeder that hangs out an upstairs window this winter.

I'm going to need a new phone soon. Still like the Galaxy Flip Z. I've never lost this one falling out of a pocket. But the camera is no good. No zoom. Could kick myself for not keeping the old Galaxy S10e. It had a great camera. They say you can still use the camera even if you cancel the phone service. I didn't know that at the time.

I think you can still use the Wi-Fi and the emergency call button if it has one. I haven't tried it, but I have been told so.

 

[Nancy Hart]

The sink has to dry out completely, including any water that might have seeped into hairline cracks, before coating it with resin. I didn't want to mess with the plumbing until there was a backup plan, in case this sink can't be saved. I've never had much luck with plumbing, but lots of experience with failures are apparently worth something.

Long story short, I replaced the washers in both shutoff valves that weren't working and removed the drain down past the S-trap. It just crumbled in places due to corrosion. No need to go on down to the basement until I see how things turn out. Cleaned and sanded. Ready to go.

Had some help from a visitor who stops by the house every night.


The hold up now is the design. I have to draw a pattern in acrylic paint on top of a coat of primer. Can't come up with anything I like.

.

 

[Nancy Hart]

It is 3:00 am, and I just finished vacuuming and dusting the stairs. The whole day was wasted doing nothing, and I felt guilty. Started a load of laundry and wheeled the trash to the road for pickup tomorrow, all after midnight. An advantage to living alone.

A piece of the aluminum cladding covering the fascia board just below the roof edge has come off the house in the wind and ended up on top of the roof. It looks to be about 8 feet long. I could either (1) crawl out through the back dormer window onto the roof and retrieve it, or (2) wait for the wind to blow it off the roof, and hope it lands where I can find it. It is likely to become damaged beyond repair under option (2), if it's not already.

Where it came off is two stories high. My ladders are not long enough, and even if they were, I wouldn't attempt it. Putting it back on is the kind of small job you can't get anyone to do. I will think about pairing it with another job worth someone's while. GC would do it, but he'd refuse pay. I don't like that.

Last week I dug up 4 little one-year-old cedar seedlings in front of the birdhouse and replaced 2 along the fence that died initially, 1 that died this year, and 1 that was branching out without a main vertical trunk. All 4 hit the ground running and are not looking back. The ones from the woods could be several years old. They were from places where they got little water or sunlight. They have also taken off, but I suspect these 4 will catch up with the older ones in 2 more years.

 

[Joe Riley]

Good job, Nancy!