It's good to cherish your time with them, they grow up fast... 
Whatcha Up To???
- Thread starter Mike
- Start date
Ibtsoom
Well-Known Member
Rain has put a damper on pretty much everything down here for the last month. Every time it dries out enough for me to work in the garden, the bottom falls out again. Don't have much hope that I'll get anything in the ground this fall. Still holding out hope for onions though. Had to cancel a guided fishing trip this morning because it was still raining. We did get out and trick or treat last night though - with a lot of help from umbrellas. Going to call concrete contractors on Monday to come out and bid on pouring a driveway. It's rock right now (which means mud) and I'm sick of tracking up the house. Hope some of you guys are having better luck with the weather!
Refilled chlorine tank in septic system.
Installed linux on the last computer.
Installed linux on the last computer.
M
Mr_Yan
Guest
Well a stomach virus is working its way though our family. I was the fourth to get it. That leaves the 4 month old as the only one not to show symptoms yet.
Just read this blog post on The History of Marker Trees. There were a few trees like this in the northern Michigan town I grew up in. It would be cool to make one of these when I am in one spot long enough
Just read this blog post on The History of Marker Trees. There were a few trees like this in the northern Michigan town I grew up in. It would be cool to make one of these when I am in one spot long enough
Cut the grass ahead of the rain...
Fed the cattle.
The LED floodlights for the backyard finally shipped. These have been a challenge...
Fed the cattle.
The LED floodlights for the backyard finally shipped. These have been a challenge...
M
Mr_Yan
Guest
I learned that the sunflower heads drying in my basement were something akin to the world's largest fruit fly breeder. I bumped the wire mesh that they were sitting on and a cloud or fruit flies erupted.
I have a fruit fly problem in my house now. Fly paper and traps are out. One fly paper is capturing a lot.
I have a fruit fly problem in my house now. Fly paper and traps are out. One fly paper is capturing a lot.
Cleaned & washed the inside of the greenhouse, then closed it up & drop in the fumigator... winter is just around the corner.
Washed & waxed the rototiller in preparation for winter. Added 'Sea Foam' to the fuel tank before putting it away.
Did some weeding in the garden. The plants are recovering from the heavy rain a couple of weeks ago.
LED bulbs for the yard floodlights arrived... If it's not raining tomorrow, I'll install them & the new fixtures.
Washed & waxed the rototiller in preparation for winter. Added 'Sea Foam' to the fuel tank before putting it away.
Did some weeding in the garden. The plants are recovering from the heavy rain a couple of weeks ago.
LED bulbs for the yard floodlights arrived... If it's not raining tomorrow, I'll install them & the new fixtures.
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Watered the garden.
Installed the new backyard floodlight fixtures & the LED bulbs.
Made Italian bread & a small load of basil bread (for supper tonight).
Washed the older dog mattresses before putting them up.
Installed the new backyard floodlight fixtures & the LED bulbs.
Made Italian bread & a small load of basil bread (for supper tonight).
Washed the older dog mattresses before putting them up.
Cooped up again... 60 degrees & raining. Big difference between yesterday & today.
Today is the opening day of deer season here & although I rarely go hunting on weekends when the inexperienced, drunken out-of-towners descend on us, I'm glad I'm not in the woods this morning... I prefer to hunt mid-week when these fools aren't riding around on their 4-wheelers all day spooking the animals. Tues., Weds. & Thur. it's nice & quiet, just me & the deer.
Oh, I almost forgot, the new floodlights work good!!! I can see a big difference in the amount of light & the distance it is thrown!!! These bulbs were not the ones I originally ordered (TCP stopped manufacturing them) so I went with the Kobi KSN9 bulbs instead. The new 20.5 watt LED bulbs produce 1700 lumens vs 1310 for the old 90 watt incandescents. Doing the math, we will save 77.22% on electricity while producing 29.77% more usable light. Next up will be the retrofits for the cans on the porches.
I made a pot of 15-bean soup (with some 'buck board bacon' ends) for supper.
Today is the opening day of deer season here & although I rarely go hunting on weekends when the inexperienced, drunken out-of-towners descend on us, I'm glad I'm not in the woods this morning... I prefer to hunt mid-week when these fools aren't riding around on their 4-wheelers all day spooking the animals. Tues., Weds. & Thur. it's nice & quiet, just me & the deer.
Oh, I almost forgot, the new floodlights work good!!! I can see a big difference in the amount of light & the distance it is thrown!!! These bulbs were not the ones I originally ordered (TCP stopped manufacturing them) so I went with the Kobi KSN9 bulbs instead. The new 20.5 watt LED bulbs produce 1700 lumens vs 1310 for the old 90 watt incandescents. Doing the math, we will save 77.22% on electricity while producing 29.77% more usable light. Next up will be the retrofits for the cans on the porches.
I made a pot of 15-bean soup (with some 'buck board bacon' ends) for supper.
M
Mr_Yan
Guest
@w_r_ranch, Have you put any of these LED's in a ceiling fan fixture yet? I've been wary of putting a bulb with a ballast circuit in a fan because of the vibration.
Yes, I installed two Cree 60w bulbs in each of our 7 fans on Oct 14th. No problem thus far & 4 of these fans run 24/7.
Each bulb puts out 800 lumins vs the old bulb's 325 lumins. Energy saving should be good on these too (from the original 120 watts per fan to 18 watts now).
Each bulb puts out 800 lumins vs the old bulb's 325 lumins. Energy saving should be good on these too (from the original 120 watts per fan to 18 watts now).
M
Mr_Yan
Guest
The three year old woke us up at about 5 today and have been going since.
Done:
Still to do:
Done:
- Second coat of finish on the floor upstairs
- Cleaned my gutters and the gutters on the old couple's house next-door
- Got my small vise working and ready to mount (3.5" jaw, cheap, left here by a previous owner)
- Cleaned up my work bench a little
- Dug all the toys out from under both couches
- Third coat of finish on the floor upstairs
- Add the jack-o-lanterns to the compost
- Made the weekly soup
- Roasted 4 pumpkins for puree
Still to do:
- Blow / shred fall leaves in the back yard
- Fourth coat of finish on the floor upstairs
- Fifth coat of finish on the floor upstairs
- Put air in car tires
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Refilled the bird feeders.
Killed all the fire ant mounds that have sprung up in the yard & garden.
Killed all the fire ant mounds that have sprung up in the yard & garden.
M
Mr_Yan
Guest
I ran out of energy before I ran out of projects
Done:
Mostly Done:
Not a chance of getting done
Done:
- Fourth coat of finish on the floor upstairs
- Put air in car tires
- Pureed pumpkin - in the freezer in 15 oz portioned bags
Mostly Done:
- Blow / shred fall leaves in the back yard
Not a chance of getting done
- Fifth coat of finish on the floor upstairs
whistech
Well-Known Member
Mr. Ranch, what do you use to kill your fire ant mounds? Is there any kind of poison that can be used in the garden besides sevin to kill the mounds there? Thank You, Arlie
Arlie, I used malathion (1.5 oz/gallon). It is safe to use in the garden as well.
whistech
Well-Known Member
Thank You Sir!
Made 2 loaves of bread, one Italian & 1 whole wheat.
Fed cattle.
Sprayed the front & side yards with 2,4-D as the cool season weeds are starting up.
Watered the garden & the hanging baskets on the back porch (will do the ones on the front porch tomorrow.
Fed cattle.
Sprayed the front & side yards with 2,4-D as the cool season weeds are starting up.
Watered the garden & the hanging baskets on the back porch (will do the ones on the front porch tomorrow.
- Thread starter
- #1,645
Managed to get all the fallen leaves picked up. Chopped up as much as I could using the push mower until my two compost bins where full then put them in bags to be carried off by the trash guys this week.
E
ErnieCopp
Guest
Mike,
Why not leave them in the trash bags for a while? They will soften and shrink if there is any moisture at all, as your compost pile also shrinks and it wil not be long until you can add them to the compost. It has been many years since i had a compost pile, but even then, i never had enough of it.
Ernie
Why not leave them in the trash bags for a while? They will soften and shrink if there is any moisture at all, as your compost pile also shrinks and it wil not be long until you can add them to the compost. It has been many years since i had a compost pile, but even then, i never had enough of it.
Ernie
- Thread starter
- #1,647
Mostly because I don't want a bunch of large paper leaf bags laying around the yard. That and we have 12 trees on the property (about a half acre) and some of the trees still have leafs on them so we're not running short on supply yet. haha 
E
ErnieCopp
Guest
Mike,
I get behind on styles and trends sometimes. I had no idea people put leaves in paper bags, but i agree, i would not want them in my yard in paper bags, either. I have some huge, maybe fifty foot high, Pecan trees along one side and 80' Eculyptus on the other side, but i grind mine up with a leaf blower so have not had to bag any yet.
Ernie
I get behind on styles and trends sometimes. I had no idea people put leaves in paper bags, but i agree, i would not want them in my yard in paper bags, either. I have some huge, maybe fifty foot high, Pecan trees along one side and 80' Eculyptus on the other side, but i grind mine up with a leaf blower so have not had to bag any yet.
Ernie
Another chilly day here, only 63... yesterday was 83 & humid.
Made another loaf of Italian bread & another of wheat (added whole rolled wheat this time).
Made another loaf of Italian bread & another of wheat (added whole rolled wheat this time).
M
Mr_Yan
Guest
Another chilly day here, only 53... yesterday was 53 & we got rain and WINDY. Sustained winds around 30 mph. Gusts to around 60 mph. I checked the bouy in southern Lake Michigan but it was only rolling 9 footers. I expected it to be rolling bigger than that.
Trying to get the grill going with my chimney starter and newsprint. This wind is a problem.
Trying to get the grill going with my chimney starter and newsprint. This wind is a problem.