I have several projects on a daily basis, none particularly interesting.
The animals and I have to eat and this also requires purchases and clean up. Boring.
Each day I try to fill one bushel-size box with stuff destined for a land fill. Much of this would burn, but that isn’t done in this area. Mornings have been windy and cold, a good time to stay busy inside. Dust. Boring.
I do a bit of landscaping every day, and some rebuild of fence where a couple of posts rotted off after 30 years in the ground. I’m also cleaning up an area under some trees where I had an outside workbench. It became a place for stuff that should have been discarded.
This area is under a row of Austrian Pine – obtained from the plant sale I volunteered with before they decided to go with “native only” material. I have just 5 and they are not happy. From the web I learned they “ look like they’ve had some “winter-burn”, caused by dry soils in winter and/or sudden and drastic temperature changes.
” Sure enough, that fits the Naneum Fan characteristics.
They are only 15 feet tall, but right beside them are two (native) Ponderosa Pines about 30 feet tall. They have two issues. I planted them thinking I would relocate them, so they are just 2 feet apart. Still, growing like weeds, they are next to the utility lines and too close to the buildings for my fire sense.
A neighbor (2.5 miles) has a personnel business of tree removal, trimming, and chipping. For him to work, I need to clean out the mess I’ve made over the last 30 years. Also, the trees along the driveway need trimmed, and I have a dozen brush piles that need removed.
The only good thing about all this will be the feeling when the project is finished.
Then there are horses. I’m working with Rodeo City Equine Rescue to foster the 3 Tennessee Walking Horses. These we bought in 2010 when Nancy was set on getting back on a horse and riding with friends. The horse she had been using was old, so she found new ones. Then the medical folks said “Bad Idea”!
We are in the beginning of this process. The horses haven’t been handled or trailered for 10 years. About every other day I get them in a small enclosure, halter them, and do a bit of ground training.
I planned on doing some of this today – but horses find wind objectionable. Things that shouldn’t – move and noise comes from all directions. Below is a chart of our wind today:
The purple numbers indicate the high wind gust for the previous hour.
I don’t like those sorts of winds either. So I decided to do errands in EBRG. I need gas in a can for the lawn mower, so needed to take a truck. At some time (when?) I had the radiator cap off and while the 50 yard trips on the place didn’t bother the engine, the 20 minute drive to town did. Just as I made the turn into the first store, the engine quite, steam came from under the hood, and the electrical power (steering & brakes) quit.
I, sort of, made it into the parking lot and out of the way. Then I found that my new iPhone was not well charged. I learned how to operate the phone on “Low Power Mode.” Triple A (AAA of Washington) was great in acknowledging where I was, and that I had a phone that might go away while we talked. However, the towing service had two truck issues today, so a driver was in Yakima getting a replacement.
About 80 minutes later, Kim of AAA called to make sure I was getting the service I needed. I explained, and she (in western WA) was able to check and tell me the driver was “on Canyon Road south of I-90 and heading north”. That told me the unit was less than 5 minutes away.
Because of Panic20/21 I had to ride home in my truck, facing backward, and perched up on the flatbed transport vehicle. The photo below shows the idea – but my truck was aimed the other way.
My truck is a 40 year old Chevy, so this may be the end of it – 10 years overdue.
I did use the 90 minute interval to walk to the grocery store just 2 blocks away. I ate an early supper while I waited, so did not have to fix anything but pour a glass of wine, after the animals were fed.
A boring week, except for the last few hours.
Hope things were better for you.
From the Naneum Fan,
John