Dawn419 & doc's LSTA: Confounded Computer!!!

[Dawn419]

I knew y'all would appreciate the goat seeds! It's a shame they'll not produce what the envelope is labeled, at least for me...doc says "NOT"!

Did our civilized visit on Saturday. We had to go to Batesville to return the light to Lowes that we picked up for my plant table project since it had to be hard-wired into the existing electrical system...not happening in the '75 Broke Down Palace. Finally found a corded light that has a connector to link up more of it's kind together...we sooo see this being added to certain areas in the future cabin. Figured we'd find a new filter for the ShopVac while we were there but NO, they don't carry that brand at HD. As we were making the left onto the main road, we saw the Tractor Supply sign off to our right... and we just said the heck with it and headed back towards Cave City. Batesville is a zoo on the weekends, at least to us!

Got to moms, started laundry and went out for an early dinner to celebrate our official wedding anniversaries. They were on the 12th but I was the one who didn't remember the "official" date.
We went to an awesome Mexican restraunt, El Acupolco (spelling ???). Mom and I ordered the Quail and totally threw our waiter for a loop. He said that he liked it but no one usually ordered it. When he brought our orders out, he kept casually walking by...mom and I suspect he was wondering if we'd actually eat it. We didn't just eat the quail...we savored it and devoured it, all at the same time! For $8.25 a "plate"...we got 2 deep-fried quail on a plate, plus a second plate with beans, rice and salad. No way that we could have made that meal for two people for what it cost...yet, anyways...really wanting to add quail to our menagerie, for our own personal consumption.

Got back to moms and checked the lettuce/mesclun patch...we have sproutage!!! We'll be back over there this coming Saturday and get the plastic put up and apparently just in time since we're supposed to drop back into the 30's at night by then.

Took the dogs for a walk and enjoyed the nice evening. Last visit, when we did the pond-walk...mom thought she saw a turtle. We threw rocks at it for 15 minutes before she called it off as "not a turtle". Yesterdays walk was just as fun with the "Crane/Heron". We're back by the over-flow pipe and mom says, "Dawn, LOOK! There's the Crane that ate my Goldfish!". As we walk back along the pathway, we realize it's just a tree branch and I kicked myself for not having the camera with me (at the time) as it was a very cool optical illusion!

Doc and I will be starting a project over there, this coming Saturday that involves "junk pallets" and the "slapped-together-retaining-wall-that-isn't-our-fault". l'll make sure and get a lot of pix of before/during/after.

I think our Indian Summer is upon us. We had the heat on for a bit these past couple of nights, just to knock the chill/damp off. Today we hit 82F and it's still 70 at this time of night and supposed to be this way until Saturday. I've got the windows open and the fan going.

Well, gonna close this for now.

 

[Dawn419]

So much for closing the above post... :/

Can't sleep and just came in from out by the fire pit. Everything here, firewood-wise is wet/damp enough that I sat out by the smudge-pit, there wasn't much in the way of fire. Still, it's just plumb nice out there this morning...the air smells fresh (except for the bit of smokiness), it's close to 20 degress warmer than it had been and the stars are awesome!

Forgot to add to the above ^ post that I worked in the garlic bed today and am half-way through one section of the bed as far as digging up the "sprouters" that I missed. Think I'm just going to randomly plant them through out the areas that I'm working on trying to grow things out here as pest deterents...I can always harvest the fresh greens at any given time for eating and for use in sprays for pest teas.

Had doc take Cheyenne with him on the town run and as I dug up the missed garlic, I opened bags of ammendments and forked them in. It was nice to get something done in the garden, without my 4-legged helper. Dug up some grubs for the chickens but am seeing twice as many earthworms as I did this time, last year when I got started planting garlic! Glad I decided to hold off on a fall-planted garden this year and to do the right thing for the beds...aka get the soil ammended.

The saltwater tank is happier since doc re-built the light. We replaced the light tubes a few weeks ago and figured all was well. We should have known better! We replaced the ballist and tombstones... cost us $25.00 on a light fixture that is close to 15 years old. To buy it new would have cost us an easy $100. Dad suggested we just buy a new one, can't wait to tell him we saved $75 rebuilding the old one! Well, kind of...the money we saved will be going towards an on-line order of aquarium supplies that we can not get locally. We'll still save money, in the long-run since we'll get free shipping with the order.

Since we finally have an outlet for our saltwater habit, I mean hobby, we're going to invest a wee bit towards getting a soft coral propogation tank going. The Mushroom Corals are taking over the 38g reef so it's time for them to earn us some store credit!

Closing this, for real, this time...I think!

 

[Denim Deb]

Well if you didn't, I'm up.

I hear ya on the optical illusion. There's a branch and a stump on the lake where I worked all summer that from the right angle look like a pair of great blue herons, one all hunkered down and the other standing up tall.

 

[Dawn419]

Deb! Sorry I missed ya this morning!!!

Worked more in the garlic bed today. All of the sprouters are dug up now, and amendments are covering half of the bed. I was doing great until I found a good-sized rock near one of the sprouters..I pushed down on the garden fork handle and watched it bend at the "already there" weak spot. The bugs were getting bad enough, by then, that I called it a day and called doc to see if he could pick up a new one from WallyWorld on his way home.

I wish I was more excited about it, but the new one has a wooden handle and I do not see it lasting long out here. The one I killed today has had a good, long life though...I've been using it for 12 years. RIP, dear side-kick! I will miss you greatly!!!

So, tomorrows game plan is to finish the other half of the bed as far as getting the amendments put down and then I will carefully turn it all in with the new fork...after I use the dandelion digger to search for more rocks I may have missed. Gonna treat this new fork like fine China cuz I just don't see it surviving me or the land for long!

 

[Denim Deb]

That's one thing about SJ-not a lot of big rocks in the ground. But, even those little ones can be a real pain if you're trying to dig a hole.

 

[~gd]

You said it 'bent' at the weak spot so I assume it was metal? Any chanch of getting it straightened and then reinforced by welding? All the heavy duty digging forks I got from my Dad were fixrd that way and they outlasted Dad. I did buy a light duty/weight fork for light jobs but if the going gets tough out comes the Heavy. I had one of his pitch fork (long limber wood handle) neighbor run his truck over the handle. Guess what you can't buy either the handle or a new pitch fork around here. Every one went to baled hay and most bales are too heavy for a pitch fork.

I should explain for the young folks here that pitch forks were used to make hay before balers were common. They were used to 'pitch' hay from the ground either to make 'haystacks' or up on 'haywagons' and at the Barn to pitch hay from the wagons to the haylofts. I suspect most of you have never seen a haystack [12-15' feet high and shaped so rain would run off them. Wagons and haylofts haven't changed much. just the method of loading and unloading them. Hay lofts were often used for sleeping (and other things LOL)

The handle makes the pitchfork, usually 9-10 feet and limber to give extra lift [like a poie vaulter's pole] Many think a hay fork is the same thing it is not, Hay fork has a short stiff handle and the fork tines are different to assure hay slides off the fork when you pitch. Sorry I am rambling again.~gd

 

[Joel_BC]

Sorry I am rambling again.

Nah, that's not a worthless ramble.

You said it 'bent' at the weak spot so I assume it was metal? Any chanch of getting it straightened and then reinforced by welding? All the heavy duty digging forks I got from my Dad were fixrd that way and they outlasted Dad. I did buy a light duty/weight fork for light jobs but if the going gets tough out comes the Heavy.

I believe that your idea will work. Some little "fins" welded onto the backside (outside of the curve) on each tine should be enough to reinforce the fork - once that broken tine was welded back into place. But first, you could use torch heat to enable bending any deformed tines back into original form before welding on the fins. Grinding any extra welding bead down until the reinforced tines are all streamlined would reduce excess weight, beyond what new metal is needed for the reinforcement.

 

[Dawn419]

Thank you ~gd and Joel, for your replies!

The "fork" is metal and I was so bummed that a welding fix never even crossed my mind!

Think I'll send it to work with doc tomorrow and see if he can do a fix on it.


~gd,

You never have to feel sorry for rambling while you're visiting on our porch!

 

[Joel_BC]

Mmmm... the bend isn't where I was picturing. Looks like that's in the tubular part, where the handle fits in. If I'm seeing it right, that portion would be sheet metal... different situation from the tines, which are solid and thicker. I think it could be more challenging to fix the spot you've pictured, and have it be durabile for hard work. See what doc says. He'll be in a position to pick it up and look at it with due consideration.

 

[doc_gonzo]

the good doctor has pronounced this fork D. O. A. the fork i picked up may have a wooden handle but it is made from 1/4" thick x 3/4" wide steel, the tang goes 5"up into the handle and it's covered with a 7" feril. it will do for years, if "we" remember to bring it in out of the rain and weather.

doc