Cool and damp, warming to hot and moist.\u00a0\u00a0 Or just raining all day.\u00a0\u00a0 Or is that tomorrow?\u00a0 We’ll see which liar is closer to the truth.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yesterday was not horrible.\u00a0\u00a0 Overcast and muggy most of the day though.\u00a0\u00a0 Sweaty.<\/p>\n
So I did outdoor stuff.\u00a0\u00a0 ‘natch.\u00a0\u00a0 Cut the grass in the back.\u00a0 Because my life is fractally complicated, that meant fixing a string trimmer first.\u00a0\u00a0 I brought a good runner home from the BOL because I’d dropped it and cracked the fuel tank.\u00a0 I knew I had a non-running one, same model, that I could steal the tank from.\u00a0 So I did.\u00a0\u00a0 And the tank\u00a0 has a pinhole leak.\u00a0 Dang.\u00a0\u00a0 So grab another non-runner, see what we can do… realize it’s a four stroke, put regular gas in it, and it starts.\u00a0 Doesn’t run well, but runs enough to use the string trimmer head (after a trip to Lowes for string, bar oil, and a chainsaw chain… which I forgot).\u00a0 Knocked down the stuff that would stop my mower, got the mower running and cut the back yard.<\/p>\n
Blew a lot of leaves and mess to the yard, and mulched that.\u00a0\u00a0 Then tackled a non-running pressure washer.\u00a0\u00a0 Determined that it had spark, but no fuel.\u00a0\u00a0 Cleaned the carb and it still wouldn’t fire up.\u00a0\u00a0 The air cleaner housing is an integral part of the idle circuit, and once I figured that out, I got it to start and run.\u00a0\u00a0 I can’t find the air filter and cover.\u00a0\u00a0 They are here somewhere but I started poking at the washer a couple months ago, and can’t remember where I put them.\u00a0\u00a0 Without the restriction of the air filter and housing, it won’t run properly… but it does run, hose and gun work fine.\u00a0 Shelf that for now.<\/p>\n
Blew some of the debris off the canned goods shelves.\u00a0 Didn’t get all hazmat suited to tackle that yet…<\/p>\n
Checked that my ham antenna wasn’t in danger of coming down.\u00a0 It’s not plumb, but I can’t get to the bolts to plumb it, and so it’ll be fine for now.<\/p>\n
Put the backup weather station in place.\u00a0\u00a0 Still getting the incorrect temp and humidity I was getting with the old one.\u00a0\u00a0 Something must be interfering with the radio signal.\u00a0 Shelve that for now.<\/p>\n
Hit two stores looking for the aloe gel I’ve used for decades to treat sunburn.\u00a0\u00a0 Didn’t find it.\u00a0 Ordered it online.\u00a0\u00a0 Tried to shop local…\u00a0 and they had the brand and the product, just in a juice not a gel.\u00a0\u00a0 I don’t drink the stuff, I use it topically, so the gel (which is pretty watery anyway) is better.\u00a0 I tried.\u00a0 Amazon got their skim.\u00a0 Product manufacturer got the money, but the locals missed out. It should be here today.<\/p>\n
One good thing from yesterday- my grapes are going nuts.\u00a0\u00a0 The vine froze back to the ground, but has recovered to grow up the trellis this year.\u00a0 I didn’t expect any activity until next year, but I noticed that suddenly I have bunches of grapes all over the vines.\u00a0\u00a0 This is the vine that has never produced, and didn’t really flourish.\u00a0\u00a0 I had some limited fruit on the other vine a couple of years ago.\u00a0 This year I did nothing, and I will probably be getting fruit.<\/p>\n
Peach tree is about half dead.\u00a0 Apple tree is thin but flowering.\u00a0\u00a0 Blueberry bushes look weak and spindly this year. I’m not optimistic that I’ll get much fruit, not that I get much, but yield has been increasing every year, until now.<\/p>\n
I have to get the sprinklers working again, so that will be today’s project.\u00a0 At least, I’ll begin replacing the vacuum breaker and see what that entails.\u00a0\u00a0 Probably would be easy if all my plumbing stuff wasn’t at the BOL…\u00a0 I’ll probably have to shop.\u00a0 I didn’t bring the stuff home because I still have the sprinklers up there to get sorted.\u00a0\u00a0 Maybe I’ll get lucky.<\/p>\n
I’ve let stuff go for too long.\u00a0\u00a0 Now I’m paying for it.\u00a0 Stay on top of maintenance projects.\u00a0\u00a0 If TSHTF, you’d be wishing you had.\u00a0\u00a0 Heck, if you need it for normal everyday life, you’ll be wishing it was working.<\/p>\n
Things seem to be accelerating.\u00a0 We are definitely already past the point where we were predicting stuff would be, when it started heading south.\u00a0 Layoffs, bank failures, bankrupt retail, mass migrations, decreases in services, cities deteriorating farther, faster, it’s all actually happening.\u00a0\u00a0 The violence and further schisms can’t be too far away.<\/p>\n
Stack while you can.\u00a0 Get your stuff in order.\u00a0\u00a0 Plant some food.<\/p>\n
nick<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Cool and damp, warming to hot and moist.\u00a0\u00a0 Or just raining all day.\u00a0\u00a0 Or is that tomorrow?\u00a0 We’ll see which liar is closer to the truth.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yesterday was not horrible.\u00a0\u00a0 Overcast and muggy most of the day though.\u00a0\u00a0 Sweaty.<\/p>\n
So I did outdoor stuff.\u00a0\u00a0 ‘natch.\u00a0\u00a0 Cut the grass in the back.\u00a0 Because my life is fractally complicated, that meant fixing a string trimmer first.\u00a0\u00a0 I brought a good runner home from the BOL because I’d dropped it and cracked the fuel tank.\u00a0<\/p>\n