Rusty's Ramblings

[E_T]

[drooling][Homer Simpson mode on]  Bluuuueberriessssss.......... [/mode]

[Rusty Edge]

The battery swap under warranty seems to have solved my primary car problem.

I need to go to the bank and shift some money to complete the blueberry transaction because they still deal in checks rather than credit cards, but I'm kinda in self isolation.

The toilet is working just fine again.

Put away the big Santa inflatable, some window decorations and the bush lights. Now it's pretty much just a winter theme until the end of January. Meanwhile, I've ordered new bush lights on clearance sale. I'm finally making the switch to LEDs on those. I hope it solves my circuit breaker problems in wet weather.

Sweet potatoes are growing again. Saw an aphid or two, but I think I got them. I do still have a fungus fly infestation. I've been spraying daily with insecticidal soap and just made a trap for them.  I'm holfing my own against them.

I got some accessories for my Traeger for Christmas. The ones that require drilling may well be easier than the one that requires loosening and removing existing screws, based on my attempts so far.

[Rusty Edge]

* The new battery solved all problems. The car can sit for two weeks and start easily.

* Didn't go to the bank yet.

* Sweet potatoes. Some of the plants died, but I beat the aphids and fungus flies. Still have a few white flies, but the vines are growing well again.

*Traeger. Got my accessories installed. While I couldn't loosen the screws with a screwdriver made to accept a wrench for greater leverage, I did eventually manage it with a set of groove joint pliers.

* I may put the last of that white sealer on the basement wall soon.

[Geo]

* I may put the last of that white sealer on the basement wall soon.

You got a water seepage problem?

[Rusty Edge]

Marginally. I have a built in planter at the front door. I should probably drill some drain holes in the stone and concrete. Because there aren't any drains, water leaks out against the foundation. It gets damp rather than wet. The issue is stains in the mortar and cracks between the cinder block foundation. So it's more that I'm trying to cover them.

[Rusty Edge]

Things are defrosting here. We've lost 1/3 to 1/2 of our snow depth. The steps I took to deal with ice dams worked well. I may move the zig-zags on one of the cables closer together, and add one or two more cables before next winter.

I've got a new tinnitus tone in my right ear. Sounds like a viola playing softly. Kinda soothing. But before I figured it out it was making me crazy.

I'm cleaning out my wife's walk-in closet. Chester uses it as his office during the day. Long term is that a cat in a closet tends to knock stacks of stuff over. Since that tends to be folded clothing, it gets wrinkled and collects cat hair. At this point it's a procession of loads of laundry, and a lot of folding into transparent storage totes. Well, at least we can now walk all of the way to the back of the closet without trampling clothing. The sweaters are going to be more of a problem. This might call for fabric softener to help release the cat hair.

[Rusty Edge]

Follow-up.

* Completed the walk-in closet project.

* Snow is almost all gone. There is about a wheel barrow load left. We should get more snow Monday. I re-arranged the existing cables on the roof.

* Took care of the banking/blueberry transaction. They will arrive next month. I need to measure and dig before they arrive. I plan to use the sod along one side of the driveway. The new driveway wintered very well.

* Cleaned up the last of the dog crap in the park. It won't stop the repeat offenders, but it might shame them a little if the park is clean. I really couldn't ask for a closer or nicer park for walking my dog. I'd really like to keep it open for dogs.

* Still haven't done the sealer or drilled a drain in the front planter. On the other hand, the heat cables I put in the soil have melted the ice and are accelerating the crocus I have planted there.

* Speaking of planting, I have some arugula sets in my basement, I have some Swiss chard starting to emerge down there, too. When it's all up, I'll start another tray of something ( I haven't decided what yet ) . I seeded some carrots, radishes, beets, and kale outside.

* Sweet potatoes. As they started growing again they needed more water. Wetter soil seemed to lead to more aphids. I decided to take some cuttings from the plants and place them in water to root. Then I took the boxes outside and dumped them under the tree in the front yard. The soil I used was mostly compost. This year I plan to use last year's potting soil. Got next to nothing in the way of tuber development over the winter. IF I do sweet potatoes in the basement again, I'll use a heated tent. More likely I'll simply do hydroponic greens down there. They wilt in the heat anyway.

*Looks like one or two more dead trees to remove in the back of the lot. The grove is moving towards a sugar maple monoculture.

[Rusty Edge]

*Haven't weighed myself in weeks. I'd guess I'm about 220. I've really ramped up my activity, but my appetite has increased as well.

* Snow is completely gone. So is the pond ice.

* I've been sawing, splitting, and chopping up part of a tree trunk I didn't get to last year. I'm about a day away from converting the last of it to mulch. I'm waiting to see which trees get leaves this year. The one that I suspect needs to come down this year before it falls down is more substantial than the ones I've dealt with so far.

[Rusty Edge]

* Finished the last of the dead tree. My wife has convinced me that the other ones aren't my responsibility. Seeing as how they aren't likely to fall on the one I planted, or shrubs I intend to plant, I'll let them alone and the woodpeckers can have them.

*I've got 3 planters set up with water reservoirs, coir chips inoculated with soil microbes, potting soil and trellises. The arugula is going great in the basement, I had to spread it out. The chard only germinated about 10%, so I planted some more. I also planted some Mesclun mix. None of the seeds planted outdoors have emerged yet.

* I want to start removing sod and preparing the blueberry beds, but it's too muddy.

* Haven't started another closet, but I probably will if it stays wet. I suppose that there is always finishing that basement wall, but I like working in the basement during the summer heat. There is always the drain on the front planter, but I'll need to buy a drill bit for that.

*I'm leaning towards planting an apple serviceberry bush and an American Filbert this year. As for trees, a royal frost birch and a hemlock.

[Rusty Edge]

Weather was upper 70s today. So warm I enjoyed my trips to the basement. I may apply the last of that sealer sooner than I think.

As for planters, I set up the one with raspberries and tayberries in similar fashion to the ones for sweet potatoes. I'm working on another, haven't decided if I'll use it for a tree or parsnips and other root crops. Yesterday I set up a large hanging basket and transplanted Swiss Chard and Arugula into it. The plan is to gift it to the niece who is going to water my plants while I'm away. That way she can get used to the "Put water in the funnel at the top of the tube until it runs out the hole in the side of the container" concept. The permanent outdoor planters with the Mesclun mix are emerging as of yesterday.

I had been working on the blueberry beds before Easter. I cut the sod into strips and repaired the lawn along the driveway. More sod to remove, but I got the nicest stuff out. I've decided to only dig it down 8" rather than a foot, to reduce the work and expense of soil replacement by a third.

I bought a drill bit and started drilling on the front  planter. Boring through the mortar wasn't as bad as I expected. However, there are cinder blocks behind the river stones, and either they are harder to drill, or my bit is losing it's edge. I used an extension I had, but it wasn't long enough to hit soil. So I bought a 1' extension today. The drilling is tough. I figure I should be through by now, but I'm not. If I leave home tomorrow I'll probably go back to Home Depot for a new long bit. Speaking of things that aren't going well, when I set up the new garden hose the valve in the basement that shuts it off for the winter was leaking once I opened it. Also there is a coupler between it and the wall which is dripping as well. I put that coupler in some years ago with a copper epoxy ( I was replacing the outside valve which cracked in a surprise freeze). I'm disappointed because while I tend to detest plumbing repairs, that one was quick and easy.  I plan to make a list and hire a plumber.

I ordered  a pair of Filberts and an Aronia berry bush from a nursery upstate. They're primarily to attract and feed wildlife and provide some fall color. I plan to get the service berry ( same purpose ) and the royal frost birch locally. I still intend to plant a hemlock tree this year, but not yet.

There is rain in the forecast every day this week. Guess I'll have to start on another closet.


 

[Unorthodox]

Contorted filbert? 

[Rusty Edge]

Contorted filbert?

That would make great monster limbs, wouldn't it?

No. Trying to stay within the spirit of the condo assoc. rules. [ The birch is the exception. The native birch are suffering from bugs and disease, hence the hybrid.].  They are aiming for native species in hopes of low maintenance ( so the names  normally begin with American or Canadian ).  The dominant trees are sugar maples. There were hawthorne, ash, box elder, but the bugs are killing them.  Companion trees in native forests would be red oak,  hemlock, beech, and basswood (a.k.a. Linden).  Understory tree/shrubs would be filbert , serviceberry, chokeberry (Aronia) and witch hazel.

[Rusty Edge]

Recently returned from a 3 week trip to PA, only delayed a bit by vaccinations and so forth. I haven't been there for about 20 months, and there were a legal pad full of tasks for me to complete. Not complaining, it felt good to get stuff done.

Well, that and stay busy. My step-dad isn't alive any more. Sometime during the quarantine in the nursing home he aspirated some food, then got pneumonia. He couldn't recover.  I got to visit 5 times or so his last week. It was rough for a while, then I think they increased his narcotics. You've probably seen this for yourselves with some friend or relative.

Anyway, it was time. He'd had 6 brain surgeries for non-cancerous skull tumors in the last 20 or so years and a round of unrelated colo-rectal cancer. It seemed that every time he had a surgery or a seizure he lost more body control.  He only had the use of his right index finger, couldn't really use that arm. His left was strong, but it had Parkinson's tremors so bad that he couldn't do much more than hold a hand rail or something, once somebody guided his hand there. He was stuck in bed and couldn't feed himself or hold a book. He still had his wits. I don't know if that was for better or worse. I admired his determination to recover, even in the face of repeated setbacks.

My brother is the executor because he lives nearby. I was glad to be cleaning the garage, etc. instead.
So that's why I haven't been around. That and I'm enjoying being outdoors again.

[Rusty Edge]

The birch has been problem free. The blueberries are doing alright. 9/10 bore fruit this season. Not a lot, but berries are still ripening. Finally planted a hemlock. I'm spraying it with deer repellant to keep them from eating it. It's working, but now the tree smells like rotten eggs rather than hemlock, and I enjoy the smell of hemlock. Still haven't painted that basement wall, but the drain hole I drilled in the planter seems to have solved my seepage issue.

Today I froze some sweet corn. My next project will be bulb planting, but they haven't arrived yet. My hydroponic romaine is growing well. I plan to move it into the basement this fall and keep it producing year round.

[Rusty Edge]

Here's an update on the Rittenhouse case.
Apparently they are trying to tell an edited story that paints him as a civic minded patriot acting in self defense. Republicans and FOX viewers see these edited versions that don't include the initial confrontation/ murder, and think he acted in self-defense and are calling him a hero and sending money.

https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/crime/2020/09/24/kyle-rittenhouse-extradition-subject-friday-court-hearing-kenosha/3520926001/

The case has finally gone to trial. My wife has been trying to follow it on the internet  although she has had doctor's appointments, lunch with her Mom, etc. I've overheard a lot.  Today I had to laugh at the DA and his assistant. To me it seemed that they were leading a witness ( semi-pro photographer who was in the thick of it) and badgering him when they didn't like his answers. I guess they never heard the old legal adage - "Never ask a question to which you don't know the answer" One of the questions was something like -Was your camera turned on at the time you took this picture?  Another was Don't you remember what we talked about after the interview? "No." How I complemented you on your photography? "That was beforehand, while we were waiting for your assistant to show up."
 Another was Don't you remember signing and dating the top of every page of your statement once we had it typewritten? "I signed and dated the bottoms."

To top it all off, when the prosecution rested the judge threw out the charge of being on the street after curfew simply because they forgot to speak a word about it during the course of the trial. The DA botched the easiest charge to prove out of negligence.