Ethanol, Smethanol!

Just picked up the old Stihl FS45 string trimmer from the shop.  It was bogging down at high throttle settings and needed a tuneup.  What caused the problem?

The culprit - ethanol gasoline!

I learned from the good folks at my tractor sales / repair shop that ethanol has a tendency to thicken as it absorbs any moisture!  If you don't use your gas up quickly, it can clog fuel lines and carburetors in 2-cycle engines over time.

I don't burn that much gas in my trimmer.  I use my scythe for the knotweed.  I only use the string trimmer for occasional trimming.  I mix a gallon of gas with oil, and use it over 2 years!

I know better now.  I'll mix up only 1 quart at a time!

I still don't understand why we take perfectly good corn, convert it to ethanol, and then suffer with the drawbacks of it as a fuel!

Amazing Gifts

I have been trying to get some good photos of hummingbirds the last few weeks.   I stand around for 15 minutes - the birds zoom in - the camera is not focused - I try to focus - snap a photo - the photo is blurry.

I set up the camera in video mode.  I knew I would sacrifice resolution, but had a chance of getting better focused shots.  I was happy with the results.

I'll definitely do some more experimenting!

Enjoy . . .

Happy Father's Day

Some of my favorite song lyrics about fathers . . .

Love Without End, Amen  - Aaron Barker

I got sent home from school one day with a shiner on my eye. 

Fightin' was against the rules and it didn't matter why. 

When dad got home I told that story just like I'd rehearsed. 

And then stood there on those tremblin' knees and waited for the worst. 

And he said, "Let me tell you a secret about a father's love, 

A secret that my daddy said was just between us." 

He said, "Daddies don't just love their children every now and then. 

It's a love without end, amen, it's a love without end, amen." 

When I became a father in the spring of '81 

There was no doubt that stubborn boy was just like my father's son. 

And when I thought my patience had been tested to the end, 

I took my daddy's secret and I passed it on to him. 

And he said, "Let me tell you a secret about a father's love, 

A secret that my daddy said was just between us." 

He said, "Daddies don't just love their children every now and then. 

It's a love without end, amen, it's a love without end, amen." 

Last night I dreamed I died and stood outside those pearly gates. 

When suddenly I realized there must be some mistake. 

If they know half the things I've done, they'll never let me in. 

And then somewhere from the other side I heard these words again. 

And he said, "Let me tell you a secret about a father's love, 

A secret that my daddy said was just between us." 

He said, "Daddies don't just love their children every now and then. 

It's a love without end, amen, it's a love without end, amen."

Dad with his children . . .

Daddy's Hands  - Holly Dunn 

I remember daddy's hands folded silently in prayer

And reachin' out to hold me, when I had a nightmare

You could read quite a story in the callous' and lines

Years of work and worry had left their mark behind

I remember daddy's hands how they held my mama tight

And patted my back for something done right

There are things that I'd forgotten that I loved about the man

But I'll always remember the love in daddy's hands

Daddy's hands were soft and kind when I was cryin'

Daddy's hands were hard as steel when I'd done wrong

Daddy's hands weren't always gentle but I've come to understand

There was always love in daddy's hands

I remember daddy's hands workin' 'til they bled

Sacrificed unselfishly just to keep us all fed

If I could do things over, I'd live my life again

And never take for granted the love in daddy's hands

Daddy's hands were soft and kind when I was cryin'

Daddy's hands were hard as steel when I'd done wrong

Daddy's hands weren't always gentle but I've come to understand

There was always love in daddy's hands

Daddy's hands were soft and kind when I was cryin'

Daddy's hands were hard as steel when I'd done wrong

Daddy's hands weren't always gentle but I've come to understand

There was always love in daddy's hands

Dad with some of his grandchildren . . .

The cycle continues - me and my granddaughter . . .

Violated

As I walk to the garage in the morning, I always check the garden.

All was looking good after the steady rain we had yesterday.  Then I was shocked!

Something had eaten the tops off of 5 of our tomato plants.  I suspect deer - but we have never had problems with them in the past.  What surprised me was that nothing else touched, not even the spinach, kale, or green beans!

We'll have to figure out some way to add more protection.  We might need to replace a few of the plants now!

A New Enemy?

They say a weed is a plant where you don't want it.

Well . . . I guess I have a new weed that I don't want around.  It may even supersede knotweed as my arch-enemy.

What is it?

Galium Aparine (aka stickyweed, gooseweed, cleavers, bedstraw, stickywilly, stickyjack, etc.)

It seems to be everywhere this year!  It is in the white garden.  It is back in the corner of the property covering the neighbor's fence.  It is over by the barn near the daffodils.  It is over by the compost bins.

I've seen it around many years.  It has never been a problem.  This year it is rampant.  I don't know if it was the mild winter, the warm spring, or us traveling a lot last year and me not weeding enough (you can never weed enough).

The weed is sticky, and it has tiny, velcro-like prickers which can scratch you when you touch it.  It is a creeping weed and can get 1 to 2 meters long.  I can fill wheelbarrows full of it.  I hope I can really knock the rest of it back this weekend.

Maybe it could choke out the knotweed!  It doesn't get a big as knotweed.  Then again, maybe I'll keep the knotweed (better the devil you know than the one you don't)!

Do you have it where you are?

Unexpected Simple Pleasures

Part of my bi-weekly ritual is to do a heavy weeding about the yard.  I cut down the ever-pervasive Knotweed, weeded the shade garden, mowed the grass, turned over the compost piles, trimmed around the building, fertilized the gardens, and weeded the white garden.

As I was poking about the yard, I was surprised a number of times!

I came across spittle bugs!

Okay, know they aren't the nicest little critters.  Some people even take great actions to get rid of them.  But I remember these as a kid.  I was always amazed that some little insect could wrap itself in a cocoon of froth to keep safe.  I've read they can be destructive - but I've only seen them on Goldenrod.  I've never had a problem with them.  Live and let live I guess!

As I was weeding the white garden, I came across this patch of flowers.  They resembled Phlox, but the leaves seem wrong.  I wonder what they are?

I pulled a bunch of Goldenrod and Dame's Rockets.  Nested in them were several groups of Irises I had planted a few years ago.

That what is great about being in the yard - you never know what you will find!

Got It!

If you watched the news recently, you may have seen stories about the transit of Venus across the face of the sun.  It doesn't happen very often (it will be over 100 years before it will be visible from the Earth again).  I decided to drag out the telescope (I haven't touched it for many years) and see if I could capture this event.

I set up the scope (a 114 mm reflector), a new CCD camera, and my laptop.  I have a solar filter for the front of the scope.  I was hoping to get some digital photos.

The weather forecast did not look promising.  We had cloud cover projected for many hours.

I had to wait for a clearing in the clouds.  The transit started locally here about 6:00.  Off to the east there was a sliver of clear sky.  Maybe I would get my chance . . .

The sun popped through the clouds around 6:30!  I had to get the sun in the shot, get it focused, grab some shots.  I did not have the 'goto' unit hooked to the scope, so I had to try to visually get the picture.  I slowly panned the scope around, watching the sky slowly brighten on the screen as I got near sun.  It then appeared, but was out of focus.  I started to focus, but the bright sun made it hard to see the computer screen.  I ended upholding my netbook up to block the sun so I could see the screen while trying to focus the scope.

Suddenly, I could see Venus!  Got it.  I pressed the record button, and grabbed 5 frames in an AVI file (sorry for the high nerd-index of this post, but that is the nature of astronomy...).

I was able to run some stacking software to clean up the image.  Voila  . . .

Shortly after, the clouds came back.  I waited around for another hour.  The skies did not clear.  The sun was getting low in the sky.  My opportunity was over.

Still, I got a shot.  Pretty cool!

Did you get a chance to see it?

Feathered Guests

We finally saw our first hummingbirds for the season.  It was raining out, but the hummers still came to the feeder.

The birds have been eating a lot lately.  I just filled the feeder 2 days ago - it is empty already (the wife snapped this photo with the downy woodpecker nearby).

The wife got a photo of the most beautiful cardinal.  It has the deepest red we have ever seen.

I think she did a good job!

How are your feathered guests doing?

Susquehanna

After the flooding last fall, most of the boat launches near us on the Susquehanna River were closed.  They just reopened a few weeks ago.  It was a cloudy morning, but I decided to paddle on the Susquehanna.

I put in by Hickories Park in Owego.  Much of the park is still being repaired after the flood, but the boat ramp and parking were fine.

The flooing last fall was incredible.  I was parked over 10 feet above the river.  The sign by my car showed the height of the flood waters.  The 2011 flooding was over the 100 year level!

The river was calm, and it looked like the clouds were going to go away.  The air was still.  It was quiet and peaceful.

Some of the houses on the river are still in shambles.  I am surprised that many of these homes are repaired and in use.

There are huge tracts on knotweed along the rivers.  Knotweed loves wet, sunny areas.

There was not much wildlife.  I saw a female mallard of in the distance.  Being a larger river, it is hard to just round a corner and come across wildlife.

The force of last year's flood was obvious by the debris scattered on the islands.

 It was a short paddle.  The skies started to grow darker.  Rain was coming.  That doesn't bother me much (I am in a boat already).  My biggest concern was the chance of thundershowers.  I rounded the large island just east of the park, and headed back to the launch.  About 2 miles to go back.

There were small animals about.  Squirrels and blackbirds were all about.

I saw a female red-headed merganser on the shore.  She was waiting for me to pass by.

The rain came. It was coming down steady.  I was doing a little fishing, but nothing was biting.  The wind was coming up.  I was getting cold and wet.  Time to head back.

Splashing Raindrops

It was nice to get back on the Susquehanna again.  I need to get a long paddle in soon.