Catching Up!

It's been a while since I posted anything. Fall has been a busy time.  We went to Gettysburg last weekend.  We enjoy visiting the battlefields and taking in the history.

We escaped the heavy rains.  There was localized flooding.  The river was up quite a bit.  The creek finally had water in it.  The heavy rains knocked a lot of the leaves from the trees.

Yesterday, I raked the yard, filled the compost bins, and mowed the yard.  Most of the leaves are off the trees in our yard.  I expect all the leaves will be down in a few more weeks.

We had our first hard frost this morning.  It has hit the knotweed pretty hard.

Frost on the Deck Chairs

The day is beautiful.  Sunny, light winds, temperatures around 70 degF.  Enjoy!

Creek in Fall

Autumn Leaves on Spook Hill

Fall has Come

Though the fall equinox came earlier this week, I always said fall starts when the sumac turns red. . .

. . . and it has!

The  leaves are starting to change.  The maples are already changing.  The maple by the barn is near peak.  I've already started to rake leaves and put them in the compost pile.  The temperatures are steadily falling.  We'll see frosts in a few week.

I finished the puffin decoy.  Overall, I am pretty happy with it.  The hardest part was the bill.  I need to give it a coat of wax or a coat of epoxy.  On to the next project!

Puffin Decoy Before

Puffin Decoy After

Caress of Steel

In a previous post, I mentioned I had picked up a 2-man crosscut saw at our local auction house.  I finally got around to cleaning it up this past weekend.

The saw was in very good shape.  The handles were sturdy and well-fastened.  The blade did not appear to be too rusty, and the teeth looked to be in good shape.

I sanded the blade first on both sides with 100 grit paper, and then rubbed it with steel wool.  A good coat of WD-40 was rubbed over both sides.  I was happy with the surface.

I then looked at the teeth.  There are a number of tooth patterns for saws.  This saw is set with a champion tooth pattern.  Two triangular teeth are set slightly out of line of one another, while a smaller 2-pronged tooth (known as the raker) is set in line.  The triangular teeth do the cutting, while the raker help to clean the shavings out of the cut.

I checked the height of the rakers.  They should be just below the cutting teeth.  If the rakers are above the level of the triangular cutting teeth, it will be hard to saw.   Luckily for me, all the teeth were in good shape and at the correct level.  I then mounted the saw in a vice, and proceeded to sharpen the teeth with a file.  I still need to check the set of the teeth (i.e., the offset angles between the teeth) to make sure that they are properly aligned.

I'll have to get the wife out soon and give the saw a try.  I am sure we aren't a matched sawing team.  Hopefully using the saw out won't cause a big fight!

One Year Passed

I can't believe its been a year since I started this blog.  I thank my daughter for being my inspiration.  Our blogs allow us to keep in touch even though we are separated.

The Moon Setting over Spook Hill

 Another year has passed by.  Summer is waning fast.  There are still a few of the plants which are in their peak splendor. The silver lace clematis on the arbor is splendid.

Silver Lace Clematis

However, the tomatoes are fading fast.  The wife collected 12 dozen this week.  She has also put away 6 dozen which we picked last week after we let them ripen.

I look over my blog to see what I've done.  There are lessons to be learned.  When might I expect our first snow, when do the plants flower, what project was easy, what is the hard way?  I look forward to another year (as we all do).  I hope this journey brings me (and my followers) new insights.

Giant Puffballs!

The end of the summer has come.  We have been to reunions and parties the last three weekends.  We had a great get-together this past weekend here at our home.  My cycling as been erratic, but I did get a chance to get a few rides in this past weekend.  On one ride, I saw a large white ball sitting in the woods about 15 feet from the road.  When I was riding back, I pulled off the road and went up to the white ball.  Was it a bag of trash, a mushroom, a deflated toy ball?

I pushed it gently with my hand (no, I did not think it was some alien life-form preparing to turn me into a blob).

It was a giant puffball mushroom (Langermannia Gigantea).  I took some pictures of it (in one photo I have a water bottle next to it).  The puffball was about 12 inches (30 cm) at its widest.  It was the largest one I had ever seen!

Just yesterday I saw 2 more nearby our house by the historic Bement-Billings homestead.  It must be puffball season.

A site I frequent states these are edible when newly emergent.  I like mushrooms, but think I'll pass on picking some myself.  It would have been nice sliced and sautéed with a little butter though...

Dragonflies

One day last year I was lucky enough to see a swarm of dragonflies chasing each other around in the late afternoon.  They were large dragonflies.  It was quite a sight.  I could walk right into the center of the swarm, and the dragonflies would rush all around me, oblivious to my presence.  It was truly magical! 

Today, I saw more dragonflies chasing each other around the yard.  I ran inside and grabbed the camera.  It was quite a chore trying to snap a picture of a moving dragonfly - but I did get a few.  I will keep on the lookout to see if they will swarm again!

Great Auction Deal

We stopped by the local auction house last Friday.  We put in a few bids for a few items.  We were happy to find out we got 2 boxes of Christmas ornaments (around 60!) for just $20.  What a bargain.  If you follow my blog, you know my wife and I are nuts about glass ornaments.  Anyway, almost all are glass.  They are mostly smaller ornaments (1 - 2 inches in diameter).  What a deal.

Just think.  Christmas is only 4 months away . . .

Rainy Day Chores

We finally got a good rain.  It started sometime after midnight and has been going steady.  I expect we will get over 1 inch.  This is good. It has been dry this month and the plants and rivers could use it.  Our creek was nearly dry (just a few puddles), but it is now flowing again.

Dry Creek

Wet Creek

We picked up our corn yesterday.  We get it from a local farm-stand.  It was picked around 8:00 in the morning, and by 3:00 we had it all shucked, wrapped, and in the freezer.  We put way 160 ears!  This will keep us in corn-on-the-cob for most of the coming year.

Our plum (roma) tomatoes have been coming in.  We peeled and froze 4 1/2 dozen this morning.  We have a few more dozen we picked yesterday, and will certainly pick many dozen more in the coming weeks.  We use frozen tomatoes in our spaghetti sauce, chili, soups, etc.  We put about 8 tomatoes into quart size freezer bags after we peel them.  Each bag is roughly equivalent to a 10 - 12 ounce can (no salt, preservatives, and better flavor).

I'll be making pesto today.  We blend our basil with grated parmesan cheese and olive oil.  We divide it into small portions and also freeze it.  We can take some pesto out any time and whip up some pasta, etc. in a snap.

I spent a few ours in the workshop catching up on a few projects.  I had picked up a few hand drills at auctions that needed some cleaning up.  Most needing some lubrication, while one needed its handle glued.  I also worked on the puffin decoy.  Most of the sanding is now done.  I've glued the bill in, and filled some of the big cracks with wood putty.  The decoy will get one more finish sanding and then I'll paint it.

Swiss Cheese Barn

We went to visit my sister yesterday (yea!).  I decided to ride to her house (~ 54 miles).  It was a beautiful day, but I did have a few headwinds (luckily not too strong).  My wife went by car, and passed me by mile 34.  The bike rack was on the car, so I did not have to ride home (whew!)

Summer is peaking.  The corn is in strong, our garden is yielding tons of tomatoes, and the final wildflowers of summer are in bloom.  As I was riding, I could see the creeks were low (the river by our house is very low, and our creek is nearly dry!).

As I would ride past the farms and fields, I could see the corn.  More interesting were the fallow fields.  I particularly like the fields of purple vetch.  This little member of the pea family does grow wild.  Its little purple flowers are a pleasant surprise in late summer.

It is surprising to see some color on the maples.  It has been a hot summer, and some of the trees are probably distressed and getting ready for the fall.

My ride was through farmland and very small villages.  I especially like all the barns.  One of my favorites is somewhat neglected.  I think the building is still used, but it is full of openings.  I cannot imagine what all the openings were for.  I call it the Swiss Cheese Barn!

Enjoy!

Summer's Peak

Though we still expect some hot days, summer hass seemed to change course.  The last few nights have been cooler and pleasant.  The cooler nights have seemed to signal the tomatoes to ripen.  We finally picked a few today, and many more are starting to change color.

The robins that are nesting by the windows of the workshop have a brood of 2 or three young birds. This will probably be the last brood of the year (robins can lay up to three clutches of eggs each season).

The farmers are making hay.  The warm, dry days are perfect for the hay.

Our gardens are looking spent, especially the white garden.  Luckily, the Black-Eyed Susans are at their peak.  I can't get enough of them (and they oblige as they seem to take up more space every year).

This is the time of year for the late wildflowers.  The chickory, Queen Anne's Lace, teasel, hawkweed and goldenrod are bursting forth.  I really like these wild stragglers.  I keep a bunch of goldenrod and Black-Eyed Susans growing in the white garden just to keep something flowering.

Soon enough, fall will be here.  I consolidated some of my compost bins.  By October, I'll be down to one bin which I'll be putting into the garden for next summer's tomatoes.  The cycle goes on.

La Culture du Vélo

I went on a last minute trip to Lyon, France for business.  Since my meetings were on Monday morning, and as I had the previous Friday off from work, I decided to leave Thursday night and spend a few days in Lyon.  Luckily, my wife was able to go with me.  We had a great time.

I want to share our experience with those readers who frequent my site on the blogosphere.  However, most of the experiences we had don't really match the nature and outdoor topics I usually discuss.  However, as I am an avid bicyclist, and as France has a culture of cycling, I decided to write about some cycling-related items (if you do have questions about Lyon, I would enjoy trying to answer them...)

It was great being in France while the Tour de France (TdF) was going on.  I watch 'Le Tour' on American TV everynight, but to be in France and see the racing in realtime on French TV was fun (I thought about taking the TGV train to Paris for the final stage, but that was just too much traveling for a long weekend)!  I am not fluent in French, but I know enough to understand the action.  I can honestly say I was in France and watched Le Tour!

I bought copies of the French sports daily 'L'Equipe' every day from a the local magazine shop.  I plan on framing them and putting them in my gym or at work.

I also bought a set of TdF miniatures from a little model shop down the street from the hotel.  They are a ~1930s rider and motorcycle / photographer. I have them at work.  They are so neat.

Another interesting cycling-related aspect of Lyon (and many of the big cities in France) were the VeloV bicycle rental stands.  You put a credit card into a machine, and then pull out a bicycle.  The first 1/2 hour is free to rent, then you pay a nominal charge.  When you are done, you insert the bike back into the rack, and your card is then debited.

The cyclists ride all through the cities.  Local people rode around with their groceries,  Tourists rode around looking at the sites.  The stands are locate every few blocks, so you could always drop the bike off near your desitination.  What a great idea.  Too bad we can't do more of this in American cities.  It is a great way to get around, reduce CO2 emissions, get some exercise, and avoid parking fees.

History Lessons

Yesterday I went into town for a haircut.  The barbershop is pretty old-fashioned.  It is sort of a 'male only' bastion.  The guys show up, watch some TV, talk sports and local politics, joke with the young kids who come in, and read outdated magazines (the shop even as a stray Plaboy or Maxim magazine kicking around)!

The barbershop sits on a one-way street which houses a  bunch of store-fronts.  One of them is an office supply store which was getting renovated.  Underneath the old sign was a Rockefeller campaign sign, circa 1960.  Nelson Rockefeller was a NY governor who ran for the republican ticket in the 60s.  The Rockefeller campaign predated me a little, but I remember when he was the vice president under president Ford in the 1970s.

Down the street is an old J. J. Newberry store.  I surmise this one was closed in the late 1980s.  J. J. Newberry was a 5 and dime store which was ultimately acquired by McCrory's.  McCrory's went out of business in 1997, along with the remaining J. J. Newberry stores.  I grew up going to McCrory's.  It had a little of everything (clothing, fabric, dry goods, toys, magazines, and even a lunch counter).  It was considered basic quality stuff. Not a designer store, but perfectly acceptable.  It is kind of ironic that the J. J. Newberry store I saw was now a dollar store.  Now it is even lower quality. I'd prefer to have a 5 and dime back!

Twins

It's been hot and dry the past several weeks.  Just a month ago we were in Alaska gazing upon snow-capped mountains.  Now, its is nearly 90 degF.  We have not had much rain.  Though the weather is good for tomatoes, the grass is slowly drying out and turning brown.  Once we get a good soaking rain it will recover.  It always does.

The dry-spell means the creek is down.  There is but a slow, trickle of warm water over algae-covered rocks.  But it is water, and where there is water, there is life.

Last night, we walked to the creek and watched the little fish schooling around.  How they make it through the dry spells, the winter freezes, and the high, cold spring torrents I'll never know.

Today, I was looking out from our library and saw two deer by the creek.  We don't see many deer on our property in the summer.  When we do, it has been when it is hot.  They were young fawns, still in there spotted coats, exploring the knotweed by the creek.

I called the wife and we ventured out to see them.  I bid her to keep watching them while  grabbed the camera.  We got a few photos, then they darted behind the barn.  I went to one side of the barn, creeping around to take a few photos.  I saw them in the creek.  I was ready to take another photo.  My wife went had went to the other side of the barn. She got closer to the deer, but then startled them.  I missed my chance for more photos.

I ventured down to the creek tonight as the sun was setting.  It was cool, lush and peaceful near the trickle of water.  Where there is water, there is life. . .

Seeing

"Vision is the art of seeing the invisible."  

-  Jonathan Swift

It was a typical weekend day in the yard.  I had to water and fertilize the garden, do some weeding, cut back the knotweed, and mow the yard.  This takes about 4 hours.  For some, it might seem like a lot of work, but I like it.  It is when you are deep in yard work that you truly see your yard.

I started with the tomatoes.  I had to stake them up some more.  As I was working in the tomato bed, I startled a garter snake sunning itself on the black weed cloth.  It then slithered away.  We have seen a lot of snakes this year.  It brought me a little joy to see the snake.

I brought out my trusty scythe, and went to knock back the knotweed by the creek.  I had completed a few strokes, when I notices a snail on one of the knotweed leaves.  This was the second time this year I had seen a snail in the yard.  I showed the wife the snail, took its picture,and put it back into the knotweed.

As I was cutting the knotweed, I noticed the sumac had set fruit.  Soon, I would be able to take the fruit clusters and brew some sumac tea (it tastes like a cross between iced tea and pink lemonade).

While trimming around the house, I came across a stray tomato plant growing by the trash cans.  I am not sure where it came from.  I has spread some compost around this part of the yard last year when I had put the stone in for the trash cans.  As  compost my tomatoes, I can only surmise it was a holdover from a previous year,

I had pulled weeds by hand around the barn.  I just threw the long grass and ivy into the yard where it would be chopped up when I came out with the lawn tractor.  While mowing the yard, I saw a robin grab one of the long pieces of grass.  I watched it fly around, and then fly up to a corner of the barn roof where it was making a nest in an overhang.

As  said, it is when you are deep in yard work that you truly see your yard.

Puffin Decoy

After our recent trip to Alaska, I was motivated to do some more decoy carving.  I've been traveling a lot, and the yard has also kept me busy.  However, it did cool off overnight (a little).  I was going to work in the yard tomorrow, so I decided to head back into the workshop and start on a puffin decoy.

Puffins are a type of seabird found in the Northern Atlantic and Pacific oceans.  I got a few decoys last Christmas from an online dealer known as Duck Trap Decoys.  One of them is an antique Atlantic puffin kt.  Duck Trap Decoys has decent started kits at good prices.  They offer both decorative decoys and working decoys.

The puffin kits is pretty simple.  It has a base, a dowel for support, the roughed-out body, and a bill.  The kit came with a scaled drawing to show sectional profiles and basic paint scheme.

I smoothed out the basic body with a drawknife on the shaving bench,and then started to smooth the edges using a sanding  cylinder on the bench press.  I did some sanding of the bill to fit it to the head.

The basic shape is now done.  This took about 45 minutes.

The workshop started to get pretty warm.  The sawdust was sticking to me as I was sweating, so I called it quits for now.  I'll probably work on more fine sanding / carving tomorrow morning before it gets too hot.

Stay tuned for further updates . . .

Adventures at Packrat Pat's

I have been traveling to the Detroit area a lot for work the last several weeks.  I decided to take a day off from work, and extend my trip and visit my daughter in Indiana.  Uncle Tractor got to visit his daughter, son-in-law, and their precious daughter.  I am very pleased with them.  They love their daughter so much, and she is such a good two year old.  They are truly blessed.  I am very proud of them all.

My daughter has been talking about one antique store that she had to take me to see.  After a morning of antiquing wit everyone, we got some special father-daughter time and went there for a visit.

The store is a place called Packrat Pat's.  It is not for the faint of heart.  It is jam-packed with all sorts of treasures - all at decent prices.  The aisles are narrow, and the shelves are very full, but it is a great treasure hunt.

I came across a unique crock.  It was churn-shaped, but is not butter crock.  It had a fitted lid, handles, and interesting fish designs on it. I sent a photo via my cell phone to the wife.  She too liked it, so we sprung for it (only $60).

While perusing the bins, we came across of bin of porcelain odd-and-ends.  Most of the bins held electrical isolators, but there was a multi-piece assembly that had us stumped.  It had a patent number on it, U.S. Patent Number 2,376,410.  It was marked with a '???' description on the tag.

I like a good challenge.  I had to figure it out.  Though we did not buy it, I had the patent number (not much of a challenge really...).

The item could be disassembled.  Each of the rings could be removed.  Did you figure it out yet?

Okay, here's the spoiler:

It is a coffee filter!  This item was patented in 1945.  It would be placed in a drip coffee machine.  The grounds and water would be above.  This assembly would be placed in a cylindrical slot below the brew.  The water / ground mixture would drip down through the rings, but they would hold the grounds back.  The filtered coffee would then collect in the bottom pitcher.  It was an interesting design (as it would be a reusable filter).  It never caught on.

You never know what you will find - particularly when you go into a good antique shop.

Discoveries

Three years ago I bought a few trillium bulbs and planted them in the shade garden.  Nothing seemed to happen with them, and over the years I forgot about them.  Last night, we were walking around our property, showing my sister the gardens.  While looking at the shade garden, I noticed I had a trillium!  I hope it comes back over the years and spreads.  What a find.

I have seen a shed snake skin and glimpses of garter snakes by the tomato garden and in front of the barn near a rock border.  Today, I was able to get a few photos.  We then discovered a second snake just a few feet from the first one.  There is a small hole in the ground near the foundation of the barn.  I've seen a snake slithering into this hole.

I also discovered a large moth by the garage.  It is about 3 inched long.   Does anyone know what kind it is?

A New Day Unfolds

I have taken the day off from work.  My sister is coming to visit us over the weekend.  We really look forward to her company.  I'm going to get the yard work done so we can psend more time together.  It is expected to be a hot weekend, so getting it done today is also a good idea.  We'll sit back, drink some wine, make a few pizzas, and enjoy the evening.  I might make a fire in the chimenea, and we can watch the day come to a close.  Tomorrow we'll take it easy, and go out to one of our favorite Tapas restaurants.  (Okay, one other reason is that the Tour de France starts tomorrow.  I don't watch many sports on television, but bicycle racing is my favorite sport.  I amazes me to see these superb athletes ride one average 100 miles per days for 3 weeks.  Gotta get the yard work out of the way!)

The list of chores is not too long.  I opened up the barn to let it air out. I have already been out staking the tomatoes.  I need to keep tieing them to their stakes at they get taller.  Our plants have set fruit this week.  In our cooler climate, we won't be picking tomatoes until mid-August (how I sometimes envy our more southern friends for their early tomato crops). I'll mow the grass.  Luckily, we got a replacement battery for our Neuton electric mower.  We use it for trimming around the tight corners and small spaces we can't get the tractor into.  We bought the mower about 7 years ago.  Not practical for a big yard, but they work well for small yards.  No oil or gas to deal with.  They are quiet and lightweight.  I'll do some weeding of the white garden (it always needs it), and fertilize the tomatoes.  I should turn over the compost piles (one of the things I rarely do, but should).  I might knock down some knotweed (they never ending battle).

The grass was covered with dew as I was walking around the yard.  We live in a valley, and most mornings are foggy and cool.  As I was walking out to the creek, I could see the spider webs in the grass.  As the day warms up and the dew evaporates, the webs will become invisible.  I find it fascinating such creations are around us, but we can't see them.  As I mow the grass, the webs will be swept away.  Tomorrow morning, they will be back.  Amazing.