Bogieblog

Won't Take Long to Pay for Itself

I've complained about needing to replace at least one fence panel for years. It has been beset from several directions:

• First, a good sized section of a huze-azz willow dropped on it in 2017.
• Then a bear took it down to get to the bird feeder last fall
• I assume the same bear took it down this spring (I didn't even bother posting about it - heck I don't even see that I took any pictures)

Each time it was taken down I straightened it the best I could. I started looking for fence panels from local stores last September (the first bear transgression). Single panels were not to be found and I was unwilling to buy an entire kennel plus delivery charges. I did find a company to build me a center support pipe - and that was j-u-s-t enough to keep it from collapsing over the winter (that and the dearth of snow storms so the roof didn't dump much). But with the last attack, there was no way that panel was going to stay up, and it would probably take down the gate with it.

So, now that I have a trailer, I have been looking hard to replace the fence panel. Of course I needed a 10' long x 6' tall panel to fit in the existing spot. Agway no longer even had kennels, nor could they get any. A guy in Concord wants $200/panel. Considering I could get a 10x10x6 kennel (4 panels) for $425 at the local Tractor Supply (they had two in stock), I declined.  I wanted to get an extra panel for back up, but if I was going to spend that much, I might as well go for the whole enchilada.

I never realized how many different sizes of fencing there are until I searched CL and FBM - rarely were they the size I was looking for. I found several 8'x6' and 12'x6' panels along with a whole bunch that were shorter than 6' tall. Then there was a guy selling 2 panels of the right size at $123/each. I contacted him but he was unwilling to wait until the weekend for me to pick them up (I don't blame him, he had willing buyers. I was an hour away and unwilling to drive in the dark trying to find a place I've never been to, towing a trailer that I suck at backing up). I was seriously going to just get a kennel from TSC. Then on Wednesday, I saw an almost brand new 10x10x6 kennel on FBM for $300. I contacted the seller and said I could pick it up any time this weekend. And joy - the seller agreed to hold it!

After looking at the weather forecast, I arranged to pick it up today. The rain stopped just before I left this morning, the guy helped me load it up (thank goodness for the stake sides since the trailer is only 8' long). When I got home I unloaded the panels and used the 4-wheel wagon to haul the single panel to where it was needed. I asked the neighbor lady to help me by stabilizing the old panel while I removed the bolts/brackets. Then put the new panel up.

Here is the sad sack panel I replaced

And the new panel in its place

The reason I decided to pick up the fence today instead of yesterday.

And yay for having not only extra panels if needed, the gate panel next to the replaced panel has been tweaked/twisted each time the other panel was take out. Although it seems to be okay for now, you never know.

So having the trailer not only saved me $125 off the list price of the kennel, it saved whatever the delivery cost (which I'm not even sure that the local TSC delivers). And hey, now I can let Rita out if we have any nice days - poor kitty has been cooped in the house for over a year.

Huge Crop of Peppers

I jest, this is the sum total of peppers that my 3 plants produced. And even there I exaggerate, 2 of the pepper plants lived about 1/2 the season and just died for no apparent reason. That is 1/2 a sheet of paper, not a full sheet

These were picked after the first frost which was 10/24/21. Yes, that is a late frost, the 2nd latest ever that missed out at top spot by one day. My area will not have snow in October, which is hit or miss here. Some years we get 20"+, some years just a few flakes, and some years none at all.

The Nor'Easter was no problem in my neck of the woods. I had already recorded about 3/4" of rain from the periodic rain the two days before it hit. I saw light winds and another inch of precipitation dorm the Nor'Easter. It affected people mainly on the coast and south of NH from what I can tell.

And I will end this post with cute kitty pictures. Even following direction from Typepad for turning pictures, since apparently as a pay site it is too tough for them to figure out how to do it automatically, they still show up sideways :(. However, if you click on the sideways pics, the pop-up will show them correctly. Seriously, I expect better since they post just fine on a volunteer run, free, no-ad site.

Spot in the first two pics, Rainey in the next two, then Rita, and the two youngest in/near a rare sunbeam this past week.

Oiling Up

Yesterday morning I decided it was time to oil the wood floors. It can be tough to tell from pictures, but the difference always amazes me. The first picture is the livingroom from the pellet stove (before is on the left, after is on the right). I have circled where scratches were evident before oiling

The hallway is even tougher to show, but if you look at the white spot that is circled, that is paint drops that I didn't get cleaned up in time and then couldn't get off. The combination of grapeseed and orange oils soften it up enough for removal without damaging the wood. I had a lot of paint splatters that I was able to remove.

The office is pretty easy to see. My chair is used a lot since I have been working from home. The floor shows it in the left picture. I had to oil that area a couple of times, but got it back to looking nice. I'll need to remember to do that area more often than the other areas.

Oh yeah, and the house smells like oranges with a hint of rosemary.

Watching the Big Dogs Work

Went to visit friends from NJ as they visited their property in Winchester, NH. I have gone over a couple of times in the last 2 years to help them clear and stack brush, while others cut trees down. They have been disappointed that the company they hired to remove stumps and rocks, then grade hadn't been up to do the job yet. 5 minutes after I arrived, a machine showed up and started working. The land owners were really happy with this surprise.

I don't know what algorithm Typepad uses to upload a group of pictures, but even though they are numbered, and I clicked on them in order, the order is all messed up. I don't feel like re-ordering, so it is what it is. I also don't feel like going and turning those pics to right side up. It annoys me that this is the only website that shows landscape pics sideways when they are uploaded.

Am I Trailer Trash Now?

Since getting down to having only 1 vehicle, I've been able to store pellets in the garage, so I can hold more than the 3 tons that I keep in the basement (I use 5-6 tons per year). I handle each of those tons twice just to get them home as I've loaded the bags into my vehicle, then unload/stack them in the house/garage. So, what could make my life easier?

A trailer would mean that I handle each ton once for transport. That would be great, plus I could use a trailer to transport full sheets of sheet rock or plywood (those are about 4" too wide for the Explorer to carry). Renting a trailer would not be practical or cost efficient. At the same time, buying a trailer new, is not cost efficient either - especially one that is rated for carrying a ton.

So, I have been keeping an eye on CL and FB Marketplace for used trailers. Tuesday night a home made trailer popped up that is made from the frame of a Chevy pickup. It would handle more than a ton and at 6x8, is small enough that I can park it in the yard. It also came with a couple of 8' boards with railing brackets installed for use as ramps. He even threw in what looks like a brand new strap to strap the ramps boards in as a safety measure. Total cost, $425, less than 1/4 of what a commercially available trailer that can handle a ton costs.

Wednesday night I went to look at it, and it followed me home, literally.

Yesterday, besides mowing leaves, I cleared out invasive roses and other brush from the ditch between my property and the former swamp. The load was small enough I could have fit it in the Explorer (just barely), but it was a wet, stinking mess and I decided to keep that crud outside of my truck. I wrapped the crud tightly in a plastic sheet so I wouldn't lose any of it on the road and irritate drivers behind me.

I really like that it has the stake sides so any of the sides can be removed for easy loading/unloading. That is unlike most of the commercial trailers they make nowadays as the side rails are welded on and the back is a 6-8' ramp. I also like the larger car tires instead of the 13-15" wheels on most commercial-made trailers. It travels well behind the truck. I never fully appreciated how wide the Explorer really is since I have to really crane my neck to see the sides of the trailer, which is 6..5' wide.

Now I just have to get my brain wrapped around backing up. I'm sure I was quite entertaining to the others at the dump's brush pile as I navigated, renavigated, re-renavigated :)

Well, It's Happened

The government mandate has hit where I work. Being a government contractor, all employees are required to be vaccinated - even those who work from home full time. Employees have until the end of November to accomplish this and provide proof, or provide proof that they are excluded from the mandate for health reasons. Although I am vaccinated so don't have to worry about it, I disagree with the mandate. My company has no choice, so I'm not faulting them, but the government.

We thought we had a worker shortage before with all sectors of the economy having a hard time filling positions in NH. I can hardly wait to see how many voluntarily leave my company, and how many people have to be fired when all is said and done.

At the same time as mandated vaccines, the government hasn't seen fit to open the northern boarder to fully vaccinated people yet. Sure, they can fly in, but they can't cross by land or lake. This makes absolutely no sense and does nothing but punish northern states who depend on commerce and tourism from our northern neighbors. Additionally, a lot of families reside across the boarder from each other but can't see each other. If vaccination is so great, why won't we allow vaccinated people in by modes other than air travel (which by definition, you are forced into close contact with others so more likely to come in contact / spread the virus). Argh, this just makes my head hurt wondering where logic is.

Fall Clean Up

We went straight from A/C season to heating season this fall. about 10 days ago the coldest morning was in the 50's, while most were in the high 60's. Since then we went to lows in the 40's and highs in the low 50's without any sun for solar gain. I used the minisplit to provide heating at night for a couple of days, but on Wednesday got the P43 unpacked from storage and it has been keeping the main floor warm. since then. Yesterday the high was 60, and there was some sun, so the pellet stove didn't run for 10-12 hours.

Sunday I picked up the last ton of pellets from the local store so I now have almost 3 tons in the basement and 2 tons in the garage

I also got the leaves mowed on Sunday. I mowed leaves again on Tuesday and Thursday, with plenty more left in the trees.

I mowed the neighbor's yard yesterday. The grass was still short enough that it really didn't need mowing, but since I wanted to mow his leaves in his back yard, I did the whole thing.I also started up the snowblower to make sure it was good after sitting since March. I added Seafoam to the gas before attempting to start it. I did have to prime it a couple of extra time before it would start, but it ran well and I let it run for several minutes to clean out any gunk in the lines.

I'll mow my yard today - although about 1/2 of that will just be for leaf pick up. My front yard doesn't collect leaves so I haven't shortened any grass there during my earlier leaf mowing.