Bogieblog

Remember to Change Your Batteries

No, this isn't some weird timing for changing smoke detector batteries.

Yesterday morning, which was an off-Friday for me, I was planning on moving a ton or two of wood pellets from the yard into the garage.

I guess I should start off by explaining that I had someone over to fill in some of the larger cracks in the garage floor and redo some wall fixes at a more professional level than I managed to do several years ago (not structural issues). So, when I had pellets delivered during the spring sale, those were placed out in the yard so I wouldn't have to move them when it came time for the work to be done. The work was completed last week (and no, it isn't very interesting so no pictures).

Yesterday morning I was reorganizing the permanent contents of the garage and it was finally a cool, and non-tropically humid morning so I figured to move pellets before I did some other running around slated for the day. The best way to move the pellets is to load them in the truck, then back the truck up to the garage and unload them (much easier than pulling a garden cart 6-bags at a time).

So, I grabbed my fob (for a change remembering to do so before getting in the truck) and pushed the start button. Hmmm, the dash tells me there is no key present. Okay, fair enough, it had been a year or so since the last battery replacement, at which time I had put fresh batteries in both fobs. The second fob is never used, so that battery should be good enough to get me thru this, then during my other errands, I could get replacement batteries.

Well, I guess batteries die in tandem. Or at least I was hoping that was the case, otherwise there was a real expensive bill coming to replace the starting module (or whatever). I called the Ford dealer in town to confirm they had batteries, then asked the neighbor across the street if he would give me a ride. He agreed and I soon had fresh batteries and the truck responded well to the fix, so all was good.

The battery issue, although a PITA, occurred under the best circumstances:

• It happened on a day off so I could take care of the issue right away.
• I didn't have to be anywhere I couldn't walk to if the batteries didn't fix the issue (I had to go to the bank, but that is less than 1/2 mile away).
• It happened in my driveway instead of up in Concord at Wally World - which was one of my planned stop
• My neighbor also happens to have their off-Friday the same as my off-Friday so he was available to help me
• I actually now have a close neighbor that drives (which was not the case this time last year)
• Really, if required, I could have walked to/from the Ford dealership. It is 2.5 miles away so was not an attractive option, but doable (one of the reasons I prefer Ford's over the last 10 years or so is because we have a local dealership). I'm unsure if they still have a courtesy service, but if they do, they probably would have helped me out with a ride.

So, it was a bad news, good news event. It just kept me from moving any pellets yesterday, which was inconvenient, but nothing major.

The Proof Reader Had One Job

The town instituted a sticker program for the town Transfer Station this summer. It has been in the works since last year and they put it off once that I know of. Residents get stickers when they register their vehicles. Others, such as those who have summer houses can ask the town for a sticker. Oh, and the Transfer Station services a couple of towns around us too.

So imagine my surprise when a post came up on a (civilian run) Hillsboro FB page

People, there are 7 words on that thing. How can "Hillsborough" not be correct?

Was it Only a Couple of Weeks Ago?

On June 23, 2024 NH experienced its first tornado of the season which I posted about.

Storms came barreling thru Tuesday evening (7/16/24). The leading edge was super windy at 50-70 mph, depending on which part of the edge you were on. I experienced deep, rumbling thunder, frequent crackling lightning and heavy rains for about 15 minutes and then it settled down to a gentle rain for a few more minutes - which added up to about 3/4" by my rain gauge (much needed rain BTW, it has been very dry in my area).  About 20 minutes later the sun could be seen on the western horizon.

Yesterday, the National Weather Service has confirmed that there was an F1 tornado produced by the storm that was on the ground for just under two miles in Lyme, NH. This is the second tornado of the year - and our average is 1 or 2 so we have hit our quota. Although some areas (including mine) were under a tornado watch and the possibility of straight line winds, no tornado warning ever issued. I'm not knocking the NSW - it is super challenging to "see" rotation especially in hilly terrain, where echos may not be accurate and some places are "blind" to the radar.

There were also a couple of confirmed micorbursts/straight line wind events, with wind speeds of 90 mph in a couple of different areas of the state confirmed. Between the all the events (tornado/wind), around 7 houses are uninhabitable, several more severely damaged, and lots of trees down and thousands experienced power outages.

Some people were mocking the severe weather watches on social media saying that "again" the news stations were hyping up the weather for ratings. I would rather be prepared / aware of potential issues as to have them blindside everyone (which then they would be calling for heads to roll).

To Completely Finish the Bath

A little over a month ago, I wrote about the bathroom finally being finished with the linoleum and base trim being completed.

Well, although technically true, there was something bugging me that I finally decided to rectify. The facet/handle assembly to the sink had been there long enough it was corroding and delaminating. I thought it probably started from being splashed with saline and contact solutions, then once it started degrading I wasn't shy about using bathroom chemicals (bleach or peroxide type) on it even though the directions said not to. After removing the water lines and seeing the corrosion there too, I may rethink my drinking the tap water - LOL.

When I bought the bathroom faucets and other hardware for the bathroom, Mediterranean Bronze was a popular color and I really liked it. However, these days there are new fads so I didn't really look into whether the color was still available. Plus, to my recollection, the style with a faucet that rotated was not plentiful. A couple of weeks ago I was in HD and decided to look at their display. Lo and behold, the exact same faucet was there and they had one in the bay. Being the cheap frugal person I am, I got on my phone and googled the model number and found I could get a NIB from ebay for about $30 less (including shipping) - SCORE!

Yesterday was the day to get the project done. I didn't think to take a picture of the old faucet before removing it, so here are pics after it was taken out

New faucet installed

When I opened the box, I hadn't paid much attention besides making sure the style and color of the faucet were what I expected. When I went to do the upgrade, I realized the box also had a new drain stop in it, which was a bonus as I believe originally they came separate. Then I realized there was one major difference between the old and new faucets. Did you catch it? I'll wait while you think about it for a minute.

Was it 4th of July or Labor Day?

Thursday was supposed to be the coolest day left and the humidity starting to build again so I decided to do some yard work. First I weed wacked, then I took down a couple of 15' saplings and cut them up for taking them to the brush pile at the dump.

After that I watered the south side garden and perused the flower offerings. To start with are things that just started flowering. The Yucca spike is taller than I am

The next flowers were already starting to bloom in pictures I posted previously, but the Black Eyed Suzie's in the driveway garden have really stepped up their game now that the Butterfly Weed is going by. This picture is the lowest tier of that garden, but they are also abundant in the other two tiers.

The standard orange lily above is in the shrub garden and mostly shaded, so it got a later start than the others.

I noticed in the roadside garden that the tall phlox are setting up buds, so those should be coming along in the nest week or so.

Partial Break Down

I took advantage of the cooler temps and low humidity last Tuesday evening to mow for the first time in 10-14 days (it has been dry here). I was  about 10 minutes into mowing, of my usual 1 hour 10-15 minutes, when the forward assist cable broke off the handle. It didn't just unhook itself, the connector broke as I was engaging the assist for a turn. I actually felt it bounce off my boot but it is so small I couldn't find it even with a magnetic sweeper.

Of course, I had mowed the flatter part of the yard first (from the driveway to both sides of the roadside garden and the drainage area behind the shrub garden), so it was miserable pushing the 83 pound mower up the hills and over bumpy ground. Even though I usually only use the assist to start up the hills, and get around corners/curves/turns, I was way more hot, sweaty and muscle tired than I normally would be by the time I was done. And, my fingers were sore from the assist bar bouncing up into them. Sure, I would try holding the bar, but I am so used to only holding it for certain parts of mowing that I would automatically let go, and the finger beatings would recommence like a nun at school with a ruler - LOL.

The Toro Recycler mower is into its 3rd year and has had absolutely no maintenance besides gassing up, and adding Sea Foam to the gas at the end of the season. In my defense, this is a "no oil" type - as in you just need to top off the oil, not change it. In fact the only way a committed person could change the oil is to turn the entire unit upside down and drain out of the oil fill spout. All this time it has been an absolute rock and always started up for me, which means it has been the best mower I have owned. I contacted a local guy to come pick it up and give it the works, including sharpening/replacing the blade.

He picked it up on Thursday (yes, on the 4th) and I'm waiting to hear back from him. But, I would expect it to be a couple of weeks.If my place doesn't get rain, that is fine. If I get a good rain, then the weeds will grow like crazy.

Meanwhile, I've been eyeing some Ryobi 40v battery mowers. One of those would be a great backup mower as it can sit forever and not need any maintenance at all - unlike a gas mower where the gas and oils can cause problems if the mower just sits. Batteries are something I already have for other tools, so I would not need to buy extras. And, the Ryobi can be folded up and leaned against a wall (try that with gas and oil - LOL).

But at this time I can't convince myself to commit. Not that the one I am looking at is all that expensive at about $40 more than a comparable mower of the type I already have. But the cheap, er frugal, person inside of me thinks that if I wait long enough, it may go on sale (maybe for Prime Days?), which would make commitment easier.  Part of my reluctance is also because Ryobi just blew out a bunch of its riding lawn mowers and tractors at HD last week for 1/2 price (and even less in some cases). No, I'm not sad that I missed that one since at least 1/2 of my yard doesn't lend itself to a riding mower, and one of those certainly wouldn't fit in the fence gates, but I also wouldn't want to commit garage space to something like that (takes away on pellet storage space ;) ).

Oh, and of course, I had a 10% off coupon for HD which expired on 6/30, which is another reason I rebel at buying a mower at this time. If I get another coupon soon, that could change the equation in my mind also.