Coffee, Memorial Day Weekend, 2015

Come in, the coffee is hot, but only Veterans get to sit! I ask that we stand for coffee today as a show of admiration of the veterans that gave their lives so we can have the America that we know. For those that have passed, I say thank you & may you rest in peace.

There's hot water for tea if you like, and the fry pan is heating up. I'm thinking traditional fried eggs, bacon, sausage & home fries will fill us up and give us the energy we need to get stuff done. Lawn mowing, gardening, walk the dogs, deal with the skunk that's in the trap. WHAT? Ohhhh, yes, I trapped a skunk last night. I'm waiting for Carla to come feed the goats. SHE's the skunk queen. I took a pic through the window, but the screen & the sun blocked the view. I'm not going to go outside to take a pic. Just what she needs is for me to get the critter all worked up before she has to deal with him. Luckily I didn't just let the dogs out this morning! The trap has been there for 5 days.....ever since I found skunk poop out there. Perhaps I'll get a pic of here trying to move it without getting sprayed.

It's 6 O'clock.... Hug your loved ones & get moving!

<edit> Telephoto lens! So far, no stink. Let's hope it stays that way! One thing though.... it's a racoon cage, not a skunk cage & it's difficult to open. Not my job! Good luck Carla.

SKUNK!!!
That would be one adventure I'd be a spectator and not a participant!!! I thought dealing with a pesky raccoon has been a pain, but no way I'd trade varmints with ya!

Coffee & danish this morning to hold me before heading out to pick up mom & dad. They will want to hit their favorite diner for breakfast so I don't want to eat twice.

Thanks you to all the vets & especially those that gave all for us to maintain the freedom we have. I was working on a school project with the kid this past week and comparing conditions in our country with conditions elsewhere and she realized how being born here was like hitting the lottery.

Have a great day and weekend everyone.

I'll be standing for that fantastic breakfast, Freddy. And I'll be looking for the skunk pics.

Not much on the agenda today, as I still can't do a lot with my back the way it is. I'll just piddle around here and there where I can.

Currently 40 here. No frost, which is a good thing as plants are in the garden.

Remember the veterans this weekend.

Take care and be safe all

Good morning all....fixing breakfast as I watch it snow. ..yes snow! Have wonderful day folks!

Good morning Freddy and company, nice brisk morning on the Northern Ohio/ PA border but not where I'm sitting We should remember not only too thank a Vet this Memorial Day but thank them anyday when you can, I don't need a special day for that!! Well I think we're going to have a very nice weekend( here in NE Ohio) for all the festivities and doings that are going on. Time to walk the dog, drink coffee,and enjoy the day, take care friends, be safe and enjoy .

Mornin all, beautiful, sunny w/ a real hard frost this AM here on the hill. "all gave some, some gave all" thanx for that Billy Ray. Enjoy the week-end people.

Morning all,

Breakfast sounds great Freddy but I'll hold off an hour or two. DK will want to hit the diner when he rolls out of bed. Unfortunately, his back is bothering him again. He probably did too much toward finishing the fire pit over the last week.

Today is supposed to be a beautiful day around here - clear and crisp at 80*. Lot's on the schedule for today. this afternoon I'll be making a trip in to the Top Bar hives. It will be the first time since I introduced the bees I brought into the old hives over a month ago. Everything looks good from the outside but you never can tell. A top bar hive's combs have no support like a square hive does, if the comb gets to heavy with honey it will fall to the bottom of the hive. That's not good. My Langstroff or sqaure hive is up and running after a slow start due to broken and misshaped comb. The girls fixed it pretty quickly. I can expect a decent harvest from it.

But before that I'll get the cement backer boards up in the bathroom. I don't think that will be hard, just cumbersome.

So anyway, those two big things will be joined with lots of little activities and errands in between. After being a part time worker/ stay at home mom for many, many years I had forgotten just how much time it takes to support a household and work 40 hours.

Well, I guess I'll get started with something. Take care, Lisa

Good Morning! Oh, that's right, a long weekend! Its been so long since I had a 3 day weekend.
Chilly this morning, in the low 50's. I think I'll start up the coal stoves one last time, to dry them out before I summarize them.

Thanks Freddy, I used some of the hot water for the tea, and my wife got a cup of coffee. The breakfast sounds great, we may have to stop by later and see if any is left.
Well.... some of us have the honor of sitting this morning, but I prefer to stand while I still can. In respect for those of us who would like to stand, but cannot because they lost a limb or two.

Surprisingly, I have not seen any skunks this spring. They are all usually wandering around by now. The opossums come right up to the back porch to get a free cat-food meal.

This morning I plan to remove the plastic bed liner that came with my F250, and prep for the paint on rubberized bed liner. I have seen those plastic bed liners hold so much moisture under them, that the bed rots right out from under you.

Time to get back outside...

Good morning all, it was a busy morning here as Linesville has there annual town wide yard sale so I went down to the VF dept. to get the trucks out & set up tables that they rent out to vendors. Hope everyone stays safe & has a happy holiday & don't forget the reason for it.

First and foremost, a big THANK YOU to all that serve, or have served. We can never repay the debt of gratitude - all we can do is stay vigilant against the threats toward our country ... with OUR pens & phones.

Made a lot of progress this week - I can finally walk from side to side in the barn without having to go outside. Time to bring some of the outdoor projects in, finally. Still no plans to do the porch roof or barn siding. Still way too busy out here. We all know the minute I get caught up, it will rain the entire month ...

Just wanted to let you MA guys know that Squire Lumber is having a SALE on COAL!! HALF off delivery charges, which are already the cheapest out there! I paid $16 a ton LESS than last season!!! Sounds like they got pounded there this winter, and are trying to encourage folks to buy NOW, instead of waiting till the last second, like most of us do.

Just want to note that if you attempt to buy online, it does not factor in the discount for a 14 pallet truckload - just FYI. Better to call them and talk. http://www.squierlumber.com/pages/fuel-details.cfm?id=3

Had an interesting repair on a nearly brand new Echo weedwacker. Guy brought it here thinking it burned up. When I pulled the plug and saw the WHITE porcelain on the plug, I thought so too. Peeked in with the flashlight - didn't see any scoring, but saw that he added oil to the cylinder. Should free up. So I remove the recoil and attempt moving the crank by hand. Nothing, Grabbed a punch and lightly tapped the piston through the plug hole. It's moving! As soon as it got past the transfer ports, whoosh! In comes the gas! WTF? Never seen that happen on anything without an actual float bowl. Dumped the fuel out the exhaust port (had removed muffler to inspect piston), and figured that was it. Well, I bolted up the recoil ... and wouldn't ya know, the plug hole was angled right towards me ..... gaver a good yank and BAM!! Facefull of premix! Head to chest, and 10' past me in all directions! I got it good. In the eyes, nose, mouth - at least it don't burn like acetone does. A minor setback ... Finished purging the cylinder & crankcase, put it all back together (of course I couldn't resist running it without the muffler), and she runs great again. Owner was VERY happy his $300+ unit isn't a paperweight.

Bought a new Curt Class IV hitch for the Silverado to replace the cheap factory installed crap. The new one is at least 3x thicker! Guess I can't complain - served me 8 years with some severe overload conditions on more than one occasion. Check the pic - the pin hole was bashed & peened out! Crazy ...

Wife and I just had our 11th anniversary. Boy did that blow by in a flash! Anyone who can put up with my stubbornness that long deserves some sort of award ...

Gotta get out there and get something done. It's finally warming up from 38° this morning. I'm freezing in here at 62°!! Got to get moving ... THANK a VET, and have a great weekend.

Good day to all. Someone snuck in the cemetery near my house and marked all the right stones with American flags. Some go back to the Revolutionary war. I think it is fantastic that they are still remembered and proudly marked with a flag for all to see.

I brought my boys up to see the parade in town at noon, they got to see a bunch of trucks, farm equipment, and WW II vets. It was a good trip and they even got some candy to boot.

In other news, yesterday I went and toured another house in VT that is for sale. I thought this one was "the one" based on the pictures and description. Turns out the current owners used the pictures from the previously listing when they bought it two years ago. The house was DESTROYED AND FILTHY. It has not seen a vacuum or broom in at least two years, and they have some sort of freaky animal that has ruined all the doors. WTF was the realtor thinking even agreeing to show the house?! It is a total shame, the house must have been awesome when it was built. Everything was top of the line. Great layout, breathtaking views, 1000 gallon fuel tank in the basement. The search continues...

Skunk,in trap, 22lr, then he sprayed, emptied trap into stream ,skunk went floating away. Problem solved. They do eat mice but I think 4 wild cats keep the skunks from coming back.

2014 was the first year that me, my wife and 2 brothers and 2 sisters, started what we hoped would be a tribute that would carry on for many years to come. This flag tribute is on the Village Green in my home town of Windsor, NY.
We put up 50 flags for 2014 and this year 25 more were added. It's catching on and I know now that it will continue.
My 2 brothers and I were all in the service around the same time back in the late 60's. I ended up in Japan running the USN Far East Mortuary in Yokosuka. Middle brother was in Italy and youngest ended up in Nam.
Memorial Day means a lot to all of us. There are close to 1000 names on the Wall that I sent home from Japan. They never leave my mind.
See the attachment of 2014 Memorial Flags on the Windsor Village Green. 2015 will be posted shortly.

Joe Urda, HM2 USN
1966-1970

Joe, Thank You for both your service & helping my Brothers return home.

Never to be forgotten