For the second day in a row, splitting firewood was the centerpiece of activities. I finished splitting all the cut wood that was stacked behind the shop, and the last from in front that was already cut to a usable length. After a few hours of that, my back told me it was time to quit. As I neared the end, I wanted to take another picture. At this point I found that I had grabbed the wrong camera, one that didn't work 100% as it should . By the time I got the other working camera and set it up the best lighting for the picture I wanted to take was gone. The advancing afternoon shadows called time on me.
Wednesday, October 2, 2024Today's first order of business was a visit to the bank. I got printouts of what I was paid on various accounts, if anything was withheld, etc., and took them to the accountant's office. I hope I've now provided everything he will need to do my 2023 taxes. When I got home I got busy on firewood again. I emptied everything out of the wood box behind the house and stacked most of it in the truck. I drove it out to the splitter and started splitting. The longer pieces that will stack went in to the pile of previous split wood, and little pieces and scraps went into large dog food bags. I filled four of those bags and started clearing a place for them in the garage. Eventually my back told me that was enough for today, and I came into the house and began the exasperating job of downloading this photo from the camera into my computer. You can see that it's slightly out of focus, but I count myself lucky that I was eventually able to transfer it to the computer at all so I could use it. The next picture I take will be with the other camera that almost works the way it's supposed to.
Thursday, October 3, 2024
Done, sort of. I finished splitting the sawed wood that's been waiting behind the shop, and all that I brought from the box behind the house. I moved several dog food bags full of wood scraps into the garage where they will be out of the weather. Next will be the job of sorting all the newly-split wood by sizes. The really short pieces will go behind the house, and the longer pieces into the garage.
Friday, October 4, 2024
As expected, the main job of the day was sorting split wood. The shortest pieces went into the truck and will go to the box behind the house. Those are the pieces short enough to fit in the kitchen stove easily. The longer pieces, more suitable for the fireplace, will be stacked in the garage. Also in the garage will be large dog food bags filled with scraps and small pieces that will feed the kitchen stove. I did take enough tine off to go to town for eggs, cheese, crackers, and a couple of other foods that have been running low lately.
Saturday, October 5, 2024
The best-laid plans... I started up the chain saw with the intent of cutting up a lot of wood, but it was too dull to cut efficiently. I spent the rest of the day in a vain search for a good tool to sharpen the chain. A major obstacle is buying just one carbide cutter. Usually it's part of an assortment, most of which I wouldn't need in a million years. Getting a single item by buying a dozen does not appeal to me. This week's movie was Never Let Go, in which a mother and her two sons live holed up in their country house to avoid an ill-defined "evil" which infests the rest of the world. In many ways it's well-made, but that doesn't make it any easier to figure out what's going on.
Sunday, October 6, 2014
Success! After wasting an hour or two trying to sharpen my saw, I gave up and went to town and bought a new chain. One of life's pleasures is sawing wood with a fresh chain. I enjoyed it until a little after two, when the heat told me it was time to take a break. After some time off, I came back and used the dolly to move a lot of the cut wood out behind the shop and dump it near the splitter. I tried to cut a lot of it short enough that after it's split it will go into the box behind the house for use in the kitchen stove. Pretty soon I will need to finish spraying weeds in the lane to the wood lot to clear the way for bringing dead wood up to the splitter.
Monday, October 7, 2024
I despise being so bleeping old. I waste so much time being irate about things I'm too feeble and clumsy to do anymore. This morning it was spraying johnson grass and other weeds. I set out to attack what I had missed along the fence by the lane to the wood lot. I took a cane with me, but still managed to do a face plant. Fortunately it was on soft ground, and the only injury was to my ego. I suppose it was a plus that I fell only once. I also learned that I can't climb over a fence anymore, even if it's sagging. Oh, well. I don't think there's any way to shed five or ten years, so I'm stuck with what I've got (until it gets worse). The spraying didn't take long, and I got back to dealing with firewood. I used the dolly to haul more wood to the pile by the splitter, which didn't want to start until I squirted some ether down the pipe. Once started the machine ran well until two PM, when my back told me it was time to give it a rest. After a couple of hours off I was going to split more, but no matter what I did the machine wouldn't start again. I finished filling the dog food bag I started recently and put it with the others in the garage, then came back and started a new bag which I left half filled with scraps and small pieces. I don't know what I'll do with the non-starting splitter.
Tuesday, October 8, 2024
I was wrong yesterday when I said my only face plant injury was to my ego. This morning I discovered I have a shiner that makes me look like I was in a fight. Well, at least it doesn't hurt. This morning I got the splitter started and split the rest of the wood that was waiting from yesterday. Then I finished another dog food bag of scraps and small pieces and put it in the garage. In the afternoon I had to quit and go to town for an appointment with my doc. She didn't find anything wrong with me beyond the usual ravages of old age — feebleness and clumsiness. Otherwise I'm in pretty good shape for the shape I'm in. I finished the day without getting back to work, so I have more wood cutting to do tomorrow. As long as I can get the splitter started most days and the saw still works everything is coming up roses.
Wednesday, October 9, 2024
The important thing today was getting the right papers for the accountant to do my taxes. For years I've been doing the job myself using software downloaded from the internet. But now I'm blaming my age and my TBI for making me leave the job to somebody who knows what he's doing. Physically I'm not doing badly compared to lots of other folks. But mentally I've taken quite a hit. Dealing with tax forms and rules is just to complex and confusing for me now.
Thursday, October 10, 2024
The day started on a sour note. I thought I would cut some firewood, but the chainsaw absolutely would not start. After exhausting myself with futile attempts, I finally took the saw to Dave, the small engine repair guy. It took him only a few minutes to figure out that I was overusing the primer. He didn't prime the thing at all, and it started right up. So when I got home I gave it a try. Without any priming at all, the saw started on the second pull of the rope, and I proceeded to cut up most of the wood that was waiting in front of the shop. In the afternoon I fired up the splitter and split all the pieces that were short enough to fit the box behind the house. There's more to split, but the pieces will be long enough for the pile in the garage. One day soon I'll need to get started clearing the road to bring firewood up from the wood lot.
Friday, October 11, 2024
Pluses and minuses. A continuing plus is that nothing hurts. Even a year ago, when I was in my series of hospitals and rehab centers, I don't recall being in any pain. Happily, that continues. Some folks suffer a lot of aches and pains when they get old. Sure, physical effort sometimes gives me a backache, but rest makes it go away. A growing plus is my slowly improving balance. I still have top-heavy moments when I feel like I may be headed for another face-plant, but actually going down like I did Monday is increasingly rare. I seem to be more sure-footed going up or down stairs.An ongoing minus is my continuing habit of losing things. That seems to be a permanent problem. Things disappear and looking for them is maddeningly futile. Sometimes the lost item turns up in a day or two, sometimes it reappears weeks or months later, and occasionally I never see it again. Today it was the little grinder with a cut-off wheel. I remember using it this spring, but now it doesn't exist for me anymore. If I'm lucky it will magically reappear in a few days or weeks.
Saturday, October 12, 2024
The day began with a drive to Winfield to check out a couple of auctions. Neither one had anything that would persuade me to stay. On the way home I stopped in town to pick up a bag of dog food, and at home it filled the feeder. This afternoon I attempted an oil change in the Camry. I've been doing that job myself for over fifty years, but today taught me that I can no longer do it without help. I drove the car off the ramps and got it stuck so badly that freeing it took a couple of hours. I need another pair of eyes to watch and guide me. Dinner for treat night was tostadas with tuna, chopped onions, and sliced jalapeños. This week's movie was The Apprentice, the story of Donald Trump before he got into politics. Sebastian Stan as Trump is good, but the real star is Jeremy Strong as Roy Cohn, whose rules of conduct set young Trump on the road he followed into politics. Win at all costs, unhampered by any conscience. Ethics are a hindrance. Never admit defeat. Even when you lose, insist that you really won. It's all appallingly familiar.
Sunday, October 13, 2024
Today's main job was filling another dog food bag with scraps, twigs, and small branches. I started up the splitter and split some short pieces and added them to the others in the truck. My last bit of yard work was mixing five gallons of weed killer and using a couple of gallons of it to spray weeds across the road. That leaves about three gallons I'll use in the lane to the wood lot. During breaks I went on FB and made sport of true believers in the Deep State and all the rest of the conspiracy industry. I haven't seen any of them posting Q-Anon drivel, but one local guy wanders pretty far into that territory. He thinks he will persuade me to drink the Trump Kool-Aid. Not bloody likely, mate.
Monday, October 14, 2024
Busy, busy, busy. Sound like I got a lot done? Not so much. This morning I dropped in at the accountant's office to see if we're going to beat tomorrow's deadline. He wants me to go to the bank tomorrow morning and get a printout of one more form, and that will let him get the feds off my back until next year. When I got home I used up the last of the weed killer I mixed yesterday, spraying in the lane to the wood lot. I thought I would bring the truck around behind the house and unload all the short pieces into the wood box. I didn't make it. I got in front of the house when the truck died and wouldn't restart. I hope more gas in the tank will make it run well enough to finish the job. That prompted a drive to the gasino to fill four cans and bring home another twenty gallons for the truck and other yard equipment. I need to get that truck to town and get it fixed, but that has to wait for a couple of other necessary tasks to be done.
Tuesday, October 15, 2024
The day began and ended with taxes. In the morning I went to the bank and got a form listing an expense as withholding, and took it to the CPA's office. I ended the day with another trip to town to sign the returns before they hit the mail. The cost of having my taxes done for me was a little over $400, so I'll wait and pay that after my social security payment comes in. Between those two trips I put more gas in the truck and it still wouldn't start, and brought some firewood into the kitchen, where I laid the first fire of the season for this evening. We haven't had the first freeze yet, but the morning low these days is in the thirties. That's chilly enough to call for an evening fire during dinner.
Wednesday, October 16, 2024
Today I had an appointment at Four County Mental Health, so I got to spend most of an hour bending my therapist's ear with a lament over my suffering in this difficult life. Actually, when I find myself unhappy over all the activities I can't do anymore, I get over it by thinking of ways I'm better off than most people my age. Most of the time nothing hurts. I have enough to eat, a dry place to sleep, all the clothes I need, I can still drive, and nobody is out to kill me over religion or politics. I can walk fairly well, and even get up and down stairs. In much of the world I would be considered very lucky indeed.
Thursday, October 17, 2024
With colder temperatures of fall coming on, I went to town and spent almost $60 for an electric room heater for my bedroom. I installed it and left it running while I went outside and started bringing firewood out of the dead truck. It's slower than I like, using a dolly to haul a fry case at a time and stack the contents in the wood box behind the house, but that's how I need to do it with the truck not running. While I was in town I also bought a 6' x 8' tarp to keep rain off the splitter. I don't know if we're officially in a drought, but it has been a long dry spell that may soon be over. The forecast shows a 64% chance of rain Monday night, so I need to cover some things and move some things under cover.
Friday, October 18, 2024
Done. Today I finished taking firewood out of the truck and moving it with a dolly to the box behind the house. The temperature in the sixties would have been quite comfortable if not for the strong wind that made it feel chilly. Four months from now a day in the sixties will be a future heat wave. Also in today's agenda was getting started on putting some things in the yard under cover ahead of possible rain on Monday. I still need to get tarps over a couple of piles of firewood behind the shop.
Saturday, October 19, 2024
More firewood today. There were two piles behind the shop. I spent a good chunk of the day with the dolly, moving the larger pile into the garage and into the wood box behind the house. That leaves the smaller pile. I plan to tarp it and leave it in the yard, and bring it into the house a box at a time until it's used up. For Saturday treat night dinner was a bowl of chili beans with chopped onions. The movie was White Bird. The only name familiar to me was Helen Mirren, who narrates her experiences as a girl in occupied France during the war. The script by Mark Bomback and R.J. Palacio is well written, and director Marc Forster brings it to the screen very well indeed. Ariella Glaser as Sara and Orlando Schwerdt as Julien, the boy who hid her from the Nazis, lead a very good cast. I call it an evening well spent.
Sunday, October 20, 2024
The main outside activity today was preparing for possible rain tomorrow. That was putting a tarp over the remaining pile of firewood behind the shop, moving three cans of gasoline under cover, and putting the last dolly of wood into the box behind the house. This may all be wasted effort. Today the forecast calls the chance of any rain at all tomorrow no more than 25% for about an hour. Of course, if I didn't prepare that would guarantee rain for sure. My trip to town today was for that new tarp for the wood pile, and some new onions for sandwiches. Since we are past the dangerous heat of high summer, Shorty got a ride out of the deal.
Monday, October 21, 2024
How I spent a lot of my time today was unplanned. I found that the front door of the house was unhinged because the three screws holding the lower hinge had worked their way out. I had to go to town and get some longer screws to replace them. But then I found that the bottom of the door was no longer aligned to let the door close. It took quite a bit of work with a chisel and hammer to get the door working properly. Late this afternoon the predicted rain actually arrived, and I think it may have been enough to soften the ground for weed pulling. I'll try it in the morning and find out.
Tuesday, October 22, 2024
Well, that was disappointing. This morning I went across the road and began pulling some of the weeds that have grown up in the lane to the wood lot. Yesterday evening's rain didn't amount to enough to soften the ground. Some of the larger weeds might as well have been stuck in concrete. I really want those weeds gone, but I don't know what I can do about it. The answer was hitting the area with a sprinkler fed by a hose across the road. Running it for over an hour softened the ground enough to allow some good weed pulling. I cleared a pretty good area and decided that I would do the same to another area tomorrow.
| Wednesday, October 23, 2024 As planned, I waited for minimum
traffic after all the neighbors had left for
school or for work, and set the sprinkler going
on more of the weed patch across the road. I
made good progress, starting a second pile of
pulled weeds and clearing a wide area. At this
point I've cleared more than half the original
weed patch, and I think one more day should
finish the rest, or at least most of it.
Thursday, October 24, 2024 Another day of weeding resulted in good progress. You run the sprinkler to soften the ground, then you move in and start pulling. Many of the weeds that were standing in yesterday's photo are now gone, and the two piles of pulled weeds are considerably larger. Friday, October 25, 2024 Today almost saw the project done. One small patch of weeds remains to be pulled, and that should take no more than a couple of hours. |
 |
Saturday, October 26, 2024
Done. Today I finished this week's weed-pulling project. Next will be mixing a batch of the magic elixir of death and spraying the remaining johnson grass. After that will be removing some branches that are blocking the road to the wood lot. For Saturday treat night I dined at the Chinese buffet, and went to see We Live in Time. The attraction there is the acting by Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh. Individually and together they are great. It's a treat to watch a pair of excellent actors working together.
Sunday. October 27, 2024
A morning inspection walk down to the wood lot showed that I can skip spraying with weed killer, perhaps even until spring. The little bit of green that remains is not johnson grass, but smaller grasses that would be OK to mow. Fortunately I put a charger to work on the Dixon overnight, so it was an easy start. I mowed all the dead grass in the lane, so it looks much different. Finally I brought out the chain saw and cut off a couple of low-hanging branches that were blocking the way to the wood lot, then got the clippers and trimmed all the smaller branches off the larger of the two. Today's work shows that I'm making progress physically, and need to make more. I found that after a job that has me down on the ground, I can get up and stand without it being a panic-inducing struggle. That's a big improvement since last spring. I'm still 83 and feeble, but better off than I was.
Monday, October 28, 2024
I was a day lost to catching up. There was no time for more yard work because I needed to catch up on a few things that have been waiting for me to deal with them. First was an oil change. The Camry has been due for one for more than a week. It's a job I've done myself for decades, but now I don't want to try it on my own. I don't trust myself to drive the car up onto the ramps without guidance. So I took the job to the Walmart auto shop. I took my own oil and new filter, and they charged me a little over $30 to do the job. I hate spending that kind of money for such a simple thing, but that's the world we live in now. Next was another job on the car. The front bumper cover was coming loose, so I stopped at a body shop top see if they had the hardware to keep it in place. The boys there didn't have exactly all the right parts, but they fastened the loose part with a sheet metal screw, and that will be good enough for now. On to the next stop, the auto shop south of town. There I made an appointment to take my truck in to get it running the way it should, and have the brakes fixed. That will be on Armistice Day. The final stop was down at the gasino to fill the tank. It was a relief to make it all the way there, because the applicable phrase was running on fumes.
Tuesday, October 29, 2024
Today I thought I would cut down one more problematic branch, but the saw was an absolute non-starter. I quit wearing myself out trying to get it going, and changed to a chore I could actually do. I got the dolly and moved a little firewood into the house where it can stray dry if the rain in the forecast turns out to be real. Next was covering the stack of old lumber in the back yard. It was covered before, but the old tarps went to pieces. Fortunately the drought has kept it dry most of the time, so a lot of it may not be rotten yet. I wasn't up to handling this job on my own, so I phoned for help. Lori and Donna came over to help, and with the two of them doing most of the job with minimal help from me the whole operation was finished in less than half an hour.
Wednesday, October 30, 2024
After a brief grocery run, I got started removing more unwanted branches and little trees from the lane. For only branches I used the clippers, but for cut off little trees I poisoned the stumps with Tordon. I'm still feeble and clumsy, so the work goes slower than it used to. But at least I can get up off the ground without worrying whether I can do it. About noon my back told me it was time for a rest. After I felt sufficiently recovered I got back to it, and worked until about three. While I've been busy with other things, newspapers have piled up. So I spent the last couple of hours of the day catching up on some reading. I have a lot of catching up to do, but maybe doing the puzzles will help me get over my brain injury, if I ever do.
Thursday, October 31, 2024
The depleted supply of clean sox and the forecast told me to wash. Today and tomorrow are to be sunny, but Saturday is likely to start a run of days too wet for hanging laundry out to dry. I had the clothes on the line before noon, but it was a cool day and some things will need to be out tomorrow to finish drying. With washing done, I went to town for a bit of grocery shopping. That went well until it was time to come home. Most of the sole came off my right boot, and gluing it back on became an afternoon project. Luckily I had enough contact cement to do the job. I hope it will stay together for more than a few days.
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