What did you do today? - 2021 version

[RetireeRobert]

Mowed the lawn, mowed the pasture, watered some shrubs I recently planted along edge of lawn and some flowers I recently planted by head of driveway. Then went to grocery and got some 1/4 pound all beef hotdogs for tomorrow and filled the Equinox with gas. Finished up my outing with a visit to an open house at a house for sale where sale had failed and they had to relist. Was not impressed though I liked the neighborhood and house backed up onto a neighborhood treed park.

 

[1242Vintage]

Cleaned house and stocked the fridge today.

Wife is coming back tonight from her epic 9 day multi-state trip to get our daughter moved. Fridge is full again and house is clean.

 

[MichaelB]

I went to an interview to renew my Global Entry. The only positive thing I can say about the interview is .. thank goodness it’s over with.

 

[Walt34]

Thought about mowing the lawn. Decided not to.

I did startle a black snake in the back yard. I'm not sure who startled who the most, he was headed for the woods at a rapid pace by the time I saw him.

 

[ugeauxgirl]

We are staying at our river camp. I got up and kayaked towards a sandbar about 2 miles down the river. The wind picked up and progress got slow. I turned around and nearly surfed back. I planted a few flowers and watched the river go by. Good day.

 

[Gumby]

Planted out peppers in our community garden plot, then spent several hours planting out what we call the PAR plot. It's a plot worked communally by the gardeners and the produce is given to a couple of soup kitchens/homeless shelters in the area. Napped for a bit when I came home, then mowed my lawn.

 

[street]

Got second Moderna shot this morning. Mowed an elderly lady's lawn, check minnow traps, took a couple 2 mile bike rides and water some garden plants. It was to warm to do much so just hung around today.

 

[Ronstar]

Helped DW and her exercise class move their equipment to a new place. Only 1 truckload and small trailer full so not a big deal. I was embarrassed that I didn't have tools in my truck to assemble some things, but one of the ladies in the class did.

Also - old place was shared with a young kid's tumbling gym - complete with trampolines. Almost broke my neck - must have thought I was 10 years old when I jumped on.

Then took a drive and traded my corvette for a Jeep.

 

[NW-Bound]

The temperature hit 107F here today. Darn, it's hot!

I woke up early at 4:30AM. Waited till 7AM to go out to the back yard to finish digging a hole to plant a 4x4 post that will serve as an anchor point to tie up one of the 4 shade sails to cover the pool.

I started out with a triangular sail of 12'x12'x12'. That looked good but barely covered a spot of the pool. Then, I added a 12'x16' rectangular sail for the center of the pool. Then, another 12'x12'x12' triangle for the other end of the pool. Still had an uncovered corner, so a final 12'x12'x17' right triangle to complete the job. It's that last triangle that needs a new support post in order to be positioned right.

The soil in this foothill lot is rocky. I used a 10-lb bar to break and loosen the rocks. It took 1-1/2 hour of digging, and I finally hit a rock that would not budge. Had wanted a 24"-deep hole, but I guess 20" deep would have to do.

Tomorrow I will bury the post using concrete, and string up the sail the day after tomorrow.

My 5-year-old grandniece has been coming every afternoon to swim. Her swimming improved daily. I got tired today, so did not swim and only watched her. Promised her I will join her tomorrow.

 

[street]

NW-Bound are you purchasing the posts and attachment parts when buying the sails? I been interested in some more shade ground level patio. I took down a tree last year that I knew we would miss it's shade, but it needed to go.

 

[NW-Bound]

I bought the sails on Amazon. The post, rope, and hardware such as eyehooks, masonry anchor points, turnbuckles, etc... are bought at the local Home Depot.

PS. I learned to tie the Reever knot out of this work. Will see if I can still remember it a week from now.

 

[Ronstar]

I bought the sails on Amazon. The post, rope, and hardware such as eyehooks, masonry anchor points, turnbuckles, etc... are bought at the local Home Depot.

PS. I learned to tie the Reever knot out of this work. Will see if I can still remember it a week from now.

Is your hardware stainless steel? (probably not needed in Az)

And do you take them down nightly or only when there is a storm?

DW wants a big umbrella for our deck, but I think a sail would work better.

 

[Time2]

Made a trip to the beach with my adult daughter. I'm doing self PT on my shoulder while in the water, more enjoyable then in the house. She got some sunbathing in. Then we both put on mask and snorkel and swam the rock wall jetty looking at the fish.
I bought a season pass to get into the state park and swim, so I plan on going enough this summer to save more than I spent on the pass!

 

[street]

Is your hardware stainless steel? (probably not needed in Az)

And do you take them down nightly or only when there is a storm?

DW wants a big umbrella for our deck, but I think a sail would work better.

This is something I would need to be able to do fairly easy. Wind storms can be an issue here, and would like a setup for easy down easy up, if that is an option.

Thanks NW-Bound.

 

[NW-Bound]

Is your hardware stainless steel? (probably not needed in Az)

And do you take them down nightly or only when there is a storm?

DW wants a big umbrella for our deck, but I think a sail would work better.

This is something I would need to be able to do fairly easy. Wind storms can be an issue here, and would like a setup for easy down easy up, if that is an option.

Thanks NW-Bound.

Stainless steel rope is not that expensive, and I would have used it. However, I was given a 1000' roll of 5/32 nylon rope, which is high-quality stuff the same as parachute cord but heavier. The rope was used in an industrial application, but the roll was discarded for some reasons.

After keeping it for years, I now have a use for it. The rope is quite strong, but I quadruple it to be safe (I have a lot of rope). In contrast to cheaper cords made of polypropylene that would not last one month under this harsh sun, nylon rope is supposed to be UV resistant. Will see how it holds up.

The mounting is semi-permanent. The sails are reasonably big, and it takes two persons to stretch them across the pool, which is 17' x 35'. Some anchor points are as high as 12' off the ground, and stretching the ropes to the mounting point while on the ladder could easily pull me and the ladder backwards.

The intention is to leave them there the entire summer, and to take them down in fall. We do have windstorms here, and I will see how the set up holds up. The sails are shielded somewhat from the wind by the two-story house, and the block fence.

PS. Speaking of shade umbrellas, I have lost a few of them when the wind suddenly broke out and toppled them. The sails flapped around quite a bit when I had a windy day recently, but looked safer. They are quite light, and stretch a bit under tension. I worry more about the anchors being pulled from their mounting points.

 

[street]

Thanks NW.

Went to check on goldens this morning early. Going to be a hot day for us for this early in the year, and still dry.

They are getting bigger and one likes the camera and the other one stays down almost all the time. Mom and Dad have another food source for them now, and looks like a pheasant on back side of nest.

 

[MRG]

I've been up for the last 2 days with a sick 13yo dog. It started 11pm two nights ago and she's finally keeping things inside her.

In the meantime I had my hearing tested and met with a PA for an ENT regarding dizziness. I was really surprised my hearing tested as good as it did, I spent 10 years in and around sawmills where hearing protection wasn't strictly enforced. I really liked the PA, despite being masked her eyes said I could relax. In the end she thinks my dizziness is related to allergies and how I'm treating them. I got a good plan of action and despite paying out of network it was worth it.

Last night I was up with the dog most of the night, spent the night in a recliner taking care of her. She's not much for being close but she spent the night next to me. I'd talked to the vet's office last night and they told me to be there at 7:30 but they insisted on a parvo test before we could come in. Thankfully it was negative and they gave me something to help her belly. I didn't ask for bloodwork as I think we figured out she had gotten into some recently seeded grass seed that was treated with weed and feed. Directions claim its petsafe but it's the only thing new in her environment. Hopefully she'll be able to sleep tonight so I can.

 

[braumeister]

Lots of rain the last couple of days, then the sun came out. Our back yard (lots of big trees) is now home to 147 trillion cicadas, by actual count. Wow! They waited 17 years for this and they're livin' it up!

 

[Walt34]

The soil in this foothill lot is rocky. I used a 10-lb bar to break and loosen the rocks. It took 1-1/2 hour of digging, and I finally hit a rock that would not budge. Had wanted a 24"-deep hole, but I guess 20" deep would have to do.

Last year I bought one of these jackhammers from Home Depot. What a gift to myself! Given the price and construction it is clearly not meant for commercial use but it's terrific for a homeowner. The "soil" around here is more rocks than dirt and to say it is difficult to dig in is an understatement. I ended up getting this spade bit for it and for a later job bought the tamper bit. It was also available on eBay for a couple bucks less (about $5) but I bought everything from Home Depot because if there are any problems with it they'll accept the return with no hassle, and I wouldn't have to ship it. So far it works great and if it ever does break I'll buy another in a heartbeat. It does in 20 minutes the digging that took me four hours with a heavy digging stick. There are a bunch of different models of this that Home Depot carries.

Today I mowed the front part of the yard and was thinking of doing the back part too but the rain made that decision easy. So I went inside and DW gave me a haircut (she's getting better with practice) and putzed around for several hours setting up the gyroscopic stability systems on several R/C airplanes. I won't know for sure if I was successful until I can test fly them but I'm optimistic. It really is some pretty neat stuff especially after they get "dialed in" for that particular airplane.

I also have a new student pilot for R/C airplanes, he's just ordered a new airplane, joined the club, and has flown a couple of times with a different club member. He and I are both retired so that makes scheduling easier than with the other poor guy, who is still gainfully employed. And usually during the week there's no one else at the field so there are no distractions for a student pilot. I'm looking forward to it, I taught at the other club years ago and enjoyed it.

 

[street]

^ One of those would be handy for driving sand points/shallow wells. I have had people tell me they just made an attachment so it could be used on 1 1/4 pipe. Have to drive about 23 feet deep and driving them with a post driver is a job. I know I have driven a few. Lol

 

[braumeister]

Last year I bought one of these jackhammers from Home Depot.

That looks great!
The only time I ever had to use a jackhammer was about ten years ago and I rented a big commercial one for the day at Home Depot. What a workout! But it sure did the job.

 

[aja8888]

7:00 am - coffee with ROMEO group

10:00 am - annual physical

12:30 pm - Golf with friends.

Then the rains came.....but we got the golf match in!

 

[Calico]

Lots of rain the last couple of days, then the sun came out. Our back yard (lots of big trees) is now home to 147 trillion cicadas, by actual count. Wow! They waited 17 years for this and they're livin' it up!

 

[NW-Bound]

Lots of rain the last couple of days, then the sun came out. Our back yard (lots of big trees) is now home to 147 trillion cicadas, by actual count. Wow! They waited 17 years for this and they're livin' it up!

You need to work fast and hard to catch them, and store them to eat for the next 17 years.

Cicadas have been called "shrimp of the land", and the FDA has released a warning that people who are allergic to shrimp should not eat cicadas. No joke!

For an account by someone who feasted on cicadas, read this: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2021/05/cicadas-taste-like-gushers/619059/.

 

[NW-Bound]

Last year I bought one of these jackhammers from Home Depot...

Looks like a good tool. However, it's only 24" long. To dig a post hole 24" or more deep, you would need a much longer bit.