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Good afternoon guys,
Not all that hot here today, about 85 and very humid. Looking at a strong chance of pop-up thunderstorms this afternoon and evening. Looks like our "Pevely Days" car show will be a washout for sure tomorrow, they're calling for rain all day.
Next big event is our grandson Keegan's 3rd b-day party on Sunday. My ex-wife is hosting it, that's always interesting, and won't be the 1st time we've been there for a grandkids event. I get along fine with her, but her family are a piece of work. My wife is a real trooper for putting up with some of their BS, just another of the many reasons I know I got a real gem when we got together!
Work and back, all by 930. Can't beat that. I thought we were doing double time tomorrow but we are not. Eh, I'd just as soon have a whole day off to myself. Although I don't consider Sunday a full day off. I still have to end my activities early and get to bed early for work Monday. At least I get to sleep in a little tomorrow.
Need to finish up mowing at the new house. I mowed 40 minutes and about collapsed. That yard is bigger than I thought. At least it is with a push mower. I need to mow at the shop. I need to mow at home. You know I hate mowing, why do I have so much of it?
I'm in a local military vehicles club and this month's meeting is today at a place in McDonough, which is the next town over. It's usually on the north side. I haven't been in a couple years anyway. I really should go, but I hate to take the time. No one knows me anyway. But the big truck is at the shop, so I could go get it and drive it to the meeting. Oddly enough, no one ever drives their military vehicles to the meetings.
Looks like rain, and it's supposed to rain this afternoon. It was supposed to rain yesterday and we didn't get any.
Okay gotta figure out what I want to do today. Hope everyone has a good weekend.
Taking a break while this 30' rain shower moves through the area. I've finished cleaning the columns w/ HCl as best as they're going to get washed; after all, they're fencing columns not fine-grade million dollar home facing bricks. The bricks are quite porous and rough which is one reason I like these bricks - they give the appearance of aged bricks. The downside is because they're quite porous/rough, they're a PITA to clean. Additionally, I'll seal the columns with a (Silane) Siloxane sealer when I get to the point of staining the finished fence.
Today, I'm cutting 1/2 joints into each of my framing boards. It's far above what a GC would do when constructing a fence; but, I have the time to do this the best possible way and 1/2 laps will completely reduce sagging, bending & warping of the fence framing for many years to come. Each of the 1/2 joints will get glued before final fastening with S.S. hardware. Since this area is prone to hurricanes, you will not see this fence coming down in a Category 5 hurricane.
Next, I'll cut my 6" x 6" center line vertical support beams/posts (one in each of the three spans - x3 total), set those in concrete and begin forming up the fencing boards. Trending in a positive direction.
Just some pictures of the 1/2 joint joinery fabrication.
1/2 lap cutout - vertical board 1/2 lap cutout - vertical board 1/2 lap cutouts - vertical board dry-fit 1/2 lap cutout vertical board + 1/2 lap cutout horizontal boards dry-fit 1/2 lap cutout vertical board + 1/2 lap cutout horizontal boards dry-fit assembled 1/2 lap cutout vertical board + 1/2 lap cutout horizontal boards dry-fit 1/2 lap vertical board+1/2 lap horizontal board dry-fit 1/2 lap vertical board+1/2 lap horizontal board dry-fit 1/2 lap vertical board+1/2 lap horizontal board
Taking a break while this 30' rain shower moves through the area. I've finished cleaning the columns w/ HCl as best as they're going to get washed; after all, they're fencing columns not fine-grade million dollar home facing bricks. The bricks are quite porous and rough which is one reason I like these bricks - they give the appearance of aged bricks. The downside is because they're quite porous/rough, they're a PITA to clean. Additionally, I'll seal the columns with a (Silane) Siloxane sealer when I get to the point of staining the finished fence.
James & Chris - Thank you.
The rains are turning out to be hit or miss and I'm spending half my time taking down work area(s) and then setting up work area(s). Since it appears this is going to be an off & on situation the remainder of the day I'm calling it quits for the day.
The Hamptons is not the place you'd like most to vacation this weekend. In fact, anywhere from downtown NYC to Connecticut doesn't look real appealing this weekend. Hurricane Henri should arrive tomorrow (Sunday) morning ~0800 hrs (that's roughly low tide). The bad news is high tide tomorrow is ~1300 hrs. So, the entire time Henri is arriving on-shore, it will be arriving on-shore as the tide is coming in (on-shore). Storm surge is expected to be ~4' - 5' (maybe higher towards the West end of the North side of Long Island Sound), with mostly 3" - 5" rain and isolated spots up to 10" rain. It could effectively bring a wall of water 10' tall into the West end of the North side of Long Island Sound - that's huge. Considering the size of Long Island Sound - that's going to take many days to remove that amount of walled-up water from the Sound - bad news for those close to shore. I purchased my last 26' cabin cruiser in New London, CT (North side of Long Island Sound) on the shoreline. I can only imagine the amount of water they're going to experience. BTW, New London, CT is just South of Mystic Seaport (Mystic Pizza) - Stonington, CT. I ate some awesome lobsters at Mystic Seaport. I looked everywhere for Julia - never did find her. Good luck Long Island Sound!
Add to the clothes dryer going South, one of two outside lights on my man-cave quit last week. So, that's two electrical items which have gone kaput. Don't things generally happen in threes?
I walked into the laundry room to find puddles of water on the tile floor. Where could this water be coming from? Why, of course, seeping out of the cold water inlet into the water heater. It appears the seal within the coupling is leaking. Can it get any more comical?
"The torture never stops...the torture never stops..." "Flies all green and buzzin', in this dungeon of despair." (FZ)
I walked into the laundry room to find puddles of water on the tile floor. Where could this water be coming from? Why, of course, seeping out of the cold water inlet into the water heater. It appears the seal within the coupling is leaking. Can it get any more comical?
"The torture never stops...the torture never stops..." "Flies all green and buzzin', in this dungeon of despair." (FZ)
Yes Norm, it appears you are definitely in your own little silo of misery! I wish you all the luck in the world at getting the issues at hand straightened out! I think at this point I'd just buy a new dryer and be done with that issue, but that's just me, I'm not as mechanically adept as you are.
Well I didn't do $hit today. I just didn't have it in me. After I looked at the internet a little I sat down and fell asleep. I got up and went over to the new house, fully intending on finishing my mowing. My hip was unusually unhappy today so I took some Tylenol before I went over. The house seller was there so I talked with him awhile, the Tylenol never did work. So I came home and had some lunch and sat down and fell asleep. I forgot all about the meeting I probably wasn't going to anyway, didn't get anything done, though I did get some laundry done and a little packing up done. This is what happens when I get up too early and Awful house isn't part of the equation. Sounds dumb but that's what I'm used to getting me going. My doctor doesn't get that.
So question. Who here, and I know there's a couple, is versed in nice lawns? I want to get some grass seed, to spread over the yard at the new house, letting it grow and eventually overtaking what's there now. It doesn't look bad but there's lots of crab grass and weed looking things, and I want it to look nice. Not nice like a golf course, because I like to keep the lawn a little long, but evenly colored and not splotchy. There is no shade in the front yard at all, no trees, so it has to be hearty.
New England is saying they haven't had a hurricane in 30 years. That isn't right. Hurricane Sandy went through a few years ago. Also, there was a hurricane that started out down here and then skipped up to Vermont and that area, that one was around 2011 or so. I was up there in the fall of 11 and things were still devastated. I pray those people are ready for this latest one.
Nice evening out. I get to stay up late but I don't think it will be too late. Might pop in a movie and have a beer.
Mike - If you want something to quickly fill in your yard w/o the need for a lot of manicuring, preparation etc. because you essentially have little time to do all that work to get to a real "lawn" (so to speak), I suggest you seed right now through the end of September with either Perennial Rye grass or Annual Rye grass. It has a very short germination time period and grows well as a fast-growing lawn cover. Use a spreader or just toss the stuff out by hand in wide circles as you walk your yard.
Mike - If you want something to quickly fill in your yard w/o the need for a lot of manicuring, preparation etc. because you essentially have little time to do all that work to get to a real "lawn" (so to speak), I suggest you seed right now through the end of September with either Perennial Rye grass or Annual Rye grass. It has a very short germination time period and grows well as a fast-growing lawn cover. Use a spreader or just toss the stuff out by hand in wide circles as you walk your yard.
Mike - Just want to add to what Norm said. You mentioned you have alot of crabgrass and other weeds. Any new grass that you seed with will not choke out the weeds. You will need to hit the crabgrass and other weeds with a pre-emergent in the early spring before they start coming up. If you don't, the weeds will just continue to spread and choke out all the grass.
Thanks guys. I'm not in a big hurry for a nice lawn but it might be fun to try for once. The best lawn I ever had was when I was growing up. Our yard was only a few feet across so it was easy to keep it nice. Norm isn't Rye grass that bright green stuff? My yard will look like the relish on a Chicago hot dog.
Okay I didn't think the picture would be this big.
Gonna hit the sack here in a minute. Tiger has been down for the count all evening. He was busy earlier trying to catch a rabbit. I think he failed. Actually I don't think he wants to catch these critters, just likes the chase. There's a few squirrels that really should be outa here but at the last minute Tiger turns off. Hm.
And now, something from The Storyteller. May he find unending beer and watermelon wine.
Mike, I hate to disagree with Norm but if you plant rye grass you'll be mowing during Christmas. Before you decide, how much sun do you get,?. I plant fescue in the fall. You may want to kill as many weeds as possible while it's still hot. Then till, lime and reseed
I'll add to the compliments about your work, Norm! Mike glad you got the place , it sounds like you're enthused about it, new things will do that. We've been here now for 3 years starting to lose the new enthusiasm. Sorry I don't know anything about grass. Well we are still planning to go to Maine next week. I hope the New England area doesn't get the storm... We do things like that, we got married in August 1985 and after a very rainy wedding day and outdoor reception we went down to Clearwater Florida for our honeymoon. And day after we arrived in comes a hurricane and stays out in the gulf. We went to a school gymnasium and spent nights on wrestling mats with a bunch of old people!! Very romantic!!
Well we are still planning to go to Maine next week. I hope the New England area doesn't get the storm...
Greg - I believe many parts of "New England" as a general area will be affected by the storm, but the last storm track I saw had the storm moving back out over open water before reaching Maine. There may still be quite a bit of rain and rough seas when you first get there if you're arriving early in the week? I hope what effects they do experience clear up before you get there.
I thought of you and Dan this week when I heard about and was saddened by the passing of Tiger great, Bill Freehan. I always thought he should have been inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame. How does someone who's the premier catcher in the American League for 10 consecutive years (AL All Star 10-years in a row, 11 total) not get in the Hall of Fame??? He was a big part of my fondest memories of baseball, the 1968 World Champion Tiger's who defeated the Cardinals in that dramatic 7 game series after being down 3 games to 1. I remember that World Series like it was yesterday.
Good morning guys,
Nice cool morning at 69 right now with a gentle breeze blowing. Supposed to be very seasonal today with sunny skies and high of 88. The temperature is supposed to skyrocket back up to 98 by Tuesday!
Looking forward to seeing both my girls and their families at my grandson's 3rd B-day party today at noon. Will probably end up mowing sometime later today or this evening. There is a judged car show next Saturday, and one Sunday, and I would like to enter my car in both if the weather cooperates, too far out right now to tell.
Dammit Mike, why'd ya have to go and post that, it actually brought tears to my eyes. Mom would sing that to us kids. She couldn't sing a lick, but she sure made us feel loved when she would sing it. Wonderful memory, thanks!
Mike - I agree with James. Fescue would be a good cover grass, as well. Fescue is more tolerant of the sun you said you have tons of (no shade). I’m primarily working from the standpoint you want a cover grass ASAP with basically no preparation at least not this year. I’d go with fescue since it’s very tolerant of weeds and will germinate quickly to reach a nice height. I wouldn’t waste any time doing it. Both fescue and ryegrass should be planted before end of September.
No time to chit chat - I’m trying to get lots done on fence framing before showers begin.
Ace Hardware opens at 12:00 noon. I removed the faulty/leaking water pipe fitting this morning. I hope they have one since I don’t fancy driving cross-town to Lowe’s.
Hold the phone there Jamesbo. Tilling? I'm not getting that crazy. I just want the place to look nice, I'm not going for Lawn of the Week. At least the weeds are green. Funny, the grass in the back yard is not weedy, and looks nicer than the grass in the front yard. I figured I could get some grass seed and spread it like I'm feeding chickens.
Norm good luck with the fence. I know you'll get a lot done.
Chris glad you liked that selection. It was between that one and Who's Gonna Feed My Hogs.
Greg Maine will be terrific.
Today I'm going to do some cleaning at the new house, mow a little if it doesn't rain, then hit Walmart for the weekly dose of irritation. Work early tomorrow, I'll be in inspection all week. Hm, it's been a few weeks since I've been there.
Okay have a good Sunday everyone. Gotta make today count after yesterday's not doing anything. At least we started out with the Awful house.
Chris, it was sad news to hear of Bill Freehan's passing. I am always baffled as to why some players get overlooked for the Hall of Fame. Lou Whitaker is another who gets by passed.
Walked the dogs this morning and sweated like crazy. It was 90 degrees at 7am. And it’s gonna get hotter - supposed to get near 110 this coming week. Ugh. Winter can’t get here soon enough.
Mike, OK, then just poke a few million holes and mulch with fescue hay, Alot depends on what your soil is like, if it's Georgia red clay [read a big brick] you need to add some other material. like compost, peat moss or top soil
Chris, it was sad news to hear of Bill Freehan's passing. I am always baffled as to why some players get overlooked for the Hall of Fame. Lou Whitaker is another who gets by passed.
Dan - I agree with you completely on Whitaker. His career stats are almost a mirror image of Trammel's and he's in. Trammell was only a x4 All Star, Whitaker x5, Freehan x11 and 10-years in a row the most dominant catcher in the league, the situation confounds me? Did you know Freehan was a 2 sport star at Michigan, playing football and baseball, an amazing all around athlete! He was inducted into the inaugural class of the U of M Sports Hall of Fame and that's saying something!
Sandy was named a "superstorm" because it was really barely a hurricane when it hit New England, and it also is technically not a tropical storm once it gets that far north. There was a lot of political maneuvering with that storm because it did a lot of damage for the level it was, and people started to go "Man, Florida would've shrugged that one off like nothing, why do you guys suck so much?" so it was named a super storm to avoid them looking like wimps, I think. So, this is the first "revised history" hurricane to hit. It would be nice if the media wouldn't lie at least once in a while.
My lawn sucks. I should weed and seed, but I just don't put that much effort into it.
Ace opened @ 12:00 noon. I dropped what I was doing on the framing boards for the fence & dashed over to the store. They had exactly what I needed. The repair took all of ten minutes. Isolated thunderstorms and showers popping up all around the area which makes it difficult working outdoors on the fence - spending 1/2 my time putting equipment away, then taking it all back out again - argh.
Mike - Another reason you need a riding mower. I suppose you could hook it up to a horse or mule. Do you have either a horse or mule?
Originally Posted by Jamesbo
Mike, OK, then just poke a few million holes and mulch with fescue hay, Alot depends on what your soil is like, if it's Georgia red clay [read a big brick] you need to add some other material. like compost, peat moss or top soil
A lawn (launde) is what we gentry grow in our yards as a place of recreation (mostly). Yards preceded lawns. There are many forms of a 'yard' - not all are composed of grass i.e. ship yard, etc. Laundes are a type of glade - an opening in the forest where sunlight shines throughout the day - allowing monocotyledons to flourish. All grasses are monocotyledons (their fibers all run parallel to each other). Grasses are not dicotyledons. Yards took on a new (more modern) meaning with the advent of agriculture. Agriculture dates to ~18,000 years before present. The advent of agriculture also establishes the initial value of exponential human growth on the planet Earth. Nomenclature is peculiar. Take 'wild rice' for example. Wild rice isn't a rice. Wild rice (as it's called) is not related to rice in the least. What ends up becoming one person's lawn is mostly a monoculture of a single weed. There are essentially no lawn grasses native to North America. They were all (for the most part) cultivars of weeds imported from 'elsewhere'. One man's junk is another man's treasure.
I finished all the 1/2 lap joint vertical boards and assembled the 1/2 lap joint horizontal cross-members into the 1/2 lap jointed vertical boards. I have two of the three 6" x 6" x 8' posts cut out - one more to go before I can cut & set form to set them in concrete. These are full cut-outs - not 1/2 cuts since they will hold more weight in the middle of the fence framing. The bottom of each will reside about 8" - 10" below ground with each concrete pad ~4" - 6" above ground grade. One entire rebar bracket with protruding brass screws is fastened to the bottom of each post & will be set into concrete (about 8" - 10" below ground in concrete). That isn't necessarily how these brackets were designed to be used, but that's how I'm anchoring each post into concrete. Normally, you'd bury just the rebar with the remainder of the bracket above the concrete. I like my design better. The small/short 2" x 4" boards are just dry-fit cuts of board to test the tightness of fit which will accommodate the horizontal cross-members.
August 20th, 2021, 12:13 PM
