The morning began foggy and stayed that way. With the temperature hovering between 32 and 36 degrees, snow and ice still on the ground, and absolutely no wind at all, we had lots and lots of ground fog. Visibility was reduced to about 50 yards or less and with the snow softening up, there was little to listen to until the taller trees began to glean moisture out of the air and drip, drip, drip was all you could hear.
The guns were silent too. Unlike yesterday, I heard just three evenly spaced shots from the same direction at around 9 AM. Those could have been a hunter, but the even spacing leads me to believe they were from someone who had 1) missed yesterday or 2) dropped his rifle and wanted to check the zero.
I saw nothing except a couple of grey squirrels today and they seemed to take pleasure in producing as much noise as they could as they passed behind me. How they got the snow to crunch as loudly as they did is beyond me.
I pulled up stakes at noon and returned to the Aerie moments before Terry got back from Curves and the post office. We spent the afternoon delivering some furniture to My Neighbor's Closet, taking a couple of vacuum cleaners over to Stony Fork to get repaired, and arranging to have our well examined/drilled/corrected. There was no fog down in the valley as we drove along Route 6 to Wellsboro none south of Wellsboro toward Stoney Fork--very little snow on the ground either, but it (fog and snow) was still hanging around the Aerie when we returned.
[The water from our well turns a muddy red clay near the end of the pumping cycle and definitely not suitable. The well is just 125 feet deep with 24 feet of casing. It's recharge rate is just 2 gallons per minute which is why we have a cistern to hold 500 gallons and provide all the water we need. It's when we refill the cistern we run into problems. The clay is able to pass through our 1 micron filter and turn the water in the tank an ugly shade of maroon. Lifting the pump, drilling deeper or a combination of the two may be needed. They're trying to tell me that increasing the time between cycles might work, but with red water already in the line at the end of one cycle, it will still be pumping red water at the beginning of the next no mater how long the delay. I think they want to go with the easier, cheaper fix but I want clearer water, damn it! Screw the cost! (That's easy to say because we didn't drill the well in the first place and have next to nothing invested in it at this point.)]
Otherwise, the day did improve slightly near sunset with the fog actually settling into the valley below us. With someone from Andrews Well Drilling coming tomorrow, I believe I'll sleep in and speak with them.
Showing posts with label Errands. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Errands. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 03, 2013
Wednesday, September 05, 2012
My not so lazy day.
We got 0.86 inches of rain last night and it was still misting a bit this morning. Of course, that meant no chance of staining the deck. The sun did come out--eventually--around 4 PM and things are looking much better. Too bad Terry and I have a meeting with our financial planner tomorrow morning. Might have to wait until after lunch to start staining.
I did get some things done today. I went to Lowe's and picked up a new set of drawer glides to replace the broken one in the RV. Then I installed them. They both got replaced because the replacements were just a little bit larger (wider) than the originals. Pulling out one of the other drawers I noticed a missing plastic piece on one of the glides. The same piece lead to the failure of the drawer I just repaired. Luckily, I had a spare glide from the set I had to replace so that got fixed pronto.
While at Lowe's I also got an adapter and a cap to go over my freshwater intake so as to keep dust and dirt out. Still have to see about a 30 AMP extension cord and getting the power cord from the camper repaired. (The plug end has separated from the thick insulating rubber coating on the wire. The three wires are still connected but they are now exposed. I could live with it, but Terry is concerned. And when Terry gets concerned....)
Then we got a call from the notary down in Mansfield. She had just received all the papers and payments from Camping World and we could come pick up our registration and license plate whenever we wanted to--which was now. (Ever drive around with out a license plate? Even if you've got one of those temporary paper tags in the rear window, you are constantly waiting for some cop to pull you over. Mine wasn't even in the rear window but on the side. I thought sure some cope would pull me over as we drove to and from West Wareham, MA but it didn't happen. They were out there. I saw them. But they were either setting up or manning radar sites or already had someone else pulled over. Whew!) Anyway, so now the Winnie has a real plate on the rear and I don't feel so paranoid anymore.
Having gotten the PA plate and registration, I had to schedule an inspection. There's a place just over the other side of the valley in Mansfield that does inspections of motorhomes. I called and will take the Winnie over on Friday morning.
Oh, and I called Camping World to find out about the shower caddy that needed to be replaced. The part came in yesterday and I set an appointment to have that installed September 20th. They should have the tow dolly assembled when we get there.
Other than that, we had one meal of delightful clam chowder and another of left over fish with quahog stuffing, corn on the cob and sweet potatoes. MMM-mmm GOOD!
R.A. Dickey won his 18th game (18-4) for the Mets. Not bad for a 38 year-old knuckleballer.
Beer is cold, Chips are available. The NFL starts tonight: Cowboys at the Giants. Go Giants!
I did get some things done today. I went to Lowe's and picked up a new set of drawer glides to replace the broken one in the RV. Then I installed them. They both got replaced because the replacements were just a little bit larger (wider) than the originals. Pulling out one of the other drawers I noticed a missing plastic piece on one of the glides. The same piece lead to the failure of the drawer I just repaired. Luckily, I had a spare glide from the set I had to replace so that got fixed pronto.
While at Lowe's I also got an adapter and a cap to go over my freshwater intake so as to keep dust and dirt out. Still have to see about a 30 AMP extension cord and getting the power cord from the camper repaired. (The plug end has separated from the thick insulating rubber coating on the wire. The three wires are still connected but they are now exposed. I could live with it, but Terry is concerned. And when Terry gets concerned....)
Then we got a call from the notary down in Mansfield. She had just received all the papers and payments from Camping World and we could come pick up our registration and license plate whenever we wanted to--which was now. (Ever drive around with out a license plate? Even if you've got one of those temporary paper tags in the rear window, you are constantly waiting for some cop to pull you over. Mine wasn't even in the rear window but on the side. I thought sure some cope would pull me over as we drove to and from West Wareham, MA but it didn't happen. They were out there. I saw them. But they were either setting up or manning radar sites or already had someone else pulled over. Whew!) Anyway, so now the Winnie has a real plate on the rear and I don't feel so paranoid anymore.
Having gotten the PA plate and registration, I had to schedule an inspection. There's a place just over the other side of the valley in Mansfield that does inspections of motorhomes. I called and will take the Winnie over on Friday morning.
Oh, and I called Camping World to find out about the shower caddy that needed to be replaced. The part came in yesterday and I set an appointment to have that installed September 20th. They should have the tow dolly assembled when we get there.
Other than that, we had one meal of delightful clam chowder and another of left over fish with quahog stuffing, corn on the cob and sweet potatoes. MMM-mmm GOOD!
R.A. Dickey won his 18th game (18-4) for the Mets. Not bad for a 38 year-old knuckleballer.
Beer is cold, Chips are available. The NFL starts tonight: Cowboys at the Giants. Go Giants!
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Aerie Report, October 19, 2011
Stepping out on the deck yesterday morning I spied two large does bedding down on the trail about 40-50 yards from the house. The wind was in my favor and they didn't seem to mind the sounds of the sliding door opening and closing or my being on the deck. We watched each other for over half an hour before I got bored. Ten minutes after I came in side, they disappeared.
I noticed a lot of little birds flitting through the trees and assume they are migrants heading south. Some may be Gold Finches but in their winter plumage, they are terribly olive drab in appearance. They all disappeared later in the day as if they had places to go and things to do off to the south.
I then went out and ran some errands.
My first stop was at the orthopedist's up in Corning to report in on my progress post surgery and get some answers about my arthritic knees. The knees are doing as well as can be expected considering the lack of cushioning cartilage. Ms. Ryan, the PA (physician's assistant) to whom I report, is a personable young woman who provided plenty of information as to what I can expect in the coming years. She is the one who would be giving me cortisone shots (insurers want patients to go that route first because it's cheaper, she says) and, if they should fail to provide relief, Synvisc shots (much more expensive but more effective, she says). She seems somewhat disconcertingly enthusiastic about administering shots but is willing to hold off until they become necessary (it's just a matter of time, she says). Good thing she's so easy to talk to--and cute as well--or she might be scary.
Anyway, Ms. Ryan did answer all my questions, including under what circumstances I should be calling her again to get those shots. (Short answer: When the pain--and there will be pain--won't go away after taking some Tylenol for a day or two.) Knowing how I will likely push myself (the Bolt Hole roof still needs to be finished and firewood needs cutting, splitting and hauling), I expect I'll be calling her sometime in the next year or two.
BTW As usual when visiting a doctors office they take your vitals. BP reading: 111 over 81 with a pulse of 51.
******
My next stop was at the propane supplier to find out when I could expect my next delivery. If you remember, I had to call them several times at the end of last winter to get them to come up because we were running low on fuel and their new method of determining delivery dates was still being tweaked. The gall at the desk told me that the delivery ticket would be printed the last week in October (That's next week? Time does indeed fly!) and we should get delivery no later than the end of the first week in November. As long as we don't have a hard frost yet, that's an acceptable time frame since we've just recently gone below 20% on the tank's gauge. I'm not looking forward to that bill.
******
Then I went next door to Agway. I picked up a nice sized pumpkin for the front steps to go along with the mum that Terry purchased last week. It's not Halloween/Autumn if you don't have mums and pumpkins on your steps...even if no one ever visits.
I also asked about the price of black oil sunflower seeds. Talk about sticker shock! Last year we paid in the neighborhood of $16-17 for a 40 pound bag. This year seed is up to $27-28 for the same size bag. Ouch! The clerk said, being Tuesday, there was a 10% discount. Oh well, it's only money.
Last year we went through 10 bags of seed (plus about 50 pounds of thistle and many, many blocks of suet) and I was of a mind to purchase that amount but needed to check with Terry and clear out a space in the garage to stack the bags. After doing both, I went back and picked up my 10 bags of sunflower seeds. Now I've just got to get the feeders cleaned up/built and I'm ready to go.
We get too much entertainment from watching the birds, squirrels and chipmunks NOT to put feed out. And the bears that occasionally visit make life...interesting.
******
This morning we're back to overcast and cloudy with a bit of mist in the air. The forecast had been for rain overnight and through much of the day--up to an inch according to AccuHunch--but, so far, that's been incorrect.
Never got above 60 degrees yesterday and probably won't today either. yesterday, Terry slow cooked some ribs in the oven and then baked brownies for a church function today. That helped keep the house warm. Today we'll be burning up some of that propane we still have since the sun's not likely to make an appearance.
******
We've an Tiadaghton Audubon Society meeting tonight. Two of our club members went on a river cruise in Peru last winter and they will be reporting on that. Should be interesting.
I noticed a lot of little birds flitting through the trees and assume they are migrants heading south. Some may be Gold Finches but in their winter plumage, they are terribly olive drab in appearance. They all disappeared later in the day as if they had places to go and things to do off to the south.
I then went out and ran some errands.
My first stop was at the orthopedist's up in Corning to report in on my progress post surgery and get some answers about my arthritic knees. The knees are doing as well as can be expected considering the lack of cushioning cartilage. Ms. Ryan, the PA (physician's assistant) to whom I report, is a personable young woman who provided plenty of information as to what I can expect in the coming years. She is the one who would be giving me cortisone shots (insurers want patients to go that route first because it's cheaper, she says) and, if they should fail to provide relief, Synvisc shots (much more expensive but more effective, she says). She seems somewhat disconcertingly enthusiastic about administering shots but is willing to hold off until they become necessary (it's just a matter of time, she says). Good thing she's so easy to talk to--and cute as well--or she might be scary.
Anyway, Ms. Ryan did answer all my questions, including under what circumstances I should be calling her again to get those shots. (Short answer: When the pain--and there will be pain--won't go away after taking some Tylenol for a day or two.) Knowing how I will likely push myself (the Bolt Hole roof still needs to be finished and firewood needs cutting, splitting and hauling), I expect I'll be calling her sometime in the next year or two.
BTW As usual when visiting a doctors office they take your vitals. BP reading: 111 over 81 with a pulse of 51.
******
My next stop was at the propane supplier to find out when I could expect my next delivery. If you remember, I had to call them several times at the end of last winter to get them to come up because we were running low on fuel and their new method of determining delivery dates was still being tweaked. The gall at the desk told me that the delivery ticket would be printed the last week in October (That's next week? Time does indeed fly!) and we should get delivery no later than the end of the first week in November. As long as we don't have a hard frost yet, that's an acceptable time frame since we've just recently gone below 20% on the tank's gauge. I'm not looking forward to that bill.
******
Then I went next door to Agway. I picked up a nice sized pumpkin for the front steps to go along with the mum that Terry purchased last week. It's not Halloween/Autumn if you don't have mums and pumpkins on your steps...even if no one ever visits.
I also asked about the price of black oil sunflower seeds. Talk about sticker shock! Last year we paid in the neighborhood of $16-17 for a 40 pound bag. This year seed is up to $27-28 for the same size bag. Ouch! The clerk said, being Tuesday, there was a 10% discount. Oh well, it's only money.
Last year we went through 10 bags of seed (plus about 50 pounds of thistle and many, many blocks of suet) and I was of a mind to purchase that amount but needed to check with Terry and clear out a space in the garage to stack the bags. After doing both, I went back and picked up my 10 bags of sunflower seeds. Now I've just got to get the feeders cleaned up/built and I'm ready to go.
We get too much entertainment from watching the birds, squirrels and chipmunks NOT to put feed out. And the bears that occasionally visit make life...interesting.
******
This morning we're back to overcast and cloudy with a bit of mist in the air. The forecast had been for rain overnight and through much of the day--up to an inch according to AccuHunch--but, so far, that's been incorrect.
Never got above 60 degrees yesterday and probably won't today either. yesterday, Terry slow cooked some ribs in the oven and then baked brownies for a church function today. That helped keep the house warm. Today we'll be burning up some of that propane we still have since the sun's not likely to make an appearance.
******
We've an Tiadaghton Audubon Society meeting tonight. Two of our club members went on a river cruise in Peru last winter and they will be reporting on that. Should be interesting.
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