There are many topics to cover this time, and lots of photos to show as well. A new Gallery has been published to go with part of the story. The New York trip, tree trimming, motorcycle sold, and a few other topics are covered this time around.
I will start with my trip to visit Felicity and Peter in New York. Several tasks were finished or moved along, including:
Swinging mailbox installed. The old box had been hit by winter snowplows. While the post had been repaired, the box was in bad shape and all the neighbors had converted to swinging boxes to prevent winter damage.
The old post was removed and taken apart; the wood may be used in future projects. The new box will now swing if hit by a plow.
Another requested task: I added a handrail to the basement stairs. The laundry is in the basement and Felicity had difficulty going up and down the steps, preferring to go outside and use the back door instead. The handrail will be a big help to her.
One project was a partial success; splitting much of the existing woodpile, left over from a tree removed to make way for the septic system and the cutting down of a couple dead trees. I rented a splitter but ran into mechanical problems – the splitter would quit every few minutes – and had to return it before the job was completely finished. More to do next trip!
One job, a big one, did not get off the ground. I had rented a brush chipper to process brush cut from several locations. While I did have the chipper started at the rental yard, once at the property it would not take in any brush: the in-feed roller would not spin. Calls to the yard resulted in some troubleshooting but nothing worked. I had to return the chipper. The yard owner tried but could not get it to work either. I was very disappointed! Now Felicity is left with 4 piles of brush scattered around the yard.
The tall stump at the left of the above photo is there at Felicity and Peter’s request. They hope to fashion it into a roadside marker for their property, making it easier to locate the driveway in low light or night conditions. I had felled and processed the rest of the dead tree into firewood.
Since I could not chip brush I took to weed-whacking parts of the yard. In the photo below, brush was cut from around the tree to the right and the entire area cleared with the weed-wacker. Other parts of the lot received the same treatment.
The trip was long. With local running around and a trip to East Syracuse to listen to Felicity’s choir group sing in a competition, I put on 2,523 miles. (Felicity’s group did qualify for the national competition and I enjoyed the event.) Lowest fuel price on the way out: $3.40 per gallon in Iowa. Prices went up the week I was gone; the lowest price on the way back, also in Iowa, was $3.80. I did pay a high of $5.10 per gallon in Ohio.
I’ll include this travel photo and a short video clip. The first is the Mississippi River near Le Claire, Iowa, and the second is of Hector Falls near Watkins Glenn, New York. I passed the falls several times as it is on the road between Felicity’s place and Watkins Glenn, the nearest larger town and location of the equipment rental yard.
This second is a 44 second clip of Hector Falls.
In normal times, the trip would be the only topic of a post, but not this time. There is a lot more to come!
Two other events happened that are worth posting about. The first deals with the dead oak tree in our yard. I have mentioned this tree before as we had a quote to get it removed last year but the company never showed to do the work.
A neighbor was getting a tree removed so I went over to talk to the lift operator. Turns out he is a neighbor but not a professional tree remover. Still, he came over and looked at our tree and said he would take down what he could reach with his lift. We really wanted the dead limbs over the garage removed to avoid damage should they fall in a storm or strong wind. We paid him for his time and equipment expenses which was far less than the quote we had last fall.
I have created a Gallery to showcase the photos taken during the trimming. Please take a look! This photo will give you some idea of the work done.
In an effort to move along stuff I no longer use, I had listed my motorcycles for sale. The 2006 Kawasaki Concours sold this past Saturday. A younger couple had contacted me and came down (with a trailer) to see the bike and decided to take it home with them. The end of an era for me; I hope it serves the new owners well.
The last couple weeks have been very eventful and busy. Now I hope to settle down for a couple days and list a few more items for sale and move them along.
That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!
Pam’s Penny
May 10, 1776:
The Second Continental Congress passed a resolution urging colonies to establish new, local governments. This marked a major move toward total separation from England.
Rock on!
Today’s Humor:
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