Interesting phrase

Environmental fanatics and religious fanatics have something in common. They both want to take us back a thousand years into the past

A commenter on this article:

Nice day...

Cold, raw day today -- was 13 overnight, got up to about freezing when I had the truck 1/2 loaded and it started to rain, but I kept on splitting up and then grabbed some nice 4-5" rounds that will be the "all dayers" I use when I go to work.

Come in the house soaking wet between sweat and the rain, and I start to take my hat and gloves and boots off by the wood stove.

And suddenly I feel like I'm 8 years old again taking off a soaking wet snow suit after a day playing outside.

Think the only thing that changed is my toys are a little bit more dangerous now, and I need an Advil!

Gypsy Moths

Interesting
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2009/12/03/invasion_of_winter_moths_has_scientists_residents_looking_for_answers/?page=2

Credited this with the decline:
http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/ent/biocontrol/pathogens/e_maimaiga.html

Hadn't heard that specific pathogen credited with the decline before.

Mon Dieux!

After years of saying I need to drink more -- seriously, I do relax when I have a few drinks midweek, although I'm not a big drinker, I'm working on building up a decent bar at home.

Tonight I made my first Martini. Not sure if I ever drank one, know I never made one. Didn't think about the recipe while I was making it till I sat down with the glass...and realized just how much alcohol was in it!

How did people function after a three Martini lunch?

Looking at the recipe for a Cosmopolitan, it ain't far behind a Martini, which goes a long way to explaining how the Sex and the City girls managed to never keep their legs closed.

More Wood!

I'm figuring cut & split right now I'm good through January.

Next weekend (Thanksgiving) I should get the big oak blocked up and start splitting, not sure I'll get it all brought down...once that's in I should be set all year and can start cutting for 2010-2011 :)

What a beautiful stove!

Vermont Iron Stoves' Elm.

They are no longer made, but the former President of the company continues to make new parts and refurb stoves.

It invariably happens...

If I spend enough time innocently googling around, I always come across something that I just was not expecting...

Make Mine Freedom

Back from 1948 when there was something called pride:

Wood Cutting!

First big day out for the new-to-me MS-360. Also used the new-to-me 024AV quite a bit for limbing, that saw is really running better and better the more work it gets. Hadn't been used much in the last few years by the last owner.

The anti-vibe gloves work really well too -- my hands don't swell up after running vibrating equipment if I haven't run any in a while.


Orange flagging for what I want to remove this winter, pink is for specifically protected stuff (mostly oak saplings).

Everything dropped exactly where I wanted and nothing pink was harmed. Fields in the background is the town's main recreation park.


Logrite 5' Peavey w/log stand. Outstanding. Flipped this log up in the air with finger tip pressure :) Ok, not quite finger tip, but one handed easily.


Most of the saw work done. I have this week off to study for a certification test next Saturday, so I plan to hack away an hour or two each afternoon on yard & wood stuff for a break, like splitting and stacking this, cutting the stumps down (I like to cut firewood at a comfortable height then stump it later), and stack the brush.

The disappearing middle

A point I previously hadn't realized:

From 2001 to 2007, California's information industries increased their output by 21 percent, but lost 6.9 percent of their jobs. In addition, the jobs these high-tech industries tend to create directly are high-wage jobs that require advanced degrees, while the jobs they create indirectly are low-wage service-sector jobs at homes, restaurants, offices, and hospitals. So, by their nature, they exacerbate the segmentation of California's economy.

From The New Republic.

While I know full well about how our productivity is rising faster then output which means a reduction in jobs, the second part of that which is the divergence between high and low paying jobs being created by, in part, the elimination of that middle tier of workers is something I hadn't seen so clearly stated before.

Jindal's health care talking points

Not that I necessarily agree with all of them, just wanted to save this link somewhere:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/04/AR2009100402003.html?sub=AR

Tonite's the second fire of the year!

Had a small fire on Sunday. Another small fire tonight (October 1).

Should be down around 40 overnight.

Cool

Chasse, pêche, nature et traditions

That's the name of a minor French political party -- Hunting, Fishing, Nature, and Traditions.

Thought that was a cool name.

Interesting statement

Like the progressivism of the 1900s, but unlike the labor movement and agrarian populism, the progressivism of the 2000s is a movement of haves motivated by pity for the have-littles and have-nots, rather than a movement of have-littles and have-nots motivated by self-interest. And because they are, or believe themselves to be, motivated by philanthropy, the progressive haves are less interested in the economic struggles of the have-littles of the broad working class than in rescuing a far smaller number of have-nots from dire poverty.

http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2009/08/25/labor/index.html

Just how bad was the garden this year?

September 9th.

Just ate my first ripe tomato -- a cherry one at that.

Dinner at least is grilled garden fresh taters :)

Sayings...

Well dip my testicles in sweet cream and squat me in a kitchen full of kittens!

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=108213

Thank God I'm a Country Boy...

Had to take Monday off from work to fix my rear brakes, parts fell off when I went to rotate my tires on Sunday evening, so I made my annual trip to Wi Li Kit for an ice cream.

Wi Li Kit can be described by the single word, decadent. If you've never had it, you don't have a proper perspective for understanding the term, "best ice cream you've ever had."

While I sat at a picnic table, ice cream dripping down the cone hot off the waffle maker, the sweet, earthy aroma drifted from the dairy barn across the street and blended with the smell of the freshly cut hay bales sitting in a wagon next to the stand -- just the perfect bouqet to complement the raspberry choclate chip ice cream!

Summer nights

Out driving at 8:45 after putting in a load of laundry at the laundromat.

Warm, muggy. Heat lightning in the distance. Windows down in the truck, rear slider open.

Going down a country road, corn fields on either side.

Frogs and insects at the height of their evening symphony.

Life doesn't get much better.

I bought a roto tiller

Swore I never, ever would. I'd either borrow or rent.

But I did. After this year, when I my time was severely limited between the bad weather and having the flu in May, and my energy to turn the garden by hand was reduced from the flu, I decided I should have one.

I need a better photo -- that was taken the night it came home from Craig's List.

I'll probably use it to cultivate during the year, too (cultivation is running it shallowly to kill weeds, as opposed to tillage which disturbs the soil much more deeply).

It's a Troy Bilt Junior with a Tecumseh H35 Engine.
Spark Plugs: Champion J8C, gap 0.030
Air Filter: Tecumseh 30727
Oil: 30 or 5w30

Tecumseh Basic Troubleshooting & Service Guide (or my archive copy).

Here's a cool, old piece of Troy Bilt propoganda found while searching for a manual:
http://www.brentchalmers.com/Literature/TroyBiltGreatGardensMagazine.pdf

A beautiful day.

Sunday started off with a phone call to a Craigslist ad I had seen Saturday night, and then a nice drive to Ashford for this:
It's a Stihl MS 360. It's newer then my 039, a smidge more powerful, lighter weight, and professional instead homeowner quality. This will be my new primary saw, with the 039 as the backup. I'll probably alternate them quite a bit, and the 360 can handle a 24" bar that I need to easily buck up the occasional larger tree. It's always good to have two saws, especially when felling trees -- last thing you want is to have a tree weakened and your saw break, leaving a very dangerous snag that could fall wildly in a strong wind.

Drove home through Boston Hollow, had a long visit with my mom, came home and grilled pork chops for lunch. I had quite a bit of eye strain, so I wasn't up to doing work for the non-profit, so I went for a long Sunday drive down to Beach Pond and around Sterling & Foster.

Came home and pulled in by the garden to check it. First, having drunk a large ice coffee while driving I had to pee...really...bad. So I did. As I'm zipping up, I look up and see a deer 50' in front of me with an annoyed, "Why are you peeing on my lawn?" look. Well she did as deer do, and jumped away once I made eye contact. Jumped all of 50 more feet, and from 100' away continued browsing while I checked the garden. Less respect then Rodney Dangerfield. Hunting season can not arrive too soon.

My garden which is a disaster this year due to flu, weather, and critters and I'm mostly planning for next year. Harvested about 5# of summer squash, which will be about it for the year...wow, 361# harvested last year. And to think I had wanted to donate 400# to the food pantry alone.

After that I brought the PC I reloaded Windows on back to Henry for his grandkids to bang away on, made some spaghetti for dinner (and pork-n-spaghetti lunches), did laundry, and had some ice cream.

Life is good. Best day I've had in a long time.

Woodstove Log Sizes...

Looking for a new, more efficient woodstove.

I want one that can take 22" logs since I usually cut about 20" for myself. ("Standard" trade size firewood is 16" -- which makes exactly three rows deep on a 4'x4'x8' cord of wood)

Vermont Castings Encore: 20"
Vigilant: 18"
Resolute Acclaim: 16"
Intrepid II: 16"
Defiant: 24"
Dutchwest Small: 16"
Dutchwest Large: 22"
Dutchwest XL: 25"

Jotul 3CB: 18"
F400 Castine: 20"
F500 Oslo: 22"
F600 Firelight: 24"