Hang On!

I just saw the following Hazardous Weather Outlook that came in this morning from

http://forecast.weather.gov/showsigwx.php?warnzone=MNZ015&warncounty=MNC119&firewxzone=MNZ015&local_place1=Fosston%20MN&product1=Hazardous+Weather+Outlook&lat=47.5713&lon=-95.7291#.VW3tfNJViko

Hmmm...What to do? What to do?...Ah-ha! Make a checklist!

___1. Park vehicles in garage and shed
___2. Early supper
___3. Camera handy
___4. Move comfy chair, table, light, and entertainment into basement
___5. Hang up checklist
___6. HOLD ON!

I suppose it would be clever to keep a cell phone handy, too

 

Hazardous Weather Outlook

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS ND
603 AM CDT TUE JUN 2 2015

MNZ001>009-013>017-022>024-027>032-040-NDZ006>008-014>016-024-
026>030-038-039-049-052>054-031200-
WEST POLK-NORMAN-CLAY-KITTSON-ROSEAU-LAKE OF THE WOODS-
WEST MARSHALL-EAST MARSHALL-NORTH BELTRAMI-PENNINGTON-RED LAKE-
EAST POLK-NORTH CLEARWATER-SOUTH BELTRAMI-MAHNOMEN-
SOUTH CLEARWATER-HUBBARD-WEST BECKER-EAST BECKER-WILKIN-
WEST OTTER TAIL-EAST OTTER TAIL-WADENA-GRANT-TOWNER-CAVALIER-
PEMBINA-BENSON-RAMSEY-EASTERN WALSH COUNTY-EDDY-NELSON-
GRAND FORKS-GRIGGS-STEELE-TRAILL-BARNES-CASS-RANSOM-SARGENT-
RICHLAND-WESTERN WALSH COUNTY-
603 AM CDT TUE JUN 2 2015

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN NORTH
DAKOTA...WEST CENTRAL AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

SCATTERED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY ACROSS EASTERN NORTH
DAKOTA AND ADJACENT PORTIONS OF MINNESOTA LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND
INTO THE EVENING. THE MAIN THREATS WILL BE HAIL UP TO 2 INCHES AND
DAMAGING WIND GUSTS...AND PERHAPS AN ISOLATED TORNADO. HEAVY RAIN IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME IS ALSO POSSIBLE.

Later that day (9:30 p.m.)...

What a boring storm--sun is breaking through, 25-30 mph wind is now only a slight breeze, no rain. Hmmmph!

So, I check with Valley News Live and find that the storm does not seem to have enough oomph to cross out of the Dakotas into Minnesota. I guess I can go to bed and plop my head down onto my pillow.

Hummingbirds

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My First Day back at work:

Worked hard. Decided to take a little nap in the rocking chair I brought up with me. So, there I am in the machine shed, on a warm day with a nice, cool breeze blowing through, snoozing, when I hear a bird chirping and a bumble bee buzzing. No! Not a bumble bee--too loud--a humming bird?. A humming bird being chased by two swallows. I’m not sure why, but it's possible that the hummingbirds had taken over the nest that the swallows built last year.

I didn’t like the big guys picking on the little ones, so I chased them out and closed the door. I went looking for the hummingbird. These things are small and quick. I finally spotted one at the very peak of the building.

The hummingbird is the small V-shaped object in the opening. (The darker objects are structural components of the building.) My little promotional-gift camera couldn't zoom any more.

Now, remember, the peak of the shed is about 25 feet up and my camera is one of those promotional give-a-ways, so getting a clear picture is nearly impossible at that distance, but I tried.

The little bird, with outstretched wings, just floated up there--frozen. Not a twitch nor a buzz. It just hung there, an exhibit at the finest museum. I thought maybe it had died and was caught up in a spider web or something. For five minutes, I watched. Finally, I walked away and came right back—Gone!--only to be seen flying around the rafters again a bit later.

The shed has a ridge vent running the entire length of the building. This happened early afternoon on a very sunny day. Were the air currents from the warming building enough to hold the bird up there?

Speaking of Critters

They like the dome and they do not like that I try to keep them out.

The first time I went into the basement I saw a chipmunk scurry across the floor. I searched everywhere for the entry point. Finally, this is what I found:

They chewed an opening through the bottom of my make-shift door.

I put a metal trowel across the opening and that settled that...Hah, so I thought!

The next morning I came to work to discover the sound of running water. The garage floor was covered and I could see that water was spraying out of the hose that comes from the pressure tank in the basement. I thought the sharp edges of the hole in the wall had worn through the hose, so I replace the hose with a heavier one.

The next morning--same thing. This time I saw bits of hose on the floor and teeth marks on the hose. The critters we not able to get into the house because the water pressure kept them out, but they made a mess for me.

Basement Windows

They are in! Three windows. Sure, the finishing work still need to be done, both inside and out, but they are in--they open and close letting in both light and fresh air, but they keep out the critters.

I guess I need better pictures as well as one from the outside.

Putting in windows has changed a bit since I last did it. Back in the day, the windows came with brick molding (the decorative trim around the outside of the window) already attached. The window was then set in the opening, squared and plumbed, then nailed to the wall through the brick molding. That is what held the window in place.

Now, they come clad in plastic/vinyl. The vinyl extends out beyond the window and is perforated for nails which hold it in place. This system helps seal the window better from Mother Nature and gives the builder or home owner more options for the style of trim to use. The window is shaped such that no additional trim is necessary—siding or other exterior wall covering can come right up to it, just leave enough space for expansion and sealant.

My work did not go unnoticed. One critter, a chipmunk, noticed that he could see into the basement so he joyfully jumped into the window well only to learn about glass. Unable to get into the basement, he turned to run out the tunnel that he normally used only to find that it was buried under a pile of pea rock that was moved back to make room for the window.

A rather new 2X6 was put in for a ramp, but it proved too slippery. So, a weathered peace of plywood became the ramp material of choice.

I'm Back: May, 2015 (and it's snowing)

Finally! Internet issues kept me from posting earlier.

About the house...This year will start with basement windows (installed), finishing the painting (five gallons applied so far, another four, or so, to go.), water proofing, and finishing any stucco that is patiently waiting to be done. Time and funds permitting, I will also install windows in the first and second floors, and then some of the doors in the house. Hopefully, I will also be able to do some work in the garage, starting with framing out the big garage door and the three upstairs windows.

Tomorrow, I will stop by ReStore to see if I can pick up an entry door or anything else I might need. ReStore is Habitat for Humanity's Goodwill of construction materials, new and used. It is absolutely a good place to check out for anyone doing anything in their house. I recently purchased stair risers for $7.00 each in Baltimore--these run around $35.00 if bought in a flooring or big-box store. There are at least four ReStore locations around Baltimore. (I stopped at ReStore in Moorhead and picked up a solid wood door with oak veneer and solid oak frame for $15.00.)

The door with its frame and threshold. Notice the basement windows.

Actually, I have been in the state for over a week (Nearly a month by now.). During this time, I had the privilege of helping one of my sisters install a new laminate floor, another with un-carpeting and woodifying (Yes, it's a word--I just used it, so it must be!) her stairs (actually I just helped cut new risers, she and her son did the rest), and then gave minimal advice, well support, to a third sister about a plumbing issue. (As it turned out, my advice was incorrect—it was the fresh-water line that had cracked.) With the help of other siblings, I delivered and set up mobility devices for a brother--a stair lift and a motorized wheel chair, and, again with sibling support, I delivered my travel trailer and my sister's motor home to the construction site. The trailer is ready for occupancy, and I will be in it, getting to work starting tomorrow.

I will be at my brother's tomorrow morning while a service man finishes installing and maintaining the stair lift--a seven-year-old Bruno. The technician said that it looks to be in very good shape. Tomorrow, he will bolt it in place, then clean, lubricate, and adjust it as necessary. These things (stair lifts) are expensive, but I came across this one on Craig's list. I think that the seller was emptying out a house and needed to get it sold fast. (Completed, as expected.)

At the same time as I was finding that, one of my sisters found a motorized wheel chair for my brother. The chair is an older Hoveround that a gentleman had used while recovering from back surgery. He no longer needed it, so he sold it to my sister for an extremely good price. Sometimes things just work out.

I will try to post some pictures of these machines later.

Winter on the Farm

Not much snow, yet, but the white building just seems to disappear in what is there. The gray, cloudy sky adds to the vanishing-dome act. You can see the parts that are not yet painted. The current plan is for the trim around the door and window
openings to be the same color as the trim on the machine shed. That will stand out nicely in the winter.

From a different angle, slightly to the west, you look across the driveway. From here, the garage, without its unpainted area showing, is not so visible behind the trees.

Here we can see what the blue trim does for a white building in a snow-covered farmstead on a cold winter's day.









I guess I'd better put some coffee on, and a pot of cocoa or hot apple cider, too. Maybe stir the chili and whip up a batch of good crusty French rolls.

Humans!

They can't make up their minds!
He gives us a great place to store our winter larder, then he takes it away. Did he think we stored them there for him?

He brings home twobyes in his pickedup and stacks them. He says they are twobyes, eight of them, but he can't count. He put them two by two in stacks next to each other in the grach next to his pickedup. Five in each stack with one on top in the middle--that's eleven, not eight. The space between the stacks with a twobye on top makes a great place to store our food. What a great store house-- out of the weather and where no one else will ever think of looking.

We lined up the acorns like gumballs in a gumball chute. One at a time they will come out as we need them.

But what does he do? He builds a wall between the grach and his big nest. Really, though, it's between the grach and a place he calls a link. Who ever heard of part of a home called a link? Link is what we do on the computer! It's actually a tunnel from the grach to the big nest. What does he do? He builds what he calls a floor and uses the twobyes. How can it be a floor? We walk on floors, but to see his "floor" we need to look up. He says it's the second-story floor. Boy, is he telling us a story! Look up to see the floor-huh!

So, here are our acorns, all lined up for our winter meals after he took away the top twobye.

Then he took another twobye, and another. We could tell something was amiss. Was he planning on taking them for himself? So, we had to take action. Guess what he found when he came back for the next twobye.

Yup! Nothing but twobyes stacked two by two.

To really show that this guy doesn't know what he's doing, come into the tunnel, oops, link.

Now, look at the floor.

Ah-ha! Just as I thought, you looked down to see the floor.

Now look up and see what he calls the floor.

I think I understand. His first story is telling us that the floor is up there; his second story is that you humans will walk on it. We can, easily, but it's so funny when bipeds try. They look like they're trying to fly.

Humans!

Go Minnesota Golden Gophers!

Notice, the Vikings aren't doing so well, but the Gophers are!