February 4, 2020

Yesteryear
One year ago today: February 4, 2019, I’m not an actor, but . . .
Five years ago today: February 4, 2015, three doors each.
Nine years ago today: February 4, 2011, equal partners.
Random years ago today: February 4, 2007, Broward guitar mafia.

           They sprouted exactly on schedule and in two weeks we’ll have some radishes. On the left panel you see me reaching to thin them out. All the little seedlings in a row. On the right, a small crop of collard greens. This morning was bright and dry. I took cuttings of the flowers and transplanted to the front yard. Check on the chickens, water the flowers, wash the car, make coffee, and play bass. This is the sort of morning I had planned for this phase of my life. But the fact is I had planned on slowing down five or more years ago. I wonder what happened? This house was only one factor, but I thought by now I’d be growing chrysanthemums, not radishes. What? The collards? Don’t count, they grow by themselves.

           The chickens don’t especially like being cooped. Fortunately the weather is helping with temperate days and chilly nights. The coop includes two regulation size nesting boxes, but the hens prefer to cuddle in one of them. I guess it makes logic since the nights have been so cold. No more eggs yet. No sign of Agt. R yet and I priced out two peach trees over at the supply house. I heard about the fruit fly problem but decided peaches anyway. Maybe a lime tree next month. The deadline for this year is in around another 30 days. The peaches are replacing oranges everywhere, mainly it seems because oranges seem susceptible to every blight that comes along. The peach trees I have picked out are guaranteed to grow. Ha, like Howard’s apple tree and my avocado?

           I’ve sketched out a chicken run. I’d need twenty 2x3’s if I can find any treated. For now, they will have to be content with this veranda. I slapped it together out of recycled lumber and Agt. R’s cage. I wonder if he thinks he’ll ever get that back? This is as close as they get to outdoors until next Sunday morning. They spent the first half day unceasingly looking for a way out. They are used to having the run of the neighborhood. Is this what parents mean when they tell you this is for your own good?

Picture of the day.
Tombaugh Regio.
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           You afternoon picture is the insulated plumbing. This is what over-insulated piping looks like, both hot and cold. I finally used up the last of the old robot club duct tape. I knew it was good for something. If anybody notices the red piece of large diameter red insulation in the lower right corner, yes that is a pool noodle. Hey, the stuff was on sale. With luck this section of floor will be covered up by later today and mark a real milestone with the largest project of this nature I’ve ever undertaken. To think they wanted me to be a construction supervisor. No way.
           Only the far back section is level in this photo. Again, it is the cross-members that are level, not the old joists. No such luck. This lack of solid flooring has delayed finishing the vanity. Hell, what about my lawn bench, garden, bird feeder, compost bin, and the shed I need for the chemicals I don’t like storing in my work space? This floor has been my nemesis.

ADDENDUM

           Here’s a better view of the flooring being leveled. The new lumber is scabbed level on to the old joists. This may look haphazard but it is actually super solid. The patchwork is due to juggling a number of factors like old and new plumbing, new pylons, a new wall, and the way the iron has settled. The bottom panel shows how much the joists were off level. These spots will be insulated later, so I used interior lumber.
           Trust me, this crazy looking floor is now four times stronger than it needs to be. Until I get to the kitchen floor with my accumulated experience, this floor is the most sold in the entire building.

Last Laugh