One year ago today: July 4, 2019, terrified rescue pet.
Five years ago today: July 4, 2015, “reasonably assumed”, huh?
Nine years ago today: July 4, 2011, I’m not buying.
Random years ago today: July 4, 2004, space probes & pubbing.
See me after working just three hours this morning. I was at the big box by opening time and brought back enough lumber to create a shaded area six feet long. It’s anchored and I took the time to bevel the rafters only to find they are not of consistent length. The first spot is now in the shade although at the moment it is only tarpaper. I’ve got to move like blazes before the holiday weekend is over. Here’s my stunt double cooling down by the big fan. The roof, at this stage, gives shade but not protection from rain. Note the difference between the parts of the shirt where it is wet and where it is dry. Except, it wasn’t raining.
Matilda has another favorite that I can’t afford to feed her. Oats, the kind you make porridge from. She goes crazy at first but quickly settles down to that contented hen clucking sound and that’s good enough for me. And it’s non-GMO organic oats, people food. No wonder she’s always here at mealtime. Oats is a g-free food, gluten free, does anybody know if that’s good for chickens? She was my cheerleading section as I hoisted eight 12 foot rafters into place. I’ve sunk around $200 into this phase and that is likely to double before I get it reasonably finished.
That was a good workout, let’s hope we don’t get any windstorms before I get up the gumption to really tack down that tarpaper. One again, I think I’ll use fence panels for the sheathing. The rafters are one foot on-center and that makes the assembly pretty sturdy. It doesn’t flex when you walk on it, mind you these days I’m less than 190 pounds and mostly grain-fed myself.
Colt Model 1921.
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I like it already. A rainstorm that normally would have brought work to a standstill was merely delayed as I stepped under the canopy. I may even be able to work on the roof itself during a storm as the hardware is all strapped down from inside. Here is a pic of the first eight rafters in place. The rush to complete the work is based on the reluctance of the city to fly the drone when there are so many fireworks that could get in the way. I have until the morning of the 7th.
The squirrels have already defeated my spinning hoses, they learned to grab onto the tiny gap that must be left between the pieces. Going on-line is useless, the same three devices show up in many forms but there is nothing new. The baffle, the cage, the self-closing latch. I don’t see many of the latter, indicating they don’t hold up well in actual use.
Or how about those sonic repelling devices, all with a warning “for indoor use only”. And these people wonder why their own family treats them like marginally retarded bathroom attendants. I have a wire cage, but it is too small. I’m thinking of some sort of bird cage where I remove a few of the wires, leaving a gap big enough only for birds. I’m pretty sure the squirrels are able to jump at just the angle needed to grab the perches and munch away. I’m thinking of a dome-shaped wire cage, as the rodents would eat through anything else.
It got too dark for sharp pictures. The framework can be seen here, the now-familiar 12” on-center. This is only the tarpaper covering, not the finished product at all. The portion of the rafters still exposed is well hidden by tree cover. Just let me get that roof happening and I can take it easy with the rest. This will also free up a “clean” work area in the other lean-to where right now I’ve got sawhorses set up. Clean means no sawdust and a space where small objects can be dismantled and not lose all the pieces. These smaller projects should pick up once I have space to move things to this new area. No, it is not inspected as I’m claiming it is just a lean-to. And three of the ten posts were already in place.
ADDENDUM
The radical left is totally unhinged. They are cruisin’ for a bruisin’ in November because all their traditional hoodwinks don’t work any more, and being Marxists, they are hard-pressed to come up with anything new. They’ve become a standing joke. They published bogus a map showing Biden has 87% of the states. They are mailing out fake absentee ballots so if Trump wins, they can claim voter fraud. Twitter and youTube and such are canceling any pro-Trump sites as hate speech. The New York Times and Washington Post have jumped on the bandwagon, calling the riots “peaceful demonstrations” that Trump used dictatorial powers to crush. It’s fooling few of Trump’s solid block of supporters. It’s showing America what a bunch on underhanded haters the left wing is. They are goners.
Something has come of the riots. The authorities are rounding up the ringleaders and they stand to get ten-year sentences for destruction of government property. TMOR, the radical left is wailing that Trump did nothing as statues were being destroyed. The reality is the President has no authority to enforce state laws and the fact is, most of the destruction was endorsed by mayors of Democrat-controlled areas. It was only when the attacks hit federal property that Trump could do anything, and he moved swiftly.
But the scary part is how the fanatical left instigators are being identified and arrested. There is very little coverage of the methods being used. The point is, the majority of protests in this country are peaceful and now there is nothing to stop the authorities from turning the technology on anyone. Most protesters are marching for an America they believe in. And they are now in danger of being classified as dissidents. One thing I will say for the rioters is that while they are breaking the law, they are also sending a message that the democratic process for change has become politically controlled by making sure it takes too long. What good is the right to petition for redress if the political insiders make sure even the most righteous causes will never be acted upon in your lifetime?
I’m compelled again to tell my readership I do not support Trump. I am against all American politics. The world once thought nations could not exist without a king, and that has been disproved. I believe the founding fathers meant that America should prove we don’t need a strong central government of any other kind either. I don’t support Trump so much as I utterly loathe liberal parasites.
I watched the Mt. Rushmore presentation. Hey, did I call it right about Trump finally referring to the left as godless totalitarians. He’s taking dead aim on Democrat Marxism, showing how he cannot be shamed into political correctness that gives them a free hand while they demand total conformity to their party lines. He has yet to point out that the communist utopia they cry for is always dependent on dictatorship and state police. It’s not lost that the radical left call for disbanding the police raises suspicion on what they would replace it with. Interesting speech, Mr. Trump, except where you rambled.
He’s got one point over the radical left who want to change America—this is still the greatest place in the world to live if you want to improve your lot. And for all the whining sissies out there, no nation has ever given everyone such equal opportunities. Reagan said it before, this is country is the last remaining hope for freedom. But that’s not good enough for the special interest groups. Then again, what ever is?
