Random Facts About You!.....# 52

Well...this was fast! It seems my new woodshop has been taken over by a little girl. Awesome! She is all about it too.She cut out a heart from 1/4 in. plywood on the scroll saw. Then she sanded and rounded the edges a bit with a Dremel. Then she used sand paper after that. Now she says it's ready to be stained and she's about to cut something else on the scroll saw.

She's been careful to put everything where she found it. She keeps on ear and eye protection even when she is using the Dremel and so far...only one bent scroll saw blade. This is going to be great!

 

I have Blue Cypress. I love them.

 

I think the one I bought is called a Cascade Weeping Cypress. I guess it stops growing vertically after the top of the stake when it bends over and begins to "weep". So I staked it higher and will put a long, metal pole in the ground next to it tomorrow. It's only about 6 feet tall now but may grow to 12 feet if I keep it staked up.


My daughter finished her night out here by sealing the bottom side of that Cedar plank I've been messing around with. She has one thing to glue onto what she was working on tonight. She will do that tomorrow. It's something she made for her mama. I had her write her name, the date and "first woodworking project" on the back of it. She included "dad helped" at the bottom. The only reason she stopped for the night is because my wife told her she had to go take a shower.

I honestly think I am just as happy and amused to sit here and watch her do things out here as I am to do them myself. She's been like a magnet on me all evening but that's how memories and traditions are made. I really wish I could have done this kind of thing with my sons. We built stuff but we never had a dedicated area or this many toys to use.

 

The weeping cypress are beautiful.

I'm glad you're daughter is having fun!

 

I need something similar but it needs to be evergreen... not a bald cypress. I have several full size cypress, great trees, but I'm needing some evergreens for screening. About 6-12 feet maximum and irregular "weeping" structure. Also massively deer resistant, they eat just about everything around here.

 

Yeah...the tag says it is a deciduous conifer. Kind of like a Larch. Needles that drop in the fall...basically. But how about some Arborvitae? They might do the trick.

 

Deer food... I have two Arborvitae and need to keep them in cages. One of my favorite trees too.

 

We had wild holly trees all over the property when I was growing up. Deer don't eat them.

 

On another note... I'm in the process of rebuilding the mower deck from the Cub Cadet. The spindles are cast "somethingorother" and are bolted in with self tapping bolts. I was worried about rust under the bolts and spindles so the other day I went to take the bolts out. First one snapped right off... so I'm already fucked. May as well take the others out. All 4 snapped off. I've already ordered new bearings so it's a little late to just buy new spindles, which the new ones don't use tapered bearings anyways, they blow out in a year and aren't rebuildable... So I'm sitting here with no drill press, drilling steel bolts out of an aluminum casting with a hand drill. So far I'm two for two in actually getting the bolts out and tapping the holes without destroying the spindles. Two more holes to go...


Damn this better work.


The deck itself isn't too bad, surface rust for the most part... I've got a primer specifically for rusted metal that works well and can come up with a heavy coat of oil based paint that will last. There are a few places it would be nice to weld in some new metal, one small crack that should be welded and one bracket that should be replaced or welded up... Another bracket that's bent and needs to be dealt with. I can get that hot enough with propane to straighten that out. It'll work without the welding but I'd hate to have to do this again in a few years.... The cost of a new or used deck is outrageous. To hell with Cub Cadet's powder coat shit... House paint would have been better.


The tractor itself is great, even though I haven't done any of the tuneup/oil/fluids/filters yet... It really runs great as is. Still sourcing tires and wheels. There's a guy on eBay that's selling USA made welded wheels for the back... reasonable pricing in comparison to others. Looks like the same wheel Cub went with in later years, the early 4 bolt wheels were crap. A set of wheels and tires for a garden tractor cost about the same as a set for a car... Go figure.

 

You could maybe get some Junipers but they smell like cat piss to me.

On a different note....I happened to catch about 15 minutes of a cop show tonight. Do people realize this shit is pure propadanda? Seriously. It's meant to mentally embed a certain threat and justify a certain reaction by the authorities. They give the "good guys" all of the most awesome weaponry and sophisticated technology (read: violation of civil rights) and they make the "bad guys" look like home-grown terrorists from both the far left and far right wing ideologically. It's nothing more than a game to justify ever-growing power. It's meant to condition people. Call me whatever you want but this shit is true.

 

Deer eat China Boy and China Girl Holly... I know because I bought some of those too. They also eat Taxus, Redbud, False Cypress, Mugo Pine, Euonomus, American Maples and as I found out today, Oak saplings... Spruce bark was mentioned earlier in the thread. They will eat Geranium and Mum flowers... who knows what other garden flowers as I haven't tried many others except purple cone flower which they won't eat (and that's an edible plant.) Go Figure.

Damned things eat everything except the stuff I wand to get rid of.

 

anytime see just a bit those swat shows. I just want to punch out the tv set... sometimes I do, but dang tv sets are getting to expensive to pink floyd all over that crap... Im much more content with some rockford files, 6million dollar man, perry mason, columbo, chips...

chips may be cops, but they never use their weapons .. only bear pulled his gun on the karate kid.

 

i could use some deer to eat away some shit, maybe some goats too..

 

These American Holly are slow growing and huge so probably not what you want.

 

If I watch tv...it's usually one of the public television stations. Basically nerd tv. And I usually listen to NPR because I like it and I'm a sustaining member. No political bullshit.

 

pineapple juice hooch come out on the hydrometer 6 to 8% alcohol, but some spikes depending on where you took it from. im happy with it, could be less tart, but its actually better than the ithacha cruiser ales i got... on 3rd tumbler glass and fairly fucked up right meow..

 

swat on tv don't wear helmets...they rush into a building coated in armoiur from the neck down....some shows get it right but not many...


I woke up for no reason...back to bed

 

New forum member is on a post fury...

 

moonglow and now sunshine

 

Rain this morning. I hope it keeps raining too. Perfectly silent house except for the sound of raindrops.