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Thursday, May 24, 2012

SBL Nature Trail




adorable rodent post.

This little bugger owns a place under the screened porch and conducts business below the window where I write these blog posts. So I can just hang around the window with the camera and take pictures of em coming and going if I feel like it. Kind of like taking surveillance photos outside of a chipmunk mafia social club.

click photo for bigger pic

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63 comments:

pansypoo said...

SQUIRREL! our chippies need more seeds. fucking mice. looks like one babie from one chipie complex. 3 last year.

the farmer said...

CHIPMUNK! its a chipmunk. lots of chipmunk tunnels this year. maybe because the winter was so mild they had all year to work on them.

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pjk said...

Under the porch? Tunnels?

Maybe I better start forwarding you the links from my friend's brother, who is recently retired and gettin' deep into a new vice;

air guns. Some up to 3000 psi.

But I am (ahem) a wee bit skeptical about the claim that some are suitable for Boar hunting.

Mind if I bring along the 3+ inch Browning Magnum with some 12 ga. +P hot-loaded sabot slugs, just in case there, Jethro?

They sure don't like the chippendales in trailer parks 'round here. But cats and hawks in the county can get hours of family fun without the hassle and expense of packing up the kids and going to a theme park.

Happy MD weekend. At least 1 brake job in store- and I hope I don't turn into The Count by Tuesday.

pansypoo said...

i know it's a chippe. just acting like a dog. they spent much of the cool spring in their caves.

pansypoo said...

where did spring go? tho, i did just plant my pole beans. YES, i KNOW

the farmer said...

springy tonight. kinda cool in the upper 40s. i never plant anything - except for things like spinach, lettuce and brussels sprouts - in the ground before June 1st. although this year i could have gotten a 2 week head start. oh well, i've been frost-bit by gambling on the early start too many times before so... all the babies are still in the cribs and incubators. but today is june 1st... pole beans, cukes, summer squash, eggplant, all those things that need warm soil and eveything else too get to be set free. june 1st is liberation day.

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pjk said...

Around here, the weather's been ok but I'm sure certain areas lost plants to hail.

A little bit off on my cost/work involved estimates on the MOL Ranger brake job. One of those with tapered wheel bearings in the rotors.

Went as well as could be expected, along with the "Ain't Limber Man" creakiness.

On to the JD tractor.

The countdown is on to the Walker Love Fest. I'm thinking a recount will be involved.

But I'd love to see him get his doors blown off. And be rewarded with a sound bite as he holds his head high.

Or an indictment. But that would be political!

Cross your fingers, pansy.

pansypoo said...

well, i don't start in the basement like my grandpa. letting the farmrs do what they do. i still have onions + carrots from last fall in the fridge.

pansypoo said...

i hope the seeds were ok, from 2007. and i STILL have seeds left.

the farmer said...

On to the JD tractor.

I have to get on to an old Husqv here. I think there is a cracked steering bushing that needs to be replaced. Is that hard to do because if it is I don't think i want to do it. I'll just end up with parts all over the garage floor for the rest of the summer. And I'll never remember where most of them came from and where any of them need to go back to.


i hope the seeds were ok, from 2007. and i STILL have seeds left.

5 year old bean seeds? seems like you might be working the outer limits there. tomato and pepper seed will remain viable for years and years but not so sure about bean seeds. why not just buy a new pack for $2? Or take one and soak it in water overnight and then place it between damp paper towel for a day or two and see if it sprouts.

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pansypoo said...

well, i can't find the newer ones i am sure i bought. or used them up last year. i guess i need new for next year maybe i will test the seeds now to check.

i have enough left to start inside with the paper towel.

pansypoo said...

SPOUTS! i think i saw 2 just breaking the soil.

mike in pr said...

Hard to believe fucken Walker won't survive, with the repugs outspending dems 25 to 1. Thank you Supreme Court.

pansypoo said...

MIKE. i see it more as WI no do-overs. and STOP THE WHINING ALREADY!
and people want their teevee back. as if.

pjk said...

I see Walker as the WI version of Marion Barry, albeit with financial backing and without the charisma.

The best part of the whining is how much money it costs to let people vote. Why? All the cash went to Right Wing-owned tv stations.

Saw a little of the real rebecca on Maddow the other day. She's a real peach, too.

And it turns out I AM becoming the Count re; brake jobs. Had to do the daughter's front discs last weekend.

Which delayed me on the JD. The transaxle drive belt ain't proprietary per se, but it isn't standard either.

Not in stock is $37 + shipping (and tax), or in stock is $51 + tax.

Still waiting on the wife's Unemployment benefits. Tuesday was 21 days, and 1/1/12 was when they began stiffing people for week 1.

"It may take 21 days or more" to verify eligability. Leaves it pretty fucking wide open, don't it? But at least they can burn the first 3 weeks and re-send you the same letter (to the DAY!).

Thanks, Scotty. Making Wisconsin Work ain't just a slogan. Next is "Right to Work" for less.

Good luck with the Husqy, farmer. It's always cheaper to do it by yourself, and bushings are usually pretty inexpensive.

Start spraying it with P'Blaster while you ponder your options and check parts pricing/availability.

And if it's ridiculously priced, have a machinist make you one for the price of a 6-pack. Bronze? Plastic? Want a grease fitting in the side?

pansypoo said...

would a horse be cheaper?

more beans sprouts, so i think the 2007 seeds are just slow.

the farmer said...

i got the P-Blaster covered. pretty sure the bushing is plastic but not positive. about $10 if its the one i think it is. i just quickly browsed the parts page at the Husqv website while looking for assembly diagrams. and i know what you mean about the drive belts too. i think i paid about $40 for the last one i put on the same tractor with the bad bushing. might find a better deal on e-bay. my brother-in-law buys parts like that and also finds things like parts for cars, replacement engines for old rototillers from the early 60's, and stuff like that. i don't know how to do e-bay myself but you can get really good deals on parts if you know how to do it.

Good on the bean sprouts. What kind are they? I have some bean seed from last year and the year before that i'm going to plant if it stops raining and warms up long enough to do it (for some reason June occured in April and April has arrived in June). At least the brussel sprouts and lettuce like the cool wet weather. Lots of snails and slugs this year. I found some baby snakes under a rock yesterday and put em in some rocks near a flower bed so hopefully they'll get fat on slug meat.

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the farmer said...

Hard to believe fucken Walker won't survive

I kinda thought that too. Especially since it was only a couple years ago he was elected in the first place. Whats that asshole Gov in Puerto Rico up to? Wasn't he suggested as a possible varlet for Lord Romney?

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mike in pr said...

Yeah, but I don't take it seriously. No one knows him in the states and if they did they wouldn't like him. And most Puerto Ricans who can vote are pretty staunch democrats.

pansypoo said...

no do-overs in the midwest.

jung's blue lake pole beans i think to be exact. keep all my seeds in the fridge.

one of the onions i planted last year has a bud, then i planted 2 onions that had sprouted. NOW WHAT.

the farmer said...

NOW WHAT.

wait and see what happens. keep em well weeded too. onions (and scallions) don't like weeds. work some fertilizer into the soil around them staying several inches from the plants. or use a liquid fertilizer like Miracle Grow. onions like phosphorus (a 5-10-5 or 10-20-10) is what you want here. You'll find the higher phosphorus content fertilizer being sold as a "blossom booster" mix for flowers so you can use it on flowers too..

you can also take old onions (or scallions) from the kitchen and plant the cut off ends if they have some root hairs starting from them. a new onion will often grow from those cuttings. in this case make a trench or hole and put the fertilizer in the bottom of the hole then cover that with 2 or 3 inches of soil and then plant the onion cutting just under the soil and see if it resprouts. and for what its worth, they like a sweet soil (alkaline soil as opposed to an acidic soil).

I planted my corn and beans yesterday and it immediately stopped raining. I expect it will start raining again sometime during the second or third week of august.

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the farmer said...

blue lake pole beans

yeah, those are good ones. i always plant Fortex (can get them from Jung too) which are like the blue lake - stringless pole beans.

I also planted some called Haricot Vert pole beans - which i've never tried before. And I have a whole bunch of golden rod yellow bush beans which i'm debating over whether to plant or not. I really don't like bush beans because i don't like picking them and they take up a lot of space but i like the yellow beans.

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the farmer said...

No one knows him in the states and if they did they wouldn't like him. And most Puerto Ricans who can vote are pretty staunch democrats.

Like Rubio but with more austerity powers. Then how come Puerto Ricans elected him gov? (how come Wisonsinites elected Scott Walker?)


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pansypoo said...

well, explosion of sprouts now, planted the paper towel sprouts. MAYBE will grow outside. i stick w/ the blue lake. no room for bush. will try to plant a growing onion by cutting off the spout. the onion blossoming is behind the old bean patch w/ is now a fever few catnip haven. the planted sprouting onions have grown extra leave stems, so what now? when do you pull them? i planted 2 in onions. i still have onions from last nov i can use. sigh. time for fresh tho.

the farmer said...

so what now? when do you pull them?

its ok if they have more leaves. pull them when the leaves start to turn brown on the tips and fall over. the onion should have a good onion skin on it by then too. how long it takes to mature depends on what kind of onion it is but most take about 100 days give or take. basically you can pull em earlier if you want to. But you don't want to leave them in the ground too long after the leaves fall over because they might start to grow green sprout grouth in the middle of the onion and then they won't store well.

will try to plant a growing onion by cutting off the spout.

just cut off the bottom end where the roots are and replant the end with the roots attached. eat the rest of the onion.

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pansypoo said...

i have more onions to eat. or is that the vidalia??? best take it out of the fridge and plant tomorrow. hmm, plant the bottom.

the farmer said...

Yeah, you want it to take root again so it helps if there are still some roots left on the old onion that can regrow. Onions are related to garlic and amyrilis and other bulbs. You know how you can grow daffodils after they've been laying around. Same thing. Try planting an old onion in a flower pot. See what ya get. Not sure what would happen if you tried a Vidalia because those are what they call short day onions (Vidalia is just a trade name) and they grow down south. So not sure how far you'd get with that. Long day or neutral onions are what you want for up north. Sometimes latitude ranges will be indicated for certain varieties too. Plus, some onions are hybrids so the plant will revert to the parent whatever that was. But there are good long day or neutral heirloom onions to try especially some of the red varieties or the little cipollini flat italian onions. Best thing is to get some good onion sets and then go from there.

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pansypoo said...

i get sweetish onions at the farmers market, so it's not so awful here.

mike in pr said...

Then how come Puerto Ricans elected him gov?

My theory is that there are a lot of wealthy, old money, right-wing repugs on the island who tend to stay here. Dems go to the states in search of a better life.

the farmer said...

That seems like a reasonable theory. Although, in the same vein, I still wonder why so-called liberal states like Massachusetts ever elected a dolt like Mitt Romney as gov. And Californians elected Ronald Reagan and Ahnoold.

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mike in pr said...

Money talks is one reason.

mike in pr said...

I guess anything can happen in a country where enough airheads voted for the likes of dubya so he could steal two elections and get away with is.

pansypoo said...

why would puerto ricans come to milwaukee?

the farmer said...

why would puerto ricans come to milwaukee?

To play for the Brewers.

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pansypoo said...

not the ones i worked with. i wonder the ratio to mexicans.

the farmer said...

maybe they like the beaches. you might want to wonder about the ratio to Dominicans too. I think the Brewers have more Dominicans than Puerto Ricans. How come so many good baseball players come from the DR? Its like the LPGA with all those little South Korean girls.

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pansypoo said...

i think it's very baseball orientated in DR. like baseball boot camps.

RAIN! too little. MORE!!!

pansypoo said...

well, got over 3 in. thank you.

the farmer said...

thats alot. need some of that but it looks like its going to mostly piss itself out before it gets here. i hope this isn't going to be like last summer where we get hardly any rain all summer and then it rains 12" in one night.

planted some of those blue lake pole beans today too. never tried them before so i figured what the hell.

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pansypoo said...

i guess i like what i grew up w/. but the blue lake pole beans produce into oct. pick them on the small side. have a sweetness to them. i had to move the patch back to the old spot. need to add compost i suppose.

the lawn just soaked up all that rain. i don't think we will ever have normal again.

pjk said...

Goin' on day #3 of 95 degrees up here. Supposed to be cooler Thursday, but they just keep shoving the cooldown out by a day, every day.

The wife's been clipping goats in an attempt to lessen the possibility of heat stroke.

She's a practical girl. Started a day early with the hairiest ones.

And the daughter still has a job, so she's loaded enough to spring for the new clippers. Bonus!

Check out the "Nuke 'Em" article in the New Yorker (I think).

Time to quit pussy-footin' around and call a sold-out fully financed whore of a bullshit artist what he really is.

And point out the "I know you are, but what am I?" tactics the Man with Magic Underwear has been using for months now.

Put a fucking cannon to his head and make him deliver ONE straight answer to a question. Load it with Santorum.

He's about as genuine a character as Roy Rodgers, historically speaking.

the farmer said...

He's the GOPs dancing dressage horsey.

Another mid 90 day tomorrow and then its supposed to cool down. Highs in the upper 60s next week so they say (back to spring again). That'll be ok with me as long as there is some rain to go along with it.

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pansypoo said...

don't wanna shave my cat.

cooled down, but nary any rain.

pjk said...

Looks like we're back to mid-90s for the next 3, again.

It won't affect me at Summerfest, because I won't be there. Don't need no $8 domestic Lite beers no-how.

The wife's UI finally came through. Seemed like the delay may have had something to do with her former employer never f@cking responding to the State inquiry.

I guess their Mom told them "if you can't say something good, than don't say anything at all".

The venerable (1997) JD has a new drive belt, and a spritz of off-brand yellow paint on the deck rust, but the electrostatic clutch ain't cooperating.

Sounds like an improperly set gap in the actuation area can shorten its life, as can an oil leak. Best part is the "bolted straight up the crank" feature. An air impact is recommended.

I could maybe spring for a cheap compressor and impact gun, if we don't need the parts.

On the upside? It's been at least a month since we mowed any lawn- so, if it's brown at sod level like 50% of our self-respecting neighbors, I'd be surprised.

Almost tempted to ask my employer (aka Uncle TightAss) what he wants for his Dad's old mid-70s Sears Super 12 (horse); one lunger Kohler, metal construction, goofy-assed side-mount pto, Cigarette lighter).

I'm sure she wants belts, blades, battery, etc., but we could use a reasonably cheap backup.

Or Aw, F@ck It, let's get a $1000 special from Menards on a card and hope it lasts 5 years.

Get ready for Scalia's Scrotus (soon).

pansypoo said...

i used caulk on rust. taint pretty, but water proof(windshield of my 72 delta 88 and other areas).

ain't least wi isn't on fire, yet.

pjk said...

Sounds like our latest "elect me so I may run the goverment like a buisiness" Senate candidate for whatever redneck party affiliation called his potential D opponent every type of -ist except for Terrah.

I'd vote for Scott Brown in a heartbeat over this guy- but in the hotbed of SE Wi, they ain't no place more fever-pitched in R Brand politics.

I'd call my countymen "good Germans", except that it would offend a lot of Germans based on sit-com-parison.

They weren't awash in lefty liberal socialist cut-'n-run, tax-'n-spend, weak on Defense media outlets like we hear tell we are, now.

(Bin Laden? Home from Iraq? $4 Trillion in Fed spending cuts, if you chickenshit rednecks actually agree to enforce what is now Federal law.

Shit. Scratch that from this year's list of "oldies but Goodies". Try not to walk into that in a debate.

I'm thinking ya never know on election night who the SC thinks won anyway, so maybe the best days to schedule a little lay back, get in the mood, and watch Obama carve Guy Smiley (sponsored by the Just for Men Grecian Formula line) a new asshole.

He wants my donation? I want him to come right out and call bullshit. I want him to drop borderline government spying on private citizens info on Romney's finances, and let Mittens disagree.

Oh, wait- the Patriot Act probably allows that.

"The very future of our Nation hangs in the balance in this election!"

Pretty funny as unintentional self-satire from the Grand Old Pay-At-This-Window Party.

Stay Cool, e-brothers&sisters.

pansypoo said...

i don't want TWO stupid senators!

pjk said...

Why Not? There must be a 51 percent stupidity index in the State, and that's all it takes (and a shitload of cash).

Was it Jefferson who said something about the tyranny of the 51%? That man knew what he was talking about.

I haven't kept up with Johnson, but I'm reasonably certain he votes straight corporate party line.

Sell Fear to Chickenshits, and you're locking up the Wingnut nomination.

Nice job by the cable news outlets to try and be the first to break the Individual Mandate Defeated non-story. And they gave Orson Welles shit over War of the Worlds?

pansypoo said...

i guess after he tried to throw his stupid teabagging bullshit in the senate, more senior senators told him to settle treat him like the junior he is.

the farmer said...

yer gonna pull the clutch off? yeeks. you sure its not bad wires or something else like that? i was going to say you could just attach a tow behind mower but those things can cost more than a new tractor. although i've seen single reel tows for $400-500 before. i think ProMow makes one. they sell em at home depot but i'm not sure about the single reel version. Not too hot here so far. Just about right. I like it when its in the mid-high 80s but need rain badly and it doesn't look like there's any in sight anytime soon. the wingnuts are looking mangier and more rabid these days. And I think the heat is making them crazier than usual.

Was it Jefferson who said something about the tyranny of the 51%?

Alexis de Tocqueville - he was the tyranny of the majority guy.

Red Sox are in extra innings now so back to the tv.

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pansypoo said...

jefferson didn't like business. image what he'd say now.

the farmer said...

"Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains." - T. Jefferson (1814)

"Men by their constitutions are naturally divided into two parties: (1) Those who fear and distrust the people, and wish to draw all powers from them into the hands of the higher classes. (2) Those who identify themselves with the people, have confidence in them, cherish and consider them as the most honest and safe, although not the most wise depository of the public interests. In every country these two parties exist; and in every one where they are free to think, speak, and write, they will declare themselves." (1824)

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and what never will be." (1816)

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the farmer said...

Merchants have no country:

" ...there is a Bermuda-based entity called Sankaty High Yield Asset Investors Ltd., which has been described in securities filings as “a Bermuda corporation wholly owned by W. Mitt Romney.” It could be that Sankaty is an old vehicle with little importance, but Romney appears to have treated it rather carefully. He set it up in 1997, then transferred it to his wife’s newly created blind trust on January 1, 2003, the day before he was inaugurated as Massachusetts’s governor.

www.vanityfair.com/politics/2012/08/investigating-mitt-romney-offshore-accounts

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pjk said...

Utopos. At least for a few.

farmer, it really sounds clutch-related. It will wait on the liquidity situation. Ya know the wife's a woman of leisure since the Terminator came to visit, but-

it gets a bit thicker; the Mo-in-Law was out projecting (this being setting up one of those floor-standing room a/c units in a shed) and encountered a garden hose as she shuffled through a walkway.

Did the face dive and broke her right arm just below the shoulder. Got sent home from the ER with a prescription for Tylenol 3s. 1 every 4 hours.

I know better. And she don't like the Vicodin (like me) because she gets jittery from 1, and I get jittery on however many it takes to (ahem) "take the edge off".

Percocet works better, but I'm not looking to nuke my liver re:5mg dosage and a shitload of APAP.

It's a bitch when you're in your 50s and they still treat you like you're gonna go cash in your pain meds on the street.

Hey there Doc, let me whack you in the shin with a tire iron, and then you can tell me how much YOUR appropriate dosage is!

Happy 4th to all if I don't get back b/4 then.

pansypoo said...

so, we should have the amrercia free mittens for preznit W II.

if only we could combine tom j w/ FDR + Teddy r.

pansypoo said...

yay! global warming!

pjk said...

The other end of "weather not fit for Man or Beast".

When you think about it, it's cheaper to heat a house 70 degrees over outside temps than cool it by 20 or 30. At least with our Northern lack of faith in swamp cooler technology.

Pretty bad when you're already full, but the seductive allure of Moose Tracks w/ whipped cream & maraschino cherries pulls you in.

And the resulting release of endorphins is downright scary, afterwards.

Whatever keeps you running, I guess.

pansypoo said...

ALL THAT HEAT AND NO THUNDER STORM? fucking global warming.

the farmer said...

got a little rain - an hour on friday and again on saturday - but thats all. doesn't look good for the next 7 days either. looks like a lot of rain for parts of the appalachians and east coast but doesn't look like it will move north. supposed to cool off tomorrow too.

pansypoo said...

no rain here yet, but at least we are out of the sauna.

the farmer said...

cooler here too. looks like all the rain is going to stay in the south and mid-atlantic. Kentucky to Virginia, NC, etc (with some places getting a LOT of rain). doesn't look like it will slide up into the NE though. I built a little rescue pond for the frogs today.

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the farmer said...

the seductive allure of Moose Tracks w/ whipped cream & maraschino cherries pulls you in.

for some reason PJK this particular comment of yers got sucked into the spam filter. I haven't poked around to see what kind of weird stuff got sucked up in the filter for a while and when i did i saw it there and restored it. dunno why it selected that one particular comment. probably the seductive allure of ice cream endorphins and maraschino swamp cherries got the thing all worked up.

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pansypoo said...

illinois gets rain. up nort gets rain.