Summer Ends

Well the end of august is almost here, and that means the end of summer. Had Bella and John come visit for about 4 weeks and just got back from taking them home. We had some good times while they were here, but it was too hot to do much. Over 100 degrees in the day time and neither one of the vans has AC. So we didn’t go as many places as we would have liked to.

We went up to Truman Lake and went fishing. Bells caught one fish and John caught another, but they weren’t big enough to keep so we tossed them back. Been fishing a dozen times and still haven’t caught something big enough or enough fish to make it worth bringing any home. Then we went to the visitors center and looked around it. And right nearby is a fish hatchery that we went to, only it is closed on Mondays. Should have looked that up before we went, guess.

Went to the movies several times. Saw Rio, Soul Surfer, Kung Fu Panda2 and Mr. Potter Penguins. They had a summer special on Tuesdays. Get in free with a receipt form a local McDonalds. And all the other movies are a buck each. So you know what we did on Tuesdays.

That and went to the library and let them read and play games on the computers.

Then we flew out Saturday to Utah. Went to Lagoon that afternoon and rode all the good rides. Rollercoasters are really fun to ride! Sunday we went to the state park on Antelope Island. That was interesting. Did several DIY repairs for Angela. Replaced the drain pump in her dishwasher so that it drains and she can use it again. Replaced the table top on her picnic table. The boards were warped pretty bad. Also replaced the door trim on the back door. Then we used Thompson Water Seal on the table, the door frame and the deck landing outside the back door. Also did some work in the flower beds in front. Didn’t get to do anything with the garden area in the back or the upstairs shower.

Before kids came, the drive belt on the riding lawn mower broke, and I’ve been waiting on parts. Got the belt and the pulley that fractured. Also replaced a steering linkage rod that had bent. Had difficulties replacing the belt. Seemed the more I got into it, the more things I ran into. Couldn’t get one of the nuts off the steering linkage, and ended up breaking it. That cost me a $10 part. Fortunately the store had it and didn’t have to pay shipping and wait. The pulley for the drive belt is connected directly to the underside of the engine. And because of the belt guards that are on it, had to take the pulley off in order to put the new belt on. Bet it had never been taken off since it was new. And the thing just kept turning the whole engine. Finally got the bolt off that was holding it on, and couldn’t get the pulley off. Figured out I could unbolt the engine and move it, and it worked just as well. Got it put back together, figured out where all the other things go and then started it up. Runs at least as good as it did before.

So spent the evening mowing as much of the yard as I could. Some of it had grown pretty tall from the rain and the heat and all.

Schools started this week. Springfield this week, and Buffalo last week. I am scheduled to sub in September for a week in Physics, and then for 2 months of Biology for a lady on Maternity leave. Both are at Central High School in Springfield. Long drive, but it pays more and I’m hoping that with 50 schools to staff, there will be more opportunities for me. Also hoping that it will lead to a full time job opportunity, either a new opening or the recognition so I’ll have a shot at a job. Have applied for about 7 or 8 so far and haven’t gotten so much as an interview. Depressing sometimes.

Oh, and finally made some jam. Did the first batch of just Balckberry and the second batch of moxed barries, Strawberries, Blackberries and  Gooseberries. Have more berries in the freezer, and will have to wait to make more.

Peachicks

I'll try to get some pics on here soon, they are on the other computer.

Was looking on line last week about how to care for birds or something and decided for the heck of it to look for peacocks again. Since the coons killed our other two, we don't have any more and wanted to get some.
Just happened to find a lady not far from here that had 4 chicks a few days old she was getting rid of. Think she got in a little over her head and was getting out. That and the coons had gotten some of her birds, too. She had a pen of geese, and had already sold her adult peacocks, and these were her last 4 chicks. She also gave me a single easter egger chick she had and about 2 bags of feed. She was done.
Additionaly she had no fewer than 3 types of dogs and pups running around. Not sure she knew exactly what she was doing. ALso told me she was selling her cabinet incubator for $650. She had spent more than a grand on it, including shipping. Said she wasn't getting the profit she expected. Not sure exactly how much profit she was hoping for, because I turn very little if any. Most of what I get comes from just having the birds, looking at them and watching them and then eating or sharing them with others.
So we now have 4 peachicks, and the chicken in the living room. Had to go get a brooder cage from the shed and bring it in.

Had an incident with one of the big toms the other night. I had forgotten to put them up and it was a little after 9pm. Went out and some were in the trees and on the roof of the coop. So chased them all down and tried to get them to go into the dark coop, not such and easy task. Looked over and there was one of the big Broad Breasted Bronze toms standing inside the fence. When I looked closer I realized that he had one of the small fence post rods sticking up out of his back. Some how he had flown up, some where, and when he came down had landed on this fence post. It is round and about the diameter of a standard pencil. Fortunatley it hadn't pierced his body and looked to be just through the webbing on his wing. But the post was tied to the fence and used to hold it up. I had to go get a paur of wire cutters and cut the wire and then pick him up of the post. Took him in the house and put some stop bleeding powder on the top and bottom of the wound in the wing. It really wasn't bleeding that much if at all. It really did seem superficial.
But then yesterday he was kind of lethargic and just sat around. Of course it was 100 degrees outside. And he seemed to be limping. So if he doesn't get much better in the next day or so, I'm going to have to put him down. The kids can help me butcher it and we'll can the meat and make turkey broth to use later.
It has been really hot and dry here, everything is drying up. But over the weekend we got a good days worth of rain, so all the weeds and the lawn should start to grow again.
Speaking of which. Need to fix the riding lawn mower. The drive belt broke and it isn't easy to take off, and need to replace it.