USMB Coffee Shop IV

[gallantwarrior]

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It was unusually windy yesterday and during the night in Fresno, heard a lot of falling type noises, as soon as it's light out I'll go see the damage and hope not to find any. At least no trees fell on my house.

The winds were about 28mph and it was horrid, can't imagine what really bad winds are like.

I think Ringel05 was talking about the high winds he was experiencing in El Paso the day I came on here....can't even imagine.

28 mph winds are considered a breezy day here.

I just looked at our local news and some trees are down and power is out in some areas...also a house and a car had a tree fall on them.

That's my nightmare. I have 3 very tall pines not far from my house in the backyard..if they fall in my direction...I'm a goner if I'm at home.

Do you need firewood?

No, I have a gas fireplace and I think we aren't even allowed to burn wood in our fireplaces in Fresno, at least most of the time. Air is bad here.

Anchorage isn't bad, but Fairbanks always has problems with air quality in the winter. Lots of people heat with wood, and not just in Fairbanks. The Feds are always trying to shut down the wood-burners in Fairbanks. But, wood is cheap and easy to come by. Fossil fuels are expensive, even if easily accessed. Of course, electricity is made using fossil fuels, making that source of warmth expensive, as well.
At my place in Willow, use a propane heater set with a thermostat to keep the place above freezing and I stoke the wood stove when I am home to keep things warm. I love the smell of wood smoke!! There is an art to keeping a house at just the right temperature using a wood stove and I have become quite adept at that art. Once the place is warmed up, I keep the wood stove at between 200-250 and the place will stay between 65-70.
I sleep across from the propane heater and when the wood stove burns down, the propane lights off, making a whoofing sound. That sound wakes me up and prompts me to go stoke the wood stove.

 

[gallantwarrior]

View attachment 119772

Where to get this stuff?

I get all the pictures from Twitter.

You manage to find some truly wonderful pictures, certainly!

 

[gallantwarrior]

Our 25th wedding anniversary is on June 29th but we can't get away because of previous commitments until July 11th. I have booked first class plane ride from Chicago to Honolulu and we'll be staying at Trump's hotel there from July 11th to the 25th. Gonna eat some pineapple!

Does Mrs. BBD know just how fortunate she is?

 

[gallantwarrior]

Morning all!

Foxy - I can't stand crows. A few years ago, a belligerent bunch took over our neighborhood. Now, we hardly ever see the morning doves and songbirds that used to nest every year.

You don't have ravens, do you? While reputed to be intelligent, and granted a wide variety of vocalizations, ravens are a PITA. I.E. I always know where my barn cats are by observing where the ravens are harassing some poor animal. Magpies are almost as bad.

No, they are not ravens..definitely a bunch of Heckle-Jeckles.

The only upside is that they've chased away the hideous Stellar Jays who used to be the neighborhood bird bullies.

I can actually appreciate ravens. They will harass and drive away eagles. Eagles will snatch and eat baby goats. Hence, ravens protect my kids.

 

[gallantwarrior]

All caught up again!
Who knew carburetors could be so...incomprehensible! My students are struggling through their carburetor lab, some are falling behind. Just wait until the get to the pressure carbs! OMG! I am patient and try to explain how things work, and most of the principles are basic physics, but some things are tough to get your head around. Still a helluva lot of fun for me. I enjoy watching most of my students when the concepts finally sink in and their understanding becomes clearly writ upon their face. So far, I have brought clarity to most of my native English speakers, my Iraqi, and two Korean students. The Japanese student is having a language problem and I am teaching him the proper vocabulary, he can translate as needed to Japanese. If only I could speak any of their native languages as well as they speak English...

 

[blackhawk]

 

[Sarah G]

View attachment 119535

It was unusually windy yesterday and during the night in Fresno, heard a lot of falling type noises, as soon as it's light out I'll go see the damage and hope not to find any. At least no trees fell on my house.

The winds were about 28mph and it was horrid, can't imagine what really bad winds are like.

I think Ringel05 was talking about the high winds he was experiencing in El Paso the day I came on here....can't even imagine.

28 mph winds are considered a breezy day here.

I just looked at our local news and some trees are down and power is out in some areas...also a house and a car had a tree fall on them.

That's my nightmare. I have 3 very tall pines not far from my house in the backyard..if they fall in my direction...I'm a goner if I'm at home.

Do you need firewood?

No, I have a gas fireplace and I think we aren't even allowed to burn wood in our fireplaces in Fresno, at least most of the time. Air is bad here.

Anchorage isn't bad, but Fairbanks always has problems with air quality in the winter. Lots of people heat with wood, and not just in Fairbanks. The Feds are always trying to shut down the wood-burners in Fairbanks. But, wood is cheap and easy to come by. Fossil fuels are expensive, even if easily accessed. Of course, electricity is made using fossil fuels, making that source of warmth expensive, as well.
At my place in Willow, use a propane heater set with a thermostat to keep the place above freezing and I stoke the wood stove when I am home to keep things warm. I love the smell of wood smoke!! There is an art to keeping a house at just the right temperature using a wood stove and I have become quite adept at that art. Once the place is warmed up, I keep the wood stove at between 200-250 and the place will stay between 65-70.
I sleep across from the propane heater and when the wood stove burns down, the propane lights off, making a whoofing sound. That sound wakes me up and prompts me to go stoke the wood stove.

Isn't Fairbanks in a valley also? I almost moved there one year, it would have been a job related move and a promotion.

I decided not to because it would have been a 10 hr trip back home. I think I would be one to really appreciate that place though.

 

[gallantwarrior]

28 mph winds are considered a breezy day here.

I just looked at our local news and some trees are down and power is out in some areas...also a house and a car had a tree fall on them.

That's my nightmare. I have 3 very tall pines not far from my house in the backyard..if they fall in my direction...I'm a goner if I'm at home.

Do you need firewood?

No, I have a gas fireplace and I think we aren't even allowed to burn wood in our fireplaces in Fresno, at least most of the time. Air is bad here.

Anchorage isn't bad, but Fairbanks always has problems with air quality in the winter. Lots of people heat with wood, and not just in Fairbanks. The Feds are always trying to shut down the wood-burners in Fairbanks. But, wood is cheap and easy to come by. Fossil fuels are expensive, even if easily accessed. Of course, electricity is made using fossil fuels, making that source of warmth expensive, as well.
At my place in Willow, use a propane heater set with a thermostat to keep the place above freezing and I stoke the wood stove when I am home to keep things warm. I love the smell of wood smoke!! There is an art to keeping a house at just the right temperature using a wood stove and I have become quite adept at that art. Once the place is warmed up, I keep the wood stove at between 200-250 and the place will stay between 65-70.
I sleep across from the propane heater and when the wood stove burns down, the propane lights off, making a whoofing sound. That sound wakes me up and prompts me to go stoke the wood stove.

Isn't Fairbanks in a valley also? I almost moved there one year, it would have been a job related move and a promotion.

I decided not to because it would have been a 10 hr trip back home. I think I would be one to really appreciate that place though.

Certainly not the type of "bowl" that Albuquerque sits in. There is no breeze off the ocean, and temperature variation is extreme compared to other locations. They'll go to the 90's in summer with regular thunderstorms, and winter temps will fall almost 150 degrees Fahrenheit from summer temps. I think the large number of homes using wood for heat are the major contributors. Wood is readily accessible and cheap compared to kerosene, propane, or other fossil fuels. Prices in AK can be far more excessive than those in the Lower 48.

 

[Sarah G]

I just looked at our local news and some trees are down and power is out in some areas...also a house and a car had a tree fall on them.

That's my nightmare. I have 3 very tall pines not far from my house in the backyard..if they fall in my direction...I'm a goner if I'm at home.

Do you need firewood?

No, I have a gas fireplace and I think we aren't even allowed to burn wood in our fireplaces in Fresno, at least most of the time. Air is bad here.

Anchorage isn't bad, but Fairbanks always has problems with air quality in the winter. Lots of people heat with wood, and not just in Fairbanks. The Feds are always trying to shut down the wood-burners in Fairbanks. But, wood is cheap and easy to come by. Fossil fuels are expensive, even if easily accessed. Of course, electricity is made using fossil fuels, making that source of warmth expensive, as well.
At my place in Willow, use a propane heater set with a thermostat to keep the place above freezing and I stoke the wood stove when I am home to keep things warm. I love the smell of wood smoke!! There is an art to keeping a house at just the right temperature using a wood stove and I have become quite adept at that art. Once the place is warmed up, I keep the wood stove at between 200-250 and the place will stay between 65-70.
I sleep across from the propane heater and when the wood stove burns down, the propane lights off, making a whoofing sound. That sound wakes me up and prompts me to go stoke the wood stove.

Isn't Fairbanks in a valley also? I almost moved there one year, it would have been a job related move and a promotion.

I decided not to because it would have been a 10 hr trip back home. I think I would be one to really appreciate that place though.

Certainly not the type of "bowl" that Albuquerque sits in. There is no breeze off the ocean, and temperature variation is extreme compared to other locations. They'll go to the 90's in summer with regular thunderstorms, and winter temps will fall almost 150 degrees Fahrenheit from summer temps. I think the large number of homes using wood for heat are the major contributors. Wood is readily accessible and cheap compared to kerosene, propane, or other fossil fuels. Prices in AK can be far more excessive than those in the Lower 48.

I considered Juno too.

 

[gallantwarrior]

Do you need firewood?

No, I have a gas fireplace and I think we aren't even allowed to burn wood in our fireplaces in Fresno, at least most of the time. Air is bad here.

Anchorage isn't bad, but Fairbanks always has problems with air quality in the winter. Lots of people heat with wood, and not just in Fairbanks. The Feds are always trying to shut down the wood-burners in Fairbanks. But, wood is cheap and easy to come by. Fossil fuels are expensive, even if easily accessed. Of course, electricity is made using fossil fuels, making that source of warmth expensive, as well.
At my place in Willow, use a propane heater set with a thermostat to keep the place above freezing and I stoke the wood stove when I am home to keep things warm. I love the smell of wood smoke!! There is an art to keeping a house at just the right temperature using a wood stove and I have become quite adept at that art. Once the place is warmed up, I keep the wood stove at between 200-250 and the place will stay between 65-70.
I sleep across from the propane heater and when the wood stove burns down, the propane lights off, making a whoofing sound. That sound wakes me up and prompts me to go stoke the wood stove.

Isn't Fairbanks in a valley also? I almost moved there one year, it would have been a job related move and a promotion.

I decided not to because it would have been a 10 hr trip back home. I think I would be one to really appreciate that place though.

Certainly not the type of "bowl" that Albuquerque sits in. There is no breeze off the ocean, and temperature variation is extreme compared to other locations. They'll go to the 90's in summer with regular thunderstorms, and winter temps will fall almost 150 degrees Fahrenheit from summer temps. I think the large number of homes using wood for heat are the major contributors. Wood is readily accessible and cheap compared to kerosene, propane, or other fossil fuels. Prices in AK can be far more excessive than those in the Lower 48.

I considered Juno too.

Juneau?

 

[Sarah G]

I got a kick out of this one because autocorrect has been doing a hatchet job on my grammar lately.

Mine too!

 

[Sarah G]

No, I have a gas fireplace and I think we aren't even allowed to burn wood in our fireplaces in Fresno, at least most of the time. Air is bad here.

Anchorage isn't bad, but Fairbanks always has problems with air quality in the winter. Lots of people heat with wood, and not just in Fairbanks. The Feds are always trying to shut down the wood-burners in Fairbanks. But, wood is cheap and easy to come by. Fossil fuels are expensive, even if easily accessed. Of course, electricity is made using fossil fuels, making that source of warmth expensive, as well.
At my place in Willow, use a propane heater set with a thermostat to keep the place above freezing and I stoke the wood stove when I am home to keep things warm. I love the smell of wood smoke!! There is an art to keeping a house at just the right temperature using a wood stove and I have become quite adept at that art. Once the place is warmed up, I keep the wood stove at between 200-250 and the place will stay between 65-70.
I sleep across from the propane heater and when the wood stove burns down, the propane lights off, making a whoofing sound. That sound wakes me up and prompts me to go stoke the wood stove.

Isn't Fairbanks in a valley also? I almost moved there one year, it would have been a job related move and a promotion.

I decided not to because it would have been a 10 hr trip back home. I think I would be one to really appreciate that place though.

Certainly not the type of "bowl" that Albuquerque sits in. There is no breeze off the ocean, and temperature variation is extreme compared to other locations. They'll go to the 90's in summer with regular thunderstorms, and winter temps will fall almost 150 degrees Fahrenheit from summer temps. I think the large number of homes using wood for heat are the major contributors. Wood is readily accessible and cheap compared to kerosene, propane, or other fossil fuels. Prices in AK can be far more excessive than those in the Lower 48.

I considered Juno too.

Juneau?

Lol. Yeah, that place.

 

[Kat]

Great memories from living in Alaska!

 

[CeeCee]

Good morning or good afternoon whatever the case may be and a good evening to esthermoon! Just drinking my coffee and reading the posts...

Nice day here, sunny and 80 and the only crimp in my day is the plumber coming at 1:00p.m. My garbage disposal isn't working and the drain is clogged...it's a double sink in the kitchen and at least the other side is fine but can't use my dishwasher because it drains into the clogged sink...I can live without the dishwasher since it's just me but it needs fixing.

This house is 17 years old and it's just been one thing after another lately.

 

[Dajjal]

View attachment 119772

Where to get this stuff?

I get all the pictures from Twitter.

You manage to find some truly wonderful pictures, certainly!

I don't have much to say, so I post pictures.

 

[OldLady]

Chicken jokes (thanks to Lucy Hamilton)

 

[OldLady]

Morning all!

Foxy - I can't stand crows. A few years ago, a belligerent bunch took over our neighborhood. Now, we hardly ever see the morning doves and songbirds that used to nest every year.

Actually that's mourning doves, with a U. Named for their plaintive wistful sound.

Ah, thank you for the correction. I'm not a bird watcher, but I do love those sweet soft grey doves. One year, I saw over a dozen of them in the persimmon tree that hangs over into our yard. So beautiful.

Their call is the purr of the bird world. Pigeons are pretty close.

 

[OldLady]

The wild turkey is back. He was gone for a few days--or I thought he was--but this morning he was full throat when I walked out the back door. News update: He's got a GIRL with him now. I talked back to him a few times, and each time I did he responded with a gobble-gobble-gobble and from deeper in the woods I heard a response from another turkey, but it wasn't a gobble like his--it was more like a bark or a honk, and it wasn't as loud. But every time he spoke, I heard her say "I'm okay."
Could be a long nesting season.

Aww! Just imagine how cute the little pults will be when they finally hatch.

Do turkeys nest in trees or on the ground? So far, I haven't spotted him/them.

Turkeys are heavy birds and will nest on the ground. Where I grew up, they would roost in trees, though. As far as I know, they do not mate for life and a wild tom will move on once a hen is settled.

I have not heard from him or his friend again. I believe you folks were right that he was still roosting in a pine on my property early that morning, a little before sunrise. And if Ma Turkey is settled, maybe he's moved on entirely. A neighbor at most a mile up the road counted a flock of 27 in the field across from them last week. Some of us are beginning to wonder if saving the wild turkey got a little out of hand. In a few places nearby, they had to start harvesting the blueberries early last year because flocks of turkeys were making such a mess of the fields.

Back almost 20 years ago, I returned to Connecticut after living in Albuquerque. I was more than ever into Mexican food and HOT peppers. Come spring, I put in my garden.I planted corn and radishes cucumbers and tomatoes and lots of jalapenos and habeneros.
Soon after getting everything planted, I was invaded by a couple dozen wild turkeys. At first, as soon as they saw me, they would run or fly off, but soon I could actually touch them, they were so fearless.They ate seeds and seedlings and I ended up with chicken wire tents over about everything. They were daily visitors for a month but stopped coming soon after they tried habeneros.

A guy in town said one charged him in his backyard a month or so ago. You must be a turkey whisperer, Ernie!

 

[saveliberty]

View attachment 120153

Good morning or good afternoon whatever the case may be and a good evening to esthermoon! Just drinking my coffee and reading the posts...

Nice day here, sunny and 80 and the only crimp in my day is the plumber coming at 1:00p.m. My garbage disposal isn't working and the drain is clogged...it's a double sink in the kitchen and at least the other side is fine but can't use my dishwasher because it drains into the clogged sink...I can live without the dishwasher since it's just me but it needs fixing.

This house is 17 years old and it's just been one thing after another lately.

I have fixed a few of those. You wouldn't think a landscaper works indoors, but my customers just need a variety of help and they want to trust the person in their home. So the outdoor guy goes indoors sometimes.

 

[CeeCee]

I wish I had someone like you, although my lawn guy will do a few things for me that I can't. Recently a small section of my gutter came away from the house in a heavy downpour we had...it was an easy fix but not for an old lady like me, lol...so I asked Alfonso and he fixed it. Gave him some extra $$.

There are just so many things that being an older woman living alone with some back issues can't do but really don't require a professional ....but it's hard to find even a handyman that doesn't cost as much as a pro sometimes.

That's why I'm downsizing and can't wait to get the heck out of here, every year there will be more things needing fixing.

I have 8 smoke alarms in my house and a few are in areas where I need the real tall heavy ladder and it's a pain, I can still do that but I'm sure there will be a day I can't an do want out of here before that.