Farmerjan's journal - Weather

Senile_Texas_Aggie

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Miss @farmerjan,

I wish we resided closer together. I would come over with my tractor and stump bucket and dig up the boxwoods for you. I have a chainsaw that I could use to cut them down to ground level. I also have a wood chipper that we could use to chip up the limbs to create some mulch.

Regarding battery powered chain saws, several YouTube channels have demonstrated their use (I can provide links if you wish). They can be quite handy. While we have yet to buy one, I am considering buying one for my Beautiful Gal, as it would be easier for her to use than the Stihl gas powered chainsaw we have. So far, she has been able to get by with a battery powered pole saw. You might consider one of those in lieu of a battery powered chainsaw, if all you ever need to cut are trees and limbs < 3" in diameter. Another benefit to a pole saw versus a chainsaw is that you won't need to wear safety chaps, since the chain is away from your body. Of course, if you want to cut some firewood, then a pole saw is impractical. I recommend buying either a Stihl or a DeWalt brand. Others may recommend other brands.

Senile Texas Aggie
 

farmerjan

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Thank you everyone for the insight on the battery chain saw. Since I got the battery weed eater and like it, and @Baymule mentioned a battery chainsaw in a post I think too....it is something I am thinking about.
@thistlebloom , the boxwoods are at least 15 ft tall if not more.... almost as tall as the roof on the second story of the house. The trunks are pretty big, I'd say 6 inches or more in diameter at least. Look like small trees at the base, and very thick on the outside but there is not alot of inside greenery since they have crowded out the light and all in the center. It is good to know about the shallow root system. There is also that walnut in there, it is a "small one" in comparison to the other big ones here but it is 20 ft at least.....I am thinking that maybe it will stay as they do have a deeper root system from what I have been told.
I think that I might just get my lopping shears that I cut saplings with and see what I can do starting at one end.... maybe get a pruning saw also to cut off the bigger branches....I might just say screw it and live with them til spring,,,but I really hate them. I can deal with the walnut, I just was going to get all that patch cleaned out.
I can cut the saplings around the shed except for maybe 2 or 3, probably.... that is where a smaller chain saw would be nice. and the scrub stuff around the holy tree could probably be gotten cut down without too much major problem.... but it will be a slow process with the knees only allowing me so much time standing to do it. We'll see. Might have to take a back seat for this fall.

BUT,; the kitchen mini-remodeling is in progress!!!!! Today we took the plywood "sides" that framed the pull out pantry shelves, out; then got rid of the breakfast bar/island thing that I really did not like. Instead of a tall skinny cabinet between the 2 cabinets now, in that space we are going to just put a board level with the bottoms of the top cabinets for like a book shelf or for something tall and decorative. No doors, no hinges, nothing like that. Then I can use the pull that was on the pullout pantry thing, for the drawer for the cabinet where the island thing came off. It REALLY makes the kitchen so much bigger looking. used part of one of the sheets of plywood to put on the side of the cabinet since it is the right color and aged like the rest of the cabinets. Then we carried the butcher block top in and set it on top to see how it looks and I LOVE IT. So for now, we are not even going to cut it off but let it stick over a bit on the one side and let it stick over into the extra space where the skinny pantry shelf pull out was since the fridge I had gotten fits the smaller space. When/if I get a bigger fridge then I can make a decision about cutting it down in length. So the space that got exposed behind the pullout pantry needs to be painted and the ceiling needs some touch up where it is dirty and scuffed. It is a textured ceiling, so won't be a big deal to just paint it ceiling white and you will never notice where it got a little scuffed. Really not much considering the hard time we had getting those 2 plywood sides out. This is 3/4 finished sides cabinet grade plywood.... from 30 years ago. But it just looks soo much better already.... Got to do the painting first and get a piece of baseboard to go against the wall that they never put there before to keep the linileum from curling anymore behind the fridge....Since there is a right and wrong side of the butcherblock top, we are going to use 4 - 90 degree brackets underneath to hold it in place on top of the cabinet just so that it won't move.... Then Deb took measurements and is going to make the drawer for the cabinet where the island attached.... and is using some more of the plywood side piece that we took out since it matches the color and all of the cabinets. She has all kinds of power tools, and showed me a few things on how to do stuff. I was pretty young when my mom did all the "carpentry stuff" for the rabbits and guniea pigs and chickens when I was in 4-H.... and my ex didn't want me messing with his stuff when we were married... he was a very good carpenter but anal about any of his tools. I just never have had the need to do much. But this gives me some confidence in things I was thinking but really wasn't sure. And I can start to accumulate a few things that would be useful for me for do-it-yourself stuff.

Tomorrow I will go to Lowe's early, find a pale yellow paint to use to match close to the color there and then just paint the whole section there,. It doesn't have to match anything else except that I would like it to blend in with the general color scheme. Get a piece of baseboard, get a few other things, then come back and paint the stuff I need to for starters.
Plans are to finish it next weekend but she said that we can do more this weekend if she gets the drawer done. She has a table saw at home and would like to cut the stuff there rather than with a skil saw here. It is supposed to be wet and real rainy tomorrow. We had showers and then a lighter more consistent rain this aft and evening, but they are saying some more serious stuff tomorrow.

I am SOOOOOO IMPRESSED with getting this done. More than I ever would have tackled and she said she likes doing this sort of stuff.... We went down to our local little pizza/italian restaurant and got a late lunch and then this evening I said that I would be glad to pay her for doing it and she said, hey, you bought me lunch, and the sooner it gets done and you get up here, the sooner you can invite me to dinner....
I just thought of something I can do for her....some home raised chickens and some beef when the steer goes to get butchered .....for her freezer.
And it was nice way to spend the afternoon.

SO A GREAT DAY today!!!!

Going down the hill to get a good hot shower. I'm tired even though she did most of the work.
 

Mini Horses

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Hooray!!! She probably DOES like to do these things. It can be fun (and tedious). With that, you need projects to do -- and there you are with projects!

Do you have a reciprocating saw? Or DS? You can use that to cut into those boxwoods. I used one last week to take out some sizeable branches on a holly and a plum tree...easy 6" ones. Pretty easy to reach in there with one and cut. Saves buying a chainsaw at the moment. Mine is electric but wasn't any problem with a good extension cord -- you probably have plenty of those around. Might need just some blades It's a thought. Heck, I got started and really went at it. Been some branches I've been wanting gone -- hit my head as I mow. Not now. 😁 I was waiting for DD to have time to come up with her chainsaw & DS suggested my recip saw...worked great! then I trimmed small branches & into logs. Was fast, too.
 

thistlebloom

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Sounds like a fun and encouraging day! I'm sure you're as good for her as she is for you. I'm happy for you for having a friend like that to help you. :hugs
Those boxwoods are massive! Doable, but would be much easier with machinery to take them out and move them all in one fell swoop without having to mess with them over days.
 

Senile_Texas_Aggie

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Miss @farmerjan,

That is so wonderful about your friend helping with the work being done there! It sound like you and she will become very good friends, and you can learn to use different power tools as she shows you how. Miss @Mini Horses has made a great suggestion about using a reciprocating saw to cut the boxwoods instead of a chain saw. I don't know why I didn't think of that before. The nice things about a reciprocating saw compared to a chainsaw are (1) it is lighter and easier to handle, (2) it costs less, (3) it is more compact and can get into places a chainsaw cannot, (4) a pruning blade is a lot cheaper than a chainsaw chain and is easier to replace, in case you get the pruning blade into dirt. I highly recommend getting a really good battery powered reciprocating saw. If you do, you can then use the battery for a power drill (which you will find handy), a torque wrench (which can be useful on farm equipment and removing lug nuts off of truck wheels), a circular saw, etc. I own all of the fore mentioned tools. The brand I like is DeWalt. They aren't cheap but they are of high quality so they will last a long time. I am sure that others can recommend other good brands. Here is a picture of a DeWalt reciprocating saw without a battery. Its current price at Lowe's is $179.00.

1602424435728.png


But a much better deal that you can get is when you buy multiple tools at once as a package deal. Here is a picture of 6 tools for $499:
1602424674919.png


Sorry to go a bit crazy with the recommendations, but Miss Mini Horses' recommendation of the reciprocating saw got me to thinking, and with someone willing to teach you how to use the tools I hope you are able to take advantage of it.

Senile Texas Aggie
 

Finnie

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The brand I like is DeWalt. They aren't cheap but they are of high quality so they will last a long time. I am sure that others can recommend other good brands. Here is a picture of a DeWalt reciprocating saw without a battery. Its current price at Lowe's is $179.00.
We like DeWalt too. And we especially like that when we buy a new tool with a battery, that increases how many batteries we own that we can keep charged and they are interchangeable for all the tools.
I noticed that kit with lots of tools that @Senile_Texas_Aggie posted only comes with two batteries. But maybe with the amount saved by buying the kit, you could buy extra batteries. Hm, but in that case, you wouldn’t be saving any money. Maybe just look for sales for one at a time (battery included), and only buy the tools you know you need, as you go along and learn, and not buy the ones you might not use.
 

farmerjan

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A wet Sunday afternoon. Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I am thinking that the "Black Friday" type of sales are coming along, and with the lockdowns and all with the economy this past year, there might hopefully be some good sales so maybe will look into it. I will get the circulars for Lowe's and Harbor Freight and all and see what is available. I have the battery weed eater and like the lighter weight and less noise....have 3 batteries to use & keep charged up.

Woke up with a headache and think I slept wrong so was very slow to get going. But I did get to Lowe's and was getting a paint that will stick to the linoleum counter top stuff that they put on the wall behind the fridge and between the cabinets....because of course they didn't cover the whole area behind the fridge because of the skinny pull out pantry type thing.... and they used 2 pieces behind the fridge that look like crap.... and part way behind where the stove (went) will go. I think that they were just using up leftover pieces.... So in comes Deb to get some screws for one of her projects, and so she also had to get the runner thing for the new drawer and some other stuff... so we looked at the stain so I can get some of the spots that were "behind" the island/breakfast bar thing we took off and are several shades lighter....and got the piece of baseboard to go behind the fridge to keep the linoleum down and just finish it off... I got a couple of roller covers for the little roller, to use on the textured ceiling, to paint the ceiling where it is so dirty/dingy looking that was behind that pantry thing.... So we "shopped" a bit and looked at the waterproof vinyl "planking" that I may wind up putting down when I take the old tub and all out.... don't know what we are going to get into as far as flooring is.... it is not part of the original house where the yellow pine is... so may just be a sub flooring with the linoleum/vinyl on it. So I am looking at other options for a floor to go under the clawfoot tub I want to put there.... has to be waterproof of course for the bathroom.... So from there I was going to get a few groceries, and she was going to stop at the house to check on the measurements of the drawer front.... I told her I would talk to her tomorrow. I have a PT appt at 1pm, but will do some stuff at the house before.
It is raining, has been all day off and on - mostly on. We are at the northern edge of most of the moisture from "delta" so not getting near what they are in southern Va along the NC border, but still a good amount of rain. Supposed to work it's way out tomorrow, then sun again for about a week. They will be getting into the corn chopping mid week, so don't know if he is going to have any time to cut hay before hand, so may not be making any this week. Corn chopping will be one day. He is trading some off for the chopping costs, so I guess we are only putting in one bag again this year. Not my call....
I don't know if he is going to try to get any cows in tomorrow like he said. He went home early yesterday said he didn't feel good. The rain makes doing anything pretty much miserable so I am not criticizing....Don't know how he is feeling today. Guess I will talk to him tomorrow.

Still love the more openess of the kitchen with that island thing gone and the pantry thing gone. Can't wait to get the butcher block top on the cabinet.... then have to finish it. Then, maybe next week the floors will get sanded and finished....
I am going in to paint the ceiling patch and maybe try out the paint on the wall and the partially covered area of the space behind the fridge. Ate a couple of sandwiches and took some stuff to get the knees to ease up. This wet/damp weather is not helping them. Going to spend a little time on the computer too doing some research on the drs in Va that do this Maako knee surgery. I did talk to the PT whose mom had it done and he said she is doing very well considering the first couple of days were a little slow... she was a little dehydrated and her salt levels were low and so was somewhat disoriented... but once they figured that out, she is doing really well.... he said he was very satisfied and pleased with "where she was" as far as movement and all so far.... And the total time "under" was 2 1/2 hours for BOTH KNEES which he said was really remarkable. They also "glue" the incisions rather than stitch or staple; less scarring they say.... I think that it is worth pursuing at this point. I have her dr's name so might even go up there for a consultation....

Time to go in and see about at least getting something accomplished in the kitchen.
 

Mini Horses

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It is raining, has been all day off and on - mostly on. We are at the northern edge of most of the moisture from "delta" so not getting near what they are in southern Va along the NC border, but still a good amount of rain. Supposed to work it's way out tomorrow, then sun again for about a week.


That's me, along the NC border. LOL. Same thing,,,mostly on. All day!! And if it "stopped" it felt like a cold sauna as you walked, just too much moisture in the air. Supposed to be more of same tomorrow, maybe heavier rain. I'm really wanting it to be gone. So are the animals.

You can't do much in it -- you slide with equipment, slip when you walk, can't hold on to anything, can't dig, nail, paint, cut grass, miserable in wet clothes, well....its just the pits.


Sounds like you and Deb have made some strides in the renovations -- some you thought might have to be put off a while. It's amazing how things work out sometimes! So happy for you. This will surely make you like the kitchen more.
 

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