January 25-26, 2013

We arrived kind of late because we stopped in Eureka to try the new Thai restaurant, Thai House. Sally recognized one of the workers from Taste of Thai. The food was good. I'm sure we will be back.

Walnuts

Since the last batch was good (gave them to my folks to pick), I cracked a box full for me. Took maybe an hour.

Heaters

The heater in the kitchen worked fine, but I had more problems with the one in the living room. The pilot was going, the house was cold, so I turned it up. But apparently when it cycled off the pilot went out, and I couldn't get it to lite. I tried cleaning it with compressed air, but no luck. I know the best thing to use is carburetor cleaner, but Sally hates the smell. She wanted me to wait until just before we leave, but how would I know if I would be successful. I talked her into letting me use WD40. I got it to light, but the pilot was burning with a yellow flame on the tip. It also smelled, so I still got chastised. But by morning the pilot was burning great and I had no further problem with it.

Walk to Pond

After breakfast we took Tender and walked to the pond. It has continued to come up even through we were still at .3" of rain for the year (after finishing 2012 17.75" below normal). The end of December rains must have re-charged gum spring and it has continued to feed the pond. We walked back across the pasture and I found more giant thistle.

Thistle

Later in the morning I came back down to the pasture with a shovel and my loppers. I found one after another patches of thistle, digging up 87 in total all scattered in the same general area. My punishment for not catching them before they went to seed last summer.

Blackberry Trellis

The only other thing I got done was to pull up the trellis I had put in 9 years ago when I first got my blackberry bushes. Most of the bushed have died, especially all the tall ones, so this has just been an eye sore for years. I first took down the wire, the heavy telegraph wire that had been left coiled up all around the place. It is so thick it is hard to work with in any manner.

Then came the posts. I pounded them in with a sledge hammer originally. Now I had to get them up without a fence post puller. Here is my technique: wrap a chain around the bottom of the post, prop a block of wood next to the post, and then use a crow bar to pull it up. Only one of the six gave me fits, but I eventually got it. Sally commented on how much nicer the hill side looks now. Of course I would rather there be nice tall blackberry bushes there, but I am about to give up on growing fruit. (I'm sure the last peach and next to last apple will die this year, if they leaf out at all.)