Running Bear's March 2023 Coffee Shop


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Tony- If you buy a skunk from a breeder or pet store, they are de-scented (glands removed) before you purchase them. They have no smell after that, and their fur is hypo allergenic. All of ours (3) were bred in captivity. After they are de-scented, they can't be released in the wild since their defense mechanism is gone. As pets they typically live 8-10 years (1-2 wild).
Thanks for the info. Personally, I'd love to have one wandering around the house but I don't think my 20 YO parrot would appreciate him/her, not to mention my better half. Not to mention if they live 8 - 10 years, could out live me and definitely would if I brought one home :)
 
Nearly an hour to play catchup. Still nothing pressing yet (👍). I spent the better part of the cold weekend running loads of topsoil for the son's garden. Wife said he was going to have a bundle in it before he even plants anything in it. I said we have $500 in it as well, as his mom hasn't handed him the bill yet (truthfully, she probably won't). That said, I hauled a couple of scary loads 2 weekends before as the tires on the truck were passenger car tires, and more for the lighter imports, soon top of spring bounciness, I had tires that had the sidewalls bulging slightly as well. The new tires designed for SUVs and vans, showed no bulge nor did the load even seem to bother them.

This weekend, I need to get the first cut on the yard and take out the 2 dead apple trees. Still tossing about the 3rd, while not dead, never produced and I know know why. Seems it needed a pollinator and the tree that was supposed to be that pollinator bloomed 2 weeks after the first tree did. I think we're done with the extreme cold and we're about 2 weeks out from our last average frost date. That said there's a commercial for a car wash that says "it's Spring, time for Sun, Storms and what the heck is winter still doing here?"

Don't look to really have much time for trains again until the fall. Hopefully I can get some time with them again on my vacation time scheduled for the 3rd week of April. Gotta burn a full week before the first week of May, and then I'll still have nearly a month worth of vacation time.

Leaving early the next 2 days as I have to work late on Friday.

BBL
 
Good Morning All!
21F @ 74% - supposed to get above 50F and sunny again. Next week daytime above 40F, still down to 26F at night. Well, that is if you believe the weather guessers.

Could not finish the stairway railings as my help left. Wife and I tried but could not get the 12 footer positioned. Need another set of hands as placement is a PITA and with it still being wet, it is quite hefty. Sometime later in the morning help is back and I will continue.

Wife's Tulips are coming up and she is grinning. Looks like they cloned themselves with a couple of new bulbettes for each original plant. Am told that there were at least 100 planted last year. Ya, Tulips up the ying/yang. I did get the electric fence around them working again so that should keep the deer at bay. She also has 'Mums in that bed. She dug a couple up to check them out and they are pretty much toast so we don't know what ( if any ) will return.

Trees: Had to take one of the apple trees out as a couple of years ago we had a really bad caterpillar infestation which killed the tree. Our Mayor sidelines as a 'tree sprayer' and we were told that it probably would not do any good with the bug type we had. So, saved the $150. The tree left is destined to be given a really short haircut this fall. This one is also loosing bark on the lower part so I suspect its time is limited. Will see what happens next year. The Plum trees on the other hand do nothing but grow. Have 2 types of which I don't remember. I will grab a plum every once-in-awhile and chow down. Do like them at the end of the season when they are really sweet. Now if we could get to them before the deer ...

FYI: We went to the local insurance company to get a quote on Homeowners. We currently have USAA and their price seemed a little high. These people have 4 or 5 insurance companies that they deal with. All of them would be glad to quote; BUT. There would be a 'form 1' in which they would not quote the roof as it is more than 20 years old. We have metal roofs everywhere. One roof portion has a lessor pitch and some of the screws are coming up. No problem, thought I, new screws ( longer ) with rubber grommets and we should be good to go. Nope, don't matter. I would need to spend somewhere around 10K on new metal. Have been thinking on that anyway as the wife wants one color. Whomever did the original made it using metal pieces on hand ( calico ). Kim at the insurance company told me that all of the big insurance companies are not quoting log style homes; even brand new. They say there are too many things to go wrong with them. Right, this place has been here for almost 100 years with no problems. The house in the pix is a little above middle, slightly to the right. Upper left is Train Cave, bottom is old barn. Some of the other stuff is not there anymore so this pix from Google Maps is a few years old.

Roof.jpg


Later
 
She and the Veterinarian are heading out today to see a few rescue horses a couple counties to the south of us.
Tom are these race horses? You don't see many real old race horses. The mares don't have much interest in racing after 5. On the other hand trotters seem to go on for ever. They race until their 14. I haven't had much luck on any of them lately.
Swal
 
We would drive back from Knowlton to get ice cream there. Only 35 miles one way but much better than the place 8 miles away in Mosinee (Briq’s).

But, Beltz in Steven Point’s was the best. While only 19 miles away, and near the WC yards in Point. But the lines were crazy long and it was just easier to go to Marshfield.

I always liked to go to Leon's Frozen Custard in Milwaukee....

 
Good Morning All. Cloudy and 67°, supposed to be in the 80's today, even without any sun. No sun until Saturday which is also when this relentless wind dies down somewhat..

I went out and bought plants yesterday, 48 tomato, 12 bell pepper, 12 broccoli and an assortment of herbs to replace all that I lost in December. Even though many were perennials, the roots froze because they were in pots. Everything is on the porch right now getting accustomed to my conditions. I need to re-till the part of the garden where they will be set, as it packed down a bit with the rain two weeks ago.

I did not do a lot of visible stuff out in the train shed yesterday. I reassembled some vehicles that I sprayed with dull coat. I hand painted six others that I could not remove the windshield from. Added a few drivers/passengers and added license plates where needed.
I striped the parking lot in front of the cafe and added the parked cars.
IMG_3241.JPG

I put some other vehicles on the road but didn't take pectures, maybe I'll remember and post them tomorrow. Back to ground cover today.

Todd - I spoke with Chet as well, last Friday and got the same impression.
Trivia about skunks - Once they spray, it takes 2-3 days for the scent glands to refill.

Everybody have a great hump day.
 
Welp... ran through my CLR, and most of 2 quarts of vinegar. Used a turkey baster I keep in the plumbing kit (for sucking toilet water out of the bowl if I have to remove the toilet) to pump the liquid down the overflow pipe, hoping to knock of the calcification from the stopper.

And the plumber will arrive tomorrow morning about 8 am. I suspect that we'll need to pull the pipe from behind the toilet. Because, even with soak time, my methods didn't budge it.

There is a cut-out panel behind the tub, in a closet... but the last time someone accessed it they patched it with drywall mud back into place. I'll convert it to an access panel with screws.
 
I always liked to go to Leon's Frozen Custard in Milwaukee....

Maybe heading that way the next couple days. Always up to good frozen custard, even though the Culvers is pretty darn good.
 
Afternoon All,

Started out with a walk at 58F and getting to 82F later. Weather guessers here are predicting 90's next week and one day is 95F. :oops: Our average high this time of year is 80F. If it keeps up summer is going to be brutal. I spent the morning doing inside chores. After lunch I prepped the extension wires for the 4 signals I just ordered (already shipped). Tomorrow I'm going up to Jon's to pick up the completed NX 23 and do some BS'ing.

Thank you for the photo likes yesterday.
.
Troy- Good luck with your plumbing issues. Hopefully it's minor.

Chad- Interesting paint scheme. When we lived in Hawaii my daughter was young and was a fan of Hello Kitty.

Jaz- Nice scenes but I'm not familiar with the show.

Sherrel- Interesting photo.

Tony- What kind of parrot do you have? We have several, 2 B&G Macaws, a cockatiel (daughters) and a Timneh (rescue). The timneh bonded with me and the macaws are MOH's and son's but I'm really not a bird person. They make a huge mess, very loud and are destructive. Skunks will eat birds, so we set up a pet fence with a gate for access. Skunks will also eat the dropped food which causes them to gain weight which is bad. Of course, my son and I get to clean up after all the animals. We had the parrots first.🦨🦜

Patrick- We tend to subsidize our kids from time to time also.

Todd- It looks like you have a nice piece of land.

Willie- Nice scene.

I hope everyone has a good night.
 
Tom are these race horses? You don't see many real old race horses. The mares don't have much interest in racing after 5. On the other hand trotters seem to go on for ever. They race until their 14. I haven't had much luck on any of them lately.
Swal
I know they are not race horses. Until they get them here I really don’t pay attention.

Usually they are from farms that have horses the family has ridden for years. Usually the owner passes away and a month or so later someone misses them and the police do a welfare check on the person. Then they find the animals.

Terry sold the stables to the Vet and her wife this year. She promised me she would avoid the rescues but couldn’t say no when the Vet asked for her help last night. I have no issue with that. It’s tough when a horse is lost but super gratifying to see the look of glee on the stable staff when they have success and someone takes home a healthy horse.
 
I NEED SUGGESTIONS

My air compressor at about 15 years old passed away about 1 hour ago. A 1/4 second of silence please!

I need a new one that can handle my weathering airbrush and also be used with the nail guns. I had a Porter Cable pancake 150psi and I think 6 gallon from HD. Silent would be nice but absolutely not a requirement.

Is the Harbor freight one’s any good?

Ideas please

EDIT

still need ideas but the crisis is avoided. I have my air brush compressor by badger. It doesn’t have an air tank so it runs constantly and needs to be close by, not the 25’ away the Porter Cable was. It also won’t go above 40 psi and hasn’t been used I’m thinking for 10 years. I just tried it and with ear plugs in I can handle this. It’s almost quiet but it’s a steady never ending noise

The Porter Cable
Bostic,
Dewalt
California Air
and others

look almost the same and are in stock at HD, Lowes, Menards and Harbor Freight all within 15 minutes. 1/3 horse, 150psi and a 6 gallon air tank by Bostic is $114 at Menards with the 11% rebate. The Porter Cable same specs if $60 more…
 
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Congratulations to Japan on winning the World Baseball Classic!

It was a fitting end to a great tournament. With Japan leading 3-2 Ohtani faced Trout in the final frame. Ohtani won this battle striking out Trout to end the game. This is Japan's third classic championship.

It was my kind of game. Good pitching, backed up by solid defense and a little timely hitting. The only thing that would have been better would have been a USA win. Overall, it was a fun game to watch.
 
I NEED SUGGESTIONS

My air compressor at about 15 years old passed away about 1 hour ago. A 1/4 second of silence please!

I need a new one that can handle my weathering airbrush and also be used with the nail guns. I had a Porter Cable pancake 150psi and I think 6 gallon from HD. Silent would be nice but absolutely not a requirement.

Is the Harbor freight one’s any good?

Ideas please

EDIT

still need ideas but the crisis is avoided. I have my air brush compressor by badger. It doesn’t have an air tank so it runs constantly and needs to be close by, not the 25’ away the Porter Cable was. It also won’t go above 40 psi and hasn’t been used I’m thinking for 10 years. I just tried it and with ear plugs in I can handle this. It’s almost quiet but it’s a steady never ending noise

The Porter Cable
Bostic,
Dewalt
California Air
and others

look almost the same and are in stock at HD, Lowes, Menards and Harbor Freight all within 15 minutes. 1/3 horse, 150psi and a 6 gallon air tank by Bostic is $114 at Menards with the 11% rebate. The Porter Cable same specs if $60 more…
Go big or go home! ;)
53912EAD-DB88-4193-AFF6-8C891ADCDED7.jpeg
 
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I NEED SUGGESTIONS

My air compressor at about 15 years old passed away about 1 hour ago. A 1/4 second of silence please!

I need a new one that can handle my weathering airbrush and also be used with the nail guns. I had a Porter Cable pancake 150psi and I think 6 gallon from HD. Silent would be nice but absolutely not a requirement.

Is the Harbor freight one’s any good?

Ideas please

EDIT

still need ideas but the crisis is avoided. I have my air brush compressor by badger. It doesn’t have an air tank so it runs constantly and needs to be close by, not the 25’ away the Porter Cable was. It also won’t go above 40 psi and hasn’t been used I’m thinking for 10 years. I just tried it and with ear plugs in I can handle this. It’s almost quiet but it’s a steady never ending noise

The Porter Cable
Bostic,
Dewalt
California Air
and others

look almost the same and are in stock at HD, Lowes, Menards and Harbor Freight all within 15 minutes. 1/3 horse, 150psi and a 6 gallon air tank by Bostic is $114 at Menards with the 11% rebate. The Porter Cable same specs if $60 more…
Tom: As you probably know, the first question would be - how much are you gonna use it for bigger stuff? The bigger nail gun(s) take a bigger reservoir so that you can continue nailing. What if you have 2 people nailing? You want high enough horsepower to fill the thing pretty fast as you don't want it running all of the time which helps with the wear-n-tear. If you are going to spray paint ( not models ), you need to take that into consideration. Both the nailing and painting pretty much require something with wheels so the frame needs to be pretty sturdy. To me, the best bet would to get the biggest and most powerful you can that keeps your budget happy. Of course, it seems the more you go up in power, the louder they get. Doing models should not be an issue, as you probably already have all the reducers ( pressure and physical connections ) needed to deal with that. In my case, I found a 30 gallon 120V thing on the cheap ( craigslist was my friend ) which works for one person nailing 16p nails, 2 with staples or brads. Don't remember the HP just now. Also have a 'self-contained' airless paint sprayer so no compressor is needed for that.

As to Harbor Freight - used to be that they had crap. Now days, everybody has crap unless you spend top $$$. Heck, I buy Harbor Freight now as most of the time if something goes wrong, I take it back and get another; age depending. Most of the hand tools are up to snuff also. Not Snap On, but close.

Later
 
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