Tuesday March 8, '11

Mon 7th:  Out early after work with Spencer to school and then to work on the door at the bike shop. Three hours later and two visits to hardwares and PMW for bench work, the door works well.  I lunched at the Temple as I had a few things to do there and then headed for the cabin (5 eggs).   I was able to set and level the three water tanks with Evan's help at the end.  On Saturday I had jerry-rigged the spouts to catch about 2/3 of a tankful as the rains were steady and certain. Lots of weight to deal with though. The enclosure for the solar gain will be decided as I watch the tanks fill this week with the predicted 2-3 inches rain yet to come. BTW, Ev got his Westy, Franz, out. He broke his slider door handle so I gave him the one off the spare parts van.  Franz is now at PMW for a few touch up issues before our planned outing in KY at the end of the month.  Also at PMW, the '02 Jetta wagon is shaping up nicely as Randy (working on the side, literally and figuratively) finishes the body work and preps it for painting.  Easy evening at home. Cub Scouts tomorrow night.


Tuesday 8th:  Out to the cabin by 1000.  I came into sight of the coop and looked twice to see a Barred Rock hen laying in a laying box... What else would she be doing there?

She was dead. No egg under her, but her egg track was littered with partials.  No signs of trauma. She was one of the bigger hens with no "picking" patches from the other birds. A real beauty she was.
The others did not come into the coop as they usually do when I tend to them.   I even had some smelly bacon made into bits (these birds LOVE cooked meat) from Sunday's breakfast that I had forgotten to feed yesterday.  They stayed clear of me and the coop for the three hours that I was out working on the water system. Maybe they were grieving.  Only 2 eggs today.

With the tanks in place I plumbed the three together with a 2" common manifold at the bottom.  This should allow the tanks to fill and drain collectively.  I also checked with Harold (another Navy black shoe officer) at Madru's about the head capacity of my current pressure pump.  All is well and should be capable of the lift and run needed for the new tank location.  I also ran new piping from the rear rain gutter/filter.  I will play with the drop and run off from the front gutters before I pipe anything permanent there; probably using garden hoses to judge those qualities.

I headed into townand home after a lunch of spiced up Ramen® noodles and a Sam A.  The two Rottweilers had come down and visited Jack and I for about the last hour, meaning that Fred was at his place.  He stopped discing the road side field as I pulled in.  We discussed the probable cause of death as we both inspected her carcass.   I disposed of the hen in the creek, as I wasn't sure of how long she had been dead; otherwise she would have been noodle stock.

In town,  I hurried to change into my bike kit and take the tandem over to the bike shop.
My regular roadie was there for potential repair or replacement of that pesky rear rim.

It's split and according to the Athens Trek™ dealer, the model has been a Jonah.  We'll see if they replace it under warranty.  I quickly replaced the tire and wheel onto the bike and headed out South Paint Street.  I wanted to make it out to Brandon B's on Blain Highway for a gun shoot with some of our Two Unit guys.  I had missed the last big one and didn't want to miss this one.

Of note,  today was the first time that I have ever ridden "packing". The 357 Glock is light, the loaded magazine being heavier than the pistol. I kept them seperated, the gun in my Camel Bak® and the mag in my seat bag. That should have satisfied the intent of the gun carrying laws.


Bubble, bubble. Toil and trouble.
Couldn't keep my rear tire bead from rolling outward at pressure.
Kept bubbling out near the weak point on the rim.  I need to get this taken care of... it is affecting my miles!  After four tries to ride out SR 772, returning home each time to deflate and re-inflate the tire. I abandoned the ride at five miles and returned home for the Jetta.  I guess I should be glad for the 10 miles.

There were three other guys there and we shot up a bunch of ammo.  That Glock sure shoots straight! Tim W had his new (to him) AR15 and his Glock 9 mm small frame pistol.  Brandon had out a Colt style 45 "hog's leg" revolver and a pocket sized S&W 380 (?). They had already dispatched several temp targets so I caught up as they cracked open a beer.  I left early as it cooled down and I needed to get Spencer and I to Cub Scouts.

The Den meeting was a practice for next week's Pack meeting. They are going to put on a "Tall Tale" skit that two of the boys wrote last week.  Good times.

Sam with Simon on the right and Jack in the background.

Sam already losing weight.

I miss Sampson.  Parker offered to return Simon to us. I may ask Colleen about that, not too soon, though.