Risky Robby

LiveJournal Shut Down Cross Posting From Dreamwidth

robby — Tue, 01 Feb 2022 14:01:24 GMT

Please follow me at robby.dreamwidth.org

Will Rusśia Invade The Ukraine?

robby — Sat, 15 Jan 2022 14:35:07 GMT

There are indications it could happen in the next month. I'm prepping for that eventuality, and disruptions associated with it. This is posted on Dreamwidth, but LiveJournal could easily shut down.

My older lead-acid battery is not charging normally, so I've ordered another LiFePO4 battery. A goal for me is to next install wiring to the well pump. When the inverter arrives, I'll be able to quickly test my "solar generator" system by pumping water from the well.

I've been staying at home lately, as Covid cases are at a record high. I know this Omicron variant is said to be milder, but I still want to avoid it. This entry was originally posted at http://www.dreamwidth.org/12345.html. Please comment here, there, and everywhere.

Various And Sundry

robby — Mon, 10 Jan 2022 03:39:33 GMT

I've ordered another panel for my solar array. In the summer, I can conceivably harvest 1000 Watts of power a day, but in the winter, much less.

The kitten has taken to sitting on the kitchen counter to watch me do the dishes. He likes to watch the water from the faucet.

I will try out a new steam scrubbing machine tomorrow. I hope it can deep clean the kitchen counters, shower stall, and floors.

I'm hunkering down at home, hoping to get past this latest Covid spike. This entry was originally posted at http://www.dreamwidth.org/12345.html. Please comment here, there, and everywhere.

Happy New Year!

robby — Sat, 01 Jan 2022 21:40:41 GMT

My solar array is installed, and I've stored 280W so far. I'll be eligible for a 26% tax credit for the cost of it.

I mowed the strip of land along the road today, and was surprised at how thick the vegetation had become. We've had lots of rain, and relatively warm temperatures. I pity the fool who isn't keeping up with that job. This entry was originally posted at http://www.dreamwidth.org/12345.html. Please comment here, there, and everywhere.

Omicron And More

robby — Mon, 27 Dec 2021 14:26:41 GMT

I'm watching the official California Covid statistics, and cases are spiking, but hospitalizations are not. In an abundance of caution, I'm self-isolating, and have enough supplies to last me at least another week.

Tomorrow should provide rain relief, and I plan to change the car's coolant.

In spite of the rain, I've managed to continue walking the dogs. I watch the Doppler radar on Weather Underground to find rain breaks, and wear my nice poncho.

The kitten has a new interest; he now jumps on the kitchen counter and watches me do the dishes.

I need to clear and fertilize both garden beds and start onion seed in a pot. This entry was originally posted at http://www.dreamwidth.org/12345.html. Please comment here, there, and everywhere.

Merry Christmas

robby — Sat, 25 Dec 2021 04:18:27 GMT

I ordered my Christmas present from China, but it won't arrive until late February. It's a 4000W split phase power inverter. It takes the 24V power from the solar batteries to let me run household devices such as a furnace and well pump. You know I'm a prepper, so the idea is to have a renewable source of emergency power.

I have a small inverter already, so I will set up the solar power system and test it over January and February. I'll also need to wire a 230V outlet into the well pump circuit so I can plug in the power bank in emergencies. If the grid fails, I can run the well pump occasionally, enough to fill a 250 gallon water tank.

At some point, the dogs and I will drive across the mountains to visit my brother in Sparks, NV. There are epic snow storms happening this week, but that will stop in a few days. This entry was originally posted at http://www.dreamwidth.org/12345.html. Please comment here, there, and everywhere.

Water, Water Everywhere.

robby — Mon, 20 Dec 2021 18:05:08 GMT

This morning, before I had my coffee, I noticed water beneath the sink. It must have just happened, and turned out to be a badly seated gasket at one of the pipe joints. I replaced the gasket and will watch for any more leaks. Did pouring very hot water down the pipes yesterday cause it? I hate to think that the pipe connections under the sink are that fragile.

Tomorrow, a week of rainstorms will begin. This entry was originally posted at http://www.dreamwidth.org/12345.html. Please comment here, there, and everywhere.

Solar Power

robby — Sun, 19 Dec 2021 05:02:48 GMT

I've gathered all the parts for my starter solar power system. I've done planning, and tested things, but I will wait until after Christmas, and good weather, to actually install it.

The most expensive element is a LiFePO4 storage battery. I bought a good one that may last 10 years. It has bonus USB ports that can be used to power an outdoor security camera.

The panels will be mounted on the roof of a shed, and will be oriented towards geographic south at about a 25° angle. This entry was originally posted at http://www.dreamwidth.org/12345.html. Please comment here, there, and everywhere.

Black Friday Part Deux

robby — Sun, 28 Nov 2021 22:48:00 GMT

I couldn't resist a solar power kit, on sale at Amazon, for half price. My plan is to mount the panel on the roof of the shed, and keep a 24V battery bank charged for emergency off-grid power. I could run the well pump and the furnace blower with it. An inverter and batteries are not included, but there is a blue tooth interface for the controller, and you can monitor the system remotely with a cell phone. This is fun for me. This entry was originally posted at http://www.dreamwidth.org/12345.html. Please comment here, there, and everywhere.

Black Friday

robby — Sat, 27 Nov 2021 01:50:30 GMT

I picked the last normal harvest of tomatoes. Next time, I'll pull out the plants, and keep any tomatoes I find. I've also done a lot of mowing and trimming, and cleanup.

On Black Friday, I ordered a smart thermostat, a 10" Fire tablet, and some Hanes sweatpants. Huge discounts that I couldn't resist.

I'm bummed out about news of a South African Covid strain that may next wreck havoc.

The animals are all fine, but I had a scare when the blind orange cat went missing. I called him for about an hour, and he found his way home. This entry was originally posted at http://www.dreamwidth.org/12345.html. Please comment here, there, and everywhere.

All Purpose Update

robby — Fri, 05 Nov 2021 05:45:38 GMT

The kitten is hanging around more. He'll go out for a few hours, but definitely likes his house. Just tonight, Halo was telling me he was hungry, and when I fed him, the kitten came along, had a few bites of Halo's food, then walked all around and under Halo with his tail up brushing against the dog. Halo loves the interaction and was smiling broadly, then he also ate a few bites.

I picked about a gallon of tomatoes yesterday, and I'm eating the lemons now that they're mostly yellow. This entry was originally posted at http://www.dreamwidth.org/12345.html. Please comment here, there, and everywhere.

Stormy Sunday

robby — Sun, 24 Oct 2021 21:07:24 GMT

We've gotten very little rain, as of 2 PM, but the wind is strong. I had to do some minor fence repairs. The animals and I are hunkered down. The storm band could still shift southward and soak us like it has Sacramento. This entry was originally posted at http://www.dreamwidth.org/12345.html. Please comment here, there, and everywhere.

Up On The Roof

robby — Thu, 07 Oct 2021 22:57:43 GMT

We may get our first rain tonight, so in preparation, I got out the extension ladder, and cleared the gutters with the leafblower. I climbed up pretty easily; so my mobility has improved in the last few years. I still have knee pain, but I'm more limber than I was. The gutters were full, but the debris was dry and blew out easily. The new leafblower battery lasted throughout. Finally, I added a new shingle, next to a roof vent that was leaking, and climbed down.

Halo gets anxious when I'm up there, he watched me from the lawn, and was happy when I came down. This entry was originally posted at http://www.dreamwidth.org/12345.html. Please comment here, there, and everywhere.

Gardening and Cats

robby — Thu, 30 Sep 2021 03:42:27 GMT

I put down some food for the orange cat, and later noticed he didn't eat all of it. I picked him up and we went off together, but when I swung by ten minutes later, his food was gone. It was probably the neighbor cat. Many mornings, all the dry cat food is also gone.

My tomatoes are ripening, and I'll pick more tomorrow. I won't have a big crop this year, but I'll have fresh tomatoes through October. The heat waves this year were timed such as to interfere with tomato pollination.

I'm trying to keep a reflective collar on the kitten, but today he lost the 5th I've given him. For safety, they're breakaway collars, and strangely, I never find the discarded ones. I'll even go out at night, looking with a flashlight, but no dice. This entry was originally posted at http://www.dreamwidth.org/12345.html. Please comment here, there, and everywhere.

Late September Update

robby — Fri, 24 Sep 2021 03:51:15 GMT

There's a sick or injured coyote staying near the creek, so I'm being cautious in that area. I warned a neighbor who also takes his dogs over there.

I could call animal control, but they would probably just shoot it. I think animal control also killed the last dog that I rescued and brought to them.

It wasn't terribly hot today, but it was humid and now at 8:47 PM it's finally feeling comfortable. This entry was originally posted at http://www.dreamwidth.org/12345.html. Please comment here, there, and everywhere.

Gardening and Cats

robby — Sun, 12 Sep 2021 23:37:26 GMT

I took a bit of a fall today, but was able to land on my backside. I didn't get seriously hurt, but scraped up in three places, and sore.

Because of that, I postponed mowing until tomorrow. I worked instead on adjusting the water well pressure switch, because that is not physically demanding. I set the cut on pressure to 30 psi, which is correct, but the cut off pressure is now about 48 psi, and I want it still higher. All the adjusting and testing took much longer than I anticipated, and the sun was getting too hot, so I knocked off early and came indoors.

My beans were being attacked by both a gopher and whiteflies. I noticed it in time, and immediately set a trap in the gopher tunnel, and started spraying with horticultural oil.

I will be harvesting tomatoes and beans soon.

The dogs and cats are all healthy and happy. The adult kitten* is getting more domestic. I make a point of talking to her when I see her, and feeding her seperately, and now, the other day, she brushed against me while I was feeding her. She still doesn't want me touching her.

*The adult kitten was a feral kitten that showed up a few years ago. She was essentially raised by the male yellow tabby. I was so busy working at that time that I couldn't make the huge effort to socialize her. Now, I wish I had. This entry was originally posted at http://www.dreamwidth.org/12345.html. Please comment here, there, and everywhere.

Kitten Back Home

robby — Thu, 02 Sep 2021 17:23:58 GMT

The kitten disappeared from between 6:30 PM yesterday, until 10 this morning. I called and searched for him around the neighborhood, but he finally showed up on his own. He was hungry and feeling out-of-sorts. I hope he learned a lesson. This entry was originally posted at http://www.dreamwidth.org/12345.html. Please comment here, there, and everywhere.

Gardening and Cats

robby — Sun, 29 Aug 2021 22:28:02 GMT

Most of the okra plants have run their course, but the tomatoes are not ripe yet. The beans are flowering.

We're in a heat wave, and thankfully, the new evaporative cooler is working well. It uses more water than the old cooler, but I can produce enough water with my recent filter modifications.

I've watered the yard and garden in preparation over the past few days, and the dogs and the kitten come in out of the heat.

My blind cat has apparently made friends with the neighbor cat. I see them laying together in the morning. I think the neighbors neglect their cats, and this is their last surviving one. I often see the food plates empty, probably because it is covertly eating over here. This entry was originally posted at http://www.dreamwidth.org/12345.html. Please comment here, there, and everywhere.

Power And Water

robby — Wed, 11 Aug 2021 01:11:46 GMT

I have some cordless yard tools that use 40v batteries, and just ordered an inverter that lets me use the batteries indoors in the event of a power outage. I could charge my phone, tablet, or ham radio, power a few lights and even my internet hub. A very good emergency prep.

I also am going to change all my reverse-osmosis water filters and membrane, add a second water storage tank to the filter assembly, and run a filtered water line to my evaporative cooler. This entry was originally posted at http://www.dreamwidth.org/12345.html. Please comment here, there, and everywhere.

Nature Boy

robby — Sat, 07 Aug 2021 13:55:36 GMT

We're finally getting smoke, probably from the Dixie fire. This morning, at sunrise, it looks a little like Mordor. The Covid positivity rate in my area has skyrocketed, currently it's at 10%.

I plan to get the kitten vaccinated about 1 PM today, and also pick up a solid supply of pet food.

I may not work outside much today. Probably just pick okra, and water.

I've lost any extra weight over the past year, and have started to pull off my shirt when out in the boonies with the dogs. I think the sun is good for my skin, and I feel much cooler, wearing only shorts. I'm something of a nature boy. This entry was originally posted at http://www.dreamwidth.org/12345.html. Please comment here, there, and everywhere.

Gardening and Cats

robby — Fri, 06 Aug 2021 19:47:25 GMT

I planted the last of my bush bean seeds this morning. I hope to get a better germination this second time. The kitten may have killed some seedlings by laying in that vegetable bed. He's a hunter, though, so later he may save some of the beans from gophers, birds and squirrels. This entry was originally posted at http://www.dreamwidth.org/12345.html. Please comment here, there, and everywhere.

Gardening and Cats

robby — Sat, 31 Jul 2021 05:12:12 GMT

My beans are coming up, and I need to weed that bed, and set up irrigation. The tomatoes aren't setting fruit, but that may start as it gets cooler.

My kitten is about one year old now. He's still quite small, but he was starving when I found him, and then developed a bad viral infection. He's healthy now, but the trauma seems to have stunted his growth. He still hangs out much of the time with the dogs.

The new Covid variant is quite virulant in this area. I did a big shopping today, and don't need to go out in public for a long while. This entry was originally posted at http://www.dreamwidth.org/12345.html. Please comment here, there, and everywhere.

Rabies Vaccinations

robby — Sun, 25 Jul 2021 00:25:46 GMT

I took both dogs to one of those pop-up clinics in the back of a pet food store. I had to walk them in together, because Dinah was fearful. Having Halo there helped her to feel more secure. I wonder if she thought she would be dumped again?

Halo enjoyed the experience until the vet staff started circling him with a needle. I held his head, and he growled a little. Both dogs were glad when it was over. This entry was originally posted at http://www.dreamwidth.org/12345.html. Please comment here, there, and everywhere.

Gardening and Knees

robby — Thu, 22 Jul 2021 02:18:01 GMT

I planted 40 bush beans today, and plan to plant more in two weeks. I put them where the onions were, in the south bed. If all goes well, I will harvest in September. I am depending on Dinah and the cats to guard against squirrels.

It's almost time for my yearly physical, and I want to have my right knee evaluated. It would be wonderful to get it fixed, maybe with arthroscopic surgery, for a cost of few thousand dollars. This entry was originally posted at http://www.dreamwidth.org/12345.html. Please comment here, there, and everywhere.

Hot

robby — Sat, 10 Jul 2021 06:19:50 GMT

It was 106° today, and it may reach 110° tomorrow. We're all fine. I keep the dogs and the kitten inside when it gets this warm. The adult cats are outside, but don't seem to be terribly bothered. I've read that domestic cats originated in the Middle East, so it seems that they're well suited to heat. Cold weather is harder on them.

I'm harvesting okra and eating the last fresh lemons. I'm plugging away at outdoor work, but thus morning at 10:45, it already felt too hot to be out. This entry was originally posted at http://www.dreamwidth.org/12345.html. Please comment here, there, and everywhere.