Attribute to L. Neil Smith’s The Libertarian Enterprise

Saturday 3/23/2019

Welcome to the Year of Reinvention

That’s what I’m going to call it. For this is where all previous conversation and the road I’m on leads. 2019 is destined to be the year of reinvention where best of my best inventions are restored and integrated into one smooth operation that blends together and flows smoothly. My informal New Year’s Resolution began Wednesday afternoon on the second day of the new year which started off not too bad weather wise under the influence of what they’re calling an El Niño with lots of nice mild pacific air moving across the nation for maybe the whole month of January.

Of course it was too good to last and Norseman’s Hell came crashing down. And especially hard upon poor Wisconsin which from some of the emails and photos sent by Ray looked quite apocalyptic at times.

However here it was not so bad as we missed most of that and some of the nasty storms that ripped through the Southland.

Of course we did not miss out on the deluge of propaganda coming from just about everyone with a stake in the Crisis Industry that the climate issue has become as Crazy Lady Cortez and the new cohort of aspiring central planners continue to push the Green Raw Deal and retread career politician Beto O’Rourke launches his “Marry Me Before the Climate Apocalypse Tour”. But the most amusing could be revelations concerning a really old favorite: Al Gore who it was revealed might not be as true a believer previously assumed.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9D2bbZlw95Y

Apparently Mr Gore bought a beachfront home in 2006; which was after “The Inconvenient Potboiler” came out. That’s almost as ironic as a pastor who doesn’t believe in God. Gore obviously doesn’t believe his own sermons which I can almost say that confidently because if I were a true believer in global warming I would not have much faith in the ability of humanity to mitigate the effects of the CO2 already discharged into the atmosphere let alone get China and India and many other industrializing nations to play by the same rules.

Then again I think Tipper ended up with that property in the divorce settlement so you never know.

We had a lot of fun with stuff this winter. Ray’s usual Devil’s advocate response:

I second and say to Hell with that!
I love Tyson’s chicken nuggets.
I drive a Honda which is what I wanted beyond any shadow of doubt even when everyone else said I should get a Subaru.

And it’s a toasty 77 degrees in Uncle Budd’s house—though mine is only heated to 57. Which kind of makes up for it. But I can hardly wait to fire up Old Smoky again someday and get it up to about 68 to 70 degrees. And enjoy it as long as I can until AOC becomes Prez and starts sending the EPA goons out like the minions of Edward the Confessor to smash our furnaces.

And now for the Diaries.

2/18 11:22 AM

My latest edition along with the first half of winter are behind me and better and warmer days are ahead. Figured it’s time to refocus on getting the Florida Room and other indoor projects done so I can have those out of the way before spring. Will also be looking for the opportunity to capture that perfect day with spring like warmth, winter flowers in bloom and waterfalls running full blast before the necessary breakdown of the pond and watercourse to restore those to their former glory—or what they were ultimately meant to be.

Recovering from a rough day at work yesterday which was better than the one before—despite a 2-fer special on bedbugs! Even got to go home an hour early which let me get shopping in and back on the road as if I had left at the regular time. I was still worn out and just wanted to get in for the night, get groceries unloaded and put away and get to bed. Slept good—except for a bad dream about being required to write a 100 page report at work which made me want to quit. Then I woke up and was relieved that I had escaped that obligation. Doubt I’d ever have to do something like that in real life but you never know. Managers in the nursing & care giving profession can come up with the most creative ways to waste people’s time and make delivery of service slow and awkward. They’re almost as bad as civil service or the military in that regard.

Slow to rise I will likely do a little fish maintenance and tackle bigger projects tomorrow on my off day.
There is also the possibility of a snow event midweek but at this point it’s hard to say how much it will amount to. It would be nice if I can get my next step in the way of renovations in before then. But I’ve been flumdiddling again and need to get moving today. Luckily I bought some bulk pre made breakfast sandwiches to cut down on time spent prepping meals on days like this or like Saturday when I had no time left to cook anything. That’s the way it’s going to have to be from here on.

Snowing a little now. Better put on the news and see what’s coming my way.

Update: 2/19 2:15 AM

Pretty fair day out there even if it was cold. The higher February sun makes a difference. Yet already the clouds were sliding in. It was late afternoon so I went strait home and put off plans for a haircut until later so I could at least enjoy what little was left of the daylight. Went first to the greenhouse to do my usual watering and cleaning up. More dead plants. Lost all my remaining Guzmania monostachia and down to two Catopsis floribunda—the two species of soft leaf bromeliads from the Everglades. May have been from freezing. More and more the Florida Room continues to like a good idea again. Also moving the plants back from the front should also help. Time to start looking into the plan for installing rails to hang plants over the pond and conservatory area. A few weeks ago I was looking over some decent hardware to make that happen.

Palmettos still holding up pretty good and might be able to get away without loosing any more of their foliage if it does not get too frigid again. Using the Rubbermaids during cold snaps may be an effective strategy.

Despite plant losses a lot of greenery remains intact and doing well. This experience will guide me to future selections of plants and to which species need backups in the Florida Room or terrarium plantings.

Finally I ,made another advance on the indoor project: the old Turtle Table. After feeding and changing water in the fish tanks I was getting fatigued so I cut my ambitions back to just getting the legs on the table so at least when I get around to moving the tank—this part of the project will be behind me. Three legs work pretty well. Will add a fourth one later.

2/20 09:15 AM

You could tell something was coming yesterday as the clouds slid in late afternoon.

I guess this was Winter Storm Petra. They were talking at work on Sunday evening that it might be a major snow event. But by yesterday afternoon everything was uncertain. Predictions were more in favor of it being a rain event with some freezing precip.

When I woke up around daybreak everything was covered in white. But later this morning I was out shoveling slush to make the ramp and sidewalk and front porch safe for the mail carrier and other visitors. Kind of glad I didn’t have to shovel my own driveway. Had I been staying at home I might have parked at the cemetery. Regardless it should all be gone by the afternoon as the rain intensifies and temps rise. Milder weather is on the way for the weekend. Might try to set up the Hurricane pump and run the falls then.

Heard from Mike last night. My old service buddy who currently lives in Denver. We had a lot to talk about. Someday I’ll have to visit him and do a little herping out in the west. I could probably meet El Neil too—if he lives long enough for me to get out of my current financial hole!

The card from the credit union came yesterday. I activated it last night when I got back in. I’m going to stop in the office down in the hospital basement on my way to work and get them to transfer the balance from Chase so I can get rid of that 20% rate. So hard to believe I’ve finally turned the corner and managed to get off this debt treadmill. Even a couple weeks ago it would have been unimaginable. Yet here I am.

2/21 12:02

Yesterday turned unexpectedly ugly not long after where I last left off.

Heading out to my car for an early departure about 9:30 AM there was a literal blizzard of sleet coming down that had coated the deck and other surfaces I had just scraped clean about an hour ago with a half inch layer of slush. Cleaning it off again was pointless as it was coming down fast and furious driven by cold gusts blowing sideways.

Made for a very interesting and at times scary ride to work. By way of Mt Pleasant and Norvelt cutting over to my regular route in Mammoth where the way got especially bad.

It was actually looking better as I came up 119 to town which was why I opted to go that way instead of taking the long way out to Youngwood and Greensburg to come up Rt 30 which is my snow emergency route. I was regretting it after passing through Mammoth and barely made it up the next hill beyond.

The roads looked like they had not yet been touched and in places there had to be two or three inches on them and it was a matter of staying in the ruts to maintain traction. Of course there always has to be someone coming the other way in the worse places.

This was the prelude to the last major hurdle—the hill beyond the bend past the bridge and then it was relatively level going the rest of the way into town. Still the roads in Latrobe were bad and I was about 15 minutes late after leaving a half hour early to have time for the credit union. Figured might as well stop in there but I’d forgotten to bring my last statement from Chase so I’ll have to do it on Friday when I work 3 to 11.

Lots of people had trouble getting in and I was told they will probably excuse everyone so no points are given for lateness. I can hardly believe the Charge Nurse was able to make it going the way she comes—let alone that she would even dare it on a day like yesterday. I’ve driven it a few times. A strait shot cross country from Norvelt to a crossroads on the outskirts of Latrobe right before the traffic circle by the airport—but it’s all back road and some pretty steep hills and treacherous bends. And I couldn’t imagine it being cleaned at all by the road crews given the condition of the main roads. And in an Accord to boot! Didn’t ask but I wonder if some places it was like my going up Snake Hill or the flats by the confluence of Meteor Road or even trying to get up the bend at the lower end of Greenlick Road where I’ve had to do some serious spinning to keep creeping my way though.

Things got better through the day as it fully changed over to rain and the roads were good going home. It had warmed up and was mild and drizzly when I got into C’ville and the slush and snow and ice from the morning almost a memory. Only a couple lingering patches in the shadow of my car as of this morning.

Skipped over my place both coming and going. Did not want to chance getting stuck there for the night and figure it will be ok by time I get out there this afternoon. And part of it was a matter of physical exhaustion. It was a long day with some pretty trying and heart wrenching patients. It was so good to get away from there at the end of shift. At least no one died that day and no more bedbugs!

Went to bed almost as soon as I got in. Spent the morning catching up on another H. Beam Piper audiobook that I started last night and kept falling asleep on. “Temple Trouble” and then one of his short stories: “The Answer”. And now going on noon. I might attempt to tackle the Florida Room today—or maybe just get stuff ready for the weekend and set up Hurricane and run the falls a little instead. No point in trying to rush the project and the day is looking good for doing the latter thing anyway.

Sunny and mid 40s already. Don’t want to waste that.

2/22 02:40 AM

Productive day today despite the late departure.

Did not get underway until about 3P and the thin veil of the next incoming storm system was already starting to creep in from the west. Flumdiddled the best part of the day away watching the latest Isaac Arthur production on “Cloud Cities”: about habitats suspended in the skies of Earth and other planets. Them browsed some plant catalogs and worked a little on my story again. Would be nice to finish that too; sooner rather than later.

Another item on the to do list I decided to take care of on the way. Stopped at the propane dealer and got the hand truck—or cylinder cart; which is the term the dealer used and probably the more proper—for my weed burner. It was about $49 and a 20# tank is close to the same so I figured I’d get that acquisition out of the way and spread out the expenses of getting started rather than buying it all in one pay period. Also it was the last one in stock so I won’t end of delayed if they don’t get anymore soon and I have problems finding one somewhere else. So I can be ready to start burning weeds sometime in March. Which also will be a good time to get started on cleaning up the pasture that had been on the back burner too long and burn brush on the future Blueberry Triangle. Which means I need to take the saws up for repair soon.

Spent a while talking to the guy who obviously a Trump fan by our conversations about the weather and other things. He even has a “Jesus is Lord” sign on his fence. That and dealing in carbon based fuels probably makes him another “deplorable”. I’m buying and burning it so what does that make me? The weather and everything else wrong in the world is probably Trump’s fault he says. Somehow the subject of bedbugs—of all things—came up when he told me about exterminators who get tanks of propane to run heaters that boost the temp of an infested house up to like 130 degrees to roast them out. He also told me about visiting a house to reconnect a furnace that had been taken off line so an exterminator could treat the place for lice infestation. And his wife made him strip naked when he got home and burn everything he was wearing! That sounded a little overkill but you never know. In the case of bedbugs it might be justified!

Just can’t get away hearing about those damned things no matter where I go. They seem to be everywhere!

Wasted about a half hour there. By time I was leaving the cloud shield of was already obscuring the sun. At least I had already made the trip worth while and the day was not done yet.

Reason I skipped over my place last night in addition to being dog tired was the issue of snow that might persist on my driveway given the cooler microclimate of my northern exposure. Similar to the open pasture on yonder ridge that is lower portion of the property that Bruce sold off when he built his new house on the top end. The view is from across the neighbors property on my upper boundary and overlooking the house that Bruce’s nephew Jesse built on the site of Uncle Budd’s old place. You can see the small block building from the original place that was a shed and to the right you can see the dark brown roof of the new house that is barely visible through the trees. I actually had to double back for the shot from the turnaround at the cemetery—which I debated doing at first because of time issues but glad I did because the snow on the side of the mountain will soon be gone.

It’s almost gone at my place—so no issue getting in or out.

Here’s the new cylinder cart which I hung the Weed Dragon on and took some pics before taking it inside. The cat as always must investigate anything new that I bring here!

Got the Hurricane out and deployed.

Not bad for a day. I also brought a couple coolers down from the greenhouse site to get ready for the weekend.

2/22 11:23 AM

Addendum

At about $2 something for propane $40 something is probably a good ballpark figure. I’m hoping that will last a good while because I’d like to burn a lot of weeds and keep them at bay. I’m walking it slow for the sake of not stretching my budget too much in the short term even though I have more financial freedom now. And the time will still be ideal to do it when I get the fuel. Early spring is usually the time burns happen naturally in the pine barrens of the Southland and New Jersey. Get the winter browned grass and weeds cleaned up and releases the potash and other nutrients and kills off the tender green cress, chickweed and other winter weeds before the new shoots of the desired flora emerge.

This might be the end of the aeration system for the season as I removed it yesterday eve. Will keep it on hand for a while in case we get more extended ice cover. Unlikely but you never know.

It was really great to see the lower falls going from the Rosyside Pool into the plunge pool at the upper end of the inlet. Fingers of bubbles streaming under the thin lid of ice that was soon gone. For a while it seemed like I’d never get the netting off the ponds let along get the watercourse running again but I have!

There was a thin layer of ice on the Rosyside Pool. Already looking nice since I cleaned out the leaves and the new Hart’s Tongue Fern I planted last spring under the Arborvitae bush has taken off. Was looking forward to getting another dwarf maidenhair fern to plant in the space beside it but Plant Delights sold out of it before I could get around to adding it to my current order. Shame because a spring planting would be less likely to get pushed out of the ground by frost heaving like the one I planted above the upper pool in the fall several years ago.

This season I’m going to work on getting more Rosyside Dace in the pool so it can live up to its namesake. My main problem is that they escape downstream over the falls when I run the Hurricane which requires removal of the square pond basket fish barrier that would cause overflow with such a high volume of water.

More addenda

Last evening I was hearing on the WC that they were calling for some God awful stuff that might cause power outages in the northeast. That would have to be New England because here the forecast was for a warming trend and rain with a high of 54 on Sunday and it’s still holding as of this morning.

I’m hoping that’s not going to be one of those highs that occur in the morning with “steadily falling temperatures through the day” because the trend through the week is back to seasonal 30s and 40s. March may be coming in like a lion because there is snow in the forecast next weekend. I’m ok with that because I’d rather get my spring weather going into April than have it turn ugly again then.

Had almost forgotten that the Groundhog and AOC have predicted an early spring and early doomsday that will be pushed back for sure. Ecological doomsdays are the apocalypse of 20 years from today and always will be.

Sounds like the prediction for a working fusion power plant.

2/23 10:50 PM

Florida Room before.

And after.

This was what I’ve been trying to do all winter long. Finally I got it done and good thing too because my morale would really be in the dumps right now with this crisis ongoing. When I contemplated last night how therapeutic this was I had no idea how true that would turn out to be!

Major hurdle overcome!

Just finished getting the Turtle Table back in place after draining the two tanks and shifting the stand enough to accommodate the 42-inch width. Then brought the 50 Rubbermaid in and put it up on blocks and have to tweak the whole thing in the coming days to get it right. It’s going to be a temporary affair since the plan is to gut the room come warmer weather but now I have a much clearer vision where things will go from here.

Hope the tank with the half dozen Redbreasts and two Bullheads won’t spring a leak after being moved. The fish were easy to catch because most of them were hiding in the PVC pipes and I just trapped them inside those and moved them to the cooler and back again.

Will have some pics and a more detailed account by tomorrow evening when I get back to C’ville. Spending the night at home so I can get a head start on tomorrow though I’m not sure how that will go because it’s supposed to rain all day.

When I finished with the project it was late so I did a little shopping and stopped at Applebee’s to celebrate—but that was kind of disappointing because the portions seem smaller than I remember from bye-gone days. Inflation I suspect. We’re getting closer to the $10 Big Mac envisioned for 2020 since the value meal is about $8 now. That scene is only a year away—though I’m probably going to bump it forward to the 24 Election because I’d hate to see the Dems get back total power that soon now that it’s just around the corner!

As I’m putting my financial house back in order and trying to take back my house and resurrecting the Florida Room the last thing I want or need is “Necessarily Skyrocketing” utility rates and even more inflation. For a while I was torn between bugging out and staying the course—I’m getting so used to living in C’ville that my house feels strange and uncomfortable to be in at times. Turning the thermostat up to 64 helped. I think once I get my back on top of things here this spring it will get better.

I do feel better about it now that I’ve laid down in my own bed for a while. Glad now that I didn’t bug out. Hopefully tomorrow will make the stay more worthwhile.

2/24 08:18 AM

Over the borderline.

That was the theme of the thread Ray started on the record breaking cold lashing Wisconsin again. Would make my most recent dealings with Norseman’s Hell and the pending blow that will be the muted version of his current woes after it arrives here in another day or so. Except for the unpleasant surprise I’ve awakened to this morning. The house felt uncomfortably cooler than it ought to be. Temp at 61 and thermostat set at 64. Furnace won’t kick on when I turn it up. Sure sign something is not right. So I go down to the basement to check it.

I can get it to fire up when I jiggle the switch on the unit but shuts off again within a minute after. Talked to Uncle Budd and he thinks it’s a problem with the nozzle which sounds logical. Probably not a difficult or expensive fix but bad timing on a Sunday with cold weather coming again. It’s in the 50s outside but will be in the 20s next couple nights so I need it fixed today.

Oh well. Got to get moving on this and call a repairman. That’s going to tie up most of my day. Good thing I got done what I did last night. I feel better having that impasse behind me. I can make more productive use of the time waiting around by redding up the basement which is necessary now if I have someone coming to fix the furnace.

Update: 07:02 PM

To think I thought my wake up this morning was bad.

Until I get more of what Ray is going through. In either situation it could have been worse. He is lucky his power went out when it did and not tomorrow morning. I looked at the forecast for Wisconsin Rapids and it’s the insane stuff that makes me want to take it out on the polar bears! I’m lucky because I decided to stay at my place overnight. Had I not—I might have just done a quick check of the house and not have noticed something was amiss. Or might not have gone back to check at all and found out too late.

And after waiting around all day for a call to get a repairman I find the price of an emergency call is a lot stiffer than I care to pay—so I’m going to tough it out overnight with electric heaters and running my kitchen stove to at least keep it above freezing. Went shopping on the way back to C’ville to pick up some additional items and an oven ready pizza for a quick and easy meal. The winds were getting nasty coming out of the store and getting into Uncle Budd’s place. Hoping the power does not go out or I’m screwed!

I’m glad epic snowfalls have not been an issue lately. Especially tonight as it could keep the repairman from getting into my place tomorrow.

And I’m counting my blessings. Especially the otherwise great day outside at the pond site.

Before I turned the falls on I rescued a trio of baby Hart’s Tongue Ferns

They were potted up and I’ll nurse them a while until they get a little bigger before replanting them along the watercourse near their parents.

The three sporelings were growing in the moss under the rock lip of the falls right beside the uppermost plant.

2/24 07:00 PM

Better days ahead?

It was looking that way after getting the Turtle Table set up back in place last night in addition to transferring the remaining balance off the Chase account to a lower interest card on Friday. It’s two steps forward—one back.

It felt awfully chilly around daybreak when I awoke. 61 degrees—three degrees below the thermostat setting. Furnace comes on when I jiggle the switch but it shut off right after I go back upstairs. It will run again if I wait a while but cuts off within a minute. Uncle Budd thinks it’s something to do with the fuel injection system—maybe a clogged or worn out nozzle that ought to be an easy fix—but not the best of timing on a Sunday with another shot of cold air headed my way. This is like my dilemma a week ago with the uncertain prospect of getting oil in time in a similar weather situation—which is starting to make the Norseman’s Saga interesting again. It’s going down into the 20s the next few nights so it must get fixed today.

Decided to get breakfast going so I put a hash brown cake in the microwave to defrost and three scoops in the coffee maker.

To warm the house up a little I turned the kitchen stove on and left the door ajar to provide some heat and turned on the little electric heater in my bedroom and got back under the covers for a while. Read the new edition of TLE and the latest articles from Townhall and such. Then got dressed for the day and defrosted a pre made breakfast sandwich and browned the hash brown in the skillet. Luckily there was still enough creamer left for two cups of coffee.

Then I tried the furnace a few more times before calling. Last part of the phone number on the sticker that the repairman had put on my furnace on a previous visit was obliterated where the sticker had disintegrated. So I looked them up on my phone and called what I assumed was a new number. To make a long story short it was a different company that does not service my area. Luckily I found another sticker on the living room thermostat that the company had also replaced several years ago and called it and got hold of the right one.

Now I’m waiting on a call and hopefully a repairman. Once my phone is significantly charged I’ll go down and start redding up the cellar to get the workspace tidy and to generally tidy up the chaos that has resulted from the ongoing project and years of letting stuff go. After spending the night here I am more inclined to think about home improvements again. Especially with spring just around the corner and getting off that financial treadmill I was on for the last few years helps too.

I am glad I decided to stay last night. Otherwise I might not have discovered this problem in time to get it fixed today before the next bout of Norseman’s Hell descends.

It’s sunny and pushing 60 degrees on my back porch—but something is coming my way. It seems to be coming in waves. About 8:30 the skies darkened and it let loose a torrential downpour that lasted just for a few minutes. Then it slowly brightened up again. Probably nothing epic as far as cold weather or winter storms go but a return to seasonable norms is enough for concern. If not for the unexpected expense of a furnace repair.

After I take care of the basement I’ll venture up to the greenhouse and to the ponds. If the sun stays out it will be enjoyable to run the watercourse while I tidy up winter’s mess there.

12:15 PM

May have missed the better part of the day while I was cleaning up the work area and way to the furnace. Picked up and bagged a small amount of leaves and other junk that got tracked in during the fall retreat and through the winter. And swept and scraped up the accumulation of dirt working my way to the door left open for easy in and out traffic to deposit the sweepings outside and carry a few pieces of junk to the pile under the Magnolia that I’m saving for township collection week come May. The sunlight and warmth from the outside made the job more pleasant than otherwise.

It was still pleasant and pushing 60 when I went outside to check things out even though the sun departed. Snowdrops are now in peak bloom in the bed on the eastern side of the house and Goldilocks Crocus are coming into bloom at the pond site on the bank by the Rosyside Pool.

I ran the pumps for a while and did some shots of the middle falls that are going to be renovated this spring. The lower steps actually look nice the way the water cascades when all three pumps are going so I may not change that part very much—other than widening the run slightly and wrapping some ROR around the bluestone pavers to make those look more like ledges of my native sandstone. That will make the whole thing look way better than the original setup I’m looking to restore if I do that and put all the original stones from the upper portion back in place.

It’s good to have an exciting vision of things again. Now if I can just get through the current crisis.

Clouds have moved back in and the winds are picking up. Did not make it to the greenhouse yet but will go there next after I call Fayette Heating again to get an idea when they might be here or whether they’ll be able to make it here today at all.

Update: 2:38 PM

Called the answering service to follow up about an hour ago and they put out another page. Someone called while I was up in the attic checking to see if any of the buckets I put up there to catch leaks were overflowing or had been displaced. They looked ok and only one of them had barely a quarter inch of water in it—which means it remains a small leak that only happens during heavy rains. But I missed the call back by about five minutes and kept getting a voice message that says no voice mailbox has been set up for the account. Kept trying for a while and then called the answering service again for one last try.

Took my phone with me to the greenhouse to check that out and do watering and minor plant maintenance. Might have been a good day for mixing up some milk & epsom salt solution to dunk ferns and bromeliads but I just can’t get into anything major on a day like this.

Finally got a response while talking to Uncle Budd about the possibility of borrowing his electric heater to keep the downstairs warm along with running the stove and the small electric heater in my bedroom. After finding out the rates for an emergency service call I decided go with my desperate fallback plan and wait for tomorrow. $100 just to come out. Otherwise it’s $40—then $65 per hour plus parts and labor. Ran my numbers and I’ve got about $275 in my checking account. So I’ll be toughing it out. Going to go back and have dinner and spend the evening with Uncle Budd. Then bring the electric heater back with me and spend the night trying to keep my plumbing and aquariums from freezing.

If he still had a full 20# propane tank I could have borrowed his Mr Heater. Getting those and my kerosene heater working again will be among my near term priorities. I was hoping that I could possibly squeak through until spring without the eventual big power failure or minor crisis like this one but no dice. Thankfully it’s something relatively small and not an epic disaster catching me unprepared.

Going to move out now. I’m looking forward again to the warmth of my second home in C’ville that has for the time being become my primary residence. I’m definitely going to have to shift back to living at my place so I can keep it maintained better. If I just had a little bit more help with Uncle Budd—he might be ok to be on his own more. Just someone to come in a few days a week to check on him and clean and cook for him and give him company when I’m not there. That would ease my burden a lot.

2/25 circa 02:00 AM

Back home around midnight and so begins my night of Hell for lack of a better phrase. Had one earlier but now I can’t remember it after leaving C’ville and killing a couple hours with Bruce before coming home to a house without heat and temperatures plummeting. Was 34 when I left the ridge and maybe dropped a degree or two since I got home. Down to 55 already in the living room. Turned the stove on first thing. Then used the bathroom to get that over with before the toilet seat gets God awfully cold.

Didn’t bring Uncle Budd’s heater because I don’t want to overload my fuses and I didn’t want to take it in case he needed it. I think I’ll be ok with the oven and the small electric heater in my bedroom and an extra wool blanket.

I’m lucky also that I don’t have your weather or else I’d be screwed for sure.

Things are looking bad in Wisconsin:

https://www.news8000.com/news/snow-causes-three-wisconsin-barn-roofs-to-collapse/1038626576

Ray is worried about his cedars. I tell him:

Addendum: 2:30 AM.

Just finished and sent last entry after falling asleep for a while. Temperature in the living room up two degrees to 57 so the scheme of using the kitchen stove is working. May get a bit of a spike in my electric bill but it will be a decent payoff to protect my plumbing and avoid a higher rate for emergency service.

Also the outside temperature is not dropping as fast as originally predicted so that helps also. Still at 33 with the coldest conditions in the mid 20s not arriving until early morning around daybreak.

Setting my alarm for 7:30 and plugged into the charger because the battery is getting low and I don’t want to miss the repairman if he calls early.

Update: 4:50 AM

This is getting to sound like a real Norseman’s article for a change!

Woke to visit bathroom.

Clear and moonlit and 28 degrees outside. Still holding at 57 in the living room. That may be the thermal equilibrium for the structure using this heat source. Was tempted to give the stove a rest but the coldest part is yet to come. 25 by mid morning then a slow rebound to maybe a little above the freezing point by late afternoon. Hopefully the furnace is fixed by then.

Update 8:00 AM

I survived. 25 degrees outside. According to the Weather Channel ap this is the low point and it will moderate a little from here to near the freezing point later today. Have no idea the actual temp on my back porch other than 20 something. It could be lower than in town but I’m unwilling to open the door and let previous warmth escape just for a close look at the thermometer.

Inside it’s still holding about 57 degrees. Now my next item of concern is going to be the cost of the repair job. And my turts in the garage. Have to check on them and probably move them of ice is starting to form on the water. Probably have a little time on that.

I’m back under the covers with a tee shirt, sweat pants and socks back on. I actually had to take those off and remove the extra blanket through the night to sleep comfortably. I do like cooler sleeping conditions; however this hopefully brief taste of the world AOC and the Democrats would have us live in is ridiculous. Have to give Uncle Budd a call and then the repair service to see how soon they will be here. Hopefully soon.

08:39 AM

Looks like it’s Snowpocalypse Wisconsin. Ray is sending more pictures to make my drive to work earlier this week look like a walk in the park.

Just brown and dead looking here. But better than white. Getting a repairman into my place today if it were any thing like your situation would probably be impossible.

If the climate alarmists are right about global warming pushing the snow and polar air off the poles into the middle latitudes they have the perfect storm for making their population reduction scheme disguised as a rationing economy more lethal. I’ll take my chances with cheaper energy and eventual warming and sea level rise. If the sea does rise the land area will be reduced and the remaining land mass will be warmer and more arable over all as opposed to all these desert belts and trackless tundra that can’t support much life.

09:30 AM

Repairman on the way.

Got up and fully dressed and got breakfast started. Also turned off the stove to give it a rest for a while. Hope I won’t have to use it again while I’m here today. The outside temperature creeping back up a couple degrees. 27 now. Looks like 25 was the low that we hit this morning. It’s sunny so the greenhouse will be pleasant later today.

Maybe I’ll catch up on things there before heading back to C’ville.

Funny thing this morning. I feel more at home in my house no that I’ve stayed here two consecutive days and nights with an evening for Sunday dinner at Uncle Budd’s like it used to be before I moved in with him. Even with the less than ideal circumstances. In a way weathering a crisis here makes it feel more secure and more like home. Like some of the ones I’ve weathered before.

Repairman is here. Must go.

11:17 AM

Good news. Furnace fixed.

Only a minor problem. Just the photo sensor that was an easy fix and the total was $138 for the total of the part plus labor and the service call. Kind of surprised the part—a photo sensor was $53—just for a tiny light bulb thing that with a flattened end like a flashlight lens and some wires. Good thing I hunkered down to avoid the $100 emergency service rate that might have made me use the credit card or put my checking account dangerously close to overdraft. It was worth hunkering down for and now the crisis is over. For now anyway.

I’m going to hang around for the day and keep an eye on it while I tinker in the greenhouse and do other things—just in case something goes wrong. I checked the turts in the garage right after I let the repairman in to do his thing and they were fine. I knew that even before opening the lid of the old chest freezer because water in open containers outside was still unfrozen. It takes some really deep cold weather to do even that. Won’t be much colder than last night for the next two so they should be ok left in situ.

Called Uncle Budd again and he’s still fine. He even managed to get up on his own and unlock the door for Meals on Wheels. I’m getting more hopeful I might be able to wean him on to a more self—sufficient lifestyle in the coming months. Then maybe I can get back to the way things were in the earlier days when I didn’t stay there every night. Just being able to cut out some road miles will help my situation considerably.

Nice to hear the copper plumbing pinging again as the hot water courses through the baseboards.

11:46 PM

Good educational experience. An anatomy lesson on my furnace. I’m wondering if I could have done this myself and saved a whole lot of money? I’m almost afraid to see what one of those things costs. The sensor has two prongs that plug into the yellow wire. It might be possible to replace just that instead of the whole thing and keep a spare on hand as it may be the most common failure and an easy fix.

I finally made it up to the greenhouse and got a lot done. Mixed up the Milk / Epsom Salt solution to give some of the plants the first feeding of the season beginning with the Polydactyl Fern.

Another project was putting tea bags I’ve been saving in jugs of water from the inside pond to make weak tea solution for plants. Normally I use rainwater but in winter pond water is better than nothing.

It was also a good time to cut back the Hammock Ferns that get pretty rambunctious and overwhelm other plants. They look so nice it’s almost a shame to do that but I need to do this more often to keep the growth more compact.

This is the end result.

I removed a bucket full of foliage and rescued a coupe Earthstars—Cryptanthus marginatus but was too late for the C. bromeliodes that got smothered by the ferns. The pot that one was in had shattered and I used it to make a future toad house. From here on I’m going keep this bed clear of ferns and plant it with various types of Earthstars, pepperomias etc and start working in more sand and put down a mulch layer.

Got the isle tidied up while I was thinning the ferns and trimming dead foliage off plants. Picked up a lot of fallen leaves , palm fronds and husks of dead air plants that fell and all manner of debris.

Also recovered the litter pan that belongs to the Turtle Table and took it to the cellar when I bugged out of the greenhouse in the evening as the chill was setting in.

Update: Live from the Florida Room project!

Working 3 to 11 so I decided to make a run to the brickyard and get my blocks. 4 each of the 4“ and 1” cap blocks to make up the 5“ difference in elevation between the tub rim and table. It seemed like today was going to be a ripoff when I looked at the forecast last night and saw that the 50 degree day was not going to reach that mark until 3PM when my shift starts. We made it well before that and I had at least a nice ride on my way out this afternoon. However not much time to do anything else or really enjoy it.

Came up a little short. I’ll get another set to make it up later or maybe not. The tub might be stable on 4 sets of blocks and the space under the overhang could be useful for storing something.

A little bit of extra space there and lots more under the table. Somewhere there I’ll place the sump for the filtration system.

Starting to look like the old setup again.

One of the cats—Boots wandered in to check things out. Time running short. Got to call them around to the back porch for feeding and close the door before they get bad ideas about using that tub of aquarium substrate for a litter box!

Sunday Morning 3 /3 2018

The Pittsburgh Reptile Show.

It was almost a no go on grounds of a pretty serious named winter storm the name of which I’m too lazy and hurried to bother looking up—that is currently sweeping across the Southland and may impact us as well. I weighed the odds of the timing and impact on my region and decided it was worth taking the chance because I needed some dry goods and Superworms and to see what’s out there. Usually this show is pretty good.

It was spitting snow when I left C’ville this morning but got better as a drive out of the city and northward. I even saw the sun a bit when I stopped for gas at the interchange up near home. And even some blue skies for a while up above Pittsburgh.

Contrary to expectations; this show was not as good as some previous ones though there were lots of interesting critters. Just nothing on my wish list as far as must have critters go. I took $200 just in case the guy with the Gulf Coasts was there. He was not. A friend told me a while back that he did show up later in the season last year with some and if he still had a nice looking male I would get it for $80 which was the price then. Maybe not anymore. I saw a bunch of Three-Toed Boxies that were going for $100 each!

The big female up front looks a lot like my Olivia who is a LA Gulf Coast phenotype which resembles this subspecies. As opposed to Franklin or the new pair that are the Panhandle type which favor Eastern & Florida Boxies.

These belonged to the vendor in the corridor between the entrance—where you pay and get your hand stamped—and the auditorium where the majority of the action is. This one has lots of interesting stuff—including several species of monitors which I’ll send pics in a separate thread to save time and data in this one. The corridor has a guy with spiders and scorpions and a couple feeder bug specialists and another turtle specialist that I didn’t notice until I made my rounds of the show and came back to get my Superworms. There is also a Zoo Med dealer there.

Main hall looks pretty much the same except for a few different vendors and the absence of others. In addition to dry goods I was hoping to find Gulf Coasts and Appalachicola Kings but there were neither. A snake guy in the spot usually occupied by the dealer who sometimes has Gulfs had some nice well started hatchling Outer Banks Kings for a toe curling $200 each. And a Fox Snake and a Mexican Lined Pine. And the Axolotls and frogs were there and geckos and blue tongued skinks and more snakes including venomous like Rattlesnakes , Gaboon Vipers and Cobras!

Got to the far end of the hall where the big dry good supplier is and was disappointed. Either they didn’t have what I wanted or it was too pricy so I may be ordering my thermometers, hemostats and water bowls online or just keep looking in the local pet shops. No really appealing cork rounds or driftwood or vines. Was hoping to at least find a 12” wide thick slab for my ramp. No hurry—the Florida Room restoration is a long term project.

Back in the corridor priced Superworms and found a better deal from a different dealer than the one I bought from on previous visits. A guy between the ZooMed table and the turtle guy I discovered on the way out. $12 for 500 as opposed to $15 and they were bigger and better quality to boot. Then I checked out ZooMed and got their special on Eco Earth: $10 for two three packs of bricks. Probably better than any local pet shop or the nursery where I get a lot of my soil amendments.

I checked out the turts too. I think that table may have been the same as the one I got my male Striped Mud last summer. They had a pretty decent selection that looked similar to what I saw then—maybe even some of the same animals—a baby Japanese Pond was in the same tray as two young Central American “Ornate” Woods and there were some juvenile striped muds and other things like various Asian species—though no Chinese Box Turties—indeed I have never seen one of those at a reptile show—baby Euro Ponds , Amboina Box Turtles—the classic Asian or Malaysian Box that I actually used to refer to as a CBT and did not learn until much later they were an entirely different species.

I saw a half grown Kwangtung for $200 at another table out in the main hall earlier. Not a bad deal—except that it has white belly with black markings. Kind of a disappointment and I’m not so sure if I want to get into those now until I find out if the bright red typical of hatchlings fades out due to age or dietary deficiencies. They get kind of big like Euro Ponds or Wood Turtles and I’m not going to devote space to them unless I’m sure they are something I really want.

Got out of there about a quarter to ten and made for the McDonalds to grab breakfast and kill a little time so I wouldn’t have to wait long for Elmer’s to open. Unfortunately it was not enough. Elmer’s doesn’t open until noon on Sunday and I was not going to wait that long. So I figured I’d check out the Lowe’s in the plaza right before the on ramp to the Turnpike interchange in hope they might have something I can use. They didn’t. Just the same old crates with the screaming yellow lid flaps and I decided to continue on and get my pump and tubing closer to home.

On the way back I made a spur of the moment decision to get off at the Irwin interchange so I could ride Rt 30 the whole way back to Latrobe and hit a whole bunch of places while I was out that way. And it paid off handsomely. Found the exact crate I was looking for at Home Depot!

And I got a really good deal on the three that were on the shelf when I decided to take all of them figuring I can use the extras for hibernating turts or to isolate new or sick ones. Then the cashier told me at the checkout counter I could save $25 if I signed up for a card. Talk about hair off the dog—LOL! It was worth doing just for the deal—little more than $7 for about $30 worth of merchandise and I’ve been paying off whatever I get with my Lowe’s card after every statement ever since I payed that thing down a year ago. Plus all the local Home Depots are well out of my way so I won’t be going there very often.

So my next stop was the Lowe’s across the way and there was nothing there of interest other than a neat wick irrigation tray system this particular store is using to keep its inventory of house plants watered which unfortunately they don’t sell retail—but it gives me good ideas for a hydroponic system in the FR. But now I can’t remember the name to do a web search but I can probably invent something of my own.

Then I hit PetSmart in the same plaza in hope of getting my cricket quencher gel which I did not recall seeing at the show and came up empty. So it was on to the Lowe’s in Latrobe and I got my pump and tubing there. The last stop was Laurel Nursery and it was a bit of a disappointment. They apparently no longer have those spheres of expanded clay hydroponic medium I like to use for drainage layer in my frog tanks—so I may have to start ordering that stuff online. And other things as well.

It was pretty much smooth sailing all the way home. The storm was coming up from the south so it took a while to start amounting to anything. It started spitting while I was in Monroeville and picked up a little while I was at PetSmart and more so as I was leaving the Latrobe Lowe’s. It was finally beginning to look serious after my last stop and on the way home. I’ll forgo the details because this storm is turning out rather mundane as far as the region is concerned. It did get heavier and the landscape was getting blanketed in white the more southward I went but the roads remained good. They did not start getting snow covered until after I left my place and there were no issues getting out of my place to go shopping and pick up meds on the way back to C’ville.

In all the trip was well worth the trouble. Especially the decision to take the long way home which netted me some key resources for the project. And a new siphon I forgot to mention—picked up at PetsMart. Good thing I got that to replace the one I use to clean the upstairs tanks and the smaller ones under the steps. Hope this new siphon which is easier to prime than the other one that broke will help make things happen more frequently. Getting the room reorganized and everything down there with centralized aeration and a siphon that is always ready to go to the floor drain and a tap and hose in room to refill quickly will make a big difference.

Out with the old in with the new—I now have a serviceable sump crate , a new pump and roll of tubing ready to go once I gather the remaining items needed to get the Rubbermaid pool up and running. I need bulkheads, my cork ramp and a shallow water platform I’ll fashion from a milk crate and ROR. And my grow light replacements. Maybe next on the agenda should be to see if I can disconnect or cut the power cord plug ins off the ballasts—those 2 white things to the right if you haven’t figured it out by now and wire those directly to the fixtures to save the effort and expense of putting new plugs on the end of the cords that go from ballast to fixture. Then again the latter might be easier—if the fixtures are already properly wired for the LEDs. Will have to consult with Bruce on this one.

Unfortunately it will be a while until I can make it up there to talk to him. Maybe sometime after this cold snap runs its course. Going to be a bit rough next few days. I thought about covering the palmettos again but I’m just too fatigued at the end of a long day out and about and then water changes and inspecting turts. Almost as bad as when I’m working long days. I just run out of oomph to do anything. It would be better if I was staying there and could just lay down and relax for a while. Then I could get up and go do something else or take care of something I forgot.

Just need to get all my eggs back in one basket—or rather get all my baskets back in close proximity to each other and stay there more often to keep a better eye on things.

3/12 01:05 AM

Finally beyond the major hurdle of getting the restoration of the Florida Room started with the return of the old Turtle Table to the corner where the whole setup was born back in the late Fall of 93. With new wooden legs instead of sitting on blocks like the original. Tub raised to sit with the edge of the table resting flush on the rim. A new sump crate to replace the old unserviceable one, bulkhead fitting and plug restored. A new pump, tubing and spillway filter and a fairy coherent vision where I want to go with this project—I’m ready to move forward with it and on into spring.

And I sent off an email yesterday morning to the fellow who posted an ad for Guerrero Wood Turtles in the Fauna Classifieds. The name is Rodriguez and I’m pretty certain he’s one of the guys from the Turtle Room and the turtles he’s offering may be the same ones that were at the Hamburg Show a few years ago—being offered for a very toe curling price. Now half that price which is in the same ballpark as what young CBTs are going for on average. So I figure I might as well invest the leftover cash from the show and get one—that is after all what the Critter Fund is for. And I’ll start saving and watching for more—along with baby areolatas and by Fall I may be ready to populate the restored Turtle Table with a few of each—though more likely they’ll live for a while in tray or tub setup until they get bigger and I’ll take my time introducing them to the bigger setup to make sure all the bugs are worked out of it to avoid problems like the Striped Mud fiasco.

As for my day

I arrived back home late afternoon like always but I hit the ground running.

First to the greenhouse which was a pleasant 80 degrees plus which I did not enjoy as fully as when I last spent an afternoon there because I was in and out of it a good bit and mostly outside. Between there and the pond site where I surveyed some more deer damage while running the watercourse and cleared more leaves off the paths.

Noticed one of the Hart’s Tongue ferns by the upper pool was mown off. Luckily it is near the end of winter and those fronds will soon be replaced by new ones after the deer have moved on to greener pastures. The did a job on one of my Emerald Spreader yews too and dented in the wire on the DD pen lids again. I’m going to have to start taking aggressive action against those antlered rats as Don used to call them. If I can get the electric fence up that will help. Someday I’d like to just dome over the whole place to keep out the wildlife altogether and maybe gain another hardiness zone or two worth of warmth from the greenhouse effect.

Between the pond and the house I decided to try starting up the tractor and surprisingly it ran and I drove it around a little bit for good measure. That was a lucky break because it would not start the last time I tried in colder weather. So one less issue to delay spring cleanup or expense to drain my resources.

Was an enjoyable day with the beginning of the winter flower show starting up. Yellow Crocus, some pale blue Iris histrioides and the yellow reticulata and snowdrops. Goldfish and shiners moving about in the pond. The goldfish are noticeably bigger too. Won’t be long now until pond season can start. I turned the big Rubbermaid tanks upright so the rain can start filling them. At the greenhouse site I moved the two back over to where I had the Swords last summer and dug out the slope a little more so I could shift the one I had in that spot back another couple feet to align better with the gulf pen and allow more space for a second pen—the open air setup planned as a temporary nesting pen for the female Euro Pond that will later be converted to a run for the expanding Gulf Coast flock. In the process I also gathered some dirt to repot the Drunken Concubine lotus so I can get it started again in the greenhouse and in the nick of time too before the remaining tubers rotted away.

Picked up the pond basket when I was finished and took it down to the house to try in the sump crate. Good fit as described in my previous message. I experimented with placement of the spillway filter to see how it would look if I squeezed it into the space between the aquarium stand and the tub. Not bad though I prefer it coming strait onto the end of the tub—so that just might be a temporary fix so I can get the system up and running and put off running the spillway through the wall until the major modification phase come warmer weather. Speaking of that—while I was manipulating things I noticed the tank stand was very wobbly so shimming it is not a good solution. Glad to find that out before putting filled tanks on it. What I’m going to do is form and pour a few inches of concrete to create a level surface on the uneven floor.

After that I checked the turts and discovered the Gulfs waking up and made my command decision to move them outside. I’m fairly confident in their ability to survive but I regret not swinging back by my place after shopping to make sure everyone stays dug in because its going below freezing tonight. So it looks like I may be going back to check on them just for peace of mind.

Kind of sucks at 1 in the morning but better than loosing more animals. Especially on the first day I put them outside!

Option for the spillway filter placement.

From the greenhouse site I found a pond basket with good potential use in the Florida Room system.

Fits neatly in the sump crate and is the right size for the 12” square Matala filter pads to go over a layer of bio balls.

Gulf Coast trio when I put them out this evening.

14 March 2019. Late evening.

Another really good day both weather wise and productive. Got out to my place after taking time to respond back to the lady I’m getting the Psquares from and filling out a Jury questionnaire so I can get it into the mail and back to the courthouse before the deadline. I also did a quick water change on the newts.

Nice mild day despite the clouds that rolled in late afternoon. Arrived at my place around 2ish and started the process of getting the Gulf Pen complex ready for spring time occupation. Took the tarp off the corner of the big section where the adults are dug in so they can get the full benefit of whatever sun there is tomorrow—if they are in the mood to come out. With 70 degree temps on tap I think they will be out—I might not get to see them unless they are out when I pass through on the way to work in the morning.

I tidied up around the pen sweeping up the pine needles on the edging blocks and inside the section where I raise the baby turts. Then I uprighted the larger mixing tub for the baby sliders and Euro Ponds so it can get filled and rinsed out by the rains and fetched the two terrestrial setups for the baby Gulfs which still have the soil from last season in them to which I’ll probably add a little fresh compost and shredded leaf mulch to after they get soaked good by the rains and then plant them with a few wood sedges and other plants to enhance the habitat a bit.

In the background you can see the tubs that I started setting in place the other day.

A close up of the nursery section with vacant tubs being readied for occupation.

From the greenhouse I brought out the rain lily , Dwarf Smilax and Wakulla Dwarf palmetto to set back in place. I’m trying the pot within a pot method like the Florida Boxie setup in the greenhouse for quick and easy removal. These plants are fairly cold tolerant but I’ll be ready to pull them back inside—or cover that section if we get an exceptionally severe cold snap.

After making a run out to shop for some more hardware and a bite to eat I brought the two young Gulfs out and put them in the pen and emptied out their crate so I could use it to rehydrate them. I took them back down to the house to rise them off in the bathroom in warm water and then put an inch in the crate and carried them back to the pen where I left them to soak and drink for a few hours.

Next thing was moving the young JPTs and two remaining of the older juvenile Euro Ponds back to the garage and moving the two adult Euros up to the pen they were in last summer.

Combined them in the same container for the trip.

You can see the obvious difference in the tails of the male and female. Now that I’m getting back into the Psquares I’m probably going to downsize my plans for building a flock of this species—especially since I don’t have to play the numbers game with acquiring several hatchlings to get a breeding pair. I’m going to be very selective about what I keep in the way of hatchlings and I’m going to part with the remaining darker morph and just keep the two Hellenic babies and the one from the first cohort that favors that type.

If you don’t find Mr Spotts—I’ll send you the dark one—which is probably a Russian genotype. He’ll be the closest thing you can get to a Blandings—which is my reason for getting into them and frankly they are probably a lot easier than those since it was explained on the Kennan video that Blandings are notorious for dropping weight quickly because of their high metabolism and are picky eaters favoring feeder fish and other live prey to pellets. They are the opposite of Euro Ponds—which often have problems with obesity in captivity.

Was concerned about the female who was having buoyancy issues again. She was floating in the container when I carried the pair up but submerged right away when I put her into the enclosure and seemed to be staying on the bottom with the male. When I returned to check them out after dark—the male was on her trying to mate!

This is certainly a milestone. It looks like I’m going to have a good transition into spring with the ones I put outside this week as long as they behave normally in response to the changing weather this time of year. I’ll have to monitor them on a daily basis for signs of illness and make sure they are digging in or staying in the water when it gets cold again.

Next group to come up will be the Florida Boxies and baby Gulfs. Those will be coming down to C’ville until a little later in the spring. And then in a few weeks I’ll look onto getting the striped muds into the Greenhouse—which will be about the same time as the Florida Boxies and CBTs move in there. The CBTs might even be able to go outside if the weather stays warm. They can even deal with spring frosts and freezes by digging in—but the Greenhouse will be needed if Spring weather is chilly. Eventually everyone will have a place in the Florida Room also. Once I get that totally organized and start staying at home more—I’ll be able to stay on top of things better.

My shopping trip took me out to Bakers to get a bulkhead and some other fittings to run the flow from the tub into the side wall of the sump crate. They were closed early so I defaulted to Johnson’s and they had nothing. Ditto for Busy Beaver after dinner at the China Buffet. Then I did manage to find a bulkhead at Tractor Supply and some additional fittings that should make it work—unless the water flow is too fast and a larger passage is necessary. If that be the case then I’ll have to remove the bushing I bought and replace it with a bigger fitting and pipe—or drain sleeve. I may figure that out this weekend.

After I get through the transition to spring and the new turts settled in I’ll finish up the Table setup and get the filter system going with the bigger bullheads moved back from C’ville to get the bio cycle started. Will have to figure out the best way it mount the spillway filter with the spillway through the wall which offers the most aesthetically pleasing approach to building a waterfall that plunges into the tub.

3/15 11:45 AM

Missed out on the wonderful day yesterday. Sunny with a high of 76.

It was still downright pleasant leaving work last night around 11:30 PM. I checked the Gulfs when I got home. They were dug in under the mulch and I have no idea if they even emerged at all during the day. I have a feeling they might not have—which is not a bad thing because there is still some cold weather in the forecast ahead. The Euro Ponds were a different story. Both active and moving around underwater. The male was actually sitting out of the water and then went back in while I was walking around the site to check other things.

>Wood Frogs are clacking back in the retention pond and choruses of peepers are in full swing in marshy areas beyond the hills.

Went to check the weather on my phone and was shocked by the current 34 degree reading. Then I realized it was Ray’s local forecast. It’s pushing 60 here today and might get almost as nice as yesterday if the sun stays out. Then it slips into the 40s tomorrow and most of the week. We may be entering a drier weather pattern as many of recent storm events have been lighter on the precipitation and the ground is no longer squishy and treacherous in places where it was before in weeks past.

Going to keep this short so I can have more time to get things done and enjoy the sun on my way out. Got to figure my numbers too. Things already look better since I refinanced. Were it not for the pending acquisition of the Guererro Woods that I am now fully committed to. Deposited my leftover critter fund into the hobby account yesterday and the shipping has been pushed back to mid April so I can spread out the process of gathering up the money. That frees cash for other things and smoother sailing. It also gives the seller more time to put a little more size on them. I’m actually dealing with a lady—and she says she likes to double their hatching weight before shipping.

Another spectacular day. But only time for a quick visit and some photographs. Gulfs and Euros were both out. Looks like putting them outside was a good decision.

Male Gulf Coast

Female Gulfs still dug in. This is referred to by herpetologists as “cryptic basking”

European Pond Turtles

Saturday March 23 2019: Late Afternoon

Its been a rather busy week between working my real job and the Florida Room restoration as time permits. In the process of putting together this article I find myself running out of day which is my only one off on a split weekend and so I’ll speed the narrative up to save time and also to spare the readership and the poor editor the same volume of text and pictures as incorporated so far that would cover what I’ve done since.

Did a major shopping trip to Elmer’s in Monroeville last Saturday to pick up feed and some good stuff for the build that included two 12 inch filter pads that are a perfect fit for the pond basket in the sump crate. That makes ordering the expensive Matala brand sponges online unnecessary. Got some Bio Balls from Scotty’s water garden shop that is just around the corner on a back road behind the Miracle Mile.

When I got home I also shredded up strips of milk carton that I used previously in another filter project so they would compact for a better fit in the pond basket.

I worked on the arduous process of cutting an opening through the drywall outside the room so the small spillway filter I got to build the waterfall component of the system can be passed through the wall and be supported outside on a piece of plywood that overhangs a group of 10 gallon tanks I use to grow out young sunfishes for the ponds outside.

That was a long and dirty dusty process that along with reconfiguring blocks to adjust the height of the tub that did a number on my back—though not as bad as the one that happened in the garage earlier on this winter. And then a very frustrating situation as when I put some 8 inch blocks under the table legs to raise it up so the edge rested on the rim of the tub after raising it to reduce the drop and splash from the waterfall—I ended up with about a two inch gap!

Nevertheless I went ahead and filled the system to test its worthiness to hold and handle the water flow—using some old aquarium water in the mix to help seed the biofiltration system with beneficial bacteria. And I tested it and it worked albeit the flow rate was less than desired. Just a few trickles over the spillway with a 150 GPH pump. Would need to upsize later but at least it worked and I could end the day with the satisfaction that another milestone had been reached. Through the week I brainstormed and tweaked the project—exchanging the simple nipple fitting on the filter with an elbow one and swapping out the 150 for a 250 pump and new legs cut for the table because I was tired of wracking my brain trying to figure out what size blocks would give the right configuration to solve my other problem. That turned out to be a much more elegant solution and less potential for problems on down the line because legs resting directly on the floor are better—more stable than they would be elevated on blocks or risers.

Finally got it right in the end.

However it is not the end but just another milestone in a project that is maybe now halfway finished and in hiatus again as I pause to take care of other things. Spring is coming and more turtles are due to wake up along with other things. Next steps will involve a plexiglas wall on three sides to keep the turts contained and a lot of other furnishings like a hydroponic or self watering planter system, ramp and other furnishings for the tub. And the bigger decision will be what kind of grow lights to replace my old Metal Halide / HPS duo that probably does not work after all these years and might be unsafe if it did. Ray has convinced me that LED is the way to go and I’ll be consulting with Bruce the Historian who knows something about electrical systems to see of that is the way to go.

And so concludes the winter edition of the Norseman’s Diaries for this season—unless we get another big spring storm. Which might be fun. Especially if results in embarrassment for the U.N. issuing another resolution or the global warming alarmists gearing up for the next climate conference.

Hell, what am I talking about? These people never get embarrassed by their own failed predictions. They just keep doubling down or move on to something else. Doomsday is 20 years off and always will be.

My apologies to the editor and readership for the somewhat hasty manner I has to end this edition of the Diaries. But the day was slipping away and the entire process of getting the filtration system and leveling of the Turtle Table could have been a full article in itself and really deserves such. Or at least some more in depth treatment in the next installment of the Nihon Ishigame thread. A sequel for the Part One of the one on excellence in husbandry I put out last summer would be a good place for that.

>Took my Uncle out shopping which was the main mission of the day after writing the current article. And we had our usual dinner at the Long John Silver’s with the Golden Age 1950s / early 60s theme that was mentioned in the previous installment of the Diaries.

https://ncc-1776.org/tle2019/tle1008-20190217-07.html
And this time I got lucky and there was no one sitting by the classic wall mural which I took the opportunity to photograph.

It sure makes for a nice nostalgic end to this article and the day.

When the chrome was thick , gas was cheap and times were better. At least in some ways.

But there’s more.

Earlier this evening right before leaving; I decided to mix in some fresh bedding and mist down the Vision Cage setup the new male Florida Box has occupied all winter and introduce the two largest females and see how things might go. After putting away groceries I went down for a brief inspection; turned on the lights and found this!

When the guy from SoCal Reptiles that sold me the turtle last summer said; this little fellow was ready to go—he wasn’t kidding!

It looks like a successful coupling is underway and chances are good that I will get eggs from this female who has laid before but always under less than ideal circumstances and the eggs either got dropped on the ground and stepped on and broken or bitten into by other occupants, or they just went bad in the incubator. There is hope now for a successful nesting, recovery and incubation since I improved the setup a couple years ago—and this male will surely breed the other female too—of he did not already while I was away! These things often happen like that and I’ve gotten eggs and offspring without ever seeing turtles hooking up.

Speaking of—this position with the male jackknifed like this is quite normal with box turtles and other species of terrestrial turtles and tortoises.

I also caught Franklin in the act the season before he was lost and a few times before that and it was always the same!