Friday Nite Check In (on Saturday morning)

Yeah..., the baseball games on Friday afternoon and evening got in the way of the FNCI..., again.  I am happy to report that the Seattle Mariners broke out of their two game, shameful slump and won game five of their series to take a 3-2 lead back to Toronto..., needing to win one of the two remaining games to advance to the World Series.  If that transpires as I hope..., they will be meeting the Los Angeles Dodgers..., who won their fourth game in a row to move on to the Big Show.

I celebrated by conjuring up Sausage, Biscuits, Gravy and Fried Eggs for supper after the games concluded. OK..., I didn't really make biscuits..., I toasted a couple bread heels from 100% whole wheat bread and soaked them up good with left over chicken gravy from the other night.  Frying the eggs in the Jimmy Dean sausage grease doesn't make for the best looking eggs..., but they are sure tasty.  And I don't think them chickens make eggs like they used too..., they are way too touchy and break very easily.

I will be facing a big dilemma if the Mariners and the Dodgers do meet up in the World Series. The Mariners have been my "home team" since I moved to Forks, WA back in 1987..., but the Dodgers were my favorite team during my teens and remained so until the Mariners took over the top slot. I read several of John R. Tunis books about his fictional Dodger teams growing up..., and remember savoring the few televised games of the rivalry between the Dodgers and the Yankees when they would meet up in the World Series. It is surely a different world today when you can still view most games for a free..., but I am afraid that they will soon only be available for a fee. Anyway..., I guess I will be rooting for the team that is behind..., hoping to see exciting games..., but the Dodgers have had many glory days to remember..., but the Mariners have never been to the World Series..., let alone won one..., so I am leaning their way I guess.

Other than that..., the weather has been really nice..., no Monsoon Rains just yet..., but I have the feeling that they are not far off..., and we actually had a wee bit of frost one morning this week. I am hoping that I have weed eatted the driveway for the last time this year and I am having no trouble finding leaves to rake and mix with the horse manure for compost for The Garden..., and since I have the day off..., from baseball..., I probably should get to work catching up on the chores that have been neglected !!!

 

Friday Nite Check In (on Saturday..., yet again)

 Well..., yet again your unreliable correspondent has missed his Friday Nite Deadline..., due to a five hour baseball game on Friday evening.  I thought I would have time after the game to slip in the Friday Night Check In after the game that started a 5 pm..., but I didn't consider that the game could remain tied up for over two extra hours and last 15 innings. A heck of a game..., and a great outcome for us Seattle Mariners fans.

A beautiful morning for Spider Hunting.

The past week was a fairly nice one..., weather wise..., but a bad one for the Spiders. I had been noticing a lot of cob webs and spiders while out cleaning up the Charley Horse manure..., and I didn't need my glasses to notice a half a dozen little brown spiders hanging down on the outside of my windows..., and my garden rake was a useful tool to knock them down..., but when I went out with my glasses on early this week..., the alarm bells went off..., and I decided to eliminate "a few" of them. I thought about using a broom because of the long handle that would keep me a safe distance away..., but I wasn't sure it would squish the bastards.

Just an "itsy bitsy" spider..., yeah right :(  

So I had to settle for an old metal spatula to dispatch the ones on the walls of The Barn, The Well House, The Gar-Port and The Front Porch. I tried to take pictures to show how many there were..., but you can't really see them in the pictures..., but you cans see some of the squish marks that were left after my full frontal assault. After the first day the score was Scott R. 57..., Spiders 0. The next day as I was changing into my work pants in The Office/Library/Computer/Music Room I had to give the Spiders one point..., when one scurried out of those pants and I had to dispatch him with nothing but a socked foot. I am still a little traumatized over that one. And I am careful to keep my metal spatula handy at all times now.

A few squish marks here.

A close up for you.

Those of you that have been reading my blog for a while may remember a story about snakes in "The Garden" story..., and I have similar feeling about spiders as well..., so here is your Friday Nite Music Video (on Saturday) from Jim Stafford...,

Friday Nite Check In

I thought for sure that our Monsoon Season had started a couple days early this year.  It usually waits until the month of October is at least underway..., sometimes early October and sometimes a little later..., but we got a couple inches of rain on the 29th of September and another inch on the 30th.  The first couple days of October we got over a half inch of rain each day..., on the 1st the intermittent downpours were enough to keep me cozied up inside and watching the wild card baseball games instead of braving the wild weather outside and cleaning up the horse manure.  On the 2nd I thought I could outsmart the downpours and sneak in some clean up..., I'm not so smart..., and the radar picture on the Internet isn't exactly exact..., I got caught out in the Southeast 40 under the apple tree in one of those cow pissing on a flat rock downpours.  And an apple tree may provide you a little comfort in your mind..., but your wool shirt tells you a little different story.  After the worst of the downpour subsided I curtailed the clean up..., and got into some dry clothes..., and more baseball.

Today I got things spruced up and the weather forecast is telling me that the Monsoon Season hasn't started yet..., and this last week has just been a little wake up call to let us know what is on it's way.  Maybe we will get a bit of Indian Summer yet this year..., the forecast up above says we could get close to 70 degree temperatures on Monday and Tuesday with overnight temps down in the 40's..., we have only experienced a hand full of those overnight lows the last few months.  And as crazy as this weather is..., something even crazier is going on..., here it is October..., and the Seattle Mariners are still playing baseball !!!

So..., here is your Friday Nite Music Video...,

Friday Nite Check In

Well..., our guests have departed..., and it is looking like they took the nice sunny summer weather with them..., though they did leave a couple of nice ones behind..., so they could make a clean and lengthy getaway 😀  But The Weather Channel shows nothing but rain for the next ten days..., not quite the Monsoons just yet..., but certainly not sunny summer weather.

Charley Horse was the only one happy to see them gone..., he was shunted off to The Barnyard Pasture so the driveway gate could be left open.  I swear that Logan shed a tear or two when Baja barked goodbye.

 Dave and Jenelle were the best of guests..., they never interfered with my chores..., Dave is shooting the video as Jenelle is coming out of the motor home..., and I am coming out of The Barnyard with the wheel barrow after depositing the horse manure and leaves on the compost pile in The Garden..., and Charlie did insist on checking things out before returning to exile.  I also managed to climb the ladder and scrape all the apples that I could reach with the rake in hopes that I could deter Charlie from engaging in his penchant for over indulgence in apple gobbling when he can get to them before I can clean them up after a wind storm.

Trying to stay ahead of Charley Horse

I also managed to get the rest of Potatoes plucked..., and while there weren't any giant Fingerlings..., there were enough seed quality ones.  The good thing about them is all the eyes that they have to develop sprouts from each spud.  The Yukons tend to just sprout from one end..., so you need lots of seed potatoes from them.

About half this batch will be saved for seed potatoes.

Probably half this batch too.

So..., I guess we are about as ready as we can be for the end of summer..., and the wet weather might serve as a good excuse to stay inside and watch The Mariners in there first playoffs in some twenty years..., and The Seahawks are looking like they could be a contender this year as well..., and I better move on and not forget to offer up a Friday Nite Music Video..., like I did last week 😢  This one from James McMurtry off his new Black Dog and Wandering Boy album deals with getting old..., something I am quite familiar with..., here's "South Texas Lawman"...,

"South Texas Lawman"

South Texas lawman, he brings 'em back alive
He hunts quail from horseback and he cheats on both his wives
One in Rio Bravo, one in Raymondville
He's never been to Houston, and he doubts he ever will

South Texas lawman, old time in his ways
He wore the cinco peso, and it dogged him through his days
The hours were long and lonesome, the paperwork's a bitch
His years are empty bottles now, tossed off in the ditch

I used to be young
I used to understand
I used to be strong as any man
I used to be bold
Nobody bothered me
And I can't stand getting old, it don't fit me
It don't fit me

South Texas lawman, the work just ain't the same
Used to you could clock 'em good if they called you any names
Now he's up on charges for showin' 'em who's the boss
He reckons after Vietnam we must've all gone soft

I used to be young
I used to understand
I used to be strong as any man

South Texas lawman, sittin' on the beach
South of Port Aransas, alone and out of reach
Cellphone in the pickup, gun-belt in the sand
Lookin' past the breakers, half pint in his hand

Kayak through the breakers, to brave the silent sea
Cinderblock and a ski-rope coiled beneath his knees
Cellphone in the pickup, gun-belt in the sand
Naked in the moonlight, sidearm in his hand
Out past the second sand bar and on out towards the rigs
There's things out deep you seldom see
Some of them get mighty big

I used to be young
I used to understand
I used to be strong as any man
I used to be tough
Nobody bothered me
Now I've had about enough, this don't suit me
It don't suit me

I used to be bold
Nobody bothered me
And I can't stand getting old, it don't fit me
It don't fit me

Friday Nite Check In (on Saturday Morning)..., again

Company stopped by.

 Yeah..., another missed deadline for this poor, unreliable correspondent..., but as usual I have plenty of excuses for my dereliction of duty.

My old friend..., and I do mean old..., The Skipper (aka Dave Watson) is just one year younger than me !  He brought the motor home with the little car in tow..., Jenelle and their two dogs Baja and Freida instead of the sail boat.  Just as well..., clear skies but not much wind for sailing while we were at First Beach in LaPush yesterday.

The Usual Suspects..., me and The Skipper with Baja, Frieda, and Logan.

Logan seeking some shade from the old, fat, bald headed bastard enjoying the sunshine.

All three dogs found a shady spot.

After our adventures on The Beach we tried to barbecue some Rib Steaks..., but had chosen some fake "briquettes"..., with oak firewood size and marble size that just didn't work out right..., so we finished the steaks off in the electric frying pan in the Park Model trailer.  And the adventures continue..., 😍

Not sure what the problem is with the non-loading video of The Beach..., maybe we can work on it later if the weather drives us indoors..., as the forecast suggests will happen later today.

** UPDATE**  OK..., I had to resort to loading to my YouTube channel..., here is the link...,

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/VYKSHTEyhKc

Friday Nite Check In

About 3/4 of the Yukons have been harvested.

 Well..., the harvest has begun in earnest now..., but before I bore you with the Potato Pictures..., I need to update you on the electric heater repair that began last week.

The heating elements arrived Monday and I got one of them installed in the heater that I had already disassembled and removed the bad one.  It appeared to be functioning properly..., and I even had two screws left over..., so I put them in a jar with all the other left over parts from other repair projects I have worked on.  

So anyway, I was feeling pretty confident and packed the other heater out of the little trailer and disassembled it and found the bad element and replaced it with the new one.  Put everything back together..., but sad to say..., I didn't get to add anything to my left over part collection😢  I packed it back to the little trailer and plugged her in..., thinking that I would soon be demanding a multi-year contract extension with a substantial pay raise..., and of course a substantial signing bonus as well..., when that damn green light started blinking again😢

Back to the work bench me and the heater went..., and if I had removed the left side panel first..., I would have noticed that somehow the electrical connection had failed to be connected..., but I had removed the right side panel first..., for no good reason as it turned out.  

So now I have two good heaters and a good spare for emergency purposes..., and though the new contract and raise and bonus are probably out of the question..., I am hoping that I won't be placed on waivers or demoted to the practice squad😁

The beer can is there for perspective..., but it was put to use after the picture.

Some more seed potato size taters.

Some more nice ones.

They can't all be seed potato quality..., but there are a few there.

All available apace was put to use.

Not sure what kind of varmint got into this one !!!

All in all..., I would call it a really good harvest..., not many real small potato salad side..., but I am still working on that batch of Fingerling potato salad size from last week 😁

Well..., not sure if you noticed that I posted a Cody Jink song last week for your Friday Nite Music Video..., that I had already posted earlier..., I don't think I have posted this one..., couldn't find a lyric video..., the lyrics below.

Lyrics

Well the face that's starin' at me in the mirror
Ain't a face that a young man can recall
The lines are getting deeper
And my hairs are turnin' grey
It's a wonder I have any left at all
This winter it came on me like a wildfire
Burnin' cold and creepin' into these ol' bones
With harvest come and gone
Another year is winding down
It's best that I be getting myself gone
Just a lonely man that set out long ago for somethin'
That was home

Well I finally kicked the smokin' and the hard stuff
I drank enough for three or four men's lives
More habits than an honest man should carry
Choices good or bad they've been mine
So I've changed a lot of things that needed changing
I started findin' peace with my new demon
I got drunk in '99 and I just sobered up last year
Guess that I'm still learnin' how to feel
Just a lonely man that set out long ago for somethin'
Somethin' real

Well I ain't afraid of dyin'
There's people dying every day
I'm afraid of where I've failed at any turn along the way
Well I hope tomorrow finds me
With a chance to try again
Well I pray the weathers good
My backs against the wind
Just a lonely man that sat out long ago for somethin'
That never ends

Well I ain't afraid of dyin'
There's people dyin' every day
I'm afraid of where I've failed at any turn along the way
Well I hope tomorrow finds me
With a chance to try again
I pray the weathers good
My backs against the wind
That weathers often stormy
And that rain'll sting your skin
We'll worry about tomorrow
When tomorrow comes my friend
Take caution through the curves
Steadfast through the fray
Got some ground to cover and skies are clear today

Just a lonely man that set out long ago for somethin'
Just a lonely man that set out long ago for somethin'
Just a lonely man that set out long ago for somethin'

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Meredith Jinks

Friday Nite Check In

Well..., nothing exciting to report this week.  I am letting the potato skins toughen up before I start harvesting in earnest..., but I couldn't resist pulling a few Fingerlings to see how they were doing.  Not much in the way of seed quality spuds..., but lots of little ones..., enough to cobble up a good week..., or more..., worth of potato salad.

This is my third Home Comfort (Heat4Less) electric heater out in my Office/Library/Computer/Music room..., still going strong.

And I finally got around to attempting to repair one of my electric heaters..., I had been planning to do that..., for close to a year now.  It had started signaling that one or more of the four heating elements had quit on me with a blinking light.  At that time it was close to winter and I figured I better just order up a new one..., based on the fact that a new one (the third one) would get here as fast as the parts..., and another consideration being that my mechanical repair record hovers somewhere between disaster and catastrophe.  So when my second heater in the Park Model trailer started the blinking light thing this week I figured it was past time for me to attempt the repair on number one..., so I could see if I could try to improve on my repair record..., and maybe even repair number two while I was at it..., and the weather was still warm enough that I could order up a couple more if my repair record stays in tack.

Stay tuned..., the new heating elements are on the way...., wish me luck 😁

This is heater #1 that I am finally getting around to attempting to repair.  I think I found just one bad element..., the brown looking thingy.

You have to turn the heater upside down and take off both side panels to service the heating elements.  Luckily there is plenty of info on YouTube to help with the repair process..., and even a phone number to call for more help.

Well..., I guess it's time for your Friday Nite Music Video..., for The Others (like me)...,

 

Friday Nite Check In

Well..., no heavy lifting this week..., but I did get a little work done on The Potato Garden along with the every day chores.  This year I was amazed at the difference between the Yukon Gold plants and the Fingerling plants.

The near row is half Yukons in front and half Fingerlings in the back.  The far row was all Yukons and I had already cut half that row back..., until Logan said, "enough".

The Yukons are already starting to die back and never produced the green growth like the Fingerlings.  Here is a shot that shows the difference a bit better.

The Fingerlings are on the left and the Yukons are on the right.  They were all planted in the same row..., but the Fingerlings grew so tall that they fell over and continued to grow up again..., and are still looking like they are in their prime.  Charlie Horse was supervising in the background.

If I remember correctly, I did plant the Fingerlings a week or maybe two later because that area was still very wet.  I am anxious to see if all that green growth has translated to like sized potatoes.

You can see the row on the right and how it was starting to yellow up.  Again..., the Fingerlings are the tall bunch in the back of the row on the left.

After I took the picture above..., I cut back the Yukon section of the mixed row.

Cutting back the green growth and leaving about six inch stalks for a week or two will allow the skins to harden up..., not so great for eating..., but they keep much better if the skins have toughened up.

Speaking of "keeping" those potatoes..., it was time to get rid of last years leftover crop..., so I planted them along with the horse manure that I clean up daily 😁

Most of them would still be edible if you cleaned the sprouts off..., but when you have new potatoes ready to harvest there is no need to do that.

Well..., I hope I haven't bored you to death with my Potato Stories..., so I will move on to your Friday Nite Music Video.  I feel bad that I was thinking about my dear old Dad's birthday on the 23rd last week and spaced out Julie and I's anniversary on the 20th..., as usual..., RIP dear..., I'll always love you💔

 

Friday Nite Check In

Well..., I missed my first correspondence "deadline" for the Friday Nite Check In last week..., through no fault of my own..., but I will try my best not to miss another..., though I would much rather be out on The Front Porch drinking cold beer in the shade and the little bit of breeze that is taking the edge off the 82 degree heat today.  Yeah..., the thermometer says it is 89 in my Office/Library/Music room..., but the Beer Fridge is right next to me and the two corner windows where I compose these little check ins.

This must have been winter picture..., I had the insulation posted in the windows.

I got the heavy lifting work done earlier in the week before this new heat wave started..., a couple of loads of apple tree limbs cut, loaded, and deposited over the cut bank along the south edge of The Ranch.  

Here is the first load.

Logan says that's enough for the second load.

I got as much as I could from the ground with the hand held nippers.

And as always I missed the best scenes before I could get the camera operational.  A big Heron landed near the Little Pond and Charlie Horse took notice from about 50 yards away and began a cautious advance to investigate the new arrival.  When he got about 10 yards away the Heron spread its wings and took flight..., looking way larger that its long legged appearance while just standing there..., and it spooked Charlie enough that he galloped over to the other side of the gravel driveway.  The Heron made a small circle and landed again.  Charlie worked up his courage and advanced again..., this time when Charlie got too close, the Heron took flight again.  I cussed myself for not having the camera at hand and remedied that problem..., and Charlie Horse found other pastures to graze.  But about an hour later the Heron was back..., but there was a Red-Headed Duck there this time.  I doubt that you folks with dumb phones will be able to view it well..., but if you have a full size desk top monitor..., well..., it still isn't well defined.

The other evening it was pretty dark for filming but Charlie Horse either saw, or smelled or heard something in the Southeast 40 pasture and did some bucking and kicking and snorting and I had the camera at hand and caught the last little bit of the escape..., from..., whatever.  Again..., it will probably be hard to see on the dumb phones.

Tomorrow would be That Good Lookin' Al Spence birthday..., and he would assure you that it would be his 29th..., yet again.  He always fancied himself a mule skinning pack horse man..., so here is your Friday Nite Music Video...,

Friday Nite Check In (on Saturday Morning)

Yeah..., we suffered a power outage at 2:48 pm on Friday before I finished this post..., and it also shut down the Internet rain gauge at the Quillayute Airport down the road..., so I don't have anything but a guess to how much rain we received until about 8:00 am this morning when the power came back on..., a good guess would be close to another inch added to the 2.5 inches I noted when I drafted this post 😓

Well..., we got "a break" in our nice sunny weather and nearly drought like conditions today with a real good dose of rain.  As of 2 pm this afternoon we got 2.5 inches of rain with no sign of it letting up anytime soon.

I obviously did not have the "movie" function operational for this shot from this morning.

In last Friday's entry about Charlie Horse's issues I noted, "He still isn't churning up the pastures by galloping around and causing me more time replacing divots than cleaning up horse manure..., yet..., but I firmly believe that he will soon."  Would you believe that in a matter of an hour or two after I posted that..., he was doing a little galloping around..., and the day after he he was following me around and when I would get too far ahead of him he would come galloping to catch up.  The day after that..., after my siesta..., I went out to clean up and I see he was a little sweaty..., so he had been working out on his own a little..., hope I can get some movies of it to post soon.  Unfortunately..., I need some practice with the movie making properties of my digital camera..., here are my attempts..., along with a couple more pictures taken during the week.

Yeah..., I didn't realize that the movie was activated and I clicked it off by mistake..., so missed most of the galloping action.

..., and I was a little late getting the movie activated again..., live and learn I guess.

Here is another attempt on the day that he was putting on a little performance..., bucking and snorting and chasing Logan around..., until I got the camera out that is 😢

This is a comparison of last years Yukon Gold potato on the left and this years potato on the right.  I want to leave this years crop in the ground longer to toughen the shins like last years model.  The keep better with that tough skin.., as you can see this years model is already starting to turn a little green..., but they both tasted fine.

And here is your Friday Nite Music Video (on Saturday Morning) of the third cut on Cody Jinks' new disc...,