Friday Nite Check In

 I managed to get the rest of the spruce cones cleaned up this week.

Here's a view from another angle...,

..., and here's the view from the sleeping bag position.

Yeah..., I felt like I had accomplished a tough task and completed the Spruce Cone Crusade without much problem..., so I felt confident enough to take on the Income Tax ritual.  I was plenty proud of myself last year when I only had to write a check to the US Treasury for $57..., even though I had to include Julie's income from Social Security on the forms.  I thought that not including that income this year should lower the gross income and since I would be filing as single instead of married this year..., I wouldn't incur much more than a few hundred extra dollars to this years check.

Well..., I guess I should have paid more attention to Mr. Powers in my freshman Algebra 1 class..., instead of taking every opportunity I could find to sneak a peek at the drop dead gorgeous sophmore cheerleader and girlfriend of the high powered senior athlete and student body president..., and future husband.  I could never figure out why she would give a skinny, pimple faced, freshman such an evil look when she caught me doing it..., and like I said..., I should have been paying attention in class instead of trying to figure that out.  But..., oh..., see..., I have become distracted once again and forgotten what I was writing about.  I guess I better dig out that old high school annual and show you what the distraction..., or should that be.., what the attraction was...,

Sally Scott back then..., and Sally Walker before she graduated.

OK..., back to Tax Time..., I hurried through the first run through..., and had to slug down a few beers to get over the shock..., as those hundreds I was anticipating showed up as thousands on the back of the envelope I was using before committing the numbers to the actual forms.  Especially when I knew that I had included The Chump's lauded  $6,000 Social Security deduction.  After the beers had the desired effect I looked a little closer and slower..., and noticed that like I suspected..., the gross income was a little lower..., but the adjusted gross was much higher.  There must be some mistake..., and sure enough..., I thought I had found a mistake..., and deducted a significant large number..., and came up with a much lower tax owed 😀   I hit the beer again..., for a different reason and called it a night.

I was feeling pretty good the next evening when I began to enter the numbers on the form for real..., but that didn't last long..., as I discovered that I had deleted a number that belonged on the list.  Trying to figure out why there was so much difference in last years numbers and this years wasn't that difficult..., when you are paying attention..., and not distracted.  I had assumed that the difference between the "standard deduction" for filing married and single would be mostly covered by the reduction of Julie's SS income.  But there were other deductions as well..., primarily in that Social Security Worksheet to determine how much of it could be taxed.  Yeah..., please explain to me how the government can tax the money that they hold out for SS all my working life..., then tax me again on it when they give it back to me in retirement? (UPDATE: I stand corrected on this last statement..., see the comments :))

Yeah..., though the SS earnings this year were over $12,000 less than last year..., I ended up paying tax on about $8,000 more on my earnings this year without Julie's other deductions that totaled over $10,000 last year.  And about that "lauded" Chump $6,000 SS deduction..., it garnered me a mere $700 savings over all.

I have an appointment with AARP tax helpers in Port Angeles next week to check out my work..., but I have been over the figures enough times now..., I think I have the right ones.  Except for one little thing..., on line 38 of 1040-SR there is an "Estimated tax penalty"..., the instructions indicate that...,

Estimated Tax Penalty

You may owe this penalty if:

• Line 37 is at least $1,000 and it is

more than 10% of the tax shown on your

That sounds like I may owe some penalty..., since I owe about three times that amount..., but I also found this...,

In general, you may owe the penalty for 2025 if the total of your

withholding and timely estimated tax payments didn’t equal at least the

smaller of:

1. 90% of your 2025 tax, or

2. 100% of your 2024 tax. Your 2024 tax return must cover a 12-month

period.

Since my withholding this year were more than my tax last year I may not owe a penalty..., we'll see 😢

Well..., whatever the outcome..., it isn't going to send me to the poor side of town by any means..., but I have always liked this song..., and when Bruce Springsteen released his version of the Johnny Rivers song..., I at first thought, "Hey Bruce..., you ain't no JR"..., but his version is growing on me..., 

OK..., just for comparison..., heeerrreee's Johnny...,

Friday Nite Check In

I need to get a new camera..., this old one makes ME LOOK OLD..., and blue haired.

 There was a time in the long ago past when getting my hands on a  spruce tree of this size would have excited me a bit more than it does these days.  Yeah..., back in the day, when I made my living with a chain saw in my hands..., instead of a shovel, rake and wheelbarrow that constitutes my living these days in retirement..., I put my share of these trees on the ground.

I trimmed some low hanging branches to make things a bit more picturesque.

Today I spend my efforts into making them look good.  These three old grandaddy's aren't actually on our property and I am not sure how they managed to escape the chain saws when the other property owner logged the other trees..., but they didn't do anything with the property after they logged it..., so I have cleaned up a little of it adjacent to our property.  It makes for a bit more grass for our horses over the years..., and it looks better than the scotch broom and berry bushes.

Still a ton or two of cones left to haul off.

The spruce cones were getting pretty thick under the big buggers..., but I thought it would look prettier if I cleaned them out.  A work in progress so to speak.  I always thought that it looked like a great spot to roll out a sleeping bag some warm summer night..., and I may get around to that one of these days.

Charley Horse had already inspected the Big Spruce Project and wasn't much interested in my next photo project...,  

Yeah..., I guess the daffodils didn't see any shadows on 2/2/26..., and are ready for spring..., and who could blame them..., after a couple of 60+ degree days in early February?

In other news of the week..., this Saturday would have been the day to call Brother Larry to wish him a Happy Birthday..., but he sadly checked out a little over four years ago.  Here is a link to the obituary that I wrote for him..., with plenty of pictures...,

https://scottrthequillayutecowboy.blogspot.com/2021/10/my-brother-larry-spence-born-february-7.html

 

I always used to post an AC-DC music video on Facebook in his honor..., before I got banned from there.  They were his favorite band..., so I hope he isn't too mad at me for posting a cover of one of their songs by one of my favorite artists.  Here's Cody Jinks with, "A Long Way to the Top..., If You Want to Rock & Roll"...,

And of course..., we can't forget that The Seattle Seahawks are playing in The Super Bowl on Sunday.  They call their high powered defense "The Dark Side"..., so you get a double bonus Friday Nite Music Video tonight...,

..., and my prediction is that the Patriots will be seeing the dark side on Sunday as the Hawks romp their way to victory 😄

Friday Nite Check In

Books by Cormac McCarthy

 There are a very few authors who's books I have read and collected all of..., and Cormac McCarthy is one of those select few.  There wasn't room on the shelf to include two others that you can see a small corner of off on the right..., and one novella I have on my Kindle.  I had read an excerpt of "All the Pretty Horses" in Esquire Magazine..., back in the day when it was a monthly literary magazine and not the "Men's Journal" that it later became.  But I hadn't started my "library" at that time..., when I did, it was one of my first purchases.  Next came the three volume book at the top of the picture.  Being the frugal sort of being that I am..., I usually wait for paperback versions to come out before I spend money..., but when "No Country for Old Men" and "The Road" came out..., I managed to somehow pry the money out of my wallet for the hard cover editions.

I haven't dusted off these old books for quite some time..., other than after the fire and a few moves to get them to their new home..., until last week.  I found a post on my Substack Page from a guy who is another Cormac McCarthy fan and a little more well educated than I am.  Here is a link to his post and a copy of the passage from "All the Pretty Horses" that he does an analysis of:

https://substack.com/home/post/p-183603101

“They rode out along the fenceline and across the open pastureland. The leather creaked in the morning cold. They pushed the horses into a lope. The lights fell away behind them. They rode out on the high prairie where they slowed the horses to a walk and the stars swarmed around them out of the blackness. They heard somewhere in that tenantless night a bell that tolled and ceased where no bell was and they rode out on the round dais of the earth which alone was dark and no light to it and which carried their figures and bore them up into the swarming stars so that they rode not under but among them and they rode at once jaunty and circumspect, like thieves newly loosed in that dark electric, like young thieves in a glowing orchard, loosely jacketed against the cold and ten thousand worlds for the choosing.”

I commented on the post with a passage that I really liked from another McCarthy book.  I can't do that sort of explaining of this passage from "The Crossing" that still takes my breath away every time I read it.  The first time I was on the transit bus that I used to ride to the job every morning..., I had to restrain myself from standing up on that moving bus and shouting it out to all those snoozing passengers on the bus.  And I have quoted it to several friends via email that I thought might appreciate it as well..., I hope you do too..., I keep a book marker in place for just such times as this:

"He camped that night on the broad Animas Plain and the wind blew in the grass and he slept on the ground wrapped in the serape and in the wool blanket the old man had given him.  He built a small fire but he had little wood and the fire died in the night and he woke and watched the winter stars slip their hold and race to their deaths in the darkness.  He could hear the horse step in its hobbles and hear the grass rip softly in the horse's mouth and hear it breathing or the toss of its tail and saw far to the south beyond the Hatchet Mountains the flare of lightning over Mexico and he knew that he would not be buried in this valley but in some distant place among strangers and he looked out to where the grass was running in the wind under the cold starlight as if it were the earth itself hurtling headlong and he said softly before he slept again that the one thing he knew of all things claimed to be known was that there was no certainty to any of it.  Not just the coming of war.  Anything at all." 

 

And since this post is about cowboys and the author has passed away..., I guess James McMurtry's "Vaquero" is a fitting song for your Friday Nite Music Video...,

01/29/26 - Remembering My Mom's Date of Birth - Wanda Spence

Wanda Kautz High School Graduation Picture
She was also the Class Valedictorian 
Born:  01/29/32
Passed:  11/10/06

 Yeah..., later this year will be the 20 year mark that she has been gone..., but I prefer to remember her birthday..., and a lot of other things about her that I previously wrote about on this blog..., here's a link to that story:

https://scottrthequillayutecowboy.blogspot.com/2013/05/

RIP Mom..., and your birthday isn't the only time I think about..., and love you.

Friday Nite Check In

Looking northeast from the rhody in the Pet Cemetery.

We have had a nice string of beautiful..., and warm for January weather for about a week now.  The picture above doesn't show just how blue the sky is..., and the sun has already started to drop behind the tall trees on the southeast side of The Ranch..., but it is still hitting up on the northern pastures.  Charley didn't follow Logan and I up to this shady spot..., he stayed down in the the sunny area.  I felt like I should be in my T-shirt instead of my long sleeve flannel shirt while I was up there cleaning up horse manure.

Looking northwest from the rhody in the Pet Cemetery..., Logan is in no hurry to get there.

The light was a little better looking northwest..., at least the camera thought so..., but it still washed out the blue sky.  You can see the buds coming out on the rhody.  We had a couple of 60 degree days and mostly mid- to upper 50's in the afternoons.  I was a bit worried about the buds with the overnight temps in the low 30's and a couple of high 20's..., but they seem to be pretty hardy.

I didn't get much time to enjoy the beautiful weather last weekend..., because of the NFL football playoffs.  With two games on Saturday and two on Sunday I was trapped in the trailer and glued to the TV both afternoons.  At least there are no games on Saturday this week..., so I can get out there and enjoy the weather before it turns on us.

The forecast is for even lower temperatures for the next three days..., but no rain until a "chance" of rain on Monday.  That should bode well for the Seattle Seahawks and the fans in the stadium on Sunday..., they might be chilly but they won't be wet.  No need for me and dogs to worry about the weather..., even in Denver for that showdown..., where the forecast is for snow and temps in the teens..., we will be nice and toasty warm and dry in front of the TV for the games.  Weather dry that is..., not throat dry..., I will assure you.

Hoping for Seattle to go all the way this year..., but I won't be putting any money on it..., that always seems to jinx them..., or me.  So I will leave you with this one from Corb Lund..., "Out on a Win"...,

I fought in Brazil, I fought in Japan
I wrestled with the Chechens and the Dagestan
I worked amateur promotions all over the States
I always showed up and never missed weight

I been choked out, tapped out, and knocked out cold
I been heel hooked, leg locked, and TKO-ed
Hammer fist finished and triangle choked
I hate to tell ya boys, but I mighta got old

Lord, all I wanna do is go out on a win
Feel the ref raise my arm up feelin' again
Styles make fights and with some time in the gym
All I wanna do is go out on a win

Competed in college NCAA
I drifted around and found MMA
A quick left hook and stiff right hand
They said'd be my tickets to the promised land

Well, I rolled with the Gracies a couple of times
Took a few meetings with Dana's guys
Did most everything short of makin' the show
Now it's a little too late and I'm a little too slow

Lord, all I wanna do is go out on a win
Feel the ref raise my arm up feelin' again
Styles make fights and with some time in the gym
All I wanna do is go out on a win

Well, these kids coming up are training everything young
Muay Thai, BJJ and Wing Chun
About all that's left of me before I retire
Is an old school, broke down fighter's desire

I give it all up for the Octagon
But with the first few notes of my walk out song
Adrenalin hits and with a puncher's chance
I bite down on the mouth guard for one last dance

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Lund Corby Clark Marinus

Out On a Win lyrics © Corb Lund Mus Inc Ii

 

Friday Nite Check In

Here's the Ole Spare purring like a kitten now, while the other heater takes a break.

 Well..., I am sure most of you were out there waiting with baited breath..., and most of my really old friends were waiting with beer breath..., for the promised report on my all new adventures in mechanicing from last week.  Yeah..., took this picture on Thursday..., and you can pick your jaws up off the floor..., where they were in awe of the fact that it got fixed by me..., and Misha.   Not only that..., I will save you all the trouble of bombarding the comment section with the..., "Now you just hold on a minute Scott R..., we all know your reputation as a mechanical moron..., and it is documented from last week that the parts were arriving on Monday..., and this picture was taken on Thursday..., so we respectfully subpeona you for the rest of the story !!!"

OK..., OK..., take it easy..., geez..., you will be getting the whole truth and nothing but the truth 😇  But first I need to say right off, up front, that there were some problems..., but my new E-Pal Misha..., and her technician..., saved the day with with an email with a picture that solved the problems Thursday morning.  Thanks again Misha..., and now on to the rest of the story.

Monday I made a special trip to Forks to get the mail and the repair parts..., I usually just go once a week on Friday.  I didn't want to start on the mechanicing until Tuesday..., so I would have a full day to work with.  No problem installing the heating element..., I had done that a few times already..., but that damn circuit board was a bitch.  The wire connectors were glommed on so tight that the tangs on three spots came out of the board with the connectors..., and even then I had to pry and cuss to get the tangs out of the plug ins.  Thinking that the board was bad in the first place I wasn't worried about ruining it by pulling those tangs out.  I wanted to be sure to plug them all back in the right spot so I wouldn't have to take them out and maybe ruin the new board.  It wasn't a easy job by any means..., at least not for me.  I had skipped lunch and though it was still a little early..., I was looking forward to supper in the not to distant future..., when I plugged in Ole Spare and turned her on..., the fan whirled and the little green light came on..., and then that little green light started blinking..., and no heating elements fired up..., that about ruined my appetite 😢  Turned it off and unplugged it..., and started checking wires.  I found one connection that was pretty loose because I had tweaked the connector a little too much getting the tang out..., I tightened it up a little and tried again..., same result.  I composed an "UH OH" email to Misha..., and started on the beer..., well before I started on the supper.

The next day I spent all day trying to figure out what was wrong taking multimeter tests for current and continuity and since I was't getting current to two elements from a triple wire connection on the left side of the board I tried to figure out why?  I had had such difficulty disconnecting that one and pulled the tang off the board and such..., I thought maybe I had pulled a wire loose from the connector..., so I stripped the insulation off the connection to examine that possibility.  

The circuit board wiring picture.

Somewhere in the process I got no power what so ever..., and I sent another UH OH email to MishaI saying that I had really messed up now and had no power at all getting to the heater.  Then I discovered why..., when I plugged in the working heater..., and it wasn't getting power either.  Thinking that I had somehow tripped a circuit breaker..., but a quick check found that wasn't the problem.  I will plead the fifth amendment in not revealing how long it took me to realize that the electric receptacle I was using was a GFCI outlet..., but there wasn't a little red reset button one it!  When I calmed down a bit I remembered that the one in the bathroom had a reset button..., and I had power back.  I sent another email to Misha..., telling her to disregard the "no power" statement of the previous email.  I also sent a picture of my connections to Misha and a rather long description of all the tests and results I had conducted..., tactfully neglecting to mention the GFCI fiasco.  She got back to me the next morning on Thursday that maybe the stripped white wiring was the problem and they were not making connection and sent back two pictures..., the first picture with that area circled.  I got back to her explaining what and why I had done that, but thought the wires were all securely attached to the connection and explained all the other places I had checked and my findings and sent it back to her.  Then I checked the second picture she sent..., and felt like the mechanical moron that I proved that I am.

This is how the jumper wire connecting the four heating elements should be wired.

I looked at her picture..., then looked at the other side of my heater..., and looked again and again..., and hurried to forward the email I just sent with the message to, "Hold the phones !!!"  Until I do some adjusting. Somehow when I was working on Ole Spare back in September..., I had wired heating elements #1 and #2 together..., and had wired heating elements #3 and #4 together with the jumper wires.   As you can see above, the correct way is 1 and 3 together and 2 and 4 together.  After I made the "adjustment" I got back on the email for forward number two and reported that,  "Ole Spare was purring like a kitten..., and so am I..., thanks to you Misha."  I grovelled a bit..., and Misha was kind enough to congratulate me on "my" success..., and not to rub in my incompetence..., though I would  certainly have been deserving of such 😁

..., and I started on the beer..., WAY..., before supper 👍👍 

Now..., that doesn't mean that all my beer breathed friends need to pile on in the comments..., but if you feel that you must..., I'll understand.

I guess the Friday Nite Music Video that would express this week would best be Springsteen's "One Step Up..., Two Steps Back...,

 

I woke up earlier this week and it was about 10 degrees cooler than usual in the trailer..., but the outside temperature wasn't much cooler than usual.  It didn't take long for me to notice the little green light on my Home Comfort electric heater blinking.  That usually means one of the heating elements has burnt out.  I posted a couple of stories about my adventures in mechanicing earlier this fall..., Here and here.  In those posts I said that I had a "spare" all ready to go if I encounter any more problems.  So I wasn't worried..., I hauled the spare into the trailer and plugged her in..., only to see a blinking green light..., and no heating elements heating up 😡.  The only excuse I could come up with was that I was so sure of my mechanicing skills after successfully repairing one heater..., that I assumed that I had repaired the spare without fully testing it.  The only solution I could come up with was to take out one heating element out the spare and use it to replace the bad one in the trailer model.  I hate to brag..., but I am getting pretty good at taking apart those heaters by now..., I didn't even have to keep the YouTube videos on full time to accomplish the task.  But I shouldn't have been too lazy to run down a set of pliers to tighten up one of the loosely fitting wire connectors the first time.  I had to do that when I got the trailer heater all put back together and plugger her in..., yeah..., you guessed it..., a blinking little green light.  But I did guess right and took the correct side panel off the first time..., so I didn't have to take off both sides..., and I got the pliers to tighten up the wire clip..., and I am warmed back up now.  

Just waiting on parts to put the "spare" back on line.  I need to send a shout out to Mesha at Home Comfort Customer Support for making sure I got the right parts ordered..., it is so nice to work with a real person instead of of a damn AI bot.  The parts should be here on Monday..., but I have to replace a a circuit board that has about eight or ten wires connected to it..., plus the heating element that I robbed from it..., stay tuned for further adventures in mechanicing.

In other developments my main weather site is back up and running now.  After the power outages of a couple of weeks ago, the weather report of the Quillayute Airport was off line longer than usual..., and when the New Year rang in and still no data showing up I was afraid that funding for the old airport weather station had dried up.  It provides updates on temperature, wind speed and gusts, rainfall and barometric pressure about every five minutes.  It can let you know if the temperature is falling fast and you should leave your faucets dripping to avoid frozen water lines.  I had already bought an inside/outside thermometer and was checking out rain gauges on Amazon..., when I decided to email the National Weather Service and ask what was going on.  Much to my surprise the site was back up within a few hours..., and the next day I got an actual response..., apologizing for the outage and saying that it was back up !!!  I responded with a thank you and said I was just curious if my email had prompted the fix?  I got this response, "It's tempting to credit you, but it was a coincidence :-)".  Once again..., it is nice to work with real people instead of AI bots.

That's about it for the adventures of this week..., and I guess it is only appropriate to leave you with my theme song...,

  

"Hard On Equipment (Tool For The Job)"

He's been roundin' off bolts since the age of fourteen
Was that a five eighths or a nine sixteenths?
He's got a metric socket that don't quite fit
Well, it'll wiggle just a little but it ain't quite stripped
The safety guard's gone from his grinding machine
He got a stiff paint brush he only kinda got clean
He's the hired man, my neighbor and a cousin in law
He's a Jerry riggin' fool, he got the tool for the job

Well, it's vise grips for pliers, and pliers for a wrench
A wrench for a hammer, hammers everything else
It just don't seem to make much difference
I sure do like him but he's hard on equipment
I sure like you son, but you're hard on equipment

His corners ain't square and his floor ain't level
And he's always had trouble with the old tape measure
His doors don't close 'cause the jamb ain't plumb
And he's a Goddamn menace with an air nail gun
They love to see him comin' at the lumberyard store
Fixed the leak in his roof with a two by four
Drilled holes in his boards with the wrong kinda bit
And when they don't line up he blames the government

He got the whole front yard full of fix 'em up cars
Three don't run and the rest won't start
Everything's fine with his rebuilt motor
Except of course for the couple spare parts left over
Baler wire tie downs goin' down the road
On two bald tires and an oversize load
He ain't never read a manual 'cause that's like cheatin'
He don't mind a little grease on his hands while he's eatin'

He's got busted up knuckles, his thumb got bruised
Jesus Christ was a carpenter, too

Friday Nite Check In

 

Well..., the days should be getting longer now...,but the sun will be hiding behind that big clump of tall trees off to the southeast of us for a while yet.  And it never reaches the tops of those trees before it slides off even further to the south to come out from hiding for a few hours before sliding back behind more tall trees to the southwest.  This picture doesn't show what a pretty orange sunrise it would be if those trees were gone.  I guess it isn't really the sun's fault..., it is caused by the orbit and tilt of the earth..., or so they tell me.  I am not so sure I should believe anything anymore..., there is so much "fake news", propaganda, outright lies and confusion out there.

James Howard Kuntsler says in his Forecast 2026: In the Vortex of the Whirl    

"... Our country was predicated on the resolve of virtuous men operating under the rule of law. We are lately under an astounding siege of villains without principle seeking to wreck the republic.

The big question facing the USA is whether our political life can become even more deranged than it has been in the past ten years, or can we possibly sober up. How is it we’re still arguing about men in women’s locker rooms? The self-evident has gone missing. A lot has gone very wrong." 

 

JHK is just as sure that forces supporting Joe Biden conspired to rig his election over Trump..., as Hilary Clinton was sure of the Russian conspiracy to defeat her in favor of Trump.  I say again..., I find it hard to believe anything anymore.  At least JHK isn't afraid to put his predictions for next year in writing..., and put a link to his previous forecasts.  This prediction seems to be a bit suspect to me though...,

"... Unlike just about everybody else in the forecasting business, I don’t believe the Democratic Party will be able to take back the House of Representatives or the US Senate in the 2026 midterms. They have left too wide a slime trail of corruption, avarice, lunacy, and treason."

Karl Denninger does JHK one better..., he actually scores his last year predictions before venturing out on 2025: The Year In Review, And Get Stuffed *..., and I think his prediction for the mid-terms is closer to what is going to transpire...,

"The GOP loses the House in 2026 despite the gerrymandering and may lose the Senate."

Other than that..., I believe the whatever it's cause..., the sun will start coming up sooner in the morning and further to the east and rising higher in the sky..., and dipping back the other direction mid-summer.  I will continue to clean up horse manure daily and compost it in The Garden daily..., feed and water Charley Horse and the dogs daily...,make weekly trips for groceries and mail..., and keep you all posted on those worldly adventures and add a little music video for your pleasure.

This one always seemed like a good New Year song..., though I would be hard pressed to explain just why...,