Trees And Other Things

Had planned to work on the cedar trees today but there is a front moving through with heavy rain north. Will continue what I started yesterday instead.

(3/27/21) Saturday - Part I

Long day. Back on schedule. Didn't go to bed until about the time I got up in the previous post. It all started while dusting and discovering the speakers on the TV are in the rear pointed toward the wall. Remembered a ridiculous incident some time ago about TV service. Probably posted it somewhere already, but it explains why I am currently illegal. These posts (including the cinder rock incident at Craters of the Moon) may get me arrested.

My parents got Dish satellite TV when they moved here. They could only get it installed by using my credit card as security. They never owned a credit card. The spring before my mother died, DISH blacked out the Atlanta Braves baseball station during price negotiations. No end in sight. This was the only thing my mother watched on TV. She never missed a single game. So I tried to get DirecTV (DTV) installed quickly.

There was a hefty initial rate discount for new DTV customers for the first year. As I recall about $800 worth. The problem was my mother still didn't have a credit card, never had her name on a mortgage, hence no credit rating. (People like that really should not be allowed to vote.) If I used my credit card, the service would not count as a new customer, because I already had DTV. Looking back I should have just eaten the $800 and kept it a secret, but I was still in The Great Depression mode of thinking, and that didn't even occur to me.

Called the authorized AT&T installation guy for the area, and he told me to just add another receiver to my home account and take it to my mother's house, at only $15/month more. I really didn't like this. He insisted, saying "Everyone does it". So for a year I was illegal. When my mother died, the house became a weekend home and it became legal again to add a receiver to a weekend house at that time.

Fast forward. I was at the AT&T store recently about the phone, and they said they needed to upgrade my receivers. Afterwards I found out on the internet that AT&T had changed their policy and you were now not allowed to have an extra receiver in a weekend home. Forbidden. Period. So I'm illegal again. I use the TV mostly as a security device, program it to come on automatically every day at certain times out there and make some noise.

It's all coming to a head now, because to enhance the speakers in the TV in town, I should really get these receivers upgraded. And that's when the rest of the day became head spinning. More later. Maybe.

 

(3/31/21) Wednesday



Yesterday was the first really bad pollen day here. Woke up with stuffy head, runny nose, itchy eyes, dry throat, foggy thinking. I'm bringing this up only because, if it had started tomorrow, I'd think it was side effects from the 2nd Pfizer shot, which I got this afternoon.

I almost waited too late. They opened the shots up to everybody 16 and over last Thursday. Ten minutes in the waiting room and there must have been at least 10 people go through in that time. Mostly college age.

I suspect they opened it up because Georgia is lagging so far behind in % doses administered, ranking 49th, only ahead of Alabama. They claim there is a shortage of vaccine here, but if that were the problem, the % used would be higher, and opening up would make no sense. The number of Covid related deaths per capita here is still highest in the rural counties.
Glad to get this step over with.

 

Since I'm apparently the only person in history to have side effects from the high dose flu vaccines, I was expecting at least something from this Covid shot, especially the 2nd one.

Nothing. . Not even a sore arm this time.

This girl made you dangle your arm straight down from the side of the chair. Just relaxing it in your lap was unacceptable to her. I didn't even feel this shot. She said she used to be a massage therapist.

 

Part 2 (continued from post #1756)

Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday ... ???. (3/27/21- 4/2/21)

All this started because I simply wanted to upgrade the speakers on the TV, and that wouldn't have even occurred to me if I hadn't started dusting, and I wouldn't have done that if the cat hadn't sneezed. I should have just gotten rid of the cat (just kidding).

First, my primary TV told me it is Smart, but not a Genius, because it doesn't have Bluetooth. [Detour to learn about Bluetooth.] Ruled out everything but a sound bar. It is plenty smart enough for that. I DO NOT want to buy a new TV. So far, so good.

Next step. It makes sense to replace the TV receivers. Mine are so old they only have RCA jacks. But there are so many choices. Things are starting to get complicated.

But here's where the trouble really began. Now is the best time to get all the entertainment/communication things either updated or removed, both in town and out at the farm. Things I've been putting off. So I started trying to catch up on what other equipment is available in the 21st century. Mind-boggling.

Then I discovered a setting on the TV that filters out background noise so you can hear voices better. It improved the sound so much, I don't think the speakers need enhanced now, even if they do point toward the wall. {sigh}

Pushing onward anyway because I'm on a roll ( )... If I lose momentum, I'll give up and end up being the little old lady who never replaces anything when it breaks.

After another day or two my head started hurting. I'm on a break now.

Since you can't take it with you, maybe I should just swing for the fences and get everything, everywhere, whether I need it or not. It would be easier to learn if you already have it, rather than imagining it.

I'm tired of this, but what else could I be doing? More dusting.

 

(4/4/21) Sunday

Beautiful day. High 75. Monday (3/29) I piled all the previously cut cedars about 20 feet above the road. Today I cut another patch about 100 feet on down the bank.



The plan was to only cut as many as I could pile up in one afternoon, but I kept going too long. Piled them near the road, and left them for next time. There are a couple of large cedars on down I'll probably just trim up so you can see under them.



There are just a handful of very small trees left, but I ran out of steam.



Found 3 small wild azalea bushes among the cedars that I wrapped with chicken wire years ago to protect from the beavers. I thought they died. They haven't grow at all, just surviving. All the others out there have either died or got cut by beavers. (I probably just jinxed them. )

 

The native azalea bush (Rhododendron canescens) transplanted in town from the woods about 35 years ago. It is blooming right now. Most of the year I take it for granted, even fuss sometimes about having to mow around it. Then for about 4-5 days in the spring it blooms, amazes me all over again, and I can't help but take more pictures.

The fragrance is close to honeysuckle, but not as overwhelming. On muggy nights you can smell it all over the back yard. Why don't they make perfume with this fragrance?





It has several sprouts at the base now. I should probably try to separate a couple and transplant them elsewhere just in case it takes a notion one day to die at this location.

 

(4/7/21) Wednesday

A few years ago I replaced 2 burners on my vintage GE stove. These burners are hard to find, 3 prongs and old style ceramic connectors. The 8" burner fit perfectly but the 6" one had some flaws. One day the coil popped loose from the frame underneath and wouldn't snap back. It looked impossible to fix. I pretended not to notice it for months, but finally got serious and went after it armed with tin snips, a metal file, and a bench grinder.



Gravity will hold the coil down now and it works well. It was the only useful thing I did all day, and that's debatable because I never use more than 3 burners at once.



There seems to be replacement parts for almost everything that is replaceable now. Some good and some not so good.

I've had good luck lately repairing the Sears lawnmower and the Echo trim saw. I liked the saw so much I bought a duplicate very cheap at a small hardware store when they went out of business. Soon afterward the old one stopped running. I've been using parts off it to repair the new one. I should order parts for the old one now and take another look at it. The newer one might conk out at any time.

You have to watch out because the sum of the parts can quickly add up to more than the whole. But will a new one be as good? Or more likely, will they discontinue it?

 

(4/11/21) Sunday

In order to avoid 100 trips up and down the upper bank, I first piled the cut cedars where you could pull them up from above. Pictures turned out grainy.



That job is finished. There is now a pile of dead cedars 45' long (I paced it off) and about 8 feet deep above the bank. One could mow along the road now if the mower works.



The ugly stumps from beaver cuttings 30 years ago are finally beginning to rot and you can push many of them over. I suppose I could cut the rest of them, but there are more important things to do.



Lots of beaver activity since last week. They may take a notion to bring down every hardwood tree along the bank this spring. A handful of the bigger trees are still wrapped in chicken wire from years ago. Not much I can do about the rest. You can't wrap every nice tree around the lake. Well, you could, but I'm not inclined to.

 

I think voice mail has encouraged the telemarketers on the landline phone. Before, no one ever answered. Now the "system" answers, and "they" may think someone is picking up. Every couple of days I get 8-10 empty voice mail messages. So I went back and tried again to get voice mail just on the cell phone.

After wasting another hour, I now get voice mail on the cell phone, but I think all unanswered calls to the landline are being forwarded to the cell phone. Will try again in the morning.

 

I'm sitting here waiting, even hoping, for a telemarketer call. Can't really test these voice mail settings out with just the two phones, both involved. It has to be an unrelated phone.

Voice mail would only be useful if I get an important call from a new person whose number I don't know. Like the health department about the shots. Or the police. Or a long lost relative. Or a nurse at a Dr. office.

One day last month I got a call about renting the house. This happens all the time in town. The girl said she was sitting in the driveway outside in her car. There was no one out there. Then I realized she was calling from the farm. I left the cell phone number on the door. I got mixed up and almost had to tell her a lie.

 

11:57 am

Got one! Like sitting on the bank of the pond waiting for a bite. Small mouth telemarketer. Blank message. At least it is not forwarding calls to the cell phone. Now I need to wait for one on the cell phone. That will take longer. Meanwhile back to the drawing boards.

Editorial comment:

I think one of the worst things that has happened communications-wise in the last couple of decades is the telemarketers. A telephone used to be an important part of life, something most people enjoyed having. Telemarketers have completely ruined having a telephone. Phones are a curse now. It's like paying for a service to provide you with more advertisements. And then paying for an additional service to stop them.

 

I've never intentionally used saccharin ( ) since they introduced Diet Coke in the 80's. But while cutting calories recently I tried adding 2 packets of Sweet 'N Low (SNL) per cup to tea. Probably drinking 8 cups/day, maybe more. After a couple of weeks strange physical things, which I'll leave undescribed, happened.

I found out the acceptable daily intake of SNL is rather low (24 packets, compared to 78 of Equal). Things went back to normal just by cutting down to 1 packet per cup, except one symptom---pins and needles, burning, itching on the quad muscles. The same reaction I had to an antibiotic called Augmentin one time. I think it took less than a week to go away back then. [I have a theory why it's only the leg muscles, but too long a story.]

Cut out saccharin completely for 6 days now. Doesn't help.

I almost never take antihistamines, and didn't this time, because I wanted to find the cause, not mask the symptoms. Thinking they might be useful to rule out things, I took 2 Benadryl about 11 pm last night. Not sure it helped because the whole body became like one big Restless Leg Syndrome on steroids. Couldn't sit still. I would have started dusting the house to take advantage of the situation, but it also made you very sleepy.

Took one non-drowsy Claritin this morning. It made a little difference at first, I think, but is now wearing off. It must be something else besides saccharin, and just coincidental. After reading a little bit about antihistamines, I think they may be more dangerous than saccharin.

Pine pollen in Georgia is also a complicating factor. I don't think I'm allergic to pollen either, but just breathing it makes your head get stuffy. Looks like a cedar/Juniper tree.

 

(4/19/2021) Monday

Stopped by the Ford dealer in the country. Salesman said some new 2022 models are coming out soon, if not already. He found a new 2021 Ranger Lariat that matches what I am willing to settle for, in the Atlanta area. Turns out dealers are privy to a better online search engine than the public. Even ones just coming off the assembly line. If it is already at its destination, they can have it here in 24 hours. The only thing different I would order would be smaller wheels, but an inch taller might be useful going through the woods once in a while.

Plain and simple. I don't know what that thing is sticking up on the top in this picture. Don't like it.



When I spend that much money I never make a decision on the spot. Period. Even if it risks missing out. Much back and forth pacing on the porch followed.

Don't like the EcoBoost engine, but you're stuck with it.
Don't like a console, but you're stuck with it.
Specs don't specifically say it has a rear sliding window, but all Lariats are supposed to have them (?)
A new 2021 ordered from the factory would take 8-10 weeks and cost a little more.

My inclination right now is to go for it. Will call him in the morning. One of the other salesmen said he knows a buyer for my old truck. So I won't have to worry about getting rid of it, and how to get there and back with it.

Washed the pollen off the truck. I think it's similar to not wanting to go out without clean underwear. Took off fast, because the pollen out there is about a week behind in town.

 

@John Brunner

Yes! That sounds just like some things I would do.

What I don't like about selling a car privately to an individual---making sure you disclose everything that is wrong with it. I've forgotten most of the things wrong with mine.

My parents sold their car to a woman after they moved here to Georgia and she kept calling and complaining about things for months afterwards. The dealer/salesman will inspect it, or at least take the responsibility for the sale afterwards.

It does have the Sirius XM radio. It's one of those options you have to take when you want something else. It also has a trailer tow package I probably wouldn't have ordered.

Funny thing, driving up there the transmission worked just fine. But driving home it did the shudder thing 3 times. Maybe it was trying to tell me something.