60+ year old thread.

Is customer support decent for the Gravity Fed smoker, I think that is what you have, not sure.

Mark: You just continue to amaze me. I donated last Saturday, a week ago yesterday. I started donating while I was in Vietnam in 1970. Army Strong.

Yesterday's cook turned out great. Pardon the finger in the one shot, oops.

Going to see the new Thor movie today.

 

That looks so good!!!

 

Good Morning Porch Pals & Gal! It's amazing that 103* isn't as hot as 106*! I bought one of those ArcticChill mini-swamp coolers yesterday, to torture it in the garage. No, it's not AC, but darned if it doesn't make a difference. I have to work with the door closed today, so I'll give it a little more test.

My one contact with them could not have been better. I had one MB probe, and bought other "Amazon" probes. Controller started going crazy when cooking turkey, and going through multiple probes. They determined the probes ruined the control, and sent me a replacement controller under warranty, with a new probe to boot. So, I ordered extra MB probes, and will be sure to use only theirs. Seems silly, but....
I think it's just the fan, but I didn't send in my findings last night, being Saturday, and moving sprinklers (1 of 2 watering days) around all night. I expect it's just the fan.

Welcome back, @Devious6 ; I agree that it may be necessary to invite ourselves over to Tom's!

 

I haven't seen a hummingbird moth in our garden for a while. Then again I haven't really been looking. Anyway here's one from today.

https://youtu.be/Gu3nO3SXcHw

 

Cool video, I don't think I ever saw one of those moths.

 

Beautiful garden, Dave! We've been over 100 so long, blooms are struggling, despite watering.

Solar power note, Paid more for water than power last month, the wife informs!

 

Well, shirts! They don't provide many measurements, but this seems like one that's pretty much a given...
How far from garage wall to mounting area for the motor?
Looked like I had enough...



I temped the bar up, and I need another foot! So, off comes two of the " fix later" panels, and made supports, and and just painted the stuff before it goes up tomorrow.



Glad I'm a patient old fart....

 

Need a new dehumidifier for the basement. Old one lasted 10 years. Not bad. Wow, you really feel inflation when you buy something at 10yr. intervals. Hope the new one lasts as long. Thanks Dad, Mom for showing me the importance of saving.

 

Good morning fellow Porchatonians!! Humid and 70 here already - supposed to have thunderstorms off and on. I haven't cut the grass in almost 3 weeks now.

 

Does anyone have a machete? I need to cut my way through this humid air. Not much on tap for today other than staying cool for now, and staying dry a little later when the rains finally come. I started a book by Scott Turow, a favorite author of my wife. Maybe I'll chew through a few chapters.

 

We were worried.

 

Morning 60+
Finally got some rain last night
Maybe some more today

 

We put a unit rated for 4,500 square feet in the basement of our newly constructed townhome early this spring, a basement which is only about 700 square feet; here are a few comments:

• Even when it was well below freezing outside, it was still condensing water out of the air, probably from the concrete walls and floor which had been poured about six months prior.
• With things hot and humid outside, while it doesn't run constantly, it is on more often than not; I'm estimating it is responsible for an easy $75.00 per month in electricity.
• But damn! The basement is nice and cool and dry, and odor free, so well worth the money.

 

Good Morning Porch Pals & Gal! Back at it in the garage again; maybe I enjoy some progress instead of just a sauna. No, the little swamp cooler is NOT an AC, but it actually did keep the temp from rising as much - until I opened the door!

 

$75! Ouch! But they are pretty much just air conditioning condensing units, so they do eat the watts I guess.

 

I’ve experienced some “hot & humid” a few times when I took a hot shower while forgetting to turn on the exhaust fan. Not a feeling I’d want 24/7. We have what we call “natural air conditioning” in the Bay Area. Sorry, no vacancies.

 

Afternoon all:
I thought it was somewhat comfortable in the house until I started to replace the computer cable modem with the new one that they sent me, then the sweat started flowing freely! The good news is that the new one is working!

 

Yeah, I lived in the Bay Area back in the 1980s (split pretty evenly between Cupertino to the south and Novato to the north, with a fair amount of time in Walnut Creek) and still visit frequently; honestly, I don't miss it, not even a little.

 

The wife and I often sit outside in the morning to drink our morning coffee and enjoy the cool of a new day. This morning we were privileged to witness a Nat Geo moment unfolding sixty feet from where we sat.

We are very aware of the wildlife in the area and one of the benefits of sitting outside is watching the birds we feed congregating around the feeders and bird baths. So we're sitting there, enjoying the morning, and we see a big bird dive down, level out, and glide into the crown of the tree across the street. It was too big to be a dove or any of the usual residents but too fast to really identify it. We could see movement inside the tree. Suddenly a small bird fell/launched/tumbled from the tree and onto the ground to the side of the tree. At first we assumed the bird was injured, but then it seemed clear that it was a baby that was fully feathered but not yet capable of flight. There was still movement in the crown of the tree and the larger bird inside emerged to land next to the struggling smaller bird... clutching a bird already in its talons. It hopped on top of the baby bird and adjusted its load, and then flew off with two victims.

We've seen hawks from inside the house taking birds, and even watched as they ate their prey, but never seen a hawk target a nest, or take two... and while we were sitting outside in plain sight.

 

I was fortunate to watch one dive into the water and come out with a fish! We were in kayaks on a bay out on Cape Cod. Come to think of it the bird was probably an osprey. Lots of those on the Cape.