Re-perched, when does the relaxing start, in memorium
Yes I am blogging on a holiday. Time-wise it just works out.
Even though we had an extra day tacked onto this weekend and no MAJOR projects planned we still have been going much more than not. On Saturday the main focus was getting the chickens perch reconfigured. We wanted to lower it to make it safer/easier for the birds to jump down from. Our original plan was to literally just chop maybe 18 inches from the triangle shaped perch and be done with it.
Saturday morning Cindy suggested that we consider a redesign in coordination with the elevation decrease which at first I was not really into as it sounded like more work. However with the way the existing perch was constructed, even lowering it’s existing design was going to be more trouble than you would think. Cindy suggested we transform the perch from a triangle into a rectangle which would allow for more perching space. Doing so would allow us to use some of the perch in it’s existing layout and to repurpose most of the wood we pull off in it’s new configuration.
We did a Home Depot run in the new Tacoma, adding another 10 bags to go with the 20 I picked up on Friday after work. We also grabbed the additional lumber we would need to complete the perch which was not much.
We set up the 13 x 13 Coleman tent I bought at Costco a few weeks back to use as a sun shelter. It worked well until some strong winds started to blow in advance of a storm. We dropped the tent to prevent it from unintentionally becoming a flying object. We finished up the work inside the chicken coop to protect us from the rain. We were both happy with the end result. It has ample perch space with a low enough height that even our fattest chicken, Cocoa should be able to jump down without getting injured. Although the birds looked a bit confused about their new sleeping arrangements they eventually settled down and all had more space to sleep than they had previously.
Saturday afternoon I accompanied Cindy to the place her daughter is living with her boyfriend’s parents. Cindy agreed to look after their two dogs, Tank and Bowser while Katie and the boyfriend’s family were away for the weekend. I also brought my drone along to get some aerial video of the old abandoned track in the back of their property. Tank and Bowser are normally crated when nobody is home which always makes me feel badly. They say dogs don’t mind being crated but it sure doesn’t seem like fun to me.
They were both very happy to see us and ran around happily in the yard, enjoying their freedom. I took my drone to the back of the property and set it up in the air. Believe it or not I think this was the first time I have flown the Phantom since the Yellowstone drone prosecution fiasco. The track is badly grown over but you can tell originally a lot of time, money and effort went into it’s construction. It is fully covered with asphalt and even has banked turns. Some areas of the track you can barely see due to massive overgrowth. The aerial footage came out half decent. Click here if you want to take a look.
On Saturday night we stayed home and watched Max, the story about a military dog whose handler was killed. Of course any dog related movie is going to be an emotional thing for me. It was a touching movie that any dog lover will enjoy. B+
On Sunday morning we were originally going to run but decided to postpone it for a couple reasons, the biggest being the big blister on the side of my foot from wearing wet Crocs a good portion of the day Saturday. We instead did our second Home Depot run in as many days (after letting out the dogs again) so Cindy could get some supplies to repaint the perch and I could grab a few random items I needed.
When we got home I got around to doing my post 1000 mile oil change on the new Tacoma. I wanted to minimize the chance of tiny metal shavings contaminating the oil from the engine’s first 1000 miles of use. I was a little late as the odometer actually read 1305 miles when I did it. While I was under the truck I heard a car stop out front accompanied by a voice. It was a guy asking about my old king size mattress I had by the curb. I was hoping somebody would actually take it instead of it being relegated to the back of a trash truck. My mom got me the mattress years ago so I had some sentiment about it.
I told the guy the mattress was still in decent shape. He first asked if I could set it aside until he could come back with his truck but then decided he was going to just strap it to the roof of his car. I helped him hoist the mattress into position and he then tied it down. It made me feel good knowing someone potentially will continue to get use out of the mattress that mom carefully picked out for me years ago.
I decided to video the oil change on the Tacoma just as I do with nearly all of my automotive work. I figured it would be a good way for me to get some familiarity with my new truck. I was literally just changing the oil and not the filter. The oil filter location on the the new Tacomas is a bit of a pain in the ass as the only way you can reach it is by removing the skid plate from the truck. It also is a canister type filter instead of the conventional all-in-ones I have dealt with in the past. You unscrew the the housing and just replace the filter element inside. I am not sure why Toyota thought this was a better choice as I am sure it will be quite a messy job to replace.
The oil swap went smoothly. If you would like to see the documentary regarding it, click here.
After lunch I hopped on the tractor to get the yard mowed. The grass growth rate has now started to accelerate due to the increase in precipitation. I tried to hurry up and get done because we planned to go see a matinee of the new X-men movie at 3:30. Even with us hustling we walked into the theater just as previews had started. Luckily the time of day meant the theater was very empty.
Like Captain America, this movie was very long, nearly two and a half hours. I always enjoy X-men movies although my comic book knowledge of their characters is not very strong. I liked the movie. Although it was not as good as Civil War in my opinion, I would still give it an A- rating.
This morning we finally got out for our run. I let my normal weekday alarm set to get us out of bed relatively early so we could start before the heat of the day hit hard. We got to the track around 7AM and tacked on an extra lap which added up to just shy of 4 miles, a longish run for me nowadays. We were both glad to get the run out of the way early. Afterwards we went straight to Dunkin Donuts followed by a stop at Sam’s to grab some bulk and ancillary items.
I am hoping to be able to just chill for a good portion of the rest of the day as we have no Memorial Day social functions on the calendar. For the last 5 or 6 years my Memorial Days used to always include timing a race in the morning and then attending the running club Memorial Day picnic in the late afternoon. I used to have a lot of fun at the club picnic. The recent venue change for the picnic last year along with the changes in my relationship with the club have made that option not an appealing one this year unfortunately. Perhaps circumstances in the future will make it a better option once again.
Of course today really isn’t about picnics, pool parties, hot dogs or hamburgers. It’s a day to reflect upon and appreciate those that gave up themselves in the name of our country. It is a sacrifice not many can imagine but hopefully more can respect and learn from. Wouldn’t a goal of a more peaceful existence in the future where regular loss of life in the military is not so commonplace that it hardly generates a mention in the 24 hour news machines be a great thing?