A Relaxing Morning With The Hounds

The stainless steel shield was a good idea, otherwise I would not have tried it. I've seen that same design inside barns above fans. I just didn't like the way it looked outside in the open, that could be seen all the time.

Today I feel this same way and am glad I took down the thermometer even after it had been hanging there forever. I was able to take a glance on Weatherbug online to check the temp before our walk ... that's good enough for me. That wall now looks better since the paint dried.

The hounds slept in late this morning after their breakfast ... actually I did which caused them to. Yet they sleep during the same time period every day after eating. After a cup of coffee we headed out for the walk ... wet field and all.

I knew from this pose of Stella she was going to be on her own pace again this morning since I am pretty sure that she will always come running before being left behind. I didn't call her to come in any of these photos.

You have to look close to see her tail.

Her first sprint of the day.

Try to lay your ear on the back of your head like this.

Up near the area where I think the deer hangout, it got real interesting when I saw her cock her head and look with her ears perked up. From the way she was acting I was sure there was possible deer movement in the gully.

She decided to head to her other favorite place. Sadie in the meantime checked out a couple of strong scents along the path we were walking.

This is Sadie if you can't tell the two apart.

This is Stella due to the black on her tail.

Almost home.

I think the wall looks pretty good after the paint dried and the 'nesting' thermometer wasn't around. I am curious if there was ever something in that one space where it looks like it was filled in with a separate piece of plywood or was it another place the Amish pieced something together not to waste any wood? They pieced things together in separate pieces at times throughout the house, inside and outside.

Maybe I'll move out the FJ and once again check out that light and see if I can turn that bottom piece out and install a new light. I can't remember today but I think I have failed trying to do that in the past.

With the Weather Underground showing I have until 2pm Monday before it starts to rain again, I may mow my yard later this afternoon. The back needs it and it's only been a couple of days. I hear a neighbor mowing so that's all the permission I need to mow on Sundays here in the bible belt.

It's cold today yet sunny here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

I Really Didn't Like The Bird Nest Block

The more I looked at that new piece of stainless steel over the thermometer, the less I liked it. I didn't even like it when I visualized it painted the same color as the wall. So to get a better idea I decided I'd sleep on it ... like a mid-afternoon siesta. (Can I say the word siesta and still be politically correct or is that offensive?) j/k?

The siesta didn't last longer than a hour or so because I was restless ... a sure sign that something was going to happen and it was going to happen today ... whatever it was.

I had my answer!!!  Turning my email on I see a reader named Cat M has made a comment ".... just probably taken the thermometer down ...".

Why didn't I think of that? I guess that is one disadvantage in being single, you never get the 2nd opinion that might be a good idea. The hounds try but they are really only interested in food, sleep and walks. I looked at the official temps online ... 57°. That is warm enough to paint. The breeze will dry the paint even faster ... but I got to move.

The cost of that sheet metal was a little more than the large Dairy Queen Blizzard I would have bought today, plus you never know when you might need it again to ... block a bird nest project.

Taking out the two screws on the bottom brackets that were hidden under 30 years of different paint jobs, were actually easy and the thermometer lifted up and over the screw at the top.

I plugged the screw holes with some exterior caulk, took a putty knife to take off the rough edges of worn paint. I found some sand paper in my drawer of paint supplies and sanded the surface down to a fine smooth painting surface. It was time for the primer.

I needed to let this dry so by the time I cleaned the paint brush, put my tools away along with the brand new bent sheet metal ... Stella decided she would help me with the drying process. You may be wondering how would she do that???

Well let's sneak off out of sight and refuse to come when I am called ... for starters. Sadie and I looked everywhere. I walked out into the field next to me and down to the drainage ditch she visited months ago ... it had overgrown and she wasn't there.

I picked up a tree limb and was walking to the burn pile while calling her name. I don't see her next door, nor in the field anywhere. Sadie and I will follow the dog walk path hoping to find her on the way. But ......

Just as I turned from the burn pile I see Stella standing at the kitchen door looking inside. I have no idea where she was. She wasn't out front when I checked but it was nice to see her at the door instead of out in the woods.

To celebrate .. the hounds and I took off for a walk.

Even with cool temps and a steady breeze, it was still a beautiful day. I liked how blue the sky was. I didn't edit the photo of the sky. I also liked the clouds today.

Sadie spends most of her time near me when walking lately. There are still scents in the air that interest her.

Stella decided she had better run since she was being left behind. Since she knew she was already on "double secret probation" from her disappearance, she ran a little faster today.

With all the green I thought the Voodoo Blue really stood out in this photo.

By the time we hunted for Stella, did a hound walk and put up the tools, the primer had dried for me to put a coat of house paint on the missing thermometer.

It's still drying when these were taken but I like the look of not having it on the wall. Thanks to Cat M for the suggestion.

Still drying and the camera needed part of the FJ to have something to focus on. With the weird reflections from the setting sun, it looks almost like I need to paint the whole wall again.

Quite a bit accomplished in 24 hours -- such is life in the world of retirement.

No snow but cold tonight in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

I Win The Bird Nest War

After I posted yesterday afternoon about the birds in their first phase of nest building, I decided I would keep the hounds from protesting and nip the project in the bud right from the start. I remember how much bird crap I was seeing on the carport floor and on my cars a few years ago ... I wasn't going to go through that again.

A little after 6pm I climbed up to the level of the thermometer to clean out all the wet leaves, mud etc and washed the the front with some window cleaner.  It wasn't even 2 hours later they were back to start over on their project.

7:53pm

I was going to end it by this morning and without even asking, last night my brain went into analysis mode to find a way to keep them away and prevent future nest building. I had my answer this morning and my thoughts were confirmed around 10:32am when Greg commented about his experience using sheet metal in his barn to prevent the same problem.

By this morning at 9:10am they had made this much progress after starting over. Busy little creatures.

9:10am

I was thinking along the same lines of thought as Greg ... something over the top angled enough to keep the nest from sticking. Now some people here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana have a different way of thinking when it comes to home renovations, repairs etc. I'll not discuss what those might be but if you ever travel through the country in rural areas, you know what I am talking about.

So I had ruled out using duct tape and cardboard, plywood, particle board, metal screens, and even a roof shingle from my spare supply. I was thinking last night of a thin piece of sheet metal. It was something I didn't have laying around but I knew the hounds would like to take a trip to the local hardware store in the morning. It's family owned, not a big name store but is clean, well organized and has everything.

Before loading the hounds I did some rough estimate and decided I needed something the size of 3"x10". That would give me an inch to bend to get the angle and a place to screw into the wall. It would be long enough over the width of the thermometer.

Unlike Greg I don't have a great workshop, or even a good work bench. For the 19 years I have lived here, the work bench has been either my step outside or the island in the kitchen. Since I have no machinery to work with metal, a pair of pliers would have to suffice in bending the metal.

After seeing Greg's comment at 10:32am, I made a reply soon after, then Sadie, Stella and even Heidi were loaded in the FJ and on our way to the hardware store not even a mile away.  As you see they had exactly what I needed, although a little bigger size than estimated. It was 6"x18".

Believe me when I say that anything mechanical is not one of my strong points. Interior or exterior painting I can do and like to do but when it comes to tools, electric saws or even a metal saw ... it's best to leave things the way they are ... the 6"x18" would be fine. I dug out the nest material from the back of the thermometer, cleaned the front of the thermometer with some window cleaner and proceeded to hang the piece of sheet metal.

11:51am

 Like I said, when it comes to anything mechanical "Murphy" is always looking over my shoulder. I can do math, any kind of Excel spreadsheets, fix computer problems and even software problems ... but not mechanical stuff. As you can see I was "close but no cigar" ... 1/4" off between the left and right screw. The top of the sheet metal wasn't straight.

Usually I am a perfectionist and that 1/4" off would drive me insane. I have only two choices but time to see if it bothers me that much. I can leave it as it is and don't spend a lot of time glancing at it to where the 1/4" difference will bother me ... Or I can bring my step ladder and tools back out and move the metal up a 1/2" and redo the mount so it's the same distance from the top and will look straight.

With "global warming" kicking our asses this spring in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana .. it's 47° in the month of May right now at 12:37pm ... I'll wait until next week when it gets warmer, apply some primer and then paint the sheet metal the same color as the wall.

Looking at that photo it might be a good idea to move it up a 1/2" or so to expose the numbers 40&50 instead of blocking them .... yet that would give those relentless birds room underneath to slide inside and attempt to build something.

11:57am

Sitting here at my desk I can look out the window and see the new modification. Yes, the birds (up to 3 at one time) have come back on numerous occasions as I write this post and they are a little confused. So they have lined up on my FJ roof rack looking towards me as if to ask "what's up with that?"

Just as I post this, I am not sure this will be a permanent fixture. I don't like change that much in house design and it's one reason I still have 41 year old wrought iron trim that needs replaced, still standing on the edge of the carport or other stuff throughout the house.

In the meantime, the war against nest building has been won here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.