Awoke early in the dark, 6:20AM it’s pitch black still, but time for coffee anyhow. The dark sky had a peculiar cast and the white dog was damp with dew. As the sky lightened it was clear we were in a cloud, and it was cold (43-degrees) enough to remind us that winter is approaching.
By 12:30 the sun broke through and it was a balmy 64-degrees, and the blue skies were a reward for all the hazy smoke we had endured.
Meanwhile “out on the prairie” last week we discovered an interesting artifact that was uncovered by some burrowing creature – not the dog, an old and discarded nest of “miner bees” that live underground…the honeycombs are empty.
That handle sticking up is attached to a 12-inch screwdriver, and it’s resting on a ledge or else it would fall into the cavity. This region is known for its honey and beehives, but miner-bees are solitary and don’t follow the traditional bee lifestyle, much like many of the residents up here in the sticks.
From the rifle range this morning around 7:30AM, you can’t even see the other side of the canyon – and with the overhead ash floating all around the State, temperatures here have dropped ten degrees.
In the midst of a dim, gray and brown haze from smoke, shoots of green are popping up after four days of watering – and the black truck has a fine dusting of white ash from the fires. Only going to 94-degrees today so cooler than yesterday, but we grilled corn and chicken early because it’s still too warm for outdoor-living comfortably. UPDATE: Got up to 101-degrees today, but not 110 like yesterday. I’m convinced the temperature and the watering has caused the very fast germination of seed.
It’s an ongoing battle with the weeds, but I also got a sack of Equine Forage grass-seed at Tractor Supply and we are going to go to lawn with it, hoping its durable seed mix will prove weather resistant in this harsh climate. Meanwhile that raking in 90-degree heat got me thinking…and that got me shopping – which is difficult in this pandemic situation
So I went over to my local TrueValue/John Deere hardware store and talked to Don, who had some heavy junk on a junky wood-pallett out in back. A “integral hitch” and a box scraper someone ordered and didn’t pick up. Looked like it had been there a least a year and a half. It weighs like Harley Davidson parts, too. Heavy. But I got me a big X570 mower and it would fit.
And it does. The teeth are reversible and removable, and I can also unbolt the sides and rear weight-bracket and just have a blade instead of a box scraper. The hitch assembly dropped right in and won’t affect my other attachments (the blower-bagger or the sprayer). Nice, and I got it at cost.
It goes up and down with a lever-assist, and you can adjust it for angle.
And you can shift it left and right or adjust the depth of drag.
It’s pleasantly warm this morning, and the sun isn’t even up yet. We’re in the midst of a minor heatwave and PG&E is doing rolling blackouts just for fun. Fortunately that’s what the propane-operated Generac is all about.