So... What are YOU doing? - Part 5

[tango]

Had a good clean up of my work space. I moved the remaining laths and put them in a neater stack, on a tarpaulin so they won't damage the floor (they were on a sheet of heavy plastic, but it's not as big). Then having moved them out of the way I took the chance to run the shop vac around where they had been. A load more dust and general debris cleared up.

It's still not properly clean over there - it is still a work in progress - but at least I can walk around there without tracking dust back into our living space every time. I can also move around more easily without having to constantly step over and around the laths. Not only that but they are neatly stacked on the tarp, which means if I decide to burn them all it's easy to carry them outside and see to it.

 

[tango]

Had a good clean up of my work space. I moved the remaining laths and put them in a neater stack, on a tarpaulin so they won't damage the floor (they were on a sheet of heavy plastic, but it's not as big). Then having moved them out of the way I took the chance to run the shop vac around where they had been. A load more dust and general debris cleared up.

It's still not properly clean over there - it is still a work in progress - but at least I can walk around there without tracking dust back into our living space every time. I can also move around more easily without having to constantly step over and around the laths. Not only that but they are neatly stacked on the tarp, which means if I decide to burn them all it's easy to carry them outside and see to it.

 

[Imalive]

Other mouse was in my son's drawer. It was full of food. Tried to catch him w a boot. Pffffff. Cleaned that thing up too. Hope he goes in the mouse friendly trap w peanut butter. Hurry up. I dont want a nest.

 

[ImaginaryDay2]

You're being way too kind to disease carrying vermin. Just one snap to the neck of that spring and 'presto!', no more mouse.

 

[tango]

Other mouse was in my son's drawer. It was full of food. Tried to catch him w a boot. Pffffff. Cleaned that thing up too. Hope he goes in the mouse friendly trap w peanut butter. Hurry up. I dont want a nest.

We've got the ultimate mouse control device. It's a furry little thing that purrs. It's deadly as far as mice are concerned.

 

[NewCreation435]

We've got the ultimate mouse control device. It's a furry little thing that purrs. It's deadly as far as mice are concerned.

My Casper likes mice, moles, squirrels, rabbits and birds. He kills them all.

 

[ImaginaryDay2]

Moles? That's got to be an interesting sight

 

[tango]

A friend of mine was plagued with chipmunks in his back yard, but had enough neighbors in close enough proximity that shooting them wasn't a sensible option. I think his cat took out a few of them.

 

[tango]

Fun with saws today. I decided it was time I updated my cyclonic separator. First cut was to update the one that's based on a bucket, so I cut a circle of wood that only just squashes into the top of the bucket to make sure the seal is sound. Sadly I forgot to put a finger hole in it, so getting it back out again was a challenge. Then I cut a bigger circle out of much thicker wood to screw to the top, which will let me get the lid out again. Next up was to cut two holes in it for pipe fixtures, so I can connect it to the shop vac and to the collection tube.

Then came the tricky bit, measuring the diameter about 4" down the bucket, so I could cut a baffle to fit a little lower down, but with a cutout so that what gets sucked into the separator can drop below the baffle, and not get agitated by the airflows and sucked into the shop vac. Then the trickiest part of all, which was to attach three braces to hold it at the right distance. Of course I needed to screw through both ends of the braces, so I used pocket screws to secure them to the lid (which was about an inch thick) and drilled through the baffle and put a small screw into the end. The baffle is only 1/4" thick, which makes that part easier.

The whole lot is now sitting in the basement, waiting the the caulking around the pipe fittings to dry. Hopefully tomorrow I'll find that it solves my problems. Hopefully being the operative word there, I'm hoping I don't have to buy a length of 2" tubing, but suspect that might be in the near future.

 

[Lamb]

I would love to have a cat again...we used to have a Devon Rex. This isn't her photo but she looked similar and notice how the coat is curly because they molt, not shed their fur.

In this photo you can see their big elfin ears!

 

[Imalive]

A friend of mine was plagued with chipmunks in his back yard, but had enough neighbors in close enough proximity that shooting them wasn't a sensible option. I think his cat took out a few of them.

Shooting LOL. Hadnt thought about that. My house is full of weapons. I'll let the kids fix it.

 

[Imalive]

Oh we almost had him. He was in a bag on the refridgerator but he ran out and then we both screemed LOL.

 

[Stravinsk]

Made beer today. Kit beer, still. Two different types, but at this point I don't think I'll ever need to buy extra fermentables again. I've learned to get a greater starch conversion to sugar with the corn I'm using doing a simple 3 step mash using enzymes and milling the grain finer. Now after the sweet water is drained off I have a thick, sweet corn mush. I suppose I could ferment this too if I wanted but instead am trying it out as feedstock for a new biogas experiment.

The next step to follow is not to be dependent on commercial enzymes for the conversion. They're cheap when bought in bulk and easily accessible - but I'd really like to be at the point where I can have just grain and convert it without buying anything. That means using green malt (sprouted grain containing those enzymes), or dried/roasted malt - which, in so far as starch/sugar conversion goes, I have not yet used successfully as a sole enzyme source - although the failure is most likely due to not doing the other parts of the mash correctly.

I planted a bunch of garlic outside in used plastic drink bottles. Holes for the garlic, a drainage hole and filled them with mineralized soil. So far with the caps on they are acting like hybrid terrariums, holding most of the moisture which travels to the top during the heat then recedes when it cools. As such I have not needed to water them. The sprouts have grown out a bit but as this is an experiment it's still wait and see.

 

[tango]

Woot! My cyclonic separator works exactly as I'd hoped. I connected it to my medium sized shop vac, using the larger hose from the biggest shop vac I have (I use the medium sized one where brick dust is concerned, because the HEPA filter bags are sensibly priced). Then I connected the hose to the suction attachments, fired it up, and found I had as much suction at the end as I did without putting the separator in the middle.

Yesterday's exercise in making it produced a reasonable amount of sawdust (which of course got sprayed everywhere, since my separator was in pieces), which was a perfect candidate for testing it out at sucking up real things. And it worked admirably, not only did it suck the sawdust as effectively as the plain shop vac but taking the lid off the separator once I was done confirmed the sawdust stayed in the bucket rather than getting through to the shop vac.

Now I know it works and works well I just need to get some 90-degree elbows so I can connect the hoses sideways rather than vertically, which will mean I can put it back into the caddy I made for it. I also know that it's worth buying a sheet of 3/4" plywood to make a bigger version with a giant metal trash can I have sitting in the basement. That one will probably get connected to a bigger unit, maybe even the largest shop vac, to make sure I've got the suction to catch as much of the dust as I can. Ideally I want to find some kind of clear container, so I've got some indication that the separator is full and passing debris straight through to the shop vac. Maybe I'll build another little inline doodad out of a clear bucket, or look for some clear hose so I can see if there's much getting passed through.

 

[Andrew]

Eager to get back to church after weeks of cold and flue (back to back)...
Didn't want to expose the elderly and babies although I expect some judgmental looks in the congregation... meh I get them anyway for not attending all Pentecostal sermons throughout the week but who's counting? Im slowly getting over others expectations of me and I hope it shows.
Got a birthday party for my niece to attend tomorrow, she is an absolute headache to shop for lol I'll probably just get her a walmart gift card or something so she can pick out whatever she wants, not too much fun to open up but I'm sure she will have many gifts tomorrow to unwrap.
Got home from work so I'm pretty much announcing future events but not to much is going on at the moment besides typing all this out. Have a good weekend my friends, mind my hard headed post on the way lol peace brethren

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[NewCreation435]

it got up to 50 degrees today after a couple of very cold weeks. It's funny how now 50 feels warm. The snow is melting that we had two days ago. We got 7.5 inches of snow in one day

 

[Andrew]

it got up to 50 degrees today after a couple of very cold weeks. It's funny how now 50 feels warm. The snow is melting that we had two days ago. We got 7.5 inches of snow in one day

I feel you, its been in the low 20s here (mind you Texas) and I was jumping for joy for the 50s! Sunday will be in the 70s (perfect)

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[NewCreation435]

I feel you, its been in the low 20s here (mind you Texas) and I was jumping for joy for the 50s! Sunday will be in the 70s (perfect)

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Two weeks ago it got down to 5 degrees here

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[Andrew]

Two weeks ago it got down to 5 degrees here

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I would die for sure

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[Lamb]

It's 50s out and so my husband and I went out to the county park to walk. And the trails are still icy and snow covered. Very dangerous so we won't be doing that again until the snow all melts.