Busy as a ....

World's biggest beaver dam discovered in northern Canada

Researcher Jean Thie said Wednesday he used satellite imagery and Google Earth software to locate the dam, which is about 850 metres (2,800 feet) long on the southern edge of Wood Buffalo National Park

They've been building this structure for 30-40 years and it's still not done. (Must be a government project.)

Also gives me an excuse to post this:

Adventures In Deck Staining, pt.. 5: Results

The staining of the deck surface is finished and it has already gotten its first test. A brief but heavy shower moved through before dawn this morning and dropped a considerable amount of rain on the area.

Here is what the final color loks like and how the water beads up on the oil based stain.

Water beads up on the newly stained deck.

The cedartone stain gives a rich appearance to the deck surface. Unfortunately, when I started I thought to do just the surface and so didn't use the deck wash on the rails and balusters. Now I can see that they need to be cleaned and stained as well. This will require some care in shielding the deck surface from overspray. Don't want to have to do the surface again!

Front Deck after staining.

Side Deck after staining.

The stain is from Olympic and was chosen because of its color as well as the reputation of the company. I'd take the whole "5 Year" thing with a huge grain of salt, however. I last applied the same stain almost 3 years ago and, between the ice, snow, rain and strong sunlight the deck is exposed to (sometimes all in the same day!); plus the birds, squirrels, bears and raccoons the deck certainly needed a new coat.

The stain I used on the deck.

I'll be starting on the rails and balusters as soon as I can get some wash and rig up a protective shield. (And after I take the kitties' to the vet and cut the grass.)

Adventures In Deck Staining, pt.. 4

The first thing I did was crawl about on my hands and knees to pry as much crap from between the boards as possible. Then I sprayed on some deck wash...
...and rinsed it off with the garden hose. It will foam a bit under the pressure of the water. The stuff smells like bleach and is caustic. Don't use a sprayer that has metal parts or it will corrode the metal. Don't get it in your eyes, or on your clothes. Rinse off any plants or skin with which it comes in contact. Yada, yada. yada.

If the deck wash sits for too long, it will really lighten the surface and make it tough to get a uniform final color. Of course, if there are areas that are dark with mildew, you have to let it sit for a long enough time to kill off the stuff.Just be aware that you will have a very light area when your done. Even two coats of new stain may not get it as dark as the rest of the deck. But, by golly, it will be mildew free!

Here's what the deck looked like when I got done washing it.

Front deck. It's 10' wide ad 36' long.

Side deck. "Only" 8' wide and 16' long.

Notice the dark "foot prints" in the side deck view. This is where I made a mistake last time I did the staining. I brought the stain to a hard edge and overlapped my next section. Instead, I should have feathered the edge and back stroked the stain into the previous section. (And, of course, worked fast enough so the edge never dried out.)

Pluses and minuses

Sooooooo....Woke up this morning at 4 AM (and 4:30 Am and 5 AM...) to the sound of rain. The sound of running water eventually forced me to get out of bed as did the cat calls from the other side of the door.

On the positive side, the water has beaded up nicely on the newly stained and protected deck surfaces.

On the negative side, although the rain has pretty much stopped--or will shortly according to the radar maps, there will be no grass cutting this morning.

On the positive side, we are not in Montana or Wyoming:
Disruptive snow returning to the northern Plains

Winter is making a comeback in the northern Plains as snow arrives from the northern Rockies. The snow threatens to cause slippery travel and power outages.

The steadiest snow will push from the border of Montana and Wyoming to the border of the Dakotas into tonight.

The heaviest snow will dump 6 to 12 inches on Wyoming's Big Horn Mountains, Montana's southeastern corner and the western border of the Dakotas.

The heaviest snow will remain south of Interstate 94 from Billings to Fargo. One to three inches is still expected within this zone.

Outside of the mountains, the highest snow totals will be measured on elevated and grassy surfaces, but not roads.

On the negative side, it's coming to the northeast this weekend:(from the same story)

Friday night, the snow should shift and whiten parts of northern Michigan and northern Wisconsin.

Over the weekend, residents of the Northeast's interior should not be surprised to see a return of snowflakes. Accumulating snow cannot be ruled out over the Adirondack, Green and White mountains.

On the positive side, it won't snow here in the Northern Tier of PA! (I don't think.)

On the negative side, the forecast from AccuHunch says the low tonight will be 34 degrees and the high--the HIGH--on Saturday will be 58 and on Sunday 53 degrees.

On the positive side, the cats get their distemper shots this morning.

On the negative side, the cats have to go tot he vet which means a car ride and probable discharge of bodily fluids while in route---even though it's only 5 miles. And such howling!!!!

Rent is past due, Fat Boy!

My new tenant...


...is not paying his rent on time.


You heard me, Fat Boy!

And, yeah, I do have a problem with that!

dandelions are chock full of vitamin C and lots of nutritious stuff. And I haven't sprayed them, either. (If I did, half the green int he lawn would disappear.)

Adventures In Deck Staining, pt.. 3

I'm done with the deck--and the ribbon joists--and the 6" x 6" posts--and the front steps. I'm done with all things needing a cedartone stain. Next up are the rails and balusters and they get a pine stain that is somewhat lighter in shade as soon as I find one.

******

I was done on the ground this afternoon using a step ladder to reach the ribbon joists when I heard Terry coming down the driveway on the other side of the deck. I looked up and there, in the grass walking toward me, was a hen grouse. I pointed it out to Terry who didn't even notice it until then. While Terry approached, the grouse just walked right past me and on into the woods on the other side of the lawn; never in a hurry or showing the least concern for our presence. Stupid bird.

******

My new tenant hasn't made an appearance today. I could use the help mowing the grass there, fella! (That's tomorrow's chore du jour.) The damn dandelions raised their heads as soon as I finished mowing last week and are now going to seed--so's the grass for that matter.

******

While I was doing the staining, Terry made a pumpkin pie for tonight's dessert. That New Jersey Pumpkin Pie recipe out of the Carolina Cookbook is absolutely unbeatable! Especially when it's made with real pumpkin chunks and not the canned, pureed stuff. I like to chew my pie, not eat it with a straw.

The Mets...*sigh*

After getting the tar knocked out of them in Philly, I was hopeful that the Mets could right the boat in Cincinnati. Right!

In three games, not one starting pitcher for either side figured in a decision. Each game of the three was decided in the winning team's final at bat. Two of the three games went into extra innings. The deciding hit in all three games was a solo home run. The two teams hit 11 home runs--all solo shots--in the three games. Unfortunately for the Mets, those two extra inning games ended in walk-off home runs by Nix and Cabrera for the Reds. The Mets did win the middle game 5-4 when Barajas hit a ninth inning home run.

The result is a 15-13 record and a drop in the standings to third, 1 game back of the Phillies who are in St. Louis tonight.

The Mets limp home to a three game series against the Giants (Friday thru Sunday) and another against the Nationals (Monday thru Wednesday).

Adventures In Deck Staining, pt.. 2

So, after the hail stopped and then the rain, I got out the squeegee and got the excess water off the deck so it would dry faster. And it would have too if the rain didn't return--three times. And after each episode, I would squeegee the water off again. It finally did stop around 3 PM. A fresh, dry breeze blew and the sun came out for good. I let things sit until after Terry and I had an early dinner and got out there to stain the rest of the 10' x 34' section before calling it a night at 8 PM.

I'll get the section under the covered porch tomorrow and then do the 2" x 10" ribbon joists and the 6" x 6" support posts. After that, I'll see about getting some stain for the rails and balusters.

The weather is supposed to be fair until Friday according to weather.com (AccuHunch says there's a chance of AM T-storm on Thursday), but can you really believe those guys in a volatile hill country like this? Heck, they can't even agree amongst themselves.

******

While squeegeeing the deck, I noticed we have a new tenant under the shed--a big, fat ground hog has moved in. Didn't see any teets when it sat up on its haunches to look me over, so I'm guessing it's a male. That's fine by me. I've no need for a pack of little ground hogs roaming around the yard. At least I won't have to worry about mowing the grass in front of the shed; from what I saw, it put quite a dent in the supply that was there this afternoon.

******

Oh, and the southwest corner of the garage has been reoccupied by a robin, too. The nest was not there on Thursday when I cut the grass but it is fully constructed now. On the topmost end log in the corner way up under the eave where it's fully protected.

Adventures In Deck StainingSheesh! "What could go wrong?" he says.

How about this: After checking the radar and forecasts every 30 minutes and seeing that the chance of T-storms was virtually nil--20-25% and nothing showing on the screens--I started to stain the deck.

Two boards done and there's one cloud that passes over and lets fly with a few drops. It's over the hill when I hear it rumble. Then I look out over the valley and realize I can't see the Southern Tier of NY. Not good. Not good at all. There's another huge black cloud heading this way and there's rain falling from it hard enough to obscure the view. I finish the two boards I'm working on just as the rain reaches here. And it's falling in one hell of a torrent.

I think--but don't say--at least it can't get worse, when it starts to hail!

Now I have to wait for the deck to dry before I can resume my work.

Water beaded up nicely on most of the boards I did do, however. Those last six feet or so--not so much.

And things were going so well.

I swear, NONE of this was on the radar at noon!

Deck Work

Both the major forecasters (weather.com and AccuHunch) are calling for some thunderstorm activity between noon and 2 PM today, although there's nothing on the current radar at either site. Even if they are wrong (they both hedge there bets with a 40% rating) there will still be time to do the staining after 2 PM today.

Wednesday and Thursday are supposed to be clear of any wet weather so there will be time to dry and perhaps work on the rail and balusters. That will be a time consumer as you've get to get four sides on each spindle plus the top, bottom and sides of the rails with out making a mess. And it's all done at 10-12 feet in the air at the lower end.

Talkin' Baseball

I've been trying to get to my inner happy place after the debacle of this weekend and after a pleasant meal at the Wellsboro House with my one and only, I think I've gotten sufficiently mellowed so as to write a few words about IT.

I am speaking of course about the utter destruction of the Mets by the Phillies on Saturday and Sunday. After cruising to a 9-1 victory behind Jon Niese's pitching Friday night, things looked pretty good for the Mets. They had Mike Pelfrey on the mound on Saturday and he had a fantastic month of April with a 4-0 record and a save while racking up a 0.69 ERA. Sure, Pelfrey was going against the Phillies' ace, Cy Young winner Roy Halladay, but the Mets were on a roll, having won nine consecutive games.

So Saturday, May 1, sees Pelf get rocked for six earned runs in just four innings while Halladay gives up just three hits on his way to a 10-0 shutout victory. Okay, the Mets are still in first place and they have Johan Santana, Mets' ace, going on Sunday against 42 year-old Jamie Moyer.

The Mets' David Wright hits a three-run shot in the top of the first to get things rolling on Sunday night. But then Santana gives two of them back on solo shots in the bottom of the first. The Mets get those two back in the top of the fourth inning on a home run by Barajas. Santana get s the first two men in the bottom of the fourth and then his world implodes. Nine runs later his night is through and he's sitting on the bench watching Takahashi finish the Phillies in the fourth. Final score: Mets 5, Phillies 11.

And now the Mets are 1/2 game back going into tonight's games.

*sigh*

Well, it's still just May 3rd and there's lots of baseball to be played.

Aerie Weather: As confusing as ever.

Yesterday was a much cooler day than I expected with the high being only in the 76 degree range. Most of that was due to the solid cloud cover we had that threatened rain showers all afternoon, but didn't deliver until after 8 PM. Even then, it was a feeble delivery compared to what was forecast.

We seem to have missed the worst of the rains. Last evening, when they were still forecasting a high probability of thunderstorms, it looked like they were lined up along the western side of the Appalachians to come chugging our way. I put the radar maps in motion and they were moving steadily in our direction, but something strange was happening as the yellows and reds got into PA--they were breaking apart and losing energy. In fact, the entire solid green mass creeping north-northeast along the Appalachians was breaking up into smaller blobs of green as it crossed I-80. And, overnight, some breath of air from the northwest shoved the whole thing off to the eastern side of the mountains and on to the coast.

Oh, we got some rain overnight and we may get a few showers this morning, but, from what I can tell, the vast bulk of the rain has moved to New Jersey. There are supposed to be some rain showers around tomorrow as well, but then there will be a window of opportunity for me to get some staining done on Wednesday if I get started early in the day. I need 24 hours for it to dry and there are some showers (30% chance) forecast for Thursday.

Happy Birthday!

Today is Terry's Birthday. As usual, ours will be a quiet celebration. After she goes up to Horseheads for one of her EGA meetings, we'll go over to the Wellsboro House for dinner. We're trying to hit a couple new spots and haven't been to the Wellsboro House before. Except for the whole Philly sports fan thing it looks like a pretty neat place. And with all those seafood entrees and 16 different beers on tap, how can you go wrong?

She won't let me tell you how old she is but Joe M. (our new PA "neighbor"!) is celebrating his 56th birthday today and he was her 5th birthday present so do the math.

Arrgh! I made like a pirate and swabbed the deck today.

After hobbling around Hills Creek State Park for our bird walk this morning, I came home to wash/clean the deck in preparation to applying some stain/waterproofing. This took me about two and a half hours and two gallons of cleansing solution.(Funny. Smells just like bleach.) First applying the solution to a four foot length of the deck, waiting about 10 minutes, and then rinsing it thoroughly. In this fashion, I made my way across the front of the house and then down the side.

The best thing about today's work? I could do it while standing upright! No bending over. No kneeling. Just spray the solution on, wait and use the garden hose to rinse it off.

Oh, and spraying water when it's 84 degrees? That's a bonus.

Forecast of scattered T-storms tonight, 60% chance of T-storms on Sunday, 90% chance on Sunday night. More scattered showers for Monday and Tuesday. Looks like staining may have to wait.

Saturday Bird Walk at Hills Creek

Nice weather for a bird walk with the temperatures starting out at 8:30 AM at 64 degrees. That's 30 degrees higher than they were last Saturday. We had nine people show up to participate in this outing and, as usual, although it's supposed to be for the campers, none of those that showed up were from the park.

I ended up tallying 31 species. The highlight were the three ospreys on the northeast corner of the lake. They weren't happy when we walked through the area and gave voice to our presence. The one pair wasn't happy with the single bird either so we didn't feel slighted. A little later, we watched as two of the three plucked fish from the lake and returned to the area we had walked through. perhaps, they use it as a roost or they have a nest somewhere in the trees. Until last week, two of them were nesting on a pole near the park entrance but that site has been abandoned--perhaps because it is too close to the road.

We've yet to find the Barred Owl again. Today we heard it call far in the woods--no where near the nest that was used last year and the year before.



Location: Hills Creek SP
Observation date: 5/1/10
Notes: Sunny and warm, 65-75 degrees, with a light breeze developing as we walked.
Number of species: 31

Canada Goose X
Wood Duck X
Mallard X
Wild Turkey X
Great Blue Heron X
Osprey X
Red-tailed Hawk X
Spotted Sandpiper X
Mourning Dove X
Barred Owl X
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) X
Eastern Phoebe X
American Crow X
Tree Swallow X
Black-capped Chickadee X
White-breasted Nuthatch X
House Wren X
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher X
American Robin X
Gray Catbird X
European Starling X
Yellow Warbler X
Yellow-rumped Warbler X
Eastern Towhee X
Chipping Sparrow X
Field Sparrow X
Song Sparrow X
Swamp Sparrow X
Northern Cardinal X
Brown-headed Cowbird X
American Goldfinch X

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)