July 2023 Chat Thread.

[bazookagoof]

Happy July, everyone! 

So far it's been a bummer, but a small one. I had two separate social events to attend in two days, and they both got cancelled! I have one more tomorrow, and that one should still be on.

I also managed to see the new Indy 5 flick yesterday- I enjoyed it, but it's a movie made for the fans and not a casual viewer. So many references are made that call back to previous films that a newcomer is not going to appreciate what's going on. 

[Bean]

Glad you enjoyed it (it took me a moment to realise what you meant by Indy 5!) but it's a shame it's maybe not going to appeal as much to new viewers who could then enjoy the previous films. How's Harrison Ford holding up in an action role?

Hope the third event goes ahead as planned, and that despite the cancellations, you're enjoying a long holiday weekend.

I need to check in on how my veg are getting on as I've neglected everything in the last couple of weeks. I repurposed some of the grids from the old two storey C&C cage to make covers for the veg. We've got a bit of a gang of pigeons at the moment, and they pecked away at my first planting of seedlings until all the leaves were shredded, so they weren't going to grow well. Luckily I had more, so replanted, and the grids are perfect as the pigeons and squirrels get held off, but the little birds can easily hop down through the gaps and pick off any bugs! Because of the lack of rain, slugs haven't been so much of an issue this year so far.

[bazookagoof]

Jul 3, 2023 7:04:38 GMT Bean said:

Glad you enjoyed it (it took me a moment to realise what you meant by Indy 5!) but it's a shame it's maybe not going to appeal as much to new viewers who could then enjoy the previous films. How's Harrison Ford holding up in an action role?

Hope the third event goes ahead as planned, and that despite the cancellations, you're enjoying a long holiday weekend.

LOL, I realized not many people are big fans like I am! I went to an 11:30 am showing and it was basically all guys my age. I think all 20 of us enjoyed it. There's a 25 minute prologue where they use digital technology to to "de-age" Ford so he's about 45 years old and looks believable when running atop a speeding train and throwing punches. When the movie jumps to present day (1969) he's about 70 years old and doesn't try to do too many things that aren't outrageous. 

Well, a few things, but this is Hollywood and we go to movies for escapism. 

I don't see the youngsters flocking to see this. The last one came out 15 years ago, the one before that one came out 34 years ago! 

[3piggles]

Bean, that's a great idea using the grids. I have quite a few, so might use them for that in a few places.

Baz, you've had a lot of rain the last couple of days. NASCAR races on the streets of Chicago rained out Saturday after 25 laps. Sunday's race got started late because of rain, and ended early, but at least the race got to run through.

We've had the same rain. Stopped a few hours ago, but we had some really heavy rain this morning. I hoofed the hood in it. Vic stayed home. I was soaked below my raincoat, but got to walk down to see the river is really high, and it's flowing fast Usually it could be crossed with wet feet but the rest of us dry We got over 6 inches of rain in June, and are doing pretty well racking up the inches in July, so far

I hope you got to go to your third event

[Bean]

The only problem with using the grids is I have them set up like big cages, so sometimes I do see them in the garden and for a split second think I've accidentally put the pigs outside with no shelter! Not that they're out much at the moment. It's been cooler lately and pretty windy, so not great for them.

[3piggles]

I thought I was the only one who had those oh-oh thoughts I have enough grids to easily cover a sizable area. I might even use them to keep ratty out from under the boardwalk/shed. Vic's been spraying with vinegar, and it works for a little while, but it's as if they find the one spot he didn't spray, and use that. Don't normally mind ratty, but it's been bullying the regulars, and seems to have a little one in tow. We don't want them nesting under the shed or the boardwalks. They're welcome to eat at the feeding station.

We've had a hot, humid couple of days, but the humidity really dropped today, even though the temp was higher than the last couple of days. Another day of high temps, and then we get some rain to mess with the temps and humidity. Don't seem to have a lot of showers in the forecast, as much as a good chance of thunder storms. Vic got the lawn mowed and weed wacked, all the cuttings taken to the pit, so that's done for another week. We have to watch the weather in the summer, anyway, as next Wednesday looks like the only clear day of the next 10. He'll probably have to mow again then, as the t-storms move back in on Thursday. We're definitely having an El Nino year The river is still high, even though we haven't had any appreciable rain the last couple of days.

[Bean]

We have a rat that occasionally visits our compost bin, I don't think it lives there, but if it does, it just stays in that bottom corner of the garden, so we let it be. On a recent trip to deposit some veg peelings in the compost bin, I lifted the lid and saw some movement indicating a visit was in progress, which is unusual. I stayed there looking for a few moments, and three little baby rat faces peeped out cautiously at me from the side. I mean, I know we don't to be overrun with rats, but they really were the cutest little things! (I told a few friends about this that evening and they were horrified, and horrified that I wasn't horrified!) I haven't seen any of them since, but my line is if they come near the house or manage to get into the shed. My grids have 1" gaps though, so they'd certainly be no barrier!

[3piggles]

That's why we're spraying with vinegar. Rats don't like vinegar, at all, so it drives them away. No vinegar in the feeding station area, just under the shed and the boardwalks. We just want them to live and breed elsewhere. They can eat in the feeding station if they want to, but not bully the regulars

We saw our resident deer this morning. Such a beautiful creature. I can't imagine killing such a beautiful animal, yet people do it for sport, all the time Haven't seen the foxes, but a neighbor who's right where they enter the pit said she's seen them earlier in the morning than we're around. Nice to know they're still here

[Bean]

Ah lovely. We have some near us, but while I've seen several pictures of them, I've never been up early enough to catch them myself (they only come out into the open while it's quiet).

A couple of months ago, we found some ants were starting to come into the extension through a tiny gap where the skirting board met the floor. A squirt of white vinegar around it and not a single ant since! I wonder what is so abhorrent about it for so many creatures? But I'm certainly happy that something so basic can do such a good job!

[3piggles]

It's acidic, and has a really strong smell. That's all I can figure. Interesting that mint and peppermint also drive away rodents, and I don't think they smell badly, at all. Mint also drives away spiders. I'm surprised my daughter doesn't have mint all around her house, in her car, etc., lol

[bazookagoof]

I stopped at the store to grab a few things today, and I got asked AGAIN about something as I worked there! I was dressed in my green T-shirt which has the name "SureStaff" on it to indicate I'm with that temp agency, and not with any grocery store! I was polite, but one of these days I may just send them down the wrong aisle for fun.

[Bean]

Ha! Do it! Does it happen at other times (people looking to you for help), like people asking for directions in the street, or is it only it shops?

Have you got a tshirt that says 'Back off - I don't work here!' that you can keep in the car ready for when you nip into shops?

[3piggles]

I would ask why they think I work there, so you can change your clothes It may not be that they think you work there, but they think you shop there a lot, and know where things are. That's usually a "Do you know where..." type of question, though.

[bazookagoof]

It only happens in shops, never anywhere else. Of course, in other places I'm probably wearing my hat so no mistake is ever made. 

I meant to reply yesterday but a storm knocked out our power for eight hours! It came back on around 2am, thankfully. 

[Bean]

What a pain, hope no ice cream was harmed in the process!

[3piggles]

Yes, the hat is probably a dead giveaway that you don't work there

I hope you didn't lose any food to the power outage!

[bazookagoof]

We kept the refrigerators closed, so as long as that is a constant, the food should keep for quite a while! Only eight hours, but I keep gritting my teeth over the fact that we never bought a battery to go with our solar panels. We almost always lose power during a storm and I notice that people across the street are always fine.

I just realized that although the hat keeps people from thinking I work at a particular place, when I went to Disney World in 2014 I did have a few fellow tourists ask to take a picture with me. I believe they thought I was a Cast Member (the term used for a Disney Employee) as you will find numerous workers dressed as Disney characters walking around the parks. Oddly, although I was wearing the hat I was also wearing a tie with pinstripe pants and a French blue shirt- hardly the outfit for Doctor Jones. 

(In those cases I said I'd be happy to, but I still mentioned that I did not work for Disney.)

[Bean]

Ha! Oh that's funny.

Can you add a battery into your solar system, or would you have needed to have set it up differently when it was being installed?

[bazookagoof]

Jul 16, 2023 7:12:05 GMT Bean said:

Ha! Oh that's funny.

Can you add a battery into your solar system, or would you have needed to have set it up differently when it was being installed?

I think we can add a battery, but since I don't know what my living arrangements will be in the future I'm going to just let it slide. 

[3piggles]

Adding a battery might help with the sale price of the house, if you two plan to sell it. I'm glad you didn't lose anything. Always a problem with a power outage.

You must have a look that makes people think you belong where ever you are