Dreaming of Spring Gardening in the Middle of a Wisconsin winter part 2

[jvls1942]

this morning I took the new carburetor off of the lawn mower. I put the other new one on that came in the mail yesterday. Gave it a choke and turned the key. It started right up . I let it warm up. It smoked as it burned the oil off of the muffler etc...
then I turned it off and set the throttle to low. without using the choke, I turned the key and it was running instantly.
of course I will have to adjust the high speed idle. I don't have time to do that today, though. It gives me something to look forward to.
ask me, am I a happy man ??

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I bet your are deliriously happy Jim. Been working on that mower a long time. At least you got it running before the snow flies. My husband is still working on his project mower. I'm not sure if he's going to be successful this year or not. Needs a battery next. He hasn't worked up the courage to ask me about buying one yet.

 

[jvls1942]

You bet I am happy. I told you it was a faulty carb.
I feel like I am an expert on Briggs engines after all the research I did. lol
I have two Briggs repair manuals. If you hubby needs any information I could try to look it up for him.
I know how it feels to not have someone to ask questions ..
There is a guy from La Crosse named Steve.
Steve's small enging salloon on Youtube.
That guy knows everything..
My biggest problem was finding a specific Youtube tutorial. I am no computer whiz kid.
but once I did, it answered a lot of questions..

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Thanks for the offer Jim. Ours is a John Deere. It had some structural issues. He replaced the front tire bar. Should technically run, but can't move currently with a dead battery. He putzes around with it here and there. We don't technically need it, so it's more like a side project. He works too much, so it takes forever to get it done.

We still need to do the rest of our house roof yet this year. Waiting on cooler weather. Not sure if that's ever going to happen this year.

When in doubt look up utube videos. They helped when we had troubles with our tractor.

 

[jvls1942]

I went out and started the lawn mower.
I just am so happy to hear it run. lolol
I adjusted the idle speed today. I think I have it as close as I can by ear.
I am satisfied. It starts, idles, revs up and runs. what more can one ask for ?
our company left. the house is sure quiet and calm after the six and eight year olds left. lol In Jan there will be a new boy. I wanted a girl..
but I will accept the second choice.
who knows , with the way people are these days, he might become a she later on .....

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Boys, girls, doesn't matter to me in children. Both can be annoying.

Went out in the drizzle to pick in the garden. This rain brought out the mosquitoes. Combine that with rampant weeds and a gigantic tomato plants I nearly ran screaming. I'm already getting sick of cherry tomatoes. Only one plant next year. 2 is too much. The regular tomatoes aren't thriving as much. That's okay too.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Sorry Jim, I should have said congratulations on the new child to the family. I was kidding around about them being annoying.

 

[WIchickMama]

Sounds like life is moving for eveyone

We sectioned off part of the run for hen and chicks. We started doing some meet and greets with the other 6 hens. 5 did amazing. The troublesome hen was just that troublesome. Mama hen chased her, pecked her, squwaked at her and she was keeping her distance and then just out of the blue went after a chick. No food, no space issue, nothing, just went. ;( I don't want to have to get rid of her but by this Friday they will be 2 weeks and I need to be able to let mama hen do her thing with the flock and in the coop at night. Anyone have any suggestions or thoughts?

Oldest had a job interview tomorrow for the rest of summer and during school. Took the youngest mini golfing today, it was busy but fun. And then I putzed in the garden for an hour or so.

 

[Callender Girl]

Wow! Everybody's keeping busy!

Congrats on the mower and the upcoming January arrival, Jim! Sometimes, after company leaves, it seems too quiet and calm here. Other times, it's a relief.

Lisa, I can't imagine having too many cherry tomatoes; I eat them like candy, and mine are definitely doing better than my full-sized tomatoes. My biggest success this year is the assortment of potted herbs I keep on the deck.

Anjanet, that's an impressive-looking setup for your birds. My only suggestion with the troublesome hen is to put her in a wire dog crate inside the coop/run and give her a bit more time to get used to the youngsters. Disclaimer: I tried this once with two adult birds. Surprise ending -- when I went out the next morning, the "aggressive" bird had a bloodied face, and the one I wanted to protect was fine. Hope you get the situation worked out.

It rained off and on all day yesterday, not really a lot of rain but it couldn't have come at a less convenient time. Still, I can't complain about much-needed rain.

The woman who is going to come house/pet sit so I can go to the North Shore came out yesterday to learn how to care for critters. It rained on us as I showed her what to do and where things are kept; there was enough rain to make a mucky mess out of the area where the chickens have eaten all the grass out of the yard, around the coops, of course.

Fortunately, she seemed unfazed by the mess as well as the number and types of critters she will be caring for. Jennifer doesn't even mind that there is no A.C. Plus, when it came time to talk about money, she told me I was trying to pay her too much, so we negotiated a lower sum. You really can't beat that!

 

[WIchickMama]

Thanks Barb for the suggestion, I will see what I have around to do something similar. I had thought about moving the troublesome hen into the new section and letting mama and babies run with the rest of the flock but then there is the question of what to do at night. babies are just over a week old, so they still can go into the sectioned off pen at night but wanted mama to start getting them in the coop at night and settled sooner than later. UGH chickens are complicated, lol.

I hope your trip to the north shore is a nice get away Barb and that the weather is nice.

Lisa, how is the garden going? I am about ready to pull everything and plant some fall crops. My full size tomatoes aren't anything to proud of these year for sure.

Jim, glad to hear the mower is working and congrats on the new addition to the family.