Washingtonians

[Stumpfarmer]

Whipsnake on eNature: http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/detail.asp?allSpecies=y&searchText=whipsnake&curGroupID=7&lgfromWhere=&curPageNum=2

Other sources describe the NW geo region's snake as yellow/green striped.

I need to break down and buy a herp field-guide.

 

[Stumpfarmer]

Quote:
Try www.enature.com

Very interesting site. I'm thinking some sort of juvenile garter snake. Funny the few times I've seen adult garter snakes in my yard, I don't recall seeing any stripes, just a drab brownish green snake, slithering away as fast as it can. Did kinda look like the whipsnake, but I'm not sure they come over to this side of the mtns.

It was such a surprise to see it after I crushed it's home.

My hunting partner at the time was a member of a local Indian tribe. When I mentioned the snake to him, I realized, from his reaction, how deep was his phobia of snakes.

Russ

My sister has a whipsnake in her freezer that her SIL killed in her driveway- in Lacey.

(Stripped of editorial comments).

 

[Ogress]

Oktoberfest tomorrow (Saturday) at 4. If you would like to go but need the address, please PM me today as I won't be home tomorrow until just before the party. CL e-mailed and she likely will not be coming - I think she will be out catching more salmon.

Starting Tuesday I will finally have some time to catch up on the last months worth of posts.

I am waaaaay too caffeinated today. Anyone know how to get rid of the caffeine jitters? My schedule has been insane the past few weeks (I have not had a day without obligations on the calendar since some time in August, and other than when I sleep and the 2 times I've canned peaches, no stretch of free time at home lasting more that 3 hours.

 

[SadieSue]

Quote:
look at this picture (halfway down the page), shows the dividers installed to separate eggs of different sizes

http://www.brinsea.com/products/octagon20A.html

Thanks! I'd googled around a bit (complicated morning, and still having vertigo and nausea if I read to much/move too fast) but missed that.

Aww sorry Julia - don't let it stress you too much. You should have just PM'd me! I hope the photos on the link Candy sent help you. Those dividers should slide without too much effort into the notches? grooves? spaces? on the black rack/tray dealo inside the incubator. Sorry to get so technical on you here. I've got a lot of million dollar big words readily available. You've got all those notches available so you can slide the dividers in according to the size of your eggs - from tiny quail eggs to larger goose eggs. They fit snugly, but you shouldn't be in danger of breaking anything getting them in their slots.
At lock down when we shut off the turner, and make certain you are only unplugging the turner!), I always take out the dividers so the eggs are resting on their sides instead of up/down. I do not have a hygrometer for the incubator, but found that following instructions as far as filling the water reservoir, and opening the vent worked well. I've got big fat healthy pullets running around my back yard to prove the Brinsea is actually pretty fool proof - even for first timers like me.

Don't hesitate to contact me if you have any other concerns. Get those eggs in - we want to see your baby chicks!

 

[Ogress]

I just saw the headline for this article for oil dropping to below $80 per barrel. If that is the case, then why did I just pay $75 to fill my tank and why do sa many places charge a fuel surchage on their goods now?

http://money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx?feed=AP&date=20110923&id=14303797

 

[SadieSue]

Quote:
oh and by the way, remember, I have LOTS of eggs .. that's why I traded you the dozen fresher eggs, for the six week-old ones; but don't delay, the fresher the better ... Dawn had the "oldest" of the eggs she took, go bad on her

No, I'm setting up this morning, although I've had to take the egg tray out and sterilize it, as it got mold spots while I was stabilizing the temps over night.

Julia, I'd washed it once, too; I suspect the waste from egg hatching is REALLY persistant.

I think there may even be Youtube vids of folks using that Brinsea that show how all the pieces go together. Good to wash it again. I usually scrub it really well before I put it away but DH was hassling me about getting the thing out of his computer room (if you can imagine the gall of that man, wanting his office all to himself again) so I did a perfunctory cleaning as I always clean it again after I pull it out of the storage in the garage before using it again. So typically it's cleaned twice between uses, with a sterilizing solution cleaning after the soap and water wash.
What I like about the Brinsea is that temps stabilize pretty rapidly. 24 hours is the suggested duration, but when I had those eggs that had been dumped out of the broody's nest, they went into the incubator within the hour, which worked this time since 2 days later there were 4 chicks.

 

[Kaneke]

yeah I did a Google search for YouTube videos of the Brinsea Octagon, but the only ones I found were so blurry and jerky, that since they made ME feel queasy, they'd be even worse for Julia (my opinion, I can always be proved wrong)

very amateur videos, hand held camera/cellphone operated by someone trying to do it alone and all at once

the entire Brinsea manual is online, but it's a pretty big PDF file ... one picture actually seems to have given more info than all the words in the world

 

[TheReidHomestead]

Quote:
This sounds like me. We've just been SWAMPED since early August with multiple kids b-day parties, fair, camping, getting the house painted, dad visiting/leaving, aunt & uncle visiting/leaving, school starting, volleyball practice pickups EVERYDAY (I have to drive from Monroe down to Carnation...it's at least an hour round trip!) and now Dad is back in town and flies out Wednesday.

WHEW!

Very hot/muggy here too with hardly any rain to speak of these last few days. Got all the decks stained, now just have to do 2 1/2 sets of deck stairs.

And I joined the club and made a Facebook Page for our poultry projects and would love some likes if you would all be so kind! Hopefully next week I'll have more time to add photo's and stuff to it. Here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Storybook-Poultry/254182771292997

 

[Ogress]

Quote:
This sounds like me. We've just been SWAMPED since early August with multiple kids b-day parties, fair, camping, getting the house painted, dad visiting/leaving, aunt & uncle visiting/leaving, school starting, volleyball practice pickups EVERYDAY (I have to drive from Monroe down to Carnation...it's at least an hour round trip!) and now Dad is back in town and flies out Wednesday.

WHEW!

Very hot/muggy here too with hardly any rain to speak of these last few days. Got all the decks stained, now just have to do 2 1/2 sets of deck stairs.

And I joined the club and made a Facebook Page for our poultry projects and would love some likes if you would all be so kind! Hopefully next week I'll have more time to add photo's and stuff to it. Here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Storybook-Poultry/254182771292997

For me it is mostly soccer. DD's coach holds 3 and sometimes 4 practices per week, 2 hrs each, and DS has practice the same days at the same place but starts shortly after DD is done. His practices are usually 1.5 hrs and usually twice per week, harp lessons in Issaquah on Tuesdays, parent meetings at the schools for various events on Thursdays, Girl Scouts (haven't managed to go yet), soccer games on Saturdays, tax classes I am taking.... I'd have a nervous breakdown if I could fit one in my schedule!

But the Oktoberfest is usually a fun break - I can't cook or clean or even weed my yard for it this year, so I hope people come with blinders on! I recruited friends to cook for me and went to the butcher in Issaquah and to Trader Joes for lots of meat. There is a small pool for those who wish to swim, a trampolene, chickens to chase around the yard, a keg and lots of bottled beers..... We have had 30 - 50 sy they will or may show up. Usually the better the weather the more people we have. Some stop in and then go hiking, some hike and then stop for dinner, some come and stay, and I susally force a few to spend the night.

 

[Zgoatlady]

Quote:
Fun canning!

my husband has been canning like crazy. He just made salsa last night and we did peaches last weekend. They look so pretty in their jars. He also has been playing around with pepper jelly's. We will be eating that stuff on EVERYthing!! it's yummo though...

I did pepper jelly a few years back and loved the stuff!