Welcome to the night shift

[saysfaa]

Has anyone tried audio relaxation apps?

I tried something like that - various white noise, audio books whose purpose is to put people to sleep (history of mathematics and I forget the other), and various types of music. They irritated rather than relaxed me. I think they might work if done very consistently but I haven't stuck with them long enough. They tend to irritate me rather than relax me. I tried pretty hard to find white noise that would work - swamp came the closest. It came much closer than rain, wind, fire, surf, crickets, and several others - lots of kinds each. Hm, I don't think I tried traffic - that might be better. I like all these sounds in real life. I think maybe the producers tried too hard to get even sound; so it sounds wrong.

Side note - I got the history of mathematics because I was actually interested in the subject rather than as a sleep aid. It was read by the actor that played Monk. He did a great job of reading it veeeerrrrryyyy slowly. My son usually listens to audio books at double speed, and he loves math - he asked for a math book for his birthday when he was six. And got one. And loved it. He's got degrees in math and engineering now. Anyway, he turned the speed way up and was very unimpressed by the historical accuracy.

Oddly, CSI Miami, the Bourne movies, and the really, really old Robin Hood tv series have often been most effective. I can't do them now, though. This house is too small to do that when other people are sleeping.

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

I tried something like that - various white noise, audio books whose purpose is to put people to sleep (history of mathematics and I forget the other), and various types of music. They irritated rather than relaxed me. I think they might work if done very consistently but I haven't stuck with them long enough. They tend to irritate me rather than relax me. I tried pretty hard to find white noise that would work - swamp came the closest. It came much closer than rain, wind, fire, surf, crickets, and several others

I find beach waves irritating.
I have to have a fan as a deep steady droning noise.
Swamp…not sure about that. I like peepers and frogs but the mosquito buzz of a real swamp, nope.

 

[saysfaa]

That would be aweful! If there were skeeters on the sound track, they were fleeting.

 

[CarpCharacin]

Life is overwhelming.

 

[Callender Girl]

Life is OFTEN overwhelming. But, sometimes, taking a step back and trying to put things in perspective helps. I have long been a fan of Max Ehrmann's "Desiderata." It's a prose poem, written in the 1920s, and I keep a framed copy for daily viewing.

It offers practical advice for dealing with life, and one of the concluding sentences is: "With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world."

Yesterday, when the heat was oppressive, gazillions of stable flies were biting, and drifting farm chemicals were being sprayed on the neighboring fields, I was certainly discouraged. But I worked in journalism for decades and would repeatedly remind reporters that whatever happened that day, whatever error or omission they made, the next day's edition was a chance to start over again.

Today, it is slightly less warm, the flies aren't out yet, there's a strong breeze blowing and there are no chemicals floating across my property. I know it's going to get hot again, and I can't possibly trap all the flies, but I still get a chance to start over. And, I'm going to.

 

[saysfaa]

Life is overwhelming.

 

[saysfaa]

Well, the finish mower seems to be going to my sister. It didn't work very well - among other things, it wouldn't hold its height steady, so tended to alternate between digging into the ground and floating above the top of the grass to be cut.

It worked a whole lot better than no mower.

So I just spent the past three hours researching sickle mowers. I would rather have a sickle mower than a finish mower, even if the finish mower worked as it should. I would rather not have to drive hundreds of miles to get a mower, partly for the expense of it and partly because I'm unlikely to be able to learn enough to do well evaluating its condition. Paying more for one might mean getting one in better condition but there is still a lot of buyer beware. It might just mean more money lost if it turns out unusable.

 

[Callender Girl]

Sounds like you are in a tough place -- and you've had plenty of those already. And, it looks like you are still getting up -- or still being up -- plenty early.

Is there anyone who can help you evaluate a mower's condition? Honestly, I am often reluctant to ask people who could help me to do so. I don't want to impose on them, although I truly know some would not feel that was what I was doing.

During a recent visit by my sister, my riding mower wasn't working well. She and one of Jim's friends educated me on how I SHOULD have been cleaning the machine. I had never cleaned the air filter and only recently learned how easy it is to use the air compressor that's been sitting the garage for years.

I had to look up both kinds of mowers you mentioned. I only have about 3 1/2 acres, so a rider, an electric mower, a weed eater and bunch of hand shears and pruners are all I really need in my arsenal. Hope you get what you need and in good working order.

 

[saysfaa]

Sounds like you are in a tough place -- and you've had plenty of those already. And, it looks like you are still getting up -- or still being up -- plenty early.

Is there anyone who can help you evaluate a mower's condition? Honestly, I am often reluctant to ask people who could help me to do so. I don't want to impose on them, although I truly know some would not feel that was what I was doing.

During a recent visit by my sister, my riding mower wasn't working well. She and one of Jim's friends educated me on how I SHOULD have been cleaning the machine. I had never cleaned the air filter and only recently learned how easy it is to use the air compressor that's been sitting the garage for years.

I had to look up both kinds of mowers you mentioned. I only have about 3 1/2 acres, so a rider, an electric mower, a weed eater and bunch of hand shears and pruners are all I really need in my arsenal. Hope you get what you need and in good working order.

Sorry, the sickle mower is like this picture, more or less -there are several manufacturers and models.

Overall, the estate things are going much better than I expected.

Yes, my brother will help with the mower. He can't go look at it unless I find one within a couple hour's drive but he will help through phone calls and pictures and maybe talking to the seller. We have been sharing equipment and plan to do more of that.

Possibly, another brother could look at some. He has the experience/knowledge too and travels a lot but I'm not as comfortable asking him.

I have about 20-25 acres that I want to mow once or a couple of times a year, eventually. My brother has another ten or fifteen he will likely want to do the same kind of mowing. Some of it as hay and some as managing pasture and reclaiming fields. It is reclaiming farmland that was mostly neglected for many decades. So far, I've just mowed 5 or 10 acres a couple times a year.

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

Sorry, the sickle mower is like this picture, more or less -there are several manufacturers and models.

Overall, the estate things are going much better than I expected.

Yes, my brother will help with the mower. He can't go look at it unless I find one within a couple hour's drive but he will help through phone calls and pictures and maybe talking to the seller. We have been sharing equipment and plan to do more of that.

Possibly, another brother could look at some. He has the experience/knowledge too and travels a lot but I'm not as comfortable asking him.

I have about 20-25 acres that I want to mow once or a couple of times a year, eventually. My brother has another ten or fifteen he will likely want to do the same kind of mowing. Some of it as hay and some as managing pasture and reclaiming fields. It is reclaiming farmland that was mostly neglected for many decades. So far, I've just mowed 5 or 10 acres a couple times a year.

I’ve not seen anything like that. We use a brush hog and finish mower what what passes as grass here. its mostly wild raspberry, thistle and bracken with clover and a few blades of crab grass interspersed with giant boulder, other surprise rocks or stumps. We keep the metal shop dude on speed dial for blade work.
I was excited to get a used push mower yesterday for the “grass” nearest the house. No rocks yet.