Some Days You're The Dog,
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other days you're the hydrant. :sigh: Today was a gardening day, as I was happily digging up plants that have sprouted in the yard and potting them to give away. A few varieties of palm from the neighbors' yards, and a fruitless mulberry sport... nothing I want in the yard. Racing the sundown I hit a rock and pushed through it mightily, lifted the plant, and came up with a handful of video cable. Oops. :-O Now, I work for a power company, and one of our greatest problems is local backhoe operators who sever underground power lines. Our mantra is "Call Before You Dig!" If anyone should know better it's me, but no - I had a mission and nothing was going to stop me. Unfortunately, this particular cable was mine, both TV and Internet. Grrrr.... So, off the Ace Hardware, grab a set of splice connectors, and an hour later (and darker) I'm back online again. What a day. What's your dumbest experience with garden tools?
"A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"
Roger Wright wrote:
What's your dumbest experience with garden tools?
Using them to begin with...
"Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
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"...the staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - Jason Jystad, 10/26/2001 -
other days you're the hydrant. :sigh: Today was a gardening day, as I was happily digging up plants that have sprouted in the yard and potting them to give away. A few varieties of palm from the neighbors' yards, and a fruitless mulberry sport... nothing I want in the yard. Racing the sundown I hit a rock and pushed through it mightily, lifted the plant, and came up with a handful of video cable. Oops. :-O Now, I work for a power company, and one of our greatest problems is local backhoe operators who sever underground power lines. Our mantra is "Call Before You Dig!" If anyone should know better it's me, but no - I had a mission and nothing was going to stop me. Unfortunately, this particular cable was mine, both TV and Internet. Grrrr.... So, off the Ace Hardware, grab a set of splice connectors, and an hour later (and darker) I'm back online again. What a day. What's your dumbest experience with garden tools?
"A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"
Not garden tools, but I once put a power drill bit through a buried mains cable in a kitchen wall. Now that was what I call a blue flash!
Anna :rose: Having a bad bug day? Tech Blog | Anna's Place | Tears and Laughter "If mushy peas are the food of the devil, the stotty cake is the frisbee of God"
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other days you're the hydrant. :sigh: Today was a gardening day, as I was happily digging up plants that have sprouted in the yard and potting them to give away. A few varieties of palm from the neighbors' yards, and a fruitless mulberry sport... nothing I want in the yard. Racing the sundown I hit a rock and pushed through it mightily, lifted the plant, and came up with a handful of video cable. Oops. :-O Now, I work for a power company, and one of our greatest problems is local backhoe operators who sever underground power lines. Our mantra is "Call Before You Dig!" If anyone should know better it's me, but no - I had a mission and nothing was going to stop me. Unfortunately, this particular cable was mine, both TV and Internet. Grrrr.... So, off the Ace Hardware, grab a set of splice connectors, and an hour later (and darker) I'm back online again. What a day. What's your dumbest experience with garden tools?
"A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"
Roger Wright wrote:
splice connectors
What are splice connectors? I used to work with cable and have never heard the term, but probably seen a million.
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Ouch! Did you patch it yourself, or abase yourself before the phone company gods to get it repaired? I'm going to run into that when I pull out the oleander stumps - they say it can't be killed, but I managed it with a chain saw and half a gallon of undiluted Roundup. :-D I haven't called the phone company for a locate, but I remember the last time they did it and the line for the entire neighborhood runs along my fence. The oleanders are planted directly on top of the line, and it's one of those 25-pair jobs. This is going to be a nasty chore, digging them up a small spadeful at a time, but I think I can make it go a bit easier using a high-pressure water nozzle. That's the only way to dig a trench here, as the soil laughs at picks and shovels, and fools who try to wield them.
"A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"
Roger Wright wrote:
one of those 25-pair jobs
I knew a man that happily, and intentionally, snipped through a 100 pair with a side cutter, and it's not just one snip, thinking he had the right cable. When other tenants in the office building started complaining, he realised he was wrong.
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Not me, but my aunt once felt under her lawn mower without unplugging it...and lost the very tips of three fingers...
People normally unplug their mowers before falling?
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People normally unplug their mowers before falling?
Er?
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Er?
Steve_Harris wrote:
my aunt once felt under her lawn mower without unplugging it
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Steve_Harris wrote:
my aunt once felt under her lawn mower without unplugging it
I think you'll find that the past tense of "to fall" is actually "fell", not "felt". "Felt" is the past tense of "to feel".
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I think you'll find that the past tense of "to fall" is actually "fell", not "felt". "Felt" is the past tense of "to feel".
I think you will find that I was quoting you using 'felt' instead of 'fell'. Once more,
Steve_Harris wrote:
Not me, but my aunt once felt under her lawn mower without unplugging it...and lost the very tips of three fingers...
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I think you will find that I was quoting you using 'felt' instead of 'fell'. Once more,
Steve_Harris wrote:
Not me, but my aunt once felt under her lawn mower without unplugging it...and lost the very tips of three fingers...
So why did you say "People normally unplug their mowers before falling"?
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So why did you say "People normally unplug their mowers before falling"?
Oh dear. Don't people check their grammar before posting? I'm referring to a general case, and so I'm using the present tense. Your aunt fell under her lawnmower without unplugging it. As falling is generally an accidental act, and thus unplanned, I asked if people generally unplug their mowers before falling under them.
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Roger Wright wrote:
splice connectors
What are splice connectors? I used to work with cable and have never heard the term, but probably seen a million.
Splice connector is a term I use for brevity, consisting of two male connectors and one female-to-female adapter between them. The male connectors are installed on the cut ends of the cable, then screwed into the adapter to make an end-to-end connection. It probably costs me 2 - 3 dB of signal strength, but the signal is excellent. One of these days I'll need to re-install the whole works up in the air, but for now it works fine lying on the ground.
"A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"
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Oh dear. Don't people check their grammar before posting? I'm referring to a general case, and so I'm using the present tense. Your aunt fell under her lawnmower without unplugging it. As falling is generally an accidental act, and thus unplanned, I asked if people generally unplug their mowers before falling under them.
Oh dear oh dear. People don't read the OP before posting. I wrote that she FELT under the lawn mower, not that she FELL under it.
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Oh dear oh dear. People don't read the OP before posting. I wrote that she FELT under the lawn mower, not that she FELL under it.
Ouch! Where is that red faced smiley? And I thought you were correcting my apparent misuse of felt, rather than my reading the wrong word entirely.
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Ouch! Where is that red faced smiley? And I thought you were correcting my apparent misuse of felt, rather than my reading the wrong word entirely.
LOL we've all done it! I think if she had fallen under it she'd have lost more than a few fingertips!
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LOL we've all done it! I think if she had fallen under it she'd have lost more than a few fingertips!
I pictured her falling, hands stretched out into the underneath of the mower, and you using the term falling loosely. Yep, Monday review nerves make one hasty. I've stalled the review thrice, and the boss was getting quite testy.
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other days you're the hydrant. :sigh: Today was a gardening day, as I was happily digging up plants that have sprouted in the yard and potting them to give away. A few varieties of palm from the neighbors' yards, and a fruitless mulberry sport... nothing I want in the yard. Racing the sundown I hit a rock and pushed through it mightily, lifted the plant, and came up with a handful of video cable. Oops. :-O Now, I work for a power company, and one of our greatest problems is local backhoe operators who sever underground power lines. Our mantra is "Call Before You Dig!" If anyone should know better it's me, but no - I had a mission and nothing was going to stop me. Unfortunately, this particular cable was mine, both TV and Internet. Grrrr.... So, off the Ace Hardware, grab a set of splice connectors, and an hour later (and darker) I'm back online again. What a day. What's your dumbest experience with garden tools?
"A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"
Not garden tools but when I was 8 I was helping my Dad pound stakes in around some transplanted hickory trees so he wouldn't mow them down (side note I think a few of the staked ones might've lasted 3 years, most died as soon as the stakes were covered in underbrush), for some reason I was swinging the babysledge with my right hand (I'm a lefty) and managed to hit my fingertip. Said fingertip promptly split open and started making a bloody mess matched only by how loud I screamed. :doh: I ended up with 8 stitches (3 internal) and a scar and bit of misshapping that will last a lifetime.
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leckey wrote:
I can't believe how the perennials grow in this "gumbo" as my neighbor calls it.
What varieties are you growing? I've got lantana and vinca well established, and a pair of blue hibiscus working with mixed results; the one with the most sun is stunted, but the other is thriving. The ruellia seems to be doing well, but my daffodils have no idea what season it is. The iris and crocus haven't yet sprung forth, so it's too early to tell, and the amaryllis haven't seen the great outdoors yet - they will once I get the soil prepared for them. The same for the dianthus and scented geraniums on the porch, along with two gardenias and four standard geraniums I picked up this week. The euryops ought to thrive here, as I see them around town. Tonight's entertainment included starting digitalis, portulaca, and lupine from seed in some of those fancy greenhouses thingies with tiny peat blocks inside. I don't have high hopes for them, as my experience with seed stock is that they burst forth in record time, then promptly wilt off before I can get them hardened to the outdoors. I'll know in a few weeks... In the meantime, the several varieties of mint and the chamomile seem to be liking it here, so they're going in the ground as soon as I'm sure where I want them. The test will be summer; anything still alive in August I'll consider a winner. :-D
"A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"
I have about 10 butterfly bushes of different colors, hollyhock, several salvia, columbine, balloon flowers, delphenium, and a few I forgot the name! I also have trouble starting them from seed; I just get plants from one of the nursery's in town or Gurney's. I do well starting veggies though. I love container gardening. I buy old shower cans, buckets, large iron pots, etc and plant in those. Those mostly get violas, which are one of my faves. I even have an old Coke wooden box for bottles that I converted into a planter. Have you read/been to the website of Birds and Blooms? GREAT resource.
Back in the blog beatch! http://CraptasticNation.blogspot.com/[^]
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I have about 10 butterfly bushes of different colors, hollyhock, several salvia, columbine, balloon flowers, delphenium, and a few I forgot the name! I also have trouble starting them from seed; I just get plants from one of the nursery's in town or Gurney's. I do well starting veggies though. I love container gardening. I buy old shower cans, buckets, large iron pots, etc and plant in those. Those mostly get violas, which are one of my faves. I even have an old Coke wooden box for bottles that I converted into a planter. Have you read/been to the website of Birds and Blooms? GREAT resource.
Back in the blog beatch! http://CraptasticNation.blogspot.com/[^]
leckey wrote:
Gurney's
Gotta love Gurney's! When I lived in a place where living things actually grow, my entire yard was from Gurney's. I haven't seen the Birds and Blooms website yet, but I'll check it out. Lately I've been to a lot of sites looking for a Chinese Flame Tree. They appear to be capable of thriving here, but I can't find a source. There's lots of information, but no one I've found selling them except a private party on eBay. Since most plants that like full sun die here, my first priority is to get some trees that produce enough shade to shelter them, yet are drought resistant enough to survive themselves. Koelreuteria bipinnata seems to fit the bill, but it's damned hard to find.
"A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"
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Ouch! Did you patch it yourself, or abase yourself before the phone company gods to get it repaired? I'm going to run into that when I pull out the oleander stumps - they say it can't be killed, but I managed it with a chain saw and half a gallon of undiluted Roundup. :-D I haven't called the phone company for a locate, but I remember the last time they did it and the line for the entire neighborhood runs along my fence. The oleanders are planted directly on top of the line, and it's one of those 25-pair jobs. This is going to be a nasty chore, digging them up a small spadeful at a time, but I think I can make it go a bit easier using a high-pressure water nozzle. That's the only way to dig a trench here, as the soil laughs at picks and shovels, and fools who try to wield them.
"A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"
Roger Wright wrote:
Did you patch it yourself, or abase yourself before the phone company gods to get it repaired?
Sorry. I got side-tracked and never replied. I had to abase myself. Amazingly, they never charged me for fixing it (I guess that monthly charge for "repair care" or whatever it was called was worth it).
WE ARE DYSLEXIC OF BORG. Refutance is systile. Your a$$ will be laminated. There are 10 kinds of people in the world: People who know binary and people who don't.
