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Thread: Creeker's Weekend Accomplishments

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
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    Conway, Arkansas
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    13,181

    Creeker's Weekend Accomplishments

    5 Sep 2017

    Good Morning Everyone,
    Running a bit late today.
    I finished my week of oncall yesterday morning. I am working on a master bed project with a friend of mine and that's keeping me busy in the shop for at least 2 nights a week. I'm officially bowling on the Tuesday night men's league this year as I was invited to bowl on this team this year. The team is one of the teams that I bowled on last year as a sub. Last year I bowled off an on as other team members could not make it or were on business travel. This year, I bowl on my own team. Now I just need to step up my game a bit.

    Now that the outside temps are getting cooler, I'm gearing up to spend a bit more time in the shop. I had my shop "closed" for almost 8 years due to family, work, and other issues. I'm once again learning how to enjoy being in the shop making things once again.

    Well, that's it for me, so what did YOU do this past Labor Day Weekend?

    Best of weeks to you all.
    Thanks & Happy Wood Chips,
    Dennis -
    Get the Benefits of Being an SMC Contributor..!
    ....DEBT is nothing more than yesterday's spending taken from tomorrow's income.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    Clayton, WI
    Posts
    193
    Saturday I transplanted three arbor vitae trees from on side of the lot over to the other. Then I went into the shop and worked on a basket I am making for my niece's wedding present.
    Sunday, I got to mow our lawn for the first time. And found a hole where there was a ground bee hive... Then I got my Jeep out of the garage, washed it up, and we went for a drive to a car show.
    Yesterday I found out that based on the hole I found, we have either a bear, a skunk, or a badger in the area. I kind of hope it is a skunk, based on the alternatives.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    E TN, near Knoxville
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    bees and ebony

    Quote Originally Posted by Jay Larson View Post
    a ground bee hive... ... based on the hole I found, we have either a bear, a skunk, or a badger in the area.
    Ground bee colony - do you mean a yellow jacket (wasp) or bumble bee colony? I'd try to protect a bumble bee nest since that are so beneficial, endangered, and not aggressive. I'd be tempted to take out a yellow jacket colony with nuclear explosives if I had them. Until then, I'll just just use gasoline.

    Around here, at least, skunks are the most likely to dig out yellow jacket nests. Skunks eat honey bees too.

    I had some shop time this this week end and played with threading. Made this little threaded box, ebony and ebony. About 1" diameter. No finish, just hand rubbed with metal polish and a bit of Renaissance Wax.

    threaded_ebony_box_IMG_6718.jpg

    (Yeah, I know, the shape is not elegant!)
    I made another one yesterday, larger and shaped better but no photos yet.

    I watched the grass grow too. About a week ago I went over the fields with a seed drill and about $400 in seed and it's starting to come up.

    JKJ

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    Clayton, WI
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    Quote Originally Posted by John K Jordan View Post
    Ground bee colony - do you mean a yellow jacket (wasp) or bumble bee colony? I'd try to protect a bumble bee nest since that are so beneficial, endangered, and not aggressive. I'd be tempted to take out a yellow jacket colony with nuclear explosives if I had them. Until then, I'll just just use gasoline.

    Around here, at least, skunks are the most likely to dig out yellow jacket nests. Skunks eat honey bees too.


    JKJ
    Not bumble bees, so must be yellow jackets. Also, there was the remnants of the nest, and it certainly looked like a wasp nest.

    We had our lawn put in on Aug 2, so in one month I had to mow. I will probably have to mow again this weekend. I wish we could have gotten away with $400.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
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    E TN, near Knoxville
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jay Larson View Post
    Not bumble bees, so must be yellow jackets. Also, there was the remnants of the nest, and it certainly looked like a wasp nest.
    We had our lawn put in on Aug 2, so in one month I had to mow. I will probably have to mow again this weekend. I wish we could have gotten away with $400.
    Yellow jackets will typically hollow a cavity and build a comb that looks very much like the flat circular wasp nests found under eves and things, but much larger in diameter and often more than one layer. When disturbed they are almost as aggressive as white faced hornets. Like most stinging things they will leave you alone unless disturbed (usually accidentally!) I know someone who died indirectly from yellow jackets - he disturbed a nest while driving a tractor, jumped off to run away from the stinging and was caught and run over by the still moving tractor. Ack. When clearing in the summer I like to wear gloves, long sleeves, and a face net made for deer hunters. When destroying a nest I wear one of my full-coverage beekeepers suits!

    I can't imagine the cost of putting in a new yard. I over-seeded maybe 6 acres of pasture for horses and llamas and seeded about 2 more acres that was basically a dry lot this summer without a single blade of grass. I did all the work myself but with seed, lime, and fertilizer I think the bill was still over $2K for this year, I don't keep up since it's too depressing. I mow 3 acres around the house, shop, and drive every week and at least 8 acres of pasture every two weeks to keep it from getting too high. Fortunately my mower cuts 5' at once. It's sure nice to see the dry lot turning green! The mini donkeys will be happy.

    JKJ

  6. #6
    Can't imagine how bad white faced hornets must be, never seen anything more aggressive than yellow jackets. The bumble bees are laid back, when our Japanese Stewartia bloomed for the first time in May they would curl up and sleep in the flowers . They wake up on the job and start work immediately.

  7. #7
    Usual, mow, paint BBQ and a buddy had a fish fry with abut 400 Blue Gill filets. Boy were those good. And finally have the bench top on the legs. Looks good but still needs dog holes.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
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    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    A nice long weekend, but with a bit of rain through Saturday and Sunday. Saturday, we traveled to just north of Baltimore to attend a birthday party for a close friend's 9 year old daughter and to see their new house. Sunday I worked on some inside the house type jobs, went food shopping with Professor Dr. SWMBO and finished up my "Fritz and Franz" jig for the slider.

    IMG_0686.jpg

    Monday, it was mow the lawn, some more inside jobs and a whole bunch of weeding around our off-patio pond before cooking a nice meal to round out the day.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  9. #9
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    Feb 2008
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mel Fulks View Post
    Can't imagine how bad white faced hornets must be, never seen anything more aggressive than yellow jackets. The bumble bees are laid back, when our Japanese Stewartia bloomed for the first time in May they would curl up and sleep in the flowers . They wake up on the job and start work immediately.
    A friend once disturbed a big nest in a tree and they chased him across the yard, behind the house, and behind the neighbor's house stinging him the whole time. I've run into the nests when clearing with the tractor. I keep a can of wasp hornet spray in the cup holder and have been known to spray it around wildly while driving away as fast as I can. But as long as you don't disturb their home you can walk up to within a few feet and they won't bother you. And like other bees, wasps, and hornets they don't sting while foraging away from the colony unless you touch one. I used to get freaked out when encountering one but now I just ignore it.

    I wrote this before but in the event of stings I have found NOTHING better than the Sawyer "The Extractor" which uses suction to pull the venom out of the sting. Available in Walmart in the camping section or on Amazon. Takes away the pain and most of the effects of the sting.

    JKJ

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    Clayton, WI
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    Quote Originally Posted by John K Jordan View Post
    A friend once disturbed a big nest in a tree and they chased him across the yard, behind the house, and behind the neighbor's house stinging him the whole time.

    JKJ
    Reminds me of the time my cousin and I were messing around (where we shouldn't have been...) and found a wasp nest in an ice shanty. We decided it would be fun to try to hit it with some stones and try to knock it down for the owner. Well, we missed the first couple of times, and riled them up a bit, then one of us hit it square. It looked like a cartoon with the swarm that came out of there. Both of us took off as fast as we could go, down to the bay. Full speed right off the end of the dock with them right behind. Came up splashing and back under. It took about 20 minutes of this before we could get out. I got stung once,and I think he only got it once or twice.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
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    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    I hit a yellow jacket ground nest a number of years ago with the FEL on the tractor...I had to bail and run "really fast" to avoid stings. Unfortunately, the tractor was still running a few hours later because I didn't even have time to twist the key...'just unbuckle, jump and run. LOL A Kubota BX-22 runs for a very long time at half-throttle on even a half-tank of fuel....
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  12. #12
    Got my Oliver 159 A lathe ready to power up, just waiting for the VFD.

    Good bit of work done helping Brian build guitars.

  13. #13
    Jim, you were lucky. Sounds like they were young ones that hadn't learned what scientists call "tractor driving formation"

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