Magnavox DVD/MP3 player

Bought at GoodWill for 8-bucks.  Took a chance, because they don't check their stuff.  The jury is still out because although it works fine with 3 video cables between it and the TV, there is so far no sound.  I will have to pick up an audio cable and see if that solves it.  Otherwise there was a reason this machine ended up at Goodwill.  Good task for tomorrow......

Sansui 14DLCD1909A Television

Got this from Josie, it's at the apartment on Dixon in Madison.  Fired it up after buying a 10-dollar antenna at WalMart.  I had to download the instruction manual from the internet and saved it as a favorite.  Works great!

Schwinn World 10-speed bike

A yet another germ bike.  lol.  10-speeds, rotten tires.  Took it to Speed's and had them put on 27X1 1/4 Kenda K35's at 90 PSI and new tubes 700X35/40 SV 27 X 1 3/8  Cost = 47.90 including labor.  Need to take it on the big hill and see what it can do.

Zebco Ft-35 Fishing Reel

Another bargain at the junk store. Bought it for 2-bucks and it included a nice rod with teflon insert eyelets!  Got it because Uncle John was coming down to Mount Dora to go fishing with me, and we indeed used it.  Had to repair a gear on the inside, which had a metal core, so I could rough it up and superglue it.  Casts real nicely.

Zebco Mercury fishing reel

bought this and the nice rod with teflon eyelets for like 2-bucks at junk shop.  Needed to be fixed inside; nothing that was that difficult.

Tomah Vets' Golf Course

Went with Ben Linzmeier.  Beautiful day.  Did a little better than last outing, but still pretty rusty. 

+1  +1  +1  +2  =  -1  -2  -1  +1      Total of +2



composite scramble for season=

+1  +1  +1  +2  =  -1  -2  -1  +1      Total of +2

LRER bicycle (Ben Linzmeier's)

Ben Linzmeier rode his bike down here to Sparta from the Twin Cities (3 day ride), camping along the way.  I initially thought it was a 12-speed, because I didn't see his climbing gear, but it is and 18-speed.  I rode it on my 10-mile course just to test it out.  Seat was high, so I was really extended, but it is a nice cruiser.  It climbed the big hill in 234 reps, not as low-strung as my Univega, but it was quite do-able.  So it compares to other bikes that I have measured on the hill as follows:
     Univega                                                         275 reps
     Ben Linzmeier's LRER                                 234 reps
     Raleigh 410                                                   168 reps

Sparta Country Club

First outing of the summer, with Ben Linzmeier, front nine in Sparta:

+1   +1   +1   +2   +1   -1   +1   -1   +1   Total  +6  


Composite best game for the season

+1   +1   +1   +2   +1   -1   +1   -1   +1   Total +6

Blueclean Power Washer

Bought in May, 2012 at Fleet Farm in Winona, MN.  About 129-bucks.  Put it together today.

Heddon 190 Scandia Mark IV reel

Was Grandpa Lee's.  Still in excellent condition and a go to reel for me.  Mounted on a 5-foot rod he had, fiberglas.

Raleigh 410 bicycle

This another germ bike.  It's a nice cruiser and I had new tires and tubes put on it last year.  12-speed with six on the wheel and two on the crank.  The spin gear feels nice and fast on level ground, but I can tell you that it doesn't climb as easily as the Activa.  That's OK because it really cruises nicely.  Seat is comfy too by comparison. 

Decks

Five decks on the farm: 1) the big one behind the house; 2) the side one out the south patio door; 3) the covered one on the detached garage; 4) the little one outside the front door; and 5) the "poop deck" on the hillside.
We water seal them annually before we put out the deck furniture.  Did that today with Thompsons green which has an anti mold agent in it.  It is still clear protectant.  We put it on with a 1-gallon sprayer.  Bought two 2 1/2 gallon cans.  Noted that what was left over from last year was destroyed by freezing.  It got all curdley, had to be discarded.  Expensive stuff.  Can't let that happen.  Just use it all.

Birdhouses, Bluebird and otherwise

Tucker made me about 35 or so bluebird houses and we have them all over the farm in the open areas.  I had put them out again after removing them for the bulldozing of the fields and field edges.  Cleaned them all out last fall and there are bluebirds all over, so some of them are being used, anyway.  I put out four or five various birdhouses that have been taking up space in the garages.  In the fall, however, they need to be cleaned for the following year's use. 

Retracting 30-ft Power cord reel

Installed the reel in the attached garage in the right front corner so that I can hook up my saws outside next to the driveway when I set up to do a job.  Works real nicely and plugs in right below, very convenient.  The plug has 2 or 3 outlets so I can plug in a table saw and a chop saw and not have to cycle between.  Got it from Cathy for last Xmas.

Beretta 9mm pistol

Have run only a few rounds through this magnificent gun and that has to change.  Plan on doing some target shooting with Herb at the indoor range in Stoughton.

Club Cadet 4 cycle weed whipper

Purchased this weed whipper last year and it runs really nicely, but I am disappointed in the head, which is not a spool of line, but a system where you have to thread an 18-inch piece through it.  When it wears down, you have to pull out the remainder and put a new one in.  That can be a real hassle.  You have to use a long nose pliers and sometimes it breaks off and you have to take it apart. 
Nonetheless, I fired it up today and weed-whipped a path to my 50-yd shooting target.  It ran fine.

BlackJack 2-ton trolley jack

I bought this last fall after my boat trailer suffered a flat because it lifts the trailer with the boat on it quite easily, whereas the whole thing slips off a car jack.  But I found a new use; lifting tree trunks up off the ground enough so I can block them up with the chainsaw.  So I gave it a good workout doing a large boxelder that I had felled, trimmed up, and now have blocked up for firewood.

Noleen Zed Sport ATS-26 mountain bike

Bought from Josie for $100. 

Hurricane-80 Reel

Bought this reel and rod set at WalMart in Pass Christian for twenty bucks when we moved down there.  It's not a bad heavy duty set-up.  Fished off the piers in the Gulf with it some and brought it back up to Wisconsin.  Caught a 24-inch northern on it last summer.  It's dependable.

Burning brushpiles

A constant job, burning brushpiles.  There are two major ones, up above the burn barrel in the field and down the road in the pit.  Don't know when the time will be right.  Plenty of others being created every time I cut.  Today I started off the season by trying to burn all the toppings of the downed trees that I zipped up the other day...work in progress.  I worked an hour and a half on it and had it blazing, but the more brush I piled on, the more it rained until I had to give up.  Will finish it in more agreeable weather.

Hudson Backpack Sprayer-4 gal.

This Hudson Suprema, 4-gal backpack sprayer is great.  I use it for weed and vegetation control only, although I have the neutralizer stuff to clean it and make it safe for other stuff.  Last year (2011 summer) I sprayed numerous zones with extra-strength Roundup to wage my war of attrition on burdocks.  With burdocks, you had better kill the plant because it is a biennial and it is a survivor.  Nonetheless, I combine harvesting the burrs with spraying and I have virtually eradicated them.  Once in a while I run across one, usually in a far-off area I don't visit much.  I spot-sprayed shrubby vegetation, small trees, stump-sprouts, and sumac growing in the fields which were bulldozed and planted summer of 2011 with Garlon-4 Ultra.  I will testify that this stuff KILLS what you put it on and nothing comes back.  This summer, 2012, I took a walk down where I had done it and it is pristine!

Blue Max 18-inch chainsaw

Got this bugger at Menard's a couple summers ago and it is a real workhorse!  It sat in the garage all winter and all I had to do was get a gallon of gas, add 5-0z of 2-cycle oil, tighten up the chain and let 'er go.  I gut one tankful, about an hour on trees I had felled in the fall across from the driveway.  Good workout...I'm gonna feel it tomorrow.  Good thing it's gonna rain.

Activa Trail Univega

This is a great bike.  I think it sold for around $365 new and this one is a rummage sale model and mine is green.  I love it.  Kept on the farm in Sparta.  21 speeds.  It is my go-to bike for doing the hills.  In lowest spin-gear it takes 275 4-stroke cycles to climb the big hill over in Cole's Valley.  It is a good work out but this bike can climb it. 

Amana Clothes Dryer

Front loading clothes dryer on the farm.  Annual cleaning at the time of putting it back in it's place for the summer.  Used the tool that attaches to the vacuum cleaner to suck dust that got past the filter, which was a lot.  It took me an hour of diddling around, but I got it real clean.  This should be an annual task for sure.

Amana Refrigerator

This fridge is in the kitchen on the farm, and is a remnant of Patty and Jim, the only appliance left of theirs, and it doesn't really match our other kitchen appliances.  Matter of time before Cathy wants to replace it but it works well.  Seasonal maintainance is to vacuum the dust off the fins underneath, which is mostly done from the front but requires using a little vacuum nozzle adapter we bought.  I did this today...they were quite dusty and I could tell because the fridge was running long.  Also took the back off and vacuumed out around the compressor and fan area.  Cleaned it up real good.  This should be an annual ablution to keep this thing running efficiently.

Wheelbarrow

The wheel on the wheelbarrow has been an ongoing problem, going flat all the time, so I bought a new one at Menard's while we were shopping for stuff there.  Came home today and cranked off the old one, put the new one on the axle, and off we go, hauling weeds and firewood and stuff.

Scott's Basic Lawn Spreader

May 3, 2012  Used the Scott's spreader on setting 4.5 to spread 2 bags of Menard's 28-0-3 weed killer, right after a big rain.  Needed 1/2 bag more.  Only got the perimeter below the fence. Bought a 5000-sq ft bag at WalMart and finished the job.