 |
| A wet driveway |
The daffodils are finishing up their gig. The plums, service berries and ornamental pears are blooming while the pears in the orchard are tuning up their fiddles.
 |
| Yes, I know. I have trash to pick up |
Violets are still providing a beat with snare-drums.
Bumblebees working Ground Ivy and Dead Nettle flowers are sketching out the melodies of summer. But not very many bumblebees, nope, not many of them.
 |
| The bumblebee is in the center of the picture. Look for a couple bands of pale yellow. |
Looking at the plants that are in bloom, I estimate that we are ten days to two weeks "ahead" of a typical year in terms of bloom sequence.
Raccoon guard update
The 3" round vent was too small to fit around the mulberry trunks. It would have if the trunks were smooth and straight...but they are mulberries so that isn't going to happen.
The riding mower started after I filled the tank with gas but it stalls out when I start to lift the brake pedal. I might be starting the mowing season with a push mower. A mower with an effective cutting width of 18" must be push about 5.5 miles to mow an acre. At 2 mph, that pencils out to a freckle less than three hours.
King David Apple
The blurbs for this apple suggest that it is an accidental cross between Jonathan and Arkansas Black or Winesap.
According to the SSR genetic data published by the USDA, Jonathan as one parent and Winesap as the other is a much, much more likely scenario than Jonathan by Arkansas Black. Winesap matches across all nine microsatellites while Arkansas Black does not match at microsatellites CH01f02-A, GD142-A or GD147-A.
Lucky you Joe, my dandelions are not even up yet. The daffodils that come through the late snow are blooming.
ReplyDeleteif you didn't use stabilized gas, try emptying the tank and carb and putting a cup or so of coleman fule (or avgas) and letting it soak for a day or so to dissolve the varnish .
ReplyDeleteWorks every time half the time.
Or rebuild (or clean) the carb.
The rider might be a electrical problem, check the switch under the brake pedal.
ReplyDeleteI am leaning in that direction. It doesn't sound like bogging-down. There are mice and squirrels in the barn...so chewed wire is a very real possibility.
DeleteI would love to fix it with a couple wraps of electrical tape.
This is the only carb cleaner that I have found to actually work:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.amazon.com/STA-BIL-22304-Engine-System-Cleaner/dp/B00NEG3K5O/
Out here it was getting warm and wet... And the last two nights have been less than 20; I'm assuming we'll lose a bunch of the new buds, particularly among fruit trees.
ReplyDeleteWe've had multiple cycles this year, up to 80 and then below freezing - much worse than the usual weather swings.
Jonathan
Yeah we’ve had mice chew the wiring harness and damage mowers, blowers, tillers, the dump truck…. Anything and everything.
ReplyDeleteFor off season storage my husband swears by StarTron gas additive. I guess it keeps the carb clean. He uses it in everything.
Southern NH