Author: Daniel

The phoebes are back in their prior nest on the porchlet. This pleases me greatly. These wee eggs have since turned into balls of fluff & beak! Last year, Ma & Pa Phoebe had two sets of children here. We shall see how things go this year. In any event, I like having the baby … Continue reading Birds, Bees, Trees, Critters, and a Tall Tool Tale

After all that mud, wiring, and other prep, it was time to go get the bees this weekend. And so it was. The bee farm promised to close up the nucleus hives for safe transport but offered, for a small additional charge, a mesh bag to go over the hives for added security. I opted … Continue reading Apiary!

When we last left our intrepid electrician, he had just received a new 6kW inverter and was contemplating wire upgrades for the breaker box (“load center”) to handle the 100 amps the dual inverter system could supply. If you’re doing nerdful math in your head, you may conclude that 2x 6kW inverters at 240V does … Continue reading Shop Power Upgrade, Final Bee Yard Prep

As spring approaches, it’s time to repair the damaged fence around the bee yard (which failed to attract wild bees but did evidently attract a wild bear). Actually, the whole skimpy step-in fiberglass poles and tie-outs concept was deficient — but it was the best I could do since it is so very difficult to … Continue reading Bee Yards, Ice Storm, End of Battery Saga, More Power Upgrades

Turns out that shelflet for the water flosser/brush was just slightly in the way of moving around in that tiny bathroom, so I moved it to the other side of the sink, where it (a) looks better and (b) is less in the way. Sometimes it’s the little things. Speaking of little things, that little … Continue reading Shelflet Relo, Some Photos, Battery Potential

About 4 years ago, I bought a bunch of solar power related equipment from The altE Store. This equipment included everything I needed for two complete and independent systems: photovoltaic (“solar”) panels, racking systems, junction and breaker boxes, charge controllers, AC inverters, roughly 1000 pounds of LFP batteries (two different kinds – more on that … Continue reading The altE Store: My Worst Tech Support Experience Ever

The main reason I got Bob (the tractor) was for snow management. The plow has been great, clearing my road with ease (and comfort, as I sit in the enclosed cab with the heat on and the sound system streaming my favorite Pandora station). The other thing I wanted him for was taking care of … Continue reading Snow Mountains, Gas & Gasket, Safety Teats, Shelves & A Shelflet, Widow Makers

You remember the not-so-long-ago upgrade to the murphy bed, right? Well, I was never delighted with how the table attached and stowed in that configuration. It worked okay, but the table would often squeak as it moved a little on the mounting cleat and the whole thing required a maneuver by which the whole table … Continue reading Table, Toilet, Some Light, and a Battery

So I had this idea that I wan\ted to upgrade the dust collector in my wood shop. I did some research and found a model that I really wanted, the Laguna P|Flux:2. This was going to be considerably more powerful than its predecessor and has two especially appealing features: much better air filtration (less dust … Continue reading Dust Machine, Water Computer, and a Storridor

I found some photos on my digital camera’s memory card that I meant to share some time ago, but had forgotten. First, a pair of turkey vultures presumably drying out their wings… And the second batch of phoebes hatched at the nest in the porchlet were good enough to sit still for this portrait. This … Continue reading The Birds & The Bees (and two chairs)