What I Did This Weekend - In Pictures!

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
I cut the lawns, which didn't really need it, having been last cut a fortnight ago today, but it'll avoid a "I should have done it when I had the chance" situation in a few days, if the weather returns to what has become normal for the last few months.

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I ordered some mudguards and a couple of 'tarmac' tyres for the 'new' bike, but only one of the tyres turned up before I escaped, so I brought the front wheel off the 'old' bike for now.

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littleme

250,000th poster!
I cut the lawns, which didn't really need it, having been last cut a fortnight ago today, but it'll avoid a "I should have done it when I had the chance" situation in a few days, if the weather returns to what has become normal for the last few months.

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I ordered some mudguards and a couple of 'tarmac' tyres for the 'new' bike, but only one of the tyres turned up before I escaped, so I brought the front wheel off the 'old' bike for now.

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So beautiful
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
Apparently, according to my Seiko solar watch, today is a Saturday and therefore an actual weekend day, although all days will be for some time to come...

The old veg plots that I have been using to incorporate shredded cuttings, lawn mowings and wood ash suffered during the wet winter, so I took advantage of the nice morning to 'fluff' them up a bit. I've only been using the left-hand one here over the winter, as it is more exposed to what Sun there has been and that makes the mixing in a bit more effective. There wasn't much on it, apart from what I left a fortnight ago and yesterday's lawn clippings. Now that the Sun is rising in the sky, I can start using all three, if I need the capacity.

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I know how much @BobClay likes these updates and feel sure that he won't be telling me to 'get out more' at the moment.
 

staffordjas

Well-Known Forumite
I cut the lawns, which didn't really need it, having been last cut a fortnight ago today, but it'll avoid a "I should have done it when I had the chance" situation in a few days, if the weather returns to what has become normal for the last few months.

View attachment 8096

View attachment 8097


I ordered some mudguards and a couple of 'tarmac' tyres for the 'new' bike, but only one of the tyres turned up before I escaped, so I brought the front wheel off the 'old' bike for now.

View attachment 8098
Wow! What a lovely garden :)
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
A lot of "bits & pieces" today, but I'm trying to do the odd thing that I can call 'completed' (for now).

So, I deweeded one of the plots and shredded up the debris from it. The chaff will have a few seeds in, but they can be incorporated when they've used their germination reserves.

I tilled it twice, at right angles, and to a greater depth than it has been done for a while. It's been nicely fluffed up and the shreddings are nicely chopped in, too.

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When I last looked, it was being inspected by the Robins, who were conducting an in-depth invertebrate survey.

I may have a go at a flower bed tomorrow, subject to the weather conditions.
 

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
Is that a petrol tiller? Got an electric one myself yesterday, and attacked my garden as it has no lawn since I built the pond. Am halfway through, ground needed breaking up first as it's very heavy clay but now looks great.

Having no idea what constitutes a weekend anymore I don't know what to post. I did strip and de-rust an old meat grinder that my partners nan bought during the German occupation, I suspect it will easily outlive another few generations!

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Which was then used to feed us :D

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Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
Is that a petrol tiller?
Yes. That is a four-stroke one. They do make an electric version and the earlier ones were two-stroke, as there was a hedge-trimmer attachment option, which involved taking the engine off and fitting it to the trimmer, so it had to be a dry-sump engine. They seem to have abandoned that feature and gone for the far more efficient four-stroke now - it is a remarkably fuel efficient Honda engine.
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
This morning's task was to empty the fire and clean the flue. Sleeping in there makes that a little more important, in case there is a 'slump' of soot in the flue, though there is a CO alarm in operation in the shed. It would appear to have been burning nicely, with very little residue adhering to the flue.

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Whilst the ladder was up and the weather was dry with no wind, I decided to mount the FM aerial that's been lying around for a while. I have an indoor ribbon aerial in use at the moment, but it gets interference from the powerline adaptor on occasions - a bit more separation seems a good idea.

A couple of steel plates were cut from an old piece of angle and tapped M5, to clamp the base to the steel roof sheet via some stainless steel screws from Screwfix.

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It seems firm enough fore-and-aft, but, if it turns out to be a bit floppy sideways, then I can always guy it a bit - we'll see what happens when the wind returns.

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I failed to bring any co-ax cable with me, but the chap nextdoor installs satellite systems, so I may get some flung over the hedge one day, not that it's an urgent matter, the radio works 99% of the time, and it only ever seems to affect one station at a time.

Lying on the roof, trying to get my arm round the gutter to install the nearer plate did bring Rod Hull to mind for a time...
 

industryarch

Well-Known Forumite
This morning's task was to empty the fire and clean the flue. Sleeping in there makes that a little more important, in case there is a 'slump' of soot in the flue, though there is a CO alarm in operation in the shed. It would appear to have been burning nicely, with very little residue adhering to the flue.

View attachment 8154


Whilst the ladder was up and the weather was dry with no wind, I decided to mount the FM aerial that's been lying around for a while. I have an indoor ribbon aerial in use at the moment, but it gets interference from the powerline adaptor on occasions - a bit more separation seems a good idea.

A couple of steel plates were cut from an old piece of angle and tapped M5, to clamp the base to the steel roof sheet via some stainless steel screws from Screwfix.

View attachment 8155


It seems firm enough fore-and-aft, but, if it turns out to be a bit floppy sideways, then I can always guy it a bit - we'll see what happens when the wind returns.

View attachment 8156

I failed to bring any co-ax cable with me, but the chap nextdoor installs satellite systems, so I may get some flung over the hedge one day, not that it's an urgent matter, the radio works 99% of the time, and it only ever seems to affect one station at a time.

Lying on the roof, trying to get my arm round the gutter to install the nearer plate did bring Rod Hull to mind for a time...
put up a decent dipole while your at it
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
Just tatting around today, it's a chilly breeze out there.

I decided to pursue the clearing axe clean-up. Getting the blade out can be an exciting task - you wouldn't often have to do that, replacing a blade is often prompted by the previous blade breaking. In order to compress the frame enough, I had to form an impromtu sash cramp.

I got it out successfully in the end without it flying around the place...

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I'm not a fan of paint and varnish in unnecessary places, manufacturers often just use it for their own storage protection, really, and it soon starts to look tatty in use. There's no great problem in giving it a quick clean and a rub with an oily rag.

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If you ever get one, then it is well worth making the small modification that can just be seen in front of the upper blade mounting point. An M4 threaded hole on one side and a clearance hole on the other - a bolt through there will stop the odd case where the blade can make an excursion from the frame in a most exciting manner. The bolt will keep the blade in place, and the clamping effect will also reduce cases where the blade is driven back into the slot behind the mounting groove that the pin is meant to stay in.
 

Mikinton

Well-Known Forumite
It is a bit cold, isn't it.

I've been hand-raking the lawn over the last week or so try to get rid of some of that moss (split the lawn into thirds and did each one with a day or two's recovery in between). The lawn's not that big but managed to lift about 2/3rds of a compost bag, and filled the other third today with the wuffler.

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