Generator is very quiet.

Saturday I heard some strange noises.  I used to assume they were mice chewing on something, since I had heard them before but only when I was in the other end of the house and kind of muffled.  This time though, I was doing laundry and heard very clearly it was a woodpecker.  So I went outside and chased him away.  I might want to do something with that before winter too, that is a pretty sizable hole.  Sigh.

Saturday was misty and drizzly most of the morning.  So much for 10% chance of rain.  It was like this most of the day.  

I started off by emptying out the back of my truck.  I took a look at the green table I got from Mike.  as much as I like to poke Mike for his lack of construction skills, this one isn't on him.  This is among the most retarded joints I have ever seen.  The problem is that both the welded piece and the metal behind it are threaded, and the two sets of threads don't line up.  So the screw goes into the first piece and you can't move it/wiggle it or anything to make it line up in the second piece.  The table feels reasonably solid though so I don't think I care.  

Saturday afternoon I went on a mushroom hunt with a bunch of my coworkers.  I didn't find anything that wouldn't kill you, but it was nice to be out in the woods.  It wasn't raining where we went.  

There wasn't as much foliage as I expected.  There were spots of color though.  

There is a bunch of color nearby though.  

My machete isn't a very good machete.  It wasn't cheap (it is a Schrader, but was apparently a POS.  I might ask my Uncle Jim if he wants to grind it out, but this is the second time I have chipped the blade; it is either low-quality steel or overhardened to the point of being brittle.  That is a big chunk missing from the blade.

When I got home, I finally got around to testing the generator.  It doesn't start very easily on propane.

It is very quiet though.  I won't need to build a baffle box.  I probably won't build anything for this trip.  If I do anything for future trips, it would just be to hold the units together in the back of the truck.  This video was taken with eco mode off, so it should have been running at 100%.

Sunday I went and tried to clean out the back of my truck so I can get the power center in it for the trip.  I tried to sweep it out to no avail.  So I went to the carwash.  I got it clean enough, but the car wash ate several dollars of quarters and I didn't get everything cleaned out that I wanted to; it sprayed for 3 minutes and then died.  Oh well.  One downside of using the carwash is that I need to wait for the bed to dry.  Here is a before and after.

I also finished going through and emptying the portable garage.  The shed is quite full again.  I can't get to everything, but everything I should need before next spring should be accessible.  

I was going to start taking down the portable garage, since it isn't built well enough (*cough Harbor Freight cough*) to withstand snow, and realized that I have nowhere to put it.  I might pick up one of those outdoor chests to put it in.

I intended to light my burn barrel, but I couldn't find my matches and my lighter apparently died.  These are a good thing to have around, so I will pick some up next time I out.  

I still had a little daylight left so I pulled out the tractor and started working on the driveway.  I started off by grading the ridge out of the middle.  The places where I drive were lower than the center part where the truck doesn't routinely pack it down.  

I got the first 20 feet or so done.  I did the really rough smoothing with the blade, the finer smoothing with the bucket, and did a final combover by hand with a bo rake.  It seemed to work quite well and is really smooth.  I don't have a box blade which is what you would normally use for this kind of work.  Might be something to look into.

I don't think I have enough gravel, this might have to do though, I think the quarry goes to extremely limited hours pretty soon (they stop delivery services when that happens), before I get back.  That is a pretty big hole in the middle.

I also took a quick stab at the back yard as I was winding down.  Not enough that I would mark it as in progress though, I was just making sure I could do this with the tractor and not need an excavator.  The tractor will be fine.

I also started cleaning out my truck.  I apparently never brought Tim's jack back, so I will have to do that at some point this week.  I need a tote to dry out before I can do something with the moving blanket.  I might try to wash it, it looks like pigpen when you shake it.  

The driveway is in progress.  Clearing out the portable garage wasn't on the list, but was the reason the shed floor is red.  I will probably stop by Home Depot or someplace tonight and get a storage bin for it and try to get it taken down soon.  Supposedly the weather is supposed to be nice all week, though we are at the point of the year where I don't have enough daylight when I get home to do much.

2021 Projects:

• Before Trip (currently planned for 10/16)
• Camper Power Center (portable AC power source and generator)
• Baffle box
• Before Ground freezes/Gets too cold
• Shed supports
• South wall siding
• Driveway round three
• Level back yard
• Level front yard 
• Before Snow cover
• Remove dead/dying beech trees
• During winter
• Fix shed floor.
• Review options for house (mobile home vs stick built vs modular)