Monday, November 5, 2018: Fall Harvest

In preparation for the first hard freeze later this week, I harvested peppers, carrots and beets. The beets were really disappointing.

I stemmed and washed the peppadew and ended up with four pounds. I gave one to Joyce, who said she was going to stuff them. The other three pounds are in my refrigerator. I will decide whether to freeze them or something else.

One pound bag of peppers

The carrots, after removal of the greens, washing, peeling and slicing totaled 1.5 pounds.

I cooked them using the Instant Pot. It took a little water, some butter, honey, parsley and 15 minutes. They are delicious!

Sunday, November 4, 2018: Winterizing, new security lights

Yesterday I decided it was time to do my winterizing. Looking at the weather forecast, it seems that next Thursday they are predicting freezing temperatures. One of the largest tasks is to shutdown and blow out the backyard irrigation system.

I shut off the water, disassembled the back flow preventer and installed the blow out fittings. I was all set, so I got the air compressor out of the garage and set it up. As soon as I started the compressor, I knew something was wrong. Turned out that the pressure regulator was no longer functioning. I could not regulate the outlet pressure, it just matched the tank pressure.

So started my information gathering on the Porter Cable 1 HP, 6 gallon, Model C2002 Type 5 pancake compressor. I've had this machine for several years and they have come out with Types 6,7,8 and 9 since I bought this one at Lowe's. To make a long story short (too late), I ordered a regulator repair kit through Amazon which should arrive on Tuesday. I don't know for sure if it is the correct kit. There seems to be a China version and a Taiwan version. My regulator has a "Made in China" label and the one pictured on Amazon shows it is from Taiwan. We will see. I decided I had nothing to loose, so I started taking the regulator apart. The most difficult part of the disassembly was getting the cosmetic face plate off the regulator. I ended up destroying it. I got the regulator apart and quickly determined the problem, a corroded piston. That was enough for the day.

This morning I got the piston and started cleaning it up. I got it to the point it seemed to be working properly. I reassembled the regulator and did not have any parts left over. I started the compressor and it seemed to work fine.

I restarted my work on the irrigation system and got all the zones blown free of water. This took about two hours.

I also installed the deicer on the pond (not sure it still works or not) and pulled out the three okra plants who had retired for the season.

I found the missing ear of T's March Hare. He must have lost it when he fell over at some point. I think I can glue it back on.

Morgan came over and we installed the new security light on the southeast corner of the garage. Morgan has had issues with people siphoning gasoline out of his vehicles. Hopefully this will help scare them off, or at least make it easier for them to see what they are doing. The light is motion activated with a dusk-to-dawn feature.

I still have several more winterizing items to accomplish over the next few days. I need to:

• Shut off and drain all the hose bibs
• Drain and bring inside all the garden hoses
• Bring in the sensitive plants
• Install the foam insulation on the sunroom ventilation system
• Harvest the peppadew
• Clean the sunroom heat pump screens
• Patch the limestone window sill where the bricks from the chimney hit

I also need to finalize the plans on getting a cap on the chimney this coming week.

Friday, November 2, 2018: Chimney Progress

I received the proposal from Gary at Holy Smoke Chimney Services yesterday. He included his recommended replacement cap design. He said it is cast iron. He said he assumed the existing chimney is just open ended and that he could have the new cap prefabricated and get it installed with just one man-lift lift. If the top row of bricks is loose, he would either remove it or re-secure it.

The cost he quoted was very realistic and about the same as that quoted by Mirelli to just reinstall the old cap. Gary said he would use a man-lift for access and that he currently had a three backlog, but the weather might make the schedule change. I told him I might be out of town, but I thought we could coordinate successfully. I asked him for his T&C, insurance and warranty information. He had his insurance company send me a copy of his insurance certificate (general liability expires on November 19). With respect to my other questions, he responded:

Payment is due upon completion.

There is no guarantee because a storm can blow off a chimney cover at any time and the roof. However, we have installed over 2000 caps over 40 year period and have only lost three.

I told him I was expecting another bid this week but would be making a decision by early next week. If we move forward, I will check with Morgan to see if he plans to be in town while the installation is going on to oversee and if necessary, hand Gary the payment upon successful completion. 

Thursday, November 1, 2018: Beech, boxwood; Pond Float

Ten weeks ago (August 17) John (landscaping) came by to look at my dead beech and the boxwoods along the west fence line. He said he could replace the beech and said he had another client that might take the boxwoods that are still alive and we could replace them with yews.

I sent John an email on Tuesday asking for a status. I got a response last night saying he has not found a replacement beech yet...10 weeks he has been looking?!? Anyway, he said he would look again and asked if I wanted to do something about the boxwood. I responded to his email with a reminder that HE had suggested a plan on the boxwood.

Obviously, he is busy and we are not high on his priority list.

I got the replacement float for the Hudson pond water valve today. I was very interested in seeing what changes they had made to prevent the "sticking" or "hanging up" that led to my pond overflowing. I compared the new float to the previous one that came with the new valve.

New float on left, previous float on right

If you cannot see a difference, it is not due to poor eye sight. Leslie, from Hudson, told me that "It was a height issue and it has been resolved". I could not tell any difference between the new float and the previous one except the new one was a slightly darker color. To avoid confusion, I marked the new float on the bottom. Then I got out my Craftsman micrometer and did a series of measurements. The overall height of the new float was 3.412" compared to the height of the previous float of 3.406". A difference of 0.006" (6 mils)! I could find no other measurement differences between the two. Was this change enough to keep the new float from sticking? Stay tuned.

I installed the new float into the body of the old valve and exercised the float. No sticking, hesitancy or hanging-up could be found. I removed the new float and installed the previous float (these floats are MUCH easier to install than the previous design). The previous float readily stuck, hesitated and hung-up. I swapped the floats several times and finally convinced myself that the new float was indeed not prone to the issues surrounding the previous float.

Hurrah for Hudson. I will update my Amazon review to reflect the success.

Wednesday, October 31, 2018: Halloween; new window shade; Holy Smoke chimney inspection

The Marvin guy (Nick) showed up as scheduled to install the new shade on the sunroom french door. This was the shade that failed a month before I left town and Mike (salesman) lied to me about ordering a new one. When on was finally ordered, I was out of the country. So, Nick installed it today. We will see how long it lasts. This is the third shade in this specific location.

Gary (Holy Smoke) showed up to take a look at the chimney. He said he would be sending me an estimate. He looked at the aluminum cap that blew off and recommended not reinstalling it because it was the wrong size. He also said he would use a man lift for access.

No response from John (landscaping).

Tuesday, October 30, 2018: Chimney Update; Note to John

Before I left on my European river cruise, I had talked with a referral I had received from the chimney guy (Mirelli), Doug. Doug told me that he would come by and email me an estimate to replace the chimney cap. He said he would consult with Mirelli and get my contact information from him. I sent a note to Mirelli and was told that they would work with Doug and contact him directly if they did not hear anything from him in a day or so.

Well...six weeks later, upon my return, I still had not received anything. I thought perhaps it was lost in my junk email, but before I called Doug again, I asked Morgan if his friend Charlie was still interested in the job. Morgan had suggested Charlie as an option before I left town, but I had already hired Mirelli (who then bailed out on me).

Morgan said he was sure Charlie was interested. That was last week and he would have Charlie call me. This morning I asked Morgan if Charlie was going to call. He said he has been trying to contact Charlie without success and was at the point of concluding Charlie was not interested and I should move on to someone else.

So, this morning I called Doug again. His estimate had not been lost in my email junk mail. He apologized that my project had "fallen through the crack", but he would try to come out and take a look at the job. I gave him the location information and description of the work. He said he was very busy and that, while he would try to drop by, the work might not be worth his time or effort. Nice!!

I sent an email to Mirelli telling them that Doug was not very encouraging and asked if they had another referral. Mirelli was very apologetic and suggested contacting Owen Bricklaying and Tuckpointing. I called Owen. They said they were very busy and they could not commit to any work until sometime next year. I asked if they had any suggestions. They recommended Mirelli (thanks a lot!) and Massey Tuckpointing. I called Massey and they said they don't do that sort of work but suggested I call Holy Smoke Chimney Service and talk to Gary. I called Gary and he assured me he could do the work and would come by later this week to look at the job. I sent another email to Mirelli with an update. They also suggested I contact Porter Tuckpointing. I called them and they said they would have someone come by either today or later this week.

So, in addition to possibly Doug, I have two more companies coming out to look at the job.

I sent an email to John (Landscaping) today asking about the status of the plans he suggested three months ago. He was going to replace the dead beech and replace the boxwoods along the west fence with more yews. He said he had another client who would take the boxwoods which had not died yet.

Sunday, October 28, 2018: Hudson Valve Update

On October 25, I posted that I was having trouble with the new Hudson valve on the pond and that I determined the problem was with an apparent redesign of the internal float. I sent a note to the manufacturer and today got an email reply. It was from Leslie and simple stated:

"It was a height issue and it has been resolved.  The new float is much easier to place correctly into the body, if you like I can send a can send a corrected 1/2" float if you provide an address."

I thanked her for the response and told her that the new design was indeed easier to assemble. I also gave her my address and asked for a new float. I did not ask why they are still selling these if they are aware of the problem. I bought this through Amazon, so I will put a review on their site warning of the issue.

Saturday, October 27, 2018: Weed n Feed

I mowed the backyard hopefully for the last time this season. I also applied the same Weed 'n Feed that I applied last year on November 5, 2017 and the year before on October 3, 2016. I may have one more application left in the bag.

As I did last year, I used the Scotts Easy Hand Held broadcaster. This year I used the setting of "5" (maximum). Last year, I used "4" and in 2016 "2".

Thursday, October 25, 2018: Pond water valve; Autumn bloomers; Hardy succulent

A week or so before I left on my European River Cruise, my Hudson pond water level control valve failed after two seasons. This resulted in the death of my largest Koi and a couple of smaller ones. While disappointing, it had worked well up to that time. I quickly ordered another and got it installed a few days before I departed. About two days after installing the new one, I noticed the pond level was high indicating a fouled skimmer screen or another failed level control valve. It was the latter. For some reason, the new valve had failed to shut off properly. The valve design if fairly simple. There is a float in a sleeve that rises  or falls with the water level, shutting or opening the water inlet orifice. I "exercised" the float and there appeared to be a tendency for the float to "stick". I did not pursue the matter at the time, but worried about it throughout my month-long trip.

When I got home yesterday, I noticed the pond water level was high again. This time however, the issue was a fouled skimmer inlet screen. I cleaned the screen. After a few hours, the water level was still too high. I checked again and, this time, it was the valve again had not shut off. I turned off the makeup water until I could look into it today.

Today, I "exercised" the valve's float and, again, there seems to be a tendency for it to "stick" in the open (or down) position. I took the valve apart...never a good thing for an engineer. I did not see anything wrong, but I remembered that I still had the valve that failed back in September. I found it and took it apart and compared the floats of the two.

The first photo is of the sleeve in which the float sits. There is a little "hub: at the top of the float chamber. This was the same for both the old and the new valves.

However, the floats were significantly different. The float on the left is from the new valve. The one on the right is from the valve that I bought a couple of years ago.

I installed the "old" float into the new valve and there was no apparent tendency to "stick". Why did they change the design? It might be that I found it was much easier to install the new designed float than the older design in the valve assembly.

I have reinstalled the new valve with the old float assembly. If I can do it easily, I may send a note to Hudson and let them know of my experience.

Looking around the garden on this cool autumn day, I see some late season bloomers.

Toad Lily

Toad Lily

‘September Charm’ Windflower

The Peppadew are still maturing and there are even some okra and bell peppers.

A free range holly hock is still blooming next to the Zelkova

I've decided to leave all of the new succulents inside for this winter, with the exception for the Sempervivum Cobweb, which is hardy down to -40F (Zone 3). I put it into the succulent bed today.

Wednesday, October 24, 2018: Coleus, succulents

I arrived home today from my river cruise through Europe. The backyard looks very good. I checked with Morgan and he said he did not have to mow at all while I was gone. We did have cooler weather and I reduced the irrigation frequency before I left. The temperatures approached freezing last weekend, but the okra is not completely dead and the peppers look very healthy.

While I was in Arizona, I picked up a couple of succulents which I brought home.

DESERT ROSE

Type: Broadleaf evergreen

Family: Apocynaceae

Native Range: Tropical Africa, Arabian Peninsula

Zone: 11 to 12

Height: 3.00 to 9.00 feet

Spread: 3.00 to 5.00 feet

Bloom Time: Seasonal bloomer

Bloom Description: Red, rose or pink with creamy white throat

Sun: Full sun

Water: Dry to medium

Maintenance: Low

Flower: Showy

Leaf: Evergreen

Attracts: Hummingbirds, Butterflies

Other: Winter Interest

Tolerate: Drought

Obviously, the Desert Rose is not hardy in our part of the country. I repotted the plant and it will stay inside.

Desert Rose (Adenium obesum, 5'-9' full sun)

 The other succulents I brought home

L to R: Torch Cactus, Opuntia Basilaris, Sempervivum "cobweb" 

Opuntia basilaris, the beavertail cactus or beavertail pricklypear, is a cactus species found in the southwest United States.

I brought the coleus into the house. This is one that Joyce gave me. It was also still alive, indicating we did not have a hard freeze last weekend.