I was going to measure up the length of the posts for the deck off of the new barn, so I gathered up the tape measure, the level and a pencil. When I happened to look at the point on the pencil I saw a small hole in it. I turned it around and there was another one. This one was running parallel with the lead up under the paint. That's odd, I say to myself. Upon further investigation I find a bug of some sort in there. That would be the little devil in the picture. It was still alive but I've got no idea what it is or where it came from. The pencil was in a can with a couple other pencils and markers. The can had some dust in it from this thing gnawing on the pencil. I've got pine trees around the place that are dying off. Might be related to that. This one won't be doing any more damage, though. I think I'm going to check with my extension agent and see what he comes up with.
Rose hips. There's a bunch of them this year. I know they have many uses - they're used to make tea, they're high in vitamin C and the little hairs inside can be used to make an itching powder. You can also use them to propagate a new plant. I've never considered doing anything with them but I might look into a bit more while I've got a bumper crop and try putting them to use.
And finally, I walked down to the mailbox with the grandkids the other night. I kicked it into race pace for a little bit on the way back just to loosen up some for the 5K I'm doing today. The nine year old was running along side me and when I slowed back down he tells me: "I have to say, for an old man you're in pretty good shape." We'll see today if he's right or not.
4 comments:
I'm pretty old, given the shape I'm in. :-)
Been dealing with a torn right rotator cuff last couple months. Not even sure how it happened. Surgery next month. Boy, sure slows everything down, especially getting on/off the creeper.
Cheers,
R
Decent pencils are made from aromatic cedar, FWIW
Rich: Seems all those things we did when we were young have a tendency to come back to haunt us as we get older. I'm getting some vertigo from one too many concussions over the years. I had to fix the vent hose off the differential on my pickup. Nothing to it but a couple of zip-ties but after rolling around under there for a few minutes I was dizzy and sick to my stomach. About as convenient as a rotator cuff injury when on the creeper but fortunately not near as painful.
Surly: I think the pencil bug is tied in to the pine trees that are dying off. Lots of worm holes in the trees. I need to look into it before something starts attacking the structures. However, I thought cedar was used to keep bugs away.
Scheduled for surgery July 27. Scrambling to get the farm truck project to the point where the heavy lifting/stretching stuff is taken care of. Hope to spend recovery time just doing some needle descaling and painting the frame with corroseal; I shouldn't get into trouble doing that (famous last words).
Boy who had this truck before me knocked the vent hose off the diff, and plugged it with dirt. Which of course blew gear lube out of the seals. Fortunately only roughed up one bearing. Replaced all bearings/seal. The axle is worn, so we'll see how long it goes before the new seal starts complaining. :-)
Most Pines around here were hit bad by disease several years ago, but cedars are growing like crazy and making a huge comeback here after they were harvested for fence posts, etc. Boring bees are quite a problem here last couple years.
Cheers...R
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