COLD, DAMP, & GREY... BRRRR
0.9 Mile Walk at Ontario Beach Park
1.1 Mile Walk on the Genesee Riverway Trail
1.3 Mile Walk at Tinker Nature Park
Friday, November 29, 2019
Wednesday, November 27, 2019
Saturday, November 23, 2019
Sunday, November 17, 2019
Saturday, November 16, 2019
Friday, November 15, 2019
Thursday, November 14, 2019
Sunday, November 10, 2019
The Fence Is Up!
Sunday, November 10, 2019
I spent about 45 minutes after getting back from New Paltz setting up the new post - measuring its position multiple times to make sure it was in the right spot, then filling in around it with gravel, packing the gravel down, and then putting the dirt I had previously dug out of the hole on top of that and packing it down. Then the fun part - moving the two eight foot long sections of fence into position and securing them to the posts. It's not perfect - the new post wobbles a little bit and sticks a couple of inches above the pickets, and these sections don't quite match the other ones because my landlord had someone different purchase and drop them off - but it's good enough, and definitely better than the old one which was falling down. (Though I did notice that one of the cross-bars on the next section is rotting through, that that's probably the next one that will need to be replaced.)
(the hole on the lower right is intentional, to allow the skunks, possums, and raccoons in and out of the backyard. I suspect the local cats appreciate it too.)
Some reading this may wonder why I bother writing about projects like this (especially yesterday's practical application of a simple machine, the lever and fulcrum) given that I'm a "scientist" (really I'm not, I'm a teacher trained by studying science, but that a whole other discussion.) The answer is my actual training is as a theoretical astrophysicist, which is about as far from yanking post stumps out of the ground and installing new sections of fence as you can get without being Sheldon Cooper. Unlike Sheldon, I'm pleased to have some practical skills, especially since most of them are self-taught.
JMH
Sunday, November 10, 2019
I spent about 45 minutes after getting back from New Paltz setting up the new post - measuring its position multiple times to make sure it was in the right spot, then filling in around it with gravel, packing the gravel down, and then putting the dirt I had previously dug out of the hole on top of that and packing it down. Then the fun part - moving the two eight foot long sections of fence into position and securing them to the posts. It's not perfect - the new post wobbles a little bit and sticks a couple of inches above the pickets, and these sections don't quite match the other ones because my landlord had someone different purchase and drop them off - but it's good enough, and definitely better than the old one which was falling down. (Though I did notice that one of the cross-bars on the next section is rotting through, that that's probably the next one that will need to be replaced.)
(the hole on the lower right is intentional, to allow the skunks, possums, and raccoons in and out of the backyard. I suspect the local cats appreciate it too.)
Some reading this may wonder why I bother writing about projects like this (especially yesterday's practical application of a simple machine, the lever and fulcrum) given that I'm a "scientist" (really I'm not, I'm a teacher trained by studying science, but that a whole other discussion.) The answer is my actual training is as a theoretical astrophysicist, which is about as far from yanking post stumps out of the ground and installing new sections of fence as you can get without being Sheldon Cooper. Unlike Sheldon, I'm pleased to have some practical skills, especially since most of them are self-taught.
JMH
REBUILDING 2019 - Race #52
New Paltz Challenge Fall 10k Trail Race
(+ 2 Miles of Walking To and From the Race Site)
Sunday, November 10, 2019
(and actually, the course was 6.5 miles long...)
Bike 0 mi, 0 hr 0 min
Snowshoe 16.3 mi, 5 hr 57 min
Kayak 0 mi, 0 hr 0 min
states visited: CT, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT
New Paltz Challenge Fall 10k Trail Race
(+ 2 Miles of Walking To and From the Race Site)
Sunday, November 10, 2019
(and actually, the course was 6.5 miles long...)
2019 Event Totals
Run 241.3 mi, 63 hr 52 minBike 0 mi, 0 hr 0 min
Snowshoe 16.3 mi, 5 hr 57 min
Kayak 0 mi, 0 hr 0 min
states visited: CT, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT
Saturday, November 09, 2019
Science Is Pretty Darn Nifty
Saturday, November 9, 2019
During the past summer it became evident that one of the fence posts in the back yard had rotted through somewhere below ground level - hey, it lasted over 20 years. A few weeks back I tore down the two sections of fence attached to it and started to dig out the 2 feet of post still down in the ground - and it very quickly became obvious that digging it out was not going to work, unless I was willing to dig a hole far larger than the one I needed to sink the new post.
Youtube to the rescue - where I found a video that suggested attaching a hitching ring to the top of the stump and then using the old post as a fulcrum and the new post as a lever to lift the stump out of the ground. Earlier this week I picked up the ring attachment, and today I actually found myself with sunshine and a little time, so I dug the hole out a bit more and did as the video described, and voila, the stump came right up. MUCH easier than the digging and chopping I did about a month ago. As a science teacher, I actually found it incredibly cool how easily the post lifted when I pushed down on the lever - when I grabbed the ring with my hand and pulled, the best I could do was wiggle it arounf a bit.
Now I just need to pick up some extra fill for the hole (a bag of gravel, to help the space around the post drain) and then I'll be able to sink the new post, attach the two sections of fence, and the job will de done except for breaking up the old sections of fence and putting them out for pickup on a trash day (and who knows, I might wait until spring to do that.)
JMH
Saturday, November 9, 2019
During the past summer it became evident that one of the fence posts in the back yard had rotted through somewhere below ground level - hey, it lasted over 20 years. A few weeks back I tore down the two sections of fence attached to it and started to dig out the 2 feet of post still down in the ground - and it very quickly became obvious that digging it out was not going to work, unless I was willing to dig a hole far larger than the one I needed to sink the new post.
Youtube to the rescue - where I found a video that suggested attaching a hitching ring to the top of the stump and then using the old post as a fulcrum and the new post as a lever to lift the stump out of the ground. Earlier this week I picked up the ring attachment, and today I actually found myself with sunshine and a little time, so I dug the hole out a bit more and did as the video described, and voila, the stump came right up. MUCH easier than the digging and chopping I did about a month ago. As a science teacher, I actually found it incredibly cool how easily the post lifted when I pushed down on the lever - when I grabbed the ring with my hand and pulled, the best I could do was wiggle it arounf a bit.
Now I just need to pick up some extra fill for the hole (a bag of gravel, to help the space around the post drain) and then I'll be able to sink the new post, attach the two sections of fence, and the job will de done except for breaking up the old sections of fence and putting them out for pickup on a trash day (and who knows, I might wait until spring to do that.)
JMH
Monday, November 04, 2019
Sunday, November 03, 2019
REBUILDING 2019 - Race #51
Fall Back 5mi Trail Race
Sunday, November 3, 2019
Sometimes a good morning looks like this:
Get up feeling like you actually got enough sleep for once.
Hop in the car and drive to Saratoga Spa State Park on a sunny but chilly November morning.
Get everything ready and head to the start line on the north end of the quad.
Run 5 miles of some of my favorite trails in the area. Start slow but pick up the pace as you warm up - plus, the Fall Back course gets more runnable (for me a least) after the first mile or two.
Finish almost 6 minutes faster than expected, feeling like all things considered (knees, insufficient training, coming off of 10 miles yesterday...) you ran pretty well.
Hop back in the car and drive home on a sunny November morning.
(OK, it would have been nice to have a bit of a delay before the end there - with maybe some time to slowly run a couple more miles and have some post-race chow while sitting outside in a patch of sunshine - but today I had to be back to be at work by 1 PM, less than 2 hours after I finished the race. And regardless, it was a good morning.)
Bike 0 mi, 0 hr 0 min
Snowshoe 16.3 mi, 5 hr 57 min
Kayak 0 mi, 0 hr 0 min
states visited: CT, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT
Fall Back 5mi Trail Race
Sunday, November 3, 2019
Sometimes a good morning looks like this:
Get up feeling like you actually got enough sleep for once.
Hop in the car and drive to Saratoga Spa State Park on a sunny but chilly November morning.
Get everything ready and head to the start line on the north end of the quad.
Run 5 miles of some of my favorite trails in the area. Start slow but pick up the pace as you warm up - plus, the Fall Back course gets more runnable (for me a least) after the first mile or two.
Finish almost 6 minutes faster than expected, feeling like all things considered (knees, insufficient training, coming off of 10 miles yesterday...) you ran pretty well.
Hop back in the car and drive home on a sunny November morning.
(OK, it would have been nice to have a bit of a delay before the end there - with maybe some time to slowly run a couple more miles and have some post-race chow while sitting outside in a patch of sunshine - but today I had to be back to be at work by 1 PM, less than 2 hours after I finished the race. And regardless, it was a good morning.)
2019 Event Totals
Run 234.8 mi, 62 hr 18 minBike 0 mi, 0 hr 0 min
Snowshoe 16.3 mi, 5 hr 57 min
Kayak 0 mi, 0 hr 0 min
states visited: CT, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT
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