7076 replies to this topic

[Scott123]

Thank you all. She was a strong woman, always taking care of herself. Honestly, I thought she was going to last a bit longer.

[ArizonaScott]

I'm sorry to hear about the passing of your MIL, Scott. My prayers are for your family to remain strong and be comforted through these difficult times.

[Greyhaven]

I was amazed as we leaped into Day Light Savings time and rain, hail and the sound of thunder rattling my windows greeted me. Ripley’s usually bucolic morning stroll truncated by the rapidly increasing beat of the rain on my umbrella. The umbrella, was about to be wrenched inside out by the sudden gusts of wind whipping around us. Our normally well drained backyard ended in a rapidly rising, not yet named, pond already claiming the lower eight inches of my neighbor’s shed. The water, from the glass half full, slammed into my face. I shrugged, as I thought it could be worse, it could be snow and a smile crossed my face.

 

Grey

[clearwaterdave]

I'm with you there Gray.,Our motto when I was surveying was "could of been worse" in reference to the swamp we were working in that day.,The heavy lashing rain could have been something that needs shoveling.,

  Haven't seen these guys for awhile., they came by last night,Best2all 

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Edited by clearwaterdave, 11 March 2024 - 10:36 AM.

[Greyhaven]

My son, tropical resident, purchased a "new" boat and motor to enhance his Philippine retirement life style. It has taken a few months to iron out a few issues with the main outboard motor ending with buying a  new unit and it is ready to go. He had planned to use it for fishing and exploration, but while he was working out all the issues he took a SCUBA class and now has his SCUBA license so the sea is his oyster... so to speak.

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I saw this photo I was relieved and told him I thought he was clever in the way his boat leaves a white trail in the water so he can find his way back home.

 

 

Grey

 

 

[Mike96]

Sounds like he's "living the life"..   I did quite a bit of diving around here when I was in my 20s early 30's but as life goes I gave it up.  Diving here in Maine is difficult, it's either really cold or you have little visibility, or both!

 

I did get a chance to dive in Hawaii and that was really something.. 100' plus visibility.  I swam out over a reef into deep water and the water was so clear for a second I felt like I was going to fall!  I imagine he will see a lot of that condition in Phil.  

 

Not getting much chance to play with my new scope...  really hoping for a warm clear night so I can take it over to the farm and turn it loose.   Just started snowing here..  not happy....

[Greyhaven]

Mike, he started snorkeling on his visits to Cuba and the  Dominican Republic the last few years and loved the clear warm waters. The Philippine waters are the same his new boat is equipped with tank storage compartments and the rental cost of the tanks is reasonable compared to here. I think he said he is cleared to 60 ft. depths and his diving certifications are accepted in Maine, but as you said the waters here compared to there will leave a diver disappointed.

 

Grey

[Mike96]

Bear Pond was my go to place to dive because I lived right there.  Bear Pond has pretty good visibility for a shallow pond that is so busy.  I used to spend a lot of time diving in Little Bear where it's only 12 feet deep for the most part but the cool part was the weeds grew up 6-8 feet from the bottom and there were paths all through them three or four feet wide that must have been cause by currents or something.  Did way too much solo diving, not a good practice.  Shallow dives you can cheat a little but I would never do anything deep alone.  I took my lessons from Skin Divers Paradise in Auburn.  That guy was a stickler on safety.  Good instructor...

[Scott123]

Sap is still running.

Edited by Scott123, 16 March 2024 - 01:48 PM.

[Mike96]

How has the run been for you so far Scott?  We took this year off.  Around here the run has been sketchy so far.  On a good year we normally do 15-20 gallons and collect with snowmobile or tractor depending on the conditions.  Our terrain isn’t great for running lines.  5 gallons of sap is at least twice as heavy as it used to be, hence the year off occasionally to rest the trees….and me!  As soon as the ground dries enough I have some blowdown clean up to work up for sap wood for next year.  I’ve threatened to move the operation from the farm to here at the house.  We’ve got enough maple trees here scattered around to easily do 5-10 gallons and also be a little more comfortable doing it..  no long driveway to keep open also like at the farm.  I hate to give up the farm because we’ve got a dozen or more large red and rock maples scattered around the field that in good sap weather can do 10 gallons of sap or more a day.  Never tap anything in the woods. We have a 2x4 three pass evaporator and with a propane turkey pot used for preheating and really pushing the evaporator I can go through 120 gallons of sap in a day…. Long day sitting there and up and down tending the fire and sap though.
My wife just let me know I should take her out to breakfast…

[Scott123]

Hi Mike, we take every other year off, too. Not a good year for us, we've only got fifty gallons of sap, and I think the sap will 'turn' soon.

[Scott123]

I'm going grocery shopping with my wife, I promised her lunch. Probably either the Harvest Moon Deli or Angler's, both are in Newport.

[Mike96]

I was looking at the long term forecast this morning and I guess if we were tapping I would hope for some decent sap this next week and plan on pulling taps next weekend..  Haven't been to Anglers since I retired.  When I was working I would make at least a trip or two a month up to our data center in Bangor and try to hit Anglers if the timing was even close to making sense  :-)   They had a baked stuffed haddock that was well worth the stop.

[Mike96]

It looks like I might get a window for my window seat with Virgo coming into view around 4:00 tomorrow morning.  I was hoping to get some galaxy action...  Sombrero maybe?

[Mike96]

fresh off the press....  Sombrero with some cropping.   I may get a chance later to play with the raw file and see what I can do.  I'm happy just to be able to grab a galaxy through my little window to the sky..  Hopefully I will get some practice and be better at this by the time I can do some prime time outside stuff.  Of course while capturing this i was wondering in my spare time how long it will be before you can have a bunch of these gadgets all looking at the same thing and using AI tech to coordinate and stack them all at the simultaneously.  I can do something similar with my radio by enabling 2 slice receivers on the same frequency on different antennas and using a "diversity receive" function it will put an output together with the best product using signal to noise ratios at any given time as the radio propagation changes.  Same concept, different spectrum.

35 minutes of capture  I really need to pick a post editor to use and learn it....

 

Edited by Mike96, 18 March 2024 - 07:50 AM.

[Mike96]

About 5 inches of Mother Natures “remember me” here…  

[Greyhaven]

Ha Ha! Mike. got me. with that one.

Grey

[Scott123]

I may rename my observatory 'Bent Birch Observatory'.

[Scott123]

 

fresh off the press....  Sombrero with some cropping.   I may get a chance later to play with the raw file and see what I can do.  I'm happy just to be able to grab a galaxy through my little window to the sky..  Hopefully I will get some practice and be better at this by the time I can do some prime time outside stuff.  Of course while capturing this i was wondering in my spare time how long it will be before you can have a bunch of these gadgets all looking at the same thing and using AI tech to coordinate and stack them all at the simultaneously.  I can do something similar with my radio by enabling 2 slice receivers on the same frequency on different antennas and using a "diversity receive" function it will put an output together with the best product using signal to noise ratios at any given time as the radio propagation changes.  Same concept, different spectrum.

35 minutes of capture  I really need to pick a post editor to use and learn it....

 

 

 

Hi Mike, was this with your SeeStar? Looks good!

[Mike96]

Yes, Seestar Scott.   I need a few nights in a row to practice some more to get so I feel comfortable.  I haven’t had that Ahaaa!  moment yet.   Headed to Portland now to see my stepson get his bionic exoskeleton arm.  He never regained use of his after he had a stroke.  
 

we have a large group of angry robins in the yard….

[Scott123]

We've got about 5 1/2" of snow, i was just out with the dogs and measured it with my glove. The only sounds I could hear were the dogs snuffing, the snow bouncing off my jacket, and the wind hissing through the trees.

 

Edit: The snow started around 8AM here in Harmony.

Edited by Scott123, 23 March 2024 - 01:41 PM.

[Mike96]

We started snow a little earlier and we went out at 3:00 to get the bulk of it out of the way and will clean up in the morning. We are right about at a foot.  Nice snow to move around.

 

just had a thought Scott, my sister and her husband had a camp in Harmony till a few years ago.  It was on a side road and near a cemetery.  They were serious ATV riders and there was plenty of places to go from there.  
 

[Scott123]

Just had a thought Scott, my sister and her husband had a camp in Harmony till a few years ago.  It was on a side road and near a cemetery.  They were serious ATV riders and there was plenty of places to go from there.  

 

Interesting! Did the side road lead to the lake? Or to a stream?

Edited by Scott123, 23 March 2024 - 05:22 PM.

[Scott123]

A month ago I wanted snow. I shook a coin at the sky and asked for a nickel's worth.

 

If I had known it was so cheap I wouldn't have ordered so much.

[Mike96]

I’ll have to look at a map and refresh my memory Scott.  I was only there a couple of times.  I don’t remember there being any significant water nearby.  I’ll let you know.