Silicon Valley Redneck

Ah, hardware.

Just try to find this stuff:

• 6 ea. ½-13x6" bolt
• 12 ea. ½-13 nut
• 12 ea. ½ flat washer

Pick a bolt, any bolt - doesn't even have to be grade 8, just the right size.  We have 2 in stock!  No, you can't order more and have them shipped, but we might consider restocking after you buy out our entire inventory, such as it is.  Or, on Amazon: here's a whole case of them for $400!

(And don't even think about looking for a ½-20x6" bolt.  That seems to be a total unicorn.)

Oh, well.  Ordered what I hope is a set of M12 hardware from Amazon (listing for the bolts didn't specify which of the three possible thread pitches they are).  Sold by the 4 bolts and 10 nuts, so I had to order 8 bolts and 20 nuts.

Guess I could have tried MSC or McMaster-Carr, but they tend to run pricey.

Eventually, I'll have proper tie-down points on the trailer.  (Really, you'd think that would be either standard equipment or a kit stocked by the dealer.)

Finally got a trailer

One of the Karavan ones, with the fold-down side rails.

Got it home and up the driveway, and we still have a mailbox!  Yay!

I really should scare up a few traffic cones and set up a practice area in the far back yard.  I tried a little bit of backing up, and... well, I'm glad I didn't do that in public.  Practice is needed.

The plugged holes in the side rails turn out to be a bit over ½" in diameter, so I've ordered some single-hole cargo tie-downs with ½" holes, and now need to find some ½"-20x6" bolts (and matching nuts & washers).

Forecast tomorrow calls for thunderstorms all day, so I guess a lumber run is Saturday, with the trailer, to get materials for the new, bigger duck house.  (I also need to order a case of corrugated plastic roofing for both the new duck house and the coming-this-summer newer-better chicken coop.)

Ducklings are in the walk-in shower now, growing rapidly and making a mess.

My hovercraft bathtub is full of eels ducklings.

Yeah, the five little duckies maybe could have stayed in the storage bin for a few more days, but the smell in that room was getting nasty.

They're now in the tub in the middle bathroom.  With the exhaust fan on.

And there are now seven of them; during a sort-of break in the rain, we went to the farm co-op to have a look-see, and their duckling inventory consisted of a small clump of fluffy yellow duckies (the kind Joy wanted), a day or two younger than the ones we had at home, so two of them followed us home to add some variety to the flock's gene pool.

On being put in the tub, they promptly introduced themselves to the existing denizens, then they all went back under the heating plate.  (We'll leave introducing them to the adults for when they're older.)

Still here.

Got visiting family the past few days; they're leaving tomorrow.

Currently having a partial lull in toaster work, but there's stuff waiting in the wings.

First pass of tilling is done in my fields and one neighbor's new field.  Still need to make connections with another neighbor who might want a garden patch done.

The eggy-go-round filled up with ducklings (though the one big egg turned out to be a dud).  They're now in a brooder of sorts (largish plastic storage bin with a hardware-cloth cover, a heater plate, and food and water bowls).  Their water needs changing several times a day; even little bitty baby duckies are remarkably messy where water is concerned.

Still need to do taxes.  Real Soon Now, like.  But not today; I haven't been getting enough sleep the last few nights, and my attention span is very impaired just now.

This post is probably filled with typos that I'm not seeing.  All the more reason not to attempt tax forms today.

 

Oh, yes: the eclipse.  When the Sun was 90% hidden by the Moon, they were both 100% obscured by clouds.  Not that the clouds absorbed all the light, but they scattered it real good, such that even the vague location of the Sun was hidden.  Oh, well.