April 10, 2019 - Wednesday evening
32 degrees/cloudy/calm winds
Pentoga Road

We're sitting here tonight enjoying the calm before the storm... literally. 



It's been obvious all day that the National Weather Service has no idea how much snow will fall. I've heard several local forecasts, all predicting different amounts. The least is for one to three inches, the most is calling for over a foot of snow. 

Wednesday was a good day, one of the best I've had in a long time. Seems everything I did worked and for me, that's rare.

My morning walk was a chilly one, but good. It's that time of year where wildlife is abundant. Evidently, humans aren't the only ones sick of the snow and cold.

Two Tom turkeys chasing a couple of hens

Back home, I was walking around one side of the barn when I noticed the ground was somewhat frozen. It was time to change the carburetor on the backhoe.

The engine, a 9 HP Honda imitation was manufactured in China. I've read that the Chinese stole the Honda schematics and are manufacturing these motors by the millions for a fraction of the cost.

I found a new carburetor, a Honda knockoff, on eBay for $12, shipping included. For that price, I figured why not try it?

 Sure enough, the carburetors were identical. In fact, it was difficult to tell one from the other.

I had to do a bit of filing to make one hole fit, but otherwise, the installation was flawless.

A bit of work with the round chain saw file did the trick

The new carburetor was fastened, hoses and parts connected. 

I held my breath as I choked the engine and pulled the rope. It started on the first pull and runs like a top. I like when a plan comes together and actually works.

Having somewhat of a big head, I spent the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon in the shop making two wooden names for Sargie's great nephews.



We'll see the little guys on Sunday at Patrick's first birthday party in Green Bay.

With the names finished, I turned my attentions to greasing the front end of the Blazer. The folks at Jiffy Lube, where I recently had the oil changed, claimed that neither of the lower ball joints in the front end would take grease.

Strange, they did earlier this winter. For one fitting to not take grease could be expected, but both at the same time?

I crawled under the car with grease gun in hand, found the zerks, (grease fittings) fastened the hose, and pulled the trigger on the electric grease gun. Both sides took their fill of lubricant and the Blazer is once again happy.



Sargie was home early and we made a quick trip to town. Making a detour through the small hamlet of Gaastra, we saw deer everywhere. Most are so tame that I thought they might walk up to the car.



It's been a quiet and enjoyable evening, but we're both a bit on edge wondering what this storm will bring. Sargie is scheduled to open the Vision Center and we worry about her drive in the morning then back tomorrow afternoon. If it's too bad, she'll simply have to stay home.

I'm planning on walking first thing, then spending most the day painting and assembling the St. Bernard. I'd like to get it done so when the snow melts, I can begin insulating the foundation in the front of the house under the porch, the first big job of the spring season.

After all, a man's work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...