Temperatures were up and down last week, but we managed to get some outside work done. Inside projects moved along, including VHS digital conversion and more painting in the downstairs bathroom. Lets see the details!
Pam ordered a new project: a birdhouse. Small birds (sparrows, mostly) are trying to nest around the house. While we have leaf filters on the gutters, there are gaps at the ends of the gutters. Birds are trying to fly into these gaps to build nests. The theory is a new birdhouse would provide a convenient nesting place, effectively re-locating the birds. We’ll know in a few weeks if this works!
Pam had to paint the new bird dwelling and I added the perch, as the house had not come with one and we felt it was needed. Below is a photo of the house, now mounted on the east side of the front porch. (The level says the birdhouse is level, the eyeball says it is not.)
We will observe the housing location and see if birds actually choose to use it. Time will tell.
A few other outside projects were undertaken. Major parts of the lawn were raked and I fired up the lawn vac to clean up the debris. For a few days we had the best looking spring lawn in town, but windy days have blown more leaves into the yard. The clean-up never seems to end…
Pam erected a protective fence around the iris bed, which is next to the back steps. She is trying to keep free-roaming cats off the budding plants. Last year the iris produced foliage but did not flower, being the first year they were relocated to this spot. I hope they bloom this year; if not, Pam wants them relocated to the garden where they’ll get full (not filtered) sun.
While we were working outside one day last week, with temperatures approaching 70 degrees, the animals kept track of us.
Later in the week temperatures plunged, with a light coating of snow greeting us on Thursday morning. The upcoming week will see high temperatures barely above freezing – or into the very low forties – and low temps down into the teens and low twenties. The calendar says spring but it’s early days yet, even though the grass is starting to turn green in some areas on the lawn.
Pam added more art deco painting to the bathroom. Due to the uneven wall (and a well-used stencil), every line’s edge has to be hand-painted to “clean up” the borders. It is a time consuming task, but the results look very good.
I added to the inside decor by hanging two more 16 x 20 canvas prints to the stairwell. These are from photos I took in Colorado.
Top-left columbine is Colorado’s state flower. Photo on right is of the Sheep Mountain Mill, AKA Deadhorse Mill, near Marble, Colorado. This is probably the most-photographed structure in Colorado. It was an electrical generating plant that supplied power to area mines.
Based on our grocery list, supply chain issues are improving but a few gaps still remain. I was able to get all but one item we wanted on my last outing. Of all the items on the list this time, the store was out of El Monterey frozen enchiladas. It’s the first time this has happened.
I spent many hours digitizing VHS tapes. Knowing each tape would take time to copy from VHS to a digital format, editing and adding titles, then saving to PC-friendly formats, I was not surprised at the time it takes to do each tape. However, a few nice surprises have turned up so far. I was reminded Toby’s baptism was on a Super Bowl Sunday. I have footage of a trip to Telluride, Colorado, which included a trip to the Alpine Tunnel. And there is video of Felicity’s grandparent and relatives singing songs for her. Keep in mind these tapes have not been viewed for more than 30 years! I have about three dozen tapes to go so this will be a long-term project. When completed, I will put the converted files in order by date and make HTML front pages so they can be played on various PC operating systems.
The down side is that the tapes are already beginning to deteriorate. I have had to repair two so far as the “leader” portion of the tapes had broken at the spool. Some color shifts have been observed and the “tracking” is not always good, resulting in lines at the top, sides, or bottom of the images. I have tried to adjust the track settings but that did not seem to help. The tapes themselves are on the way out. Not surprising as the oldest dates to 1985 or so, and others date to the late ’80s and early ’90s. VHS was never meant to be “archive” quality so it is probably a good thing I’ve decided to convert them before they deteriorate past use.
I’ve sold a couple small items on eBay, the latest this morning. I would like to move along items longer I no longer need or am interested in. Listing, packing, and shipping all take some time and pay little in the end but items are going out the door, even if at a slow pace.
Photo Archive
Flowers, leaves, and “color” make up this week’s archive
That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!
Pam’s Penny
After fixing the tacked border along the stairwell yet again, I decided to start putting Elmo in a pen overnight (night is when he methodically completes his destruction). The cat has earned this incarceration; my patience has limits.
Happy Trails.
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