Hurricane Dorian Preparations

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We finally were able to take a break from Hurricane Dorian preparations, so we could write the blog before we lose power.  As of 11:00am, Monday 9/2/2019, Hurricane Dorian was Category 4, 155mph from Category 5 with forward speed 1 mile a hour and came to a standstill over the Northern Bahamas, approximately 110 miles from shore of US.

Now, stop listening to the meteorologists as they all get their information from NOAA national hurricane center.  Go directly to NOAA, obtain their latest path forecast which includes everything  including path, wind speed, ETA, size etc. https://www.weather.gov/mlb/
https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

Above photo was taken approximately 4:56am, 9/2/2019, www.nhc.noaa.gov

Above photo was taken approximately 1:19 pm, 9/2/2019,

We started the Hurricane Dorian Preparations last Tuesday, August 27, 2019.

In preparation for a hurricane, it is strongly recommend doing the following:

  1. Purchase a water dispenser
  2. Get some 2.5 and 5 gal jugs , save, and refill
  3. Have a generator that is ready to start, use regular gas, not the 10% ethanol blend in it, and start on a monthly basis.
  4. Get 12 AWG cords enough to run your concerns which are available @ harbor freight at a low cost and Harbor Freight gives 20% discount coupons.
  5. Get reels large enough to wind cords rather that wind over hand as the cord will not knot up when unwinding -+ it is easily rewound but takes time depending upon length.  We have mostly 100′ lengths.

Planning ahead is important and then go through a dry run.

Here, we made a wooden box to cover the outdoor light for US flag made about 6 months ago,

Then, we had a little more time to secure trees, either tie to trees or anchor with ropes.  The banana trees above were completely destroyed during Hurricane Irma.  then, they all grew back nicely even produced bananas. So we did not want to lose them again. The papaya tree above was only tree we tied down before Hurricane Irma 2017.  We trimmed it and now the tree was produced again.  We would hate to lose it.

As 2:31pm, 9/2/2019, Dorian is approximately 115 miles east of Stuart, FL. https://www.weather.gov/images/mlb/fxc/Latest.gif

https://www.weather.gov/images/mlb/fxc/Latest.gif

Another challenge – Back Yard Bird Feeder for Birds, not the Squirrels

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It was another challenge to feed birds, not squirrel at our back yard. We used different type of bird feeders at different locations of the back yard at very beginning.  Then, squirrels always had a way to get on the bird feeder and really enjoyed the food. We did not give up. This time we used a sheet-metal piece around at the top of the feeder hanger to fix the problem.  Not too bad.  So, squirrels then waited on the ground for leftover. The feeder is hanging from the gutter via a piece of wire and is far enough away from trees so squirrels cannot jump from tree to feeder.  Also the roof is a metal roof and is very hot during daytime.

Last bird feeder was made by metal net feeder hung by a small chain.  This is by far the best solution. The blue bird was Blue Jay and red bird was a Cardinal based on a ecologist.  The squirrel may be able to get onto the pole but has a problem with the chain and actually getting at the seed.  Now I might add that the squirrel should have sufficient acorns from the many oak trees we have in the yard.  Maybe they cannot remember where they buried them during the winter months. 

More Bloom of Epiphyllum Hookeri

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Five days after the first bloom of Epiphyllum Hookeri (直叶昙花). We noticed many new buds on different stems. Wow.  We did not know that there would soon be more flowers.  We actually thought we would see “Queen of the Night” blooming next year.  We were waiting for a something to happen for two more weeks, sometimes wondering if the buds would die after all.

At 12:10am this morning we were up to see if the flowers would show.  Here we are.  Two more blooms of “Queen of the Night” with heavy fragrant was standing out, so amazing and fabulous. Cannot believe this.  This does not seem to be the end of it as there are an additional 8 buds in the waiting.

Queen of the Night: Epiphyllum Hookeri

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Epiphyllum Hookeri is night blooming cactus with white, large, and fragrant flower.  It blooms at night and disappears quickly in the morning.

We received a cutting of Epiphyllum Hookeri stem approximately 1.5 years ago.  It grew very fast and stems were getting longer, a little messy in a way.  So we repotted couple of times to support the weight of this giant plant.   We noticed 4 little buds on 3 different stems 2 weeks ago.  Then as surprise, it started to bloom, one after another. 

The blooms were 7-8 inches across with white petals. Most amazing and beautiful of the bloom were many white, soft, slightly wavering stamens as male parts and orange long pollen tube with deep yellow stigma on top as female pistil standing out against many narrow pointed white petals.   

The bloom last at least 6 hours and we were able to capture picture up until 8:30am. 

Another Project – Dusk To Dawn Lighting Sensor to turn on spot light for US Flag

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Another project is to have Dusk to Dawn sensor for lighting US flag after hours as required for a US flag flying 24/7.  Here is how: dig trench, cut & lay PVC, run wire, glue PVC, and make final connections.

The main power source is from the garage outlet.  The dusk to dawn sensor is basically an on/off switch for the power.  From the sensor box, a regular extension cord is used to connect the power to the run of wire to the spot light.  So, basically we have an extension cord / line running from the garage to the spot light through the PVC buried in the trench which is approximately 100′.  In order to eliminate power loss in the line, 12 AWG was used through the PVC.

Donald A. Sargent’s obituary

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Donald A. Sargent (birth name Donald A. Lyman) 70 of Lake Worth Fl. passed away on the 2nd of Jan. 2019 after a long bought with health issues brought on by diabetes.

He was born in Michigan in 1948 the son of Arthur and Marion. 

He served in the USAF from 1967 to 1971 as a combat photographer. After an honorable discharge, he earned his bachelor’s degree. He then went on to teach forensic photography to the local law enforcement agencies.

He leaves behind a son, granddaughter and three brothers.

Blood Moon, Lunar Eclipse (total), January 20-21, 2019

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I have never seen a blood moon before. So I was concerned about missing any important moment. I saw the big orange color moon with beautiful sunset and took some photos of the moon around 6:15pm, Sunday, January 20, 2019

Partial Eclipse started 10:33pm. This is a photo taken at 11:10pm.  It was interesting to see some blue and purple color around the edge of the moon.  It was amazing, and  it was not hard to take photos at this time because the moon was bright and quite large.

Total Eclipse started at 11:41 pm.  I did not take any photo until 11:50 pm when it started to turn red at low corner and slowly spread up.  Wow, it was beautiful. By the way, this  was a cold night by Florida standards as It was 46 degree F.  Now with the moon straight  up, a small, and dark red glow was visible. This photo was taken at 12:39 am, Monday.  Good thing I had sleeping cart along with a blankets and pillow on the back lawn or it would have even more difficult to capture this lifetime event! 

This Photo was taken at 12:55am.  Total Eclipse was finished.  I was done.

Based on meteorologist, the partial Eclipse was suppose to begin at 10:33pm and end at 1:50 am, Monday, Jan. 21. Total Eclipse starts at 11:41pm and ends at 12:43 am, Monday, Jan. 2019 https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/usa/tampa

Next chance to see this type of event will be 2021 AD.  I may not be around at that point in time to capture the lifetime event.

Panama Canal New Lock

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Panama Canal is one of the seven wonders of the world. We went through the old canal locks, Gatun Lock with Island Princess cruise ship in 2012. We were amazed. Now, we re-visited the canal and went through new locks, Agua Clara Locks with the larger ship, Caribbean Princess which is the first major cruise line operating partial transits of the canal at Atlantic entrance in 2017. Caribbean Princess’ beam is 118 feet that is 12 feet wider than maximum allowed for the old canal locks.

The Agua Clara locks have three chambers. Each chamber is 180 feet wide, 1400 feet long, and 60 feet deep. The chambers are designed to rise the ships from sea level to the level of Gatun Lake and the opposite way going toward the Atlantic. It took approximately 40 minutes for the ship to go through each chamber, a total time is two hour from enter the locks to exit the locks.

We got up 4:00 am to get the best location at front of the ship at deck 15 to take photos. It was still dark. When the ship approached the locks around 5:00 am, we took photos of both locks, Agua Clara Locks (new locks) on the port side and Gatun Locks (old locks) on the starboard side. Wow. It was exciting. Panama charged the Caribbean Princess approximately $47,000 just to go through the locks.

Making a Compact Working Bench

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The design and dimension are from Wood Magazine issue 252, March 2018, modified slightly, you guessed it.


The bench is made from solid wood

Plans called for 4 each  2”x5 ½”  for both top and lower section.  Obviously, the 2×3 looks like a butcher top and is slightly wider by no less than 5”.  So, the plans call out a wooden type vice on one corner.  Well let me tell you, this was the challenge! I got the holes ok almost exact on the bench  piece.  Then I mounted the base and my challenge began.  I kept thinking after mounting the support base that my holes were off so much that the mechanics of the vice could not handle the slight off.

A breakthrough happened after losing a couple of screws on the mounting plate when the vice began to work smoothly.  I then put a couple of washers under the mounting plate and glued down the screws and now it works smooth.  Go figure it was the mounting plate and not my measurements of the locations of the holes that allow the vice to operate.  What a challenge to figure out.

Well,  I finished up the bench areas that are visible.  The total cost is estimated for wood and hardware is around $300.00.  The total time for cutting and putting together is around 3 + weeks. 

I chose a dark wood stain as it is a workbench.  Then I placed a High Gloss Tung Oil over the stain.  The results seem to be great and using Tung Oil saved a lot of time over putting three coats of varnish over the stain.  No Sanding required and no bubbles.  Also, I was able to use shop towels to spread the Tung Oil so, no brush to clean  up 🙂 !

 

 

 

Florida Tortoise

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Noticed a Florida tortoise at the edge of our drive way. We relocated it next to a tree in order to ensure that it would not get hit by a car and provide it with some shade. 

The photo above were taken at another location and of another tortoise. This was identified as a gopher tortoise.  This tortoise was moving toward to us and biting a small pieces grass which did not let go of.  Interesting habits of the wild life existing in and around our property.