Tuesday

7:00 am Tuesday.

Trying to think what to blog about. What will happen today?

Ahhhh.... The garbage truck just pulled in and hauled away another dumpster of trash. The dumpster has been full for the last 4 weeks. That means the Z shop, greenhouses and yard are getting cleaner. A great game it is to fill the dumpster each week. We are on a winning dumpster streak now.

7:25 am. Gee another thought. Whoops lost it.

7:40 am. Just got back from the bathroom. Speaking of trash..........

7:42 am. Must go and check the mandevilla breeding stock and close the dumpster gate.

7:51 am. Done. The greenbean looks excited about the drive to work today. Yes, I do go to work on a regular basis.

7:55 am. Can't think. Must go and do great things.

Zoom Zoom

Thanks to Scott and Mel the Greenbean goes zoom zoom again – better than ever. We added an electronic ignition and a new fuel pump. The “old” fuel pump (which was less than a year old) never did give enough pressure. The new pump is more heavy duty and the pressure stays steady at 3.5 lbs. Plus now we know the pressure control gauge works. The electronic ignition eliminates the need for point adjustment. Zoom zoom.

The same kind of fuel pump in Mel’s car had good pressure but stopped running whenever it felt like it. Not good for driving confidence. Mel is ordering a new fuel pump. He wants to go zoom zoom too.

Scott’s car has the same pump as we did. His car runs fine and likes to zoom zoom. However, he is starting to wonder if his luck will hold. I see a new fuel pump for Scott in the near future.

So it was a great day in the Z shop after a 4 month layoff. Many thanks to Scott for his expert help. He really is amazing. Tomorrow I will awaken and have an overpowering urge to zoom zoom off somewhere for sure.

I am putting sand fleas to rest - for the second time.

Just figured out how to put text in a photo where I wanted so below is one last shot of a sand flea colony. The photo is not as clear as I would like but at least you can tell the location and orientation of the colonies. For now, I hope this helps someone in their hunt.

Now I am going to the greenhouse to pollinate mandevillas - my morning ritual. The plants are flowering heavy and lots of seed pods coming. I hope I am as enthusiastic in the spring when seed cleaning time roles around. There will be plenty of mandevilla photos in the future.

Later today the Z shop crew (Mel and Scott) is coming for our first group session since the hurricanes. The main goal is to add a little zip to the greenbean. That should be easy since it has not been driven for 2 months. It should be a good learning day for me in my attempt to master the mechanics of these cars.

It is 45 degrees this morning. Brrrrrrrrrrrr.......... That is too cold for me but it is sunny and the temps will warm to 70 quickly - especially in the greenhouses.

The end of the sand flea saga. 

My sand flea rake with frozen sand fleas. 

Sand Flea Finale

After ranting about how to catch sand fleas I went surf fishing yesterday – no sand fleas were to be found. They were easy to find on my last fishing trip in late October. One of the local fishermen said they are hard to find this time of year – they are more available in the summer. I will keep data on this topic in my fishing diary.

Above, I did post a photo of my sand flea rake containing frozen sand fleas. They would not be upside down if alive. At least you get the idea. I was amazed, at the bait store where they were selling a flimsy tiny 10” wide flea rake for $20. Maybe I should make some more and try to distribute them to bait shops. Anyone interested out there?

Did I catch fish? Total for the day: 2 pompano (1 nice keeper), 9 black tip sharks (most around 24”), 4 whiting, 3 sting rays, and 4 blue fish. Anything tugging at the end of my line makes me happy. Beautiful day…..

My sand flea rake (back). 

My sand flea rake (front). 

Catching Sand Fleas with My Sand Flea Rake.

Going surf fishing tomorrow. Thought this sand flea saga would get me in the right mood. Will try and take some photos of my sand flea rake in action and post in the near future.

I love catching sand fleas for surf fishing bait. Once you get the technique the fun really begins. Search for areas of ruffled sand in the surf wash. As the wave recedes there may be areas that appear “rough” or “alive” compared to the surrounding smooth sand. These patches of sand seem to vibrate as the fleas dig into the sand to hide as the water recedes.

A colony of sand fleas may be 2 feet across and 10 feet long paralleling the beach. Check one of my October blogs that has a photo of a sand flea colony. It is easiest to see a colony when looking into the sun so the refection of the rough ‘vibrating’ sand of the colony is easy to see. I have seen many colonies scattered along the beach at 10 to 20 yard intervals.

In my experience, sand fleas often appear a couple of hours after high tide. They are harder to find at low tide. However, I have also seen them active all day. My experience is limited but those are the best of my observations to date. Notes are kept regarding the presence or absence of sand fleas during each fishing trip.

Catch the sand fleas by noting the colony position. Stand on the dry sand above the colony and wait for a bigger wave to come and completely cover the colony. As the wave recedes run up and set the sand flea rake on the surf side of the colony. Just set the rake down and wait for the water to recede and carry the fleas into the rake. No need to dig the rake into the sand. Sometimes I have caught 200 or more fleas in one dip. It is really great sport.

I made my own 24” wide sand flea rake (see photo above). It is important to use a screen with holes large enough to let the sand and small shell particles pass through but hold the fleas. For me about 3/8” holes work. My rake was made of steel horse fence (4” square) that was shaped into a backbone. To that, using plastic cable ties, I attached the screen. It is used in walls (forgot what it is called) but cost $5 for a 30” by 8 foot piece (cheap). I welded on a broken rake handle (free from a friend) and it was finished. Total cost about $10 and 2 hours of work.

Frozen sand fleas cost about $2 for about 30-40 fleas around here. You can see there is money to be made here. I have frozen a few fleas but now only use what I need for bait and release the others. Live bait can’t be beat.

Turk's Cap under the pines. 

Malviscus in flower. 

Ahhhhh... Malvaviscus

For whatever reason I have always been taken by Turk's Cap (Malvaviscus arboreus). The plants flower in the fall when days are shorter and not much else is happening color wise. They look like ornamentalized christmas trees. I love um.....

Malvaviscus is not for sale as a flowering pot plant that I know of, at least I have never seen any for sale anyway. Amazing..........

After two years of growth they are established in the back yard and in their glory. No need to water them anymore. They are ofter present in old abandoned homesteads - a testiment to their will to live. Malvaviscus have very strong root systems. They do well in full sun to partial shade.

Turk's Cap come in two colors. There is the common orangish red variety and a fleshy pink color as well. They will flower until frost. If the tops freeze they will come back from the ground.

I still think there is a christmas market for this plant..........At least it always brightens my holidays.

Such Good Boys

After suprising me on Thursday by putting the roofs on the Z shop, the greenhouse boys suprised me again by showing up today to recover my 3 research greenhouses. They were not due until next weekend. Such good boys. Within the next couple of hours all the greenhouse work should be finished until next year. Now I have nothing to complain about. Grrrrrrrrr.........

I have work to do........

Three million cheers for veterans. Their sacrifices, which cannot be comprehended, make our freedoms possible - our freedom to complain mainly. Damn hurricanes, lousy drivers, rotten humidity, $3@&* mosquitoes, and workers who don’t show up as promised (i.e. the Z shop story).

The above moaners certainly apply to Florida. After getting up early twice to open gate for workers who never showed, hopes of getting a roof subsided into acceptance of the fact that more time would pass. Especially with 25 mph winds scheduled for this weekend. Can’t hanble 75 x 75 foot squares of plastic in that.

However, I was suprised early yesterday. Very early in fact. Like before sunup. No problem when a fishing trip is in store but this was a day to sleep in, at least until first light. A banging a the back door --- my dream ended --- I jumped up --- where was the shotgun --- oh God it was just the greenhouse repair crew. They were in mass, they jumped the front gate, they were young, they were perky, and they were happy and ready to put up roofs immediately --- like today.

Forward to today. This is the first day to awaken to a Z shop with a roof --- can’t complain now. I have work to do. Thanks to veterans I have the freedom to do it. Bye.

Confederate rose - single flower form. 

Another form of Confederate rose flower. 

From Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr to Grrreat....!!!

The day started of as a potential Grrrrrrrr....... Yes of course the Z shop repair crew did not show up. It was a perfect weather day to put up the roofs but that doesn't matter. Now the wind will probably blow for the next month.....

Had to get over it, so I had fun pollinating mandevillas, pruning photinia and cherries, and resting on the lounge chair in the shade with the kitties several different times. One of the greenhouses also got some needed repairs. Took out the 0.23 diameter wire and replaced it with 0.30 diameter wire in my mig welder. The thinner wire was good for welding the thin metal on the car fenders. For sculpture the thicker wire will be better since the metal is much thicker. Ahhhhhhhh - don't have to worry about burning through.

Also got to spray some weeds, attack some aphids and mealbugs. Everything loves mandevillas.

Watched my tape on tuning SU carburetors (over and over) and wrote up some short reminder notes. It will be fun to retune the greenbean. I sure forgot some things in the last year. At least I know what to do now. Can't wait to finish it.

Of course mosaic mom was buzzing about in a creative frenzy. She really likes this cooler weather. She has really been creative cooking too. That cauliflower soup was astonishingly grrreat.

Ate like a king all day. Now for the computer. Gee 2 blogs in one day. Will upload my final confederate rose photo now. Gee, life can be pretty grrreat without a Z shop. Interesting............

Will They or Won't They

The repair crew for the Z shop showed up last Saturday at 11:00. They worked for 4 hours. Yesterday, after I had given up all hope of them showing, they arrived at 2:30. They were inspired and finished replacing the gutters.

They said they were not going to party last night, and were going to put the plastic roofs on today at first light (around 6:00 am). "No more messing around" was the quote. I started getting a little excited since I have a bunch of projects lined up. Beside, a pile of their ladders left behind gave me faith they would return. So I set my alarm for 5:30 to be sure and have the gate opened (I have this problem of trying to do what I promise). So, the alarm blasted me up in the middle of a dream, I staggered out and opened the gate, came in and couldn't get back to sleep. So now I wait - it is 7:30 am.

Will they come? Will I be reunited with my beloved Z shop? We shall see. At least I have 4 used ladders for Mosaic Mom's next garage sale.

Back in the pollination mode.

As the weather cools a little, and I mean a little, it is time to pollinate mandevilla. My stock plants do not set seed in the summer due to high temperatures. Try as I may, pollinated blossoms drop off within a week. Now however, I notice little seed pods happily developing on several recent pollintions.

So being inspired, I now make a few crosses each day before leaving for work thanks to the extra light in the AM due to standard time. What a great way to start a day.

Seeing the baby fruit enlarge and grow is one of life's great joys. Maybe one hybrid will be a real winner. The daily dreams that go along with watching the seeds develop is probably the most fun of the whole process. Once they mature, the seeds need to be cleaned, planted and babied some more. That is work. Also, don't want too many seed parents because they have to be carried in during the freezes. More work. Ahhhhhhh, but more dreams.

Mandevilla stock plant for breeding. 

Mandevilla breeding stock plant.