I could not go the do the bees too early as the air temperature would not be high enough for what I had in mind. I had to do the trailer duty and the lottie first. The trailer duty gave me some bad news. Ali, one of the horses that provided the contents for the trailer has had to be put down. Sad but she had been very poorly and in terrible pain with a damaged hip and back for several months. Nevertheless trailering needed to be done. Her companion is still producing.
The lottie got a good hoeing and I planted some more Peas, Beetroot and Swede. I harvested some more spuds and cabbage. The onion look like they are ready to come up as is the garlic. I pulled one and it is really fat. A good year for Onions and Garlic. I pulled a few cabbage that had gone over and chopped them up into the compo bin. It is quiet soothing chopping cabbages with a machete. The French climbing Beans are looking good as are the Sweet Corn.
Next off was the Bees but you will find all about that if you read the blog entry "Queens in the Post". I am holiday next weeks so holiday preparation has been in full swing for a few weeks. The car was serviced last week and this week was a good cleaning of the interior. The interior was a real state. The mud from the winter and straw from the bees were allover the inside of the car. Having finished with the bees and grabbed a quick bite to eat I positioned the car on the drive and took out everything that was not bolted, screwed or glued down. Every surface was hoovered within and inch of its life. Then it was out with the polish. Again everything was scrubbed and polish within an inch of its life. I even did a bit of polishing with the lemon scented Mr Screen so the car smells nice too. All the mats got a good going over before refitting. Tools were rubbed within an oily rag to clean and protect them before being returned to their sub floor hidey holes. I even dusted the first aid kit and its hidey hole. That done I one more thing to do.
H's friend Luba is fifty and she does not care who knows it. She has embraced her birthday. Her party started at 3pm but I was still several hours from finishing my jobs. I managed to get everything done by 6pm and went for a shower. I took Luba a bagful of spuds. An unusual birthday present I grant you but I knew she would approve. Luba is mad about veg growing. She has a small greenhouse and grows a few Sweet Corn and Pumpkins in the boarders. Luba only lives at the other end of the street from us so travelling was not a problem. H and Miss L had gone over about 4pm. H rang me to chivvy me along so I did not miss the Salsa dancing! Luba's household is very cosmopolitan. Luba is Ukrainian, married to Antonio who is Venezuelan. Did I mention Luba grew up in Oldham near Manchester so her accent is a bit varied. All the aunties, uncles, brother, sisters, cousins, with the other halves and the kids, neighbours and friends all piled into Luba's garden party. A Venezuelan friend of Luba runs Salsa classes. You guessed it, we had a Salsa session. It was really fun. The cake came out so we sung Happy Birthday, first in English, then in Spanish and finally in Ukrainian. Then rounds of toasts, no, not the crispy bread sort, the ones that end in cheers. The evening was warm but as the evening drew in and party dispersed the usual suspects remained. We pulled all the chairs together and sat round chatting. Luba's brother, Roman, kept us plied with drink and food. As he topped up our glasses he would remind us that it was a Ukrainian tradition, Drink and Food!
It was lucky it poured down for most of Sunday. I was a little sensitive. However by 3pm I was on an even keel and ready for the Moto GP on the TV, live from Donnington Park. Another masterful display and a win for Rossi. As usual the British weather had a hand to play in the result.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Queens in the Post
A couple of weeks ago I discovered that one of my hives had lost it Queen. I have been on the horns of a a dilemma over the past few weeks. Do I let the bees organise themselves and live with what they decided to do, even if it means they die off, or to intervene. I could not be sure that the Queen in the other hive was strong enough so I have let that hive continue to develop. I decided to intervene.
Believe it or not but you can buy a Queen. She comes by post with a few attendants. I placed the order on Tuesday for delivery Friday. H said the posty was amazed and had been showing all his posty mates what he had to deliver. H was not overly impressed with being collared by the posty to take delivery of a small package with a big yellow label announcing "Live Queen Bee". I asked H to bring the Queen to my office so I could look after her, the Queen Bee not H. H's face was a picture when she handed over the package. She had summoned all her strength to bring the little package in the car and pick it up to give it to me.
I was chuffed to receive the packaged and opened it carefully. I knew what to expect. H and Eddie, a colleague, were not so sure. Inside the envelope was a wooden box with a mesh front. Behind the mesh a Queen and a few attendant worker bees. At one end of the wooden cell some sugar fondant as food. The Bees were buzzing about but settled down once the cell was out of the envelop and sheltered from the bright lights in the office. I was distracted for the rest of Friday. I had decided that the Queen would be introduced to her new home that evening but the rain but paid to that plan. I would have to wait until Saturday.
Saturday afternoon, after lottie fettling I went to the apiary. I checked both hives. The blue one is OK but the cedar one definitely struggling. Lucky I had a Queen in my overalls pocket. I rearranged the frames so the frames with most empty cells were near each other. I shook the bees off the frames to stir them up a bit then when the brood box was reassembled of sprinkled a generous helping of sugar syrup over the frames. The idea was that the bees would start to fan the hive scent, as they always do when disturbed, as signal to collect the flying back to the hive. Slopping sugar syrup starts the bees tidying up by licking the syrup from the frames, comb and each other. The Queen would be covered in syrup to and to act of cleaning up would spread her pheromones throughout the hive. I dosed the Queen in syrup and opened the wooden cell. The Queen flew onto my finger for a moment. My heart stopped but before I could react she dived for the "safety" of the dark space between the frames. I a moment she was gone. I put the hive back together and sat in the long grass front of the hive for a worry. Would she be accepted or would she be killed and expelled from the hive. Both bad results since it would be a waste of money and the queenless hive would remain.
To distract myself I tidied up then took a walk up the meadow, found a spot and watched the river Mease rush by with the Damsel flies flitting this way and that way. Forty minutes had passed by so I went back to the hive and dismantled it. I pulled out the frames I thought it likely she would be on. To my dismay I saw a cluster of very agitated bees. The ball of bees was a clear sign they were killing something. Another frame another bee cluster. I brushed the bees aside with my finger to find at he centre of this ball of twenty bees was a very unhappy worker. She was different to the hive bees so I took her to be one of the attendants. I checked the other cluster, another worker as its centre. Having pulled a few frames out I saw more dead and dieing bees on the hive floor. The mortuary bees were heaving the bodies to the hive entrance. I all this chaos I did not find the Queen. I pulled out a few more frames and found a big cluster of several hundred bees under one of the ledges. I brushed the bees aside even so gently and caught a fleeting glimpses of the Queen. She was not being mobbed so I figure the workers were clustering as they do when they swarm. I am hopeful that when I check the hive midweek I will find eggs. That will mean she has been accepted. Fingers crossed.
Believe it or not but you can buy a Queen. She comes by post with a few attendants. I placed the order on Tuesday for delivery Friday. H said the posty was amazed and had been showing all his posty mates what he had to deliver. H was not overly impressed with being collared by the posty to take delivery of a small package with a big yellow label announcing "Live Queen Bee". I asked H to bring the Queen to my office so I could look after her, the Queen Bee not H. H's face was a picture when she handed over the package. She had summoned all her strength to bring the little package in the car and pick it up to give it to me.
I was chuffed to receive the packaged and opened it carefully. I knew what to expect. H and Eddie, a colleague, were not so sure. Inside the envelope was a wooden box with a mesh front. Behind the mesh a Queen and a few attendant worker bees. At one end of the wooden cell some sugar fondant as food. The Bees were buzzing about but settled down once the cell was out of the envelop and sheltered from the bright lights in the office. I was distracted for the rest of Friday. I had decided that the Queen would be introduced to her new home that evening but the rain but paid to that plan. I would have to wait until Saturday.
Saturday afternoon, after lottie fettling I went to the apiary. I checked both hives. The blue one is OK but the cedar one definitely struggling. Lucky I had a Queen in my overalls pocket. I rearranged the frames so the frames with most empty cells were near each other. I shook the bees off the frames to stir them up a bit then when the brood box was reassembled of sprinkled a generous helping of sugar syrup over the frames. The idea was that the bees would start to fan the hive scent, as they always do when disturbed, as signal to collect the flying back to the hive. Slopping sugar syrup starts the bees tidying up by licking the syrup from the frames, comb and each other. The Queen would be covered in syrup to and to act of cleaning up would spread her pheromones throughout the hive. I dosed the Queen in syrup and opened the wooden cell. The Queen flew onto my finger for a moment. My heart stopped but before I could react she dived for the "safety" of the dark space between the frames. I a moment she was gone. I put the hive back together and sat in the long grass front of the hive for a worry. Would she be accepted or would she be killed and expelled from the hive. Both bad results since it would be a waste of money and the queenless hive would remain.
To distract myself I tidied up then took a walk up the meadow, found a spot and watched the river Mease rush by with the Damsel flies flitting this way and that way. Forty minutes had passed by so I went back to the hive and dismantled it. I pulled out the frames I thought it likely she would be on. To my dismay I saw a cluster of very agitated bees. The ball of bees was a clear sign they were killing something. Another frame another bee cluster. I brushed the bees aside with my finger to find at he centre of this ball of twenty bees was a very unhappy worker. She was different to the hive bees so I took her to be one of the attendants. I checked the other cluster, another worker as its centre. Having pulled a few frames out I saw more dead and dieing bees on the hive floor. The mortuary bees were heaving the bodies to the hive entrance. I all this chaos I did not find the Queen. I pulled out a few more frames and found a big cluster of several hundred bees under one of the ledges. I brushed the bees aside even so gently and caught a fleeting glimpses of the Queen. She was not being mobbed so I figure the workers were clustering as they do when they swarm. I am hopeful that when I check the hive midweek I will find eggs. That will mean she has been accepted. Fingers crossed.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
40th Anniversary
Saturday was a mechanical day. My car is just coming up to 60,000 miles run so it is time again for a service. Holiday are coming up too so it is wise to get the car ready for the extra mileage. It only takes me 45 minutes to change the oil, filter, air filter and spark plugs. I topped up the coolant and checked the handbrake.
Degsy has been sounding a bit out of tune. I decided that I would reset the timing. Given I knew this day would come. The weather was fine and I had set aside time for the job. I remember the process from my younger days when this was I had to do all the time on both my bikes and cars. I found the timing marks which were on the flywheel. The marks are viewed through a little access plate which is buried at the back of the engine. It took a bit to find it and to get the plate open. The next job was to set the timing mark on the flywheel. To do that you have to turn the engine over until the timing mark on the flywheel lines up with a pointer on the access cover whilst cylinder one is approaching top dead centre. Land Rover were considerate in supplying a starting handle with which to spin the engine. The problem is the handle is at he front of the engine and the marks are at the back with the radiator and bodywork in the way. even the manual say to get a friend to spot the mark or turn the engine. I only had H to hand so she had to spot the mark. We only had to have two or three goes to get the marks spot on. You cannot crank the engine backwards so if you miss the mark you have to round again. Once the marks were lined up it was a simple job the set the points. I loosened the distributor and set the dwell angle. Bolted it up again and turn the ignition key. Vroom, it started. Now I know how to do the job I should be able to do quite quickly next time. I noticed that the distributor cap transfer bars are burned as is the rotor cap so I should get a new ones.
I fitted a flip up step on the near side for H to able get in and out more easily. I had to drill a couple of holes for bolts but it went on without much trouble. I also fitted the rear reflectors, a MOT requirement. I was done by early afternoon. I had a sandwich and a brew a went to see the Bees.
There is trouble at the bees. The queen is not laying and I am not sure what to do. Wait for the Queen is get mated on buy in a new laying Queen? I will have to think about this but I have to decided upon a course of action very soon.
On the way back from the bees I went to the lottie and dug up a row of spuds. They look really good if a little large for earlies. H was on the her way out for a evening do so I popped home to say goodbye and have a brew. I went back to the lottie a continued weeding. The birds were very untidy when eating their seeds during the winter so now I have wheat growing on my path. I had a general weed. New Stu came down so I we had a chat about Degsy. I was noting that the tyres were the noisiest in the world. Stu agreed. He could tell it was me 200 yards away just from noise off the tyres. He remember a friend of his might have some road bais tyres that might fit. A few minutes and a phone call later I was the owner of four newish tyres and two wheel for £20. I was to collect them the following day.
It started raining so I went home H was out for the evening and Miss L was at friends. I drew a bath and flopped into it for an hour. Nothing to do and I switched off my brain and just relaxed for the first time in weeks. I had to collect Miss L from her friends house so had to get dried and dressed. I went in Degsy. It fairly flew along. So much so the tyres were smelling as they overheated. Lucky I have got some spares coming. Miss L and I had a nice evening watching TV and chatting.
Next morning a had a few things to do but waited until H came home since Miss L was having a lie in. I loaded up Degsy with seed trays in readiness for a trip to the lottie later in the day. H and I went out to a garden centre in Newton Regis. H needed a brew but the tea room which normally has a organist tinkling the ivories had a stand in Saxophonist who was playing by numbers. We got what we went for a tottled back through the lanes to home. Another brew and judging that the showers would miss me, I went to the lottie. I got a couple of trays a seedling planted before the showers came in. New Stu had turned up to drop off some wood for his borders. I followed him home to get the tyres. The tyres were a major result. Part worn yes but with plenty of tread. Two of the tyres were on good wheels as well!. I want to paint the white to smarten Degsy up. He has two cream wheels and two black. I could easily put the two new wheels straight on the have the new tyres put on the existing white wheels which would give me four white wheels I am looking for. That gives me a spare to put on the bonnet and on for the garage.
Tomorrow, 20th July, is the 40th anniversary of man walking on the moon. I think I remember stay up to see it on TV. I am not sure I did, I was only eight and I have been to sleep a few times since then. I do remember seeing the grainy pictures at school and we have seen the iconic footage many times since. I have just started reading Buzz Aldrin's autobiography, Magnificent Desolation. It was an amazing feat of endeavour. More amazing when you think they flew with the state of the art computer with only 74k of memory and a 2 megabit processor. Modern mobile phones, never mind the laptops, have much more computer power than the Apollo 11 rocket. However they did have a back up.............a slide rule.
All in all a restful weekend. Only two weeks to my summer holiday.
Degsy has been sounding a bit out of tune. I decided that I would reset the timing. Given I knew this day would come. The weather was fine and I had set aside time for the job. I remember the process from my younger days when this was I had to do all the time on both my bikes and cars. I found the timing marks which were on the flywheel. The marks are viewed through a little access plate which is buried at the back of the engine. It took a bit to find it and to get the plate open. The next job was to set the timing mark on the flywheel. To do that you have to turn the engine over until the timing mark on the flywheel lines up with a pointer on the access cover whilst cylinder one is approaching top dead centre. Land Rover were considerate in supplying a starting handle with which to spin the engine. The problem is the handle is at he front of the engine and the marks are at the back with the radiator and bodywork in the way. even the manual say to get a friend to spot the mark or turn the engine. I only had H to hand so she had to spot the mark. We only had to have two or three goes to get the marks spot on. You cannot crank the engine backwards so if you miss the mark you have to round again. Once the marks were lined up it was a simple job the set the points. I loosened the distributor and set the dwell angle. Bolted it up again and turn the ignition key. Vroom, it started. Now I know how to do the job I should be able to do quite quickly next time. I noticed that the distributor cap transfer bars are burned as is the rotor cap so I should get a new ones.
I fitted a flip up step on the near side for H to able get in and out more easily. I had to drill a couple of holes for bolts but it went on without much trouble. I also fitted the rear reflectors, a MOT requirement. I was done by early afternoon. I had a sandwich and a brew a went to see the Bees.
There is trouble at the bees. The queen is not laying and I am not sure what to do. Wait for the Queen is get mated on buy in a new laying Queen? I will have to think about this but I have to decided upon a course of action very soon.
On the way back from the bees I went to the lottie and dug up a row of spuds. They look really good if a little large for earlies. H was on the her way out for a evening do so I popped home to say goodbye and have a brew. I went back to the lottie a continued weeding. The birds were very untidy when eating their seeds during the winter so now I have wheat growing on my path. I had a general weed. New Stu came down so I we had a chat about Degsy. I was noting that the tyres were the noisiest in the world. Stu agreed. He could tell it was me 200 yards away just from noise off the tyres. He remember a friend of his might have some road bais tyres that might fit. A few minutes and a phone call later I was the owner of four newish tyres and two wheel for £20. I was to collect them the following day.
It started raining so I went home H was out for the evening and Miss L was at friends. I drew a bath and flopped into it for an hour. Nothing to do and I switched off my brain and just relaxed for the first time in weeks. I had to collect Miss L from her friends house so had to get dried and dressed. I went in Degsy. It fairly flew along. So much so the tyres were smelling as they overheated. Lucky I have got some spares coming. Miss L and I had a nice evening watching TV and chatting.
Next morning a had a few things to do but waited until H came home since Miss L was having a lie in. I loaded up Degsy with seed trays in readiness for a trip to the lottie later in the day. H and I went out to a garden centre in Newton Regis. H needed a brew but the tea room which normally has a organist tinkling the ivories had a stand in Saxophonist who was playing by numbers. We got what we went for a tottled back through the lanes to home. Another brew and judging that the showers would miss me, I went to the lottie. I got a couple of trays a seedling planted before the showers came in. New Stu had turned up to drop off some wood for his borders. I followed him home to get the tyres. The tyres were a major result. Part worn yes but with plenty of tread. Two of the tyres were on good wheels as well!. I want to paint the white to smarten Degsy up. He has two cream wheels and two black. I could easily put the two new wheels straight on the have the new tyres put on the existing white wheels which would give me four white wheels I am looking for. That gives me a spare to put on the bonnet and on for the garage.
Tomorrow, 20th July, is the 40th anniversary of man walking on the moon. I think I remember stay up to see it on TV. I am not sure I did, I was only eight and I have been to sleep a few times since then. I do remember seeing the grainy pictures at school and we have seen the iconic footage many times since. I have just started reading Buzz Aldrin's autobiography, Magnificent Desolation. It was an amazing feat of endeavour. More amazing when you think they flew with the state of the art computer with only 74k of memory and a 2 megabit processor. Modern mobile phones, never mind the laptops, have much more computer power than the Apollo 11 rocket. However they did have a back up.............a slide rule.
All in all a restful weekend. Only two weeks to my summer holiday.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Outting to Wragby
The big deal for this weekend was a trip out the Wragby near Lincoln. Wragby is the home of Thornes. Click HERE for the website. They are the premier manufacturer of beehives and beekeeping equipment. The event was their summer sale. I was advised to get there early. It was supposed to open at 9am. I got there at 8.30 and was about fiftyth in the queue. By the time the gates were opened the queue was half way down the street. There was nervous chatter from the waiting crowd. When the door opened to the warehouse it all went quiet as folk concentrated on the getting though the door. Once into the warehouse it was a free for all. Thorne's had five pallets stacked chest height with flat pack brood boxes and and the same of supers. Within ten minutes of opening up the ten pallets were empty. However all that happened was that folks created stacks of there selections all over the floor so now all the walkways are blocked with anxious looking people protecting there piles of goodies. People were buying forty and fifty hives at a time. It was a feeding frenzy.
The one thing I went for was an extractor. There was only four available. I spotted them on the top of the racking. I squeezed through the crowd and managed to reach up for one. I got my hand on it so it was mine. It was worth the trip since the extractor was brand new and less than half price. I got some frames and foundation as well. Having paid for them an stacked them in the car and went back for a sandwich and a brew from the refreshment tent, then made my way home.
When I got home a put together the hives I got during the week. They are got a good as the Thornes but they are cheaper. The extra job I had to do was paint the hives with wood stain to waterproof them. The sun was hot on my back as I worked in the back garden. I had to keep an eye on the time as Miss L and I had to go to Steve for his start of summer BBQ. H had gone to for a her sister's for a charity do in Hathersage. Steve asked me to make some Elderflower champagne. Something went wrong and it ended up as a bitter syrup. Instead I took a couple of bottles of cider. I think it went down well enough.
The next morning I had to do the trailer run. After having tipped the trailer I dropped back to the house to make breakfast for Miss L and I. We had pancakes and bacon. I had too many pancakes as usual. I went back to the lottie with the express mission to weed the carrot patch. I put on my knee pads and set to. I had my radio on, the sun was not too hot and there was a nice breeze. It was easy work loosening the soil and pulling the weeds by the handful. I was able to work round the Parsnips but not the Carrots, They had been out completed by the weeds. I put four wheel barrows of weeds into the compost bins. The key thing is to get the weeds before they set seed. I harvetsed some Cabbage, Broad Beans and Beetroot. H was back from her outing but I still had to do the Bees.
I looked through the boxes but had trouble finding the queen in one of the boxes but there were a lot of queen cells, which was a worry. I resolved to go back on Wednesday lunchtime to check again. When I got home H was sleepy. She had had a poor night at the Youth Hostel so went to bed for a nap. I went over to Mo's and watered the Tomatoes. Later we sat down to a nice diner and commiserated with Miss L as her boyfriend has gone on holiday for a week. It brought to an end a busy weekend.
The one thing I went for was an extractor. There was only four available. I spotted them on the top of the racking. I squeezed through the crowd and managed to reach up for one. I got my hand on it so it was mine. It was worth the trip since the extractor was brand new and less than half price. I got some frames and foundation as well. Having paid for them an stacked them in the car and went back for a sandwich and a brew from the refreshment tent, then made my way home.
When I got home a put together the hives I got during the week. They are got a good as the Thornes but they are cheaper. The extra job I had to do was paint the hives with wood stain to waterproof them. The sun was hot on my back as I worked in the back garden. I had to keep an eye on the time as Miss L and I had to go to Steve for his start of summer BBQ. H had gone to for a her sister's for a charity do in Hathersage. Steve asked me to make some Elderflower champagne. Something went wrong and it ended up as a bitter syrup. Instead I took a couple of bottles of cider. I think it went down well enough.
The next morning I had to do the trailer run. After having tipped the trailer I dropped back to the house to make breakfast for Miss L and I. We had pancakes and bacon. I had too many pancakes as usual. I went back to the lottie with the express mission to weed the carrot patch. I put on my knee pads and set to. I had my radio on, the sun was not too hot and there was a nice breeze. It was easy work loosening the soil and pulling the weeds by the handful. I was able to work round the Parsnips but not the Carrots, They had been out completed by the weeds. I put four wheel barrows of weeds into the compost bins. The key thing is to get the weeds before they set seed. I harvetsed some Cabbage, Broad Beans and Beetroot. H was back from her outing but I still had to do the Bees.
I looked through the boxes but had trouble finding the queen in one of the boxes but there were a lot of queen cells, which was a worry. I resolved to go back on Wednesday lunchtime to check again. When I got home H was sleepy. She had had a poor night at the Youth Hostel so went to bed for a nap. I went over to Mo's and watered the Tomatoes. Later we sat down to a nice diner and commiserated with Miss L as her boyfriend has gone on holiday for a week. It brought to an end a busy weekend.
Monday, July 06, 2009
"If you understand me"
I took the night off on Thursday and truddled down to the lottie. Steve was there, I had a couple of bottles of lager with me so we sat, sipped a couple of bottles whilst we picked over his Redcurrrant bushes and watched the night slowly draw in.
The watering at Mo's continues. It is too hot in the greenhouse despite having all the windows and doors open, so some of the flowers have been dropping off. No flowers, no fruit. Still, there are lots of toms starting to fruit. The Red Alerts are doing very well. I will be eating them soon. It was another busy weekend. Saturday morning ritual. Poo trailer, allotmenting and Bees. The allotment is a bit weedy. I tidied up the area we dug the volunteer spuds from last weekend and raked it out. It is ready for the five trays of brassicas I have at home. I cleaned up six barrows of assorted weeds but mainly Chickweed. It had not set seed so I was able to bung it all in the compost bin. I had to start the third bin to accommodate all the green stuff. Onions are looking good as are the spuds. The down pours during the week were very handy. The vines are taking hold although one white and one red vine look badly checked. I have some lovely looking Cabbages. Still plenty of weeding to do.
I dropped the trailer off along with some Cabbage and Broad Beans off to Angie and Chris. A thank you for the manure. Then onto the Bees. I have been worrying about them. Both Hives swarmed. The Bees must have read the manual and right on cue the new Queen has been mated and has started laying. The quieter of the two hives will probably not produce a surplus of honey this year but the other one might. I decided not to use smoke on the Bees, which is the prescribed method of calming them down, whilst the hive is investigated. I find it just upsets them. Much better to just be gentle and smooth. I do get the odd bee that pings off the veil but generally there is just a mellow buzz. When I finished the bees I made a brew and had a sit in the shade of the Degsy just looking out into fields with their slight haze of red from the Poppies growing amongst the ripening wheat. Brain idling was finished along with the last of the Tea.
The next jobs was Degsy's tow hook or rather the step. I decided to fit a step to get into the back to motor. It is a big step up and I figure I will probably rupture myself if I try to cart a super of honey or trays of spuds into the back of the motor. I got the step from the suppliers a couple of weeks ago. The step has a bar with two holes that line up with the bolts of the tow hook. So all you have to do is undo the bolts holding on the hook, slip the step bracket up to the blots and nip it all up again. I knew this was going to be easier said than done. First I had to find a supplier of replacement bolts for the hook. The current bolts would be too short with the extra thickness of the step bracket. I also knew that I would probably wreck the bolts getting them out. I had put a spanner on the bolts during the week and could not move them. A trip out to Breedon to the caravan shop solved that problem. Just the right nuts and bolts for a couple of quid. I had guessed that the hook was held on by nuts and bolts. Some perverse hook fitter put the nuts on the inside of the hook bracket so you could not get a good purchase on the nut. I dribbled on plenty of WD40 and 3 in 1 oil and had a go at loosening the nuts, no chance. About 40 minutes of oiling and cajoling managed to get the nuts to come free. This released the tow hook assembly. Now I had the threaded ends the bolts sticking out the bracket. More oil. I gave the studs an optimistic rap with the hammer. The blows resounded through Degsy like a drum. More oil. I got the sockets and spanners out to try to spin the bolt and work it out of the drop plate. The drop plate is the lump of plate steel that has the tow hook on one end the and is bolted to Degsy are the other end. No joy. More oil. I decided that if a cut the bolt heads off I might be able to drift out the bolt shaft. Aching arms, two hacksaw blades and several skinned knuckles later the bolt heads were on the floor. Because of the awkward location of the bolts some of the bolt head still on the bolt. A very bad scenario. I got the angle grinder out and went to town on the remaining metal. I was lying on my back under Degsy, sparks shooting everywhere and dirt falling all over me from the underside of Degsy, oh and did I mention it was at least 27C. Lovely. Job done I packed away the grinder, no doubt to the relief of the neighbours. I rapped the bolts again but nothing. More oil and more hammering. Nothing, no movement at all. I the idea crept into my head that the bolt might actually be a screwed rod with nuts on both ends. So no amount of hammering would draw the "bolt". It was tea time, I was hungry and my patience was wearing thin.
H had dropped Miss L off to a party and was staying over. H and I had Tea and got the chiminia going in the back garden and lit loads of T-lights, opened a bottle of something red and just had a chat, sat by the pond as the night drew in. Then it came to me as I pondered. What I need is a big set of mole grips, better yet a set of 24" Stilsons [a type of adjustable wrench for round objects]. My Stilson went to good home along tome ago. It was too late in the day to do anything about it. Tomorrow 10am at Massey's they will have the tool.
Massey's did have the very tool. I got a stud extractor as well in case the Stilson did not work. Back home by 10.30 so everyone in the street sound be up. If they weren't, they so would be. More oil on the bolt. I tackled the left bolt first as there was room to swing the wrench. The wrench just chewed up the threads and would not budge. Then I drilled a hole in the bolt end, inserted the extractor gave it an good turn and "ping" the tool snapped. Now I had a bolt with a tool steel core. Bugger. More oil and some Tea. About this time H went out to collect Miss L and reminded me that we had a BBQ to go to at 3pm. Double bugger. More oil. I set about the right bolt. Slowly but surely the bolt turned,very slowly and making a terrible squealing noise which resonated through the body work. More oil and more turning. Then it just went loose and the bolt came out with a gentle pull with my fingers. It was a bolt just with 30 years of corrosion. Removing this bolt released some pressure on the spacer plate. More oil, tapping and oil and wiggling to get the spacer off. Still the left stud remained. At least I knew it was a smooth bolt shank and not a screwed rod. More oil and a brew. Whilst drinking my brew I pondered the bolt and idly whacked it with the hammer. This time the noise was different. I looked at the back of the drop plate and found that he bolt had moved, perhaps only a millimeter but it moved. More oil. I decided to take Degsy up the fields where I could give the bolt a good hiding without worrying about the noise I was going to make. I threw everything in the back of Degsy and set off for Willesley Woodside. I found a spot. More oil on the bolt and then gave the bolt half a dozen good blows. That was it, the studs moved quarter of an inch. More oil and then hammered from the other side of the plate. Another two more passes and the stud was getting really loose. Then I got the stud I had moved from right side hole and used it as a drift to finally remove the left stud completely. Job done. It had only taken four hours spread over two days!
When I got home it was a five minute job to put the bolts through the tow hook, spacer and drop plate. Then offer up the step bracket to the rear of the drop plate and spin on the crimp washer and nut. Nip the nuts finger tight, check the step was level and nip the nuts up good and tight. I took the precaution of Copperslipping the bolt shafts so when I need to get the bolts out they should come away a lot easier. I had a tidy up and parked the cars by the time H got back. H could see I was properly pleased with myself. I had a few minutes to go over to Mo's and water the Toms. That done I got myself showered, shaved and dressed ready for the BBQ.
The venue was in Osgathorpe. A friend of H invited us. When we got there we found it was H, Miss L and me, Kim and George [the hosts] and another couple. Kim had made enough food for fifty. Kim is Chinese and spent a lot of time in America although you would not know from her heavy accent, Hubby George is a big bluff fellow with a strange mid-Atlantic accent. He made his money in building machines that make jet engines. Interesting bloke but completely nuts. As he tucked into the wine his stories got taller and his language fruitier. The ladies drifted away leaving me and Chris [bloke from the other couple] with George. He had this strange affliction that he finished every other sentence with "if you understand me". Chris and I were in quiet hysterics as his shaggy dog story meandered to a inconclusive end, punctuated with "if you understand me" and an intense look at either one of us.
Miss L has was very impressed with the house. A sweeping curved stairs in the hall. Five double bedrooms, each with en-suite. A huge kitchen and a separate dining room. It had a huge granny flat on the side, built out over the double, double garage. The living room was the size of a small ballroom and decorated in a Chinese/American style. Beautifully made pieces of furniture including a Bar and high back stools made from Camphour wood, big vases with floral displays and a black carpet with Chinese symbols in gold. The crowning piece, for Miss L, was the Dolby surround sound projector TV hooked up to Sky. Miss L was delighted as she had all to herself until we all came inside to shelter from the wind. They live on a hillside, a good view but windy. We got away at 8pm, George had lost the use of his legs by this time but not his tongue "if you understand me".
The watering at Mo's continues. It is too hot in the greenhouse despite having all the windows and doors open, so some of the flowers have been dropping off. No flowers, no fruit. Still, there are lots of toms starting to fruit. The Red Alerts are doing very well. I will be eating them soon. It was another busy weekend. Saturday morning ritual. Poo trailer, allotmenting and Bees. The allotment is a bit weedy. I tidied up the area we dug the volunteer spuds from last weekend and raked it out. It is ready for the five trays of brassicas I have at home. I cleaned up six barrows of assorted weeds but mainly Chickweed. It had not set seed so I was able to bung it all in the compost bin. I had to start the third bin to accommodate all the green stuff. Onions are looking good as are the spuds. The down pours during the week were very handy. The vines are taking hold although one white and one red vine look badly checked. I have some lovely looking Cabbages. Still plenty of weeding to do.
I dropped the trailer off along with some Cabbage and Broad Beans off to Angie and Chris. A thank you for the manure. Then onto the Bees. I have been worrying about them. Both Hives swarmed. The Bees must have read the manual and right on cue the new Queen has been mated and has started laying. The quieter of the two hives will probably not produce a surplus of honey this year but the other one might. I decided not to use smoke on the Bees, which is the prescribed method of calming them down, whilst the hive is investigated. I find it just upsets them. Much better to just be gentle and smooth. I do get the odd bee that pings off the veil but generally there is just a mellow buzz. When I finished the bees I made a brew and had a sit in the shade of the Degsy just looking out into fields with their slight haze of red from the Poppies growing amongst the ripening wheat. Brain idling was finished along with the last of the Tea.
The next jobs was Degsy's tow hook or rather the step. I decided to fit a step to get into the back to motor. It is a big step up and I figure I will probably rupture myself if I try to cart a super of honey or trays of spuds into the back of the motor. I got the step from the suppliers a couple of weeks ago. The step has a bar with two holes that line up with the bolts of the tow hook. So all you have to do is undo the bolts holding on the hook, slip the step bracket up to the blots and nip it all up again. I knew this was going to be easier said than done. First I had to find a supplier of replacement bolts for the hook. The current bolts would be too short with the extra thickness of the step bracket. I also knew that I would probably wreck the bolts getting them out. I had put a spanner on the bolts during the week and could not move them. A trip out to Breedon to the caravan shop solved that problem. Just the right nuts and bolts for a couple of quid. I had guessed that the hook was held on by nuts and bolts. Some perverse hook fitter put the nuts on the inside of the hook bracket so you could not get a good purchase on the nut. I dribbled on plenty of WD40 and 3 in 1 oil and had a go at loosening the nuts, no chance. About 40 minutes of oiling and cajoling managed to get the nuts to come free. This released the tow hook assembly. Now I had the threaded ends the bolts sticking out the bracket. More oil. I gave the studs an optimistic rap with the hammer. The blows resounded through Degsy like a drum. More oil. I got the sockets and spanners out to try to spin the bolt and work it out of the drop plate. The drop plate is the lump of plate steel that has the tow hook on one end the and is bolted to Degsy are the other end. No joy. More oil. I decided that if a cut the bolt heads off I might be able to drift out the bolt shaft. Aching arms, two hacksaw blades and several skinned knuckles later the bolt heads were on the floor. Because of the awkward location of the bolts some of the bolt head still on the bolt. A very bad scenario. I got the angle grinder out and went to town on the remaining metal. I was lying on my back under Degsy, sparks shooting everywhere and dirt falling all over me from the underside of Degsy, oh and did I mention it was at least 27C. Lovely. Job done I packed away the grinder, no doubt to the relief of the neighbours. I rapped the bolts again but nothing. More oil and more hammering. Nothing, no movement at all. I the idea crept into my head that the bolt might actually be a screwed rod with nuts on both ends. So no amount of hammering would draw the "bolt". It was tea time, I was hungry and my patience was wearing thin.
H had dropped Miss L off to a party and was staying over. H and I had Tea and got the chiminia going in the back garden and lit loads of T-lights, opened a bottle of something red and just had a chat, sat by the pond as the night drew in. Then it came to me as I pondered. What I need is a big set of mole grips, better yet a set of 24" Stilsons [a type of adjustable wrench for round objects]. My Stilson went to good home along tome ago. It was too late in the day to do anything about it. Tomorrow 10am at Massey's they will have the tool.
Massey's did have the very tool. I got a stud extractor as well in case the Stilson did not work. Back home by 10.30 so everyone in the street sound be up. If they weren't, they so would be. More oil on the bolt. I tackled the left bolt first as there was room to swing the wrench. The wrench just chewed up the threads and would not budge. Then I drilled a hole in the bolt end, inserted the extractor gave it an good turn and "ping" the tool snapped. Now I had a bolt with a tool steel core. Bugger. More oil and some Tea. About this time H went out to collect Miss L and reminded me that we had a BBQ to go to at 3pm. Double bugger. More oil. I set about the right bolt. Slowly but surely the bolt turned,very slowly and making a terrible squealing noise which resonated through the body work. More oil and more turning. Then it just went loose and the bolt came out with a gentle pull with my fingers. It was a bolt just with 30 years of corrosion. Removing this bolt released some pressure on the spacer plate. More oil, tapping and oil and wiggling to get the spacer off. Still the left stud remained. At least I knew it was a smooth bolt shank and not a screwed rod. More oil and a brew. Whilst drinking my brew I pondered the bolt and idly whacked it with the hammer. This time the noise was different. I looked at the back of the drop plate and found that he bolt had moved, perhaps only a millimeter but it moved. More oil. I decided to take Degsy up the fields where I could give the bolt a good hiding without worrying about the noise I was going to make. I threw everything in the back of Degsy and set off for Willesley Woodside. I found a spot. More oil on the bolt and then gave the bolt half a dozen good blows. That was it, the studs moved quarter of an inch. More oil and then hammered from the other side of the plate. Another two more passes and the stud was getting really loose. Then I got the stud I had moved from right side hole and used it as a drift to finally remove the left stud completely. Job done. It had only taken four hours spread over two days!
When I got home it was a five minute job to put the bolts through the tow hook, spacer and drop plate. Then offer up the step bracket to the rear of the drop plate and spin on the crimp washer and nut. Nip the nuts finger tight, check the step was level and nip the nuts up good and tight. I took the precaution of Copperslipping the bolt shafts so when I need to get the bolts out they should come away a lot easier. I had a tidy up and parked the cars by the time H got back. H could see I was properly pleased with myself. I had a few minutes to go over to Mo's and water the Toms. That done I got myself showered, shaved and dressed ready for the BBQ.
The venue was in Osgathorpe. A friend of H invited us. When we got there we found it was H, Miss L and me, Kim and George [the hosts] and another couple. Kim had made enough food for fifty. Kim is Chinese and spent a lot of time in America although you would not know from her heavy accent, Hubby George is a big bluff fellow with a strange mid-Atlantic accent. He made his money in building machines that make jet engines. Interesting bloke but completely nuts. As he tucked into the wine his stories got taller and his language fruitier. The ladies drifted away leaving me and Chris [bloke from the other couple] with George. He had this strange affliction that he finished every other sentence with "if you understand me". Chris and I were in quiet hysterics as his shaggy dog story meandered to a inconclusive end, punctuated with "if you understand me" and an intense look at either one of us.
Miss L has was very impressed with the house. A sweeping curved stairs in the hall. Five double bedrooms, each with en-suite. A huge kitchen and a separate dining room. It had a huge granny flat on the side, built out over the double, double garage. The living room was the size of a small ballroom and decorated in a Chinese/American style. Beautifully made pieces of furniture including a Bar and high back stools made from Camphour wood, big vases with floral displays and a black carpet with Chinese symbols in gold. The crowning piece, for Miss L, was the Dolby surround sound projector TV hooked up to Sky. Miss L was delighted as she had all to herself until we all came inside to shelter from the wind. They live on a hillside, a good view but windy. We got away at 8pm, George had lost the use of his legs by this time but not his tongue "if you understand me".
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Degsy
We got a new member of the family at the weekend. Degsy, a 1981, 88inch, 2 1/4litre petrol Land Rover. Miss L provided the name "Degsy". I said to a Landy owner that I know that I did not want a project just something with a long MOT that started on the key. When he stopped laughing he explained by just owning a Landy you have a project on your hands.
As predicted the "project" began by fixing the unblinking front indicator. In the best traditions of Land Rovers, giving the indicator bulb a wiggle fixed the problem. Did I mention that I have had to buy a few bits to make it comfy. New seats and inertia reel seat belts, a couple of wiper blades and lens for some of the lights, oh, and a mirror. Sounds like the project has begun.
As predicted the "project" began by fixing the unblinking front indicator. In the best traditions of Land Rovers, giving the indicator bulb a wiggle fixed the problem. Did I mention that I have had to buy a few bits to make it comfy. New seats and inertia reel seat belts, a couple of wiper blades and lens for some of the lights, oh, and a mirror. Sounds like the project has begun.
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