Update on stuff around the house

My better half started buying wood for the next chicken house/tractor/cage or whatever you want to call it. I think I've figured out how to easily mount wheels on the thing so it can be moved. There are many ways to mount wheels on it but I want something easy and inexpensive. One person can move the cage without wheels, at least over reasonably smooth ground but it is a little tough when there are clumps of weeds etc. that the frame can catch on.

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The battery in the truck died this weekend. My better half was going to buy some bulky items and fortunately went to pick up a friend to go with her. She turned off the engine in their driveway and it was dead. The friends husband tried to help jump it off but couldn't do it. I went over later and found that they just weren't making a good connection on the ground side of the truck. When a volt meter shows 14.8VDC on the charging vehicle and the same 12.5VDC on the dead vehicle with our without the jumper cable you know you aren't making contact. The guy was trying to use the alternator support for a ground. It's a big chunk of oxide covered aluminum that is attached to the engine block by a hinge. I wouldn't think that would make a very good ground. On that truck there is a nice big piece of steel that holds up the hood latch and it makes a great ground. After I drove the truck home I put the battery charger on it for about 5 hours and it was still dead. Fortunately there is one month left on the 2 year free replacement warranty and I had the receipt in the glove box. The battery is in the wife's car and going back to the store today.

Lessons:

1. Make sure you have a good connections on both ends of both jumper cables.

2. A volt meter is a great tool to have. You don't really need one for this but any excuse to buy a great tool is a good excuse.

3. Keep your receipts.

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I went back through most of the garden with the cultivator this weekend. The cultivator is a little TroyBuilt model and it's great for taking out the weeds. It doesn't use much gas and it is small enough that you can get up close to the plants you want without hitting them. We got it at an end-of-summer clearance a few years ago. I saw one like it in an ad and the price these days is $300!! Wow.

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We picked a bunch of plums last night. They weren't all completely ripe, but if we don't pick them then the birds will get most of them. I guess I need to get some nets to put over the trees. Hopefully we can get the fruit to ripen in the house. If not, they will still make great jelly. I'm glad we've got some here because the wild plums at the farm don't seem to have any fruit on them at all this year.