It must be spring...

[which_chick]

I took the plow and chains off the plow truck, so definitely it is spring. Other things got done as well.



I put another couple of hours on barberry abatement over the weekend. It's coming along at the speed it goes, which is to say not fast. I am not going to run out of barberry any time soon.

I took a hike with the nephew for an hour and a half on Sunday, we went up to the pool on the right fork of Tar Kiln Run to see if there were newt egg mass (no, just wood frog egg masses) and back down. He and I are about the same level of unfit (from the winter) so we traveled at an appropriate but steady pace. On the way back we stopped for some photos at the big rocks, but as he is not to have his image shared online until he is of an age to make those decisions, I don't have pics for you. (This is a parental decision, child is like 10.) Nephew seemed to enjoy the hike, asked if we could go again sometime. Fine by me, I need to be fitter anyway and it's getting to be time to be outside.

I fired up the diesel (pickup that pulls the horse trailer) for spring and moved it around. It didn't start on Saturday so I tightened up the battery connector things (they were not snug) and put it on the trickle charger for overnight. Sunday, which was warmer anyway, it fired right up.

As per usual, it sounded like a bucket of nails falling down the stairs for the first couple of minutes but then evened out to a stable idle. This is not a particular cause for concern, the truck is a 2002 and so has a few quirks and some wear & tear.

Once the idle steadied, I took it into Breezewood (4 miles and over a nice sized hill so that it could get all warmed up and move all its fluids around and stuff) for a Dunkin coffee for me. The truck smelled a little weird (like fuel, but not exactly) on the way in and back but all the gauges looked fine. It was a pretty strong smell so I opened the windows, but it didn't get better. Smell wasn't coming through the heater vents either. Weird and worriesome.

When I got back and parked, I peered underneath for any signs of fuel or whatever. Nothing. I checked the Lucasoil additive bottles to see if they were leaking (no, and they didn't smell like that anyway). And I looked in the back door (it's a crew cab) cubbies to see if any of the dry gas stuff (for diesel) had tipped over. Since the truck sits a lot of the winter, condensation in the fuel tank is an issue. And there's an additive for that.

Look, it's an old truck. It goes around the countryside with the good jumper cables and two sorts of fuel additive. Do not judge me. New diesel pickups cost roughly as much as a small house in these parts, I don't know anyone who can afford one. Mine's got 160K on the odometer and working 4wd. It could be worse.

Anyway, I finally saw that one of the door cubbies had a DIFFERENT diesel additive bottle that I had not put in my truck and the lid was off of it. (Trys sometimes drives my diesel truck if hers is not working. She needs a diesel truck for hauling her agricultural spray drones around. She does ag drone spraying -- fungicides, foliar fertilizer, snail pellets, ect -- with drones that are big enough to lift a person only don't do that, it's not allowed. She has an FAA license and recertifies regularly and shit. Anyway, this was a Trys diesel additive bottle that she hadn't recapped well and the bottle was sloshing. I feel like diesel additives are a bit woo-woo but they're not super expensive and probably don't hurt the truck.)

On the upside, the mess was minimal and on the VERY upside, I don't have to take the diesel into the shop for expensive repairs. Yay! Very relieved that it wasn't anything more serious than that.
I'll have to put fuel in it and hook it up to the horse trailer after work today. (Coggins draws being done on Friday, Trys is hauling the ponies over to clinic location for that.)

Sunday dinner with Laur, her turn to cook. I get next week off because it's Easter. I moved hay for the boys, did laundry, fertilized the orchids, the usual household stuff. Also I did almost a whole bobbin of white (there is a full bobbin of brown, most of a bobbin of white, then I need another whole bobbin of white) and the 20th afghan square. One more to halfghan!

Comments

[spiffikins]

Phew! Glad there was no mechanical issue with the truck!

[ranunculus]

Our old S10 is around that age. We are currently waiting for the neighbor kid to help us install a jumper wire to defeat the clutch switch that allows the truck to start. Said switch is getting very dodgy and sometimes it takes several tries to engage.
We had "Vet Day" at the Ranch today. Everyone got basic vaccinations, which I pay for as part of board, thus ensuring the horses actually get their shots. The vet does a mini-checkup (vitals and looks at teeth) as well. Tenants pay for any further services, but it is nice thing for the vet to be able to see a lot of clients quickly.

[which_chick]

We get a group rate on the Coggins + Rabies ($65 for each horse) because if everyone hauls in, it's one farm call, less driving for the vet, and he's guaranteed busy. Dr. Orzyck (the vet and that may not be spelled correctly, it's pronounced Ore-zick) has sold the practice and is retiring, so not sure what we're doing for large animal vets next year. Bird is a difficult draw. (I've discussed this before.)

Not many vets agree to draw from horses trapped in a horse trailer, so after Orzyck retires (end of this year, we hear), I may have some difficulty finding someone to coggins him. I mean, I GUESS we could dope him up as for the tooth guy but I feel like sedating a horse FOR A BLOOD DRAW is a bit much, y'know? Dr. Mauer is not a young lady (she's older than I am) and doesn't need to be beat up by my idiotic horse. Maybe she'll believe in "Stick him while he's on the trailer, it's safer and easier." but honestly a whole lot of horse vets DO NOT like to do that even though it totally works and Orzyck won't do anyone ELSE'S horse on the trailer, just Bird.

[ranunculus]

I've known a couple of horses with vet phobias. Perhaps not quite that bad tho. One mare was bad enough to get me to change the Ranch vet. She wouldn't let three of the four vets in the area near her, but for the fourth she was fine. One of the reasons that Kendall is our vet now is that the horses love her and are generally perfectly calm for vet days. Part of this is because vet students seem to be being taught new ways to interact with horses. That said, we don't have to have Coggins done yearly so no mandatory blood draws.

[which_chick]

In PA, we have to have a negative Coggins in the last 12 months for show, sale, or transport across state lines. A lot of places also require them for clinics or playdays, so the general rule is "If you are planning or even maybe planning to take the horse off property, put a Coggins on it." A lot of the shows that we did last year were in Maryland, so we had to cross state lines for those.

[mistressofmuses]

Sounds like a fun hike! I'm glad the kid liked it.

Biiiiig relief on the source of the smell.