Pumpkin Patch

 It is October. Pumpkin time in California. All over Bay Area there are pumpkin patches: places where  farmers compete for best pumpkin installation.  There are some photos I made at Smith Family Farm near Brentwood.

Guests, you are welcome!

Truckload

Tractor

Halloween Theme

Colors of Fall

Carquinez Model Railroad Society, Crockett, and C&H

 

This video I made at open house of Carquinez Model Railroad Society . This event took a place in Crockett CA on June 25..26 of 2022. There is historic building in Crockett which hosts Carquinez Model Railroad Society.  Normally only members of this society have an access there, but several times per year it is open for general public. Rooms of this building accommodates model of the railway segment from Oakland CA to Sparks NV. Model reflects USA railway history from 1950 to present. 

 

Above you can see visitors blended with railway tracks and running trains.

Here are empty tracks in front of  a station.

And here is model of a bridge. I think it is pretty impressive.

I saw C&H logo on the top of one building model. What does that logo means? I know local supermarkets sell sugar packs with the same logo. Indeed C&H states for California and Hawai'ian sugar company. Its headquarter located in Crockett not far from the place of the railway society. I did a couple of photos in Crockett (see the same logo on  second photo).

After some online research I have found that this company occupies significant place in national  economy. It produces around 14% of USA cane sugar.

The Bedroom Table

 

I needed a table to put into the bedroom.  It should not be too big (there is not much space for it) still it should be big enough to accommodate 14" laptop, table lamp, some books.  I tired to find some in store and online but unfortunately I could not find exactly what I wanted. Eventually I build one myself.  Here is how I made it:

• For the table top I used cherry board (six feet length and 8.5 inches wide) which I found  in the local Rockler store. 
• I cut board in a half, glued two parts together and attached mending plates to secure attachment.
• I cut corners on one edge of the assembled board just to give it special look.
• I attached four  28 inches metal hairpin legs (again bought at the local Rockler store).

Above you can see assembled top with legs attached.

The last steps was to sand the top and cover it with the finish. And here it is: table not small, not big, exactly as needed.

The Garden Rake

 

We have this garden rake among our yard tools. It is small but it is not a toy. We use it in tight spaces.

Alas, here it is broken. As you can see the way how rake is attached to the handle is not very sophisticated.  I would tell it was designed to fail.

I decided to proceed with the fix by modifying attachment method. First I have bent tip of rake rod under prime angle.

I took another handle slightly wider than original, with chisel I made grove at the handle end  and drill the hole to fit the bended rod tip. In my box I found suitable fragment of metal pipe and put it on to the handle, than I inserted rake rod into the grove with bended tip deepen into the hole.

After that I moved pipe to cover the rod, drilled the hole through the pipe and put screw there. Fixed. Hope this garden rake  will continue to serve my family for a long time.

Rainbow

 

Yesterday there was the rain in Bay Area. Most likely it is the last rain of the season.  March is almost over and there are not that many rains after. And this final rain got the perfect closing: rainbow.  Here it is (photo made out of our backyard).

Five Years Later

 

These two photos of our house are separated by five years. Upper photo I made today, and bottom photo I made in 2017, when we finished conversion of our lawn to yard.  (I published post about that conversion project at corresponding time:  https://www.jumbleview.info/2017/12/ten-months-apart.html )

Obviously there are a lot of changes: mulch lost its shiny look and reddish color (time to add some fresh mulch), but brushes and trees grown higher and wider.  Some plants did not grow well and needed to be removed, but some new plants replaced them.

When I started the project I have no idea how I will maintain yard (my experience with landscaping was near zero).  How I am doing? What do you think?

Do not Drink This

Any healthy food advocate tell you that sweet drinks are bad for your health. I myself do not consume Coca-Cola but this post is not about it. I just got knowledge that, while a lot of USA companies cut there business ties with Russia, Coca-Cola does not follow this path. At least that what I found on the TASS page. I am putting screen shot here, not link, because link works erratically.

If you in doubt of my finding please go search yourself. As soon as you confirm this fact stop buying Coca-Cola products. If you can't  live without sweet drinks find the substitute. DO NOT DRINK COCA-COLA!

03/10/2022 Update. Looks like there are some changes. Here is link to BBC news:

https://www.bbc.com/news...  

"War in Ukraine: McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and Starbucks halt Russian sales."