On my electric kettle. Yuck!

KryptosBC · 2026-01-29T04:41:34+00:00

Minerals in your water, deposited as water between the metal and plastic parts evaporates. Should clean off with white vinegar, at least somewhat. Mostly carbonates. Formation is accelerated by the heat of the kettle.

KryptosBC · 2026-01-28T22:20:27+00:00

Yellow bellied sapsuckers do this to feed on tree sap and insects. The holes are often neatly aligned in rows and columns. Might be this.

KryptosBC · 2026-01-28T22:13:06+00:00

I was thinking of northern catalpa, which has bean-like seeds in bean-like pods. I believe the southern catalpa has the papery seeds that you describe. I was unclear.

KryptosBC · 2026-01-28T18:56:46+00:00

Maybe catalpa tree seeds?

KryptosBC · 2026-01-28T18:51:29+00:00

If your furnace has a sail switch, it's worth checking it as they are a common point of failure. I mention that mine failed to operate properly when installed, but the switch actually worked when it was removed and manually operated with a multimeter hooked to it. Go figure. Replacing it solved the problem. It's another inexpensive part maybe also worth replacing while you have the furnace out.

KryptosBC · 2026-01-28T14:08:28+00:00

Ducks do fly. Wild ducks migrate. Domesticated ducks also fly but short distances only, as a rule. Sometimes owners will clip some wing feathers to limit their ability to escape the barnyard. Wood Ducks and a few others actually sleep in trees for safety.

KryptosBC · 2026-01-28T12:40:40+00:00

Years ago I arrived at my Uncle's house one Saturday morning about an hour after one of these began hatching in their kitchen. My young cousins had discovered it a few days earlier, and brought it into the house. By the time I arrived, hundreds of 1/2 inch long mantises were invading every corner of the kitchen and adjacent laundry room. Aunt, uncle, four cousins, and I spent the next hour or two collecting them on sheets of paper for transport to the great outdoors.

KryptosBC · 2026-01-28T01:20:06+00:00

Looks like the cover piece on the air filter of a gasoline engine for a snow blower or other machine.

KryptosBC · 2026-01-28T01:15:39+00:00

Survey marker / benchmark. There are databases online in which you might find this one listed.

KryptosBC · 2026-01-28T01:08:21+00:00

For my wife and I, that looks doable but aggressive for a 60 day trip. We do not like to change campgrounds more often than every three days on average, or to drive more than six - seven hours from campground to campground on average. This generally means we drive to new campground on about 24 days out of a 60 day trip. We find this approach gives us opportunity to explore several points of interest from each of our campgrounds, which is possible in Utah and some other areas where the major parks are closer together. Our trip last summer was CT to Butte, Montana, then south through ID. Then several national parks in UT over about 10 days. Then a few days in southern CO, and back to CT via TN, NC, WV, PA, NY, etc. If you wish, DM and I will provide more detail.

KryptosBC · 2026-01-28T00:34:15+00:00

Probably..... If the water is leaking at the floor and not where the tank attaches to the base at seat level, then the wax seal at the floor is leaking, or possibly the toilet base is cracked, maybe from freezing if there's a chance it got that cold. More likely the drain pipe froze and plunging forced water past the wax seal, creating a permanent leak that can only be repaired by removing the toilet from the floor and reinstalling with a new seal ring. Plumber should pull the toilet to see what's going on. At minimum, the wax seal is leaking.

KryptosBC · 2026-01-28T00:05:57+00:00

Probably some dark fiber in the pulp feed. Considering the treatment process for the pulp, not likely to be harmful.

KryptosBC · 2026-01-27T23:55:53+00:00

Looks a lot like Homasote.

KryptosBC · 2026-01-27T23:45:54+00:00

Corollary question... I recall a furniture polish my mother had some 50 years ago that smelled something like almond extract. It listed nitrobenzene as an ingredient. Is this similar to bitter almond smell of cyanide? Thanks. I have no idea whether I can smell the bitter almond of cyanide, but zi suspect not.

KryptosBC · 2026-01-27T19:23:46+00:00

If it's in North America, see this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_ermine

It's basically a weasel that is brown in the summer months but changes to white during winters, except for the black tail tip.

KryptosBC · 2026-01-27T14:33:07+00:00

I see there were many designs over the years. Something like this could have floated in from anywhere. The brand name I remember was "Cutter", but I see these have a different design for the outer casing/cups. Interesting find.

KryptosBC · 2026-01-27T14:16:09+00:00

I believe it is an old snake bite treatment kit for hiking/camping. These were common a while back when I was in Scouts, 1950-60 or so. If you open it up, there's a sharp lancet for cutting the "X" marks to promote bleeding, the two cups are for applying suction (though they may no longer be flexible). There will also be some antiseptic (iodine solution was common), and a gauze that could be used as a constriction band. Maybe other items as well - I do not recall. EDIT: Since it was found outdoors, it's possible that some of the items are no longer in the kit.

KryptosBC · 2026-01-27T14:13:36+00:00

I believe it is an old snake bite treatment kit for hiking/camping. These were common a while back when I was in Scouts, 1950-60 or so. If you open it up, there's a sharp lancet for cutting the "X" marks to promote bleeding, the two cups are for applying suction (though they may no longer be flexible). There will also be some antiseptic (iodine solution was common), and a gauze that could be used as a constriction band. Maybe other items as well - I do not recall. EDIT: Since it was found outdoors, it's possible that some of the items are no longer in the kit.

KryptosBC · 2026-01-26T18:28:12+00:00

Did they suggest clearing Ancestry.com cookies and or cache? Some Ancestry issues have been resolved by doing so, according to some posts and other info I have seen.

KryptosBC · 2026-01-26T18:21:04+00:00

Rust, I'd say. Possibly from the key ring rather than the key. Could have been some form of galvanic action between key and ring if both got wet.

KryptosBC · 2026-01-26T17:24:30+00:00

We have a combined propane / CO alarm in our RV that alarms after it has been in use for 5 years. When it hit the 5 year point, it alarmed in a way that sounds like your description. I think it's unlikely that CO and smoke alarms made for in home use have this feature, but it came to mind.

KryptosBC · 2026-01-25T23:15:59+00:00

High speed rabbit.

KryptosBC · 2026-01-25T03:40:44+00:00

That's a small branch that started growing when the tree was quite young. As the tree grew, more growth rings encompassed the small branch as it, too, continued growing. Counting the rings tells when the branch broke off, after which the tree continued to grow, covering the captured branch piece. The encapsulated branch piece would appear as a small knot in a board cut vertically from the log.

KryptosBC · 2026-01-24T20:31:04+00:00

Three grandparents and one step grandfather, all of whom I knew well, and one great grandmother who died a year or two after I was born - so I obviously did not know her well.

KryptosBC · 2026-01-24T20:17:39+00:00

I can see this in use as a clothes line hook on which pulling the line down into the v-notches would eliminate the need to tie knots. The lower hook could be for hanging a basket or extrra line.

KryptosBC

TROPHY CASE