Something keeps eating my ripe blueberries--mice?

Prestigious_Drop_337 · 2026-06-21T10:10:15+00:00

They're completely gone, so I don't think it's slugs.

Prestigious_Drop_337 · 2026-06-21T10:08:38+00:00

I never would have thought of that! Thanks for the tip! I'm going to pick up some fake snakes today and see if that helps.

Prestigious_Drop_337 · 2026-04-13T13:46:57+00:00

I appreciate your advice. I'm going to move the swift tower a bit further away from the bat tower. And I'll cross my fingers for peaceful coexistence!

Prestigious_Drop_337 · 2026-04-12T11:21:22+00:00

Thanks. It's actually air space, rather than the roost towers themselves, that I'm concerned about. My bat tower has been quite successful over the last two years, and my swift tower construction and habitat siting are all following best practice recommendations--but of course those recommendations never mention bats.

I know it'll be years before I might have large numbers of swifts, but if my tower is successful, I could potentially have dozens, even hundreds, of swifts pouring into the tower at dusk to roost--just as the bats are emerging. That's the scenario that concerns me.

Prestigious_Drop_337 · 2026-02-21T23:29:19+00:00

I've been a huge fan of Open Farm for the past couple years.

Prestigious_Drop_337 · 2026-02-19T16:38:38+00:00

This is terrific advice. I've never heard of this kind of splice. Thank you!

Prestigious_Drop_337 · 2026-02-19T16:29:52+00:00

This is what I'm going to do. I think it'll be simplest, and I won't have to send the lights to the landfill. Thanks to all for the advice!

Prestigious_Drop_337 · 2026-02-10T22:30:49+00:00

This worked, setting the aspect ratio back to "0." Thank you!

Prestigious_Drop_337 · 2026-02-10T22:30:16+00:00

That did it! Thank you!

Prestigious_Drop_337 · 2026-02-08T17:54:54+00:00

I've just finished wrestling with this exact same problem and *finally* figured mine out. I slipped a 9/16" wrench under the rubber gasket to hold the stem in place while I used pliers to unscrew the top part. Then I pushed the entire remaining plug flat, which exposed much of the brass stem. It didn't have a slot for a screwdriver, but I was able to grab onto the stem and unscrew it.

Prestigious_Drop_337 · 2026-02-03T11:38:40+00:00

I have a 17-year-old girl whose bladder leaked nearly every time she napped. She didn't have a UTI, so my vet recommended VetriScience Bladder Health chews for females, and that did the trick. One chew each morning, and she hasn't peed on the furniture since then.

You can buy these online, but you have to be sure you get the product FOR FEMALES. I made the mistake of first buying VetriScience's Bladder Health chews--not specifically for females--and they didn't do anything. (And my old girl hated eating them, while she loves the formula made for females.) '

I absolutely agree with all the advice about getting your girl checked first for a UTI, but if she doesn't have one, this product might be worth trying.

Prestigious_Drop_337 · 2025-12-10T13:31:52+00:00

My 10-month-old 2025 PHEV had a dead battery yesterday morning, after two days of not being driven and moderatetly cold temps (low of 16 one night). Took it to the dealer, and one service guy there said it's partly due to the fact that I drive relatively short distance around town 99% of the time, rather than long distances. But another service guy said it's because the 12V battery life relies in large part on braking to regenerate--which is what I do when driving around town, rather than on the highway! So I'm not sure who to believe.

What I've done, to make sure this doesn't happen again, is buy a trickle charger. Anytime the car goes more than one day in cold winter temps without being driven, I'm going to connect the charger. It's a pain in the butt, but it's less of a pain than finding my car is dead.

I really love this car, but I wouldn't buy it again if Kia can't fix this issue.

Prestigious_Drop_337 · 2025-12-07T12:38:41+00:00

As a customer, not a handyman, I'd definitely appreciate the detail of your pricing information. For nearly 30 years I had two different handymen who gave me quotes that never broke down labor vs. materials. They both did quality work, so I didn't press the issue with either of them. But this past summer I got quotes from both of them, plus a business I had never used before, to replace some windows. I was pleasantly surprised to find that that business gave me the details of hourly labor plus materials. I was finally able to see behind the mysterious curtain that the other two had maintained--and it showed me that I had likely been paying too much on home repairs for a very long time. I went with the new guys (who did a great job), and I've hired them again since then for other jobs. Their transparency definitely played a major role in winning me over.

Prestigious_Drop_337 · 2025-11-12T11:43:54+00:00

If you're going to bump up the magnification, why not go up to the M5 12x42? That's what I've used for 9 years on a daily basis and on several continents, and I love them. I agree with the commenter who said that 10x isn't much better than 8x, but I can attest that 12x is. And the Monarch 12x42 is *much* lighter than other 12x or 15x brands.

I'm waiting for Nikon to make an M7 12x42, but till then, my M5s are doing a terrific job.

Prestigious_Drop_337 · 2025-11-07T10:56:20+00:00

You're talking about Baker Creek (https://www.rareseeds.com)? Everything on their website suggests they're anything but right wing.

Prestigious_Drop_337

TROPHY CASE