COVID-19 party

[HDNB]

in Alberta they had a break out at big meat packers, 300+ infected out of a workforce of 2000. news like that panics the buyers in town. no shortage of animals, but the processing plant is a bottleneck.
out on the ranch we don't get meat from the market anyway, but i think a lot of the city folk are going to learn that chickens have feathers the hard way.
Glad to hear things are good on the farm shady. seems like folk are getting tired of being prisoners in their homes. i think some shit's gonna hit the fan if we don't see some solid action plans soon. being far away from the masses is looking better and better all the time.

[shadylane]

Glad to hear things are good on the farm shady. seems like folk are getting tired of being prisoners in their homes. i think some shit's gonna hit the fan if we don't see some solid action plans soon. being far away from the masses is looking better and better all the time.

I've never liked being around the masses anyway.
I was born and raised to be a gravel or dirt road kinda guy.
Stop lights and traffic annoy the hell out of me.

[stillanoob]

I've never liked being around the masses anyway.
I was born and raised to be a gravel or dirt road kinda guy.
Stop lights and traffic annoy the hell out of me.

I'm with ya there. Grew up that way. Went to the big city for my 20's and had a hell of a good time. At 30 I was ready to move back to the sticks. Haven't had a second thought about moving since. I do still like visiting the city a couple times a year, there are some good things there. But I am always ready to get out of Dodge after a week.

[shadylane]

I'd hate to be in "densely populate area" during a quarantine.
Having to stay in the house day after day would be horrible.
Here I can go outside and tinker, garden, fish, frog gig, 4 wheeler ride and/or do almost all the things I normally do.

On a side note.
Since all the barber shops are closed
I haven't had my spring beard trimming and hair cut.
Not complaining, but all that hair is starting to get in the way of important things.
Like eating and seeing where I'm going
Might be time to drag out the electric clippers and let one of the young'ins have a whack at it.
What could go wrong
She already has a couple years of experience cutting hair, not bad considering she's only 6 years old

[NZChris]

Clip the hairs that get in the way when you're having a coffee or that poke you in the eyes.

That's all I ever do when I let it go. My chin spinach is quite short compared to years when several charity groups were asking me to be their Santa.

[shadylane]

The most annoying is the nose hairs
That turn inwards and wiggle when I breath

[NZChris]

I have a friend that doesn't have a problem with dealing with that, LOL.

[shadylane]

I have a friend that doesn't have a problem with dealing with that, LOL.

Several years ago, I temporally didn't have a nose hair problem
After inhaling through my nose, while my mustache and beard was on fire

[Saltbush Bill]

Several years ago, I temporally didn't have a nose hair problem
After inhaling through my nose, while my mustache and beard was on fire

Damn near choked on my drink.

[NZChris]

I hope you had an audience

[shadylane]

It was one of those "Hold my beer and watch this" moments in life.
No big thing, nothing got burned off that wouldn't quickly grow back

[BoomTown]

Hi folks, I’m afraid I might have come too late to the party. We’ve been on lockdown here in Northern Virginia since March 13. It’s true that I’m old, actually tried to retire 3 times, but every time I do, I get myself into something that usually goes south until I deliberately set out and find a job. This is like that

This is like that. Have’s gotten into trouble yet, but damned if the government didn’t just hand me $1200 in mad money.

Sooooo

I’ve spent a good number of nickels in a new hobby rig that I think may fit and thrive in our new apartment. Last turn round the ‘bathroom distilling’ track, I built a Lil SS rig with copper piping, and used 6 gall buckets for fermenters. Stayed focused on AG bourbon making, and convinced myself that it’d be fun to go legit and so I did. That didn’t turn out so well.

Long story short, went back to work at the local school district, at a no stress, part time job, and have been enjoying life pretty safely for the past 5 years, that is until this bug slammed everyone everywhere.

Now I’m getting cabin fever, and started Setting up a new micro rig. Going all copper this time, even copper fermenters. Planning new beverages, like vodka, gin, rum, and...wait for it....Absinthe! Planning a couple of these beverage project out 3 weeks to 3 months. Will be backing the project up with a tiny herb garden, and some ‘designer’ bottling.

Odds are pretty good I could buy Pappy Van Winkle for drinking and save money...but hey, I’m dead center target for this bug, and if I’m going out on account of it, I’m gonna go while having fun.

So what’s up with you guys? Anyone doing anything thing they wouldn’t mention to the Sheriff?

[shadylane]

There's many things I wouldn't mention to the local Sheriff
I figure what I do is a victimless crime, mentioning it around him would be disrespectful

[shadylane]

Every thing is going good on the homestead.
The place is beginning to look like a village
Looks like my Grandson and Paula had too much spare time.
Today, I was told, She's been having problems with morning sickness.
With luck, this will be the second Great Grand Child she has blessed us with

[NZChris]

Sounds promising Shady. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you all.

Cheers
Chris

[BoomTown]

Every thing is going good on the homestead.
The place is beginning to look like a village
Looks like my Grandson and Paula had too much spare time.
Today, I was told, She's been having problems with morning sickness.
With luck, this will be the second Great Grand Child she has blessed us with

Congratulations! We really, really miss babies nowadays, but love our middle schools an adolescents.

[TDick]

Great News - for a change!

Spotted at Aldi yesterday:

[shadylane]

Finally, signs that the world is getting back to normal
Yeast and toilet paper are once again available

[BoomTown]

I've never liked being around the masses anyway.
I was born and raised to be a gravel or dirt road kinda guy.
Stop lights and traffic annoy the hell out of me.

I'm with ya there. Grew up that way. Went to the big city for my 20's and had a hell of a good time. At 30 I was ready to move back to the sticks. Haven't had a second thought about moving since. I do still like visiting the city a couple times a year, there are some good things there. But I am always ready to get out of Dodge after a week.

My middle and high school years we lived in a mining camp, nine miles out the front door to the blacktop highway, out the back - 46 miles through high altitude desert to the first fence line. Now live in a city, on the 15th floor of a high rise. Haven’t been back since 9/11, no plans to ever return.

[stillanoob]

Welp, different strokes for different folks. I wouldn't want to live where you grew up or where you live now. I live in a little slice of paradise...

[shadylane]

My middle and high school years we lived in a mining camp, nine miles out the front door to the blacktop highway, out the back - 46 miles through high altitude desert to the first fence line. Now live in a city, on the 15th floor of a high rise. Haven’t been back since 9/11, no plans to ever return.

High mountain's and desert are beautiful, you can see forever. I've lived there and seen that.
Never lived on the 15th floor of a high rise. Don't think I'd like that.
Too many people and the rules needed to keep the peace.
I like living were there's more flora and fauna than people and buildings.
A place were I can step outside at night and piss.
While looking up at all the stars in the Milky way

[NZChris]

I live in town and some A'hole has decided we need street lights, but I still get to piss under my trees. The lights aren't so bad that we can't see the Milky Way, but the sky isn't as crisp as when we first moved here.

The family bolt hole is another story. I've never heard, or seen, a car while there. The night sky is amazing.

[Tummydoc]

Boomtown, must present some unique challenges distilling 15 floors up. Especially disposing of grain!

[shadylane]

I live in town and some A'hole has decided we need street lights, but I still get to piss under my trees. The lights aren't so bad that we can't see the Milky Way, but the sky isn't as crisp as when we first moved here.

The family bolt hole is another story. I've never heard, or seen, a car while there. The night sky is amazing.

I've never heard the term "family bolt hole" before
Is it something like what I'd call "down in the holler"
In other words, if you want to get there, you might have to walk?

[NZChris]

It's what you have.

https://www.google.com/search?q=bolt+ho ... e&ie=UTF-8

[BoomTown]

Boomtown, must present some unique challenges distilling 15 floors up. Especially disposing of grain!

Ther are several;

We have a balcony, offers a sliver of space (2’x18’) of side to side privacy, and from street level the view is obstructed by foliage. The odors drift away in the winds, more likely to smell the neighbors pot smoke than my Still. The spent grains are simply flushed down the toilet. The biggest issue is managing the chiller’s water.

In our other place, in a 7th floor apartment, I used a 2nd bathroom. It had a bathtub/shower with sliding glass doors. I cut 1x12 plank to size spanning the tub, and would fill the tub with cold water and used an outdoor fountain pump to circulate water through the chiller. Had a 5gal, SS pot sitting on a Matco hotplate, and would ferment in 6gal buckets. Everything worked nicely and could run year round...bigger problem there was loose lips, as it is here. This still has a different type chiller, a pan condenser is located where a Lynn arm is on typical pot stills. I locate a 5 gallon reservoir higher than the pan and siphon the cold water in at the bottom of the pan, and drain off the heated water to an other bucket set beside the hot plate. I’m rethinking how to manage the chilling water arrangement as it is a major labor focus during a run.

So the biggest problem now is that every thing happens on the balcony, meaning weather temperatures are unpredictable and fermentation periods vary. Will likely move the fermenting process into my bathroom (this apt has two and a half baths), but the stilling process has (by the Queen’s decree) been regulated to the safe corner of the balcony.

Earlier this year, it was colder than a witches tit out there running the cleaning runs! Fortunately, winters here are short lived. This new still’s only real draw back is the exposure to the elements. Being all copper, it dissipates heat pretty effectively, so I’m working on a “glove “ to insulate it during the operation. It is only a 10 liter pot, and runs well at about 150p at half heat during the spirit run, using much less energy that my old rig...

But hey, fun is fun right?

[The Baker]

'And he sees the vision splendid of the sunlit plains extended
And at night the wondrous glory of the everlasting stars'

Banjo Paterson, a famous Australian poet

[shadylane]

All my kinfolk are still healthy and going strong
But, COVID-19 just remembered it hadn't got started in my neck of the woods.
The local hospitals are getting more cases than they can handle

[Saltbush Bill]

A place were I can step outside at night and piss.
While looking up at all the stars in the Milky way

The day I cant do that will be the day I know Ive taken a wrong turn in life.
Feel sorry for those who never have or cant.

But, COVID-19 just remembered it hadn't got started in my neck of the woods.
The local hospitals are getting more cases than they can handle

Fingers crossed here for you and yours.

[tombombadil]

The hospitals around here are happy to get a covid patient so they can make back some of the money they lost when they couldn't perform elective surgeries.