I'm not gonna get too preachy, but I have discovered a couple problems in our happy little country, and i'd like to point them out. Now normally I keep this my personal experiences and problems and this is really no exception. We moved here from Akron, at the beginning of the housing collapse, and from a rough neighborhood. I had very few problems there over the 30 years I lived there, but due to the actions of the city and a couple other factors it has gone down hill rather significantly. This isn't going to help my attempts to sell the property, but that's just the way it is. Before I moved out I replaced the windows and sealed the house up rather significantly. It is covered with vinyl siding and aluminum trim, it is nearly maintenance free. every line in, power, gas, and water, is new. There is a new furnace on the back porch, and all the other in house systems are in good working order. But the neighborhood seems to be insurmountable. Many are interested in renting it, but, I know about the myriad of laws that protect renters from landlords trying to collect rent. So I am not interested in getting into that mess. And I have recently discovered the lack of police interest in pursuing known criminals. I can't say I disagree with their rationale, but I do detest the reality that it leaves me with. The house was broken into by three local teens, who proceeded to trash it, every room was tossed and everything gone through. I've been moved out for nearly 6 years now, there is little of value to me, and even less of value to drug seekers. So the breaking of the rear window ($200.00 steel door), the theft of the keys to my box van, the breaking into my garage, each one a felony, (breaking and entering) and the neighbors chasing the miscreants down and being able to identify them to the police, well you'd think that was a slam dunk right? And there would be a little more safety in the neighborhood, you know, three punks in jail. But that's not how it works.

When we went to the police station, to fill out the report, we were told there's nothing to fill out, it's been handled. In the past, I was asked if I wanted to press charges, or would go to court, if required, when I filled out complaints "for neighbors" or about violence in the alley I had witnessed, I always did. So I was surprised when this was "handled" already, odd situation here. The courts of Akron are so emasculated and overrun with "understanding " judges, who sympathize about the tough lives the inner city youth lead, that they do nothing about young criminals, it is evidently just a right of passage for youth in certain areas of the city to" break and steal" and as long as no one is killed, well it's a tough world for a kid without a role model. The police officers" write the crimes up in a way that they are not crimes", because the courts will release the young hoodlums, before the officer can complete the paper work. So rather than waste time on paper work that will result in no action, the officers perform no action. Saving the city money, and protecting no one. Now I know this sounds like sour grapes, but less than a month later, my garage was broken into again, same M.O. probably same crow bar, older kids this time, but with a clear agenda and knowing just where they were going to get what they wanted. Now they are scrappers, they steal anything made of metal. And they were in the process when my neighbor confronted them and asked what they were doing, they claimed to "have the owners permission," and he asked the owners name, "Bonnie". "Nope" he said, " I 'm calling the cops." Whereupon, they headed to their car, parked two doors over, and left before the "ever present cops" could come and write another useless report. Which, in my opinion, is the result of doing nothing about the initial break in.

The lesson learned here is that nothing will happen if you steal from people you don't know, you can do anything you want if you don't get caught, and you won't get caught if the police have too much paperwork to bother with, to try to correct you. And you wonder what the problems in the cities are all about. No one in authority (JUDGES) care to try to change the direction of the troubled youth they are charged with, don't start them off with a record. I understand the sentiment, I also see where it leads if there is no consequence for actions that are illegal, but consider.

Caution political message!

If we look to our government today for an example, we have insider trading by the congressmen, a total lack of morality in personal affairs, (pun intended), and a complete disregard for appearances, in relation to their obvious acceptance of graft and favor peddling, with lobbyists. There are no standards of morality to point to, there is no shame, there is no level too low to stoop to, to provide a role model. The one "hope" that was to "change" the world, has turned out to be a pitiful role model, unless you are intent on being "the Vacation King of the Universe". Too bad, I had hoped for some benefit, but all it has turned out to be, is yet another empty promise.

And I assure you the other option, "mister magic undies" isn't the answer either. We are doomed!

(If everyone who would vote for Ron Paul "if he could win", would vote for Ron Paul, he would win. Think about it.)

End of political message!

So, whenever my tomatoes are ready to be picked, I have to leave. I can't get the damn things picked and processed. I can't collect them before the ground hogs get a bite from each and every one that is ripe. just one bite, of each and every one. Then the bugs go to work on them. I have half a ton of tomatoes, the ground hogs ate the other half, of each and every one. Birthdays, Funerals, babysitting, break-ins, it never ends! And all because of tomatoes. Next year, screw it, no tomatoes. In fact maybe no garden at all. Everything I have tried to grow has conspired against me. I was going to try to get a couple ears of corn to grow, so I could start an heirloom field, one Monsanto wouldn't have a patent hold on. What a scary situation, Monsanto "owns" most of the seeds in the "free world", which begs the question "what do you mean free, white man?" A "company" (corporation) "owns" all the world's seeds.... How does that happen? Genetic engineering, and a corrupt judicial system. CLICK HERE TO CHECK THIS OUT I am personally terrified on two levels, first, that our food supply is in the hands of a multinational corporation, And second, that manipulated seeds are not going to be resistant to a simple disease, and heirloom seeds will be gone, and we starve for a corporations monetary gains! (And look who supports it, Mister Gorebal Warming himself!) Wow I got political again, might have to move that warning....

So back to NadaFarm, Every time I come back from a break in in Akron I bring another carload of stuff that I was going to not worry too much about but would like to keep, as it is mostly a part of other projects I just haven't had time to work on yet. But I'm getting some things together now that should turn out pretty cool. I'm working on rehabbing a wagon for a friend, like the wooden wagons I fixed up for Chris earlier this year. I have discovered the part of painting I detest. I hate to paint stuff, I mean, anytime I open a "finish coating" I cringe. Gotta find a good paint brush, gotta stir it gotta find a way to hold it and spray brush or dunk it and then... WAIT! I hate waiting for things to dry and if I don't, then it's a simple hot mess of trying to fix it afterwards. YYEEECHHHH! I hate sticky almost, not quite dry, paint on everything. If paint was instant and everything could be dipped and done I wouldn't mind it sooo much, but every step requires "and wait!" So this project is taking a while longer than I wanted but at least it will be "done right" when it's done. I used "SPAR VARNISH" because that's what we used in the Fire Department on all the tool handles. I guess it must be good, cause the price is ridiculous, but I use it on my tool handles, and it does seem to deal with weathering fairly well. I had a time finding it, as it seems there is now "SPAR URETHANE" Still pricey, but I don't want the plastic aspect of it, I am going to assume it would come off in sheets, like the powder coating under your car. Powder Coating, what a sham, I have yet to see any advantage to the consumer from powder coating, it "contains the rust" actually holds it in, out of sight, so you don't realize the entire frame has been reduced to a ferrous powder. I don't know how they are getting away with this, it is dangerous and dumb. I peel things as soon as I can, and Rustoleum what remains. Of course the science of planned obsolescence is in full play here, to keep consumers coming back, they make crap that fails, and try to make the consumer think it was their failure to do something, that caused it.

I hate rust, but without it we would have no new cars, and no new appliances, and no new barbeques, and our cities would be pristine with their shiny fire hydrants and man hole covers and metal grates everywhere glowing in the sun , the shiny rails of the railroads and the amazing steam engines and trolley cars that would be in perfect condition. Oh what a beautiful world we would inhabit.... without rust.

And on that note, I must talk about yet another water issue. I know what could possibly be wrong now you ask, but I can find a way. The hot water tank has been popping and crackling for a couple months, and humming and finally I took a shower and ran out of hot water, I take 5 gallon showers, so there was an issue. The front has been showing signs of RUST for a little while , a couple years anyway, which I assumed was due to condensation on the back porch,( dumb place for a water heater if you ask me, they belong in basements).

But I never saw a puddle so I never worried about it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well when I took the cover plate off I found a little mess of RUST and catastrophe. And it was such a contrast to the top cover, WOW what a difference, but then I opened the tank, by removing the lower heating element, surprise! I'm sure everyone drains their tank every years like they are supposed to, I mean really it is in the literature that comes with the new tank, and it's important, I drained the tank first, actually flushed it according to the suggested maintenance procedure shown in the owners manual. I haven't done it before because we never had enough water to accomplish it, without putting the heating elements in jeopardy, if the water isn't touching them the heating elements can burn out immediately. They need to have water on them when they are powered, or they will just burn out. Everything tells you that, and of course I wouldn't want to burn one out, even if they are only about $30.00 each. Some sites say it sounds like a shotgun going off when they "pop dry" I don't know.

 

What I do know, is they sound like a popcorn popper when they are failing, in use. Anyway, I did get the old one out without a problem initially, it finally unscrewed with the biggest ratchet wrench I own. Gonna have to get a breaker bar for the 3/4 drive set someday. So the hex shaped part screwed out pretty easily, too easily, I could tell there was nothing attached to it, but I wasn't worried, the old element would be fairly easy to see in the tank as I was so close to the bottom. And the hole is about an inch or so in diameter, heck they do heart surgery through smaller holes than that nowadays. In fact the element was very easy to get to, it was right where it was supposed to be , but encased in limestone, well lime powder, a rather soft packed chalky substance, that was near solid for inches, above the elements remains. I was mystified at how the water had run clear after only a couple gallons, but in reality the tank was packed! This is the point where the plumber turns to you and offers to bring in the replacement he has in his van. I don't blame him, nobody wants to spend hours sucking play dough out of a one inch hole, and at the rates they charge, it doesn't make sense to have them spend 4 hours at $100.00 an hour, when they can sell you a new tank and install it for $600.00, so I know you will not get this kind of service from a professional. But the reality is, the tank they remove could easily be cleaned out and if it wasn't leaking, (and this pertains more to electric, than gas fired, the gas fired usually do rust through), it probably is still good for another few years. And I have a plan that needs a few more years, from this tank. (I want Geo Thermal), So after I cleaned out the tank and it looked new inside again, I replaced the element, rewired it, refilled it, (Gotta love the cistern!) and it works just fine.

 

This picture shows the remains of the element itself. I'm going to assume the weird twist is from the removal, in the store they are a simple straight loop or a folded back loop. And they come in a variety of "wattages" the tank says it requires two 4500 watt elements, however the top element which appears to be pristine, I didn't remove it , (not broke, don't touch it, rule!) is marked as a 3500 watt element. So I save a little electric I guess, and it has worked just fine for 6 years now. (Not Broke...)

I was surprised to realize it is only a 40 gallon tank though, I'm pretty sure I'll go bigger if I replace it. It's a tough choice, as each step in capacity brings a lifelong burden of support, and if the recovery time is quick enough, no reason to heat more than I need all day long, to use it for twenty minutes twice each day, once for showers and once for washing dishes. Oh well, we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

 

 

 

I figure I removed a five gallon bucket of limestone/ lime paste, from the bottom so it will not only be quicker and more efficient, but will hold more water. I will be flushing it every 6 months from now on, and the new system as well, when I finally get it. I promise... yeeah, yeah, yeah, yeahhhhhh!

 

 

 

 

 

 

And you tell me if you've ever seen clearer water, and this was through the 5 gallons of lime. Before I cleaned the tank out, which I was shocked would even allow water to pass through the clean out valve but it did and it was clear as crystal. Weird stuff that water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The bottom was scraped and brushed and painted, and as it was only surface rust, it will probably last a while longer, it certainly looks better. The inside of the cover plate was really rusty so It got wire wheeled and painted, I didn't take a picture of it, as it's so black it just looked, well, black. Not much exciting about that .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So another little adventure in the ways of the country comes to a close, and hot water again floods the showers and sinks of NAdaFArm. I'm guessing the next installment will address the trees that have been damaged recently, and blocked the major walking paths in the woods. I have been wanting a set of climbing spurs ever since I found out about them. Now I have a reason to require them. I'll probably get killed on this adventure, be sure to tune in for the calamatic stories of "Ray in the trees, without a zip line....". I'm sure it will be entertaining. Gotta go do some equipment research, but first, a message from our sponsor.

 

The Chores, Fresh Air, Green Acres is for ME.