After purchasing the parts to upgrade the aeration system, the temperatures have been high enough that the tire valve and clip-on chuck have functioned with no troubles. That temporarily removed my motivation to make the planned upgrade. This is the tire valve fitting I made for a soda-bottle-rocket launcher. It was repurposed to make the
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At the end of the fall season, the birch trees often still have loads of seeds on their branches. During the winter, fresh snow covers the ground, leaving a clean canvas for the squirrels to work with. As they jump from branch to branch, birch seeds are shaken loose and drift to the ground as
On December 26, 2024, I posted a picture of the garland of lazy snow that was hanging from the garage light arm. It recently broke, but the bonds between snowflakes were strong enough that one side stayed attached. A couple of days ago, a warm spell caused the snow on the roofs to start melting.
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Today was a great day for winter scenery. I am a fan of Maxfield Parrish so I always enjoy seeing the strong color contrasts provided by clear winter days. The opening picture was taken at noon. On the way to the mailbox, I had to walk under a birch tree. As I did so, the
In order to reduce feed costs we supplement commercially-made pellets with fermented whole grains. Here, in Fairbanks, it is hard to find commercial chicken food for less than $0.58 per pound. So, we buy whatever grains or seeds can be found for a better price and mix them together in a tote bin. Usually, it
Our luck ran out. The recent cold spell lasted long enough that I had to turn on the electric heater in the coop. The temperatures were in the -20s, with the coldest recorded temperature being -29F. The fresh air coming in through the pipe that coils inside the biomeiler is still reading 32-37F, but the
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The tire valve on the aeration hose jammed again. I considered solving the problem, but it was -25F, which was too cold for my motivation level. So, I gave up. After being indoors long enough for my brain to thaw, an idea came to me. I will replace the tire valve on the aeration hose
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This year begins with good news. The temperature readings in the biomeiler are, overall, rising. All but two of the thermocouples in the pile were reading 0.2 mV higher this evening than on 12/30/24. An increase of 0.2mV corresponds to approximately 9F degrees of temperature increase. Since the air temperatures dropped by 10F degrees
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This year, New Year’s Eve was celebrated with both manmade and natural fireworks. The aurora was unusually active and it was a clear night. I noticed it when I went out to do the evening chicken chores and informed Melissa and the offspring upon my return. They grabbed warm clothing and headed outside for a
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This morning, I began the aeration of the biomeiler. The temperature readings in the pile indicate that the interior is beginning to compost. The goal of aeration is to switch the composting to an aerobic process, rather than have it be completely anaerobic. For our purposes, the important difference between the two is in
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