Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

White supremacy is terrorism.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

Roe isn’t about choice, it’s about freedom.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

Putin dreamed of ending NATO, and now it’s Finnish-ed.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

I really should read my own blog.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

You are here: Home / Nature & Respite / Birdwatching / NOT a respite thread…

NOT a respite thread…

by | 171 Comments

This post is in: ,

But not NOT a respite thread either — I just wanted to share these amazing pink visitors who landed across the river from us!

Still shots of the Roseate Spoonbills:

NOT a respite thread...

NOT a respite thread... 1

I was so pleased they landed on that snag so I could get a shot of them. I see them flying by pretty frequently (usually seen as a pink streak in my peripheral vision), and once in three years one of them landed in our little lagoon. But typically they’re just passing through.

Open thread!

Reader Interactions

171Comments

  4. 4.

    cope

    Our favorite bird, thanks for the action shots. All my spoonbill photos are from too far away or poorly timed. These are great.

  5. 5.

    zhena gogolia

    I’ve been in love with the roseate spoonbill since I was 5 years old and had it in my book of bird stickers. You are so fortunate!

    Maybe worth DeathSantis to see this.

  7. 7.

    JoyceH

    Do they eat shrimp? I read somewhere that flamingos start out white, but turn pink because they eat shrimp. Wonder if the same holds true for these guys?

  8. 8.

    Betty Cracker

    @zhena gogolia: They’re among my favorites too. I used to work on the 10th floor of an office building in Tampa that overlooked a mangrove swamp. There were scads of spoonbills! I hated that job, but the view was amazing!

  9. 9.

    Betty Cracker

    @JoyceH: Yes. The spoonbills pictured above are pretty far upriver from the Gulf of Mexico, so they won’t get shrimp here but there are other crustaceans and fish for them to snack on.

  12. 12.

    trollhattan

    Imaging the anhinga in a Cartman voice, “Respect mah autoritah and git off mah log. It’s mah log, now git off mah log. [pause] Maaah, spoonbills are being assholes again!”

  14. 14.

    Spanish Moss

    Great video! I love spoonbills, they are my second favorite bird. My husband and I visit the Viera wetlands a lot in the winter and I am always on the lookout for them. My favorite sighting was a parent spoonbill feeding its chicks on top of one of the observation platforms. The chicks weren’t well behaved at all and kept shoving each other out of the way.

  16. 16.

    scav

    That anhinga doing a cormorant thing and hanging itself out to dry. Doesn’t work. Does make me want to carry a pink spoon around and wave it at those who shall not be named.  Confuse the hell out of them.

  18. 18.

    Mike in NC

    I’m used to seeing solo anhinga around the water hazards on the golf course. Yesterday I saw about 20 of them in a tight cluster, along with about 30 white egrets surrounding them. Must have been a Christmas party.

  20. 20.

    WaterGirl

    It’s like high school where the “Greasers” dressed all in black and the popular kids and the nerds all dressed in their own garb, too, and not many people crossed those lines.

    Beautiful birds, videos and photos, Betty!

  22. 22.

    BeautifulPlumage

    Looks like you have your Valentine’s Day card picture. Great shots & video. Thanks for sharing!

  23. 23.

    jimmiraybob

    How timely!

    I just became aware of the “Birds Aren’t Real” movement and I am awokened like never before!

    Those are pink deep state drones!  You are under surveillance! Everyone is under surveillance!

    For the TRUTH go to their FB page.  The storm is nye!

     

    ……I’m sorry, I forgot to check to see if this was an open thread.

  24. 24.

    Ramalama

    PINK. Those are some gorgeous birds.

    2 woodpeckers took on our tallest pine this morning, one larger than the fat-ass squirrels in the yard. Everything’s gone wild since our Malamute died (black squirrels were his favorite afternoon snack).

    Hey that black bird on the branch, just frozen, staring at the pinkos…was that the same kind of bird or a different brand entirely?

  25. 25.

    Kalakal

    Lovely film. There’s a lot of anhingas around here, not so many spoonbills. I think anhingas may be my favourites, I love watching them paddle around with the cormorants while the pelicans demonstrate crash landings

  27. 27.

    TaMara (HFG)

    Another piece of my childhood is gone. Although, a friend and colleague of Michael’s had to break the news to me just recently, that when I was watching the Monkees, it was in reruns…they’d long since been a canceled tv show by then.

    The Monkees’ Michael Nesmith has died at age 78. Read our “My Life in 15 Songs” feature where he and his bandmates broke down their most enduring tunes https://t.co/r08v3D33pf
    — Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) December 10, 2021

  29. 29.

    Betty Cracker

    @oatler: Yep, lots of people call Anhingas snakebirds.

    @Ramalama: The black bird is an Anhinga — completely different type. If reincarnation was a thing I had to come back as a bird, I’d consider Anhingas — they get to swim underwater AND fly, which is pretty cool.

    ETA: Link to YouTube with Anhinga and Cormorant swimming in a spring.

  31. 31.

    JoyceH

    @TaMara (HFG): From someone on Twitter – “Hey, hey, I’m the Monkee.” M. Dolenz.

    Reading the obits, I’d forgotten that Nesmith’s mother invented Liquid Paper. Made her a fortune. Who here is old enough to have used Liquid Paper? (Raises hand.)

  33. 33.

    Kelly

    @Betty Cracker:

    If reincarnation was a thing I had to come back as a bird, I’d consider Anhingas — they get to swim underwater AND fly, which is pretty cool.

    That’s the way I feel about mergansers. Fly, swim, live on sushi, what’s not to like.  I once watched a mother merganser successfully face down a bald eagle three times her size. She did not raise her babies to be eagle food.

  36. 36.

    Kelly

    In other bird news our flock of beautiful quail seems to have doubled in the aftermath of last year’s massive wildfires in Oregon. Geese also seem to have prospered.

  37. 37.

    jonas

    Since folks are talking about the passing of Mike Nesmith of the Monkees, I came across this interesting tidbit in his LA Times obit a few moments ago:

    Nesmith was the only child of Bette Nesmith, the inventor of Liquid Paper, a typewriter correction product; she sold the company to Gillette in 1979 for $48 million, a fortune her son would inherit after her death in 1980.

    Who knew?

  38. 38.

    Sure Lurkalot

    Amazing photographs. What a treat that they hung out for a while so you could ooh, ahh and share.

  41. 41.

    Feathers

    @TaMara (HFG): I never really got into the Monkees, a bit too young when they were popular. Loved his Elephant Parts from 1981, though. A hilarious mix of videos, skits, fake advertisements. Won the first Grammy for music videos. Bits and pieces seem to be on YouTube. A taste of the rabbit hole:

    Art By The Pound

    This one is scarily prophetic, humor in the Reagan era, not so funny now: Neighborhood Nuclear Superiority

    Can I go for a third link? The man parodied his own country folkish ballad Joanne, reimagining as being about a Japanese movie monster: Rodanne

  44. 44.

    germy

    Something perhaps too obvious to state is that most of America’s cultural and social problems are as bad as they are because the average American is really, really poorly socialized— Osric the Flop (@chris_ryates) December 10, 2021

    At age 18, in the Florida suburbs, I had never ridden a bus or a train or walked through a downtown or sat in a library or cafe, because we had none of those things, never met my neighbors, or walked down my own street (no sidewalk), was only ever driven around in my mom’s car— Osric the Flop (@chris_ryates) December 10, 2021

    (Caveat: there was a cafe if you include the Starbucks entirely enclosed within a Target, which I in fact frequented)— Osric the Flop (@chris_ryates) December 10, 2021

    I guess the point here is that my only relations to anyone outside of school and my household were as a customer or employee, I was completely deranged, and my hometown also produced the Pulse Nightclub shooter, Tyler Hadley (google him) and serial killer Gerard Schaefer, so…— Osric the Flop (@chris_ryates) December 10, 2021

  45. 45.

    chmatl

    These photos and videos really take me back. I went to grad school at FSU way back in the mid 80s. The rivers, creeks and springs in the panhandle – and the birds and other critters who make their homes there – are what I miss most when I look back on those days. I wouldn’t want to live there now because it’s so built up and congested. I’m just glad I was able to experience the natural world when things were a lot more quiet than they are now.

  49. 49.

    susanna

    Lovely winged wonders, they’re lovely and you’re very lucky to live among the varied bird species.

  50. 50.

    Dan B

    Great pictures of iconic birds!  It reminds me of why it makes a big difference to live in a place that has rare but memorable events.  Seattle has scenery that is often obscured by weather but if you live here then eight days per month when Mount Rainier and Mount Baker, 60 air miles and 90 air Mike’s respectively, are visible it feels like they’re regularly in view.  Of course in winter it’s maybe a couple times a month, sigh.

  53. 53.

    chmatl

    @raven: I have a hazy recollection that he was the QB at one point. I wasn’t really a college football fan, nor even an FSU fan, until many years later. My husband attended both UF (undergrad) and FSU (law school), and he’s the one who got me interested in football in the great state of Florida. There was a time when the national championship was unquestionably going to go to one of the big Florida schools – third one was University of Miami. You probably remember those days too.

  55. 55.

    Patricia Kayden

    JUST IN: President Biden has ordered an immediate end to federal support for coal plants and other carbon-intensive projects overseas. This is a major US policy shift that will fight climate change and accelerate renewable energy worldwide. (per @bpolitics)— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) December 10, 2021

  56. 56.

    SpaceUnit

    I’ve noticed that the birds in my neck of the woods are less inclined to migrate these days, presumably because the winters have become much milder.  There were always a few ducks and geese and crows etc that would hang around, but now I’m seeing birds like robins all year long.

    And of course there’s not much for them to do here in the winter except hang out in the trees smoking cigarettes and getting into trouble, starting fights with the squirrels.  You hate to see it.

  57. 57.

    cain

    @SpaceUnit: And of course there’s not much for them to do here in the winter except hang out in the trees smoking cigarettes and getting into trouble, starting fights with the squirrels. You hate to see it.

    It used to be such a nice neighborhood.

  59. 59.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    We’re putting a lot of $$$ into the house right now, making up for years of ignoring issues.

    One of the things I’ve been wanting to do for years is replace the siding. The roofer is trying to sell us on a product that I think is called fiber cement, or cement fiber. It’s wood fiber embedded in a cement, resulting in something that feels like tile. Specifically, it’s this product.

    Does anybody have experience with this? I asked the guy if there are any houses I can look at with this kind of siding, and he said only the ones they’ve installed in Delaware (next state over). Which does not reassure me.

    Additional data: We have an old house, built 1890. And what’s on it now certainly isn’t historic, it’s shingle. This Old House says they’ve put this kind of siding on old houses.​

  60. 60.

    trollhattan

    @SpaceUnit: ​At some point the Canada geese got as far as our fair city and said “fuck it, eh?” and decided to stay. They’re always around and ICE has nary a word to say about that.

  62. 62.

    sab

    @SpaceUnit: Forgot what your neck of the woods is even though you told us recently.

    When I was in my twenties in NE Ohio we used to cross coubtry ski for at least three months in the winter. Now we only have an occasional snowstorm, unless you live very close to the Lake.

  63. 63.

    Ken

    @SpaceUnit: I’ve not noticed robins, but then I’m not setting out live worms.  All I get are little brown birds which I’ve tentatively identified as sparrows.

    I have noticed that after I scatter the “wild bird mix”, the sparrows quickly show up and pick out the millet, and some break open the sunflower seeds. Then they fly off.  Later they come back and if I’ve not put out more mix, they grudgingly eat the milo.

  64. 64.

    trollhattan

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: Don’t know that product specifically, not hard to believe it lasts longer than comp shingles, though.

    We have terra cotta tile on much of our roof and while it can last an actual century, the roofing felt eventually gives up the ghost and the tile has to be pulled and reinstalled, no small task (most tile is not watertight). And when one does that, not all the tile survives and new like-old tile has to go on, too, which is tricky.

    My takeaway is if you go for it, set aside the leftover tiles for damage repair and that day down the road when the roof needs re-felting. Whoever makes it will be out of business or at least have discontinued the color by then.

    There will be leftover tile from the job and it generally goes into the dumpster.

    Or, if you’re moving in five years, no worries!

  65. 65.

    sab

    @trollhattan: My seasonal tax season office has Canada geese on the roof. They like the HOAs ponds next door. Takeoff from the roof is dramatic…thump.., thump, ..thump,.. thump thump thump of large duckish feet overhead.

    They don’t attack us the way wild turkeys at another office used to do.

  67. 67.

    trollhattan

    @sab: Have been hissed at, pecked, and even a wing graze my face while bicycling (that one was accidental on the part of the goose). We have turkeys too, but they haven’t taken residence on our block. Yet. There are plenty stories of the toms picking enemies though, and they’ll chase your ass down.

  68. 68.

    trollhattan

    Okay, got a good laugh from this particular 1/6 defense.

    December 10, 2021 at 4:21 pm EST By Taegan Goddard

    An alleged member of the ultra-right Three Percenter militia movement said he was manipulated into participating in the Capitol riot by Yale secret society “Skull and Bones” and other groups he said were covertly acting for the government, Bloomberg reports.

  69. 69.

    SpaceUnit

    @sab:

    Denver area.

    There is a general perception that we’re up to our eyebrows in snow all winter long but nothing could be further from the truth, especially over the last ten or fifteen years or so.  We can get some snow but it never sticks around.  In the middle of January we’re as likely to be walking around outside in shorts as we are to be shoveling snow.

  70. 70.

    sab

    @trollhattan: My boss has a german shepherd silhouette thing they put out to keep the geese away from the driveway.

    I got one to keep raptors away from our squirrel feeders. It works pretty well against mean big birds, but it attracts all kinds of outraged big dogs on their morning walks, barking with spine hair on end.

    And my husband tripped over it getting the morning paper, until I put two lawn chairs on either side.

  72. 72.

    mrmoshpotato

    @trollhattan:

    An alleged member of the ultra-right Three Percenter militia movement said he was manipulated into participating in the Capitol riot by Yale secret society “Skull and Bones” and other groups he said were covertly acting for the government, Bloomberg reports. 

    Boo fucking hoo, and fuck you too, you Dump-humping, fascist shitstain!

  74. 74.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @trollhattan: Dude, you’re not supposed to tell people about the “secret society”, then it’s not secret any more. Didn’t you get the whole lecture about “will disavow any knowledge of your mission”?

  75. 75.

    JoyceCB

    Location, location, location… on our one and only trip to Florida, in 1999 I believe, one of our target birds was the Roseate Spoonbill.  We were over the moon to finally see a couple at the Ding Darling reserve.  (Fort Meyers area).  So many wonderful new birds on that trip.  Thanks, Betty C.

  77. 77.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    Speaking of birds, I highly recommend the movie “The Starling”. It’s a pretty moving film, the death of an infant is at the center of it. And as an interesting choice, the director cast comic actors in all the key parts: Melissa McCarthy (who I will watch in anything. Well, almost anything), Kevin Kline, Chris O’Dowd, Loretta Devine. They are all very effective.

    The starling who is the title character is a very territorial bird who has decided Melissa McCarthy’s front yard is his, and throughout the movie he is dive bombing her to the point of drawing blood. Is there any truth to this characterization of starling behavior? Seems a little far-fetched.

  79. 79.

    Miss Bianca

    Oh, man, ever since I was a little kid I’ve wanted to see some spoonbills in the flesh! Guess this will have to do me for a while longer!

  80. 80.

    sab

    @JoyceCB: Right before we moved from Florida a clapper rail moved into our yard. I loved that bird. Big, shorebird, long beak that “clapped” loudly whenever it had an issue about anything. They don’t have birds like that in Ohio

    We do have Canada geese (mostly not Canadian), wild turkeys and buzzards (turkey vultures.) Also pileated woodpeckers, but they are very shy.

  81. 81.

    SpaceUnit

    @sab:

    It can get cold at times, but generally it’s much warmer than most people imagine.  Summers are brutal and long.  I often find myself thinking of a move to somewhere cooler.

    We’ve only today gotten our first little dusting of snow.

  82. 82.

    Kalakal

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: Hardieboard?

    Yes, we put some on our house here in Pinellas County, Fl. Didn’t do the whole house but there were a few sections of the siding that were in a really bad way ( the house was most definately a fixer upper. Seems to be doing ok so far, it’s been through a hurricane and a few storms. It seems to be not uncommon down here. The selling point is low maintainence vs wood ( this is Gulf Coast Florida). i think we’ve had it about 4 years now.

  85. 85.

    JMG

    Geese used to use our local golf course as a stopping point on their spring and late summer migrations. (Local rule: free drop if ball is in goose poop). Plenty of grass to eat. Now, they stick around later and later in each cycle. Course manager finally bought a lifelike coyote statue he moves around the course to encourage them to leave.

  86. 86.

    germy

    Can't undersell how insidiously dumb it feels to watch the coup powerpoint. You click through and some little animated arrows swoosh around like it's your 3rd grade presentation on giraffes, but it's Trump officials arguing to declare a state of emergency and invalidate votes.

    — Kelly Weill (@KELLYWEILL) December 10, 2021

  87. 87.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @JMG: I was just thinking it was a flaw in the otherwise very realistic Caddy Shack that the villain was a gopher and not a Canadianite goose, but I guess not even Hollywood could make a cute goose puppet.

  88. 88.

    Scout211

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym:

    We have cement board siding on our house.  We had it built in 2008. I am not sure if it is now required in California (I wouldn’t be surprised) but it is highly recommended because it is more fire safe. We are very happy with it. The type we have is made to look like wood (fake grain) so from a few feet away and you can’t tell the difference.  Definitely recommend.

  89. 89.

    Martin

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: Yeah, sorta. My grandfather had a similar kind of siding on his house. But it’s not wood fiber, it’s asbestos.

    Fiber cement siding is quite old, and the new versions use wood and silica fiber (fiberglass, effectively). It’s durable, low maintenance, paints well, bug resistant. Can be a bit expensive, but it’ll last forever. Very popular in new construction. You’ve probably seen it and not realized what it was – it can look a LOT like conventional vinyl or wood siding.

  93. 93.

    VeniceRiley

    3 weeks. 2 houses 4 hotels 2 harbors 4 old navy one macys countless restaurants 1 wedding, loads of family and friends. 4 states. Feeling confident my triple vaxxed new wife will test negative today for PCR fit-to-fly. Same day results available thank god. Flight tomorrow, Then PCR again on landing, but a lovely extra day or two off to wait for results.

    Then the submission for a spouse visa and we’re done!

  94. 94.

    Ken

    @James E Powell: Perhaps extend the idea for hospitals to schools — tents outside, for the unvaccinated students?

    Having vaccination clinics at the schools is another thought.

  99. 99.

    Danielx

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym:

    been replacing T111 siding on house a wall at a time. It’s good stuff- if they strip off the old siding first you can get your classified as a masonry structure for insurance purposes, which saves bucks. Fireproof, tales paint like a charm, won’t rot. What’s not to like?

    eta: if you haves asbestos shingles, just have installers go over it, do not try to remove – huge pain in the ass, mitigation specialists required, etc etc.

  103. 103.

    J R in WV

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: ​

    The roofer is trying to sell us on a product that I think is called fiber cement, or cement fiber. It’s wood fiber embedded in a cement, resulting in something that feels like tile. Specifically, it’s this product.

    Believe it or not,, they are still allowed to sell building products with asbestos in them. Now, I believe some of the asbestos panic is just that — there are dozens of different asbestos minerals, some of which are more dangerous than others.

    But all of them require special licenses to remediate them, and you can’t dispose of them without a license, nor in a regular construction debris landfill… It has to be a specially licensed landfill for hazmat debris.

    So I would be paranoid about siding with unknown or mystery fiber in it.

  105. 105.

    J R in WV

    @trollhattan:

    An alleged member of the ultra-right Three Percenter militia movement said he was manipulated into participating in the Capitol riot by Yale secret society “Skull and Bones” and other groups he said were covertly acting for the government…

    They have already forgotten that last January 6th, the government was owned and operated by TFG, Donald Trump. So perhaps the 3%ers were hoodwinked by the federal government, being operated by TFG Trump…?!?

    Who knows? The Shadow Do ~!~!~

  106. 106.

    Martin

    @J R in WV: I had multiple work projects that had to deal with asbestos, and I can tell you, the stuff is FANTASTIC until you need to get rid of it, then just take whatever remodel budget you’re working off of and double it. Maybe triple.

  110. 110.

    Rob

    And this is why there were so many spoonbills in the northeast this past summer. Anhinga aggression drove them up here.

    eta: Excellent photos and video, Betty!

  111. 111.

    sab

    I just tried to respond to a comment. i had to club my pitbull almost into insensitivity just because she was a dog and wanted to play.

    Sweet dog. I absolutely hate our timeline,

    Can fix it with the dog, but in normal life neither she nor I should have to make these choices. We are all on the same side.

  118. 118.

    Taken4Granite

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: I replaced the original siding on my house with Hardie siding in 2007. The main advantage for me is that it completely eliminated the problems I had with squirrels taking up residence in my attic.

    It’s not entirely maintenance-free. You need to get the house painted every decade or so; the stuff can flake off if the paint wears off.

  120. 120.

    UncleEbeneezer

    BREAKING: DC fed judge (and Trump appointee) Dabney Friedrich issues ruling upholding prosecutors’ use of obstruction statute to cover obstruction of Congress’ Electoral College tabulation session on Jan. 6. Doc: https://bit.ly/3pMgT35 #CapitolRiot

    Reuters: U.S. HOUSE PANEL PROBING JAN. 6 CAPITOL RIOT ISSUES SIX MORE SUBPOENAS, INCLUDING TOP TRUMP WHITE HOUSE AIDES

  121. 121.

    Gvg

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: if you can afford it, it is highly recommended in Florida. It is rot resistant and also impervious to termites which is a big deal here. Our climate has no snow and I don’t know how it does elsewhere. It is cement so there is no insulation value in itself, you have to insulate between studs. They also put in house wrap before the cement board which results in less air leakage and does help energy efficiency.

    I want to replace my vinyl over old t-111 with cement board but will have to save for it.

    it was invented in Australia and has been here at least 40 years. In the early years some products had poor quality and had to be replaced but the last at least 30 years it has had a good reputation.

  124. 124.

    Jay

    @Taken4Granite:

    if you or the installer primes the back side of the Hardiplank or Hardiboard, and you have factory paint on the Plank/board, Hardi used to double the factory colour warrantee to 20 years.

    Hardiplank and Hardiboard are porous, any moisture on the back side of the plank “sweats” through the plank, eventually causing the paint to fail.

    The “best” installations here, the West Raincoast, use a rainscreen over the sheathing, strapping for an air gap of a half inch, insect screens top and bottom, then back primed or fully painted HardiPlank, with all cuts and joints sealed with primer.

    Some installers here will give a 30 year warranty on colour and water penetration, if you go full belts and braces.

  125. 125.

    Dan B

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: Hardieplank and Hardieboard are excellent products.  Installation details matter.  You may want to know what your contractor does to prevent issues for instance a Tyvek or similar moisture barrier before the Hardie material is installed.  It’s used in many different types of construction here in Seattle.  My large 20×10 tool shed is covered in Hardieboard.  It holds paint for decades.  I used it for fences and they have lasted 25+ years with no sign of wear.

  126. 126.

    Redshift

    I was lucky enough to see spoonbills the last time I was in Florida for a rocket launch (and visit to a wildlife sanctuary.) Someday I need to put together my mediocre bird photos and less mediocre rocket photos for On The Road…

  130. 130.

    Dan B

    @sab: Mind boggling.  We kept a yardstick by the front door to measure snow depth.  One year it snowed three inches on Juune 3rd.  And we had drifts up to 15 feet in exposed areas.

  131. 131.

    sab

    We sold my parents 1920 vintage house to the neighbors. It was gorgeous. Golden oak paneling. Fireplace importanted feom Europe. Paneling everywhrpere. If they didn’t want it everything inthe house could have been recycled. Instead sent to the dump.

  132. 132.

    Jay

    @Ruckus:

    Hardiplank is solid in the vertical, super floppy in the horizontal.

    in fencing, what you are probably seeing is cast, coloured, fibre reinforced 2×6 “planks, slotted into cast 4×4 or 6×6 posts.

  135. 135.

    2liberal

    Protesters filled the meeting room of the Spalding County Board of Elections in October, upset that the board had disallowed early voting on Sundays for the Nov. 2 municipal election. A year ago, Sunday voting had been instrumental in boosting turnout of Black voters.
    But this was an entirely different five-member board than had overseen the last election. The Democratic majority of three Black women was gone. So was the Black elections supervisor.

    https://www.reuters.com/world/us/georgia-republicans-purge-black-democrats-county-election-boards-2021-12-09/

  138. 138.

    Dan B

    @Jay: We used the sheets.  Wood posts PTW and wood to hold the sheets in place.  Painted both sides but didn’t do it on my tool shed because of one foot or bigger overhangs.  I believe I did the first Hardie fence 30 years ago.  It still looks like new.

  139. 139.

    prostratedragon

    @Jay:  Gulls at Riis beach were similar. People could have the place until about 5pm, then for sure gulls would gather on the rail of the boardwalk and stare out at us impatiently. No one every said, “The gulls are here, let’s go,” but pretty much everyone went.

  140. 140.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    Thanks everyone for the advice on the Hardi products. It sounds like it is a good product and a good investment. I wasn’t aware it had to be repainted, I’m going to ask him about that.

  141. 141.

    Jay

    @prostratedragon:

    First “real job”. Tire factory and retreader. Garbage tires and casings went to the dump, filled with water. Trent drove the truck, ( 15 ton no synchromesh 4 speed, so first, clutch in, clutch out, clutch in, 2nd, clutch out,………..

    As the Newbie, my job was throwing the tires off the back, while getting filthy and soaking wet,

    Then, while sitting in the cab, as an “initiation”, Trent would throw out an M80, and the “newbie” would get whitewashed with seagull rain,

    @Dan B:

    ah, Hardiepanel.

  144. 144.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @mrmoshpotato: ​
     Just clicked through on that. I can’t stop watching.

    My wife is wondering what I’m laughing about. I’ll share it with her, but I guarantee she’ll get bored within 5 seconds and still wonder what I’m laughing about.

  145. 145.

    Jay

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym:

    if they prime the back and seal the joints, you will need to repaint the factory coating at 20-30 years time.

    did the full deal on the Kamloops house, (belt and suspenders ) it’s going on 25 years and it still looks new. ( +120 summers, -40 winters, tons of wind, rain, hail, forest fires.

  146. 146.

    Kelly

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: Our house is sided with Hardieplank. It’s good stuff. Hire a good installer. Amature installation left us with a few issues.

    1) Joints between planks should be backed with a flap of flashing or Tyvek type material. Ours were caulked. The caulking needs redone every time you paint. Re-Caulking is a bigger job than painting.

    2) We have really narrow strips (1/2″ or so) under a couple windows. Really narrow strips are brittle and we’ve had to fix them. I think this could have been avoided by fudging the the exposure of the clapboards so the strip was wider or gone.

  148. 148.

    Jay

    @Faithful Lurker:

    a) yellow cedar, hard to find these days but lasts twice as long as red cedar or PT treated softwood.

    b)6 inches of pea-gravel at the bottom of the post hole to keep the water away from the endgrain.

    c)seal the endgrain and the depth of the post, ( the area below ground) with epoxy or tar, or,

    Plan B, concrete footing, epoxied post bracket, sealed endgrain on the post,

    Plan C, concrete posts and “planks”,

  150. 150.

    frosty

    I’m a little jealous. In many years of snowbirding I’ve only seen one Roseate Spoonbill, flying over me while driving between Everglades and Big Cypress. I’ll get another chance this February, so maybe this year!

    Beautiful pix, BC.

  153. 153.

    frosty

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: I think fiber cement siding is what my brother put on his house north of NYC. It’s supposed to be good stuff.

    We just resided our house with vinyl “shakes” after 18 years of living with the aluminum the previous owner put up. Roofing company did it, they looked at the roof and said it was good, so that’s an expense I can put off for awhile.

  154. 154.

    Scout211

    @Kelly:

    Our cement board planks were caulked as well before the house was originally painted.

    We had our house repainted a year ago (the siding was 13 years old at that point). We got two painting contractors give us an estimate. The first contractor told us that the new standard was to NOT caulk the cement board siding.  So he gave us an estimate with no caulking.  The second contractor included caulking in her estimate and her bid was $5,000 less. So we went with the second bid and she and her crew did a great job.

    The first guy claimed that caulking the butted ends can cause the planks to crack and that the manufacturers now don’t recommend caulking.  (I don’t know if this is true or not). Since ours were caulked with the original installation, we went with the additional caulking.

  155. 155.

    Kalakal

    @frosty: I think I’ve seen spoonbills every time I’ve been to the Ding Darling Reserve on Sanibel. If you’re ever in that vicinity you could try there. It’s well worth a visit

  156. 156.

    Jay

    @prostratedragon:

    didn’t mind the hazing. I think more about the modern organization of work. My brother’s best friend’s Dad was the factory, ( a co-op) Manager, but I had to cycle through all the different jobs, from low to medium, for a year, until I got to do the job I was supposed to do, which was manage the shifts and inventory in the warehouse. So by the time I started in the warehouse, I knew everything about making/retreading a tire and suspension parts, in a hands on manner.

    The highest paid guy on the factory floor, just below Mgmt, was the “grinder”. He would shave down “casings” to the point they could be retreaded, from econo cars to industrial, covered in rubber dust all day, but because of experience, he could tell if it was a “good casing” or utter garbage and dangerous, with in a few seconds.

    When I worked for an industrial computer MFG, all new hire engineers had to spend 6 months on the floor, because the people who put them together, knew as much or more, about designing and building an industrial computer.

    These days, I see people with no practical experience getting MGMT roles, and really have no “clue” of what the workers they are supposedly managing, actually do.

  159. 159.

    Another Scott

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: Piling on – we have Hardiplank siding installed on our NoVA home as well.  We used it to replace some horrible vinyl that was covering up some horrible masonite-type stuff that swelled when it got wet (just what you want with painted siding…).

    The Hardiplank was installed about 20 years ago.  Still looks great.  Ours was painted with Sherwin-Williams Duration paint that has held up amazingly well (even though it was applied when it was about 35F outside at the time).

    As others say, get a good installer.  It’s hard stuff and you don’t want some yoyo with a nail gun shooting nails into your home because they don’t know what they’re doing.  (Our installers used actual hammers and not nail guns.)

    Good luck!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  160. 160.

    Jay

    @Scout211:

    there is very little expansion/contraction with fibre cement siding, so the worst that happens with a caulked butt joint is in the summer, you get a bit of a bulge, in winter, if it gets really cold, a tiny trough.

    Because the concrete is porous, if unsealed or not caulked, moisture gets in, cooks out and the paint doesn’t last as long. Flakes.

  161. 161.

    frosty

    @Kalakal: I was at Ding Darling a few years ago. No Spoonbills. When someone told me I had to be there at dawn to see them I figured I wasn’t ever going to see one.

    Late riser, here.

  162. 162.

    Jay

    @Another Scott:

    these days, there are special sawblades for cutting, brackets for  hanging, special 14 gauge brads and guns for nailing. We even sell stainless.

    but yeah, you want an experienced installer with all the right tools, belt and suspenders.

  165. 165.

    Dan B

    @Faithful Lurker: i have pictures but on my computer which I don’t have set up.  Another reason to set it up.  What I’ve found with Pressure Treated is ut twists because it’s green.  Better distributors like Dunn Lumber provide better quality that is less prone to twisting.  The other option is to purchase 20% extra and store it for 3 or more months.  I’ve also done two 2×6 sandwiched and screwed to each other.  Pricey but better than taking the fence apart.  We also treated the base of the posts even if they were on post anchors since the treatment doesn’t get all the way to the center. And be sure to cover the top of the posts to keep water out.

  167. 167.

    J R in WV

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym:

    One of the things I’ve been wanting to do for years is replace the siding. The roofer is trying to sell us on a product that I think is called fiber cement, or cement fiber. It’s wood fiber embedded in a cement, resulting in something that feels like tile. Specifically, it’s this product.

    I visited the web site you linked to, and after lost of attractive photos of a wide variety of attractive siding products, at the very bottom of the page, on the bottom right of the page, there is a very inconspicuous link that says “asbestos compensation” — so I would think twice before I dealt with this manufacturer…

  170. 170.

    Jay

    @J R in WV:

    Hardie dumped the asbestos fibres in the 80’s, switched to long pulp wood fibres. That got their products allowed back  into Canada. Prior to asbestos regulation, you could find asbestos in everything from floor tiles to roof shingles.

  171. 171.

    Ramalama

    @Taken4Granite: OMG this is my house right now. Occupied by critters in the belfry. I am taking a yuge screenshot of all the posts in this open thread to try and convince the missus that vinyl siding from the 70s gots to go. Thank you, conscientious home owners.

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