The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning
Ed Nisley's Blog: Shop notes, electronics, firmware, machinery, 3D printing, laser cuttery, and curiosities. Contents: 100% human thinking, 0% AI slop.
Other creatures in our world
Spotted over a fast food emporium’s parking lot:
It’s hard to be sure, but I think there’s a paper wasp nest around the bundle of wires just above the transformer / ballast / whatever. Perhaps the repair tech departed with the job unfinished?
As with traffic signals, flashlights, and automotive lighting, the LEDs surely work long after the driver circuitry has given up.
I passed another dead deer on New Hackensack Rd while hauling groceries home:
The next day I walked past the other side of the collision at the corner gas station’s dead car collection:
A closer look at that nice rounded dent links the two contestants:
The impact didn’t blow the airbags, so maybe the car isn’t a total loss, despite extensive front end damage and some scrap metal inside the engine compartment.
As far as I can tell, Vassar College has been holding a deer cull every January, but taking out a few dozen deer definitely hasn’t eliminated the road hazard. If the folks objecting to the cull set up a fund to help drivers damaged by the objects of their affection, it’d demonstrate their understanding of the problem.
We rolled up to a pair of walkers who had just watched a long-dead tree fall across the Dutchess Rail Trail ahead of them:
Which is why I now carry a fold-out pruning saw in my tool kit:
The mowing crew we encountered half a mile ahead had a chainsaw and cleared the remainder.
Stay alert out there!
Although I don’t have a picture, there was a freshly dead bat lying underneath the main trunk. I think it rode the tree down, only to get slapped hard against the gravel beside the trail. I’m sure bats power up faster than I do, but not quite fast enough.
We found this critter while checking for water after Hurricane Ida drenched the area:
It’s on the outside of the vent screen and we have no objection.
We should put up a bat house to encourage more of its friends to hang out with us …
I noticed something out of place when I fired up the soldering iron:
It’s not obvious in a flat photo without depth perception, but here’s a closer look:
A tiny spider had set up shop just over the tip cleaning port, with a delicate web linking the sponge to the iron holder.
I tried to deport her outdoors, as is our custom with helpful critters, but she jumped off the web and scurried to an unknown spot on the bench. She’ll surely rebuild in an equally productive spot.
Obviously, I’m not soldering enough electronic gadgetry …
Mary found another tree frog while picking Savoy lettuce for breakfast:
They’re much better camouflaged in their (more or less) natural surroundings, so I didn’t spot it at first, either.
They really are cute little gadgets:
This is only the fourth tree frog she’s seen in the last two decades, but the second one in a month. It may be the same frog as before, although the garden now has a rather husky resident snake who seems to be eating well.
The butterfly bush attracted another Hummingbird Moth:
As always, those gadgets are a wonder to behold!
Photo from the Pixel 3a, zoomed all the way, and showing why digital zooming isn’t the way to get nice pictures. On the other paw, it’s the camera I always have with me.
The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning 