No t-posts at HD or Lowes here, either. Just Tractor Supply . Ask if they have a quantity discount today. I've gotten lucky buying ten or more.
Yes, a seasonal product, just like toilet paper and ammunition: they are not in season during the Covid season. This change in the western world has very far reaching tentacles as well as some really surprising results. There is not a 2 X 4 to be had around here nor is there any pressure treated wood. People are doing home projects for several reasons but the big ones are that 1) they are home anyway and have the time to devote to them- 2) they are home and so home projects become more important (we cannot see the flaws at home when we are away at work but now lots of us are 'home at work') and 3) even though much of society is shut down, people are often still fully employed and fully paid. Stores are reporting really large sales in shirts / tops but a severe drop- off in the sales of most other clothing..... 'cause only the shirt / top shows on a video meeting. Soap (human washing products) sales are down as we do not have to bathe as often 'cause who are we going to offend anyway? That last was both a joke and the utter truth, all rolled into one. Right now is a tough time to get building materials, tradesmen, contractors, etc. All of that said, I believe there are going to be some big changes coming in the next weeks and months and turn all these current problems around one- eighty degrees and then we will have new and different problems- contractors and tradesman who cannot make a living, a glut of materials previously in short supply and so on. The pendulum is going to over- swing both ways until it finally settles down, either on the old 'normal' line or on a new normal. If we can distance ourselves from the day- to- day minutia for a moment, these societal changes are truly amazing to watch. Almost like an anthropologist studying the workings of a foreign society but now it is happening to our own society.
Got the boat winterized, and mostly set for next season. I'll need to either run a tap and chase the threads on the passenger side exhaust manifold drain plug, get a new plug, or use an expansion plug. I think I'll try a new plug, as the old one had eroded enough that it didn't have many threads. Last option would be the expansion plug, because once I go that route, I'm sure the threads on the manifold will be unusable after that. Then again, the manifolds are original and 42 years old. At any rate, the engine is winterized and filled with -50° rated RV antifreeze. I also picked all the peppers, green tomatoes, and Italian parsley in the garden. I got one more small yellow crookneck summer squash too. I filled a paper grocery bag full of guajillo peppers. Looks like the dehydrator will get a workout.
Hooray, finally have the sound notifications back on my phone! No idea where the butt dial (or kiddo + cat is more likely) happened but somehow it was on "do not disturb". Thank goodness it's back, missed a couple calls today.
Yesterday, at the cottage, we built a fire and stuck around for a couple hours. It was 46f inside the cottage! More of the same for this morning I'm sure. Hoping to spend a couple more nights down there.
