Rotor

I usually enjoy brake jobs. I've been doing them for decades, there is little that is unexpected, and I have the right tools. Today--a very hot day, I might add--was different. It started well, but when I tried to remove the front driver's side rotor, it wouldn't budge. The shop manual says, "Two or three stout blows with a rubber hammer may be necessary." Ha! I started with the five-pound persuader, before graduating to the fifteen-pound sledge. It didn't help. Mechanics often call this "chemical welding," but it's just rust--and it is tenacious. I tried penetrating oil, light blows, heavy blows, levers--all in vain. It was 30 degrees out, and I was nearly beaten. Finally I called in the big gun: a cutting wheel.

When I had cut about one-third of the way around, I forced in a heavy pry bar. A large chunk of the rotor face came away, but it remained bonded to the hub. I cut more, and brought the cold chisel to bear.




It put up a magnificent resistance.

As you can see, I cut more than half the face from the rotor before it began to loosen up. It still took many strong blows to knock it off the wheel hub


Fortunately, although I did extensive cutting, I did not damage the hub at all. Also, it turned out to be much easier to cut than I had imagined.




It was a relief to get the new rotor and pads on--after all that violence, I felt the car was somehow tainted. But now all is well. Of course, I still have to do the passenger side. . . .

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Summer at Last

It is finally getting hot; in fact, the Crick has dried up and Panama is very low. I decided to see how the growing season was coming along.

The new growth in the woodlot is rather disappointing; as you can see, the conifers barely put on any length (incidentally, I love the rubbery feel of new needles--so unlike what they eventually become; it's like bumblebees that only tickle).

This is a balsam fir. There is about an inch of new growth--and this one is in a relatively well-lit spot near the path.  

On the other hand, the red pines in the Grove are candling very nicely: several inches on all the trees. 

Near the house, this black spruce has about six inches of new growth--and it has already hardened off! You can barely see the colour difference; it is about two weeks ahead of the trees deeper in the lot. 

                                                                          And just to show that it isn't all dismal, the flower baskets around the house are doing very well.  We have been basking in almost ideal weather: hot days (c. 30° C) and cool nights (around 12 C). 

June Gloom

Much of the month has been cold and dreary, dark and gloomy; we have had to fire up the woodstove several times. Even the hydrangea seems dispirited! It rained during the trip to Halifax, both there and back again. However, brighter days are ahead.

Spring

After a cool May, we had some glimpses of sun and warmth, but the clouds settled in and it has been overcast and rainy for the last two weeks. The apple tree blossomed gamely, and here it is on one of the brighter days of June.

Sheila's Brush

We had a taste of Sheila's brush--though it's long after St. Patrick's day--and some persistent low temperatures. We've been having wood fires, and we would certainly have fired up the pellet stove if there had been any pellets left.

I'll have to work on my snowflake photography--the flakes really were prominent and fluffy. Here they just seem like background noise.

Spring Cleaning

The snow is gone, it's spring, and we have been cleaning up. Apart from the vast junk heave-ho, we've been crown lifting and then eliminating the boughs; this little unit helps a lot:

It used to jam, but we've figured out its likes and dislikes, and now we cruise along for hours without incident. Like all Champion equipment, it starts readily, runs like mad, and makes an APPALLING noise! The Husky helmet (with ear protection) is NOT just for show.

April Snow

What a difference 24 hours can make. The first week of April saw lovely, gentle spring weather--followed by a substantial snowstorm. Even deep in the woods the snow was in full retreat, and then the storm came.

The sky became overcast and sullen, the colours faded away, and it looked once more like the bleak midwinter.

 The branches of the trees were clear of snow and ice, and the buds were beginning to emerge.  Fortunately, the temperatures remained mild, but visually it might as well be January once more.  Spring comes but slowly.