Got the two other windows in the room I last worked on tweaked. Window panes out, bug screen out, old perished caulking out, nice new caulking applied, foam sprayed into the small gap from the inside. I used my air compressor to blow out the last of the dust before applying the foam and the caulking. While I had the bug screen out a couple of bees were getting closer than I was happy with. A quick squirt of air from the air compressor guided them away quite nicely. While I had the window panes out I noticed a mud wasp had started to build a nest just under the attic overhang. One of the pieces of trim I've removed did a stellar job of telling the wasp it isn't welcome there.
I'm always very leery around anything that stings. I'm always cognizant ofthe fact that I may be allergic. Don't know that I am. Got stung by a whole swarm of hornets when I was young but never since. Always aware that the event could have made me allergic. BTW, if you want to spray for the bees the best time is after dark. They are dormant and all there so you can get the whole nest.
I've been stung by bees and wasps in the UK (what we call a wasp looks much like what you call a yellowjacket in the US) and aside from the normal discomfort from a sting I never had any unexpected reaction. I know you've got all sorts of wasps over here that we don't get in England although as best as I can tell the main issue we have is that mud wasps like to build nests on parts of the house that are difficult to get at (for us at least, being able to fly gives them something of an advantage there). A while back I noticed a mud wasp (at the time I didn't know they didn't sting) slowly building a nest near the top of the wall on my front porch. It went back and forth a few times and I just watched it, intrigued by what it was doing. After it had made a few trips, adding a little to the nest each time, I broke the nest away with a broom handle. Next time it returned it went straight to where the nest had been, then back and forth a bit as it was obviously looking for the nest. It was interesting to watch, but then in the resulting match the final score was broom 1, wasp 0. Wasps and hornets don't get any breaks at all but I kinda like bees. I plant things in the yard that will attract them and provide for them.
Today I'd really like to get the window frames taken out so I can seal around them properly, but the weather forecast isn't as forgiving as I really need it to be before I start that job. With the window panels out it's not too much of a problem if it starts to rain because the panels can go back in within 30 seconds or so. If the frame is out there's nothing to put the panels in, so it would be several minutes before I could take any protective action. And if we get wind and rain the wind usually blows such that the rain would come in through the window space. Maybe I'll move across a room and check the caulking around the window flashing. That just needs window panels removed, and all the tools I need to do the job are already more or less where I need them to be. My roofing man is going to be able to fix the patch of roof that leaks sooner than I expected, which means I can press on in the room below the leak sooner than expected. That's a bonus, if nothing else. It means I can use up more of my insulation panels, which at present are something of an obstruction - I've got a stack that's 8 feet long, 4 feet wide, and 30 inches high, and could really do with being able to work in the space behind it.
Hooray! Much overtime plus tax returns means re-set for pcs and new video editing gizmos for desktop publishing etc. Have great new DSL hookup at home and solid wifi for the vehicle so, laptop for those long hours. Get back online in earnest again. Would prefer to toss the Android and it's nerve wracking keyboard if i didn't need it so much. Miss the adobe software and my Word documents for sure. Happy Happy (Looks like a permanent ban elsewhere. Maybe the Ecuadorian embassy will take me).
Got the sealant around two more windows done. These two were particularly interesting because the window panels don't have any obvious way of lifting them out. So the lower sections involved kneeling on the floor as I leaned out of the window, and the upper sections involved particularly interesting contortionism as I tried to reach around the window to get at the offending caulk. The rate I'm going I'll need more tubes of sealant soon.
I think the two windows I did today are the only ones that don't have panels that lift out completely. There may be one more, but the rest are new ones.
A sting or 2 won't do anything unless you're allergic. A couple hundred or 2, like I got, can sensitise you and make you allergic. Which is why I'm careful.
That makes sense. I'm cautious around flying things I'm not familiar with, which in the US means a few odd-looking bugs. There's a lot of wildlife you get here that we don't get in the UK - everything from a wide range of wasps and hornets to snakes and things. And then there are the things I like to have around, like hawks and eagles. We don't get those in England either.
I'm wishing the weather forecast could at least get things vaguely right, some of the time. It's really frustrating to plan not to do window work because of the forecast calling for "showers likely, possible thunderstorms" only to find what we actually get is glorious sunshine and a perfect day to be lifting windows out and doing exterior work. Again.
I got another window seen to. This one was really interesting - it was in a small bathroom where the windows wouldn't come out because the wall on the end of the bath was in the way so they couldn't lie flat. So I got to play contortionism again, not only having to lean out of a window while shuffling the panes up and down so I could get at all of it, but also working with a small space front-to-back. But the crucial thing is that I got another window ticked off, which means all the upstairs windows on that side of the house are done. Then I fiddled with a cable offcut. I hunted in vain for a cable some months ago, and when I pulled down the ceiling downstairs I came to see where it went, and it wasn't where I expected it to go. It's a horrible piece of knob-and-tube wiring, where I've got a wire tapped into a big ugly circuit that feeds into a three-way switch, then I've got two wires that run from it to the next three-way switch, then a single wire that runs from that switch to the light. What I want to do is run some proper 14/3 to work the switches properly, and not have cables running diagonally behind a wall where it's conceivable we might want to hang a picture or something. So what I did was to drill a new hole where I thought the cable would have gone (and where I want it to go), poked an offcut of cable through the hole so I could fish it out from above, then the end of my reel of 14/3 to it so I could pull it through. This particular extension to the circuit can be cut off without killing any other parts of the circuit, so next time I just feel I need a quick win I'll cut that piece out completely and connect the light to a new circuit I've got ready to roll. Then I'll have just a little bit less knob-and-tube in the house, which can only be a good thing.
The expression about the weather here in Florida is "if you don't like the weather, wait a few minutes, it will change. And if it doesn't, move 50 feet." And I'm really not joking.
Seems that way here. Today the forecast was for rain all day and currently it's bright and sunny. The forecast says thunderstorms this afternoon. We'll see.... It would be nice to know, because I'd like to know whether my time would be well spent replacing caulking around some more windows (I'd rather not get soaked, and would rather the new caulking didn't get rained on before it has chance to set), or drilling holes in the attic to run my new cables to a light. I rather like the thought of being able to get rid of some ugly knob-and-tube, so maybe I'll play it safe and do that.