Aquaponics Final Stages

Aquaponics Greenhouse is in the final stage of completion.



I just have to glaze in the front and the back.

All of the roof and side panels have been designed to be easily removable in order to tend to the plants in the growbeds.

A wireless thermometer captures the temperature reading and sends it to a receiver in my living room.  My hope is that this will keep the system warm enough over the winter to maintain the circulation of water between the fish tank and the grow beds.

And maybe I can harvest a Kale salad from time to time.

Insults and Ass Kicking

Peeps.....
The election for POTUS this year is one of the nastiest in this MOAM's memory.  It just seems like both sides envision the victory of the candidate that they oppose as a dive into wholesale oblivion.

Of course, this isn't so.

Our Founding Fathers designed a system of government that causes gridlock.... and the inability of any change by any one faction to be efficiently foisted onto the masses.  It has caused an amazingly frustrating but stable system.   Change is a bulky and clumsy process in this system of checks and balances, and only occurs after much realignment and iteration.

So as Disgusting as Hillary is, or as Obnoxious as Donald is.... neither will have the ability to ride roughshod over our laws and institutions.

Foreign policy is a different matter.  The President has the ability to act swiftly in matters of national defense, but that doesn't necessary effect our daily way of life.

So people shouldn't be afraid of the electoral outcome.

Being aggravated, however is a different matter.

Your MOAM has declared his intention to vote for Donald Trump.  As such, many cyberfriends note that I must be a Republican, even though I maintain a standing as an unenrolled Independent.  But I would be disingenuous to act as though I didn't favor the Republican Conservative view and hardly ever side with Democrats.

I also tend to engage and debate those who like to call Republicans "Racists".   This a a MOAM pet peeve, because history distinctly points out that Democrats were the proponents of slavery, Jim Crow, the establishment of the KKK, and consistently voting against the landmark civil rights legislation. Thank you Senator Robert Byrd.  I don't call Democrats "Racist".  I just don't like it when they are so oblivious to the historical stance of their party, and then try to deny the fact and glibly paste the label on their opponents.  Of course, they deny this, change the subject and call me names.

As such, I have been accused of being a Hater, Insane, Uneducated and exhorted to Crawl Back into the Cave where I came from when the election is over.  I have been blocked and defriended in Facebook, and I have even had people decry their relatives who have not thrown me out with the morning dishwater.

Peeps.... Your MOAM was born and brought up in Lynn, Massachusetts.  That may mean nothing to you, but to Lynners like me.... it says it all.   Verbal abuse runs off Lynners easier than "Hi. How are Ya."  Doesn't matter if you graduated from Lynn English, Lynn Classical, Tech or St. Mary's.  But that's for another post.

So when a high minded outraged Libbie decides to call me names..... it is "Bring It ON" time.

For the record, I have paid a shitload of tuition and ended up with degrees from UMASS, BU and a number of professional certifications such as PMP.

I don't live in a Cave and own a couple of houses.... although living in a Cave might be cool.

I am a Lover, not a Hater.  Have real non-cyber friends of diverse races, religions and places of national origin.

Insane?   ..... well not by legal standards anyway,

Unfortunately, I do get a bit of sick enjoyment out of these exchanges.... does that make me a bad person?   Probably to some.

In three weeks. we will have a new asshole President.  That I can predict with the utmost certainty.  I personally prefer the obnoxious ego maniac Trump over the Racketeer Corrupt Clinton... But that's just me.   Over the short haul, neither will have the unfettered ability to do much.  And over the long haul.... like the outcome of Supreme Court Appointees.... well that's my grandkids problems.

But if H gets in, and that is my current assumption, Libs shouldn't be thinking that I'll have my tail between my legs.  Give the MOAM shit and he'll kick your Ass.... figuratively of course....  just like normal Lynners do.

https://www.facebook.com/9344933/videos/10111774817862504/

International Lunch Day at Ethan's School - Lexington, MA

Official Autumn Cocktail

Peeps....
So here we are in October.

Time to break out the Seagrams VO and Cider, which has been the official autumn drink of Nanepashemet for since even before you pathetic Peeps started asking me what cocktail you should be drinking.

This year, I have substituted the cinnamon garnish with some pumpkin pie spice which is just cinnamon with some ginger mixed in for the most part.

A most satisfying Beveridge to watch the Patriots game with.

Pats are playing the Bills who are coached by Rex Reed.... a most despicable rival.   Course the Bills are up by 10 points in the first period, and the Pats have shown no ability to even make a first down.

So I'm going to sit back and chill with the Official Autumn Cocktail.

There is always a reason to be happy.

Federal Street Firehouse.

This is where my father worked when I was growing up.

I remember it like it was yesterday.  That's how freaking old I am.

 In the back of this fire barn on Federal Street in Lynn, they built boats until the new Chief put an end to that activity.  My father built a 14' motor boat with fins that he put a 35 HP Johnson outboard on for power.   That Johnson was totally undependable.

The Power of Forgiveness

Peeps....
I've decided that I have to make a change for my own mental welfare.

I can no longer harbor such hostile emotions towards those of you who express your support of a disgusting racketeer who will say or do anything to keep power and guide largess to her criminal family syndicate.

Peeps....
I want you to know that I forgive you.

I forgive you if you don't care about using a unclassified server to launder the activities designed to sell state influence through the State Department.

I forgive you if you have no sympathy for parents of Benghazi victims who were lied to their face about a phoney video and the lack of attention to the cause of their relatives senseless deaths.

I forgive you if you don't care that a disbarred corrupt person, fined numerous times for things like Whitewater, and stealing White House furniture will potentially have another run at the stuff she couldn't lift.

I forgive you if you believe that all of the  people who ran afoul of the Syndicate and ended up having accidents or committing suicide is a coincidence.

I forgive you if you can look at a person lying right to people's faces about vast right wing conspiracies and persecuting the victims of her husband's sexual attacks.

Peeps....
There is a ton of other shit that I forgive you for if you continue to support such a disgusting racketeer as our President of the United States.

But I doubt if your Grandkids will forgive you.

They will be dealing with a country rife with racial hatred as jobs drain away from inner cities.
They will be drowning in incredible debt from eight more years of public spending with no conscience.
They will see their rights erode through a Supreme Court packed with self serving Planned Parenthood supporters who don't blink an eye at the murder of the unborn and only care about taking away your ability to arm yourself and defend your family against a swelling crime rate.
They will be subject to the actions of Radical Islamic Terrorists entering the country openly and freely.
They will see the demise of our nation from the most powerful country in the world to a struggling economy wary of China and Russia.

I forgive you.... because I want to live the rest of my years in peace. And I can't be aggravated by the moral and economic demise of this great country because of your support for Disgusting H.  Forgiveness is the only way.

But your Grandkids are screwed if this Disgusting Racketeer has her way with our Country in the next eight years.

You are OK with me, but maybe not so much with them.

Aquaponics Update

Peeps....
So many of you have been asking about how the aquaponics project has been progressing....
I don't blame you.   It is freaking fascinating if I do say so myself.

The fish seem to be healthy with a steady diet of Purina Game Fish feed with some white bread balls that I toss to them as a treat from time to time.  One died early in the project, but it was the largest by far.   The other sixteen are swimming around the 250 gallon plastic juice container and seem fine.

Sometimes they greet me in a friendly manner and look for some bread balls, and other times they seem to freak out and back into the far corner of the tank.   I haven't figured out what sets off this behavior.  Predators visit the site at night, probably raccoons, and maybe they terrorize the fish.   That's just a supposition.

I have spread clay pellets over the bottom of the tank to simulate a gravel pond bed.   Hopefully this will cause them to breed and make nests.  3" PVC Pipe pieces have also be laid on the bottom of the tank to give them a place to hide and feel safe and I have witnessed the fish going in an out of the pipes.

With the 1100 GPH pump water pump that connects the fish tank to the grow beds, the water circulates out of the tank every 15 minutes or so, and the one time that I emptied the swirl filter barrell, it had an inch layer of stinky fish poo solids at the bottom, so the fertilizing nutrients of the fish tank are definitely circulating through the system.

The water flow through the PVC pipes connecting the swirl filter to the three grow beds has needed frequent tweaking.... moving the pipes to get a constant flow to each of the tanks.   If water is not agressively filling the grow beds, the bell siphons don't activate and drain all of the water from the beds.  For the most part, the siphons have worked well and after a little leveling of the beds, there has been no issue with water returning to the fish tank.

The solar power system has proved inadequate to keep the 100 watt pump powered on a 24/7 basis, and it has only been used during times of direct sunlight to the two 100 watt panels.  I have calculated that I will have to add eight additional panels to make up the balance, and it is not financially feasible to make that investment, so I have been content to power the system from my House supply.

As far as the actual plant production in the grow beds, this has been victimized by numerous attack by noctural predators.... probably raccoons or a woodchuck.  At times, they ate all of the vegetation except the tomatoes.   Zuchini, winter squash and cucumbers were annihilated.  Kale and Sweet Potatoes leaves  as well as spearmint plants rebounded well after every attack.

I think we'll have a tomato crop in a month or so, and I replanted rhubarb and kale.

But the larger response to this predator issue has been the decision to encompass the grow beds and the swirl filter with polycarbonate sheets to create a greenhouse and hopefully keep the system functional through the cold weather months.

This has been framed in pressure treated 2x4's and the sheets will be encased in cedar  and placed in the frames with an access system that I haven't figured out yet.   This will happen in October.

I still owe a striped bass fishing trip to Rich Mah, who helped me stock the tank in June.

All in all, the project has been enjoyable if not productive in terms of fresh vegetable produce.  It will be interesting to keep the fish alive and the system circulating over the winter.

An Epic Wedding

Peeps....
When a Peep of the Year decides to get married and put on a wedding, you always have to expect that it will be larger than life..... because that is what POTY's do.

But when POTY, Nathaniel Clarke, tied the knot with Raeleen Rourke this past weekend, they produced a wedding celebration that can only be called epic in the considered opinion of this MOAM.

Since Nate has been one of Son, Mike Nestor's, best friends, and a person held in the highest regard by the Nestor family, we were honored when he invited us to his wedding to be held in South Africa....  and when I say South Africa... I mean the whole freaking country,

Mike and I made the journey to honor Nate and Raeleen by flying to Cape Town by way of London and Johannesburg in a 17 hour flight.  Mike went immediately to a Cape Town Modern house where the Bachelor Party was in play, while I stayed on the ocean front hotel, keeping out of the line of fire that generally besets this type of gathering.   After overcoming jet lag and taking in the beautiful Camp Bay of Cape Town, we journeyed 2 1/2 hours by bus to Gansbaai to do a little Great White Shark Cage diving.


It's not too often that a Mountain of a Man like myself lets out a terrified scream, and I was particularly lucky that it happened while I was underwater as a 4 meter shark cruised right next to a fairly rickety shark cage.  Then to see the huge critter crest out of the water in the chase of a tuna head on a rope and bare his rows of teeth was a frightful thrill.  And it was pretty close to shore.

You won't see me snorkeling in these waters, and the water was very cold as well,,,, even with the wet suits that they equipped us with.

Cape Town itself has to be one of the most beautiful cities on earth.   Beautiful developed harbor, beautiful beaches, and Table Top Mountain rising in the center of the city, with spectacular views of it from all directions.

From Cape Town, we flew to Johannesburg to group up for a 5 1/2 bus trip into the Bush at Hoedspruit. The ride carried us through the majorly developed Johannesburg area, past vast farmland plains and ultimately through the Mountains to the Bush Country We went from sophisticated five star hotels to mud huts with grass roofs.

The Kapama River Lodge of South Africa Game Reserve was to be the venue for this epic wedding ceremony.

Peeps... by sundown, we were viewing a pride of lions feasting on an antelope kill in the bush.   If that isn't cool, then cool doesn't exist.

Over the course of two game drives in successive days, we ran into the Lions, Rhinos, Hippos, an Elephant devouring a Tree that it had knocked down, Giraffes, Water Buffalo, Warthogs, all kinds of Antelope, Monkeys ,a Hyena with a scorpion in its mouth, Jackals, Zebra, Vutures, and numerous other spectacular birds.  Needless to say, between the Great Whites and the Safari Big Game it was a wondrous time to view some of the most spectacular of God's Creatures.

But as cool as that experience was, the best was yet to come.

Nathaniel and Raeleen had meticulously planned an African Wedding on Friday night, replete with incredible tribal dancers and a culturally symbolic ceremony out in the bush, in front of a blazing open wood fire.  Trying to describe the magnitude and spectacle of the Dances and Drumbeats while reciting traditional Zulu, Coza and Situ chants as well as their tribal costumes is beyond the literary capabilities of your MOAM.  That's how freaking awesome it was.

The Saturday ceremony also held in the Bush, but with a traditional wedding vows protocol that included moving statements by Nathaniel and Realeen of their love, admiration and commitment to each other.   It got the MOAM pretty choked up, and I might have even squeezed out a tear or two.  Hey.....I've got a sensitive side, so STFU.

We were transported back to the Main Lodge in the Safari Drive trucks, in our wedding finery but not before a detour of an hour or two when we saw zebras, and needed to disembark to use nature's "behind a tree" urinal.  The women were not to be outdone in this endeavor either as they copped a squat for a much more relieved ride trough the dirt road back to the Lodge.  I will admit that I was nervous about snakes while I was taking a piss in the Bush.

Nate and Raeleen put together a killer live band for the reception, and they played until 11:00 PM or so, when the disc jockeys came out and took over until 6:00AM.

Your MOAM hit the sack around 2:00AM, having exhausted any dance moves still lurking in my sorry White Man's Repertoire.  At weddings like this, if the spirit doesn't move you, then you probably can't move anyway.

It has been an eventful journey trying to return home to Marblehead... which is probably grist for a future Blog post.   I also will be resuming the Peep of the Week selections, inspired by people and events of this week.



Peeps... My advice to you is to keep your eyes and ears open for the names of Nathaniel Clarke, Raeleen Rourke Clarke, and their Daughter Nyla Clarke.  There is a magical essence about this couple.... someday I will be boasting that I knew them when and I was actually at their Safari Wedding..... and it will be all true.   Even if it still seems like a dream to me now.

The Sheep Don't Care

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Peeps....

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I confess that I am mystified why anyone would support Hillary Clinton as their President.  It seems that they just don't care about all of the lies, and immoral behavior that she exhibits.

So I have been examining a theory of why someone who probably is a good person would vote for a disgusting racketeer like H.

My current rumination is that Moonbats see Republicans as authority figures who somehow are responsible for all of the problems that Libbies face. The don't take responsibility for their own lives and want government to fill their void for security. So they vote against Republicans and will gladly support a liar and manipulator like H who panders to them rather than exposing the harsh truths that comes with taking care of yourself. 

If you are someone who will not pander, like Trump, then you are a big, meany bully or worse.   Conservatives wants them to stand on their own two feet.   Which of course, they can't.

Unfortunately, when they stand, they stand in lock step like a herd of sheep.  In our electoral system, they are effective in maintaining a majority of votes, which sweeps their shepherds into office.

That is my expert opinion given that I took Psych 101 at UMASS, which originally was an agricultural college.

But I have been getting more and more proficient in Liberal Language these days.

"BAA BAA BAAAAAA" translates as "We love Hillary.  We don't care about her corrupt, money laundering foundation and her lies about email and Benghazi."
And "BAA BAA BAA BAA BAAAAAAAA" means "Give us free stuff.  Take money from big meany millionaires and give it to us."

So that is my theory of Moonbat Libbies and their thought process.  The Sheep Don't Care.   Why they think that way is still a mystery.  I think it must be a disease.

Gratitude

Saturday Checklist

• 1 hour bike ride around Marblehead
• Frame out Aquaponics Greenhouse
• Plant rhubarb and kale
• Shower
• Buy Beer
• Grill Something
• Chill
• Catch up on early "Ray Donovan" episodes
• Play Banjo on the Deck until Joanne Complains
• Log onto Facebook and try to lure my Libbie Friends into a debate.
• Go to bed and listen to weird paranormal sites on YouTube
• Cuddle with Henry the Cat
• Sleep perchance to Dream

Give Thanks to God for the Blessings of this Day.

Salvaging the Summer

Peeps.....
So it's Labor Day.
Freaking Already!!!!

Every Summer it's the same thing.   Slips by without any real celebration.  No fish, no vacation.... just lots of work.

And so it was this year.

I had numerous business details to tend to, and the summer walked right by.  My Mother died,  My Mother in Law went into Hospice, Daugters in Law got pregnant.... the circle of life remained in full array.

The Aquaponics project showed promise though.  Even though Critters stripped any vegetables away, I learned a lot, the fish survived, and I will build a greenhouse enclosure to thwart whatever gopher or raccoon who has treated me like his Bitch.

Mike and I will be heading to Cape Town and Johannesburg to celebrate the wedding of Nathaniel soon, and I hope that this will be a milestone to remember.  After that, I will get the Herreshoff Tender back into rowing shape and see if I can salvage some autumn fishing.

There still is September, and that will have to do this year.