Show us what you see!!!

[John McLaughlin]

Jim
The Viking Venus will be our home the whole time. We will be taking excursions in each port we visit

 

[Thermobrett]

Curious. Where do you buy your salt?

I buy my salt from the pool store or Home Depot / Lowes if the pool store is out (roughly $8-$9 a bag). During hurricane season shipments became scarce so I went to Home Depot and was able to find the 40lb bags there. Make sure its pool salt and not water softener salt, there is a difference. You should only need to add salt to your pool if you have to remove water mainly if you have ALOT of rain. I was draining a couple hundred gallons every couple of hours as my pool does not have a overflow in the skimmer. The salt won't break down as it stays suspended. If you need to add salt, the light on your chlorinator will light up low indicating your PPM is out of range.

 

[buckbuck]

@BigN8 I also live in North Texas and if you have an Attwoods nearby you will find them with the best price. They also have Acid very reasonable.
What @Thermobrett has said about salt consumption is what everyone has told me but my experience is I have to add about 8 bags every spring. I don't know why I am so different. If you scroll to diagnostics- chlorinator on your control unit you can see where your levels are.

 

[BigN8]

My app gives me constant updates. I would assume this is what is being reported from the chlorinator.

 

[Thermobrett]

My app gives me constant updates. I would assume this is what is being reported from the chlorinator.

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Looks like it. My pool was put in back in 2012, when most things were still analog lol. I just have a kid that jumps in and says the waters cold

 

[zipper]

My day off from work, lol. Been on the list for a few years. Always had other things of higher priority higher up on the list. Boat stuff. But I promised my wife I would move it up, when the right day came along. I was aiming for a no wind day and they were correct on their prediction. One side up and one to go in the near future. One piece of 6 mil. 105’ x 40’ locked down. 65degs. today, the wind did gust a few times when it mixed with our sub freezing temps from last night. I just held on. Wife helped from the ground.











Side roll up and ridge roll up done. Covered garden space 100×30. It used to be our lambing barn 20 years ago. This project will need me to run the sawmill to make new endwalls.

 

[BigN8]

I made this card table from repurposed pallet wood. With the new backyard features and the great weather lately we’ve been putting it to good use eating dinners out here and playing card games.

 

[Thermobrett]

My day off from work, lol. Been on the list for a few years. Always had other things of higher priority higher up on the list. Boat stuff. But I promised my wife I would move it up, when the right day came along. I was aiming for a no wind day and they were correct on their prediction. One side up and one to go in the near future. One piece of 4 mil. 105’ x 40’ locked down. 65degs. today, the wind did gust a few times when it mixed with our sub freezing temps from last night. I just held on. Wife helped from the ground.

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Side roll up and ridge roll up done.

I like that your priorities lie with boat stuff LOL

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

So far about an inch of snow has fallen today.. another 1-2” is forecasted for tonight.. but that is not going to be near enough to bring the water up to the concrete on the ramp.. in my opinion based on my observations of the last several years the bureau of reclamation let out too much water in the fall.



Looks like “they” brought in dirt /gravel and made a ramp to the end of the ramp, there used to be a 4” drop off of the end of the concrete, several folks were out on the lake and had launched from this north ramp. There were six trucks and boat trailers up in the parking lot… C’mon late season snow and rain storms!

 

[suke]

So far about an inch of snow has fallen today.. another 1-2” is forecasted for tonight.. but that is not going to be near enough to bring the water up to the concrete on the ramp.. in my opinion based on my observations of the last several years the bureau of reclamation let out too much water in the fall.

View attachment 233224

Looks like “they” brought in dirt /gravel and made a ramp to the end of the ramp, there used to be a 4” drop off of the end of the concrete, several folks were out on the lake and had launched from this north ramp. There were six trucks and boat trailers up in the parking lot… C’mon late season snow and rain storms!

Yikes with the snow still. It'll be near 90* here this weekend and has already been close to that a time or two. It dipped down into the 60s-70s for highs this week. Our last real freeze was weeks and weeks ago.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Yikes with the snow still. It'll be near 90* here this weekend and has already been close to that a time or two. It dipped down into the 60s-70s for highs this week. Our last real freeze was weeks and weeks ago.

I think we have had 3 false springs so far… Yesterday it felt hot at 68*.. to day the high was maybe 32*… tonight it will be 24* and tomorrow night it will be 19*. I moved more firewood over to the house and split three wheel barrows full of kindling… today I’ve had a fire all day.. all night tonight and again tomorrow. After that I’ll be back to having fires in the morning, a great way to start the day.

 

[zipper]

I am ready for warm sunny weather here, @FSH 210 Sport can have our snow, although it melted yesterday, but this was from the store Wednesday...



And at elevation yesterday morning. 70’s tomorrow.

 

[YoDaddy292]

My BEYOND amazing wife surprised me with a weekend fishing trip to Ketchikan, Alaska! I’ve never been much of a fisherman but now I think adding a 25’ North River would be nice to add to the arsenal. Stayed at the Creek Street Inn which is literally a bunch of old brothels on pilings on the creek headed to the bay.

 

[zipper]

My BEYOND amazing wife surprised me with a weekend fishing trip to Ketchikan, Alaska! I’ve never been much of a fisherman but now I think adding a 25’ North River would be nice to add to the arsenal. Stayed at the Creek Street Inn which is literally a bunch of old brothels on pilings on the creek headed to the bay. View attachment 233335View attachment 233336View attachment 233337View attachment 233338

She did it just for the Halibut!

 

[zipper]

Our boat season started today, well boat prep anyway…buffed out a small section to see how much work I will need to put into the topsides. A lot to do, but a new wool pad will help expedite it.





You can see the section I worked on. I used 3m heavy cut to remove the oxidation. No wax yet.



Tools still working great, Just need a new wool pad to finish. This one is spent.





I also sanded off the painted on homeport then ran out of discs, only had one and nobody is open today.



A good start.

 

[suke]

Mother in law requested beer can chicken for Easter dinner. These are so easy to do and always come out amazing! So juicy and moist!

 

[drewkaree]

It wasn't all dreary and blah this weekend for me, there were at least a few smiles. This is my brother-in-law, with his two. He keeps asking me how I deal with 7, soon to be 8. I tell him "one at a time, and with grandma around" LOL

 

[John McLaughlin]

The Great Buddha: The statue commonly known as Kamakura Daibutsu (Great Buddha of Kamakura), a colossal copper image of Amida-butsu (Amitabha Buddha), is the principle image of Kotoku-in. The fact that it sits in the open air makes it unusual amongst large Buddha statues in Japan. The Great Buddha, designated a National Treasure by the Japanese government, is some 11.3 meters tall and weighs around 121 tons. Though in size it falls short of the Great Buddha of Todai-ji Temple at Nara (an image of Rushana-butsu [Vairochana Buddha]), it essentially retains its original form; as such it is an invaluable example of Japanese historical Buddhist art. When it was first built, the Great Buddha was enshrined in Daibutsu-den Hall, but ancient records (Taiheiki and Kamakura-dainikki) tell us that this building was damaged and ultimately destroyed in typhoons hitting in 1334 and 1369, and subsequently in a severe earthquake in 1498. Since then, because it sits out in the open, the statue itself has been ravaged by the elements.

The "lions" guarding the Great Buddha are actually guardian statues known as Komainu (lion-dogs). They are a pair of lion-like creatures that traditionally flank the entrances of Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples, serving as protectors against evil spirits.

There are two statues guarding the Great Buddha in Japan are known as the "Two Kings of Tōdai-ji. They are depicted as muscular and fierce protectors of Buddhism, standing at the entrance of many Buddhist temples. These statues are often found at the main gates of temples,

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

The Great Buddha: The statue commonly known as Kamakura Daibutsu (Great Buddha of Kamakura), a colossal copper image of Amida-butsu (Amitabha Buddha), is the principle image of Kotoku-in. The fact that it sits in the open air makes it unusual amongst large Buddha statues in Japan. The Great Buddha, designated a National Treasure by the Japanese government, is some 11.3 meters tall and weighs around 121 tons. Though in size it falls short of the Great Buddha of Todai-ji Temple at Nara (an image of Rushana-butsu [Vairochana Buddha]), it essentially retains its original form; as such it is an invaluable example of Japanese historical Buddhist art. When it was first built, the Great Buddha was enshrined in Daibutsu-den Hall, but ancient records (Taiheiki and Kamakura-dainikki) tell us that this building was damaged and ultimately destroyed in typhoons hitting in 1334 and 1369, and subsequently in a severe earthquake in 1498. Since then, because it sits out in the open, the statue itself has been ravaged by the elements.

The "lions" guarding the Great Buddha are actually guardian statues known as Komainu (lion-dogs). They are a pair of lion-like creatures that traditionally flank the entrances of Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples, serving as protectors against evil spirits.

There are two statues guarding the Great Buddha in Japan are known as the "Two Kings of Tōdai-ji. They are depicted as muscular and fierce protectors of Buddhism, standing at the entrance of many Buddhist temples. These statues are often found at the main gates of temples,

Fascinating!

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Boating day 7 2025…. Beauty day on my closest lake. My friend Jim and his cousin Karl and I were out mid Morning to fish, the girls, three of them, two brides and a fiancé came out later. No fish on the day, but we all had a great time on the lake and had a nice bbq in one of the coves.



Water level is down 11’ (it’s up from 12’ down a month ago) so neither the north or south concrete boat ramp is useable, had to launch off the gravel and no dock. Not an issue for myself and the other fisherman. The wake, ski and pontoon boats will be another story.




The Bureau of Reclamation runs the water level along with the city and they’ve royally screwed the pooch by letting too much water out in the fall, and with a La Niña year snow fall was as expected to be less than normal. So it’ll be up to spring rains and summer thunderstorms to bring the lake level up. I see that the outflow has been cut back to the minimum…however this isn’t going to keep those agencies from catching a lot of deserved heat from the slip holders at the north and south ramps. These slips have a minimum 10 year waiting list, and people buy other peoples boats just to get the slips for a few months each year. I did talk to an older guy yesterday at the ramp who said he had heard about the forest service putting in some traffic plates to make the launch at the north ramp useable and to keep the area under the water from eroding when people power load their boats. I’m afraid it’s just going to be a shit show. The south marina is the side that has fuel on the water so for slip holders this is even more of a concern, there’s also a little store at the south ramp.

The red arrow shows low spot that is a bit tricky but is not insurmountable…you can see the end of the concrete ramp in the pics.