The Hobo Camp Fire Is going well #IX.. Stop In!!!

[TMo]

31 degrees and sunny this morning in Northeastern MD. Starting to get the thoughts going about getting outside and renovating the property. It's a yearly operation, maintenance of about 25 garden beds and 50 or so tree rings on my 4-acre hilly property, and the installation of about 30 yards of mulch and/or compost I get from the county landfill. Hence spring means very little work on the model railroad. Grass will start to green up and demand cutting as well - which also makes me think about maintenance on my big zero-turn mower. Oil and filter changes, sharpening blades, lubrication.

My youngest is coming over in about an hour to do his taxes with me. Dog's grousing about my delay in taking a hike this morning as a result. The bride's gonna start to get impatient about flooring replacements in the bathrooms. Golf season starts in a little more than a month. More things that keep me away from model railroading.

Didn't keep me from running some trains last night. Had one locomotive that was doing fits-and-starts. Put a couple of drops of Rail Zip on her and she's running like a champ. The stuff is great, but don't overdo it - the film it leaves can really change your coefficient of friction between wheels and rails and you do more slipping than gripping.

Long weekend has started, and on Monday, I will have reached my Minimum Retirement Age. I intend to continue working for another 5 years and 8 months, but if they really tick me off, it's nice to know that I can pull the lever.