Damage

Here’s an example of the kind of damage done to the wiring of our solar panels by squirrels. Click through for a worse picture of a more extreme case. The solar company was out today to fix it and install critter guards around the edges. Surprisingly, the solar array worked fine throughout, except for a few wet mornings.

It’s alive!

You may recall that Lis posted about a baby robin in the middle of our yard last week. Well, it has survived the neighborhood cats and is still with us. It’s still pretty scruffy-looking, but is being cared for by 2 adults and is able to fly short distances.

Smokin

I smoked a small lamb leg roast today, It came in at about the time I expected, around 2 hrs at 250-300F, meat at 140F. First time I’ve smoked over live charcoal, and it went fine with my new probe thermometer. The result was good, but I think next time lamb leg belongs in the sous vide and it’s fattier cuts like lamb shoulder that should be smoked.

Repair

We like the sitting wall on our back patio, but just about every year it needs a few stones re-set. This is the first time I’ve had to fix one of the ones that make up the top of the wall. You can see that the original builders didn’t use *quite* enough mortar on this one.

Mama

We wondered if these 3 squirrels who have been hanging out together are a family. Now we know.

(shot through a window; the strange lighting effect is a reflection)