10.23.2026

 Jim finished cleaning the windows and got the Bobcat ready to reinstall them...

Finishing up inside the pole barn...

Jim's been waiting for hardware for the 4Runner and late this afternoon the studs finally arrived.  They've been a tough part to get - Jim originally ordered them through a Toyota dealer south of us and that didn't work.  We ordered them from the dealer in Saratoga, waited over a week, only to find out that Toyota canceled the order because the minimum order was 10.  So Jim found another source online and hopefully all will be well.  

These oak trees on the west side of the house outside the auto bay are just glowing with color in the sunshine...

High 57.3/Low 35.4

10.22.2026

Jim started putting the inside of the car together - working on connecting the 4WD shifter... 

Time to finish cleaning the windows of the Bobcat.  These are the side windows that are hidden behind this grated steel, so they aren't accessible for a good clean...

Scraping concrete splashes off the windows.  Then he sprayed them both off again before leaving them inside to dry...

High 64.9/Low 31.1

10.21.2026

 Jim got the other drive shaft on and all 16 of the bolts torqued.  

In the afternoon, we decided we needed some fresh fall air and went outside to do some clean up.  Jim cut down our two dead pines.  This is the perfect time to cut down any rogue trees trying to grow in the pines, because you can easily pick out the yellow leaves.  So we went along the edges and did that cleanup.  We assembled our first fall chipping pile.

A pre-winter job is to get the Bobcat ready, including cleaning the window and getting it installed.  Jim sprayed it off but there are a few concrete splashes he'll need to work on tomorrow...

High 62.4/Low 35.5

10.20.2026

Jim helped me out as always this morning, schlepping 7 trays of mail from upstairs in my office, down to the pantry/mail room, and then to my car so I could head to the post office.  As an aside, my new car is amazing - the back holds so much and I am still in awe of the cool doors!  I had errands to do afterwards of course.

 Meanwhile, Jim pretty much has the top of the engine as done as he can.  He's waiting for some parts and he needs to order oil.  He got the front drive shaft on...

He painted the ends of the back drive shaft, so after an overnight dry, he'll hopefully get that on tomorrow...

So...the engine hoist is back in the lean to.  He was doing some cleaning in there as well.  

We walked up to the shed because Jim wanted to see if he had some plywood pieces stored.  Along the way, we picked out some trees that we want to transplant.  We were pretty much 0 for 3 on the trees we planted in the spring, so we'll try again, hopefully this week!  Those trees were kind of iffy to begin with because they were attached to the rock wall.  Such a gorgeous day on the property - just look at this mini forest!

Cutting the plywood - he's going to make a little shelf underneath the blasting cabinet to hold some of his supplies...

High 62.9/Low 40.3

10.19.2026

 Jim is really getting the top of the engine buttoned up...

It was a gorgeous day though, so Jim had so spend a little time doing some lawn mowing.  Can you find him below?  You can also start to see the mountains on the horizon now that the trees are losing leaves.

High 62.6/Low 31.5

10.18.2026

Yesterday before church, Jim got the newly-modified catalytic converter all installed! 

We had our first below freezing day - with readings of 28° this morning when we got up.  Definitely some frost on the pumpkins!

Today, he was back at it, working on connecting the millions of hoses, wires, electrical connections...

He had lots of trouble with reaching one vacuum hose connection, and practically had to crawl inside the engine...

10.17 - High 47.4/Low 32.9
10.18 - High 59.5/Low 28.6 - first freeze!

10.16.2026

Jim finished all the welding on the catalytic converter today... 

This was the side that had big gaps that Jim had to fill in...

Putting it in the blasting cabinet to clean it up...

All clean...

Then a coat of heat-resistant paint...

Jim had to spend some time doing some cleaning, and then started on the top of the engine, hooking up some of the wiring harness...

The throttle body out and Jim is investigating what he needs to do on it...

High 61.2/Low 41.8 - rainy