topgun2

Last year we had a short discussion about what time of the year do the fireflies come out in the mountains of western North Carolina. Well, within the next three weeks or so some 20 varieties of fireflies will begin to do their annual ritual and this includes the "blue" fireflies that are only know to exist in very limited ranges and the synchronous fireflies that are "famous" in the Great Smokey Mountain National Park (June 1-8 and it takes a lottery ticket to get to see these which are available at Recreation.gov from today through May 3rd). Good luck on getting a ticket! Bill

And - since you asked for "nature stuff" - learn how to recognize western poison ivy. It does look slightly different than the eastern variety - see THIS - in any case - "leaves of three, let it be".

Even if you replace the screens in your Oliver with something like THIS, really small critters will still find a way in. There are many of THESE zappers/lanterns on the market and the two that I have really do work - as long as you only have them on with no other lights on inside. Another tip is to turn on those "exterior courtesy lights" on the Oliver before stepping outside. Twice now I've had a snake lounging on that nice warm paved area just at the bottom of the Ollie steps 😬 (both were harmless black snakes but I'm sure glad I saw them). Bill

I'll see your desert rodent and raise you a bull moose or elk during the rut in Fall plus a griz in Spring, Summer and Fall.😅

Not unless you ask for one. While I strongly encourage a factory tour I would hesitate to recommend anyone spend the time and effort just to take a factory tour when coming from Oregon. Adding it on to your delivery schedule would be a good idea though in that you can take pictures and generally become acquainted with how your Oliver was put together. If I were doing this, I'd plan on doing the tour one day and then taking delivery the next day. Trying to do both in one day is asking a bunch. Bill

While I believe that the guys working for Oliver are a great bunch, I really don't think that there is anyone there that cares where the donuts come from.😃 Bill

Try this for that link. Bill

You might want to contact ShallowGal - they did this exact trip. Bill

This is very interesting in that I've been using the WalMart stuff for 20 years with absolutely nothing happening. Bill

Even though it is "free" - that Oliver factory tour certainly can be rather expensive 😆. The wait is no fun, but, at least it will give you plenty of time to explore the pages of the Forum and certainly the Oliver University. Welcome! Bill

Tx - Don't worry about Jason - he'll get over it and I'm sire that he has had to deal with rejection before 😁. In fact I'm guessing that he will actually be happy for you as we all are. And, while we will miss Jay from the family I'm happy for him too. Your first night of camping at Cracker Barrel probably wasn't so glamorous, but, it certainly got you acquainted with the flexibility of your "new" Oliver. Enjoy it! Bill

Nice job - Mike! If anyone cares to duplicate Mike's effort, be sure to note where he has placed the filter on the fan - inside of the "outside" plastic edges of the fan. This is due to the size of the filter material which can be obtained from places like WalMart for about a dollar. Further explanation of this can be obtained from Mike & Carol given that I installed their channel in the wrong place before trying to install the filter material 🤪. Bill p.s. besides keeping the fan a bit cleaner, this filter material also provides a bit of "shade" from the light that comes through that fan.

St. Augustine, FL would probably offer a bit warmer weather and other than the drive through Atlanta, getting there is really not a problem. Bill p.s. That's what we did when we picked up in February.

I can just see those fur babies in the Oliver - 😃

Wish it was me!

This looks even "cooler" in person!

Sherry & Patty - Welcome! February will be here before you know it. Bill

And, the last I heard - parking in DC is way expensive.

DavidS - You were never in the military I'd guess. At least in the Army this was fairly normal "speak". edit: oops! missed the steaks part which certainly isn't military.😒

Yep - that is what makes them go around those big rocks 😆

Apparently I'm with the "low rent" crowd in that THESE Guys are a bunch easier to replace and are also available at WalMart. With those high priced models I'd feel as though I'd have to polish and clean them. 😁. Of course, while driving these puppies into hard ground and you hit a big rock, the result on that plastic hammer could be a bit bad 😁. Bill

You da man - but I warned ya 😝

Fargoman - Yes, under "normal" circumstances they do fit between the tires without modification. However, I've had a couple of occasions where the Andersens have been a bit tight. So, I either simply kicked them out or took my rubber mallet and gave them a couple of quick tapes. Mind you that this has happened only a couple of times in over five years. Bill

John - Good to hear from you - as usual! Just thinking about you the other day - you might remember that you kindly bequeathed your old microwave to me low those many years ago. Well, that poor thing sat in my workshop under a cover until about two weeks ago. While doing some wiring in the kitchen cubbie right above my microwave I noticed that the frame around the microwave was a bit out of joint. Upon further investigation I found out that the front two "feet" on the microwave had broken (due to over-flexing of the thin sheet metal to which they were attached). Not to worry - I've got Raspy's microwave that I can use as a simple swap! Nope - I quickly found out that one of the front feet of yours had also broken AND you (like me) had not had the benefit of a brace at the top of the unit that attaches it (basically) to the underside of the wood that surrounds it. So, I then noticed that you had drilled four holes in the frame, probably assuming that this would be enough to hold the microwave in place. I'm assuming that once you found out that this didn't work you simply decided that you really didn't need that bad boy and converted the space into a liquor cabinet 😁. In studying your old microwave and taking some measurements (without having to carry mine back and forth from the storage yard where the Ollie is located) I found out that by using the brace mentioned above plus supporting the bottom with a 5/8 inch thick board AND drilling two holes in the frame at the center points, ALL of the microwave movement is now eliminated. Thanks once again for passing your microwave along instead of simply throwing it out. It really did help in finding the solution and saved me a bunch of time in figuring it out too. Bill

K & T - Glad that you are here and joining the Family. Given that you are not "newbies" your learning curve should be a lot less steep. However, there is a bunch here for you to read which will make your delivery a bunch smoother. Let us know if we can help and keep those pics coming! Bill