A full day planned, starting with 90 minutes of guitar. Working on “Everybody Hurts” along with some exercises and a little blues practice. It was a nice time, and I’m thinking that most of this sabbatical is going to be about guitar, with a few other things thrown in.

Afterwards, I went outside to get a little work done. I started with the winch. After machining new holes and ensuring I had hardware, I mounted it on the building.

It’s in a good spot, but I discovered a few other issues, which I wasn’t sure how to solve. First, the cable up there is 1/4” cable. The winch has 3/16”, which isn’t a lot different, but it is different. I removed the electric winch cable and found a 1/4” hole, or close to it, but it’s too narrow to get the old cable in.

I tried a few ways, including using the Dremel to saw off a clean edge. I could try to widen the hole, but I have a different issue, which is the drum is really small on the electric winch for 1/4” cable. That likely would be an issue. Perhaps the better solution is to connect to two cables together, but I need to do that up high, likely somewhere in the 22’ range, which means renting a hoist. It’s an interesting problem, and one for another day.

My wife has other issues with repairs, so I moved on to work with the tack room. The old lights are dying, likely with blown ballasts, but rewiring those is a hassle. It’s also likely not as efficient as getting something else. I did find a nice fixture on Amazon for $25, which is less than a new ballast for these lights.

I replaced one today and my wife liked it, so I’ll order another and replace the second one next week.

Then I went to do some feeder fixing. I cut new wood, but had some issues because some of the screws in this feeder are phillips, some are square, and I didn’t have the right bit. I decided to leave things along and just redrill some holes for a temp fix. Again, this seems like a next week project.

I have a few to fix, so I’ll measure some items while I’m out there, and then fix them better when the weather clears up. Today was cold, frigid really, with 10-20mph winds and a 25F temp. I retreated indoors.

I’m publishing early, with the intent to play a little more guitar and ride the indoor cycle today for exercise. Then it’s time to get on a plane.

Yes, I’m traveling on sabbatical, but not for work. My wife wants to celebrate this birthday in Las Vegas, so we’re heading out tonight. I got practice covered, and her sisters and our sons are meeting us out there for the weekend, so this will be a fun, relaxing weekend.

We’ll see what I can pick back up with on Monday. Halfway done, and it’s been fun and relaxing. Not getting as much done as I’d like, but I’m working through things.