Whew!

It was a busy weekend - not much time for radio. I took Friday and today off from work. I spent all day Friday and part of yesterday, as well as most of today, spreading out 2 yards of topsoil in various areas of the backyard. Seems my dog has a penchant for moat building; at least that's what the back and right sides of my backyard looked like! I filled in the trenches with new topsoil and planted new grass seed. In addition, I tilled the garden patch and got it ready for planting; including putting up a "dog-proof" fence. Oh, I also mowed the lawns yesterday.

This all didn't leave much time for radio. I got a QSO in on Friday night; and on Saturday night I handed out a few QSOs in the New England QSO Party. Then I made a couple of contacts on 30 Meters using the Butternut vertical. I get much better signals reports on 30 Meters when I use the Butternut. The G5RV just doesn't play well on 30; and that's a complaint I've heard from other Hams. Another good reason to get up an EDZ later this Spring, if I can!

This afternoon, after all the chores were said and done, I commenced to get in my "QSO a Day" for May 8th. I still haven't broken the string since January 1, 2005. I'd really like to see how long I can keep it going. Today, I worked Vlad UT7IF in the Ukraine on 20 Meters. I used the G5RV on this one. He was 599 here in NJ; and he gave me a 569. Not bad, and it got the job done. I'll make my QSO for May 9, tonight after the UTC date changes over at 8:00 PM local time. I'll have to make it a quick one though, as "24" comes on at 9:00 PM. Gotta see how Jack Bauer get the incriminating tape of the President's actions out of the hands of the bad guys! I am so hooked on that show! It's about the only thing I watch on TV besides Mets baseball and "Monk" when they decide to show something other than a re-run!

73 de Larry W2LJ