Sophisticated Kelpie

The other day Sandra was freaking out about something or other. Being a bloke has its benefits, you get to be super-chill, confident and stuff. Except I couldn’t say a darn thing, I’d had my own freak out earlier in the week. We’d had a few warm days, and at that stage the firewood was not yet done. Nightmares. About snakes. Nuff said…

When the weather warms up here, the snakes get extra energy from the summer sun and they slither into action. The Eastern Brown snake which is found around much of the east coast of the continent, is a highly successful predator. It also just happens to be the second deadliest snake on the planet. Poking such a reptile is akin to annoying a hungry bear just prior to the hibernation season – you’re going to get a reaction, and things are going to end badly.

Mind you, death by snake bite is very rare in this country. Death by hungry bear is even rarer, although Koala Bears do have sharp claws and surly attitudes. Fortunately, anti-venom is widely available. It’s usually those who don’t seek treatment, or are unaware they’ve been bitten, that come unstuck. You only have a few hours after being bitten to seek help, and without the first aid of a compress and immobilisation, the hours available are much reduced. But get help, and you’ll probably be fine, maybe. Dogs on the other hand have a mixed experience, and I’ve read that the fatality rate is about 50% for snake bites. Basically, a dog is smaller than a human, and trying to slow down and immobilise a dog (especially a Kelpie!) is an act of futility. They don’t do slow.

About a decade ago, I volunteered for three years with the local rural fire fighting brigade. Getting to drive a fire truck is a lot of fun. The trucks generally have chainsaws in the back, and those machines can be life savers. If the truck and crew are in a bushfire, and a tree is blocking the road to safety, a chainsaw can make all the difference between getting out – and not. So, the brigade sent me into the forest to hang out for a couple of days with a crusty old forestry worker. And in between establishing himself as the alpha male of the pack (he was), the bloke drilled me on how to use a chainsaw sustainably for long work hours each day. When asked about the risk from snakes, he said the bigger risk for forestry workers was being bitten and stung by ants, wasps, scorpions and all the other bitey critters out there.

Snakes still bother me though, so we’ve made the farm an unpleasant and risky place for a snake to be. My thinking is that if there are easier pickings elsewhere, snakes will take themselves to the land of elsewhere, maybe. As a strategy it’s more or less working. It is rare that we encounter snakes here. Four snake sightings in eighteen years is not nothing, but it isn’t a regular occurrence either. And the last snake we spotted, two of the dogs: Ollie and Dame Plum, left the reptile well alone.

On the other hand, we have all manner of ants living here on the farm, from tiny little ones which will bite and sting you, to ants which are an inch long, have seriously bad attitudes, are ultra aggressive, and oh yeah, they’ll bite and sting too. I’ve been stung by ants so many times over the years here my body somehow manages to sort of deal with the formic acid injected by the sting. The early days here were brutal though. Last night for sheer horror factor, I watched an adventurous bloke deliberately get himself stung by the local bulldog ants for research purposes. Check this out, it’s riveting and honestly the guy needs a medal, or a hug, or something like that:

Stung by a Bulldog Ant – Brave Wilderness

What I’ve observed over the years is that the ants in general don’t seem to like Humic acids and you get those by developing the top soil. The richer the top soil, the less ants you have here. It’s playing the long game really as it takes time to build top soil. Unfortunately for my plans, in areas where I’ve built up the top soil, the garden Wolf Spiders have moved in. They’re everywhere out there. Who can forget the nice early spring sunny day a couple of months ago when I sat out in the orchard with my dog Ollie admiring the bucolic scene, and one of this spiders bit me on the bum. That hurt. I’m not winning this game…

It’s a truth here that if one critter misses out on biting or stinging you, some other critter will get around to the job soon enough. The dogs run the same risk as well, except being smaller, they get a worse reaction. Poor Ruby the Kelpie must have kicked a bulldog ant nest yesterday, because she was stung badly enough that last night she could barely walk for the pain.

When I first encountered the aftermath of the distressed-stung-canine episode yesterday, I thought that a snake may have bitten the dog. However, Ruby wasn’t displaying the symptoms of snake bite. We were at the furthest point from the house, and down hill to boot. She ain’t heavy, she’s my dog, was my thoughts as I carried her all the way back up the hill. She was heavy though at 20 odd kilograms (44 pounds). Regular dosing of anti-histamines has helped the dog a lot, and we’ll see how it goes. This morning she was able to run around a bit and do her usual Kelpie business, but then she was brought back inside to rest and recover and lick her wounds.

Humans have a bit of an advantage with the bulldog ants because our hands are able to flick and pluck them off – or squash them (and they’ll try to sting whilst being squashed). Dogs have to run through thick vegetation to get rid of them, or use their mouths. I’m guessing that is what happened because she smelled of lemon balm, which candidly is better smelling than the wombat poop she rolled in this morning. Sophisticated Kelpies! You’d hope the dog has learned a lesson and will leave the ants alone in future.

One day was particularly warm and very humid, so we took the day off any work and visited the spectacular Werribee Manor.

Werribee Manor

The mansion was constructed in the early days of the colony, and funded from the proceeds of a vast sheep and cattle run. The owner apparently killed himself in the massive laundry building (of all places) at the age of 72. The pile was in the family which constructed it for about fifty years. The Catholic Church then purchased it in the 1920’s and ran a seminary from there for the next fifty years. That lot then sold it to the state government in 1977. Property was perhaps cheaper in the 70’s? However, it would not have been cheap for the government to restore the building. For a small fee, you can walk through the mansion and be astounded by the Victorian era opulence.

On another hot and very humid summers day, we constructed a new steel rock gabion cage. You can do that work in the shade, and it’s not physically demanding.

Dame Plum finds the new steel rock gabion cage to her liking

The cages take a couple of hours to make from scratch, and it wasn’t yet lunchtime by the time we finished. We used the extra time available to sew another cage shut.

Ruby, you’ll never get a title, but you can appreciate a good rock gabion cage

When the summer weather cooled again, we went scrounging for extra timber to complete the filling up of the firewood shed.

Note the tree leaning at a precarious angle. Future firewood!

Observant readers will note that in the above image, there is a tree which is leaning at an inappropriate angle. It’ll fall over sooner or later, and in fact it had a tilting friend which did just that over a year ago.

Was a snake hiding in that pile of smaller logs, or wasn’t it?

The last of the fallen tree to be processed was the pile of smaller logs which can be seen to the right hand side in the above image. The smaller logs make for excellent kindling and fire starters. The firewood shed was soon full.

Removing the tree stump from the fallen tree was difficult because there was a boulder resting against it. The boulder will be split into more usefully sized rocks in the future.

A large boulder prevents me from cleaning up this tree stump

What’s weird about that fallen tree, was that just on the other side of it was one of the upside-down tree stumps left over from the logging activity which occurred many decades ago. It’s hard to explain why the loggers would leave the tree logs upside down. It wouldn’t have been easy to do. Is it art?

An upside down tree stump with a load of clay stuck to the roots

The tree stumps still display the scars from the 1983 bushfires which swept through this mountain range. Fortunately, there aren’t too many of these upside down tree stumps left – we’ve been dealing with them. There was another nearby which had been pushed up against a very large and old tree. It’s can’t be good for the tree.

It’s hard to explain why the loggers would have done this

The large old tree probably dates back to the aftermath of the 1851 fires. It’s a big tree. You can still see fire scaring on the core of the tree. Anyway, I decided to attempt to remove the tree stump which was pushed up against the old tree.

Success! The upside down tree stump is now on its side

The tree stump was remarkably heavy and near to the upper limits of what I could physically move using levers and muscle. I’ll have to get the chainsaw onto and further reduce it’s size. Once it is smaller, I’ll then be able to burn the stump off, along with the other one in the same area. But for now, it’s putting less downhill pressure on the large old tree.

I like to look after the older and larger trees here. It takes a lot of time and effort by the forest to grow such huge plants, and they provide plenty of living spaces in the form of hollows for the many forest critters to live in. There’s a lot of life here at the farm, mostly because there is a lot of housing and food. Younger and smaller trees provide very little in the way of housing, and regrowth forests are notably quiet places.

Some of the larger tall trees here

The warmer weather this week spurred on the growth in the pumpkin patch.

The pumpkin patch has exploded with growth with the brief burst of warmer weather

We’re trialling a new variety of squash this year, and so far the fruit is early and plentiful.

I believe that these are a golden globe yellow squash

Climbing up the sapling fence enclosure are many varieties of beans, and they’re doing much better this growing season than did the peas.

Beans climb the sapling fence enclosure

The very first of the Babaco (a cool climate papaya) was harvested. The fruit wasn’t completely yellow, but it was close enough.

A ripe Babaco (papaya) grown in the greenhouse

It’s taken a year and half from planting to today. I’m of the opinion that the cool climate description is a long bow to draw given that it only survived here because it was in the greenhouse. Outdoors it would have had zero chance of survival. Perhaps sub-tropical is a better description?

Inside the Babaco

What does it taste like? It’s sweet, and I can well understand why people describe the taste as a lemon sorbet. All up, I quite like the taste. The plant will have to be cut back hard after the current batch of fruit has been eaten.

Turns out I’m not the only one around here who likes fruit. The parrots have taken a shine to some of the many varieties of apples we have growing. It is difficult to be upset with a bird which is a combination of bright green and vibrant orange.

Thanks so much for the apples!

Onto the flowers:

Hydrangeas have enjoyed the plentiful rainfall this summer
These Geraniums are thriving in the shade of an Elderberry
This Penstemon clearly enjoyed its recent feed
Olive Herb flowers reach for the sunshine
Agapanthus have enjoyed the brief warm spell

The temperature outside now at about 9am is 17’C (63’F). So far for last year there has been 152.8mm (6.0 inches) which is up from last weeks total of 110.6mm (4.4 inches)

39 thoughts on “Sophisticated Kelpie”

  1. Yo, Chris – I had a dream about an old lady coming to my door and just nattering away. 🙂 She just wouldn’t leave! Far more frightening than dreaming of snakes.

    I see your Bull ants and raise you … Army Ants!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UozWJTuhbMQ

    We have these in our South and Southwest. Also, Fire Ants! With the climate change, they’re slowly moving north, along with a lot of other “interesting” critters. Hopefully, I’ll be dead before they make it this far north. Here, we just have wasps that live in the ground. Step on a nest and you have a very bad day. The Master Gardeners discovered a nest, on our back slope, last year. Luckily, everyone ran very fast, and no one was stung. An exterminator was called.

    The guy in your video was a moron. I hope he gets paid well. I want him to lay in the path of the Army Ants, to see how still he can lay!

    Maybe Ruby found the Wombat poop, soothing? I’m glad to hear she’s on the mend. I told H about her adventure, and H just rolled her eyes.

    My, Werribee Manor is quit the pile. I think that’s an official architectural classification. “Pile.” Another classification is “castle.” Depending on who is counting, we have several in Washington State. Most of them, I’d classify as “Piles.” Some shirt tail relation of mine lived in Congdon Castle, in Yakima. As I remember, she was the lady’s maid / companion of the old lady that owned the place.
    I’m sure I’ve seen the Manor, in some Australian film or series I’ve watched. I was talking about “industrial loft conversions.” If you search that, you’ll see some interesting places.

    The Gabion cages are quit nice. Very monumental.

    Looks like your pumpkin patch is really coming along. There’s some loose talk about putting ours on either side of the front door to the Institution. I think it’s a bad idea. They’d run across the sidewalks and there’d be hell to pay.

    The green beans look very tasty. Bigger than the ones I got. Do you remember the variety? The inside of the Babaco is all sparkly. Just like certain angsty teenage vampires, rumored to live in our state! 🙂

    The Hydrangeas are beautiful. We won’t see the like, for several months. Time to make popcorn and watch people get eaten by giant sharks! I wonder if Ant Boy, is up to the challenge, of being bitten by a shark? Lew

  2. Hi Pam,

    🙂 The space around you along with all the antics of the critters, even the bitey and stingey ones, makes living in the wilds enjoyable.

    Had a brief monsoonal dump of rain late this afternoon (with more forecast for tomorrow). Right now the birds are singing in the end of another day and the cicadas are providing the chorus. It was warm today.

    With the multiple generations under one roof, are you considering a larger house?

    Cheers

    Chris

  3. Hi Lewis,

    A truer terror has rarely been encountered. 😉 Although, just for a second, imagine if the lady in question did all those dastardly deeds AND offered you a hand knitted tea-cosy in exchange for the use of you and your ranger for an entire days labour whilst you helped the lady in question move digs? Hehe! Things could always be worse don’t you reckon? Oh, and you had to pay for the gas. Just thought I’d add that last bit in for dramatic effect. Bet you can’t top that nightmare?

    Oh my gawd! Lewis, I’m in awe and hope never to come across a hive of army ants.

    Did you know that your fire ants have gained a foothold on this continent up in the far north east? Well, with climate change, those fire ants are slowly moving south down here as well. Again, just like your wish, hope never to see them just like the errant cane toads, which are also expanding their range. What interests me about ecology is that as the cane toad influence increases, some clever creatures are learning how to eat the toxic toads and survive.

    Don’t you have those monster hornet wasps?

    The video has had three million views. The bloke is probably well paid for his pain. 😉 Honestly, it probably wouldn’t end well with the experiment you proposed with the army ants. My grandfather was prone to call everyone by the naughty name of: ‘d#$khead’ (even me, and it was probably true), and mate there are days I wonder whether the old bloke was onto something with that. 🙂 It was like a pre-emptive strike upon a persons character. But he may have been correct…

    Nice guess, and yeah, the dogs do exactly that stinky wombat poop roll manoeuvre when they have skin issues. They tell you what is going on. Ruby is much feeling better today, but is still very itchy. I’ve reduced the doses today. It’s a remarkable chemical that stuff. Good to hear that H is the far more sensible dog. The more sensible Ollie and Dame Plum send cordial tail wags to H. And please let her know that neither of them gave much support to the more foolish canine of the trio.

    It’s not a bad word to describe such a mansion. Makes you wonder about the origins of the word ‘pile’ doesn’t it? Hmm, dunno. It appears that a ‘pile’ refers to a row of rooms. Perhaps the word stuck in the Victorian era when workers houses were a one up and one down arrangement? A mansion by contrast would be a whole bunch of connected rooms.

    Perhaps the word ‘castle’ is taking the definition a tad too far. My thinking about the matter is that if angry barbarians seeking to loot the mansion were serious about their business – the place would be sacked. Forgive me if I’m wrong, but the word castle seems to refer to a defensible building maybe with some crenulations, drawbridge, murder holes, a moat etc. Dunno. Now you’ve got me wondering about the history of that word.

    Thanks, and we like the steel rock gabion cages too. Very useful, and they look good.

    Bought some more tomato supports today, and they were at least a bit cheaper than the ones which horrified me last week. These ones look sturdier too. I used to believe that these things were cheap enough that they were disposable, but no longer – they’ll be carefully attended too and stored away out of the weather at the end of the season. And I’ll consider welding some more up from scratch.

    Oh yeah, the pumpkin patch idea is very bad in that location. Sorry to say that. The vines go where ever they want to go. It would mean that someone would have to keep them trimmed away from the paths at all times, and some days they grow fast indeed. As you suspect, you’d never hear the end of the collective whinge. I’m sure I’ve recounted the story of using my position of authority to force an entire medium sized business to only use recycled paper? Far out, talk about kicking the nest. It turned nasty. The pumpkin idea would be like that.

    Indeed I do! The heritage beans have the awful name of ‘lazy housewife’, and they’re such an awesome plant and require so little of my involvement.

    Hehe! Yes, sage advice and watch out for those angsty sparkly vampires. Little wonder they enjoy the lack of sun and prevailing weather conditions in that cold and wet coastal town. 🙂

    Frankly speaking, not many people are up for being chomped upon by sharks. It seems like every few days the news has these articles… More people die from shark attacks than snake bites, or at least that is what I reckon. Was the film any good?

    Oh yeah, you’ve got hydro electricity in you part of the world, so hope that keeps ticking along during the cold snap, but at least it doesn’t require gas.

    That was my take on the industrial and commercial buildings as well. In the mid 1990’s recession, we looked at a small freehold older style warehouse right in the big smoke. It was being sold as a potential residential conversion, and would be one of the few freehold buildings in the city. It wasn’t all that expensive, and I’m glad we didn’t purchase it because the property taxes nowadays would have been a total buzzkill. The constant noise would also have sent me loopy.

    There was a bit of outlaw living in such industrial buildings, yeah. I remember that. People were worried the code pooleece would shut them down and kick them out. Can’t recall any incidents of that happening, but maybe the threat was enough?

    Hey, we used to live in very old Victorian era inner urban workers suburbs, and the buildings and overall environment were easy on the eye. Even the old factories in the area were quite attractive, so you’ll get no argument from me there. And most have been converted to residential nowadays. The wealth for those areas has to come from elsewhere.

    Far out, the professor had a photo of snow in Portland. Yikes. I’d never really understood the concept of dew-point, but instead prefer relative humidity. No wonder you ended up with a cold with such low humidity. Just for a comparison, it is 65’F and 99% humidity outside right now. A completely nuts summer.

    Hehe! With fuel injection on your ranger, my gut feeling is that the engine will be ok and just start. In the old days, that issue was a serious problem.

    I dunno how we ended up with a reputation down here for such things, it’s a mystery! 🙂 I noted that the particular meeting place pub in the island state to the south, was having something of a celebration for the elevation of the former local. It’s an impressive achievement. And yeah, that’s the problem with inbreeding – most long term tribal societies knew better than to do that.

    Ruby attracts drama the way a fresh poop attract flies. But at least she is feeling much better today. On Saturday I thought she was a goner.

    How is the garbage situation going? It’s a bit of a misuse of the commons.

    Well the Emperors probably wouldn’t have known a hard days work, although that might not be technically true with all of them. Marcus Aurelius seemed to be a hard worker, and constantly put to the test. I’ve never read his musings. Have you ever done so? And would you recommend the effort?

    Did paid work today, but had a slightly shorter day. I was able to head to a nearby town and drop off all the collected months worth of metal waste for recycling. That stuff does get recycled, but I doubt it happens on shore. One the way I was able to stop off at the hardware store and pick up the tomato supports. The supports were put in place a couple of hours ago, and my hands still smell vaguely of tomato vines. A minor dump of rain fell this afternoon. It looked monsoonal to me. More rain is due tomorrow night. The farm is very green for this time of year. Probably leaching a lot of minerals. Oh well.

    Cheers

    Chris

  4. Hello Chris
    We still have original/traditional hedges around here. They do have hazel in them + various other things but the main plant is hawthorn.

    Inge

  5. Hi Chris,

    Poor Ruby!! Glad she’s on the mend. Nice to see you had time enough to visit the mansion. There’s always a lot to see locally that people miss because they think they have to travel far away from their homes.

    Well we got quite a snow – over 13 inches on top of the 3 inches from Tuesday. It was quite windy through last night so there was a lot of drifting on the roads. This morning it was -14F and won’t get above zero until Wednesday and then just a little. Roads are still snowy and quite icy. I did get to the play. There was much less snow as you got closer to the city though it was still messy. Unfortunately with the snow and very cold weather the audiences over the 3 performances were smaller than usual. But my granddaughter did a fine job and the play was very entertaining.

    Leo and Salve are not venturing far to do their business – especially Leo. He takes just a few steps off the front porch now. Brings to mind the song, “Yellow Snow” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nclEIKiBNls
    Anyway a week from tomorrow we’re supposed to get rain for a couple days so our weather is as weird as yours.

    Margaret

  6. Yo, Chris – I have no problem saying “no.” Woman probably has strapping sons and grandsons, with big trucks. I practice saying “no” in front of the mirror, every morning. 🙂

    They monitored for the monster hornets, thoroughly, and slapped down a few nests. So far, the situation seems in hand.

    “Piles” is also an old time word for hemorrhoids. 🙂

    Yes, I agree. Seems like people play fast and loose with the designation, “castle.”

    Our tomato cages are a bit flimsy, but we keep them from season to season, as best we can.

    There always seems to be brief mentions, in our news, of shark attacks. No matter where they happen, in the world. Australia makes the cut, many times.

    How timely. Prof. Mass has a post, today, about the problems with renewable power. Speaking of humidity, I meant to mention the little bit of snow we got, disappeared over a few days. It didn’t melt. The low humidity sucked the moisture right out of it.

    Even though it got down to 18F, last night, when I took H out for a walk, this morning, it felt warm in the sun. Forecast is for a high of 35F, today. Back down to 17F, tonight. Up to 37F, tomorrow, but the forecast is for freezing rain.

    Well, the garbage situation was “interesting,” this weekend. None of the usual signs went up, and our night manager has not been seen. He usually puts them up. On vacation? Fired? Quit? We’ll be the last, to know. When we got the little bit of snow, last week, I heard him out in the am, shoveling. Also, I figure he scattered the deicer. But since then, nada. I forgot to check if they picked up this morning. Today is a national holiday (sort of), Martin Luther King day. But regular garbage pick up, even happens on holidays. The pay is probably pretty lush.

    At about 3am, a police car, and aid car were here. Don’t know what that was all about. Seems to happen a lot, lately. Maybe two of the Ladies, duked it out.

    I don’t know if I read Marcus Aurelius, or not. Prof. Beard referred to them as more jottings. He was no Sun Tzu. 🙂

    I watched “Black Demon,” last night. Worth a bowl of popcorn. Oil executive and his family (two irritating and angsty children), get stuck on an oil platform, because some Aztec god is ticked off about the degradation of the earth, and manifests as a giant shark. Better than I though it would be.

    Another Roman dodecahedron was found in a Lincolnshire, England field, last week. Near the site of a Roman villa. Still no clue of what they were used for.

    What’s with her? Night before last, I gave H some green beans, which she usually wolfs down. Wouldn’t touch them. Last night, she had some mixed veg. Ate it all down … except for the green beans. She’s a mystery.

    Luckily, my cold didn’t get into my lungs, very much. But they still make odd sounds, from time to time. Blew a couple of blood clots out of my sinus. Not that that hasn’t happened in past. Not a big deal. Lew

  7. For the ultimate in experimenting with insect stings, the Schmidt sting pain index seems to be the essential reference. While most of these live nowhere near me, and I’ve felt nearly none of these stings, I find the descriptions hilarious and worth the read.

    https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-colorful-pain-index-of-the-stinging-ants-bees-and-wasps-around-the-world

    And of course, in addition to level of pain, there is the ranking of likelihood of happening, and for that variable, there are plenty of high ranking ones hereabout.

  8. Hi Inge,

    Ah, many thanks for describing what you see with your local hedgerows. Fascinating, and I can well comprehend how this came to be due to the unique properties of the plant. For you interest, hawthorn plants are widely featured in older plant-fences around these parts. And even more interestingly, there is an actual graft of the Glastonbury thorn, which is about an hour and a half drive away. Hmm. The Elder ones were never really all that far away.

    After a warm summers day, a storm is rolling in. The cicadas are calling their evening song.

    Cheers

    Chris

  9. Hi Margaret,

    Sadly, Ruby will never be adorned with a title. She attracts drama like a fresh cow pat calls upon the local community of flies. This morning was her last dose of anti-histamines, and she’s doing OK now, and I appreciate your kind words and will pass them on to the hapless Kelpie.

    Margaret, that’s my thinking as well! Recently a friend was asking me why I don’t wish to get into an aircraft and fly to distant locales. Me, being me, gave ten different answers, but the truth is also what you wrote. Respect! A person needs to know their own and themselves, way before they can know others. All around us are interesting things to see. 🙂 Like your local blue bird nesting sites. I do hope that the birds are OK during your current cold snap? Livestock around these parts suffer greatly when the usual temperature suddenly plummets.

    Say, that’s a lot of snow, but the temperature and wind chill of -14’F just scares me silly. To put that into some context, the house has been thrown wide open to the cooler evening air, and on the horizon I can observe the sun setting and thunderstorms arriving. I’m summer soft, and can only read your words with a sense of wonder at how you even managed to got to watch the play.

    Although cities have a lot of thermal mass, not to mention the continuing use of energy to keep the denizens warm so perhaps that may explain the lesser snow there? I know something of the entertainment industry, and extreme weather does have that affect. However, the brave souls such as yourself who venture forth to support the arts at such times, are made of hardier stuff than the average punter. Honestly, you probably got to see a better and more intimate show for all that, and your granddaughter had to workthat much harder to engage the smaller audience. At such times, the artist – in this case your granddaughter – may well surpass her previous limits. Hmm.

    As an amusing, but true side story, I reckon my best blog of the past year was the ‘tiramisu derailed’ story, and bizarrely it’s had the lowest number of reads. Timing? 🙂 However, just like your granddaughters effort, the smaller audience makes the occasion all that more special.

    Cordial tail wags to you and yours, and especially Leo at this time. It’s a fun song, and DJ introduced me to it many years ago. 🙂

    Yeah, the weather sure is strange, and I would have expected more snow for you at this time of year, but rain? Oh my! Heavy rain is forecast to arrive here from 6am tomorrow. Woe betide the heavy rain which wakes me up early… Hehe!

    Cheers

    Chris

  10. Hi Steve,

    I applaud the gentleman’s most excellent use of the English language. A truly funny quote was for number 22: “A ritual gone wrong. Satanic. The gas lamp in the old church explodes in your face when you light it” Pure poetry!

    We’ve got our own researcher into such matters down here: This man lets critters sting and bite him for science. Here are his top three most painful.

    Good luck! This however is science at its finest, but frankly speaking I do my very best to avoid interacting with these little entities of acute unpleasantness.

    How you holding up in the cold snap? For something different, it will rain heavily here tomorrow morning.

    Cheers

    Chris

  11. Hi Lewis,

    It’s a funny word that one. Some cultures I’ve interacted with refuse to even use it. So what happens then is that you get led astray with arrangements. Even our western culture has a tendency to avoid using the limiting word, but I’m with you – the word should be practised as in your excellent example and become second nature.

    Good to hear that your area has dodged the murder hornets. Interestingly, I just watched a Japanese video showing that the local honeybees there can destroy marauding hornets by encasing them in a ball of bees – thus overheating them. A pretty clever adaption.

    Folks used to say that to me about piles, without ever explaining what they meant. So they’d tell you not to sit on the cold ground or you’ll get piles. Sounds like a lot of bull-dust to me.

    There’s been some weird talk about disinflation – whatever that means. But tomato supports are more expensive this year. We’re now following on from your good example, and looking after the things. The prime munter of the gooberment made the intriguing suggestion that tax cuts for the wealthiest folks would somehow assist cost of living pressures. His logic evades me.

    We’ve got plenty of sharks around the continent. I don’t enjoy swimming in the ocean.

    Thanks for mentioning the professors post on renewable energy sources, and it matches my lived experience with the technology. I’m not sure how much good will come of it. One of the oddest things said to me on the interweb was some dude (it’s always a dude) discounted similar observations and instead pointed to a model of how things should be. That’s what reality is up against.

    Truly Lewis, your forecast sounds horrendous. Not a bad time for you to get a cold really, and just hunker down for a few days. With weather like that, you’re not missing much. I’ll bet you and H didn’t encounter many other people during your walk? It’s one of the undocumented up-sides of extreme weather.

    Hopefully your night manager stays on in the role. Any word on that front? Public holiday pay is usually pretty good, as it should be. Did the rubbish truck make it this morning?

    Some folks attract drama the way fresh cow dung attracts the local fly population. Dunno why, but I’ve encountered a few people like that over the years – and avoid them. Ruby sadly seems to have a nose for trouble, and that’s no good.

    Many thanks for the review. I guess the stoic Emperor would have been rather busy what with all the never ending wars Rome was fighting at the time. Sun Tzu on the other hand was successful at engaging, and then defeating his enemies, and so probably had far more free time for activities such as reflection.

    The film sounds like fun.

    Roman dodecahedrons still look like some sort of gaming device to me. The holes are suggestive that certain coins fit certain holes, and I’m assuming whatever hole faced upwards somehow decided the outcome of the game. The thing looks to me like it was made to be rolled in a random fashion. The find was in good condition, don’t you reckon? What’s your favourite theory as to their use? And yes, I’ve noticed that the experts avoid that particular question. Is it academic enough to say that the ancient contraption is a gaming device? 🙂

    It’s a truth universally acknowledged that fussy dogs aren’t hungry enough. Although H may be out of sorts in the cold snap. Dogs are sensitive to these things, and need I mention ol’ Dame Scritchy, storm detective?

    That’s great news, and yes, you dodged that nicely. Oh well, colds are stressful on your body, and all manner of things can then happen. Blood clots are not unknown – the nose is a delicate place. Anyway, I’m glad to read that you’re feeling better today. 🙂

    Went into the big smoke today for paid work. Picked up the coffee grounds and enjoyed a coffee whilst there. Had half a muffin. Did paid work. Was quite hot there. Returned home again. I’d thought that maybe I’d grab some food whilst in there, but the heat was unappealing so headed home instead. Not what you’d call an exciting day, but it can’t, and life shouldn’t be exciting all the time. My brain would pop for starters. And then brain goo would ooze out the ears. Probably hurt, but then with suddenly less brains would I even notice? With your extensive zombie lore, does this theory hold water?

    Cheers

    Chris

  12. Cold snaps- Meh, it’s winter. We burn a bit more wood, the backup heat kicks on a few times. We have a high efficiency boiler that feeds tubing embedded in the floor, but leave the temp setting low enough that it rarely comes on. I do not enjoy burning propane.

    I add an extra layer and cover the ears when outside doing chores. That’s about it. Well, that and plow the driveway, as this storm brought around 16 inches ( 400mm) of snow.

    One thing notable is that the last few years, these arctic air masses sag a bit further south than “normal”, likely due to the increased wobbliness of the jet streams. The deep south had a disastrous event just a few years ago, folks need to remember these things.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Texas_power_crisis

    A pet peeve of mine is how the weather news folks have become desperate for viewers I guess ( everything is a profit center!!) and get just hysterical about upcoming weather no matter the case. Save that for hurricanes and epochal events, not every winter storm to track through the area.

    Funny, the prediction is for rain here in a week, as the cold air moves on and the next front will bring precipitation with above freezing temps.

    OK- long shot here- I often wonder what the entry title might be word playing. Could this one be Duke Ellington’s “I got it bad and that ain’t good” from the sophisticated ladies musical?

  13. Yo, Chris – We were talking about banning small engines. Looks like there’s a movement afoot, in our state.

    http://www.chronline.com/stories/washington-bill-would-enact-californias-gas-leaf-blower-lawn-mower-ban,332575?

    Took a brief tour through the rabbit hole, to investigate piles. 🙂 Mixed reviews on if sitting on a cold surface will enhance, or decrease said condition. Look long enough on the Net, and you’ll find something to support any preconceived notion. 🙂 Hauling heavy objects are one irritant. So, you keep hauling those rocks, and I’ll buy stock in Preparation H.

    Well, the Goobers in the Ment are singing that old song, with a different title. “Trickle down economics.” Big in the 1980s, pretty much a disproved theory, but it still gets trotted out, from certain quarters.

    They’ve taken out a dam, here in our state, on the Elwha River. There’s to be four dams taken out on the Klamath River, down in Oregon. And the Greenies rejoice! There’s been some talk of building a dam, in our county, for flooding. It’s complicated. The State, the Fed, three counties and the tribes all have something to say about it. So, the chattering has been going on for over ten years, and nothing concrete (pun?) has resulted. Of course, perhaps the dam wouldn’t be necessary, if they stopped filling in the wetlands …

    Last night, it got down to 19F. The high today is forecast for 37. Even though it’s not to get down to freezing, tonight, they’re forecasting freezing rain. But once we get past that, just lots of warmer temperatures and rain.

    I think our night manager is still around. One of his duties is to put out some recycling bins, on Monday night. They appeared. Can’t think of anyone else that would do it. The garbage did get picked up, yesterday.

    Well, H and I headed down to the Club, early in the evening. The truck started right up. (Whew!) Of course, when we got back, there was no parking, and I had to park on the street. I was very angry and stressed. Didn’t sleep very well, last night.

    We had some errands to run, this morning. Stopped into City Hall and got H street legal, for the year. $5. When we got back, there was a space to park. Someone else will be the odd person out, tonight. I stuck my head in the office and made my displeasure known, to the building manager. That I was angry and stressed. I intend to do that EVERY time I have to park on the street. I’m hoping whoever has to park on the street, tonight, does the same thing. She said she was sorry, twice, and that she couldn’t police the parking lot. Oh, yes you can …

    Whatever the Dodecahedrons were used for, they probably weren’t inexpensive. Your probably right about some kind of gaming piece. They did take their gambling, seriously. Remember the dice tower found in Germany? Now that was an exquisite piece of workmanship. Often found with coin hoards. And, mostly in N. Europe. I wonder … what if the different sized holes, corresponded to different coins? To maybe ferret out counterfeits, or coins that had been clipped? They would be inserted into the hole, edgewise. If they easily slipped through, they were clipped, or a possible counterfeit. If they didn’t fit through, perhaps they were a bogus coin, that had been dipped in silver.

    H wolfed down her plumped up cranberries, last night. Even without the dollop of yoghurt. I’ll give the green beans, a rest, and see if she develops a taste for them, again.

    Yeah, the blood clots aren’t a big deal. Not the first time they’ve appeared, after a cold. I thought my lungs weren’t so much involved in this last go around. But I’ve been hacking up a lot of gunk (a highly scientific and technical term), today. Also, not a bad thing. Just housekeeping. Clearing things out.

    I stopped by the veg store, last night. Poor Frank! A water pipe in the ceiling broke in two places, and when he opened yesterday morning, the place was full of 3″ of water. By the time I got there, he pretty much had everything cleaned up, and back in operation. A section of the ceiling, also came down. Lew

  14. Hi, Chris!

    I couldn’t watch the ant video. Generally I am quite unsqueamish, but I have had too many run-ins with them to want to emphasize those memories. And if they are like bulldogs – I don’t even want to know. I think your various pests are more malevolent than the ones around here. Except for squirrels.

    What an enthralling mansion. Are the grounds impressive as well?

    We had snow yesterday, only about 3 inches, but our neighbors felt that it had to be plowed and now the gravel has been shoved all off of it and we might need more gravel. Need I hint at how how much the cost of gravel has gone up? They think that because there is a tidy sum in our road maintenance fund, that it needs to be spent – just because it is there, necessary or not.

    Maybe someday Ruby will do something heroic – I could see that – and gain a title. Don’t give up hope!

    It looks so cool among the tall trees. Cool for summer, heat for winter.

    I pondered the upside-down tree stump for a bit. It’s just so strange. The only thing that I notice is that when it is upside-down the top of it is covered with soil. Could that be a clue? Perhaps it is less of a fire hazard upside down. That’s an awful lot of work to get it that way.

    The babaco looks delicious; you are lucky to have it producing.

    Thanks for the fruit and the flowers and the parrot!

    Pam

  15. Chris,

    Yes, cold happened. We hit -25C early Saturday morning. Our high today (Tuesday) was -7C. With the sun out it felt warm. So, what did we do to adapt to the cold? Well, I simply added layers when sitting outside with my morning coffee. The wind chill was enough that other than the morning coffee, I stayed indoors. Once the wind died down Sunday night, it was back to normal activities.

    However, there was no snow. Still no snow on the ground. So, no ground insulation. That meant that we have had a faucet turned on, low flow, to keep the pipes from freezing. Pipes won’t freeze in the house, but where the city water main connects to our water pipes near the street is rather shallow. Other houses nearby have shallow water pipes where they enter the basement in addition to the shallow connection to the water main. Cousin is one of those, and she forgot to leave some water running. Yup, the pipes froze. She got 15 gallons from us Monday. Then she called Tuesday afternoon, put her phone up to a water faucet: it was running full force! She had used the proper methods to attempt to thaw the incoming pipes: keep the area warm, apply hot sloths, wrap with heat tape. Combined with today’s sunny heatwave, she has water again.

    Supposed to get up to 30cm of snow by Thursday morning. Storm is supposed to hit about midnight. I can still see a few stars through thin clouds.

    I read the blog articles by Cliff Mass on the 15th and 16th. He totally nailed it regarding renewables this time of year around here. The sun at midday is so low in the sky…and the wind disappeared. As per usual, the local utility (he mentioned it by name, Avista) asked electricity users to diminish use due to increased demand. Earlier they had requested that natural gas users also curtail use for 36 hours, as one of their suppliers had had a mechanical issue and was out of operation briefly. That got repaired. I still have the thermostat turned down a couple degrees.

    Meanwhile, we were near the “too cold to snow” situation. Meaning that the clouds were too thin or it was perfectly clear. It has occasionally snowed at -20C here…it is light and very fluffy with little water content. (I call it “fake Hollywood snow”.) Fill up a coffee mug with that type of snow and there might be a centimeter of water in the mug after the snow melts, if you pack it down enough. Hence, Lew’s cold temperatures sucked the moisture out of the snow. That wonderful sublimation event.

    I’ve never head to worry about skin sticking to bare metal at the extreme temperatures. It’s too cold for bare fingers at those temperatures. However, every year or two somebody (not always a child) gets their tongue frozen to a piece of metal.

    Glad to hear Ruby is slowly recovering. Stinging ants. Ick. Hornet nests in the ground. Ick. Spiders biting unsuspecting humans on the bum. Ick. Poisonous snakes are scary, but they are far outnumbered by the nasty stinging bugs. The people who fight wildfires hereabouts also say that getting stung, repeatedly, is a bigger risk than the rattlesnakes. Although there are a few locations where they had to quit fighting the fire because the ground was moving – there were that many rattlesnakes. Ick.

    There used to be a building across the river from me that everyone called “The Castle”. It was entirely out of place in Spokane, but it was a beautiful building. If memory serves, there were some structural issues, maybe some issue with the electrical wiring. Eventually, it had to be demolished. Twas a sad day. However, it was much smaller than your Werribee Manor. Nor did it have as interesting a history.

    Good job. Cleaning up the tree stumps and you find more rocks and small boulders. In my wanderings in the forests, I noticed that uprooted trees often brought rocks to the surface that were entangled in the roots. Maybe you’ll find more rocks and boulders near other old stumps?

    Flowers and vegetables. It’s amazing how rapidly plants grow after a lot of rain when the sun pops out, isn’t it?

    DJSpo

  16. Hi Steve,

    Yeah, I hear you, extreme weather, happens… 🙂 It can get to 45’C here some summers, whilst this growing season it’s been barely past 30’C. The climate is not consistent and cares not a whit for our plans.

    Have you noticed that propane is getting more expensive? I believe demand has exceeded supply in this corner of the continent. We use it for backup hot water when the sun isn’t shining, and it is too warm for the wood heater / boiler. The last bottle was almost $200 for 45kg. Ouch!

    In the rental house we lived in a nearby town whilst building this place, there was a 500kg bottle. The gas supply folks said don’t use the central heating or the bottle will only last two weeks. We sure didn’t use the heater. One morning the inside of the uninsulated house was 4’C, and that was a cold and troubled morning I can tell you.

    Say, that’s a lot of snow… 🙂 That disastrous cold southerly snap was reported on down here, and we looked on at the news with a sense of horror.

    The media did just that with the rain storm which hit here today. 20mm fell, no big deal. Now they’re talking up the next cyclone up north of the country which should make landfall in a few days time. That’s what happens up there every year. Incidentally climate change is reducing the number of cyclones, not increasing them. But the rainfall seems to be increasing.

    Hope the snow melts and the forecast rainfall gets into your ground water table and replenishes it. The earth always seeks to heal itself don’t you reckon?

    Nice guess and respect to the great Duke Ellington. Nah, this one was a bit more punk rock inspired: Sophisticated Dingo – Radio On (Lyric Video) The lyrics help to decipher the Aussie accent! 🙂

    Cheers

    Chris

  17. Hi Pam,

    No worries, spare a thought for Sandra who also squirmed through the ant video too. Frankly speaking, I was none too comfortable either. However, all three of us feel better than the hapless itchy and scratchy Ruby. There’s logic to my logic there. 🙂

    Charlene the white squirrel was no doubts a lady of the finest pedigree, and her son is possibly bestowed with a similar but perhaps lesser mojo. However, it need be said that neither forest critter has any place here. After all, the parrots may become upset. Fancy that? We could do a swap? 😉

    Pam, the grounds for the mansion were lovely with restored out buildings and workers cottages. One of the perquisites of working at the mansion back in the day was plentiful meat, milk, butter and cream. Sure the folks there physically worked hard 6 days per week, but I’ll bet they ate well. There was even a small ornamental lake with a proper Victorian era grotto. The original family had lined the walls of the grotto with sea shells and other ornamental articles collected over many years – and took high tea there on hot days, as you do. Imagine being the poor butler bringing the high tea to the ladies at their leisure in the cool grotto? Ain’t no air-con in those days.

    Ouch! Gravel is more expensive and in shorter supply each year down here as well. Not to mention the cost of diesel required to haul the stuff. Tidy is a state of mind, and also an expression of economic reality me thinks. Not enough snow to bother about, but I tell you surely that you are only ever as good as the weakest link.

    Sorry, and I’d really like you to be correct there. Time will sort the whole Ruby matter out.

    Truthfully I have the equipment and skills to recover firewood from the largest of trees. However, it is much easier on me obtaining firewood from the smaller (yet still massive) younger trees. One of the largest trees here has a bit of termite damage way high up in the canopy. I noticed that a chunk of the tree disconnected the other day and is hanging way up there. Makes for a nervous experience for those below.

    The loggers had massive bulldozers which used chains for such work, but why leave them upside down? Your idea is as good as any I’ve yet heard. So perhaps it was an ingenious effort to preserve the tree stumps for posterity simply to confuse future folks which encountered them? My brain now explodes…

    Thanks and the Babaco is delicious. No other papaya will grow this far south. And only then in the greenhouse – I saw what happened to the plants at the nursery which weren’t as cosseted.

    🙂 More photos to come in a few days time. Don’t you reckon the parrots would stand out against a backdrop of snow?

    Cheers

    Chris

  18. Hi DJ,

    Horrific! That’s some serious rip-snorting cold weather. Beyond anything I’ve ever experienced. Go on, did the science in you take note of how quickly your morning coffee cooled in the prevailing conditions? In a notable side story, we used to do coffee outside on the veranda (with a oz-soft limit of +3’C, I know man, it doesn’t look good comparatively), and then one day Sir Scruffy in his dotage fell off the veranda whilst attempting to bot a dog-an-zac specially baked biscuit. Had to rethink the canine arrangements after that episode, and he was OK too albeit slightly dazed. Some dogs are just tough.

    Glad to read that Killian’s human had restored the flow of water to her place. You’d think that water pipes in the ground would be OK, but no. Some hard frosts we get here you can hear the crunch underfoot when the ground itself has frozen. I’m yet to encounter a frozen pipe though. It’s a worry because the pressure switches in the pumps wouldn’t activate in the first place, not to mention that ice expands. Talk about a weird form of expanding grout, which if used properly used could break apart rocks. Those ancient Romans were onto something there.

    Yeah, how good are the winter night star scapes? The cold dry air shows the best night skies here. You probably get a bit of light pollution there. It would be weird living in a place where no stars can be seen don’t you reckon?

    The same is true of renewables here. That’s how they work. If plants can grow, then the sun is providing some energy. Now solar PV panels can do better than plants, but still, at such times of the year it is touch and go whether you’ll make it. And most days we require only one hour of peak sunlight which is around a third of the average usage.

    No! Tell me it’s not true? Surely nobody would attempt to stick their tongue onto a frozen pipe? Anyhoo, you sent me off an interweb journey: Has anyone been electrocuted with DC volts under 50V? The sailing folks had a lot to say about the matter.

    You hear stories about slithery reptiles being on the move down here too during big fires. And strangely, you also hear stories of the same reptiles sharing underground accommodations at such times with other forest critters like wombats. Dare I say it, but perhaps they all came to an accommodation?

    It’s apparently a fave trick of land developers to allow heritage to decay into ruin. Sad, then because all that can be done is demolish and rebuild. On the other hand, a person has to have very deep pockets to maintain such places. It’s like the machines we use here and I now service. There is an economic tipping point. The mechanic who replaced the clutch said to me, spend enough and you can keep anything running. But alas, are deep pockets to be ours? I think not.

    Well done you, and I’ve often wondered about those rocks as to whether the rocks provide just that little bit more minerals, heat and shade to get the tree seedlings to germinate. The same is true here.

    It sure is amazing. Another 20mm fell today. Had some bad news today, a very long term work arrangement abruptly came to an end. Dude, I fought hard and went out with my head held high, and my dignity intact. What else can you do?

    Cheers

    Chris

  19. Hi Lewis,

    Hmm, well leaf blowers are pretty stupid when used for blowing leaves. I use a mains powered one to clean off the machines after use, and it does a great job which no small batteries could ever match. The motor is 1400W. Needles to say, it blows… 😉

    On a serious note, it is really good that chainsaws and generators are exempt from the ban. Firstly, banning generators is just weird and they can’t be replaced with the grid – this is common sense because that is their sole purpose. And electric chainsaws are good, and I have a few 2.5hp machines which I used last weekend, but they don’t match the cutting might of a 5hp machine (let alone a big 7hp beast), and never could. Nope. The best you can get out of a wall socket down here is 2.5hp. Little batteries couldn’t match either machine.

    C’mon man, surely the piles of lies is surely what they used to call an old wives’ tale? Next you’ll say something like ‘junk food can’t give you zits’!!! 🙂 Can it? I used to think that zits stopped after a certain age, but no. Every now and then a monster zit will ooze up out of the primordial caveman slime of my face and cause me grief.

    Nothing wrong with preconceived notions, if they’re right that is. 😉 Ha! Well I’ll be careful with the rock hauling. Actually the tree stump work last weekend pinched a nerve in my hand when seriously straining, and then I stopped and packed up and have had no repercussions. Stretching, then more stretching, then keep going.

    Hey, I’ve heard that stupid song too about trickle down. And I really liked goobers in the ment (and may pinch that idea if you are OK?) Maybe that was what the catchers in the rye was referring too? I also believe that the economic theory has been disproven. Sadly such folks spend their excess mad cash on obtaining even more of the stuff. It’s nice to know contentment when confronted with enough, but it’s a hard sell.

    No way? Well I’ll be dog. Can’t say that I’ve heard of removing dams taking place down here – unless they’ve collapsed of course. I’m assuming that it is a fish swimming upstream issue? Nice pun, respect! 🙂 Well that is the thing with wetlands isn’t it, they’re meant to periodically flood and collect nutrients so that downstream doesn’t overly suffer. Plus get water into the deeper soil. Also wetlands tend to slowly release water during the drier months. Were those dams used for hydroelectric generation?

    Dude, that’s massive cold. How’s H holding up and is she wearing her coat whilst on walks? How are you doing for that matter? Hope you are feeling better today.

    Do you reckon your night manager may be dodging you due to the ongoing car parking issues? It’s a strategy. Glad at least that the truck started up (I’d not doubted that it would) and you made it to the Club. But I do note that the shine is being taken away from your excursions should you let it. Serenity now!

    Always nice to keep H street legal. 🙂 That was funny. Things are so much cheaper in your country. Dunno, But I still believe that there is an extra person parking in the lot. How could it be otherwise? You may even have a hoarder who collects cars. It’s possible.

    I agree with you about those Roman Dodecahedrons. And for all we know those devices could have been used similarly to the use you described for the dice tower. You’d have to suggest the fact that they have often been found near buried coins is indicative of a strong relationship. I was reading that Mr stoic Emperor debased the coinage. Isn’t it good to know that every old trick under the sun is new again?

    Dogs can be a bit weird about what they want to eat. Dame Plum who is currently asleep on the sheepskin and having a twitchy dream, let’s me know when she wants the crushed pepitas added to her breakfast. After a few days she declares: Enough is enough. Then I stop adding them. But dogs love yoghurt.

    I’ve had blood clots after a cold / flu and they didn’t trouble me. Everyone is different, like the interweb rabbit hole that DJ sent me on as to whether anyone has been electrocuted by a large low voltage battery. There’s some strange stuff going on ‘out there’, wherever that is. Hope the gunk diminishes and the old timers used to say: ‘better out than in when it comes to gunk’. Is your breathing getting easier? And taking the stairs is good physical therapy.

    Oh my! That’s awful for the shop. Hopefully not much stock was stored on the ground during the minor flood?

    Had some bad news today as a very old work arrangement came to an abrupt halt. Not one to shy away when its time for a fight, or go quietly into the night, I went in to talk. It happens, and no doubt there’ll be new opportunities, but people do wonder why I don’t trust. The recession of the early 1990’s left a strong impression upon me. Oh well, movin’ on man. What else do you do? I get knocked down, then I get back up again.

    Cheers

    Chris

  20. Chris:

    I will look at more pictures of the estate when I have time. Are those the future photos that you mentioned? There would be definite advantages to working at such a place, especially in the kitchen. I have known people who have worked in restaurants because of the free food. And in those Victorian days everyone worked 6 days a week, except the swells. Self-employed people worked at least 6 and a half.

    Though I would love to see those gorgeous parrot colors in our woods – no thanks. I’ll keep our bad old squirrels. After all, Charlene’s genes are all over the place, as she was 9 years old when she died and she had 2 or 3 litters of 2 or 3 babies each year and, as far as I can tell, all those relatives have stayed here. Someday there will be another white squirrel. And we do have her white son, Junior; more of the white gene spread around. We do have a bit of bird color with our cardinals and quite a few woodpeckers have red hats, or red markings. In the summer we get the odd tanager or warbler. We have a lot of blue-colored birds, but they are not as bright.

    I didn’t realize that they had those bulldozers. That adds another dimension. Or is that dementia?

    My car has the same feeling that you do about crashing tree limbs. It’s happened before . . .

    Pam

  21. Yo, Chris – I think one of the problems with that bill was, it referenced the California law. Bad move. You think they would have got a clue, given all the “We Don’t Care How You Did It In California,” bumper stickers. 🙂 I must say, some of those folks can be tedious.

    I catch a little TV, down at the Club. There’s been all kinds of ads for generator systems, that automatically kick on, if the power goes down. Lots of cozy families, not missing a beat in the middle of their dinners, or movies viewing. I note that the cozy houses are pretty up market.

    One of the traditional remedies for piles, was coal tar. Must have made for some interesting skid marks, in people’s shorts. 🙂 Still used in a lot of shampoos and skin treatments. Over exposure can cause cancers. Sigh. Always a down side. Hippocrates was using it to treat psoriasis, circa 400 BCE.

    Sure, trickle down has been disproven. But it’s still trotted out to try and put one over on the less well informed. “A rising tide lifts all boats.” 🙂 Yeah, sure.

    Taking out the dams. Yes, I think most of the dams had small hydro units. And, fish runs do have a role to play. But I think it’s more about aesthetics, and the Greenie idea that rivers should be allowed to run free. Along with wolves, bears and cougars. 🙂

    Weather. When I took H out for her walk, late yesterday afternoon, everything was covered with a layer of ice. I almost landed on my tuchus, and H did. When we went out last night, I had to grab one of those ubiquitous plastic garden chairs, to negotiate the 10′ of pavement, to get out on the grass, where the traction was better. And then get back again. It was a delicate operation. But, it’s all gone, today. I see there’s probably a lot of snow in the north, but down here, it’s rain, rain, and more rain.

    I ran into our night manager, last night. The problem is, we have one more tenant, who has a vehicle, than spaces. So even if no one else parks in the lot, we’re one space short. I’m going out, late this afternoon, and, I suppose there will be no space for me, when I get back.

    Here, if you get your dog license in January, it’s fairly inexpensive. Late fees, after that. There also may be a break, for old people, but I’m not sure about that.

    Debasing coin, is always a bad idea. And, signals, I think, the beginning of the end.

    My cold hangs on, but not as bad as a few days ago.

    I don’t think Frank at the veg store, lost much inventory. Everything is fairly “up” off the ground. Even the big bins of say, apples, are on pallets, that kept them up out of the water.

    Oh, I think trust went right out the window, during the late 20th century. When I worked for the library, as a substitute clerical, I was told “there will always be substitutes,” by the assistant director, of the whole shebang. Less than two months later, that job classification, was gone. On very short notice. There were other incidents, over the years. It’s why living in this place, makes me nervous. I don’t expect it to last, forever. Lew

  22. Chris,

    At +18C my coffee stays hot for a long time. At 0C, well, it cools faster. At -18C it gets cool VERY quickly. In fact, it takes mere minutes for it to get cold. So, yes, my inner scientist noticed. 😉 It could be worse. It could be Fairbanks, Alaska, at -40C. Toss hot coffee into the air and it is likely solid ice when it hits the ground. Or so I’ve heard.

    You mentioned the BIG problem with frozen pipes: the ice inside the pipes expands. Pipes can break. The local plumbing companies have been working non-stop repairing broken pipes that froze. That turns into a big and expensive and messy problem to get repaired and cleaned up.

    I’ve been in big cities like Los Angeles at night. Maybe 3 or 4 stars were visible. 40 years ago in Spokane it was possible to see the Andromeda Galaxy easily with binoculars and often with the naked eye. Now? It’s very difficult to find Andromeda Galaxy with good binoculars. Light pollution. I enjoy looking up after dark and looking at the stars…that’s something I started doing about age 9.

    Yes, people get strangely stupid. Drunken dares have caused a few tongues to be stuck on metal in the bitter cold. If there’s frost or snow on the metal, well, some people think it’s fun to lick the frost or snow off. Tongue hits the metal and it’s not so much fun anymore.
    Yes, people actually do those things. Sometimes I think they add stupid to the water.

    Electric vehicles have been making the news this past week. Their batteries don’t perform well in these cold temperatures. Several articles detailing the problems in Chicago, parts of Canada and locally have been online. The batteries, of course, run down much faster than in warmer weather, take much longer to charge, and don’t charge as fully either. People are upset. The manufacturers, especially Tesla, are busy making assurances that “the technology to fix that battery issue is only 2 or 3 years away”. I wonder what Nikola Tesla would think of this? Will the cold weather battery issue be solved before nuclear fusion is a real, useable technology?

    I’ve heard similar things in the western USA also – the predators and prey hunker down together during the fires. Which leads me to ask one big question: does this emergency accommodation also extend to the prey getting a head start after the emergency is over? Or are they, umm, sitting ducks?

    Sorry about your now defunct work arrangement. Sad that something long term came to an end. It happens, unfortunately.

    We did NOT get the full 30cm of snow that was at the upper end of the forecast. In fact, there was barely one centimeter on the ground at 5:30 a.m. At 9:00 a.m. it started snowing in earnest. 15cm fell here in the next 6 hours. Yes, 2.5 cm per hour. The official government weather station got a total of 12.5 cm. Big Bertha Blower did her job. Afterwards, Dame Avalanche got to play hard, rough house and run around the yard with her papa. Well, Avalanche ran around the yard in the snow. Papa doesn’t run.

    DJSpo

  23. Hi Pam,

    No, the future photos will be the more usual type: dogs, plants, rocks and flowers. Oh, and maybe an upside down tree stump! 🙂 Actually, today I cut all the extended roots off the tree stump – the one excavated last week – and managed to roll it up and out of the hole in which it was buried. Yay! Then cleaned up. The area looks good now, albeit a smooth surface of orange clay. In a year or two’s time, it’ll look just fine. And the boulder in last weeks photos was most definitely smooshed.

    6 days of work per week could only be kept up if done at a slower pace. Things are very hectic and intense with paid work these days. I guess the same mentality drives both then and now, something about idle hands being the del’s workshop. Or it might be just pure exploitation. Not sure really, and maybe it’s both? 🙂 Incidentally, there used to be more public holidays in those times.

    The parrot suggestion was merely a moments idle thought to brighten your wintry forests. On a serious note, the parrots might not appreciate the cold winter extremes in your part of the world. And please also do keep your squirrels in your land. At one stage they were actually introduced around these parts, and didn’t survive. I can’t imagine there was enough edible plant material down here for the squirrels to have survived. Few critters are fighting the koala bears for their favourite toxic eucalyptus leaves.

    Yeah, bulldozers have been around for a long while. And yes, I’m sure it is not the second option, you seem as sharp as a tack to me. The loggers used to string a chain between two bulldozers, then clear the stuff in between. It’s a rough way to treat the land, but it happens.

    We’re getting nearer to the end of the clean up of the loggers mess. At least the stuff I’m aware of. There may be more hidden just out of plain sight.

    Pam, that’s awful and was anyone in the vehicle at the time? Falling trees are very dangerous and the interactions with vehicles, buildings and people, usually end up favouring the tree.

    Cheers

    Chris

  24. Hi DJ,

    Another day, another interweb wabbit hole. This time, the laws of thermodynamics. Blame the coffee you mentioned… It quite amazes me to think that late 18th century physicists had a good enough grasp of the concept of Absolute Zero to get pretty close to the answer which we recognise today. And for all we know, it may get colder than that but we can’t imagine or measure how this may be possible.

    Coffee at -40’C would be crazy, but at absolute zero would anything even take place. Probably not with matter. My summer soft mind now recoils with absolute horror at the thought of such cold temperatures. There are colder places than Fairbanks!

    Business be crackin’ for the local plumbers and plumbing supplies in such weather. Well done them. Oh, and the pipes be crackin’ too. 😉 Sorry for the bad puns, I blame society. I’ve watched plumbers freeze pipes so that they can work on the down stream pipes. That’s cold.

    The same thing happens in Melbourne with the night sky. The Andromeda smudge is still clearly visible here up in the bush, although the winter night skies make for better viewing. Respect. Like you, the night skies were also something of a wonder to me as well. One of my favourite memories of the now departed Sir Scruffy, was carrying him outside at night to do his business before bedtime, and we’d both just look up at the stars and admire the show.

    Oh no! So people really do that frozen trick with their tongues? Not good, and bafflingly Darwinian.

    Ha! Now why doesn’t the battery dramas surprise me? People believe that a battery is a storage tank, but no, they’re wrong. Batteries are chemical reactors. And the colder the chemistry gets, the less active the reaction. This is basic stuff, but try telling people that. When I did a deep dive into Lithium batteries so as to fix the stupidly designed batteries here (two years ago), I discovered that in colder parts of your country, some batteries have heat mats. Hmm – not energy free. Oh, and they don’t charge as efficiently at lower temperatures either. There’s a lot to go wrong with them, and I’m glad at least someone is now noticing.

    I’ve been writing about energy for just under two decades now, and it is my belief that the vast majority of the population – even those who should know better – are illiterate when it comes to the subject of energy. It’s a big call, but when I read about how peoples belief systems interact with reality, that observation is clear to me. Mostly what I’ve taken away from all that, is that people don’t want to know, and I have to spend an awful lot on trying to make the stuff just work.

    Well that’s what I was curious about as well with the huddling for survival critters. But then, I’d read of ceasefires on the Western front in WWI during Christmas time. Anyway, afterwards things soon returned to normal, whatever that means.

    Sadly, it does happen, and is just another example that loyalty and reliability is not rewarded in many circumstances these days. You may notice that I rarely have extended breaks from paid work, and those folks are the cause. Well no longer. Quite disturbing really, and candidly I would happily give my allegiance to a feudal lord who respected reciprocal social arrangements and obligations. It does not surprise me one iota that upon the fall of most civilisations, there is a return to feudalism.

    Perhaps I’m now in the anger phase? 🙂 Hehe! Nah, not really, I was over it all yesterday, met with them and kept my head held high. It’s their loss. After the recession of the early 1990’s both Sandra and I have set our lives up to accommodate these sorts of ugly outcomes. They’re not nice to experience because by others actions you get a clear view of what’s under the hood so to speak. Not pretty.

    Go Big Bertha! Dude, I don’t run either and the Kelpie’s also have to wait for me to catch up. 🙂 Of course, just like Dame Avalanche, they don’t do slow.

    Cheers

    Chris

  25. Hi Lewis,

    That’s a good question about referencing that big southerly state. Why do it? Was it even necessary? In some ways it makes the bill look like outside interference and meddling. And in many cases perceptions can take on the form of reality. Dude, it’s very possible that both lots are tedious! 🙂 Bizarrely there are some parts of your country that this blog doesn’t gel with, and I reckon that big southerly state would be one.

    The world can do without leaf blowers. Rakes in a variety of forms are a more elegant technology.

    Speaking of mains electricity usage, today we split apart the boulder shown in this weeks photos. Adios boulder, and we now have five large rocks to haul back up the hill. It was a very crumbly form of granite which made the job easier. I also trimmed all the roots off the upside down tree stump, and was then able to roll it out of the hole. Those things are hard work, and because of all the dirt, they’re hard on the chainsaw. Then the whole area was cleaned up. I hope the very large tree appreciates having the smooshed up dirt removed from the trunk? But I also hope all that stuff wasn’t keeping the tree vertical! Ook!

    We’ve tested the replacement clutch in the dirt mouse for a bit over the past week, and yeah, the mechanic did a most excellent job. He looked a bit nervous when I first turned up to pay for the work and pick up the car. Dunno, maybe he thought I’d do a runner with the spare set of keys? Hardly likely. Anywhoo, what I noticed about the parts (he showed me what was removed) was that the clutch plate looked a little wonky. That’s the technical term. I guess they don’t make ’em like they used to.

    Ha! A generator which can do that automatically, and power an upmarket household, is a serious beast of a set up. Hope those households are braced for the bill! 🙂 It’s crazy really, because such machines require regular testing, running and usage. The sort of people who get those types of systems installed would have zero idea how to maintain them. What do you mean it’s run out diesel? That’s your job! Just make it work! Accompanied by much foot stomping and pouting. You know it’s true! If the power went out here, it would take me a while to get back up and running again, but the systems are all in place to do so.

    The funny thing about wiring up all the extra low voltage side of the power system, is that I know how it all works back to front and inside out. I’ve known people who use off-grid systems that someone else installed, and there is a lack of comprehension as to the limits of those systems.

    Oh far out! That traditional coal tar remedy sounds just kind of painful. Nice one, yeah the skid marks would be epic. The olive oil soap which we make, is very good at avoiding things like eczema and psoriasis. I wouldn’t even know where to obtain coal tar. Interestingly, by sheer chance I read of a fertiliser mob who chuck some crushed coal into their mix. Probably not a bad idea for the soil, but perhaps not the bottom.

    I agree, it is a yeah, sure kind of theory. I liked Mr Buffet’s amusing quote about receding waters show who’s swimming naked. A bit different, but in the same sort of milieu.

    Sure the rivers run free. 🙂 Over in the south west of this state, the indigenous folks have huge and ancient eel traps. Sure rivers should run free say the greenies, but what’s more green than ancient eel traps? Bears, wolves and cougars running around in your backyard would probably be a bad thing and perhaps such folks need to experience close and personal interactions with them firstly before opening their mouths? Some people talk a lot of nonsense. This property feeds an awful lot of wildlife – there is virtually nothing for them to eat in the forest, that’s where they sleep and hide.

    Oh no, you both went down hard in the ice. Not good, did either of you end up getting injured from the incident? Nice thinking with the chair. The rain is good too, it leaches minerals from the soil and yet recharges the ground water reserves.

    Detective Lewis is nearing upon the car park mystery quarry. I told you there’d be a reason for the drama. I’m thinking that a newer inmate brought along a car with them, although shhh, don’t say this too loudly, but, err, turnover is a real thing, so maybe time will resolve the entire matter? But out of curiosity, did you get a car park?

    Hmm, they used to do such discounts down here for early payment, but no longer. I tell ya what, when the two Kelpies weren’t fixed up, the annual license fees were not cheap.

    Yeah, it is a losing strategy debasing coinage, but it happens. Do you know, I was thinking back on my young adult years and rent was about $70 a week. If I’m reading things correctly, nowadays average rents are around $550 a week and more in some cities.I don’t actually know how people make ends meet.

    At least you’re getting the cold out of the way, but it’s no fun that lingering business.

    Hmm, such has been my experience too and after the recession of the early 1990’s my trust never recovered. I just do my best nowadays and hope that is good enough, and sometimes it isn’t. I’ve remarked before that it takes a lot of underpaid people to pay for a head office. I understand your concern there, but you just have bide your time and have a plan B just in case. My previous rental experience was unpleasant enough that I’d prefer to live here in a shed in preference.

    I mentioned this to DJ, one of the main issues with trust is that it is a two way series of mutual obligations. I can well understand how failed civilisations revert back to feudal systems.

    It was really cool here this morning. 50’F and windy. Quite chilly.

    Cheers

    Chris

  26. Yo, Chris – On the other hand … there was an article in last night’s newspaper, that our State legislature is getting serious about ending the insane, twice yearly time change. There’s hope that Washington, Oregon and California, will all agree to same, thus, the entire US Pacific Time Zone will be in sync. (Not to be confused with the boy band.) May happen by this fall. Oh, please, please, please!

    Crumbly granite may benefit the downslope plants? Nutrient wise?

    Maybe if you explain to the tree, that remaining vertical is in it’s best interest? Otherwise, it’s the fiery furnace!

    It was interesting reading some of the comments from Prof. Mass’s post on renewables. Seemed to be a lot of, “Yeah, but…” LOL. His post today was very nit picking, although he preferred to call it “subtle distinction.” 🙂 The difference between freezing rain, and rain that freezes. Either way, I almost ended up on my bum … but didn’t. H did. But then, she doesn’t have far to fall. No harm done. It’s been a steady drizzle, last night, and into today. But temps are well above freezing. The forecast for tomorrow is: “Rain then rain likely.” Quirky.

    I went to visit my friend Jane, late yesterday, and then swung by the dollar + store, to shop for the pantry. Wonder of wonders, when I got home, there was still a spot, to park. This morning I headed out, to get gas ($4 a US gallon, regular) and also stopped by the cheaper food store, that looks like it ought to have rats. Hadn’t stopped in in awhile. Speaking of disappearing discounts, they used to give a 10% to seniors. Now they’ve limited it to only Wednesdays. As it is Thursday … Still, I found some bargains for the Club. Then to the Club, where I dropped off 4 bags of groceries. Dropped off the electric bill, on the way home. And once again, luck was with me and I had a space. Other than a quick nip out to the regular grocery, tonight around 11pm, I’ll stay home until Sunday.

    Sunday, the Club is having it’s yearly membership meeting. Turnout is never very overwhelming. There are some vacancies, on the board. One of the reasons I stopped by the Club, this morning, was to get a general sense, from sensible people, who sensible choices would be. One fellow is vacating the treasurer position, after 7 years. I told him The Editor or you may be interested in picking up the account. 🙂

    I saw several articles, yesterday, from your part of the world. Apparently, in the flooding up north, your fire ants are forming large rafts and floating to safety. “Nature finds a way…”

    That reminds me. There are two Australian movies, on my hold list. “Royal Doctor Flying Service” (a series) and “Royal Hotel.” I don’t know when they’ll show up. Sooner or later.

    Oh, also Jane had some questions about her Emu, and you being Australian, thought you’d have all the answers. 🙂 No worries. I peered into the rabbit hole, last night, and figured out all her questions. Lew

  27. Hi Lewis,

    You’ll get no argument from me there about the twice yearly time change. I’m a highly sensitive critter I’ll have you know, and mucking around with my sleep leaves me completely out of sorts for at least a week whilst the brain adjusts to the suddenly new circumstances. Surely you can relate to the horror of this wanton sleep / pattern destruction? 🙂 What they want to do over in the east is their circus.

    Thanks for the laughs. And yeah, best not to bring in that band to the discussion. 🙂

    For your info, when I encounter one of the crumbly granite rocks, I tend to mix the rock dust into the surrounding soil for the benefit of the soil critters and plants. And that was the case this time around. I’m actually not certain about the reason why some of the granite is even crumbly.

    Oh my! He slowly backs away from the new knowledge in sheer fear at the weight of massed mental effort to surmount! So, turns out geology and comprehending minerals is a truly massive subject. And I now retire from the field in full fright! But basically, what I learned was that the super hard lighter granite here is ‘granite with pyrites through it’, whilst the crumbly softer granite is ‘feldspar and quartz’, and I’m man enough to know my limits and leave it at that. What I did learn of immediate use and interest was that weathering on the outside of the rocks produces an effect which makes it hard to determine the exact nature of the material. This is why the exact hardness of the material always surprises me. That’s enough… 😉

    Another interesting fun fact I learned, was that the old timer successful prospectors knew enough about geology and rock formation to know where to prospect and put their mining efforts. They could in effect read the geology and minerals of a landscape. That concept had not occurred to me, but it is one of those things which is obvious from hindsight.

    Based on your most excellent suggestion, I went down below today to the edge of the forest and had a good chat to the tree. I think we’re now good and the tree promised to do its very best to stay vertical for the next hundred years or so. Oh, and whilst we (Ollie and I) were there, Ollie chased off a very large deer, then promptly returned. He’s a good dog.

    With renewable energy systems, there are no ‘yeah, buts’. That sounds a bit weird, but you get the point. The sun and wind only deliver just so much energy. Even water energy has its limits. I’m absolutely certain that in the middle ages, this concept was well understood and widely acknowledged as a truth. People in those days were more intelligent than they are in these more enlightened times about such matters. Abstractions are useful tools, but they cannot be applied to every single circumstance.

    The only way a renewable energy grid will ever work is if the generation and storage capacity is many times greater than what we as a society would ever need on an average day. That way the worst conditions are accommodated for. Anything less than such an outrageously expensive set up, will fail. The entire concept falls into the ‘unicorn’ category of craziness, but people do not want to consider this aspect. I live with this technology and know its failings and limits intimately.

    Nothing wrong with a ‘subtle distinction’. People seek black and white responses, when really the world is very grey.

    Good to hear that you did not topple on the ice and end up on your bum, although H unfortunately did so, her bum, not yours of course. Although the day has not concluded here, so far I too and all the fluffies have avoided this most undignified of circumstances! 🙂 Dude, ice scares the daylights out of me. One very cold winter morning a few years ago we drove up to the higher parts of this mountain range to enjoy the snow. The old Dirt Rat was not engaged in four wheel drive (err, utter lack of experience on my part), and we completely spun around on black ice and almost slid off the side of a very steep embankment. Yeah, ice, scary. Your use of the chair was a stroke of genius (noting it mentally for future use). Glad you both avoided injury.

    The car park spirits were on your side. Your fuel costs are super cheap, but I keep reading the occasional story here and there about dwindling reserves, although who really knows what that means? Hmm, that’s interesting about the discounts. You know that happened down here during you-know-what, although I was never eligible for such things in the first place. Still, the discerning shoppers knows a true bargain when they spot one, and now the Club pantry is replete with stuff. Heading out late to the grocery is an adaption to your new circumstances. Us night owls are rare beasties. 😉

    Haha! That’s very funny, and no please disregard the nomination of either of us to such an august role. Basically, we’re not worthy! 🙂 What’s your take on the election situation? The alert group must always be wary of peculation and defalcation. Big words, even biggerer problems thereafter. Would you put yourself up for nomination if circumstances dictated the necessity?

    The flooding up north of the continent is getting harder to comprehend. I wonder at what point do building codes get chucked aside after repeated inundations? If the building is likely to be destroyed and is uninsurable, why construct it to code in the first place? Fire ants are unwelcome guests, even in a flood, but I agree, nature will always find a way.

    That flying service has been around for a very long time. The outback is a huge sparsely populated place. Most Australians live in only a few coastal cities. Even up here in the mountains north west of the big smoke, things are quiet on that front.

    Well that is an interesting choice of film, and I’ll be super curious to hear what you have to say about it. That culture is certainly there, although it is possible the film amplifies the worst aspects as some Australian films tend to do. The words, ‘fresh off the boat’, kind of linger in my imagination at those two hapless young ladies. And it is not as if they hadn’t run out of mad cash and were left with few options… In that part of the country, they do have skimpies.

    Ha! Truth to tell, I know very little about emus, but have seen them around the place. If I may suggest something about their nature – they have very large bodies and rather small heads. Just saying… Like the road runner, they can run very fast when needed.

    Cheers

    Chris

  28. Chris:

    No-one was in the car when the big limb came down; only the rear window was smashed. It could have been a lot worse. That is why whenever I am in the woods (that is always when I am at home) I have one eye looking up, one eye looking down, and one eye looking ahead. Oops – that’s three eyes; no wonder my pair of glasses don’t work so well.

    Pam

    Pam

  29. Yo, Chris – And from the wonderful world of Roman archaeology …

    http://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/2000-old-beach-house-discovered-060017641.html

    A pretty wild leap of imagination, to think it was Pliny’s digs. The coast was solid, lavish villas and palaces, from Ostia, way down south of Pompeii.

    Well, as you know, I’m no fan of the twice yearly time change, either. I’ve never met anyone who is. It’s probably taken years off my life.

    You can add “amateur geologist,” to your CV. 🙂 Dr. Sheldon Cooper is of the opinion, that geology isn’t a science … it’s a hobby. It’s useful to know where that flint quarry is. Flint + steel = fire.

    Oh, we’re on the same page when it comes to renewable energy. I just find people’s expectations amusing and entertaining.

    Well, that was a surprise. We get a monthly paper schedule. According to it, the next food box was to show up, next Friday. Nope. Showed up, this morning. There’s also a big felt pen schedule, down near the lobby, and it was changed, on that. Not that I pay attention. Maybe I should? Any-who. It’s the local box, and we get more weird and wonderful stuff, in it. I haven’t gone through it entirely, but there was four frozen pork loins, a pound of butter “product,” a big bag of frozen pizza bites, a dozen eggs, four frozen mini sausage burgers, several plastic clam shells of salads (or, are they deserts?) a loaf of French bread, a plastic clam shell of watermelon chunks (the kind that give you salmonella), cereal, shelf stable milk. A pound of pretty good mild cheddar cheese. The corker was a quart bottle of “On the House, Sweetened Lime Juice Cocktail Mix.” 🙂 A pound of pistachio nuts.

    Hit the grocery at 11 last night, and when I got back, there was still a parking spot. In fact, last night, there was one spare empty. It’s a crap shot.

    “If nominated, I will not run. If elected, I will not serve.” That practice of saying “no”, comes in handy. There are 5 open positions, on the board, and I have a pretty good fix on who to vote for, for four of the positions.

    I don’t know if Royal Doctor Flying Service will catch my interest, or not. The bit of an episode I happened to see, seemed overly concerned with who was committing adultery with who. Boring. And there’s at least one angsty teen, moping about, whining about how Mum doesn’t pay attention to her, ’cause she’s out saving lives, or something. Tedious.

    I didn’t realize you had the occasional Emu, wander through your place. I thought they were in other parts of Australia. Speaking of birds, check out “murmuration of starlings.” Lew

  30. Chris,

    Those 19th century physics guys knew what they were about. James Clerk Maxwell was from that era, also, and his work with electricity and magnetism is still exceedingly useful. He had a finger in a lot of physics back then and is consistently rated as the 3rd most important physics guy behind Einstein and Newton. And, of course, thermodynamics got well understood about the same time. The older I get, the more I appreciate thermodynamics. They absolutely understood it in the 1800s. They totally understood that absolute zero is cold, absolutely very cold. 😉

    Would anything take place at absolute zero? Dunno, but I think that I would have some seriously severe issues with the cold well before the temperatures neared absolute zero.

    Cool! You cracked some good puns there.

    Yes, most people are ignorant about energy. During the coldest parts of the recent cold snap, we were urged to use less appliances, less hot water, turn the thermostats down 2 or 3 degrees. During peak heat, suggestions are made to keep the houses a tad warmer than normal to reduce energy usage. The prevailing comments at both extremes are along the lines of, “Those snotty money grubbers at the utility! How dare they tell me what to do. There’s enough electricity and natural gas. This is just a ploy so they can raise our rates next year!” The idea that the greater the temperature difference between inside and outside regulates how quickly the heat moves out of the house and that more energy is required to keep the house warm…well that idea simply passes past people. And you get told you’re a bleeping eejit if you bring actual thermodynamics and other physics into the discussion.

    Physics will win in the end, of course. And people will still be in denial, screaming about conspiracy theories, finding scapegoats for an outlet of their frustrations. Actually observing and thinking and learning might cause people to abandon b-e-l-i-e-f-s. We can’t have that now, can we? 😉

    Feudalism is an interesting thing. After all, most people want stability. Feudalism can provide that, at a price. But at least you would know where you stand, what the reward system is for doing your duty to the feudal lord, and there might actually be some protection provided from neighboring warlords.

    The snowplows came by today. People were getting very grumpy that all of the city streets weren’t plowed down to bare pavement within a few hours of the snow stopping. (The plows also had a problem getting started: they all run on diesel. It was cold enough that the diesel had gelled. County and State were prepared, but not the city.) So our roads have been plowed in this neighborhood, getting the roads down to a nastily slick layer of compact ice and snow. Heat wave on Friday…we reached -4C. Saturday should get to about +2C or so, with rain, then slowly warm up from there. Should be about +8C by Thursday. Balmy.

    The plows, naturally, plowed in my driveway. It was more an irritant than anything, but I did get out a shovel and cleared the driveway. -4C felt warm in comparison to what we’ve been having.

    DJSpo

  31. Hi Pam,

    So far we too have avoided big tree troubles, but it’s only a matter of time really. Hey, at least rear vehicle windows are fairly cheap to replace. Could have been worse and smooshed the roof of the car which would have written it off.

    Oh yeah, three eyes is how things roll in the bush. It’s like when driving in forested areas, one eye is focused on the road, the left keeps watch for any critters (or falling trees and branches for that matter) in that direction, and the other eye does the same for the right hand side of the road.

    😉 We could write a kids book: One plus One equals Three eyeballs, the kids guide to country livin’

    Another cool and cloudy summers day, and so I headed down below and smooshed up a rather large boulder. The low gradient path project eats large rocks for breakfast…

    Hope things have warmed up for you and yours?

    Cheers

    Chris

  32. Hi DJ,

    I’d never before heard of James Clerk Maxwell, and so many thanks for the introduction. Believe it or not, upon the very first image of the bloke my mind knew from where he originated. Turns out he’d married into the lowland Scots family of Dewar, which incidentally was my grandfathers kin. How have we not heard of this great before? And I note the social awkwardness, and know. 😉 Incidentally his aphorism for his own conduct as a scientist:

    “He that would enjoy life and act with freedom must have the work of the day continually before his eyes. Not yesterday’s work, lest he fall into despair, not to-morrow’s, lest he become a visionary not that which ends with the day, which is a worldly work, nor yet that only which remains to eternity, for by it he cannot shape his action. Happy is the man who can recognize in the work of to-day a connected portion of the work of life, and an embodiment of the work of eternity. The foundations of his confidence are unchangeable, for he has been made a partaker of Infinity. He strenuously works out his daily enterprises, because the present is given him for a possession.”These words provided me with some comfort today, for which I greatly appreciate.

    Speaking of such things, three chainsaws were serviced today, and a very large and super hard granite boulder was smooshed up. That is the technical description. Oh how jealous the Romans would have been at the wielding of the Makita rotary hammer drill with hardened drill bits and the electric jackhammer, then they would have promptly enslaved me, the cheeky rascals.

    Yes, we’d all be mostly definitely dead at absolute zero. Sad… 🙂

    One can but only do their best with the puns. Of course, the sunset just now was spectacular, a truly fine ending to the daylight.

    I don’t know what to say, other than it looks like a total abuse of the commons. However, the core problem with the entire energy systems is that people believe it to be limitless well. As you wisely note, thermodynamics has much to say about this matter. Mate, I’ve been writing about this issue since I learned the bad news in 2004, and that was twenty years ago. In the early days I didn’t really truly believe the implications, and you know what? Nowadays I take firewood very seriously. I put my mad cash where my mouth was and so I’ve learned the hard way. I tend to believe that most people want to spend the unicorn of ‘other peoples money’. But yeah, I’ve been shouted down too, and I’ve heard eejit and worse.

    No we can’t have that, yeah. The thing is, I reckon the beliefs are there to ensure that people go to work on a Monday morning. We’re a species which leans heavily on ritual. Go to work. Run the five hair dryers. Pay the bills. Enjoy the big car. Get in the tin can and travel. All those are rituals, and people are told to do them. There are better and more appropriate rituals.

    And that’s exactly it, at its most fundamental level, feudalism works. Despite all the ugly side effects.

    Hehe! Well, you do know that old school diesel engines have glow plugs to ensure that they can start in super cold weather? I believe the newer and larger ones don’t have these heat sources. The mix and ice and snow has me quaking in fear, truly. At least the soon to be warmer weather will melt the lot of it. 8’C is about what we’d experience on a warmer winters day.

    Cheers

    Chris

  33. Hi Lewis,

    The cynic in me suggests that you could dig pretty much anywhere in that part of the world and find some ancient artefact of some kind or other. Still, on the other hand, it may well be Pliny’s digs. Nobody from that era is around to disprove the claim. But yes, the article also noted the Roman elite get-a-away aspect of the area.

    Has your view on the time shift changed over the course of your life? When I was a younger bloke, I never really thought about it much. But then as I’ve reached older bloke status and enjoy my patterns, well the change no longer works all that well for me. Mostly here, people seem to treat the time change as a thing, and are otherwise apathetic about the entire matter. However, some states here do not get involved. Hmm. Interestingly, Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia don’t get involved in the time shift, and those three make up more than half the land area of the continent. So, clearly it is a state issue down here. I’ve heard some sniggering about the other states who don’t make the change, and never got involved in such derogatory conversations, and always wondered about them. Hey, jet lag is no laughing matter.

    Dude, you sent me on a mega-deep-dive with your obscure reference to Dr. Sheldon Cooper. Interesting indeed, and how have I missed this, becomes today’s most notable question! Hmm. A big commitment, with a spin off series.

    Anyhoo, there was a boulder that was begging to be smooshed into usefully sized chunks. It was the hard granite too, the stuff with pyrite. Took all day, and hopefully tomorrow we’ll haul them all back up the hill for use on the low gradient path. Plus in between letting the drill cool down, a couple of chainsaws were serviced. A very good day, and the activity of smooshing rocks worked my mind into the zone and I felt more at peace and could put things into their proper perspective.

    Hehe! It’s not just you who finds the expectations to be amusing. The number of times I see some weird article about the subject matter proclaiming at some future date the second coming of cheaper batteries is just around the corner. You may have seen such articles? Mr Kunstler in a recent book had an entire chapter devoted to the topic with the title of: “The Alt-Energy Freak Show”. Yeah, couldn’t have put it better myself, and I’ve tried so hard with this technology.

    Talk about the patterns not being right! 😉 Sorry, for that, it’s a fave line. Maybe you should keep an eye out to see what is going on there. Why would there be two contradictory schedules? You are scaring me mildly with the butter like product. Dude, the stuff could be anything! Honestly, I don’t know whether to be horrified at the thought of mini sausage burgers, and hey, how are they not hot dogs? Wars have probably been fought over lesser matters! 😉 You’re not wrong, the box was a real mixed bag, although I’m not entirely sure how much of it you could take down to the Club pantry.

    Almost forgot to mention. All that crushed rock with lime, is err, flint and calcium. And you thought I was half asleep. 😉 Don’t worry about it, plenty of people do think such things, although I have no idea why.

    I can see that you’ve been practising your lines, and will turn up on schedule with them ready. That’s actor material if you ask me. Very good, hope the four you know about work out OK, and the wild card is not too wild.

    Oh, that sort of soap opera. Is it drama of the sort to be found in the series ‘Prodigal Son’? I don’t think so. And so your hold list gets freed up a bit when the series is returned.

    It’s funny you mention moping and whining, but I could legitimately be doing just that this week, but am I? Nope, gettin’ on with livin’ is what I’m doing. I refuse to let the moments get stolen, especially when there are plenty of other things to be done. The angsty teens mum may be no good, just sayin’. 😉 Far out!

    No, sorry for that misapprehension, nope, a few people have emus in their paddocks around this area. They no longer can roam due to all of the fencing that people so love, but historically I have no reason to believe that they wouldn’t have been active in the area.

    Ah, thanks for the bird videos. I’ve watched birds flying past this area doing that formation.

    Cheers

    Chris

  34. Yo, Chris – Sometimes, we can figure out who owned a villa, due to stamps on bricks or water pipes. But then, villas could be occupied for hundreds of years, and pass through many hands. Imperial estates have been identified. But did the emperor stay there, or not? Or were they just little money machines?

    The Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum probably belonged to Julius Caesar’s father-in-law. At least, at one point. There’s a villa, on the cliffs near Dover, at a place called Folkestone. It’s been speculated that it was the home of the Admiral of the Classis Britannica. Due to stamps on the bricks. It must also be remembered that some of these postings, were of short duration. And the digs may have been state owned.

    Speaking of science, there have been some studies that only 28% of the American population can be considered scientifically literate. 26% of people believe the sun revolves around the earth. That’s science. We won’t even get into history … 🙂

    We’re in for a big change in our weather. I saw some articles that most of the country is heading into a warming trend. Of course, all that warm air will rush up from the Gulf, and there might be tornados in our Midwest. Sure enough, Prof. Mass has a post, this morning, about our warming trend. Blue sky and sunshine, this morning. Then there was this, about frost quakes. Up in Margaret’s part of the country.

    http://www.cnn.com/2024/01/19/world/frost-quakes-cold-weather-seismic-phenomenon-scn/index.html

    I don’t know how I felt about the time change, over 50 years ago. I can barely remember what I had for dinner, a week ago. 🙂 Being younger and more flexible, I probably just shrugged it off. Two of our States don’t participate in the time change. Hawaii (which kind of makes sense), and Arizona. How did they get away with it? Maybe that’s why so many old duffers, retire there?

    Oh, yes. “The Big Bang Theory.” I’m working my way through the series. Just finished up season eight, last night. Season nine is on my library hold list. I also worked my way through “Young Sheldon.” Waiting on the final season. LOL. I’m toying with the idea of working my way through “Downton Abbey.” Again.

    Congrats on rock deployment and gaining proper perspectives. 🙂

    Mr. Kunstler has a new book? I’ll have to look into that.

    Oh, the sausage burgers were made with ground pork. Not weenies (aka: hot dogs.) Though my Idaho friends mentioned they had hot dogs, rolled up in soft tacos, for dinner. Once I got all the tinned stuff sorted, plus what I scraped off the swap table, I’ll probably have three or four bags of groceries, to take to the Club. I ended up taking a bag down to the swap table.

    I watched the movie, “On Fire,” last night. Warning! Spoilers ahead! It’s about a family, that has to flee a wildfire. Grandpa, Mom (who’s 8 months pregnant), Pop and a teen-age son. Who, for a change, isn’t angsty. So, they did some pretty good fire prep, but, when your neighbors propane tanks explode, and shower your place with flaming wreckage, well, it’s time to hit the road.

    The end of the film is all very hopeful, and stuff, and they’re going to rebuild. But I had questions. Early on, it’s mentioned that their doublewide was uninsured. And, that there were several thousand dollars in medical bills, from grandpa’s hospital stay. By the end of the movie, Dad has had major surgery, and Mom has delivered a baby. I can imagine the medical bills. But, if you can suspend belief, a pretty good movie, and worth a bowl of popcorn.

    You were lucky to see that bird formation. I understand, they’re really pretty rare. Lew

  35. Hi Lewis,

    I presume what you mean by the words ‘little money machines’ was that Roman people charged other people to stay at their villas because of the implied prestige which came along with an Emperor having stayed there once, maybe, long ago? And I’d not really considered the idea that the Roman state would own such a thing as an imperial villa. But then, silly me, the government used to own what was known as a cottage over in the more fashionable end of the mountain range. Would you describe this pile as a cottage? Government Cottage, Mount Macedon, 1949

    The remaining footings for the villa at Folkestone looked impressive to me, and the rock work wasn’t all that different to what I’d achieve. Makes me wonder if the buildings materials for the villa were carted off and re-purposed once the Romans left?

    To be honest, that’s not a bad achievement at all considering the historical equivalents. However, it’s not just scientific literacy which is on the decline (possibly even in that profession itself, hmm), but even general literacy is on the decline. Some evenings when replying I’m a bit pressed for time and therefore am unable to fully review what I’ve written in the replies, and so grammatical errors sneak in. But as a general rule, reviewing before posting is the way of things. Regardless, standards are usually maintained here in that regard, and the people who comment and read are those for whom there is enjoyment in the art of reading and writing. However, the quality of the written word elsewhere is sometimes not so good and is clearly on the decline. But even so, literacy rates are far higher in the population than the longer term historic norm, and certainly the ability to physically put pen to paper and produce at least something of meaning for other people to read, is pretty good. It’s a mixed bag, and decline will probably continue apace!

    I’m of the opinion that history is widely ignored because the messages it has for our civilisation are not good.

    Ah, the professor is probably correct about the media being disinterested in the average-ish weather. I’d never heard of a frost quake before, but can understand how suddenly frozen saturated soil could expand at an alarming rate. If you knew such weather was coming, you could use the same force to crack apart rocks. Not that I have an interest in such things… 🙂

    50’F-ish is pretty nice weather, and it looks like the rain is returning for you. One month on from the summer solstice and it was 64’F and cloudy here today. Go figure… Little wonder the city people are frightened of this small mountain range. On the other hand, the weather was great for hauling large rocks back up the hill and placing them in the low gradient path project. The rock walls on the downhill side of the chicken enclosure are now complete, and all we need to do now is bring in more soil there, and that part of the project will be done.

    It’s not just you, last weeks dinners are obscure to me as well. 🙂 You’re probably right about that being the reason behind the shift of old duffers to Arizona. They’d get some cold nights over winter don’t you reckon? Sure the original CSI series was set in Nevada, but same, same climate. The winter clothing looked heavy, probably because it needed to be.

    Until yesterday, I’d not really known anything about the series, and the characters seem interesting and very well fleshed out. It’s just such a big commitment that my mind looks on in horror.

    Thank you very much for writing that. Yes, perspective is everything, and people sure like to steal that. I’m not into people attempting that. Actually, speaking about being more peaceful, after moving all the rocks today, I had a quick bath to wash off the dirt and stuff, and woke up two hours later… Hadn’t realised so much had been stolen from me, but yeah. Trouble, should be nipped in the bud. We live in a society which thrives on escalation.

    No, sorry, Mr Kunstler’s book I referenced was released a while back. He does have a new book which appears to be about his adolescent journey which I’m intrigued about and will nab a copy. Fortunately for the author, my grandfather is not around to see the promotional photo for the book because I know what he’d say, but then he called me that as well, so all’s fair as they say. He was a complicated guy… 🙂

    I’ll bet their taco modified dinner tasted good! The Editor brought in a huge batch of leafy greens which will be chucked into tonight’s dinner. We eat like rabbits when at home. Incidentally, the other day I bought a huge box of mixed plums from an organic orchard about an hours drive north (being inland and warmer they dodged the late frost which took out the stone fruit here). My breakfast home made toasted muesli and yoghurt is now full of juicy and tasty plums. Plus I chuck in half a Babaco (the papaya grown in the greenhouse) every day. Keeps you regular, no question of that! 😉

    Just watched the trailer. Intense. You may wonder why I don’t have large trees near the house… Now you know. They did. Oh yeah, propane tanks are a serious risk. They have a pressure release valve which releases the stored and expanding volatile gases right when it might not be such a good idea to do so. I’ve observed that many people don’t understand that the valve has to face away from a dwelling. That’s a hard lesson to learn. In the brigade we practised how to do a gas tank attack. A whole lotta water.

    The road is a dangerous place to be as well during such times.

    That’s the thing I wonder about as well. I’m assuming how things will play out is that eventually the whole area will be uninsurable just like the flood zones. And it will be a process of attrition. After WWII, there was only one person living up in this part of the mountain range, so such things can happen.

    Starlings are invasive birds down here, and truly, I’d known it was birds, the formation was far smaller, and had not appreciated how rare the incidence was. Those birds seem to seek out man made structures in which to nest, and so they’ve got no hope here.

    Cheers and better get writing!

    Chris

  36. Yo, Chris – Oh, I meant that a lot of Roman estates were agricultural, and produced product. Judging from what Romans had to say, when traveling, they mostly preferred to stay with friends and relatives.

    There was also the system of Roman state owned mansio or mansiones. Hotels or inns where government and military folks, on the move, could stay. If they weren’t full up, regular folks could stay. Pliny the Younger wrote a letter to the Emperor Trajan, when he was out being governor in what is now part of Turkey. He asked for a permit, so his wife could use the system to travel to Rome on family business. The Emperor replied, “Of course.”

    I remember reading that the Folkestone villa, is sliding over the cliff. I think they’ve already lost a good deal of a bath wing. Yup, a lot of stone robbing, over two thousand years. I suppose, back in the day, if you owned a property with a ruin on it, you might put it about that nice dressed stone was available, for a fee. Or, offer some to the local church, for repairs. Get in good with the clergy. 🙂

    To me, Government Cottage isn’t quit a pile. Close. Maybe because it’s a bit twee, with all that half timber work. Looks more like a chalet. A very nice and large chalet, but a chalet.

    Maybe we’re the last literate generation? 🙂 If you want another good chuckle, search, “Percentage of Americans that believe the earth is flat.”

    I think you’re having too much fun, feeling superior to the Romans, with all your high tech rock busting gear. 🙂 And why not?

    City people. Keep them afraid. Probably in your best interest.

    There’s another “Walking Dead” spin off. I put it on my hold list, but don’t know why I bothered. So far, every spin off, I’ve watched an episode or two, and tossed it back.

    You might find this interesting …

    http://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20240105-gladiator-2-to-a-new-mad-max-25-films-to-watch-in-2024

    What the Beeb thinks might be worth a look. The Editor and you can pencil in whatever catches your fancy. Lew

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