Many long years ago now, Sandra wanted a sports car. The wish fulfilled a dream, and we purchased an old 1974 Porsche 911 for about $26,000. It was a beast of a machine, and a lot of fun to drive. A big fat whale tail stuck out the back denoting seriousness. But trust me in this, the car looked like it went much faster than it actually did. Driving the car was a solid lesson in how to be effortlessly cool. Late model V8 road registered race cars would sometimes line up at the lights against the aged Porsche. The only sensible response would be that it was beneath my dignity to even acknowledge their presence, and thus the true race was won before it had even begun. Anyway, second gear made an alarming crunch sound, and that would have been simply embarrassing.
We eventually sold the car for about $17,000 with a repaired second gear. Serious people in the know tell me that nowadays the vehicles will fetch over a $100,000, if you can find a buyer. We sold the car in good condition too, because eventually shelling out the multiple $5,000 repair bills proved once and for all, that such machines are a toy for the well heeled. The experience was nice whilst it lasted.

There was one moment of weirdness with the car. One day out of the blue, and with absolutely no warning whatsoever, the nice insurance company called me to let me know that the policy was being cancelled, effective immediately. That was a new and unexpected experience. Who knew they could even do that? Understandably, the customer service representative was edgy, wanted to relay the bad news and finish the call as rapidly as possible. Having few other options for insurance, some hard questions were asked, like: Why is this happening? Turns out the car was a theft risk if parked on the street. Fortunately I was able to prove the vehicle was usually parked in the backyard behind a locked gate. The customer service representative relaxed, took a deep breath, asked for some photos of the arrangement, and the policy continued.
To this day, I’ve never quite felt comfortable that once an insurance policy was entered into, the contract would remain in place until the agreement expired. Events have suggested to me that there are no guarantees in this matter. Insurance contracts are really there to buffer a person against the risk of unfortunate situations occurring. The nice insurance companies weigh up the risk of those unlikely situations occurring, then send you a bill which more or less reflects what it costs to hand over that risk to them. I’d be certain that it is a complicated process, and there’s an old saying that: ‘bills can sometimes reflect the depth of a customers pocket’.
The news headlines here have been full of tragedy of the Los Angeles fires. Reading that many insurance contracts had been allegedly cancelled only months beforehand, was for me a somewhat nerve wracking experience. It bears recalling that for loans on property in Australia, there is generally a clause which specifies that insurance must be maintained at all times. Insurance companies are not your mates, and banks are definitely not your mates – they want no risk, and so that is what the demand clause is probably there for. So far the news is reporting that something like 10,000 buildings have been damaged – that’s going to be one expensive mess. The sensitive person can only but wonder how many of those are actually insured?
I remember hearing statistics from the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires down in this part of the world where 173 people died, that about half of the 2,000 buildings destroyed were uninsured. It’s hard to know what happened in those instances, but it probably meant that 1,000 families had lost their house, and may possibly not have had the mad cash to rebuild.
In the aftermath of those fires, the state government slapped on additional building codes so as to reduce the ability of a house to burn down during such a bushfire. Surrounded by very tall eucalyptus trees on a mountain slope, we achieved the highest classification. Yay for us! Boo for our savings.
At the time, only a few companies provided products which complied with the new codes, and each product had to pass rigorous (and also mind bendingly expensive) tests. Those nice companies then passed the costs onto the few purchases of the products. The additional building costs for a small house almost depleted the bank account. In order to afford the material costs, Sandra and I did most of the construction work ourselves. Still, that afforded us extra time to get the minor details of the fire resistant roof, walls and windows sorted out just right. That’s one thing to be grateful for.
It’s hard to know whether the house design will work in the (dare I say it) heat of the moment. Right now, we have insurance and so can afford to leave and let the building fend for itself. Interestingly the additional costs that we paid in constructing our house actually reduces the risk for the insurance company – however there is no discount on our premiums to acknowledge this risk reduction! Anyway, fires are bad, but it’s worth noting that the insurers and banksters have far bigger headaches with flood coverage in Australia, but that is an entirely different, and even more expensive story.
With all this talk about fires in mind, I’ll share a little secret with you all: If you’ve ever wondered why Sandra and I are obsessively neat here and put so much effort into the vegetation management, take a look at the photos of the fires in LA – then you’ll wonder no longer. And we get almost three times the rainfall they do. Makes me wonder whether those sections of LA will be rebuilt in the long run.
The weather here has turned from hot and dry, to hot and wet. With the sudden change and all the smoke in the atmosphere from the large Grampians fire in the far west of the state, the sunsets have been spectacular:

When the skies are clear, the summer sun is fierce due to the extreme UV radiation. Still, work continues around the property. The long path up above the house leading to the terraced gardens was pruned of over hanging vegetation.

All of the material was fed into the scary old wood chipper. With sharp blades and a bit of care, that machine is a beast. The mulch produced was thrown into the nearby garden beds where it will feed the soil and salvia flowers.

After the path was cleared, things got serious. The scary old 8.5hp wood chipper was moved to the terrace which grew the many Globe Artichokes. All of those plants were cut down and fed into the chipper.

It was the day to use scary old machines, because once the garden bed was cleared of vegetation, the equally old 7.5hp rototiller dug up and turned over all the soil in the bed. I even used the machine to dig down deep and rip up the underlying clay and mix it into the soil.

The weather was hot and humid and sweat dripped off me. So we called it quits for that day. The next day a trailer load of compost stuff (sand + mushroom compost + fine woody mulch) was dumped onto the garden bed.

Whilst we had such good quantities of compost stuff, we began fixing up another bed in the terraces. It too is being enhanced with a rock wall on the downhill edge.

The compost material was smoothed out. Then on top of the surface many soil minerals were added including: Coffee Grounds + Garden Lime + Dolomite + Gypsum + Blood and Bone meal. All those were then mixed into the soil using a garden rake. Backwards and forwards the rake was pushed mixing the materials into the compost and original soil. It was hot work.

The bed has now been planted out with seeds for many of our winter crops. A very heavy rainfall on Sunday will hopefully get the seeds started growing early. It’s worth mentioning that the the Globe Artichokes were divided up and then replanted elsewhere.

The early variety of potatoes (Nadine) growing in the above bed were harvested. We made a video about that work:
At this time of year, the blackberries growing in the steep soil batter on the uphill side of the house have to be cut back. The canes are burnt off when safe to do so, in the brazier in the courtyard of course.

Two half days were spent turning some of the seasons fruit and berry harvest into tasty home made jam. Yum!


The two Kelpie dogs continue to attempt to out-alpha one another. It’s a breed trait, but they should know by now that Sandra and I are the bosses. Anyway, all sorts of funny antics go on all the time, and the other night the hapless Ruby stole Dame Plum’s position on the couch. The Dame was having none of that mischief and cut the proverbial Gordian Knot. Ollie deigns not to notice the antics, or get involved.

In breaking produce news:
The apples are getting larger, week by week.

The turmeric in the greenhouse has clearly enjoyed the warm and humid conditions. It’s even pushing up a fifth set of leaves.

Speaking of the greenhouse, many of the tomato vines have almost climbed to the ceiling. I’ll top the plants off (i.e. cut them) so as to ensure that’s as high as they can climb.

I’m of the opinion that growing the vines up strings reduces yield, but makes for an easier time of managing the otherwise sprawling vines. How good do these tomatoes look? It’s possible that if I’d begun the climbing process earlier in the season, the yields would be higher, but who knows?

In the sapling fence enclosure, the many pumpkins and squashes are growing strongly. I hope the locally adapted melon produces some fruit, but you never know. The only other year we’ve grown melons was the notoriously hot Black Summer of 2019/2020. That was a very hot year.

And despite not being watered at all this year and just surviving off rainfall, the grapes are doing particularly well.

Onto the flowers:





The temperature outside now at about 10am is 20’C (68’F). So far for last year there has been 40.6mm (1.6 inches) which is up from last weeks total of 0.0mm (0.0 inches)
Yo, Chris – The things one finds out about insurance companies, and banks, when young. Something that should be taught, in schools, beyond how to balance a check book or credit cards charge you a lot of interest.
Years ago, I had a friend who had a Porsche. Might have even been the same model, that you had. He was quit proud of that car. He was a bit gobsmacked, and perhaps even a little miffed, that I was totally unimpressed with said car. And had absolutely no desire to take if for a spin. Sigh. Somehow or another, I never got the car gene. I expect them to run, and get me from point A to point B. And that’s about it.
After the California fires, how many more homeless will there be? How many more people impoverished, as, the bulk of their net worth was tied up in their homes? By the way, Prof. Mass thinks he has found the “smoking gun,” as far as the origin of the fires. Probably, power lines.
I saw an interesting article last night. Why some homes burn, and others don’t. You might find it interesting.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/why-houses-burn-others-escape-203932017.html
That’s a lot of really nice jam. And, I’m sure you’re not done, yet.
Dame Plum reminds me of Sheldon Cooper. And his spot on the sofa.
Apples, turmeric, tomatoes, pumpkins and grapes. Looks to be a good year, for all of them. I don’t think you’ll starve. 🙂
Looks like the roses are having a party in the flower bed. They’re so pretty! Lew
Hi Lewis,
Can you imagine the chaos which would ensue if the kids were taught things like you know, prudence, or say, how to conserve? Man, they might demand like, actual change. 😉 My own experience is that I left school with absolutely no idea about such matters. Balancing a check book, or living within one’s means, as subjects were not even discussed. Heck at the time nobody even told me that I had to lodge an annual tax return. Fortunately for me, back in those days, credit cards were not handed out like candy. Hmm. Things may be worse nowadays. But you’re right, these things should be taught, other than that, you’re only as good as your parents, friends, and/or curiosity.
Lewis, I’m so with you about cars, nowadays. Does the thing start, will it go, and most importantly, will it stop when told to do so? All important questions, yup. An accident which I walked away from as a late teenager, cured me of stupidity with these machines. Candidly, there were probably easier ways to learn. The Porsche was the Editors idea. I’d wanted an MGB as it would have been easier and cheaper for me to work on, but that didn’t happen.
Well that’s an interesting question isn’t it? Yup, how many more homeless. Here’s the thing though, if you were renting in an area which was hit by such a natural disaster, and where you live was destroyed, well, you’d leave the area. What’s to keep you there? The job is probably gone too, or the customers have done so. Everywhere would be devastation. Even those with no insurance who now have only land value, well, they might walk from their loans, if they’re entirely non-recourse. It’s going to be a mess, but one thing is for sure, regardless there’ll now be more people than available housing, so slowly people will leave.
No doubt there will be an inquiry into the matter. I read that essay of Professor Mass’s about the origins. The fault detecting systems in the network down here don’t try and reactivate faulty lines on those sorts of days. It’s a bad idea.
Oh yeah, we’ve been reading about those two houses in the media down here. Man, you’d be amazed at the roof design and materials for this house, and it’s been tested for half an hour of direct flame and serious radiant heat contact without failing. It was a pain, but mad cash well spent given the risk. The thing about that surviving house, is that it was reputedly $9m. Who can afford that? The fire resistant roof (and walls and windows) here were ruinously expensive – just sayin.
🙂 Maybe a little bit more jam! But there’s bottling (canning) of apricots and plums yet to do.
Yeah, that makes sense about Sheldon Cooper having his spot on the couch. Hmm, the patterns must be just right! 😉 Looking at the wiki page on this subject suggests that whilst the cat was not around, the mice did play! Man, the bizarre things I’ve experienced at the acts of house-mates way back in the day, would send Sheldon into meltdown mode, factor seven. I’m sure you’d know the feeling?
Dude, not starving is the plan! Will it be achieved? Dunno, depends upon the growing season. 🙂 Anywhoo, each year we try to produce a little bit more than the previous growing season. Incremental steps is a better way to learn with this stuff don’t you reckon?
The deer are like the ultimate test of just how much wildlife does a person allow into an orchard? Having half a dozen of them cruising around, chewing the bark off mature trees, is probably a step too far, for them. Very soon, we’ll be into consequence territory, and for your interest, that pains me. If they stuck to grazing the lower branches and also the ground cover plants – no dramas, it’d be happy-land. But they’re pushing the boundaries of acceptability and will soon discover what is meant by the term 308, sorry to say.
Did you know that the land of stuff grows and exports a lot of garlic? That may be the case for your country too, and there’s talk of trade wars and tariffs so garlic will probably get more expensive as time goes on. I respect your foresight to get ahead of the trend. It’s a good crop. Have you noticed that the plant leaches the aroma into the surrounding soil? Probably a good thing.
Beats me what could be munching on your garlic at this cold time of year. Very few insects are even active in midwinter, but I’d observed the woodlice / slaters are active in deep winter down here. They may be an exception, but dunno really. A mystery! What’s your gut feeling suggest? The cabbage moths and larvae run out of steam in late autumn, but conditions for your winter sound kind of warm-ish, so who knows?
You might see some folks drifting in to your area from further south. Although, is the available housing even there for them? I’d imagine the rental market in your area would be pretty tight already – if conditions are similar to down here. There’s a real weirdness to how the play-book is acting out similarly in different countries.
The additional costs of hardening a house against the risk of fire, may not be to everyone’s taste or wallet. And, from personal experience I can suggest that doing so limits design options. Either way, it’ll be interesting to see just how much of those burned out areas get rebuilt. It’s rather unfortunate for the people there that they were so polarised in their political expression – that may actually limit the flow of federal funds, and that state is apparently having difficulties from anecdotal accounts. The goodies go to the swing states, not the rusted on folks. There’s a decent lesson to be absorbed there.
What was the general feedback in relation to your biscuits? Hope they enjoyed them? I would have, and consumed one with a well prepared cup of coffee. Just making a batch of Anzac biscuits right now and can smell them happily cooking away in the oven.
Ha! Mr Greer is spot on, and those cheeky folks will be the first up against the wall come the zombie apocalypse. 🙂
Thanks! And, who knows what the future may hold – hopefully some slack. That would be a good thing. But until then, work. It’s hard to ignore the call of the fictional character Mr Miyagi saying: ‘Wax On! Wax Off!’. I feel the need to do so in my very bones. One day, rest will be the way of things. That’s also true about over doing things in the office – which is not my area of concern.
Did my first day back at paid work today, or a part day to be precise. A dude has to ease themselves into such activities after an extended break of three weeks (the longest stretch in six or seven years). The diary suggests that in four days time last year, the holiday eating client did the dirty on me. Oh! Started a new diary today. Why not? 🙂 Sometimes best to move on.
Hey, how’s this sound: The bubble to end all bubbles! Has a grand ring to it, does it not?
Might watch another ep of Clarkson’s farm tonight. Man, so good. You’d love it.
Cheers
Chris
ripple effects- The disaster this time is in California, but money is borderless and global, so I’m thinking that the insurance industry will spread the pain as much as possible. I mean, that’s the whole idea. I grumble that my rates might get bumped due to short sightedness a thousand miles away, but “if you wanna play, you gotta pay” we’re all in the crazy game by default, even those who off grid in the woods. 🙂
I think of the insurance industry as the canary in the coal mine, as they are the quintessential risk monitors. As they are hurting, ( and passing it on as they are best able) it should be a signal that the fires, floods, droughts and repair/replace costs are going to a whole new level.
Have to say though, it did give me pause, as we are quite verdant in this area, and the house is NOT fire resistant.
If a serious drought happened here, and a high wind event popped up at the wrong time, could I be at risk? Both are much less likely than Southern California, but we have the same juxtaposition of homes and wooded land that Pacific Palisades has, just considerably less wealthy.
Anyway, I still feel bad for them, sitting next to risk for a long time rather relaxes you to it, so when your number comes up, it’s still a shock.
All my garden seeds are ordered now, and I’ll be building the raised beds in our greenhouse the next few weeks, getting ready for spring.
This is the lazy time of year here, just messing with firewood and cracking nuts. That, and reading too much doomer content. It sure feels like the mood and tension around wondering when things will flip has increased lately.
Wind chill this morning is -18F.
Time to pick a book that is escapist entertainment.
Yo, Chris – Yes, if kids (and people in general) were financially savvy, growth would stop and the economy would collapse. 🙂
I did have a car moment, though. Back in 1967, when I first moved away from home, I had a neighbor. Mickey, just back from Viet Nam. He had bought himself a 1967, black, Corvette Stingray. Well, I thought a few times, if I got one for free, along with the insurance, I wouldn’t mind having one. For about a year, just to get it out of my system. These days, I’m more impressed with pick-up trucks, where you can raise the hood and see the ground.
I think Ollie is ignoring the Ladies, on the couch, as he figures it’s “Women’s Business.” I also noticed that apparently, “Thing” from the Addams Family, has taken up residence, in your house.
Taking a brief look down the rabbit hole, there are deer repellents. Available in hardware stores. Blood meal and Irish Spring soap chips, seem to work, here. But then I’m dealing with a much, much smaller scale. You could drag a bleeding corpse, through your orchard. Only good til the first rain. 🙂
We grow a lot of garlic, here, in our county. In fact, we have a yearly Garlic Festival. Started years ago, in someone’s barn. And has expanded to a multi-day extravaganza, at the local fair grounds. No insects bother my garlic. It’s the mustard leaves. And the damage is high enough off the ground, that it’s not rolly pollys. I don’t see any bugs during the day. I’ll have to start checking, at night. Thought it might be small slugs, but, no trails. Whatever it is, seems to bother older, mature leaves. Not tender new ones.
But the radish. I think that might be slaters. I’ll have to remember to order in some nematodes, when the weather starts getting warmer. They seemed to knock back the munchers, last year.
Our high yesterday was 45F (7.22C). Our overnight low was 32F (-0-C). Forecast for today is 42F.
They think the Sunset Blvd. part of the California fire, might have been started by New Year’s Eve fireworks. There’s a hiking trail and lookout, up there (Skull Rock.) There was a small fire, that they thought was out. Might have smoldered, for awhile.
Speaking of work, I saw an interesting new documentary, last night. “The Forest for the Trees.” About tree planters in British Columbia.
https://youtu.be/5Pw-vT9yxJ0?si=evClJl_bAluYKush
The film maker had planted trees, for ten years. Then went off globe trotting, and making documentaries. But she always wanted to make a film about tree planters, and thought she’d better get to it, before she got too old. It was an interesting and engrossing film. Lew
Hi, Chris!
Ruby looks surprsingly serene while being crushed by her sister. Are they both about the same weight?
Those are funny stories about your Porsche. My husband’s father had a passion for Porsches and always had at least one really nice one. And would he let anyone drive them? Nope, and it nearly drove my husband nuts he wanted to so badly.
And that is interesting about the car insurer being flexible about the parking arrangement of your Porsche. Home insurance is not madated here in Virginia if you own the house outright, with no mortgage. Of course, we have insurance anyway.
I think that y’all are also neat because you are neat people.
That is an amazing sunset. We have had a lot of those lately, too.
I tell you what – you guys can fit the most amazing number of beds on the side of that mountain. I never know where one is going to pop up next. And look at the two gorgeous beds of roses. I am glad that you were able to salvage some of the globe artichokes.
What is soil batter? Like a cake? I can hardly bear to see all that beautiful jam – because it’s not mine! I really hope the turmeric produces nice rhizomes. We grew some small ones in the past, but they were not that deep orange color that they should be. That stuff is so good for you.
Once I set up a 12ft. (3 1/2m) pole for a tomato plant to climb up (admittedly, I helped it). I wanted to see how far it would grow. It went past 12 feet and flopped over a few more feet.
I have out-garlicked myself with the potato soup I am eating this minute. I love garlic, but I may be unbearable for days. Yum, though!
I still haven’t gone into town; it’s been eight days since we had the snow and ice and a quarter mile section of the dirt road was still very icy and partly uphill. My son did go out late this afternoon and said that the state had finally plowed their portion and it’s not too bad. But we are playing musical cars with our now only car, so I may have to wait till Thursday or Friday to make a trip into town. That’s okay; I only go into town once a week anyway.
From last week:
I don’t know what you are going to do about Gigantico the deer and the tree fern. You have had such trouble with that plant being assaulted. Our deer are just as bad. The other day I saw 15 of them behind the house. Occasionally that is as much as 25.
You have a 15 year old chicken?! Is she retired?
It’s that beautiful Sunset Rose! Thanks for all the flowers. I am going to watch your video now.
Pam
Chris:
I enjoyed the potato video so much. When you pulled out the first bit of a plant, I thought “Oh, no!”, but it turned out to be a very respectable harvest. Well done!
Pam
Hi Steve,
The wonderful thing about the behind the scenes reinsurance companies (an odd choice of name if I may say so), is that their tentacles extend both locally, nationally, and internationally. We’ll all end up paying more for this, and I doubt we’ve heard the last of the insurance story by a country mile.
And your cheeky observation is so true. Man, a dude can only move themselves just so far from fomenting trouble. Candidly, it’s not far enough, but you’d also know that feeling. 😉
You’ve got an option there with the vegetation surrounding your house. If it were me, and a super dry season was followed by a run hot weather and high winds which you could see coming in the forecast, well, drop the nearby vegetation beforehand. If you’re wrong, the vegetation will grow back. Flame height tends to be somewhere between half and double the highest point of the lowest growing vegetation, unless a fire gets into the tree canopy. Oh and unclean roof drains attract embers which can ignite dry organic matter then the flames sneak into the dry timbers in the roof cavity. Best to keep those drains clean – if you have them.
Youch! That question gets answered here easily. The first day I volunteered at the local fire brigade, the old timers took me aside and quite bluntly stated that if the fire were bad enough, we’d be on our own. It was sobering advice, but caused me to rethink the surrounds of the house, not to mention all of the systems – like having that water tank of yours full and with an electric pump of around 60psi and 20L/minute flow rate. And having some way to get electricity to the pump during extreme conditions. Those machines stay cool if the water moves through them – in some ways they work like a radiator (or whatever they’re more technically called – oh, a heat exchanger). Petrol/gas generators with small engines often can’t operate in high temperatures because the fuel vaporises in the carby, but you may have a fuel injected unit, maybe.
Steve, I feel for the people in LA too. They live in a city, such experiences were never meant to be theirs.
🙂 Ooo! I look forward to hearing how you enjoy the raised beds in the greenhouse. Here, they’re a game changer and have extended the season by a month at either end. Although -18’F is outside my experience. Stay warm.
Hehe! A strategy which is very dear to my heart. If I may boldly make a recommendation, you can’t go past Jack Vance’s Demon Princes series. Sandra was dubious about the recommendation, and of late, I’ve observed her lingering with the text wondering what the protagonist Kirth Gersen will get up to next. Man, you can’t go wrong. 🙂
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
Imagine if you and I were responsible for the downfall of western civilisation because just randomly we chucked out the suggestion that critical thinking skills should be taught in schools – and the authoritas ran with the idea? Honestly, already I’m feeling the impending pressure and sheer psychological weight of that moment. Aren’t you? And your observation about the outcome is probably the most likely outcome.
Just for one example: “So you’re saying this here thing now costs more than it did yesterday, whilst nothing has been done to it. Look, I’m not buying that story. You see the thing has endured a day of wear and tear, so clearly it should be cheaper than yesterday. I now rest my case!” What could possibly go wrong?
Hehe! I noticed that there were a lot of clauses and exceptions to your dreams of car hoon heaven. It would be fun though! My car choices are very pragmatic nowadays too, and small. Hey, I’m old enough to recall car engine bays which didn’t have so much stuff squished in that the vehicles probably weighed less. It can be surprising to discover just how heavy vehicles have become these days. The original Mad Max car may look big, but I can assure you, nowadays it would be small. The 70’s oil crisis loomed large over that film.
Holy carp! Lewis, you’re right. Feeling mildly uncomfortable and ill at ease, I’m wondering where Thing might be now? For the record, I checked behind the couch. Any suggestions as to where it is hiding out now?
Alas, no such luck down here. Nobody sells deer repellent, other than the gun shop. And believe me, I’ve chucked so much blood and bone meal in that area of the property, and the deer are enjoying the mineral rich feed. The cheeky herbivores just don’t care. And I have it on good authority that two weeks and the scent will dissipate, or as you note, the first rain. There’s a place for the deer here, but not in such numbers as to be unsustainable. Part of the role I play here is to prune parts of the ecosystem that have become overgrown.
Nice stuff! There used to be a local garlic farm, and an author and enthusiast who was involved in the efforts to breed a garlic variety which sets viable seed. But as time goes on, there are less farming and/or other productive endeavours in this area. Oh my! Your fairgrounds are a core of the states garlic festival. Have you attended? You might be able to get some interesting local varieties.
Sorry, and thanks for the correction. My confusion there. What else but slugs would be eating your mustard leaves at this time of year? You’d think they leaves would be safe in the depths of winter. That’s been my experience as well, slugs do leave slime trail though. Could be tiny snails maybe, but you sure do have a lot more insect predators in your part of the world than down here. And that’s odd because snails, slugs and roly poly’s tend to eat the newer leaves.
You mentioned last year that the nematodes had a decent impact of the slater population. It was an intriguing solution. What’s your gut feeling say, do you reckon the nematodes will turn up again next growing season?
29’C / 84’F here today. It’ll be a degree or two cooler tomorrow, then rain. Should get about a fifth of an inch – hopefully! It’s quite humid here at the moment.
Far out. You may wonder why fireworks are banned in this corner of the continent during the summer months? Well, now you know. Lightning strikes can do that long smouldering trick here too, and I forgot to mention that on Monday during heavy rain, there were some very close strikes. Almost right overhead and what a sound they made. Poor Ruby was having a total freak out from the noise, so perhaps we may have another canine storm detective.
Thanks for the trailer for the tree planter documentary. Looks fascinating. I’ll have to hunt around for the full film. I’d enjoy such work. All very true about getting old too, there are times I wish I’d planted four times as many trees a decade and a half ago.
Harvested a small bucket of ripe red Santa Rosa plums this evening. I’d worked late in the big smoke, but watching the activities parrots suggested that despite the sun going down, it was now or never.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Pam,
Thanks for watching the video. 🙂 And truly, your thoughts there matched mine as well at that moment. Pulling out the vine with no tubers was a surprising moment. The tubers had all detached in the soil. It was a pleasing harvest for such an early variety. Hopefully the tubers keep until late winter when come will be replanted.
It’s hard to believe, but Ruby weighs a little bit more than Dame Plum. Dame Plum is I believe, the boss dog – you should see them running around the orchard together, and sometimes the Dame will begin to round up Ruby and give her as they say: ‘what for’.
Pam, the story is almost like a scene from the 1986 Ferris Bueller movie. 🙂 I’m sure your father in law had a good reason for the decision, but then again it all seems rather arbitrary… On a serious note, the insurance cover for the vehicle was only for listed drivers. And to add people to the list of approved people was a pain, because they’d have to disclose to the nice insurance company, their driving history, insurance history and err, traffic violations – as you’d imagine, down here, those things are easy to end up with.
Home insurance is not mandated in this state either, I believe. It’s only if a person has a loan on the property, the lender requires an insurance policy to be in place – after all, they own a chunk of the asset. If the house insurance policy was cancelled, we’d be forced to stay and defend the house during a fire. I’m not entirely sure how Sandra would go there, and I met some people after the 2009 Black Saturday fires who went through them, survived intact, and had some psychological trauma damage. Dunno.
Pam, you’re telling everyone my secrets! 🙂 But yeah, neat.
Oh, smoke and pollution generally causes such lovely sunsets. An upside perhaps? Are they normal for your part of the world?
Hehe! Growing edible plants here is like playing that game of Tetris in that you have to be nimble. The roses are lovely aren’t they? They scored a good soil feed last week, plus the rain, and they’ll be going off like a frog in a sock with flower production later in the week.
Very funny. It’s a sort of soil arrangement like buttressing. Not buttering as on cakes. My grandmother used to bake a tube shaped ginger and nut cake which was eaten sliced warm with butter. So yummy! I won’t mention that the jam is super tasty, due to using high quality sun ripened fruit. Oops, I mentioned it…
Pam, I’m too scared to lift the turmeric tubers at the end of the season in case I completely stuff it all up. Should I just man up and do the task? And your experience has me worried…
Holy carp! Are you entirely sure that tomato vine wasn’t a Triffid in disguise?
Oh no! Well, only you can know for sure there. 🙂 Look, I avoid garlic these days. There’s a story. My mother prior to me moving out, married a guy who’d I reckon had sun stroke and ended up not being able to taste food. So everything was super salty and very garlicky. It was too rich for my tastes, and I’m hardly surprised that both of them have since passed away. They cracked the sads about me not wanting to eat the food, stopped me from making an alternative meal despite me paying $400 a month in board (out of a $1,000 monthly salary), and it was no hardship to move out. So, I’ve got mixed feelings about garlic. It’s complicated… The garlic would be so good for you, it was the excessive salt that did them in.
Hmm. Has your household considered an arrangement where a single reliable / versatile car can do the hard yards? Probably way cheaper than multiple vehicles. If red dirt mouse Suzuki fails, we may try that path. Dunno.
Hmm. The tree fern is actually edible, but apparently bitter. I’d hate to think what the deer have done to the centuries old ferns down in the creek, but may have to walk down and have a look. I’m real sorry, but my mind is made up on this one. It’s really weird that we’ve gone 18 years here and only this year been hassled by deer. I don’t understand any of it, but I am aware that other landholders are moving them on. The deer have only been on the continent since the 1860’s, and these are Sambar deer – they’re huge. It’s like having horses running around the orchards.
I take my hat off to you for knowing what to do with between 15 and 25 deer.
The lady in question is in fact retired. 🙂 She’s a little Silkie chicken from the first batch back in 2010. I don’t name chickens nowadays, but this is an exception. Originally she was called: Baby Silkie. After many years it seemed somewhat inappropriate, so now she is known as: Mummy Silkie.
The Roses are lovely, and you should smell the aroma on a hot day.
Cheers
Chris
Sambar deer- You’ve mentioned them before, but I finally looked them up. WOW. Much bigger than the white tail deer around here.
Not sure I’ve mentioned, but this just passed hunting season, the doe I shot turned out to have CWD- chronic wasting disease- a prion based infection that has been spreading here. No interspecies transmission has been detected yet, but they say don’t take a chance, so we had to discard the meat. 🙁
When deer populations get too high (like here) the prions spread more readily, so maybe the Sambars?…………..
flammable flora- yes, I’d grab the chainsaw if such conditions arose, and my chore list includes cleaning out the gutters periodically.
When the roof shingles reach end of life ( well unless I do first!), we plan to replace with a metal roof, for a variety of reasons.
insurance- local insurers no longer will cover structures with wood stoves. All existing ones are grandfathered in, but I’ve heard that you can’t find coverage for new builds.
The stove I put in my workshop was apparently one of the last to get included. The agent actually came out to the farm and inspected before signing off.
Belts will be tightening all around, so we’ll see more of the same as time goes on. Risk mitigation is mostly cost mitigation, and we’ll all have less mad cash to spend in the future.
green house- My main concern with the raised beds is getting the nutrition right. I’ll have to haul quite a bit of soil and compost to fill them, and not sure how the normal soil biota will thrive. Will read up on it, but open for suggestions.
Yo, Chris – Oh, I think we’re all responsible for the fall of western civilization. To a greater or lesser extent. 🙂
Here’s an interesting article with an Australian slant. What? Crapification wasn’t good enough?
https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/13/business/enshittification-internet-meta-nightcap
And, related, somehow or another … I’ve decided I need a paper shredder. Nothing fancy. So, last night I took a look on-line at the local big box office supply store, and, they had a nice simple job for around $30. Stopped in, this morning. Of course, they don’t have the low price one, on the shelf. Just the one’s that start at $99. I’ll have to order on-line, and either have it shipped to the store, or home. Of course, then they’ll be able to overwhelm me with spam, etc..
Thing seemed to hang out, mostly, in boxes or drawers. Might check among your socks. In that new TV series, “Wednesday” (Addams), Thing goes to school with her. Sort of as an in loco parentis.
I’ve never been to the garlic festival. Crowds, you know …
Yes, the mustard plant damage is a mystery. Slugs usually nibble the edges, and, there is a bit of that. But other bugs do the same. There are also some holes punched in the middle of leaves. But it occurred to me, that perhaps the new leaves aren’t bothered, because whatever bug it was is an early fall kind of bug? It’s a theory. Or maybe the plant has started to crank out chemicals, that the bugs find unpalatable.
As near as I can figure, nematodes need to be applied every year. I think they die out. Maybe. Or it takes them awhile to get established?
Yesterday’s high was 37F (2.77C). The overnight low was 34F. Forecast for today is 42F. And, it has been fairly nice with no rain. By the end of the week, we’ll be seeing overnight lows of 24F (-4.44C).
As the California fires have moved out of the neighborhoods of the rich and famous, and into more middle class neighborhoods, we’re hearing less and less about the fires. One (of two) of the huge air water tankers, was put out of commission, over the weekend. Due to striking an unregulated drone.
I went shopping at the more thrifty warehouse-like grocery last night. Eggs were $7.50 a dozen. I also picked up a jug of Canadian maple syrup. $8 for 375ml. I have some vague idea of making maple syrup biscuits. If the tariffs take effect, I’m sure the price will jump. I’m always on the lookout, for California or Australian olive oil. As those are the most regulated, as to quality. I’ve only found the California, a time or three. And never the Australian … until last night. Cobram Estate brand. 375mL @ $8. I grabbed two.
I finished the “Best American Food and Travel Writing, 2024,” last night. There was an article, that you might find interesting. As it’s about the submersible that imploded. I can read it, on line, but don’t know if you’ll be able to.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/a-reporter-at-large/the-titan-submersible-was-an-accident-waiting-to-happen
There was one essay that said something, that jumped out at me. It was about the textures of food. It talked about how, in English, we really don’t have that many words to describe texture. Unlike some other languages, that have many. But the thing that caught my attention was “The more interesting question is why textures beloved by many cultures came to be shunned by so many Americans … These were once common elements of most people’s diets: until relatively recently in human history, our ancestors could not afford to be so choosey. Eating was simply a matter of survival. and a group of people living in the same area, with access to the same resources, ate pretty much the same food. As the British social anthropologist Jack Goody has written, the notion of cuisine only arises when members of a group begin to hoard more of those resources and restrict access to them; when hierarchy takes hold.” Well, it’s a theory. Lew
Hi Chris,
I’m responding more to last week’s year in review. Life is still quite hectic with the preparations for Marty’s move so I haven’t had a chance to read all of last weeks comments. You and Sandra had a vision and by keeping focused you’ve accomplished so much – I’m so impressed!
I picked up a book at the bookstore week before last, “Deep Work” by Cal Newport, who has written several books on how to prevent technology, social media and the like from hijacking your attention and keeping you from accomplishing your goals. While it’s audience is the knowledge worker I as a 73 yeara old retiree found much I could benefit from. He differentiates between shallow work and deep work. Some of his examples of people who did/are applying this concept include, Carl Jung, Mark Twain, Woody Allen, Neal Stephenson, Teddy Roosevelt and J.K. Rowling. Something they all have in common is the ability to work alone somewhere for an extended period of time uninterrupted.
The library here is very quiet on weekdays when school is in session so I come here with some regularity when I want a few hours of uninterrupted time. Often when I want to comment on your blog I squeeze it in and just write what comes to my head usually in the late afternoon or evening. I’m tired physically and mentally. (The author cites evidence that we have limited capacity for deep or focused work.) Today I decided I would write my comment in longhand here at the library. I’m fast on the keyboard (back in the day I could type very accurately 95 words/min. and I’m still around 70) so I’ll type it later and submit.
In other news my daughter, Carla, has friends who lost their home in Altadena which they’ve owned for less than a year. My cousin and aunt (the aunt who used to live in Chicago) were about an hour away from one of the fires a few days ago but are now under a fire watch through Wednesday night. Their insurance company has dropped them as the end of this month and they’ve yet to find another that will cover them – a situation far to common in California.
We continue to be storm free but have some very cold days coming up.
Margaret
PS I wrote this yesterday before reading this week’s blog. I see you’ve addressed the fire with all of it’s implications.
My mother who loved to drive had a Trans-Am convertible back in the late 1960’s – early 1970’s. I have fond memories of tooling around with her (she wouldn’t let me drive it) when in high school and college.
Chris:
That’s why Ruby’s ears flop – they’re heavier.
Well, the day will someday come – unless you just admire the plant for its own sake – when you will have to dig up a turmeric rhizome. But maybe it’s not mature yet. Better safe than sorry.
I can see why you might not feel drawn to garlic after your family experiences. $400 a month was a lot of money for a room in a house. How could they not let you cook for yourself as part of that deal?
The one car issue is an issue mostly because all three of us sometimes need it at the same time (like tomorrow). My old Honda has been super-dependable, but I have a feeling her days are numbered. My son’s car – RIP – was also very dependable. We have been looking for another car, but no luck yet. Something will eventually turn up.
The deer here didn’t bother anything the first few years. Their numbers were smaller then, too, because of a LOT of hunting. Then they gradually encroached on our unfenced garden and our landscaping plants. It’s interesting how they will not touch something new and wild when it first appears, sometimes for several years. And they didn’t touch the unfenced fig trees for a number of years, but now are beginning to nibble on them. If we have another year without acorns, as we did a long time ago, they will eat anything and everything in sight.
Hee, hee! Mummy Silkie. Too small to be Queen, I guess.
Here is an inspiring article about a fellow in Los Angeles who, with his son and a neighbor, saved some of the houses on his block from the fire.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2l09vdlxv2o
Pam
Chris,
I noticed Claire’s maths problem late last week. Her solution is correct. We had a similar problem given to us way back in university days. One of those Fermi problem things about how long it would take two people to remove a huge gob of snow. Mention must be made that only one of us suggested to hire younger guys from the athletic department because they could work faster than those described in the problem.
Not enough snow yet to even think about Big Bertha. In fact, I’ve only twice had the shovel out. Once just because I wanted to, the second because it sorta needed to be done. Otherwise, weather conditions have melted the snow in a timely manner.
I also saw Lew’s link to some problems, the erm, enshitiffication of the internet or something. I ran into that, and more, today. The television went out. Colorful vertical lines and no picture. Volume ok. We’ve had it less than a year, so I sauntered into the Best Buy where we bought it. They told me to call their “Geek Squad”. Geeks told me to contact the manufacturer, as it is still under manufacturer’s warranty. I did so, having to resort to some “chat” program. Eventually I was shuttled back to the Geeks, and back to the manufacturer, and…I will return to the store tomorrow with the manufacturer’s email that says they will not touch the telly because it is physically damaged which negates the warranty. We have never, ever done any physical damage to the telly. I just want it repaired or replaced. ensh**ification. Meanwhile, we are using the 13 inch 25-year-old tube style analog telly with an adaptor box. Newer technology doesn’t last as long.
It was a few months ago, I think, when Ruby usurped Dame Plum’s spot on the sofa with a similar result and photo. Apparently Ruby either hasn’t learned or else she enjoys having Dame Plum lie on top of her. I appreciate Ollie’s attitude.
The roses are looking very good. Nice colors. I’d make some quip about our endless grey conditions, but that wouldn’t be quite accurate. Sunny skies the past two afternoons, and 4 planets visible to the naked eye tonight. I know I could see Uranus if I bothered to take the binoculars out. It’s nice having some clear skies to see the stars and planets.
DJSpo
Hi Steve,
It’s unfortunate to do things bigger in this instance, but they’re twice as big as white tail deer. Man, it’s like waking up to find wild horses destroying the mature trees in the orchard. It takes between a decade and fifteen years to grow a decent fruit tree, and they can destroy it one night. And they’re now venturing to near the front door of the house.
Far out, prions sound way too close to the mad cow disease, so why take the risk? I’d do exactly as you’ve done, and am planning to drop the deer in the forest for the benefit of the critters who help me out around here. That particular disease may not be present down under, but who really knows?
Exactly, clean guttering is a good defence against spot fires getting into the dry timbers in your roof. We clean them out about twice per year. Alternatively, the down pipes can be stoppered, and then the gutters filled with water. In many ways, that’s an even better roof protection.
We all face that particular risk! 🙂 But hopefully avoid it for as long as possible. Down here, tiled roofs of any variety are considered risky in fire prone areas. There’s so much to go wrong.
What? This is news to me about wood stoves being an insurance problem. Hmm. Makes me wonder if people have become somewhat slack about cleaning out the flues? If enough creosote builds up inside the flue, the stuff can ignite and it’s super hard to extinguish. Incidentally, I’ve heard that in brick chimneys, the mortar shrinks during such fires and that can lead to structural failure of the chimney.
Realistically, the reinsurance folks know no boundaries, and we’ll all end up paying for the LA fires.
😉 Steve, you’re miles ahead of the game, for that is exactly the game. Doesn’t it surprise you that few people seem to realise this?
Ha! Raised beds, and any vegetable gardening really, puts you on a treadmill of soil additives. I’m yet to experience / implement a system which avoids this sorry fate. My opinion is that your soil biota will enjoy the more temperate conditions, but any advantage usually comes at the cost of additional soil feeding. If there were another way…
Cheers
Chris
Hi Margaret,
Thank you for taking the time away from Marty’s impending move to hang out and chat. And I very much appreciated reading your words – the proverbial tortoise was right you know!
You learn something everyday. I’d not previously been aware that Carl Jung built a stone tower in the woods to focus his mind. It’s a lovely looking building, and might not pass code these days! Ah, for such simpler times, when simple moments, were real focused simple moments. Thanks for mentioning the interesting book, and the author is onto something there. Yup! Our lives are so busy these days. Did the author discuss boundaries?
Margaret, it’s a lovely pleasure to while away a few hours in a quiet location such as a library. Generally before paid work days, I’ll sit for a while with a coffee and a book and just get lost in those words. Truthfully, I’m of the opinion that many people I know could benefit from less stimulation to their senses, but we all have to follow our own journey there. As you’d also be aware of the paid work, if unchecked by balance, it can perform subtle changes on our personalities. Hardly a good thing, don’t you reckon?
That’s a very decent typing speed, respect! Sometimes I observe people typing out text messages on their tiny little touch-phone screens and wonder about the efficacy of that device. A proper sized keyboard is a fine invention.
Oh poop, that’s not good for your daughters friends. To be honest, I’d move cities if in that particular circumstance. I’ve observed trauma first hand, and to be surrounded by it takes a stoic person to endure. Hope your cousin and aunt remain unaffected by the fires, although with the way reinsurance works, we’ll all be paying for this lack of preparation. Hmm. Yes, that is a problem.
Stay warm, and I hope Doug has your firewood situation sorted out.
No worries, it’s always a pleasure talking with you.
It’s hard, but your mother probably made the right choice there. 😉 Truly, I’d have destroyed such a great beast of a machine, although this does not infer that you would have done so. Actually I’ve got a soft spot for those machines, and almost bought a right-hand drive conversion 455 HO Trans-Am, way back in the late 1990’s. It was quite cheap, but the powers that be moved against my options because nobody would insure me. Not fair… Margaret, dunno about your mothers fine choice of vehicle, but this one was red and even had a massive eagle emblem on the bonnet. Fuel was cheaper in those days! 😉
Cheers
Chris
Hi Pam,
Wow! Your observation was so obvious, I’d not ever noticed. Heavy ears are indeed floppy. Well, everything is now explained. Thanks for the laughs.
Do the turmeric tubers mature? Oh my! Just took a look at how the tubers grow in conditions in the warmer state to the north of here. The leaves are huge and three foot, and they flower. Hmm. Might be a step too far growing them this far south. Ook! Oh well, maybe I’ll dig half up at the end of the season to see what’s there in the soil. All I know is that they appreciate not being watered in the winter months due to the risk of rotting.
It was easy to stop me from cooking in the house, and truly it did not take me long after that point to move out. The garlic and super salty cooking continued afterwards, so it wasn’t personal. My mother had some mental health issues, running both hot and cold personality wise, so it was better to simply walk away and put some distance between. When she was nice, you knew that the conditions would soon turn and best you’d not be involved. It’s hard for people who’ve not experienced such emotional volatility to comprehend just how unstable the environment was.
Spare a moments thought for Sandra, who walked into this mess and tried to be friendly with my mother. I warned Sandra how things would go, and put it this way, my fears were justified and Sandra earned a hard lesson there.
Apologies if this is a bit much, but a few days before my grandfather passed away, he asked me to put my energy into helping with the problems. I told him the truth, it all wasn’t fixable – not that he offered me any resources to assist with the task. A person could pour all of their energy into that lot, and nothing would be gained or improved. Now, they’re all gone, and the world goes on. Some apples are just bad, hope you never get to meet one.
Phew, that was a bit heavy… After I left, she was whining about the lack of regular $400 board. Nice.
Ah bummer about all wanting the vehicular machine all at the same time. It’s a universal truth, that only one person can pilot such a machine at any one time. When I was a kid, the single car household was a thing, and as decline continues apace, I don’t doubt that society will go back to those days. The thing is though, back then you could walk to local shops. The second hand car market down here is being artificially inflated.
Oh my! Your experience with the deer troubles me deeply, mostly because that is how things are playing out here. It takes ten to fifteen years to grow a mature fruit tree, and they’re demolishing some in a night. That sort of eating everything out of house and home is not sustainable.
Hehe! Yeah, I’d not thought of the Silkie that way, but yeah. She’s a tough old bird too, and gives the other chickens ‘what for’. Very impressive.
The scouts have that motto too – be prepared. It just takes work. They were lucky the hydrants they connected the hoses up to continued to supply water.
Cheers
Chris
Hi DJ,
Man, I began considering the maths of all that snow, but then realised that no width was provided for the driveway, and, unless you’re on the ground it would be difficult to know just how compacted the snow actually is. Around and around the numbers whirled, and then I started getting a headache, so decided to have a soothing cup of tea, and all the world felt, suddenly better. But you’re uni days class response to the solution is genius.
Man, the funny thing is, I actually enjoy the hard physical work of such activities. And it’s a fine joke too, because that baffles some of the neighbours around here.
Poor Big Bertha all neglected and stuff moping away in your garage. Dude, she may be plotting her plans for revenge, just sayin…
Sometimes the weather conditions are just perfect. It’s the wise man who realises that is the case. It’s been cold and windy today. A little bit of rain fell this morning, then after that the mountain has been in a rain avoidment area. Storms are circling around the range like ravens eyeing off a chunk of road-kill. It didn’t matter though as I worked inside on paid work all day, and finished up pretty late.
Oh that’s a serious bummer. And you got the run-around. I guess they’re all hoping that you give up. It’s a big call suggesting that the thing is damaged rather than simply not working. And yup, that arrangement you’re on the wrong side of is definitely an example of enshitification – it’s in the Australian Macquarie dictionary, surely that legitimises the word? It’s notable that the spell checker was unaware of the word. Phooey to that. Friends are fans of that authors work too, and have been urging me to read the books.
And that’s what I worry about too – we could make things to last longer, but the profit motive tends to derail that possibility. Oh well.
You’re good! That did happen, and Kelpies are in many ways like Husky’s, they have their own opinions and can be wilful. Both dogs probably need training from day one. Still, they have spicy personalities and can do unexpected things like playing the game of ‘stacks on’, although Ruby didn’t look like she was enjoying how her evening had worked out.
Ollie is a total gentleman, most of the time. There are times however, when his behaviour is outrageous. We shan’t dwell upon his personal deficiencies lest he get all shy and bashful and stuff. The two Kelpies always do their best to bring trouble to Ollie, but he is their mascot.
Good to hear that you’ve got some sun. Apparently this evening there is a rare comet in the sky, but alas thick low clouds. Four planets. One planet in particular is very bright and early in the sky down here. I’m guessing it’s Venus, but haven’t yet had a chance to look it up for sure. Oh my, there are interactive star charts for the local area. My head is now spinning… Too bad about the clouds.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
It’s like what you pointed out like ago, there are 99 reasons why ancient Rome fell. Lot’s of daily bad decisions, culminating in the entire mess falling apart. Yeah we all do that to a greater or lesser extent.
Oh yeah, the Australian Macquarie dictionary crowned the word last year. Hopefully, this word is not applicable to their own august publication? Still, it’s considered impolite to make such close enquiries in these matters. 🙂 Friends of mine enjoy that authors books, and have long urged me to read them.
Sadly, the game outlined in the article sounds plausible. But I do wonder after such cannibalising of revenue sources whether the vampire entity simply dies an unnatural death?
Unfortunately, as you can see, right now I’m dealing with the undead, and am over halfway through Bram Stoker’s fine book: Dracula. The fictional character Mina in that book would be handy in a knife fight.
Paper shredders can be quite good devices, and that’s been my understanding too – price may not guarantee quality. We can burn off paper here if need be, and it is a simpler process. Although I’d imagine your inmates would have an attack of the vapours if you set off a brazier in among the raised garden beds?
That’s the downsides of signing up for such stores, although there may be an opt-out button for online news and important notifications? Possibly it’s too much to ask. The stock feed business keeps asking me whether I’m a member. Guess they want to track your purchases.
Thanks for the advice, and I will check the sock draw for Thing. It isn’t nowhere, let’s put the situation that way. Hopefully Thing doesn’t have a psychotic episode like the member in that scary film: The Hand. Never saw the original, but Michael Caine did a wonderful job of scaring me.
Crowds, yes, yes, of course. I get that and likewise do my best to dodge such gatherings. Mostly I avoid crowds due to sensory overload issues, but if needed can grin and bear it – like that stadium gig I went to almost two years ago. A truly lovely evening, but my how time flies when you’re having fun.
That’s a good theory, and the bugs would be more likely to munch upon the newer leaves. Who knows? It’s also possible the colder weather of late has put an end to the bugs, before they put an end to your leafy green vegetables. I must say, you’re in a good corner of the continent there to be able to produce winter vegetables of some sort. Candidly, winters are a bit marginal here as well.
It’s a mystery that with the nematodes. Bugs breed on a pretty fast life-cycle, so who knows, a nematode may adapt to your local conditions and thrive? Dunno.
Sorry to focus in, but 24’F sounds pretty cold. Brr! Stay warm. And hope H has her coat on during walks?
They’re saying in the news down here that the fires continue and were stoked up by some strong winds. But yes, the media’s attention span is notably short in such matters. Whoa! We missed that news. One of those planes crashed down here a few summers ago. Big mess. Investigation finds NSW Rural Fire Service failed to fully communicate dangers before Large Air Tanker crashed near Cooma in January 2020
The eggs seem to be a bit cheaper at that store. There are signs in the local supermarkets saying there is a customer limit of two dozen. That’s a lot of eggs, and sometimes the shelves are empty looking. Is the maple syrup cheap? I rarely see that stuff, although it is very tasty. They usually substitute Golden Syrup down here which is derived from sugar cane products, and seems like quite the industrial development. Who knew? It can be made at home using lemon juice as an acid.
I tend to agree with you about Olive Oil and have heard some interesting claims over the years about oil originating in other markets. Ah, Cobram Estate, yes, I’ve used that stuff too. A distinctive label. Hopefully it lives up to your expectations. A lot of olive is grown around these parts.
That sub makes me feel deeply uncomfortable. 🙂 There was a paywall, but you could suck the text off the article just before the paywall blocked the fun reading. Look, I wouldn’t go into those deeps, it just doesn’t seem right. But we’re an adventurous species and there’s a lot to go wrong down there.
Man, I’ve come across people who have a texture issues with food, but the social dimensions were an idea I’d not considered at all. The conclusion may be right. The thing about being too choosy with food is that it may end up restricting the sort of stuff you are taking into your system (not you, but the nebulous you), and that can probably impact upon peoples health in all sorts of ways. I’d read that people on the err, spectrum, are often picky eaters, and that can be a bad thing for a persons health. Hmm, we muck around with such arrangements at our peril. And yes, there is no way our ancestors could afford to be choosy. But neither would they have the variety, think about the impact the plant hunters and plant breeders would have had – and continue to do so. Some of the plant species we rely upon as a civilisation, are a bit weak.
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – A lot of internet stuff seems to either die an unnatural death, or, users fall away, and it becomes a shadow of its former self. There’s plenty of advice, out there, to periodically go through apps and subscriptions, to jettison the no longer useful. But, a.) is the process easy and b.) who has the time …
Our high yesterday was 41F (5C). The overnight low was 34F. The forecast for today is 46F. Unless the sun is shining, and it’s an afternoon walk, H is in her coat.
That was quit an article about the air tanker, going down. Seemed like a lot of passing around the hot potato of blame. Minions will be thrown under busses.
Here’s an article about our current egg situation.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/14/business/egg-shortage-bird-flu
I suppose I should consider myself lucky, that I could obtain eggs at all.
I’d say, the price I paid for the maple syrup wasn’t exactly cheap. But on the other hand, I didn’t think it was over-the-top expensive, either. But, my mind might have been playing tricks on me. Wondering about tariffs driving up prices. Also, I’ve seen articles that our New England maple syrup industry, is faltering. Due to warmer temperatures overall.
I started watching that new series, “From Scratch.” The idea that the presenter eats something from a restaurant, and then goes out and sources all the ingredients. The first episode was pretty good. He ate a slice of pizza, from the best pizza place in Naples, Italy. So, then he’s running about, harvesting basil and San Marzano tomatoes. Making the sauce. Harvesting Durum wheat from a field, using a sickle. Grinding it. Going out with fishermen to catch anchovies. Salting those down. Milking a water buffalo and making the cheese. So, he pulls all the ingredients, together, and bakes a pizza, alongside the famous pizza chef.
I sampled the rest of the episodes, and didn’t find them near so interesting. Usually, he’d go to some upscale restaurant, in some far flung foreign place, sample a dish that I can only describe as “precious.” You know the kind. Minuscule portions artfully arranged on a plate. I can only describe the series as something that started off with a good idea, and then went wrong.
Continuing the pizza theme, I did find the addition of anchovies, problematic. I’d say, that’s a major bone of contention, here in the States. Sometimes, battles are also fought over the addition of mushrooms. Or, not. But kingdoms rise and fall over the issue of … pineapple. 🙂
https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/14/travel/hawaiian-pineapple-pizza-100-pounds-lupa-norwich
And then you have this article, on the decline of food enjoyment …
https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/14/health/healthy-enjoyable-eating-gallup-wellness
Do people make too much of food? Well, maybe. I used up the last of the rice, in the rice bowl, last night. Added some chopped celery, garlic, dried tomatoes, Shiitake mushrooms, frozen peas and corn. Etc. A bit of Swiss cheese and yogurt, on top. A splash of cider vinegar. I refilled the rice bowl, this morning.
I’ll be eating the last of the chocolate cookies, for desert, tonight. I have a couple of cans of apricots, and am thinking of making an apricot crisp. Subject to change.
I finished the “Best American Food and Travel Writing 2024.” Some of the essays were interesting. Some, I just skimmed. Besides the article on food textures, there was one on how the Dine people (a SW American tribe, formerly known as the Navajo), go about slaughtering a sheep. In a cultural and spiritual way. There was also an essay about how in Mexico, the cartels are getting involved in the very lucrative Avocado trade. And how some communities are banning Avocados, to keep the cartels out. And, an essay on the political correctness of people of color, eating watermelons. Lew
Chris:
Once we had a hunter drop a deer in the forest next to us and never retrieve it. The smell was horrible and we and a couple of neighbors finally manage to pull it further into the woods and kind of cover it up. That thing was heavy and yours are probably twice as big. And the wildlife took its time cleaning up. It helps to know where a deer’s heart is; that makes things quicker and more efficient. Once a deer ran into our wooden fence and broke two legs. We were newly moved to the country and I didn’t know what to do so I called the Sheriff’s Department (or maybe it was the county police) and a nice officer came out and put it out of its misery. He showed me where its heart was. The body was still there and we dragged it down slope a bit and buried it as best we could.
I have spared a thought for Sandra. It was very commendable of her to try and make friends, but now she knows that sometimes that is not possible, no matter how hard one tries. I have been dealing with one such bad apple for quite some time. It hurts so much when it is a family member and there is no reason for their behavior. I hate to give up.
I was going to mention squirrels, the little darlin’s, as a lighter note, but then I remembered that one has just found its way into the greenhouse – cozy and warm in there – and ate a small fig tree. If I could get into the toolshed in the garden I would get the El Stinko spray out, but the gate is frozen shut and probably the toolshed door, and it’s way down a slope of ice.
Okay, I am going to look at your flowers, that will cheer me up. It always does. Thanks!
Pam
Chris,
Isn’t it amazing how soothing a freshly brewed cup of tea can be? It is ideal for at least 42 different situations.
I usually don’t mind the workout from shoveling snow. Big Bertha has been a welcome boost during deeper snowfalls. When I was young, I was known to shovel my parents’ sidewalks and driveway, ditto the elderly neighbor’s stuff, and then assist another neighbor. Very petite woman, she was, and her husband worked nights and slept all day. Her snow shovel was bigger than she was it seemed. I enjoyed the workout; the neighbors enjoyed the help. We all came out ahead!
Weather forecast is for lows below -7C starting Friday night. Likely for a week or more. Saturday might dip to -12C. No preciptation in the 15 day outlook. I expect that we will get a fair amount of snow as the cold system is eventually pushed out. Then warm up to rain after a day or three of snow. Big Bertha may be needed yet this winter!
Well, I had also sent a complaint to the manufacturer “president”. The “liaison” contacted me this morning. I supplied the requested information, deciding to give that contact a day to work on things. A few hours later I received an offer to purchase unlimited goods from their website. They supplied me with a 20% off discount code. Back to the Big Box store on Thursday. I’ll probably need to request/demand a manager. Somebody needs to cut through the b.s.
Yes, the very bright planet near the western horizon at sundown is Venus. You might be able to see a smaller and dimmer planet nearby with a bluish tint to it. That would be Saturn.
Spectacular sunny afternoon. I was reading when Killian’s human called and suggested that we go to the nearby Costco store. So off we went. That was an enjoyable outing. Dame Avalanche and I went on our afternoon walk upon our return. Did I mention that the sunshine was spectacular?
After a sandwich, I fell asleep. A raven awoke me croaking about something. No, it was not tap tap tapping at my door. Nor did it say, “Nevermore”.
DJSpo
Hi Pam,
Thanks for the reminder about the epic stink I will create. It may surprise you, and I’m sorry to say this, but such a thing happens in this part of the world with hunters. It’s common practice, and deer are considered an introduced feral species here with zero chance of eradication – thus the hunting rules which probably sound odd to you. On public land there are some additional restrictions, like no spotlighting for example. There is just not much interest in venison meat in this part of the country. I’m aware that in the long distant past, there were four deer farms in this area. That farm business used to be what may possibly be impolitely described as a pyramid selling scheme. Who can forget ostrich farming? Hmm. Anyway, all four farms shut down many long years ago, and that is where the deer originated from. They out-compete the local herbivores, but from the longer term perspective, the deer will ultimately change the entire forest environment and be around long after humans are a distant memory. Hopefully the feral domestic cats morph into mountain lions, which is probably what will happen.
It is very wasteful from a human perspective, but the forest is extraordinarily dense – it’s not like you can drive in there on a quad bike (that is simply not possible) and as you note they’re big animals. And yes I will ensure that the suffering is minimised, there’s a responsibility and obligation to do so.
Based on what I’ve observed of road kill animals, the carcass will be strip cleaned in days. There’s a lot of wildlife out there, and none will ignore the easy feed. We don’t have big predators like say bears or mountain lions, but there are eagles, owls, foxes and bush rats etc. which won’t waste the meat. All of the local birds will be onto this. You’d be amazed at how active the forest critters are here, and they all watch our activities. The dogs will by necessity have to be restrained for a few days. But we’ll see how it all goes. All I know, is that what is going on now, is unsustainable. Humans created this situation, so we’re responsible for it.
Not many people realise that the police will do such work. They’ll do that here as well. I tend to drive slowly and carefully on the forest roads, but well, other people don’t, and that’s a problem for the forest critters. Because the road side verges are consistently kept short (with the organic matter returned to the soil), they grow some of the best greens in the area – thus why the forest critters eat at such dangerous for them locations (and this aspect is not lost on me for here with the deer). Leading up to this point, a good balance had been established with all of the forest critters, but all things change I guess.
You know that during the health subject which dare not be named, I didn’t see any road kill for the two years. Hmm.
Pam, sometimes there is no solution to such relationship matters. Our option was to walk away, mostly because there was no upside – it all became a matter of costs. Long ago Mr Greer mentioned that community means learning to live near to the person who annoys the daylights out of you. He’s got a point. If you work out the situation, please let me know as I’d be interested to learn.
Oh my! The naughty little, and also most clever, squirrel to have arranged things just so. Good luck! Ook! Best not be injured by the icy Machiavellian strategies of your local herbivores, and best to keep the can of el-stinko spray (a scary item unknown to me) in a more easily accessible location in future. See, the forest critters are training you as well, the cheeky scamps. 😉
Hope the flowers cheered you up! Discovered the most amazing orchid flower today – and took a photo. Moved many rocks up the hill today and installed them on the first row of the wall under the long line of water tanks. Now we’ll have to work out where to get some soil to back fill behind that rock wall.
Cheers
Chris
Hi DJ,
Oh you’re good! Yes, it can’t be ignored that you most cleverly worked in the number 42 on that first sentence. I stand in the presence of greatness, sure. But what does it all mean? 😉 Hehe!
It was a cold day here today. Woke up this morning to 8’C. It topped out at 18’C, and is now a chilly 13’C as the sun sets below the horizon. Brr! A summer day for woollen jumpers, well at least tonight that is the case. With all that cool air, we spent the middle part of the day hauling the fourteen created (of a week or two ago) large rocks back up the hill and installing them on the rock wall just below the long line of water tanks. The first layer of rocks is now complete (the project has a long way to go before it is finished). Yay!
🙂 It’s a nice break for the mind to do such physical shovelling work don’t you reckon? All that fossil fuelled horsepower directed grunt which Big Bertha can deliver, is best used like you suggest, when really needed. There’s a middle ground always in these situations and such tools should I believe are best brought to bear on problems which are beyond our usual human capacities. Someone wise quipped not all that long ago that every automation is an amputation. Quite a clever observation.
I’d happily assist and work with the neighbours if there was a form of reciprocity. Who can forget the firewood situation years ago when I suggested to the neighbour to stop and have a friendly chat and we’ll use the tools at hand to split all the firewood literally and also in terms of ownership I’d only just recently neatly cut up? That was probably a step too far for the person. Perhaps as a civilisation we’re not hungry enough for such neat arrangements, yet? I have no doubts that we’ll get there eventually, and that is one of the bright points for the future – it’ll be far more social than things are today. I look forward to that moment. When I was a kid, everyone was far more locally social.
Dude, -12’C is so cold that I’m frightened being the summer softened person that I am. Hope you all stay warm during the sudden freeze, and that Big Bertha starts up when required to do so.
Respect. Such big corporate entities hate the complaints, because they are measured. I see you know what you’re dealing with! 🙂 Someone has to take responsibility for acting upon the warranty. Presumably you’ve read the fine details of the wording?
Thanks for the confirmation as to the planet being Venus. It’s very bright in the sky, even on nights of full moon. Did you spot the new slow spinning neutron star? The universe is stranger than our brains can ever know: Astronomers discover rule-breaking neutron star with an incredibly slow six-hour spin. The low clouds tonight will obscure the chance to see the rare comet. Oh well. I’ll keep a watch out for Saturn.
Nice to hear of your winter sunshine and that everyone got outside and enjoyed it thoroughly. 🙂 Saturday through Tuesday here will be warm, but nothing startling, then back to cooler weather. An odd summer, that’s for sure. At least the nights are cool, which is not so great for the plants, but good for sleeping.
Mr Poe was a master wordsmith, and none of us would want to be awoken by that particular raven. Stay safe! Had a juvenile parrot fly into one of the window shutters. The poor bird looked dazed for a little while, but then flew off. I’ll bet the experience hurt.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
Yes, that users falling away issue can happen when a website is monetised. For the record, I have no intention of doing so and happily absorb the costs as a hobby and also because I so enjoy our regular chats. 🙂 However, there are an increasing amount of AI comments, although they’re super easy to weed out. Nobody speaks or writes like those programs do.
That’s so true too with apps and subscriptions being no longer used. It’s funny you mention that, but looking at my work laptop the other day I noticed some apps that the dog-act client requested me to install, and it was a real pleasure to remove them from the machine. But, the point is, the things lingered there in the background for a year, and who knows what they were doing that I was unaware of. So yeah, getting the time and inclination to do that sort of digital clean-up is not easy. Mind you, I keep a sharp eye on this ‘ere website because it is in the public domain and very active.
Your winter conditions are so similar to here, that it’s uncanny. 🙂 Today was a cold one. I woke to 8’C / 46’F, the day topped out at 18’C / 64’F and is now at 13’C / 55’F. Claire most wisely and astutely pointed out to me many years ago that these sorts of cold summer days are why the plants grow slowly here. Still, the cold weather makes for comfortable sleep on summer nights.
Anyway, we used the cold day to pull up the hill all those fourteen rocks we’d created from boulders a week or so ago. Did some paid work too this morning (no rest for the wicked in a past life and stuff 😉 ). The rocks were place in the long rock wall below the line of water tanks. The first row of rocks has now been completed. We have to get some soil from somewhere to add behind all those rocks, and so chucked some ideas around. Hmm, more work.
Dropped by the general store late this afternoon to check on the mail and enjoy a well deserved coffee. It was all very pleasant, but busy there. Continued reading Dracula whilst supping on the coffee. It’s a rollicking good tale, despite Van Helsing’s unusual dialogue – which kind of works and makes the character more approachable, than theoretically say if he were focused on the end goal – the undead pointy stake driving business. Like Jar Jar Binks was in the Star Wars movies.
Who wants to take the fall for crashing a very large aircraft. There was a suggestion that the machines be used even when conditions were a bit sub-optimal due to perhaps expense and visibility. I can comprehend how the communication problems could come to pass in such a situation.
Hmm. It is possible that the commercial birds used for egg production are a bit you know, maybe dicey with their genetics. I’ve had experiences with them which kind of frightened me, and now I refuse to stock them. Horrid creatures, so I’m unsurprised that there are big problems. Yes, I know avian flu and stuff, but I can only suggest that the flip side of efficiency is a complete lack of resilience – and this is what it looks like. If you really want to worry, this story is sort of playing out with many of the annual seed plants which produce the stuff we all eat.
It is lucky you can get some eggs, and I doubt we’ve heard the last of this story.
I find that too that it is hard to recall what prices used to be. Yeah, it’s a bit of a shame that the trees need the temperature differentials to produce the sugars. I’ve got a couple of sugar maples growing here, and I doubt it’d get cold enough to harvest the syrup, which is only 2% sugar anyway. Sugar beets are 20% sugar, so they’re a safer bet, if the deer stopped grazing the leaves…
In the past week, those cheeky scamps have seriously damaged two good sized plum trees.
Ah, that series sounds like a ‘bait and switch’ arrangement. Did the pizza the bloke made look any good? But yeah, too gourmet and my mind switches off. Might watch half of the Galaxy Quest film this evening.
What? Well that’s all news to me, although I have known people to crack the sads about anchovies on pizza. I quite like the taste of the fishy things, although they’re a bit on the salty side. Who could dislike a mushroom chunk on a pizza? It’s just not cricket ‘ol chap! 🙂 Are you being serious? Far out, such heated passions over pineapple on pizzas of all things. Well they do say that a fool and their money…
Who doesn’t enjoy the act of eating? I began reading the article and then considered how tortured by food some folks are, then went off and did something else with my time. That’s their problem, and loss. Food is awesome. 🙂
Your dinner sounds lovely, and not dissimilar from what we had for lunch earlier today. Had a salad for dinner, which was very nice – and had sliced boiled eggs in it. So tasty.
It’s funny you mention those chocolate biscuits you made, but I’ve had a hankering for something like that today. Probably something to do with lots of physical exercise earlier today with the rock work.
We might preserve another dozen glass bottles of apricots over the next few days, then the season will be done. Onto plums then. I’ll be interested to hear how the crisp turns out, apricots have a tangy flavour to them which works well in a crisp. Yum! Now I’m salivating thinking of all this wonderful food.
Well it’s a wise preventative measure to ensure the cartels have no reason to visit, and if that means getting rid of avocado trees, then so be it. Preparing food from scratch, is a ritual of the deepest sort so that essay does not surprise me. But I’m totally baffled why watermelon would even be an issue – it’s a fruit.
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – Our high yesterday was 37F. The overnight low was 34F. Forecast for today is 43F. There’s just enough wind, to have a real bite in it. Forecasts for overnight lows, are edging into the mid 20sF.
So, given the cool day, I’d guess you didn’t even break a sweat, moving all those rocks. 🙂
Speaking of mail, I received the auction check today. $1,150. It is, what it is, so I can’t say I’m exactly disappointed. But, more and more I’m beginning to think collectible glass and pottery is becoming a dead issue. At least, off line. Another factor is that some auction audiences are just … cold. No matter what the auctioneer does, there’s just not much enthusiasm, whipped up. Might have been the situation at the New Year’s Day auction.
Looking at the auction in Olympia (which posts its prices realized), I notice their returns also appear to be flat.
I’ve read that in disasters, communications are often … fraught. Different devices, different frequencies. I saw an interesting article, last night, on what’s next for LA. The recovery, the rebuilding.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/whats-next-for-los-angeles-after-the-fires-205723611.html
The guy who made the pizza, did OK. A little lopsided (you have to be pretty dexterous to get the pizza off the paddle, and into the oven) and I’m sure it tasted just fine. But as good as the multi-generational pizza master? Well, no.
I think if I was a foodie, who snapped pictures of everything I ate, and someone trolled me over putting pineapple on my pizza, if I responded at all, it would be along the lines of, “Who are you to tell me what to eat?”
Last night, for dinner I had rice, a can of garbanzo beans, chopped up some celery, dried tomatoes, garlic. A bit of frozen corn. Some chopped up mustard greens and parsley, from the garden. A little cider vinegar to give it a bit of zip. Breakfast / Lunch was the usual. Oatmeal with banana / apple / blueberries / cranberries. Finished off with almond milk and cinnamon. Two squares of dark chocolate.
I watched another episode of “Wartime Kitchen and Garden,” last night. There was a bit where the gardener mentioned that soils got a bit played out, during the war. A build up of bad bugs, etc.. So, they steamed the soil to sterilize it. Per government instructions. There was also elaborate instructions on how to build a bonfire, to obtain potassium from weeds and brush clippings. In the Kitchen, Mrs. Mott (per government brochures) was trying out a new Swiss thing, called muesli. 🙂 And, a mayonnaise substitute that used no eggs, made from a boiled potato. To celebrate D-Day, and egg was sacrificed to make some kind of a fry bread (we’d call it a biscuit), and to make it special, elder blossoms (but not too many, due to the strong flavor) were added. The black market was discussed, again. The general feeling among people (not the government) seemed to be, as long as it was a barter type arrangement, dealing with produce, it was OK.
Watermelon and people of color, is a “negative stereotype.” Hmm. How to explain that. Here’s a pretty good definition, with some examples.
https://helpfulprofessor.com/negative-stereotype-examples/
Sometimes, when I put on my Bad Old Uncle Lew persona, I might observe that someone is “living down to the stereotype.” :-). Lew
Chris:
Think twice before you wish for mountain lions. People are one of their favorite meals, followed by dogs. In the summers I always took my sons to visit my parents in Colorado in the Rocky Mountains. We always went hiking. One summer we went on one of our hikes only to see in the newspaper the next morning that later on that same day a family had been hiking in the exact same spot when a mountain lion leaped out and killed one of their children.
Speaking of rats (and you did) – it was not a squirrel after all that had gotten into the greenhouse, it was wood rats. They have now eaten a large number of fig trees, including some that someone had purchased and my son was holding for him until the weather warmed up. He had to refund $700. He has now bought traps, so we shall see how that works. I immediately thought of your rats and your chickens and that long-playing disaster. Sigh. I am wishing for some of your dogs. Mr. Baby doesn’t do rat work.
I remember Mr. Greer saying that, but there are some neighbors from Hell, not where I am now, these are lovely folk, but we have had some such in the past. So have you.
The neutron star discovery is fascinating.
Ah – tote rocks, move water, smell flowers. That is a good life.
Pam
Chris,
Hmmm, what does it all mean? Well, er, 42 of course. 😉 It is, after all, the answer to life, the universe and everything. When no other answer comes to mind, 42 explains it.
8C in the summer? Agreed, that is chilly. Good sleeping weather, but chilly for plants. Good weather for working hard, though.
Oh, yes, the hard physical work is good for the mind. And it’s real work, real use of muscles. I’m always mentally refreshed after moving snow, digging in the yard, pruning, etc. Ditto with your rock work I would guess. And I like that idea that every automation is an amputation. Thanks for that.
The elderly folks next door to dad helped us in return. The man helped with gardening advice. His wife shared baked goods with us. The petite lady? Her family escaped from South Vietnam a few months before Saigon fell. So she held Vietnamese cooking classes for the neighborhood a few times a year, gave us some Vietnamese food whenever I helped with the snow. Just trading back and forth. The food was awesome, I must say. I was friends with her sons until the older ones moved to Louisiana and the youngest went off to college. Eventually the parents moved to Louisiana. No snow or cold weather there.
What I’ve observed about the sharing arrangements is that it is rare. A few of us will do it. Buy in bulk and split the items is common. Or I might have a ton of yellow squash, a neighbor will trade for a lot of tomatoes or something. The neighbor 2 doors down, my age, he and I trade our labor back and forth whenever one of us needs help. He’ll clear the snow from our sidewalks before I get outside. Later in the winter he is tired of snow and I return the favor. We don’t “keep score”, we just do what needs doing to help each other. But he and his wife moved into their house 2 years before the Princess and I moved into ours. Nobody has lived on our block longer than our two households. And we’re old school as far as being neighborly.
Went to the Best Buy store today. Explained the situation again at Customer Services. The person assisting me was the manager of that section. She said she’d go find a higher level manager. He reviewed the situation, looked at the picture I had of what the television screen looked like. With no hesitation, he said that I could get a new television at no cost, similar price of course, and that all I would have to pay is installation charges. The tv is a bit too heavy for me to deal with and connecting to everything is a bit over my head. So I worked with the same salesman as a year ago and will have the tv delivered and installed on the 24th. It worked as smoothly as can only be dreamed about.
One thing that helped, in addition to being calm, of course, was that I’ve purchased many electronic goods, computers, cameras, etc. from this store. And have their relatively cheap extended warranty/repair program in place. Being a long term loyal customer still has advantages at some places, apparently.
We’re cloudy tonight, and there have been clouds on the horizon all week. I’ve totally missed seeing the comet as a result. The relative positions of Venus and Saturn changes a bit every night, but not too much. When viewing Venus, extend your arm toward Venus. Extend your thumb or a finger. Saturn has been about a thumb or finger width from Venus, give or take a smidge.
Some of Mr. Poe’s poems were very good. The Raven, of course. It’s famous for many reasons, but the poetry is complex and intricate and wonderful. The Bells? Again, the poetry is wonderful, but I find this to be one of his more sinister stories/poems, however. Why? The poem gets into your head. It gets in your blood. Worse than an ear worm, and for days, maybe weeks, all you can think of is the bells. The bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, bells. The rolling and the tolling of the bells. Aaaargh, I may have just sabotaged myself. 😉
DJSpo
Hi Pam,
After the wrong turn at every step today has been, mountain lions would be what the old timers used to describe as the: Icing on the cake. 🙂 You’d know what I mean about some days just going wrong, although despite it all, there were also some good things going on today. But far out. Fortunately, mountain lions are a problem for the far distant future when domestic cats have evolved and realised that long pig is actually pretty tasty all things considered!
Oh my! Sometimes luck is with you in that regard on the walk in Colorado, although it was unfortunate for the poor child. Some of the domestic cats down under are already getting bigger, and a few years ago I’d read about one that was 22kg / 48 pounds. Long ago when we resided in the cool inner burbs of the big smoke, late one night when walking the dogs we were all confronted by two cats working in tandem and rushing at us all whilst standing on their hind legs. The dogs quailed in fright and we had to kick at the cats in order to stop the mischief. I’d never seen such a thing before, and can only but have respect for their larger cousins – and hope to never meet them in the wilds.
Rats are always a topic here, and we discovered a very large and seriously toothed dead rat this morning. Puncture marks were evident. Anyway, please extend my understanding to your son for the fruit tree loss. Pam, the things I’ve seen rats do, and some have jumped through the air at me. Truth to tell, and it’s not manly to say so, but that night I squealed in fright! Fortunately Dame Plum was on hand to sort out the rodent mischief. Unfortunately the dog got worms from the rodents, and well… There’s always a downside. In the short term, maybe a dose of poison may balance the scales somewhat? It’s not ideal, but losing ones business is not ideal either.
One of the things I’m constantly banging on about here is that problems can escalate rapdily. But it’s hard for us to know in advance if problems escalate, until they do. Thus my similar dramas with the deer and the urgency to respond. There’s always a balance somewhere, but finding it is super hard.
Well, we’ve all had neighbours from hell. And hopefully us lesser folks learn to recognise the signs in advance, and then run… 🙂 Years ago a neighbour threatened to kill me. Hmm. That was a problem, for him.
I like looking into the star scape as well and just wondering. One of the joys of living in a rural area.
Agreed, it is a good life, and I’d not trade it either despite the difficulties and unrelenting hard work. Here’s something to think about: The easy path is actually the harder path, just sayin… 😉
Cheers
Chris
Hi DJ,
Of course, we must all bend our minds to this long known of answer of 42, and enter into the blissed out state of acceptance not knowing what it means. But there are times that I do wonder… 🙂
Yeah, cold. This morning awoke to see thick mist and a quarter of a millimetre of drizzle. One must be grateful for any rain at this warm time of year. Today turned out quite nice, eventually, at 25’C with blue sunny skies. And somehow, everything went wrong… Ook! Oh well, these things happen.
At least the weather for the next 10 days seems quite pleasant.
It’s nice doing such work, yup! Your brain gets into the zone and there’s an end goal, and so your body starts shovelling away the snow. I find physical work to be quite meditative. You’d appreciate this, but it’s something of an antidote to the rather abstract world of paid work.
Dude, you had your very own Mr Miyagi-esque character living next door. In one house in the inner ‘urbs we had a self proclaimed Yugoslavian older couple living next door. They watched us build the house, and were always offering plates of oven fresh Burek biscuits on work days, and of course there were social costs for that gift – which was super tasty. I’d not been aware of their character until the day we demolished the small terrace house (which was seriously falling down) and they demanded a temporary fence be installed – all quite politely mind you. They told me bluntly that this was not the Australia they knew, so I dropped everything and put up a temporary fence, and somehow by that act became a distant relative. A lovely older couple.
There isn’t a score really, it’s more of a weighing up the balance of obligations where nobody is happy, but everyone is content – there being a difference don’t you reckon? The main issue with high turnover of houses is that such social connections don’t form, and I believe that is a fundamental undocumented outcome of the current arrangements. But we’re becoming old timers ourselves! 🙂
Well done you, and persistence pays off. Hope the new TV works better, and I see no reason why it won’t be. Quality can be quite random nowadays with products from what I’m observing.
Hehe! You’ve hinted at one of the downsides for such organisations with their customer relationship management software – they can see what you’ve spent. 😉 I tend to buy tools from a store that has a similar tracking arrangement, and they advise you that is the case when purchasing. Can I get the same stuff cheaper elsewhere? Sure. Do I want the hassles if things go wrong? No. One of my dreaded tasks today was discussing with someone that relationships can turn sour, and that’s when things really go wrong.
Sadly it is also cloudy here tonight, but I did spot this article and am enjoying the experience vicariously: How to see the ‘planet parade’ alignment in Australian skies
Mr Poe rarely shied away from the darker side of life, and hope you can extinguish those bells. How’s this for a proper ear worm dispel? Share and enjoy! Sorry for that… 😉
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
Ooo, mid 20’sF sounds very much like the bite of the winter may be approaching. It was cold enough here to see my breath when I just took the dogs outside to do their business. And I reckon Dame Plum has worms again. I spotted her dragging her bottom across a rug. She looked sheepish, as she should. Dosed her and the other dogs up with blitzed pepitas, and will continue to do so for a few days. Here, we must blame the varmints, but ultimately the canines have questionable tastes.
Hehe! Yeah, I’d like to think that we didn’t sweat moving all the rocks. 🙂 Man, today was different, it just went off the rails and everything which could go wrong, just went wrong. Although that’s not entirely true, a decent lunch was consumed, and I’m also grateful for the tasty home made pizza for dinner. The rest of the day, well, let’s just say that I’d prefer not to repeat it. We all get such days and must grin and bear them, or at least not whine so loudly!
Purchased a 22 pound box of apparently sun ripened apricots, but they looked somewhat under ripe and had very little flavour or aroma. Not happy about that because of the premium cost: $90. A request for credit or refund has been sent, and we’ll see how that goes. We’ve been buying there for over a decade too, so I’m surprised that such a box was even put together. I’ve seen such things happen when businesses are near the end, but time will tell.
The cost of living crisis is actually real, and so maybe that has had an impact upon the market for collectable glass and pottery? It takes disposable income to indulge in such collections, and of late I’ve been wondering if boomer grandparents are helping their kids and grandkids financially thus stripping them of their free mad cash? Dunno, but that may explain your auction result.
Auctions can be a crapshoot – as we’ve discussed. I eventually put the quirky and rare AM stereo radio tuner up for auction and it’s at one cent now. Oh well.
Hmm! When the 2009 fires hit I believe that with communications, different departments were on different frequencies, and often the radio channels were overwhelmed. That was a total disaster from what I’ve heard. Afterwards they changed the lot to digital and on a different frequency, so you can’t listen in these days. But it takes a whopping great big disaster for such systems to harmonise.
The recovery for LA will be awesome to consider, and very expensive just at the same moment the tax base gets annihilated. I can’t say that the locals endeared themselves to the federal folks who have their hands on the funds spigot. Probably not the smartest move in hindsight. And there are other parts of your country also requiring assistance recovering from disasters. It’s a mess.
But then, most days I’m now reading articles about how insurance is becoming unaffordable or unavailable in many parts of this country. Bizarrely, the expected financial arrangements for further debt aren’t working at the very time that further debt is required to fund all this stuff. It’s a conundrum, with probably no solution.
There’s a bit of a learned flick manoeuvre to get the raw pizza off the paddle and into the oven – which is really a bit kiln like if you ask me. Not something the guy could pick up in a day or two. They usually make the job easier by using steel trays, but the traditional fast cook method drops the pizza right onto the hot bricks. The ash adds something to the crust, but I prefer the cleaner tray.
Yeah, exactly! And I’d block their stupid pineapple comments in the first place. 😉 Why feed the trolls? Who cares if someone likes pineapple on their pizza? I’ve got other things to worry about than that!
I see that you’re balancing the recent chocolate biscuits with the veg, and I’d do no less. You’ve gotta take the good with the bad, and hope for the best. A lamington was consumed today, although chunks were shared with the dogs. Ollie drools excessively otherwise. Do you remember that scene in the 1980 Alien film when the extraterrestrial drool ate through the steel decks of the ship? Well, Ollie isn’t quite that bad, but when tasty food is involved, there’s quantities of ectoplasmic slime.
Ah, that’s the bloke Harry Dodson. He’s an interesting and informative fellow, and would be handy during food shortages! What? I’ve never heard of this intriguing process, and I’d wondered what that mansion had done with all of the greenhouse garden beds. Whoa! Talk about an industrial farming process, but would it work, yup. Hopefully Mrs Mott avoided an attack of the vapours over the dreaded muesli? My grandfather used to make up his own batches of Swiss muesli way back in the 70’s, and it was the first time I’d encountered the stuff. Not toasted like the type we make, but with rolled oats and dried fruit, and maybe some added bran.
Elderflower is yeah, one of those plants to use in small quantities. The stink from the flowers is notable each season for about two weeks. But as a cordial (we make Elderflower wine) it’s really surprisingly tasty given how the flowers stink. The parrots love the berries, so no wonder there are elderflower shrubs turning up in unusual locations. Probably make a good living fence.
Ah, thanks for the link to the helpful professor. Alas, I got to item 14 and knew I’d been beaten. The Editor won some maths award at High School. Candidly I didn’t understand any of the maths… Some brains are not wired for abtruse problems. On the other hand, I very much enjoyed the first half of Galaxy Quest and the scene of the valiant, but useless, officers sitting around the board table listening to the computer list the woes of the ship was probably closer to the truth than plucky crew surviving the odds.
Ooooooooooooo! And I had an idea after reading Dracula. The Mary Celeste mystery may have something to do with the undead! Did anyone check the cargo hold for boxes of soil? Just sayin…
Plenty of people live up to cliches! That’s hard wired in to the human psyche. There are times I can guess what peoples reactions will be, and sometimes I’m even right. I don’t mind this Bad ol uncle Lew persona. 🙂
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – Our high yesterday was 45F (7.22C). The overnight low was 30F. Forecast high for today is 43F. Mostly, overcast.
Yes, somedays one wishes one had stayed in bed. But then you’d miss the good days, and all that fine tucker. I hope the Editor and you have accounted for all your fingers and toes. 🙂 Sometimes, when someone asks me how I’m doing, early in the day, I respond, “Too early to tell.”
Odd you mentioned apricots. I made the apricot crisp, last night. So, I had two tins of apricots. I sampled them, when I opened them. Rather bland and tasteless. Not enough to cover the baking dish bottom. So, I tossed in a tin of peaches. Also some dried cranberries, to take up any excess moisture. Not too many. Just a scant handful. It turned out pretty tasty, though the spices, peaches and cranberries carried the day.
I’m going to have to order another 25 pound box of cranberries, pretty soon. I took a look down the rabbit hole, to check out prices. E Buy has some, but they’re $10-15 more than last year. The River has some, at $5-10 dollars less than last year. A moral dilemma.
Had rice with half a tin, each, of black beans and diced tomatoes. Half a green pepper. Some celery. Garlic. And, a couple of Shiitake mushrooms. I forgot to mention, I found some at the big grocery store, the other night. $2.99 for an 8oz. clamshell. Great price. I should have got two, but they don’t last long.
I also think that antiques and collectibles (at least, in my corner of the market) is a middle class game. And, the middle class is dwindling.
The fires have calmed down, a bit, in LA. But there’s more wind in their forecast, for early next week.
I have studiously avoided all the “Alien” films. I saw enough clips to know it’s not my cup of tea. A couple of years ago (2023), there was a film, “The Last Voyage of the Demeter.” About the ship that carried Dracula to England. It’s adapted from a chapter, of the book you’re reading. “The Captain’s Log.” I got the film from the library, when it came out on DVD. But, a great deal of it takes place in low light situations, and that was when my old DVD player lost most of its brightness and contrast. I didn’t even finish watching it. I should put it back on hold, again.
Mrs. Mott looked highly skeptical, when considering the muesli recipe. She does skeptical, very well. 🙂 . If you’re curious about the episode of all the things I mentioned, here it is. 23 minutes.
https://youtu.be/_M07uOfEfb8?si=6iGWYaw7eyKVsalW
“Galaxy Quest” is a classic. I rewatch it, every three years, or so. That’s what we need. Less “Alien” and more “Galaxy Quest.” Lew
@ Lew:
“Bad ol uncle Lew”
Ha, ha!
Pam
Chris:
A 48 pound cat! Is it like our coyotes, which came from the West and crossed with wolves in Canada along the way east and so now we have out here extra-big coyotes? Were there any native wild cats in Australia? I’ve never heard of a domestic cat fighting on its hind legs, or in a pack. Maybe a mother and kittens as a pack.
Now I have to worry about flying rats, too . . . We can’t poison them because of Mr. Baby and my neighbor’s cats. And I just saw a fox run through our front yard. We need the foxes. they eat mice – and rats. But the rats are unlikely to come out of the greenhouse voluntarily with a 6f (-14C) night coming up and I hope the foxes don’t tear a hole in it.
Am I on the easy path? Doesn’t seem like it . . .
These folks seem to be on an easy and hard path. I give them a lot of credit. It’s fun anyway.
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/tiny-czech-village-at-the-heart-of-vinyl-record-revival-survives-communism-streaming-and-the-pandemic/
Pam
Chris,
Back in my university days and for a few years after, my friend and his brother and I were all, well, not well off. To say the least. We’d spend a lot of time together. Whoever had money would spring for a meal. Sometimes we all had money, sometimes two of us, sometimes one. We never kept track of what was spent or who paid what. We were happy being friends and being together. We figured it all worked out to some degree. Years later, after we were all married, my friend’s wife found out what we had done all those years. She was appalled, to say the least. Couldn’t understand why we didn’t keep close track of everything so we would all pay a fair amount. We were just happy having the camaraderie.
I was fortunate indeed to grow up in the neighborhood where I did. There were a lot of good people. Most families knew each other. There were a lot of children in the area, and we all flowed from house to house during vacations. Being on the edge of town with a lot of undeveloped pine forest close at hand, it was ideal for kids to roam around together. There were two or three Miyagi types.
One family was especially close to us. Both houses limited our television during vacations. Most of the day we had to be outdoors, playing games, reading, but not watching tv. We used our imaginations a lot, made up our own activities. We don’t see but very few free range kids today, much less well behaved free range kids.
That was a good article on how to find the planets. Enjoyable and informative. And accurate.
Share and Enjoy. I tell ya, that is one HUGE improvement over the Bells. Much better. Although, truth be told, I did have to listen to some Stanley Brothers to completely obliterate the Bells. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJrMn3MEphA
DJSpo
Hi Pam,
The living is clearly good for feral domestic cats in the Australian bush. 🙂 Like the deer, foxes and rabbits, I doubt they can be eradicated – and the feral domestic cats are only getting bigger. I’d not want to encounter one of your extra big coyotes on a dark nights walk through the forest. Yikes! Do any of those turn up in your area? I haven’t seen feral cats here, but I’ve no doubts that they’re in the mountain range.
There is a native marsupial cat, which is now rare on the mainland continent. Tiger quoll. I’ve only ever seen these creatures in wildlife sanctuaries. They used to be common in this mountain range, but the loss of big trees in the 1983 bushfires sadly was too much for the species. The native cats need big trees which have hollows for them to make their nests. The area I’m in has quite a few big trees, and they could establish themselves here for sure, but how big a range do the creatures need to have a sustainable population, is probably bigger than the area can support. Did you notice that they’re the colour of the local rocks with lichen spots?
Agreed. I only poison rats which are stupid enough (or smart depending on your perspective) to get under the house. Other than that, we run the same risks, and I’ve no desire to poison the dogs, owls and foxes. I like the foxes too, although they do get a bad rap.
I never said you were on the easy path! 🙂 Kinda meant other folks. Hey, I picked three large ripe purple figs today and had one with lunch. Really very tasty. Do you think the damaged fig trees in your greenhouse may grow back?
Thanks for the lovely vinyl story. The medium that wont die, because it’s been around for a century. I doubt our digital storage collections will look as good in a centuries time.
Cheers
Chris
Hi DJ,
Man, you’ve hit the nail on the head with that story from your formative years. That’s the truth that few people want to consider, if we have less stuff and wealth, I guarantee that the local social scene will be more vibrant. As a very young child, I saw how things rolled in the 70’s and people generally spent less time on shopping and more time on socialising.
Hehe! The old adage that it takes a village to raise a village has been lost to the fog of time, but it’s also true too. Like you, I was also a free range kid and just did my own thing with friends, and as long as certain rules were adhered too – like being home on time, the adults pretty much didn’t get involved (which in my instance was a good thing!)
You do see that friends wife reaction from time to time with bill splitting at restaurants. I’m real sorry to say, but that sort of reaction comes across as a very uptight response, and probably needs to be communicated ahead of the ordering process. On the other hand, people learn whether such situations create stress for various folks they interact with, and then you kind of adapt to circumstances. I’m of the mindset that as long as matters fall within the boundaries of fairness, then the details are no big deal. Most people I associate with operate on a similar basis, but I could accommodate the sort of exactitude response too – but would ensure they don’t abuse that and make a scene. Hmm. Socially, some folks lack a warmth, and I dunno but I’ve often wondered whether the coldness they exude is merely a defensive posture. It might be, and kind of looks that way to me – I sense a certain fear from them which forces them to act like a (insert word my grandfather would have freely used!)
There’s a local guy I encounter all the time, and he’s exactly that to a tee. It’s fear.
Hehe! No TV for you, ten years! Said in best Mr Miyagi voice!!! 🙂 Like you, I didn’t watch much television as a kid. Then during the later stages of High School there was so much homework that TV was a rare treat. Then with full time work and part time Uni, there was no time for TV, except maybe Star Trek Next Generation which for some weird reason was scheduled for Tuesday nights at 11pm. Man, I was already tired by then, but oh well. And friends living across the road would pile into the flat and we’d crank the stereo up. The poor neighbours… Still, it was a good series, and who can forget the command: Earl Grey Tea. Hot!
Well, I can understand why the whole free range kid thing came to an end. If anything went wrong, and this did happen from time to time, the parents get socially crucified. I’d be scared of facing that societal judgement. But the best thing parents can do is have their own friends. How good is it when you hang out with Killian’s owner and just talk rubbish? 🙂
Looks like a clear night tonight, after a warm day of 30’C. Smooshed up some boulders – always nice to have your own personal quarry! 🙂 Moved two Sycamore trees to a sunnier spot. Ate a sun ripened fig. Had a nap. The usual stuff.
Yes, for who the bell tolls!!! Just thought I’d chuck that in. It’s a local metal song from back in the 70’s or 80’s I now forget.
Don’t mind me a bit of bluegrass.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
The media is suggesting that the eastern part of your country may get another freeze. Brr! The overcast in your part of the world is probably keeping things warmer. We’re getting closer to the hottest day on average, which is the 20th January, and thankfully conditions are fairly mild. It was 30’C / 86’F today with a cool overnight, so no complaints from me.
Saw in the news that a house which survived the LA fires, succumbed to a muddy landslide. Ook! If the rains return there, it’ll be an even bigger mess.
Such a lovely way to put it – shoulda stayed in bed. 🙂 So true too for yesterday. At any one time, I’ve got ten things going on, and mostly they work out, but yesterday proved to be the exception. Oh well, moving on. The old timers used to say that too about balancing the good with the bad, and I tend to agree with them, and your perspective. I’ll bet you get some startled looks from making that witty observation about it being too early to tell if it’ll be a good day. Without coffee, the morning is rarely clear.
Although this morning, the deer was almost at the front door again. No, I will not feed you Sir Deer, so go away, or else. Probably an or else situation.
Well, it’s the end of the apricot season, and we ate the last of them yesterday. Dude, that’s what the apricots in the 22 pound box which I paid $90 for, tasted like – chucked them out for the parrots earlier today. And the birds haven’t eaten the fruit either, they were that bad. The flavour won’t be improved by cooking, but on the other hand, your idea is most excellent. Peaches and dried cranberries would really lift the average with the crisp. Yum!
Which spices did you reach for in the crisp?
It’s a never ending activity keeping the food stores at the right levels. Incidentally, that box of cranberries would be around $200 here, although there isn’t much of a market for the dried berries. Maybe it is just me, but I check both and go with whomever is cheapest, and it’s not always obvious which it will be either. Usually I favour ebuy though. One must occasionally dirty their feet in the river, don’t you reckon? I’d say that there is less choice of stuff around these days.
Interesting. Mushrooms are around the same price down under, although that may be only in this corner of the continent where they’re easier to grow. Shitake a great mushrooms. Yum. That’s true, mushrooms don’t tend to last long in the refrigerator, and the taste deteriorates as well. Had a salad for dinner this evening. We’ve got heaps of perennial rocket growing now, so it’s the season for garden salads. The first tomatoes (the yellow cherry variety) are becoming ripe. A bit of salt and pepper – chuck on some cut chives – and consume them on a chunk of tasty cheese. Yummo! Had that for lunch today.
It ended up being a late lunch. A few of the projects need large rocks, and they’re in short supply, so we smooshed up some boulders and made maybe fifteen large rocks. It’s all a bit of a juggling act because we need soil, but in order to get the soil, the large rocks have to installed so as retain the excavated sections – no point encouraging landslides is there?
Oh, and um, I relocated two sycamore trees which had been growing in an area of the property which was too shady. After five years they were still bonsai sized, so despite it being summer, they both got moved. They’ll definitely need lots of water over the next few weeks, but the trees will do better in that sunny location. I’m making some plans to move a couple of oak trees too for this very reason.
An interesting observation about the middle class dwindling. Well, the cost of living pressures are real, and so discretionary spending will eventually reduce, and it’s the ability to discretionary spend, which defines the middle class. Hmm.
Man, I wish I hadn’t seen the Alien films. They gave me nightmares, but all the same, the films are very good, and few sci-fi does horror that well. Oh yeah, that rotten DVD player with it’s brightness issue. How’s the new one going nowadays? Alien films are generally very dark too, so well, it’s a plausible excuse is it not?
Thanks for the link, and it’s a great series. I watched the first of that series with the knowledgeable head gardener and learned a lot. But I’m going to try and finish Galaxy Quest tonight. So much fun, and it’s a keeper for sure. Thanks for no spoilers! 😉
The Editor is reading Jack Vance’s – Demon Princes series of five books, and it’s hard to get her nose out of the book. The General Store is closing, we have to leave now! Reading in public is so subversive. 😉
Cheers
Chris
@ Pam – I swiped it from Chris. It’s how he opens his videos. 🙂 Lew
Yo, Chris – Speaking of bells … Katherine Hepburn (and Spencer Tracy) in “Desk Set,” (1957.) It’s about librarians, and computers. Hepburn does a rendition of “Curfew Shall Not Ring, Tonight.” Which is mad. Oddly, there doesn’t seem to be a film clip, of that scene.
Our high yesterday was 41F (5C). The overnight low was 28F. Forecast for today is 42F. A first, for this year. When I took H out for her walk, around midnight, the grass was crunchy. Thawed out, by this morning.
Yes, I saw that article about the house in LA, and the landslide. Portents (or omen?) of things to come.
No worries, about the deer. Pretty soon, there will be Tasmanian tigers, about, to take care of the problem. You’ll soon have your own large carnivore roaming about, as we do. 🙂
https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/16/science/colossal-de-extinction-funding-resurrection-science
I used 3/4 tsp, each, of nutmeg and cinnamon, in the crisp. Also a tsp. of vanilla. I had a slice last night, and noticed some of the peaches were pretty … firm. The flavor was ok, but I think they were canned (tinned?) on the underripe side. Still firm after being baked for half an hour, and nuked for a couple of minutes.
For dinner I finished off the black beans and tomatoes. With rice, garlic, celery and some frozen corn. I got to thinking about how I splash on some cider vinegar. I think it helps “pull together” the flavors. It’s a theory, anyway.
I know my discretionary spending seems pretty tight, these days. Of course, I have to remember I have a dependent now, and she soaks up a lot of money.
The new DVD player seems to be ok. It’s doing its job. Oddly, and through no planning on my part, I seem to be on a Catholic viewing kick. I finished watching a series, “Evil” (fourth and final season.) It’s about a priest (believer), a psychologist (lapsed Catholic) and a Moslem tech guy (atheist) who are tasked by the Church to investigate demon possession, etc.. Andrea Martin (formerly of Saturday Night Live) plays a crusty old nun.
Next up, was “Cabrini.” Recently in theaters. Mother Cabrini is America’s first saint. She came to America in 1887, to found orphanages and hospitals. Constantly battling bureaucracy, both inside and outside the Church. Patron saint of immigrants. Fictionalized account of her life, recently in theaters.
Next up, will be “Conclave.” Also recently in theaters. Fictionalized account of how a Pope is picked. In theory, archbishops aren’t supposed to desire to be Pope. But most of them do. So, they must appear to be disinterested, while all kinds of wheeling and dealing, and politicking, goes on in the background. Good cast.
I hope you like “Galaxy Quest.” No spoilers, but the set piece at the end is spectacular. 🙂
More news from Pompeii.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/17/science/archaelogists-unearth-thermal-spa-pompeii-intl-scli-scn
Another article about the same find, mentioned finding two skeletons in a nearby small room. An older lady with lots of coin and bling, and a young man, with only a set of keys. An old cougar with her slave boy-toy? His skeleton indicated he was no stranger to hard labor. He was killed by a collapsing wall, she, by the pyroclastic flow.
Both last night, and this morning, the internet is slow and bulky. Pages don’t want to load, or freeze. I sent a one liner, to Pam, and when I hit “Post Comment,” it just sat there. I finally gave up. I wonder if this post will do the same? Lew
Chris:
Yes, we sometimes have those coyotes in our neighborhood. Mr. Baby is well aware of them. I have heard of Tiger Quolls. You are right – they are wearing lichen, clever things. Mr. Baby is white with big black splotches, like a Holstein cow. Whatever good does that do him besides making him stand out among anything else? Oh, boy – the last thing I need is a cat in a nest in a tree. It would be funny to see the squirrels’ faces, though.
There is no “under” to our house. It sits on top of a basement. Rat score now: Two rats, and one mouse (who got away).
The fig trees may recover, but I doubt that they’ll be of sellable quality.
Welcome!
Pam
Hi Pam,
Hope Mr Baby stays safe, but being a cat, he’d probably be aware of a coyote before the canine was aware of the cat. But yeah, run… No shame in living to survive another day.
Go Mr Baby, and those are clearly a striking colour combination, like a Holstein cow. Agreed, he would have some troubles hiding out among the shrubbery dressed up like that for a costume party. 🙂
It is possible the quolls would get to know the squirrels, and perhaps the later may not enjoy the interactions. They’re fierce predators, but I have a hunch that the dingo’s, which are a coyote equivalent species, out competed them. The dingoes never made it to the island state of Tasmania, so the quolls are still there (and in some remote mountain areas on the mainland). Interestingly, dingoes look a lot like Asian street dogs, and it’s believed that they arrived on the continent via trade with Indonesian folks long, long ago.
Lucky you, and it’s a good idea. And that’s a respectable rat and mouse count. I’d lend you Dame Plum to help out with the work, but quarantine issues would be insurmountable sorry to say.
Bummer. Oh well, the rodents are clever, and there is always next season. The trees are hardier than you may imagine. All of the citrus trees where the rabbits ate the bark, appear to have survived. One peach tree died though because of those toothy attentions. The two decade old olive trees the deer chewed, seem to be struggling along. It’s hard and you all have my understanding.
Cheers and better get writing!
Chris
Hi Lewis,
Life would certainly be easier with an intelligent and fearless Bessie to cut the proverbial Gordian Knot in a nick of time. A smooth move if you ask me. And no, Bunny’s fears are totally unfounded based on what I’ve seen of AI so far. As the old timers used to say, it’s dumber than an ox. Although it’s really hard to know what they were going on about. I’ve seen old timey images from this mountain range where teams of oxen are hauling huge saw logs out of difficult to access areas. All I want to know is why is the plural of ox, oxen, rather than oxes?
In the sunnier parts of the property, the grass is frankly crunchy as well, although! There is a tinge of green to be seen still, and I put that down to the serious soil feeding program of the past couple of years. The shady part of the property is still bright green. Of course, icy frosty weather similarly kills off the grass. It’s getting colder, but on average I reckon February will be warmer in your part of the world – but with deeper cold snaps. Does that theory fit your lived experience?
It was probably 90’F here today, and we’d planned to visit a nearby cidery for lunch. They do a mean nacho’s box. Yum! Alas, the place was holding a wedding expo, so that idea of visiting there got stomped. A tasty trip to a nearby bakery scored a tasty sausage roll and we shared a lamington later in the day with coffee. The Editor noticed that one of the nearby towns has an ice cream shop, which we may try out. It could be good.
Oh yeah, all that smoke in the atmosphere from the LA fires, may dare I say it, precipitate rains. 😉 That’s the fear here too after big fires. It’d just be easier to manage the natural and built environment to reduce the fire and landslide risk in the first place, just sayin… Certainly it would be cheaper. The rebuild costs for LA will probably bankrupt all of us. The thing with landslides too, how do you even re-survey the land – it’s gone… There’s been a landslide which took out a house in a beachy suburb to the south east of the big smoke: Residents affected by 2022 Mornington Peninsula landslide say concerns have been ignored. Formerly expensive property, just like that big city to the south and west of you.
I reckon a Tasmanian Tiger would give the dogs a run for their money. 🙂 Common sense suggests that the mad scientists would have to create a lot of the critters lest the population immediately decline from in-breeding. And why would anyone want Aurochs running around the forests? Didn’t the Nazi’s breed up similar monsters? Last I read, and please correct me here, but some bloke in the UK owned the last of those bovine monsters which from memory were actually called Nazi cows. Angry critters, apparently. Oh, I knew the mind wasn’t playing tricks on me: ‘Nazi cows’: British farmer Derek Gow forced to cull herd of aggressive aurochs-like Heck cattle. Hardly surprised the idea has popped up again, hmm, they say the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. 😉
Oooo, the vanilla is a fine addition to the crisps, and yup also Anzac biscuits. Agreed the combination of nutmeg and cinnamon is exactly what I would have done. Man, you’ve got me salivating… Yeah, well, hmm, you’ll see what I think of under ripe fruit – even the parrots didn’t want them.
I like your theory thinking! And why not? The cold store folks I buy the apples from, use the seconds to produce all manner of ciders and vinegars. I’ve observed as the cost of living pressures bite – like vampires (blame Dracula) – that business is getting busier.
Well, yes, you do have to keep up with H’s hair-tech appointments. That stuff don’t come cheap you know. 😉
Man, I always knew you for a papist! 😉 Hehe! Nah, that lot are on a charm offensive, probably because they have a lot of bad news to smooth over. In the long run, they’ll be fine if they get back to basics. And if the group produces some good stories, why not enjoy them?
Sorry, I could keep banging on for a while but have to write – and can’t do both sadly. The conclusion of Galaxy Quest was really fun. And I laughed hard when the err, technical director super-fan and friends, was interrupted at a critical moment in the story to take out the garbage and sort out the recycling. Such a nice touch to the story. The cast really looked like they were enjoying themselves too, and they could flip between irreverent and serious without batting an eye-lid. What a fine story.
You’re probably right, although the young bloke appears to have been crushed by a wall, whilst the older lady was asphyxiated. It was uncanny how the baths looked as though they’d be used today, although I’d probably not want to begin a feast that way as it’d be a bit all wet and ooky and perhaps a bit touchy for my tastes. 😉
Hang in there. The latest wordpress update appears to have slowed down the entire chunk of software. The comments came through. You should see the troubles I’m having elsewhere when the software tells me that I’ve already commented, when the facts suggest otherwise. Oh well, sometimes software jumps the shark, just like the Fonz did. It’s on notice, but I’m of the opinion that smarter brains than I behold can sort this mess out. I’ve already made adjustments and taken on extra costs to the interwebsite to make the thing run faster. It’s the software dude!
Cheers and better get writing!
Chris
Yo, Chris – Crunchy grass, again, last night. Looking at the forecast, overnight lows will be in the 20s, for at least the next week. Daytimes are kind of nice, as long as there isn’t a breeze. Sunny and in the 40s. Yesterday’s high was 43F (6.11C). The overnight low was 27F. Forecast for today is 41F.
Ox, oxen, oxes. Separates those in the know, from those not in the know. 🙂 Let’s look at the collective noun. Always fun. Yoke, team, drove or heard.
Sounds like you had a good day for tucker. An ice cream parlor? Lucky you. Might stumble on some exotic flavors. I haven’t had any ice cream in about two months. Sigh. I got around to making the salmon loaf, last night. Just took the recipe off the Worcestershire sauce bottle, and substituted canned salmon for ground beef. I did add in some garlic and half a diced green pepper. I also thought it was a little mushy, so I added some rolled oats. It was tasty, but I didn’t care for the texture. Still to mushy. Maybe it will firm up, after a night in the fridge. Peas and broccoli, on the side.
That was quit an article about the landslide. Sounds like everyone is passing around the hot potato. They need gabion cages 🙂 . I ran across an interesting article, about the LA fires and air tankers.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/im-a-pilot-fighting-the-ca-wildfires-from-a-tanker-plane-heres-how-we-pull-off-maneuvers-commercial-aircraft-wouldnt-dare/ar-AA1xq7C7
That was an interesting article about the Nazi cows. I’ve seen those fellows, in prehistoric cave paintings. What I want to know is, how do you give a cow a personality test?
I swung by the library, yesterday, and was complaining about the website. I was having problems with pages really slow to load, or that froze, entirely. The library worker told me he’d heard the major internet carrier, for this region was having problems. Sounds like another one of those hot potatoes. 🙂 We also chatted a bit about the currier system. It’s changed, quit a bit, since I worked there. And not, I think, for the better. I’ve noticed some of my stuff stays “in transit” for longer than it did, in past.
That set piece of the space ship crashing, at the end of “Galaxy Quest” was just spectacular. And, yes, the domestic touches were nice.
I read (why not red?) somewhere where in some Roman baths, the water wasn’t changed, very often. No wonder they died like flies.
WARNING! Pictures of spiders, ahead! And, finally, an article on some of your spiders.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/worlds-deadliest-spider-harboring-killer-223053182.html
I hope they never get a foothold, here.
I see way down at the bottom of this page, the declaration: “Proudly Powered by WordPress.” With all the fits they give you, what do they have to be proud about? 🙂 Lew