The science fiction works of the author Phillip K Dick never really resonated with me. Everything aspect of the narratives, from the plot to the characters, were always just a bit too extreme for my tastes. On the other hand, the authors short stories often translated into some very decent movies, and who can forget the dark and brooding film: Blade Runner? Or the 1990 film: Total Recall (another of the authors stories). That was a fun adventure set on the planet Mars with a memorable cast of mutants, and of course the more usual scheming extreme humans.
One of the mutants was the rebel leader and mystic Kuato. A horrid looking thing, being a slimy conjoined and unnaturally wise mutant baby sticking out of the stomach of some dude. I can’t make this stuff up, and yes, the author did take events into extreme directions. Anyway, unappealing visuals aside, the horror had some interesting things to say to the protagonist. The most famous quote was: “You are what you do. A man is defined by his actions… not his memory.” All very true, and such words should strike fear into the hearts of those folks who put abstractions ahead of reality, as is often the case in these enlightened days.
At this point, you may ask the hard question: What has some fictional mutant got to to do with a weekly farm blog? It’s a good question. So there we were the other night. Sandra, Dame Plum and I, walking in the warm outdoors during the dark hours under a full moon in the shady orchard, when my lady pointed out: Can you see that? As a dude, the obvious answer to such a question is to reply in the negative: No. Beside, it being late at night, even with the bright moon light, that was the best response my tired over-worked brain could come up with. It’d been a long day, and we’d finished late. Presumably at this point, the female of the species can be seen to have higher expectations of communications than us lesser males can deliver, and that seemed to be the case at that very moment.
‘Over there’, the words were heard whilst the torch directed a beam of light upon the biggest fattest brush tail possum I’d ever seen. Being a guy can be the only possible explanation for my having blithely walked past that marsupial monster. It was as if there was a giant panda sitting in the loquat tree. What the? Disparate chunks of information were settling into place. So that’s the gut which has been devouring the apples and pears. Hmm. The furry herbivore looked remarkably well fed. And for some unknown reason, at the moment as I stared at the possum, the critter nonchalantly chose to stare back, and the thought entered my head: Kuato Lives! What can I say other than: I’ve an active imagination…
I’d not fully appreciated that brush tail possums could become so huge, although maybe this particular marsupial was residing in a good paddock. It’s hard to know really. Usually possums are transient forest critters here. The many species of owls feast upon the furry herbivores and they lead a precarious life. A possum will turn up, be eaten by an owl, and that’s the last I’ll consider them. This mutant brush tail possum on the other hand, is something entirely new.
It’s funny what you see walking around the forest. The other day, Sandra and I with the three dogs, were walking up the dirt road when a car creepily drove past at slow speed, and without stopping. Being a dead end road, we knew that sooner or later, we’d meet up with the car and passengers again. And sure enough, that’s how events rolled.
This time however, the car stopped and we had a chat with the nice young couple. They were interested in purchasing the neighbours house, it having been on the market for quite a while now. It’d be good to see some younger folks considering moving into the area. We’ve lived around here about seventeen years now, and well, as they say, time has a habit of marching on.
The property prices in this area are prohibitive for younger folks, although a person gets a lot more land for their mad cash up here than in say, an outer suburban housing estate. It just costs more. Older folks who might have the available mad cash, well, they probably don’t want to live on such large acreage, it potentially being hard work. Regular readers would know that we work hard, although on the other hand, the land is productive. It’s a predicament. But how do younger folks afford to buy up here? Maybe they received an inheritance, who knows? – not that we’d know what such a thing looks like. Far out.
Sandra, as well as most of my friends, believe that with a Federal election only a few months away, the official interest rates for lending will be reduced soon. Lowering those rates will make borrowing mad cash, heaps cheaper. And maybe that’s how younger folks will purchase the house. Dunno. I recall a time when houses were treated as the thing which keeps the rain off your head during inclement weather. Times sure have changed, and goodness knows, the same government facing the populace at the polls is one trillion dollars in debt. An impressive achievement. The state government here is about one hundred and eighty billion in debt. That more local lot enjoyed a few sharp rebukes at by-elections last week. But whatever, it doesn’t matter who’s in charge, the repayments must be horrendous, and worse than any horror story I could imagine. So they’re probably wanting lower interest rates as well. Can you imagine the behind the scenes dramas for that big spending lot?: We’ve got to come up with five million for interest payments and refinancing before five o’clock today! Right, anyone got any ideas?
It’s all a bit of an economic horror show really. Decline could have been managed so much better than it has been, after all I know things were once different. Way back in the 1970’s, my mother received a free University education and managed to buy a house on a single parents income. Not possible these days. It’s funny how times have changed, and not for the better. The fat possum on the other hand shows what triumphing in the rough and tumble can look like. He’s out there supping on the juiciest of apples and pears, whilst daily dodging predators, and like any healthy ecosystem, there are a few owls out there, and not so many possums.
The climate here is remarkably variable, however some weeks are more strange and extreme, than other weeks. That has proven to be the case this week. Earlier in the week we endured a heatwave, then yesterday was the coldest February overnight temperature on record. We even had to load up the wood heater to keep the well insulated house warm. Outside was very cold for summer, and in more elevated parts of the state, there was a decent dusting of snow. Brr!
Despite the bizarre weather, work continues here. The staircase project is nearing completion.
During the week we poured a number of cement steps near to the top of the staircase.
As usual we’d run out of large rocks, so a few hours were spent splitting the boulders into more usefully sized large rocks. It’s nice to have your own personal quarry, because rocks are not exactly cheap to purchase.
The rocks get graded according to their size. The smallest make for excellent steel rock gabion cage fill. Then there are intermediate and larger rocks – all very useful in various garden projects. Hauling them back up hill is a fun and slow activity.
We’ve dumped a whole bunch of large rocks near to the top of the staircase where they’ll be used to upgrade the rock wall in that location.
Observant readers will note the use of plastic to protect the curing concrete surface from the rain. The project really is nearing completion, and earlier today we poured the penultimate step.
It really did rain too. And the storm originated from Antarctica so the state recorded it’s coldest February temperatures on record. At least it didn’t snow here.
In breaking produce news:
Now that we’re receiving a little bit of regular rainfall, and that the UV (ultraviolet radiation) from the sun has reduced from Extreme to Very High, the plants are beginning to grow again. Extreme UV has the effect of shutting down plant growth. Anyway, the berries have begun to produce well this week.
Interestingly, the combination of weather conditions has caused the two Sycamore trees to produce new leaves. Last week they were mere sticks and buds.
The growth in the pumpkin patch has been feral. Words are one thing, a picture here is perhaps a better description:
The plan is to move the pumpkins next year to where the potatoes were grown this year. And the potatoes will be moved into the sapling fenced enclosure. One must practice proper crop rotation if decent yields are a consideration.
There are two main varieties of pumpkins grown, although US readers will describe the smaller as a squash. The smaller round orange squashes (!) are growing fast and putting on some size and colour.
The other variety of pumpkins we grow are the Queensland Blue, and they a bit larger, super hardy and will keep well through the winter until late spring. This variety requires a long growing season, so they won’t be ready to harvest until another month or so, maybe by the first frost. Pumpkins are generally ready to harvest when the vines begin to die back.
Despite the rain, the ground is still sort of dry. It’s no bad thing that the grass dies back in summer, because that reduces the competition for minerals and water with the fruit trees, especially the younger trees.
The recently moved globe artichokes appear to be enjoying their new location. One or two plants died, but given the rough treatment they received, and the hot conditions during relocation, they’ve done remarkably well.
The chilli’s in the greenhouse look beautiful. Such a great plant. As well as fresh eating, we air dry the fruit to consume over the year. They’re a mild to medium heat variety, although you can get an occasional hot surprise.
The hop plants have produced heaps of vines and flowers. We don’t really use them, but they’re nice to have, and one day we may spice up the cider with these aromatic flowers.
This weeks video shows some of the work done around the property:
Onto the flowers:
The temperature outside now at about 10am is 12’C (54’F). So far for last year there has been 94.8mm (3.7 inches) which is up from last weeks total of 93.6mm (3.7 inches)
Yo, Chris – I see your possum story and raise you one of ours. It’s made quit a splash, in the news, over the past couple of days.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/15/us/opossum-costco-chocolate-cake-nebraska
Costco is a big, warehouse, mostly grocery, discount chain. You have to buy a yearly membership. We have one “near” by. But, out of my county, and I haven’t left the county in 20+ years. 🙂
Ohhhh! That is a pretty sunset. All lemony orange. Reminds me of a cake, with frosting.
Now that your staircase is nearing completion, it looks quit grand. “…curing concrete from rain.” And, dogs. 🙂
Your berries look quit tasty. And, my, your sycamore has really put on some growth, since the last picture. Not all that long ago.
Your orange pumpkins look very close to the one’s I grew. Has the same kind of shallow ribbing.
the chilies remind me of Christmas. All red and green. And Christmas will be here, before we know it.
I thought the video was quit good. A real sample as to what went on, last week. Nice to have your own rock quarry.
Your roses are just stunning. They must be protected, from the deer. Roses are one of the deers favorite things, to eat. Like candy, for dear. Lew
Hi Lewis,
Always good when a not much happened day occurs. Nobody really wants too much excitement in their life, well, maybe a few people do thrive on that energy. Not me though, and clearly also not you. Well that’s something to celebrate. Hey, in news of the day, we poured the final stair step today. Yay! Twenty Four steps all up to complete the staircase. The weather was nice too, cool and sunny. We’ll leave the step to cure for a few days, then fix up the rock wall with much bigger rocks.
Thanks for the zombie list explanation for the series, and I’d hope not to encounter the boss ‘rat king’ – the chances of survival from that situation seem rather slim. Agreed, the list is a very handy score card, the odds of which get worse with each step in the escalation.
Oooo, that’s a fine saying about modern tills, and one I’ll pinch if you don’t mind? I’m of the opinion that the IT crowd don’t necessarily road test their projects, and sometimes I’m dubious of the benefits. I mentioned the forthcoming elec-shun, so being conscientious I put my hand up to do work, but alarmingly the demanded information is probably enough to take over my life. Do I trust the company they outsourced that job too not to lose and/or misuse the information? Dunno. And there was even a button required to be unticked about using the data for marketing purposes. Like What the? How did it get to this point?
It’s candidly hard to know what is even meant by a 2% chance of the the rock to hit the planet. I’d seen references to the possibility also but probably aren’t smart enough to comprehend what the risk means.
The photo of the golfers calmly playing out their game whilst the hill burns behind them is quite striking. It’s worthwhile noting that fire usually moves uphill due to hot air rising, so unless the wind blew strongly in the golfers direction, they’d probably be fine, maybe. Plus, presumably the golf course would have been well watered, it sure looked green. There were some witty comments in that article, and calm in the face of adversity, would probably suggest lower blood pressure.
Brother Lewis, the rat war continues and the forces of good are winning the battles, but the war will be long, sacrifices are required. Nah, same rat war. When the nights get cold, the rodents do their best to break in to under the house for the winter. We’ve decided upon using concrete to make that dastardly act that much more difficult.
It’s an odd painting, and is the little kid with the axe about to swing it at the adult? And yes, the face is odd, it’s like he’s a George mini-me. The attached article debunked a lot of quotes, and it is possible that the gentleman has said more dead, than when he was alive? An impressive achievement. And did I spot a reference to growing weed in that essay?
Good luck, and avoid the disease.
Robin Williams? Yeah, I watched that film many years ago, and your comments are astute. Having been to a more English than the English school, I concur with your opinion. Of course the episode did motivate me to seek out the nearest Dojo, and after the learning efforts were observed by the other students, they left me well alone. Not quite poetry though, is it? 😉
Hash browns are pretty tasty although not often seen down here. When I was a kid, they used to make a meal called: Bubble and Squeak, which was kind of along those lines, but maybe with a few more mixed vegetables.
🙂 Go the cake bandit, and yeah, talk about a major food coma. The article said something about lead poisoning, and how does anything get lead poisoning these days? There’s one of those shops in the big smoke (looks like there are 16 of them on the continent), but I’ve never felt inclined to go. I hear you about that, and don’t travel far these days either.
And the curing cement has to be protected from the birds as well – they also like stamping their footprints for all time.
The berries have indeed responded well to the rain and less fierce sunlight. But the Sycamore trees really surprised me with their rapid growth over only a few days. Those trees want to live.
They probably are the same variety of pumpkins / squashes, or whatever they are called, although they are small but perfectly meal sized.
🙂 The videos are getting more enjoyable and easier to make. Yes, everyone needs their own private rock quarry. Makes life easier.
Fingers crossed that the deer don’t discover the roses. The Editor will have something to say if that happens.
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – Our high temperature, yesterday, was 48F (8.88C). Our overnight low was a steady 45F (7.22C). Forecast for today is a high of 50F. There’s rain, on and off, but nothing major.
Your staircase is quit grand. A really nice addition to the Fern Glade Farm Infrastructure.
Having watched the series, I think the Clickers are about the worst. And, they move fast once they’ve zeroed in on a target. Large groups of these creatures, are connected by mycelium. So when one detects something tasty, they all are alerted. Although, who needs zombies when you’ve got Black Devil Fish, in the real world?
https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/10/science/video/black-seadevil-fish-spain-ldn-digvid
Feel free to pinch. Due to one person at the Club, they thought it would be a bright idea to bring in a Starship Enterprise till. And, inventory management system. Even those who managed to master it, didn’t like it. And some of our volunteers, threatened to stop volunteering. Well, the darned thing finally died, and we went back to the old till. There’s a push to bring back the new till, but, only from that one person. I’m all for going really retro, and just having a cigar box, for cash, under the counter. 🙂
I’ve probably counted out thousands of tills, in my life. Sometimes, I find it painful to watch other people count tills. But, I keep my mouth shut. Our volunteers are a valuable commodity and I treat them gently. I often thank them for being there, when I leave.
Well, it sounds like your goober-mint is on the make to raise some mad cash, to cover those debts. Such as, oh, I don’t know. Neglecting to inform people of vehicle renewals, so they incur penalties? Selling marketing information is invasive, but probably doesn’t do much harm. Other than more junk in your inbox.
I noticed my flip phone company, which does have about the best customer support I’ve run across, sent out a notice of some new changes and conditions. Nothing to startling, although I noticed they now have a clause, banning lawyers or jury trials. Any dispute must go to an arbitration board. Which are usually stacked in heavy favor against a plaintiff. Yes, how did we get here?
Yes, it’s amazing how many famous people are so chatty, after death. Authors often write whole series of books! There’s a running joke, that dates back to the century before last. Every roadside inn claimed “Washington Slept Here.” He, apparently, really got around. And if every piece of the supposed ship Mayflower, were assembled together, it would have been bigger than the Queen Mary. And we won’t even get into what could be built, if all the pieces of The True Cross were reassembled. A cathedral? Two? 🙂
I heard this morning that we’ve had 8 cases of flu, so far. Some have gone to hospital.
Oh, I’ve heard of Bubble and Squeak. A really thrifty way to clean out the fridge. Hash browns can be bought, preprepared and frozen, in most grocery stores. Let’s take a cheap commodity and make it expensive. It was so easy to make, I’m sure I’ll be doing it, again.
Cause of death for old west gunfighters was often listed as “lead poisoning.” If you get my drift. Might be the same, with the possum. Your naughty deer might succumb from the same thing. 🙂
There are several running jokes about Costco. It’s a great place to buy in bulk. But who needs a 50 gallon drum of Mayo? Mr. Bill, our Club manager, does quit a bit of shopping there, for the Club.
Someday, when Fern Glade Farm is a ruin, and another roadside attraction, perhaps day trippers and leaf peppers will visit your sycamore. People will propose marriage under it. Families will have picnics. Then some numpty will come along and cut it down. 🙁
I made Velveeta fudge, last night. had to use up that last half block of the cheese product. Although I expect it has a half life of radioactive isotopes. There were tiny bits of powdered sugar, that didn’t dissolve. After, I found out (Joy of Cooking) that you can run the powdered sugar, through a sieve, to take care of that problem. 7 1/2 cups of powdered sugar? I’ll live with the little chunks.
No details, but the Club is discussing a desert auction fund raiser. Hmm. The fudge is probably a bit “out there” to raise much interest. I might go with orange or lemon cookies (or, both). Maybe, banana or blueberry muffins.
So, after all that, it was back to the kitchen to make popcorn (with cheese!) and I settled in to watch “Hot Fuzz.” It has held up well. Although, the cheap b——s didn’t provide subtitles. Often, the dialogue was fast, or very soft, so I missed some of it. Oh, well. Still worth a bowl of popcorn. Lew
Hi Chris,
The stairs look great!! Lovely flowers as always. Before too long some will be growing here.
We’re in a pretty cold spell until Friday but then things are looking up. We had a fair amount of snow Friday – maybe 5-6 inches and were supposed to get 5 more on Saturday but that didn’t materialize and in fact it was a bit above freezing so there was some melting. But we were not out of the woods as Saturday night and Sunday it was quite windy and wherever it was open there was drifting on the roads. There were quite a few accidents. I actually drove 60 miles yesterday and hit some pretty snowy sections but I do have all wheel drive and it was light traffic so no jerk in their big SUV or truck came up on my tail. Decided to put my big girl pants on and forge ahead and all was fine.
Still awaiting the call about Marty’s apartment. Makes it a little hard to plan the week but I can be pretty flexible. Wouldn’t mind waiting for the move until next week when it’s warmer. Marty being autistic has often taken the help he receives for granted. Last week, however, after the 2nd day of lots of driving and hauling the wheelchair in and out of the car he actually said “I’m sorry you have to do all this.” This is the first time he’s said anything like that. Made me happy.
Margaret
Hi Margaret,
The rose and raspberry terraces are a delightful way to spend some quiet time inhaling the heady aromas on a warm summer’s day. And yeah, it won’t be long until you too are enjoying the warmer conditions.
Respect, and sometimes a person has to do what they’ve gotta do. That’s a lot of snow you’re dealing with. Won’t mention that today was sunny and cool, with a tiny bit of rain this afternoon. It’s funny you mention that about large trucks… I’ve developed a theory (entirely untested and completely unscientific) that automatic gearboxes in vehicles have changed the way that traffic flows, and it produces an odd sort of stop / start experience due to having a stop button and a go button only. With a stick shift, you have to plan ahead and try and smooth the experience lest a person spends way too much time pressing the clutch pedal to the floor. Just a theory…
Fingers crossed the timing works out well with Marty’s new digs, and it’s pleasing to hear that those are located closer to you.
Go Marty! And yes, such words would be lovely to hear. I’ve known a few higher functioning autistic people over the years, and I’ve got a theory (again, highly unscientific, oh my don’t skewer me please), but socialisation skills can be learnt if the person and family is so interested. It’s been remarked upon elsewhere that not all that long ago there were more autistic boys than girls. I’m of the belief that it is possible that the reason for that skew in the results is that girls were relentlessly drilled in socialisation skills, whereas the boys were cut a bit more slack. Dunno, it’s just one of those wild hunches. The idea popped into my head the night I went to see a comedy show: The Aspie Hour. And much to my discomfit, Sandra made an issue about sitting near to the front row. It was a delightful show (packed out too) about musical theatre (yes, yes… 😉 ) and the young aspie lady chose to sit on my lap and perform a few minutes of the show. I keep saying to Sandra, I don’t want to sit anywhere near the front row, having big gooey eyes is a liability in these instances… Anyway, the incident got the old brain thinking about the entire situation. Dunno. It’s a mystery, don’t you reckon? But I’m so glad to hear Marty express appreciation for yours (and presumably your sisters) efforts. A watershed moment in a relationship.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
It appears to me that Professor Mass has borrowed something from Shakespeare and is warning his readers as to the Ides of March. 🙂 It’s quite astounding how closely your climate tracks to here, and this evening it’s 52’F outside at 9pm tonight, but I’m holding off running the wood heater. Brr! There was even a touch of rain late this afternoon. Not much fell, but better than nothing during summer, if you know what I mean. Not to worry Friday and Saturday nights will be quite hot here – yuk. And that’s my impression too, the traditional four seasons make little sense here other than providing well known labels.
A little bit more work with the rock wall and landing, and the staircase project will be done. Always pleasing to tick a project off the list.
Fast zombies are a real problem full stop. But fast zombies which swap data, that’s somehow worse. How’s a person, no matter how gifted or talented, meant to escape those hungry maws? Hey, the fish is probably very nice, appearances aren’t everything. Fascinating how the deep sea fish had moved into shallow waters. That alone has to mean something.
Oh what a shame the complicated machine died and unnatural demise. 🙂 Always best to master the basics before lurching into such heady techno-utopian waters – there might be those horrific looking sea devils waiting for an easy hapless snack. Like you, I’m very much of the mindset that the basics must first be known back to front, and upside down (like that awful plane disaster), before making a situation unnecessarily complicated. A sure path, but one which is oft neglected in these more enlightened days. Thanks! And it’s a fun saying.
Lewis, I’m so old fashioned that unsolicited marketing concepts leave me feeling a bit cold. But it may also have something to do with desiring more quiet time than most people seem to need, and the advertising is somewhat intrusive. I just hope they don’t lose or misuse all that identification stuff.
Well, that is an interesting additional clause. Hmm. Can you actually contract to do something illegal in your country and/or sign your rights away? How did we all get to such a point in time?
Dude it is truly an impressive feat when dead famous people continue on working long after their departure date. And that’s funny about Washington, kind of like the classic film: Weekend at Bernies, but on a bigger scale. Well if the claimants to the pieces of the True Cross weren’t immediately struck down by lightning for falsity, who’s to dispute the claim? 🙂
Not good, and be careful there, the flu kills people of all ages, every year. On a different but related note, it’s Bowel cancer awareness week down here. Apparently cases in people aged 25 to 44 have increased by almost 260%-ish over the past few decades. Something to do with lower activity levels and dietary issues, apparently. I know quite a few people with serious gut health issues. That Limits to Growth standard run model pollution curve again, sorry to say. Hmm. Vanessa was diagnosed with bowel cancer at 28. She wants you to know it’s not just an old person disease.
If you’re over 50 years of age, the government sends out a poo-testing-kit for bowel cancer. I did it, because it amused me to send samples of poo back in the mail. Sounds like a sub plot in Fight Club, doesn’t it?
Yeah, buying frozen pre-made hash browns does tend to fall into that category of choices… Whatever will they think of next?
Very funny, but true! I’d forgotten that lead poisoning explanation for western gun fighters. And thanks, it might be a nice polite way to describe the unfolding deer situation.
What? No way, commercial kitchens may require that much mayo, but err, on the scale we’re talking about, the stuff will go off. Ook! I’ve never made mayo, but it’s easy enough to do. An old friend who has a gift for the kitchen, but left such work behind him due to the hours, showed me how to make the stuff. He also did a pretty mean thousand island dressing. Yum!
That’s a lovely thought to think that young couples way off in the future will trek up to the enchanted remote spot in the mountains to seal their nuptials. Far out, I better get some more trees in the ground for a bit of privacy screens! Round here, the tree stump would re-grow. Of that, I have no doubts. 🙂
Good to hear that you made the fudge. Yum! Dude, at least 250 million years, and maybe then some if you were to refrigerate the stuff. Like the Twinkies in Woody’s masterpiece: Zombieland. But yeah, I had to sift the flour, sugar and corn starch in the tiramisu recipe for all those reasons.
I reckon the cookies will sell better as they have a perceived longer shelf life. Just a wild hunch there. What do you reckon? Cookies or muffins?
Oh that’s not nice about the lack of subtitles, and yes some films do need their audio to be ‘normalised’. I won’t mention that there is software which will do that trick. Good to hear that the film stood above such technical details.
Did big smoke work today, and got home late. Me tired.
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – I meant to mention, your power wheel barrow in the header photo? Looks like r2d2. 🙂
Our high yesterday was 54F (12.22C). Our overnight low was 39F (3.88C). Forecast high for today is 50F. That was an interesting post by Prof. Mass. How our seasons aren’t particularly linked to the equinox. Time to get serious about thinking about the garden. The cold and snow did nip my garlic, a bit. But I’m sure it will all make a good recovery. Note to self: Look up things to do to get nice plump garlic.
I wonder if the Black Devil fish taste like chicken? :-). Yes, I wondered about that. What changed in the ocean to bring them up, and closer to shore? Oar fish have been making sudden appearances in California. They used to be pretty rare. They were thought to be harbingers of doom.
No one listens to me, but when faced with a new cash register, or computer system, I’d make out three by five cards, and write out the steps. For whatever function came up. They always came in handy, and after a week or two, I didn’t have to rely on them.
That was quit the plane crash. One of the passengers mentioned they were all hanging upside down, like bats. Even though it’s pounded home, over and over again, “leave your stuff, get out of the plane,” it was commented that many people hauled along their coats and carry-on luggage. Unless you’re transporting the Crown Jewels, seems like good advice.
People seem pretty comfortable signing their rights away. If they even bother to read the fine print. Seems like convenience or social cachet, outweigh security and privacy. Not that I’m pure as the driven snow.
Costco has a pretty good in-store bakery. I’ve had some of their stuff at potlucks, and it’s not half bad. I understand, that besides groceries, they also carry a lot of other stuff, but you never know what might show up. Kind of like that German grocery chain. Recently, they were selling small gold bars.
I’ve made mayo, a time or two. Not much to it. And, if it “breaks,” there’s an easy fix. Though I’d have to look it up.
I saw my friend Kenna this morning, and they loved the fudge. Though I think it needs more cheese flavor, but she didn’t think so. Might be due to my semi-dead taste buds. 🙂
I’ll probably go with the orange and lemon cookies. I’m shopping, tonight, and will probably pick up some lemons. But won’t attempt it, til the weekend.
There were some recent studies published, just a few weeks ago. It’s pretty much been proven, that the surging rates of bowl cancer are due to highly processed food. Back when I was 50, and had good health insurance, my doctor insisted on a colonoscopy. Not the big deal some people make it out to be. I didn’t even have the anesthesia. And, since then, the clinic wanted me to mail in the poo, a few times, but I ignored it.
There’s been a lot of mirth in the news, the past couple of days, about New Zealand’s tourist campaign (aimed at Australians.) I guess the catch line of “Everyone Must Go,” sounds a bit to much like a clearance sale. Maybe you can pick up something you need, on the cheap? 🙂
A mystery. I finally used up the last of those hot dogs. What’s interesting is, when I put them in the microwave (even with a paper towel over them), it was like the Fourth of July, in there. The same reaction you get with overlooking something metal. Have my weenies been adulterated with iron filings, or something? So, I went to the Font of All Wisdom (the internet), and apparently, I’m not The Lone Ranger. The cause is “salts and additives.” Not much information, beyond that. Lew
Hi, Chris!
I’m sorry to say that I have never heard of Phillip K. Dick; of course, I have led a sheltered life. I have heard of those movies. I do like this, though: “You are what you do. A man is defined by his actions… not his memory.” But, The Possum – consider it an omen? Good or bad? Surely the same owls that eat possums will indulge themselves consuming rats?
So – how did your speech go?
This latest staircase is so graceful. Lovely. It looks pretty forbidding standing at the top, though. Maybe it is not as steep as it appears? Mr. Blue Hat hauls more rocks . . .
That is one feral pumpkin patch in the video. I like your name for the squash: Small Round Orange Squash. How can rock work be cooler than working in the garden? Rock outcrop – notice that you have a crop of rocks. Yay! Maybe they are growing and peak rocks is over.
Yesterday my son dug up a long row of mature fig trees with the CAT. One of them, that I bought 20 years ago, was almost impossible to get out. He and his wife eventually ended up finishing the digging by hand. He has put them in pots, that largest, oldest one was divided into quite a few sections (besides, it was somewhat mangled), put in several pots. The reason was so that he could graft them, which he had been doing on them while they were in the ground, but it hadn’t gone too well. The grafting is way beyond me.
Those are some different beautiful roses. Thank you, and thank you for the wonderful agapanthus.
Pam
Chris,
“To Light a Fire” is one of my favorite Jack London stories. The husky was, indeed, the smart one in the story.
My dad once had a similar experience with a rip as Sandra did. He, also, kept his wits and didn’t fight the rip, just swam perpendicular to it and survived.
Yes, the book I’ve got is the Richard Barber one. I ordered the Mabinogion version you suggested from the library. I stopped in there today. One of the employees started there nearly 20 years ago as a shy, mousy student. She’s still there, all grown up with a family, very confident and excellent with customers. We had a nice visit today and she looked up the status of my order. The book has not been “active” for over 2 years and the staff at the branch that has the book can’t find it. Probably gone “missing”. Oh well.
Sunday we got snow. 10cm of wet and heavy. Big Bertha roared into life. Neighbor had already done our sidewalks with his Medium Millie snow machine. There was an additional 2.5cm after he went through, so Big Bertha redid what had been done, plus a lot of other work. Monday and Tuesday got up to about +4C, freezing overnight. The snowplows came by today, plowed in my driveway, and two on street parking areas that Medium Millie and Big Bertha had been keeping free of snow., So I had to get out the old coal shovel, which is the perfect size to remove that compacted ice and snow. Between my muscles and Medium Millie, we got caught up for all three areas again. Supposed to be over +10C and raining by the weekend. This snow won’t last long. We had a peak depth of about 18cm. Sounds like a lot, but we’ve had much deeper snow here.
Cool. Blade Runner. Total Recall, 1990 version. Two of my favorites. That “You are what you do…” quote is a good one. That basic idea is something that I’ve thought about extensively and try to keep in mind. I’ve long thought that what we truly think and believe is shown by our actions sooner or later.
Kuato the Giant Possum Lives! Are you trying to come up with a possible horror movie idea? Kuato the Giant Possum destroy owls, shrugs off eagles, glares away wildcats and dingos, stalks domestic pets and humans. It has possibilites. And the opportunities for sequels are endless. Kuato Meets Godzilla. Kuato versus Leprechaun. Alien versus Kuato. Kuato and the Predator. Son of Kuato, Bride of Frankenstein. Dude, think of the endless money stream.
Good job on the stairs. The top landing area is now exposed. The end is in sight, even from Spokane. 😉
Thanks for this week’s colors. The golden sunset was fantastic. The colorful fruits and veggies are a treat to look at. The chilis look delicious. The roses are especially grand right now, aren’t they?
DJSpo
Hi Pam,
Thanks for dropping by, and hope the visitor/s are on their very best behaviour. 🙂
You didn’t miss out on much with the author, but his short stories really do translate into interesting films – which you’ve already heard about. It’s enough, really no need to delve into the books, it’s like spending too much time with a person who is seriously depressed and you pick up on that negative wave energy. Best avoided if you ask me.
Such an insightful quote, yup, and true too. And oh yes indeedy, the owls are very handy at feasting upon the rats. The fascinating thing about chicken rat interactions is that when the rodents are active late at night, the chickens are more than half asleep. Happy rats knowing that the chickens are sleepy, so they cavort and frolic around – the rodents take the owls (and Dame Plum) far more seriously.
Haven’t yet delivered the speech, but am still gathering talking points. I prefer quite interactive talks, which makes life easier as it gives the mouth something of a break from the talk-fest workout.
A good point, and in this case the steepness of the staircase is a trick of the camera. In reality the gradient is very easy. Mr Blue hat is for the record, quite fond of said new blue hat.
🙂 Pumpkins are remarkably productive plants, but don’t they need a lot of space, or what? That size patch grows as many pumpkins as we can eat. I’d not want a larger patch.
There’s a secret to the rock work which makes the job cooler to do on a hot day – the rock shelf is in the shade of the forest. Pam, my goodness me, peak rocks never goes away. All we can but do, is kick the can down the road a little bit in the constant search for more useful rocks knowing that one day, we’ll run out. What to do then?
Holy carp! I’d not want to dig out a twenty year old fig tree. What a job, and the root system would be massive. Respect to those two youngsters. 🙂 It ain’t just you, I only know the technique for summer fruit tree bud grafting – it being sort of successful in this climate. Other grafting techniques are likewise beyond me as well.
The roses send grateful scents of appreciation to you for the lovely words. On a hot day, the smell on those rose terraces is really something.
Right now though, we’re still in the grip of the Antarctic blast, and I ran the wood heater for most of the morning. Brr! Not to worry, Saturday and Sunday will be back to a decent heat wave and hot overnight temperature. My brain hurts…
Cheers
Chris
Hi DJ,
The most excellent Jack London story, may I point out, involves a bloke who couldn’t be told, then had to learn the hard way? We’ve all met such folks who know better than basic common sense. Sometimes that doesn’t matter, but other times, like in that story, it does matter. And yup, the husky survived and I believe made it back into camp. I’d read that airport where the plane flipped had enjoyed extreme conditions even for that part of the world – something like twenty inches of snow had fallen only previously. Some weather conditions are best avoided. It’s not like a person has to wait too long for change in the weather. But does it fit in with a scheduled life?
Look at things here. Right now, the frozen continent way to the south is flexing it’s muscles, and today began at 9’C and briefly peaked at 14’C. Not bad for a summers day huh? Had to run the wood heater this morning for a few hours, then once the house had warmed up, it’s stayed quite pleasant inside. but not to worry, there’s a heatwave a coming, and Saturday night looks very hot in the forecast. Oh well…
Your dad was lucky to have had that knowledge ready to hand when he encountered a rip. Most people try to fight the strong current, rapidly tire, then ook, things go badly. It’s notably hard to relax in a crisis, and some folks are better at that outcome than others.
Always nice to catch up with, or encounter people you’ve known for a very long time, even just in passing. I’ve always had the impression that people in your country are highly mobile and move around a lot, but don’t really know if that impression is true or not. I’ve more or less lived within 80km of where the farm is for my entire life. Maybe I’m not very adventurous? Dunno.
Go Big Bertha, and may she pluck the naughty snow and decamp it off to the side with a cavalier aplomb. Speaking of such baroque language, you’ve been silent on the poems and limericks for a while. I’m sensing one with snow, Dame Avalanche disappearing into the primordial cold murk only to be revealed by two glowing eyes, and maybe some other stuff. Any ravens out and about in the snow? A raven might work too. 🙂 When it snows here (briefly) the birds have to deal with the conditions, even the brightly coloured parrots are discomfited.
Yeah, sounds like the snow will melt in that sort of warmth – hashtag no different to the overnight temperatures here last night! Candidly, 18cm of snow depth sounds pretty deep to my reading ears.
Respect. 🙂 How good are both of those films? Total Recall was excellent, as was Blade Runner. And how cool was the Kuato reveal scene? Makes you wonder why anyone would want to go to Mars – and my understanding is that in reality, the radiation at the surface level would be very unpleasant for a human. The Earth is our species home, and here we shall abide.
I’d be curious as to your opinion, but I’ve got an odd hunch that a persons thoughts and inner workings, do get expressed eventually via their actions. Dissembling as an art form, can only be taken just so far. I had a general rule of thumb with new housemates, way back in the day. It was the three month rule, and by the end of that time, you’d have a decent measure of the person.
Far out! We might be on the verge of something big here. Hang on a second before we get too carried away. Do you own the rights to all those fearsome critters? Hmm, thought not. And drats, foiled again in our quest for financial independence. 😉
Very funny, and thanks for the laughs. Poured the final step on Monday, and it sits up above the surrounding soil surface. Have to build the area up now, which it needed anyway.
Yeah, that’s the thing with really cold weather – the colours become washed out, except for Dame Avalanches eyes. It’s a lovely time of year here when the plants are at their peak. Found some zucchini plants today which as usual have produced some monsters. The roses are delightful, yup. 🙂
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
Those power wheelbarrows are an awesome bit of kit, as was R2D2. 🙂 Actually that’s the little one that the Editor can use, it having an automatic transmission with stop, go and brake levers. The other two bigger ones can haul far more load, but they’re more complex to operate. Not for everyone those machines, hmm.
Might have to bottle a large box of plums tomorrow (canning in US parlance). The Editor went to a fresh food market earlier today and nabbed a bargain box. The fruit tastes good and looks nice too. Sometimes you get a bargain. Managed to get some bricks of coffee too which were cheaper at only $38 each. Things be gettin’ spensive out there.
Dude, it was almost the same maximum temperature here today. It peaked briefly at 14’C / 57’F and I sure felt cold. Sitting on my backside doing paid work has that effect upon internal body temperatures. Brr! Your overnight low is a definitely four blanket night. It is that time for you, but also I’m getting serious about the winter plants. Any last minute seed orders on the agenda? Best to get them started early when there’s still some heat in the soil. It’s hard to imagine how there could be a heatwave from Friday to Sunday… With a stonking hot Saturday night.
Had a nice paid work day today, and unlike the more usual Wednesday’s I finished up at a more reasonable time at 6:30pm. Had enough time to take the dogs for a hours long walk. Some young lady drove past at one point – clearly off to do a bush wee – and then minutes later, roared past again. Chatted to a neighbour and had some good laughs. Nice to be more relaxed.
The old brain must be firing on all cylinders tonight because I finally worked out the answer to one of the solar power questions which had been bugging me. Nothing serious, just a minor roadblock to some work which has to be done up on the roof. One of those answers which got me thinking as to why I didn’t think about this possibility before. A good Doh! moment.
Garlic is super hardy. Hey, what is the general consensus as to minerals when it comes to feeding the bulbs?
🙂 Probably does, but you go first bite with that sea horror. Oarfish are amazing, and I’d like to believe that Sea Serpents exist. 🙂 It would make the oceans even more dangerous. That bit about the fish being a harbinger of doom is probably due to how the giant fish are found.
Notes just work. Yup. You’ll get no argument from me there, and I’d do no differently. In fact, whenever starting a new job, and getting a handover, I’d make lots of notes. Always useful, and a person can’t recall everything. Our business relies on detailed workpapers. I’ll bet you’ve had to work with people who argue they can remember how things are done (no need for notes), then promptly forget and stuff things up?
You know, I’d be uncomfortable hanging upside down like a bat. Agreed, run for your life is the best advice. I noticed that as passengers were exiting the stricken plane, smoke was billowing out and the emergency folks were spraying some material on the body of the aircraft. And you may wonder why I don’t like flying? 🙂
Sometimes you have no choice to avoid signing the long legal agreement. I guess there’s always a choice, but is there really? I mean it’s not like a person can argue out the minutiae of the agreement, so there is an inherent power imbalance, before anything has even happened. Like you, I’ve been stung too. What do you?
That’s a pot luck shop if you ask my opinion. 🙂 But people like that sort of buying experience, probably like hunting and gathering. I differ in this regard, but it’s probably me. It’s just that there’s an odd cult like response to the experience, and they all say it: You get so much, for so little. And whilst that may indeed be factually correct, why do they all say the same thing? We haven’t mentioned the pod people in a while, but just sayin… You were warned! Hehe!
What do you mean if mayo breaks? Oooo, not good. What’s the secret trick to restoring mayo order?
That’s high praise in relation to the fudge. Age is a bummer on that front, but yup, say no more. Here we are in agreement though. The biscuits will sell better than fudge, but I could be entirely wrong too. Is the fund raiser soon?
You know my thoughts already about highly processed food. And you’d imagine that like any benefit there’d be costs, and convenience is a benefit. Makes you wonder if the ancient Romans had gut issues? They probably didn’t have the technology for a colonoscopy though. You’re tough, most people go under for that procedure. The government down here sends a person unsolicited poo kits, it’s not a bad service. To be honest, I do my utmost to stay out of the hands of the medical industry, but that does require a lot of personal responsibility.
Why ever would our friends across the Tasman Sea say such a thing? That advertisement has been out of our news. They do some fun ads over there.
Burn them, burn them with fire. That’s not right. But then a deeper investigation is perhaps needed here. Have you come up with any reasons for the err, kitchen lightning in the science oven? I’ve accidentally left a tiny bit of metal wrapping on butter, and that created a lot of sparks.
Cheers
Chris
Debt-“Decline could have been managed so much better”
ain’t that the truth. Denial is our worst enemy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_government_debt
If you look at the list and sort from max to min, the U.S. is up top amongst what some consider third world. Australia is well down the list, so looking much better in comparison. Yes, it’s more complicated that just that ratio, but still a bright red flag.
Might have mentioned this before, but I’m finishing a book “The Coming Generational Storm” which describes the growing debt caused by generous government benefits that only work if the population keeps growing forever. The bill will come due at some point (nat. debt is $36 trillion and counting right now!!!). Book was written in 2004, but the system just keeps on huffing and puffing along. Yikes.
Cold Februarys-
last year:
https://www.wpr.org/news/not-even-close-wisconsin-sees-its-warmest-winter-on-record
this year:
“La Crosse residents experienced a record January heat on Thursday, with temperatures reaching 58 degrees, breaking a record set in 1874, 1897, and 1981. ”
As the temperature difference between the arctic and temperate zones has decreased, it’s argued that the polar vortex has become more varied and “wobbly”. These Rossby waves end up pushing warm air or cold air where it didn’t used to go very often. The pool vortex has even split up on occasion. I imagine the Antarctic vortex is doing similar?, but the north has had so much sea ice melt, the warming may be worse up here.
(see “quasi resonant amplification” in the wiki article).
possums- Possums being our only marsupials in north America, one wondered what happened to the rest of them. Here possums are an enigma to me. They are omnivores, will eat anything,( particularly fond of garbage if left unconfined outdoors) but are slow and not exactly top of the food chain. Bare feet and tails, and yet they survive our very cold winters.
I still don’t understand how their defense of “playing possum” has been enough to let them survive amongst all the top of the food chain critters that used to live here. Wolves, cougars, bears, coyotes, lynx, and so on. And yet they persist. There is a lesson there somewhere.
Still jealous of your bounteous rock resource.
Yo, Chris – Inflation has turned us all into bargain hunters. You can’t go too wrong, if you stick with needs, instead of wants.
Our high yesterday was 52F (11.11C). The overnight low was 45F (7.22C). Forecast for today is 50F. There’s rain, on and off. It’s coming in in bands, rather than an atmospheric river. Naaaw. Don’t need no four blankets. What with the buildings ambient temperature. And, I think, you might be having a bit of a struggle, as your weather is so back and forth. No time to acclimate.
Nope. I haven’t done a seed order, yet. So many other things demanding my attention, right now. I did a bit of shopping, last night. A bit for the Club (we’re getting a food box, on Friday) and some for me. Got home and did a couple of loads of laundry. Lots of running up and down the stairs. Me, tired. The housing recertification paperwork is still hanging. This afternoon, I’ll go swing by the library, see if I can get yoghurt from the veg store. Visit with Jane at the Club (her first shift back) and I need to run up to the “standard” grocer. The places I hit last night did not have lemon extract. I did get some nice looking lemons, though, for the biscuits.
We’ve all had those “Doh,” moments. “But it seems so obvious…” But not until all the pieces fall together, in your mind.
Well, fertilizing garlic is a bit all over the place. But as near as I can figure, blood meal when you plant it, in the fall. Bone meal about every 6 weeks, in the spring. With all kinds of variations, involving everything from sea weed to coffee grounds.
Yes, the mostly inexpensive grocery outlet store (with a yuppie twist), also has a bit of a cult-like following. Their motto is: “Should have bought it, when I saw it.” Plastered on all their ads, and big graphics on their walls.
No hard date on the desert auction. Just a lot of talk, so far. In preparation for the move (if we move), someone managed to wrangle a free enormous dumpster (and pick up) and they had a good clean out. They filled it with everything from broken chairs to dead flat screen TVs.
Even though the Romans had all those baths and toilets, they weren’t that much healthier than cultures with less amenities. Intestinal parasites were rife, and lice, fleas and bedbugs quit common. Some of those fancy baths didn’t change the water, very often.
I’ll settle for “salts and additives,” for the fireworks in the nuker. I eat meat so infrequently, it’s not worth getting bothered over. I’ll just remember to plop them in boiling water, or whatever. Odd though. I’m sure I’ve nuked other brands of hot dog, and never had the problem. Lew
Chris:
You must have sent us your Antarctic blast. That’s a long way to go . . .
I am having a delightful time with our visitor, she being my daughter-in-law’s mother – DILM?
Pam
Chris,
It’s an interesting thing how some people can’t be told anything. Yes, I’ve learned many things via experience. But some things I figured were better learned by watching other people’s mishaps. And when somebody with a lot of experience in the topic at hand speaks, well, I learned to pay heed to the experienced one when young. Best to keep the socks dry when it’s -40, make sure your fire is set away from anything that can dump snow on it, be prepared for the situation if it can’t be avoided, etc. The guy in that story ignored all of that and paid a hefty price.
It just ain’t right to have to use the heater, wood or other, when it’s still summer. It just seems wrong. But you’re having our August right now, and August can get downright chilly at times, so I can guess how your weather feels. A blast straight from the Antarctic, well, yeah, cold any season of the year.
The entire scheduled life thing is so not natural. Our civilization is so far removed from nature it’s appalling. Which I know that you know. But expecting an airport runway to be useable after receiving 20 or more inches of snow in the prior day or two? No, doesn’t compute.
Mobility in this country is interesting. The generality is that we move around a lot and over distances. Heck, we moved here in 1967 from near Los Angeles, I’ve travelled all over the western USA, lived in Alaska and New Mexico, so yeah, I’ve moved around. Always came back to Spokane somehow. Some areas of the country, the people don’t move as much if at all, but for a lot of us…Look at Mr. Greer. From Washington state to Ashland Oregon, to West Virginia, to Rhode Island… Really not abnormal to move like that, regardless of the reasons.
Unfortunately, my verbal creativity has been at a very low ebb this fall and winter. Dunno why, but it is. Today was my day to take care of Killian the Red. He and Dame Avalanche had a fun hour playing. Then it was get some groceries, then home. The Princess is with her brother this week. There shouldn’t be much snow removal or other hard work to do, so I’m hoping that several days of quiet and loafing and reading and pyrography will help.
“…but I’ve got an odd hunch that a persons thoughts and inner workings, do get expressed eventually via their actions.” I whole heartedly agree. There’s a long line of thought from many different philosophies and religions that says something similar. Another way of saying it is “by their fruit you shall know them”. Or, “actions speak louder than words”. You can hide your true self for awhile, but sooner or later the false facade is shattered and the real you is there. I remember my mom’s aunt and uncle visited us for a week one summer. My sister and I were two perfect little angels. Until…the fifth day of the visit, sister and I started squabbling. Aunt said to mom, “Whew! I’m glad they’re normal. They were acting so weird.” For us kids it took five days. For alleged adults I like your three month rule. That seems about right.
Far out! I’m looking forward to the picture of the finished stairway and the built up soils at the top. It’s exciting getting that done, isn’t it?
Yup, Dame Avalanche’s eyes are never washed out. Except I can’t see them right now. She played hard today and has been sleeping ever since we got home.
DJSpo
Hi Steve,
Thanks for the link to the list of countries and their debt, and I’ll use that info with the talk. It’s often forgotten that corporate debt is almost as large again, and household debt trails not too far behind. All very exciting, and truly without that splurge from the future, we’d be in a worldwide recession / depression right now. My gut feeling – and nobody really knows what’s going on behind the scenes – is that we’re nearing the end game of that story. It was announced here today that the state government is set to cut 5% of it’s workforce. The state ruling party got slammed hard in by-elections a few weeks ago, and the folks are looking to your country for new ideas. If the debt isn’t curtailed, a country faces the risks of inflation and currency crisis. As strange as it sounds, I believe Japan is handling decline the best of the west.
It wasn’t that long ago that Australia had virtually no government debt. In fact we were running a surplus due to royalties from mineral exports, but here we are today.
Did the author mention that if the population does not continue to grow, there is a real possibility that the property market will collapse due to supply exceeding demand? And what a mess that will be. It may be likely that in the future, governments do not allow their excess population to be exported. Hmm.
Holy carp! 58’F was warmer than the maximum temperature here yesterday! Brr! Or you’d probably be thinking shorts and t-shirt weather for your part of the world? 🙂 It was only 64’F here today, but not to worry, the next three days will be very hot. You gotta take the good with the bad.
Harvested the remaining potatoes today and the haul for the four rows was about 41kg of potatoes. The row of re-seeded saved potatoes was the worst performing yield at a quarter of the best yield so the haul could have been better again. Still, there was no cost associated with those seeds.
Yes, the Antarctic air masses are wobbling around, and given there is only the Southern Ocean between here and there, the frozen continent flexes it’s muscles quite regularly. But then so does the hot waters of the Indian Ocean far to the north west of the continent. They’re the hottest waters in the world right now. The Pacific is no slouch either, and that is where the next couple of days of hot air will arrive from. The mountain range sticks up like a sore thumb on the backside of the planet, and catches all manner of breezes.
But yes, the northern hemisphere is heating up faster due to that reason. The ice in Antarctica sits upon a continent, so there is thermal inertia to consider. But mate, the ice in the ocean holding back those land glaciers is floating away at a good rate. Can you imagine the bounce of that landmass once it sheds it’s frozen mantle? And politics aside, the Greenland mischief is not a bad idea.
Hehe! Go the Opossums! The local variety are different again in that they are herbivores. There are carnivorous marsupials, but not in these parts as the species were completely wiped out in the 1983 fires. Marsupials live right across the entire continent, even in the most arid of landscapes, right up to the seriously cold alpine areas. I’ve even seen parrots living up in areas which are so cold, the trees barely grow any year, and they can still look like shrubs yet be hundreds of years old. Who knows, the opossums may diversify into new species in your part of the world?
The cheeky marsupials may not taste very good! Man, you should catch the aroma one day of a square-ish wombat poop. A striking aroma, not to be quickly forgotten.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Pam,
Always a pleasure to share and share alike – as the old timers used to say. Hope you’re enjoying the fresh Antarctic air in your part of the world? 🙂 I must say that such cold weather at the later parts of summer does feel a touch weird to the old brain. I’ve had to run the wood heater in February… Oh well.
Anyway, not to worry, tomorrow heralds the return of the summer weather for three days. Then it will get cold again. Then hot again. Little wonder with all this climate variability that the fluffies do such strange things. When recording this weeks video earlier today I spotted Ruby and Plum conversing together upon the topic of choice animal scats, whilst the more genteel Ollie was lazily catching flies. Hope you enjoy the fluffy antics in a few days time! 🙂
Always nice to have pleasant visitors, and hope your DIL is likewise enjoying the visit.
Cheers
Chris
Hi DJ,
Fixed opinions are a complicated world-view, and I’d be interested in your perspective, but I hold the belief that unworkable fixed opinions hung onto in the face of evidence to the contrary, is a neat way of thinking for a person in that they can avoid re-visiting earlier decisions. That experience could be painful, so I get why people avoid such thought processes. Hey, a bit like not purchasing that flat block of land (with a spring) because it was another half hours drive away from the big smoke. It was cheaper too, and had more fertile soil. But yeah, there are benefits to the land here, like rocks and lots of firewood, so maybe a person ends up where they end up. 🙂 Anyway, revisiting earlier decisions is a subject which most people avoid. I was positing an extreme example there, and personally take the good with the bad, and am happy with that outcome.
Now if you can learn from other peoples mishaps, whoa! That’s a true feat. Yup. Respect. It amazes me, but the author Jack London was expressing his disbelief that people in an extreme environment as the Yukon, could listen to good advice, then internalise the thought: Sure, but that won’t happen to me. Such thinking is more common than you’d imagine. One thing I do as a general habit, is speak to as wide a variety of folks as come across my path. You’d be amazed at the things you’d learn. Agreed, the protagonist paid a very high price and the husky wisely shied away at the appropriate moment when the fool had murder on his mind as a last resort. That story stuck with me too.
The Pacific Northwest of your country is remarkably similar to the weather here, although we get slightly more extreme heat, whilst you get more extreme cold. But other than that, same, same. So true, and the old timers used to say that it could snow here, any month of the year. A neighbour showed me photos of the area with snow at Christmas, and it wasn’t that many decades ago. Of course I did get to experience the minor tornado one Christmas day many years ago – hope not to see such a thing again in my lifetime… And there was that super cell, again not good.
Exactly, winter is the time for catching up on one’s sleep, although industrial schedules hardly allow for that do they? That’s my hunch with that airport (and others), maybe there are limits to their use in such extreme weather? It’ll be interesting to see where the blame gets pinned for that accident.
Having lived and worked within 80km of where I was born seems the norm for me, and I have a lot of trouble comprehending the mobility in your country. And those were good examples. It would be very rare for me to drive more than an hours distance from here.
Perhaps the nadir of the energy from the old fusion reactor in your skies has sapped your creative word energy as well? Such things have been known to happen, and here I’d advise caution because you saw what happened to the killer rabbit, who was naughty in thy sight, and may have snuffed it! Take care to count properly to three before pondering line and verse. Five being right out. Three being the sacred number, as everyone knows. Given the lack of solar energy, the number three may not be possible though so take care.
Quiet loafing and wood burning sounds like the perfect activity for super cold weather. And glad that Dame Avalanche and Killian enjoyed their time. On such a note, I’ve been conditioning Dame Plum to car travel. One of the downsides of the health subject which dare not be named, was that the Kelpies have not been properly socialised (we got them about a week before the first of the two years of lockdowns, and recall things were worse here than anywhere on the planet – lucky us). Anyway, in order to ensure the dogs don’t fear the car, I’ve had to sit Dame Plum on my lap and hang her head out the window (remember it’s very rural and remote roads here, so no great speed or traffic). She seems to be enjoying the experience, plus the chunks of cheesecake and walk assisted matters. At the end of the drive, the dog didn’t want to exit the car today, so that’s a win. It’s taken a while, let’s put it that way…
Oh yeah, those sayings are spot on. Actions do speak louder than words, although I can assure you, words can be pretty alarmingly noisy in the hands of some practitioners. Yup. There’s an old saying about: “You’re breaking my b#lls! We’ve all unfortunately been on the wrong side of that story. 🙂 I try to nip such people in the bud these days, but in the distant past yeah, rabbit in the headlight kind of reaction was the best I could manage, because I don’t speak with people that way. Dunno.
Your aunt had a most excellent sense of humour, and was clearly a keen student of the human condition to have called you and your sister out on such mischief.
It is good to complete the staircase, but with the heatwave over the next few days I won’t get to the soil work this week. Next week. Dug the potatoes today instead and the four rows produced about 40kg of tubers. Not a bad haul at all. For your interest, the seed potatoes outperformed the yield of the saved potatoes, but we may not have replanted the best tubers from previous years. Just hadn’t thought about doing that.
Happy sleepy dogs! Is there a finer thing I ask you?
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
A wise suggestion indeed, and I’d not thought about the matter in those terms, but yes, stick to needs and minimise the wants. The coffee brick purchase was the difference between $48 and $38. All you need is the time. Makes you wonder what households which have little free time are doing? Probably not bargain hunting, that’s for sure. I’m of the belief that having free time to pursue one’s interests, is one of life’s genuine luxury items.
Hehe! Ah, the similarities – it was a maximum of a sunny but cold 64’F today, and right now, it’s 50’F. Not to worry, tomorrow 86’F and Saturday will be hotter again.
Bottled the box of plums today, which meant cutting up fruit for an hour and a bit. Had the tunes cranking, actually the national youth music broadcaster had the science questions hour at that time. A very clever bloke takes random questions from the public, and has done so for decades. Always interesting. After that, we harvested the remaining three rows of potatoes. The final tally was about 90 pounds for the four rows. Not bad, and the saved potato seeds produced about a quarter of the harvest of the best purchased seed potatoes. There’s a lesson there… A busy day, although we went to the General Store late this afternoon. I’m trying to get the dogs used to being in the car. I’ve never known dogs to be frightened of car travel. Anyway, Dame Plum was finally enjoying herself today with the car travel. Yes, there were bribes paid.
Your neighbours are stumping the mad cash for your winter warmth! 🙂 Did a similar trick with the terrace house in the big smoke. The neighbours either side heated their houses, and the four brick width party walls on either side, radiated winter warmth. That was a cheap house to reside in, but not to purchase. And yeah, the lack of acclimation to the weather is a problem. I’d not feel so cold in the winter months with these sorts of temperatures, but there you go. I’m curious to see how my body copes with the next three hot days. Dunno.
It’s early days for the seed starts in your part of the world, unless you’ve got a heated greenhouse. What do you reckon about early April being a better time for such outdoor gardening activities?
Hope the food box is fruitful! If I may say so, the activity on the stairs is good for your heart health. It’s one of those muscles you want to use, but neither under-do, nor over-do the activity. But yeah, some days are like that and you spend most of the day doing life’s admin. Can’t be gotten around. Is there a deadline with the paperwork?
Did you nab a tub of yoghurt? And how is Jane recovering? Did they manage to sort out her house issues?
If you have real lemons (as in the juice + the zest) do you really need the lemon extract with the recipe? The zest is pretty strongly flavoured.
It happens with Doh! moments doesn’t it? Actually the little geegaw is on its way here now from the land of stuff. I’d not realised that such items were made, but they are, so clearly other folks had been pondering how to do this wiring matter as well.
Ah, many thanks for the tips on feeding soil where garlic grows. Sounds like what I’d describe as a heavy feeding plant. Did the guide say anything about adding gypsum for the sulphur additions?
Speaking of such matters, might mix up a trailer load of soil feed tomorrow. It’s one of those jobs around here which takes a lot of hours, but is at the same time, quite satisfying. I’d have to suggest that we’re having the best harvest to date this summer.
Also put on order some yellow plastic coated woven wire today to increase the height of the fencing around the large citrus enclosure. The deer have been sending me loopy with their damage. The latest trick was scratching the soil around the potato vines. Green potatoes being quite toxic, which is why we harvested the lot earlier today. The yields would have been far bigger had the deer not munched all of the leaves on the vines… There’ll be a reckoning soon.
Oh my! I’d not heard of that motto, but my goodness, doesn’t it strike fear into your heart that a bargain was missed! 😉 It’s good marketing. I just wished that the people I speak to who shop at that place down here, didn’t get this weird far away look to their eyes before all spouting the same words. The concept of the pod people really does enter a person’s mind when encountering such reactions.
Good stuff, and doesn’t it feel most excellent to be a part of a spring clean (although this may not be physically true in your case, you may however have enjoyed the outcome?) It’s funny you mention dead flat screen TV’s, but the other day when I was in the big smoke, someone had just dumped one on the street. It astounds me that such high tech items are disposed of and may in fact be difficult to repair.
Oooo, that’s nasty. I’d always had the impression that the Roman’s were cleaner on average just because of the baths. But yeah, I guess filling a bath would have been a serious drain on the aqueducts. With a lot of international travel, bed bugs are occasionally seen in hotels. I know of someone who stayed in a reasonably good hotel room, which needed fumigation for those critters. The person was bitten. Never seen them myself, and that’s kind of weird really when I think about all of the travel to out of the way locations last century. Admittedly, travel was a quiet experience in those days. When I was a kid, people used to jokingly say: Don’t let the bed bugs bite. But being young and having no idea about anything, I always they were talking about monsters hiding under the bed, not actual insects.
I so get where you are at with that thought. I’m going to take a deep dive on the subject. Grab your snorkel, we’re going down into interweb town. Kind of rhymes… … Dude, I feel unwell. People are cooking sausages in the microwave (with no other processing), I guess you’ve proven its possible, I’m just not into the concept and had to stop the deep dive right there. 🙂 Thanks for the laughs. Man, I’m a mostly vegetarian, but theoretically, if sausages were to be cooked, they’d be cheese kransky’s the King of sausages, and fried too, sorry no science oven business for those tasty delights.
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – I figure when humankind is gone, possums may rise to rule the world. 🙂 After all, they do have opposable thumbs (at least on their back feet), to give them a leg up. So to speak.
Our high yesterday was 52F (11.11C). Our overnight low was 41F (5C). Forecast high for today is 50F. Looking at the weather records, on my calendar, the latest frost we had was 10th May, 2022. But most last frosts are in April. I also noticed in mid April, 2022, we had snow and freezing weather. When I took H out for a walk this morning, we hit the sweet spot between rain bands. There sure were a lot of very plump LBBs (Little Brown Birds) about, foraging in the gardens. Go LBBs! Eat those weed seeds!
I pretty much stick to three grocery outlets, and if I spot a bargain, I’ll stock up. My friend Kenna mentioned that I could find the yoghurt, at $2 less for the large jar … in Rochester. I’d probably burn up two dollars of petrol, going and coming. Some “bargain” hunters, would do that. The veg store was out of the large, quart jars. 🙁 But, I’ve got the delivery schedule down now, and if I go next Thursday or Friday, will be able to source the quarts. I’ve marked it on the calendar. I did pick up a pint, but it’s just a stop gap.
Well, all those plums / prunes will keep your digestion ticking along.
🙂 I’ve been having a hard time sourcing them, dried, at my usual places. Only available at the expensive grocer. I picked up a 2 pound container. I forget how much I paid, but it felt expensive. They do have bulk bins, but, they were empty. Hmm. Might have to check the rabbit hole. Or, wait til the discount grocer opens. We have received packages of dried prunes, in our food boxes. But not for awhile.
Sounds like you had a good haul of potatoes. With more careful selection, do you think you’ll try and wean yourself off the certified seed potatoes?
H loves riding in my truck. Sits in my lap (if she’s not wet) and gazes out the window. No treats required. Although, if we’re going to the groomer or the vet, she gets a dental chew, along the way. I don’t want her to offend. 🙂
The paperwork for my housing, is due the end of this month. Though the changes don’t kick in, until two months later.
I saw Jane, last night, and she looks well. Still doing some chemo, but riding it out. She got the inmates, back into line. Though that wasn’t too hard a job. Her son lives nearby, and one the the inmates took it upon herself to pretty much keep everyone on the straight and narrow.
I made the lemon cookies, once before, but from a recipe off a bag of flour. I didn’t think they tasted lemon, enough. I’ll use the new recipe (substitute lemon for orange). I only added 1/2 tsp. of orange extract, and it was just right. I’ll do the same with the lemon extract. And, of course I have my tasting panel 🙂 . If they think it’s too much lemon, I’ll adjust the amounts.
I don’t remember any suggestion of adding gypsum to the soil, for garlic. Judging from your pictures, you really have had a good harvest.
Yes, everyone assumes the Romans were a pretty clean bunch, due to the baths, and all. The sewers. And they really weren’t very much on top of garbage collection. The streets were awash in all kinds of things you’d rather not step in. 🙂
“Good night, sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite.” So, a plunge down the rabbit hole. The “sleep tight,” part, might have referred to rope bed supports, that needed to be tightened. Maybe. I did find this …
https://www.bedbugguide.com/dont-let-bed-bugs-bite-origin-rhyme/
I cut up the hot dogs (which really don’t have much resemblance to good sausages) and mix them in with my usual rice and veg. No problems. But I cut up a few small pieces, for H, put them on a small plate under a paper towel. And, that’s when I got the fireworks. I know I’ve nuked other brands (after poking holes with a fork) and not had that kind of problem. I really think it’s something about that particular brand. Oh, well. It’s so seldom I eat meat, of any kind, it’s not like it’s an ongoing problem. Lew
Hello Chris,
I enjoyed some of the Philip K. stories. And Bladerunner is epic. I had a copy on VHS tape when I lived in Moscow in 1996 and watched it dozens of times. It was exactly that feeling of abandoned buildings and decay in the aftermath of the Soviet collapse. Bullets. Dancers.
Regarding government debt, I once read that it was invented as a reverse-tax for rich people in the 1700s. Instead of taxing the rich, the government borrowed money from the rich and paid interest every month forever after. I think it is mostly a scam.
A way of siphoning wealth from the commons and from the future.
And I am curious about the talk, too, and the kinds of questions you got.
A strange situation occurred to me last week, when I was part of a meeting with Danish resource people, obliquely related to the recycling business. A geologist shared a report he had written last year about critical raw materials soon available on Greenland, since the ice is melting. He had been prospecting and drilling all over the place. It looked like a menu-card for grabs. I realized that someone in the Capitol must have heard about this report.
There is a renewed mining frenzy all over Scandinavia. Nobody wants to save minerals for our kids and their kids, everything must be taken out of the ground NOW! Maybe they feel the clock ticking before mining operations will no longer be economically possible due to circumstances?
We sure live in interesting times.
Peace,
Göran
Hi Göran,
Absolutely, Phillip K Dick produced some excellent screen plays which turned into outstanding movies. And whoa! Bladerunner was a dark (yet epic!) film, and watching it in such surroundings would have been a surreal experience. Who remembers VHS these days?
Turns out governments probably aren’t all that great at running the day to day larger economy, and maybe should stick to the things which they are good at doing – like providing goods and services which are necessary, but on their own would make no economic sense whatsoever, like say, submarines. If I may say so, the Swedish Saab fighter jets were highly rated.
Agreed, I’m also of the belief that it is a scam. Living beyond ones means is never a long term strategy, yet here we are today. It disturbs me that serious people suggest that ‘it doesn’t matter’. In some ways I believe that they are correct, but then such things don’t matter, until they do matter – and then you’re in an entirely different world. As the US currency loses it’s reserve status, and international trading slowly returns to how things used to be, it’s fascinating from this distance to watch the over spending corrections. It’s hard to know what waves will spread from there, but already I’m seeing and hearing those changes felt locally.
But exactly, stealing from the future is never a wise idea. It may interest you, but I’m discovering that improving the soil depth and fertility here is an extraordinary challenge. With all the useful soil minerals flying around the society, it seems rather wasteful to mostly dump them in the ocean. I guess it is expensive to separate and return them to the soil. It was that, and comprehending that every second meal on the planet relies upon nitrogen fertilisers sourced from natural gas which really rammed home the predicament we face.
Still, you plant fruit and nut trees, as do I. In that story, I’m merely a consumer, whereas you’re actually producing and distributing them. Respect. When the infrastructure here is done, I might also look into that market.
I prefer not to know the questions in advance, so who knows where things will go. You can join in on zoom if you want, although it may be the middle of the night for you! 🙂 If you’re interested, send me a not for posting comment and I’ll send you the details.
Hmm. That country in question did purchase Alaska a long time ago, and that was a good buy. Serious people are treating the suggestion as a joke, I just don’t believe that it is a joke. The present economy on that large island is a disaster, so little wonder that minerals are on the locals minds.
Well, ore grades are declining, and that pushes up costs, so previously uneconomic mines, become economic. I tend to recall the historic German coal mining exploits. They have coal left to extract, but can anyone do so and turn a profit? The costs of production are rising, everywhere.
We sure do! It’s a fascinating time to be alive and there’s never a dull moment!
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
Go the possums! 🙂 And they seem to be survivors, so that’s something in their favour. Yes, today the fruit trees, tomorrow, the world! And that’s very amusing too.
Those are some pleasant winter temperatures. It’s quite interesting your climate, because the extreme cold weather doesn’t last all that long. Probably a bit too cold for citrus, but it’s close. A May frost is pretty late, that’d be November here when usually the tomatoes are safe to have in the ground outdoors, maybe. We sometimes get cold Antarctic storms at that time of year which can be as challenging as frosts.
The local news reports suggested that the weather will soon be warming for your country – although it’s a big country so where exactly was a bit loose.
How hard do those tiny birds work in the garden? And oh yeah, they dine upon the tiniest of insects too, like aphids. Every year pear and cherry slug consumes the leaves of those trees (towards the end of the season). The small birds feast upon the slugs.
🙂 I like those sorts of helpful suggestions, and yeah 12 miles would eat some fuel for sure. Petrol (gasoline) is more expensive down here, so before heading out the number of stops are maximised. Interestingly, the cost of fuel has gone up in the past two weeks or so. We’re back around the $2 a litre price (3.8 litres to the gallon).
My friend who is the ultimate bargain hunter gets around the fuel cost issue by using a push bike, and I get the impression that he’s never paid for a bicycle either. He’s got the time to take his hobby to the next level.
Speaking of a lack of time, today in the 86’F heat I mixed up a trailer load of compost stuff with bags of minerals and spread it around the farm. Pretty much everything got a soil feed except for the sunny orchard, I’ll do that next time. There was four weeks worth of coffee grounds waiting to be spread around, and that’s a lot. The compost soil feed ends up smelling quite nice, although this time I bought a different brand of blood and bone, and that was pungent. Anyway, managed to finish the job, then rush down to the general store to grab a coffee before they closed. Quite pleasant really, but a long hot day of work. You can actually feel that the sun has less bite to it now than it did say a month ago. The season is turning for sure.
No worries on that gut score! 🙂 The old timers used to quip: Sh$t like a trooper. Although between you and I, makes you wonder if they were discussing dysentery or a diet high in fibre?
Hmm, it’s hard to know what is going to become difficult to obtain, and yeah, dried fruit will last a long time, but not that long. Even the canned (bottled) fruit tends to not taste as good towards early spring. And pumpkins and zucchini last right through the winter, but when the seeds are ready to plant in the spring, far out, that can be a serious mess. The contents turn into water, presumably so as to get the seeds off to a good start for the season.
That’s a good question! And we were discussing that yesterday. We’ll try and wean ourselves off the seed potatoes and practice proper crop rotation. In the past we were a bit slack about which potatoes we replanted, and next summer the plan is to be more rigorous. Storage is better too, and the Editor is coming around to the idea of having a proper shed for this purpose. A root cellar here is a waste of time due to the ground being too warm in winter, but a proper shed was how the old timers used to store such produce – I remember that activity, just. One of the good things about growing up very working class, was that you observed thrift in action, but old timey style.
Go H! And dogs love cars, usually. Always wise to present H in her Sunday finest, and if that requires a dental chew, then so be it. I think Dame Plum is coming around to the H perspective in this matter. I’d planned to take her this afternoon to the general store (her entry into polite society), but it was too hot, and I was feeling too hot to have her sitting on lap for the drive.
Out of curiosity, do you ever hear stories of inmates not doing their paperwork? Presumably there is a default path for that particular choice? Not everyone is cool with paperwork.
Best wishes for your friend Jane, and may she come through this time of trials, stronger than before. It’s nice that other folks can step in when needed and keep the situation in some semblance of order.
Ah, I see with the recipe. Well, recipes need to be tweaked and I’ve made some food over the years which is rather bland thinking it would be otherwise. Hey, at such moments do you ever ask yourself: Is this recipe worth it, and can it be rescued? Nice to have some victims, err, sorry I meant to say taste testers who’ll provide feedback. I’d rather people hated something and gave constructive criticism, than say nothing.
Maybe I’ve got more clay here than in your part of the world, thus the gypsum, although really the soil here is a volcanic loam, but dig down far enough, and there’s clay. Ooo! Had a brainwave project idea so as to get the soil we need, and mentioned it to the Editor. Timing is everything with presenting these ideas. 😉
The harvest here this year has been excellent, but each year we tend to get a little bit more from the land. And also put back more too.
Well that puts a whole new spin on the Romans. No tidy town awards for them! Hey, did you spot that a Pharaohs tomb had been discovered?
Ah, the lady’s bedstraw herb would have come in handy in one of those ancient mattresses. Straw being notably spiky. Far out, the thought of insects feasting on me at night gives me an attack of the vapours. My, but we’ve got it good these days. No wonder mosquito borne disease were rife back in the day too.
Yeah, I’ve not experienced non metallic goods producing lightning in a nuker machine. So that’s way beyond my pay grade. Ooo! No way, they reckon raw carrots have a chance of doing that trick too. The forums are suggesting that the issue arises due to lumps of salt and preservatives not being evenly mixed in. My best guess, is that if it happens with vegetables, then it might be you’re getting a decent concentration of soil minerals, unless the food is grown in heavily toxic soil. It’s a mystery, where’s a cheap lab when you need one? 🙂
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – Big changes coming to our weather. Time to break out the rubber boots, again. According to Prof. Mass, starting tomorrow, three days of atmospheric river. One of his weather maps predicts 10″ of rain, up in our east county. Yesterday’s high was 50F(10C). The overnight low was 39F (3.88C). Forecast high for today is 51F.
Oh, this is just too much. You have slugs that climb trees? Our slugs stay mostly on the ground.
I’ve heard of people who will drive miles, to save a few pennies on a gallon of petrol. I’m happy there’s a 10% discount, for cash. Cost benefit analysis is a lost art. 🙂
Blood and bone meal smell seems all over the place. Sometimes, it’s pretty neutral. Other times, it’s really knock your socks off. I’ll cope, as long as they don’t start adding fragrances to the stuff. Speaking of stinks, a bit of the path I take H on, has the dryer vents from our laundry room. Oh, my. Why, oh why, do people use dryer sheets? Sometimes, it’s like walking into a cloud of poison gas. We do not terry. Once upon a time, soap and sunshine were sufficient.
I’ll let you know, about trooper’s guts. 🙂 I picked up a movie, from the library. “G.I. Joe.” I thought it was going to be some comic universe thing. These days, the library catalog doesn’t have a clue as to the original date of a film. It’s when the DVD was released. Even if it’s a re-issue. So, a lot of stuff has a date of 2025. Well, what I got was a film, produced in WWII, about a war correspondent named Ernie Pyle. I haven’t watched the actual Hollywood film, yet, but there were quit a few documentary extras.
There’s been a couple of times, over the last month, where I’ve had to do a bit of research to figure out if I was looking at a catalog entry for an original film, or a re-make. In one case, I wanted the re-make. In another, I preferred the original film. By the way. Stephen King’s new book hit the “on order” list, yesterday. I’m number 5 on the hold list. They’re ordering 30 copies. Plus there’s likely to be a large print version, maybe an audio book, and maybe quit a few “Lucky Day” copies.
Food storage is an “interesting” art and science. Seems like most stuff is good for about a year. It will be interesting to see how your storage shed, develops. I also caught the tail end of thrift in action.
The default for not getting your paperwork done, is eviction. Although there is help around, to figure it out. Little Mary Sunshine, if nothing else. Though some prefer to use our Community Outreach Person. She’s in a day or two a week, and is a lot more welcoming.
Oh, I think my taste testers give me a pretty honest opinion. And I’m clear that that’s what I want. If all goes to plan, I’ll make the lemon biscuits, tonight.
I have been reading about the Pharaohs tomb. Though I don’t know what they’re all excited about. Mostly, piles of rubble. The Pharaoh, and his stuff being moved elsewhere, early on. The big story, the past couple of weeks, is the discovery of the original Roman London basilica. Which had a different meaning, back in the day. It was the law courts, and government offices.
Yes, soil tests are pretty expensive. One can do basic tests, at home, but they don’t have much information on trace elements. Lew
PS: George Washington read here?
https://www.wgbh.org/culture/2025-02-17/george-washingtons-personal-library-took-a-winding-path-before-landing-in-boston
Also, you won’t be able to see the Bayeux tapestry, for awhile. Might have to adjust your bucket list. 🙂
https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/20/travel/bayeux-tapestry-france-close-two-years
And, finally, we may see the end of our postal system. Lew
Chris,
Your suggestion is how I view things. Why revisit ideas and think if one has belief, no matter how unfounded and/or contradicted by facts. That road, however, often leads to cognitive dissonance and anger. A LOT of anger. It can be seem very comfortable to “not think” that way, but it is a lot healthier in the longer term, mentally and emotionally, to think about facts and observations and adapt to those. At least that has been my experience.
“That won’t happen to me.” That is a great and common example of fallacious thinking. Thing is, we’re all human, and finite and imperfect. And very puny and powerless in the great scheme of things. So it CAN happen to me. Hence, learn, think, prepare, have situational awareness, stay calm and observe. Best we can do, I think.
Yes, our weather is surprisingly similar to yours until the extremes hit. And you tend to get at least twice as much rainfall than Spokane gets. Only months it hasn’t snowed in town in my time here is July and August, although one July we suffered a killer frost that wiped out most vegetable gardens.
Limits? Modern man doesn’t believe in limits. So we work in the midday heat, run around in deep winter when the temperatures are colder than frigid, etc. Then we wonder why nature doesn’t cooperate with us.
Oh, the months of mostly grey may have something to do with it. Been a lot of family dramas and emotions, so I’m sure that weighs into it too. And I just plain ain’t young no more. Darn.
Getting a dog used to car travel is important. Dame Avalanche was driven from Houston, Texas, to Spokane when she was a puppy. She has always liked being in the car with me. If I leave the house without her, she whines and has some separation anxiety. But when we drive to, say, the grocery store, I can leave her in the car and she is just fine. She knows I’ll be back. And she loves riding with windows down a crack so she can sniff the air.
That’s a fine haul on the potatoes!
DJSpo
Hi DJ,
Thanks! The potatoes have been a decent learning experience. Next season we will replant only the very best tubers into fresh but already enriched soil so as to practice proper crop rotation. For your interest, the seed potatoes cost $14 a bag, three of which were purchased, so that works out to be a total of $42 (please feel free to correct my maths here!) The soil fertilisers, and mind you, the potatoes went into new garden beds, so that does incur higher up front costs, but they were around about $160, although much of that soil mineral fertility remains. We produced about 40kg of potatoes (but could have done about 25% better) and local potatoes sell for 5kg for $10, so that economically works out to about $80 of home grown spuds. Lesson learned, save the best tubers for seed for next season! 😉 If there were another interpretation, happy to hear it.
Packed them all away today for storage in PVC tubs surrounded by sugar cane mulch. The other lesson we’re slowly coming around to, is that we really need to construct a proper shed in a very shady location for all of this produce. Plans are being formed…
Hehe! Yeah, so true. If you really want to annoy people to factor 11 on the dial, challenge their deeply held belief systems. Always fun to do, but you have to recall to run when so required! As an older bloke all that running can still be done, but it isn’t necessarily ideal is it? So I’ll leave those ideology buttons well alone.
Situational awareness is an interesting skill to tap into. As someone of Viking stock, and like me also with a good dose of Neanderthal 🙂 the senses are often scanning the local surrounds looking for sabre tooth tigers. Comes in handy that sixth sense. Trouble is always sniffing around, and it’s often best avoided if you ask me.
Yeah, man it’s 28’C outside and 26’C inside tonight, and me feeling hot. Ugg! Still, much worse in the big smoke, so that’s something to be grateful for. Yup the conditions are the same, except for the extremes. I tend to view them like an exam you’ve swotted up for and now have just to get through and endure.
Late frosts are a horror story. I so know what you mean. Some years we lose the stone fruit crops in such weather. Oh well, you end up where you do, because that is where you are. It was so hot this afternoon that after lunch I grabbed Ollie and we both reclined for a decent nap upon the couch under the flow of air from the ceiling fan. No point working outside in those conditions.
Nature has other ideas, and we’d be wise to attend to them. Well, DJ, we’re all getting older and have to recall to enjoy the nice chats under the coloured lights, otherwise life passes us by. As spring approaches, the return of the growing season will bring new energy.
Dame Avalanche’s fine example is what I’m aiming for with doggie car travel. Worldwide events derailed that training, but that is no excuse, and now is the time to rectify the past.
Late this afternoon went to the nearby town to grab an ice cream. Just the thing to do on a stonking hot summer’s day. It even rained a little bit.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
The Washington dude may have been conflicted, but when it came to economic realities, the facts suggests the path he actually followed. The books would be a treasure trove of the time. Martha is an interesting character too, but it’s very difficult to know whether we are reading a hagiography about the lady’s life today. It fascinated me that the lady had skills in curing meat, and thus you get the impression that she was involved in the day to day running of the household, and not some simpering ineffectual background person.
There is zero chance of me travelling to France. 🙂 So no worry there, and the depictions of the tapestry available online are good enough for me. Makes me wonder why the English have never demanded it be handed over, presumably given their resources paid for its creation! Just being cheeky there. The tapestry is truly a wonder of the world having survived almost a millennia, and the work looks amazing today.
What do you mean the end of your postal system? That interesting item has not hit our news. Well, I’ve heard stories of large salaries in the upper echelons of the local service and that might end up proving to be a problem for them, but then I also know the local contractor for many years, and he’s a lovely old bloke. He has a habit of mumbling, and sometimes I can’t quite understand what he’s saying, although the conversations are always interesting. Does he look over paid to me – no, but someone, somewhere in that massive organisation is probably enjoying a pleasant ride. Hard to know what is going on there. A former boss of that mob allegedly owns a pretty significant mansion.
No mansion, or air conditioning here! On the other hand it was a super hot day – and will be a remarkably warm night – and late this afternoon we headed to a nearby town to grab an ice cream. Lovely, and mine was a mint choc chip in a waffle cone. The Editor had a flavour described as ‘cookie monster’, which has been known elsewhere as cookies and cream. Yum!
We headed out late afternoon once the fire risk had subsided. Had a lovely nap after lunch, but worked like a dog outside prior to lunchtime. The Editor had been using the pressure washer to clean the paint on the house, and with so many coats of good quality coating, the surfaces come up as new. A lot of dust up the bush. Anyway, the machine uses a lot of water, and two thirds of the job was done, and that’ll be it until the rains return. No point running out of water.
Pumped the last of the reserve water tank up into the main house tanks today, which are now half full. Town water is a beautiful thing, but not a resource I personally have access too. We spoke this afternoon about putting in some more water tanks. Probably not a bad idea.
With another heatwave, I had to water some of the more remote growing areas which usually survive on rainfall alone. Haven’t watered the sunny or shady orchard at all this season, but the far newer citrus orchard has used some water. Always lots to do with extreme weather. They tell me that tomorrow night the weather will cool, and maybe it will.
A tiny bit of rain fell this afternoon, which was gratefully received. Ollie, Dame Plum and I jumped around and got wet in the icy stuff falling out of the sky. Quite nice really. They say there is a chance of a thunderstorm tomorrow, and it sure feels tropical right now at about 10pm.
Holy carp! Now I’d like some rain, but not 10″… Hope those nearby areas (presumably the local mountain ranges) don’t produce flooding. Professor Mass is not one for hyperbole, so your weather is gonna be wet.
Oh yeah, pear and cherry slugs really enjoy the high life of the upper planes. Hmm. Pesky little critters, at least the local birds clean them up, but not before they do a lot of leaf damage. Happens every year. They look and act like leaches too.
Hehe! Some things just don’t make no sense! Like using lots of fuel to nab cheap fuel – or you’d be amazed how much fuel an engine consumes whilst at idle waiting in queue for cheap fuel. Hmm.
That’s what I’m finding too with blood and bone. I do wonder if the stinky varieties are losing some of their goodies to the atmosphere? Could be. Man, I don’t have an air conditioner or a clothes dryer, and only knew about those dryer sheets because you told me about them. They probably don’t need to have pungent fragrance, but then how would people advertise that they’re wealthy enough to throw out such disposable goods? See, you’re not thinking about the issue from a marketing perspective.
The documentary sounds interesting, and sometimes life works like that doesn’t it – the Universe, provides… Kind of like the Dude, abides… That’s the vibe I was channelling there. So did you learn anything about WWII rations? They probably weren’t good, and I have no doubts that in the Battle of the Bulge, the US forces were far better fed than the Germans. What atrocious conditions that battle was fought.
Ollie just let me know there was a deer outside, and sure enough he was right. It being a declared total fire ban day, well, probably not wise to shoot, so the dog and I cleared the deer off. The stag looked miffed.
Didn’t you mention that the catalogue software was upgraded recently? I’ve never heard of a ‘lucky day’ book order. What is this thing? Is it a new publishing concept? When do you reckon you’ll get the book?
Jams and wines preserve for longer than a year, but a lot of sugar in both. Hmm. But yes, that’s my take on that topic as well. In fact most of the activities we do with the land here is trying to preserve some of natures output. It’s quite a complicated subject and not with just food.
Do you let sleeping dogs lie, or ask lady house honcho for clarification as to whether the amounts are monthly or annually. There’s a risk that you might get the wrong advice. And paperwork would be very difficult for illiterate people.
Good stuff, and honesty in such food matters is always the best policy. Did you end up making the biscuits?
Piles of rubble may not be too exciting. Plenty of such exhibits around the planet. The stone wall of the original Roman London basilica looks like some nice work. I’m impressed that the mortar has withstood the tests of time. The ancient Romans sure knew their cement work. What did they mean that magistrates presided over political matters? I’d imagine that would have been a fraught proposition in that Empire to question the upper airs!
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – And, in News of The World, more of Mars Boy’s space junk, came down. Quit a show over Germany and there are reports a large chunk landed in Poland. More space junk (again), over the Bahamas. On the entertainment front, the next James Bond will be bald. The dude who owns the river has bought the Bond franchise.
Not only did Martha Washington deal with meat, there was also those bottled cherries, found recently, in the cellar of Mt. Vernon. Of course, we’ll never really know how much she “oversaw” and how much she got her hands dirty.
The Bayeux Tapestry. The first comic strip? 🙂
I think this will explain what’s going on with our postal system, better than I can.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/21/business/trump-postal-service-privatization
Our high yesterday was 50F (10C). Our overnight low was a steady 48F (8.88C). The forecast for today is a high of 55F. H and I had dry walks, last night, and this morning. Maybe our last, for awhile? We’re under a “flood watch,” through Tuesday. Besides the rain, the freezing level is going up, so, there will also be snow melt. They’re not really forecasting serious flooding, for this part of the state. That long cold snap, was pretty dry. And, after, just scattered showers. The ground is a bit on the dry side.
Those sound like some fine ice cream flavors. Too bad I’ve sworn off 🙂 . If I remember correctly, you paint one side of your house, per year. Makes sense. Not only is it not such a big job, but the time involved is spread out.
Night before last I had a real veg work-out, for dinner. Rice, garlic, celery, mushrooms, dried tomatoes, broccoli, mustard greens and parsley … and a can of garbanzo beans. More than a meal. So, I set some aside. Last night I added a bit more rice and three eggs. Fried it up as patties. Tasty.
The mustard greens are fine, other than the damage from the mystery bugs. The parsley took more of a hit from the cold, than I realized. Still, I managed to salvage out enough for dinner. Being a biannual, seed stalks are beginning to come up. As long as I keep them pinched off, there will be parsley into the summer.
Before I watch the Ernie Pyle bio, I need to take a look at my Dad’s war record. I do believe Pyle traveled along with his division. Maybe. Sounds like the same route he took. Other popular WWII characters, were “Willie and Joe.” Drawn by the cartoonist, Bill Mauldin. I remember my Dad had a couple of book collections, of his work.
Yes, the catalog was updated, not long ago. I can only describe the new entries as “sketchy.” Each library has a “Lucky Day” collection. It’s books and DVDs that are “hot.” They are not renewable, or, part of the “hold” system. To ensure quick turn-over. A few times, when I was asleep at the switch, and something I wanted to see or read was high on the hold list, I’ve kept an eye on the Lucky Day collection. And, it was my lucky day. When I check out the book, the system takes it off my hold list. Stephen King’s new book, “Never Flinch,” is to be released on 27, May. I’ll probably get it a week or two, after.
I usually just use monthly figures on my paperwork. If it’s not correct, I figure Little Mary Sunshine can multiply by 12. 🙂
We got a food box, yesterday. There was a bag of fruit. An apple, an orange, a lime … and five lemons. Wouldn’t you know. Just after I bought four lemons, at the store, for the biscuits. There have never been lemons in our boxes, before. No worries. The apple and lime were well on their way to rot (garden scraps) and the orange and lemon weren’t far behind.
So, food box. We got the usual amount of junk. An individual slice of pumpkin pie (no, I was not tempted) a small fruit and cheese tray, and two frozen 9 oz Pesto / Chicken “dinners” that claim to be good for your heart. I noticed the ingredients ran to 15 lines (yes, I counted), in very small print. So all that stuff headed downstairs. There was also a loaf of Brioche “style” bread. I might keep that. I’ve been having a craving for French toast. There was also a pound of frozen pulled pork, and a 6 pack of cheddar sausages. Might keep the sausages, though the guilt will kill me 🙂 . If the fat doesn’t One pound of butter “product.” A jar of peanut butter. Two boxes of Mac & Cheese, but not the good stuff. Talk about shrinkflation. A 13oz (used to be a pound, 16oz.) canister of quick oats. A package of Ramen (that goes downstairs, as, the Club sells packs of Ramen). A quart of shelf stable milk. A big packet of shelf stable refried beans. A bag of elbow macaroni, and a bag of dried beans. Tins: 2 beef chili, 2 tuna. 1 each of tomato soup, chicken noodle soup, diced tomatoes, peas, corn, and peaches. Not a bad lot. I took down 2 bags, last night, and will take down another, this afternoon.
I made the lemon biscuits, last night. And, frosted them. I think they’re fine, but the Tasting Board (of two), might find them too lemony. We’ll see. I won’t hear for a few days.
Well, I suppose it depends on your definition of political matters. Magistrates generally saw that the laws of the empire were followed, and kept generally ticking along. Oversaw court cases, and the freeing of slaves. Some were more concerned with the mechanics of keeping a town running. I guess you could say, they were a bit like judges. Basilicas also stored records. And the Romans were great record keepers.
You might wonder where the pharaohs body came from, as his tomb was pretty much trashed. Well, back in the late 1800s. a huge cache of royal mummies was discovered. He was among them. Warning! Gnarly pictures of mummies, ahead.
https://w.wiki/DAWn
There’s a couple of news outlets, whose hyperbole makes me roll my eyes. Every archaeological discovery is a “breakthrough.” Oh, please. Some archaeological discoveries are kind of boring. Lew
Hi Lewis,
We didn’t get any of that news about the space junk, and interestingly it’s become quite common place. I’d not be surprised at all that if in our life-spans, there is a Kessler syndrome up there blocking off everyone to low earth orbit.
As to Mr Bond, James Bond 007, I’m not entirely certain that the choice has been made. I don’t really enjoy Bond films because they seem creatively stale, in a similar way to the more recent Star Trek films. They’re good films, but why not just recount a good story? Why does that story always have to be about saving the country / planet etc? As a species we have been known upon occasion to recount a good tale, it’s not that rare a skill, is it?
Oh yes! The bottled cherries – don’t eat them, just sayin… 🙂 You’d hope that in those days ‘an education’ included a broad knowledge of how things actually got done. My understanding was that it did, but on an individual scale it’s hard to know.
Oooo! Now my brain has been blown. Yeah, the first comic strip. So obvious from hindsight.
The article about your postal service was interesting, but the question remains – can the $8bn-ish of funding be continued? You maybe about to enjoy my experience. Down here, I get no street delivery. None. I do get a subsidised postal box at the nearest post office which is about 5km away as the crow flies, or 10km (6 miles) by road. That’s how close they deliver to me. Because of scam weirdness in your country surrounding post boxes, some suppliers refuse to deliver to my post office address. The deliveries to the post office are maybe two or three times per week. The other week I sent the tuner I sold which weighed very little and cost about $25 to send interstate. Need I go on? The cost for postage in your country astounds me, and that’s what a subsidised service looks like to an objective person with no skin in the game. Look, my gut feeling suggests all these changes in your country might not end so well, but on the other hand, it was always going to happen sooner or later. If costs are defrayed by debt, well, that only ever delays the inevitable. Sorry, I have no pleasure in writing this paragraph.
Alas, I hear you about the ice cream, and moved from the double scoop to the single scoop. Hey, what if pumpkin spiced ice cream was on offer. Would the resolve hold?
There’s little point constructing a building which can’t be maintained, and that’s how it rolls with the external maintenance. We’ve just run low on water this year… Ook! Better put some more tanks in.
🙂 That’s how we do veg mixes with a few eggs, although I tend to stop at two eggs. One is not enough, but if you’re setting it aside for later, well the whole matter evens out in the wash.
Parsley is super hardy, and will bounce back. The cabbage moth are onto the kale which germinated too early. Oh well, one must judge the conditions and not stick to hard and fast ideas.
Bill Mauldin, what a great, and he stuck it to Patton too, as you do. People have a need for such art and satire in hard times.
Oh my gawds! Lewis, I’m so late tonight and have not put one character of text in front of another for everyone’s amusement. Here I must do the unthinkable and curtail our otherwise most enjoyable conversation. It was a very hot day here today, and we are slowly running out of water and I have to look into this matter. I did refabricate the dogs door barrier. I love a good excuse to crack the welder out, and what better use than confining the dogs? Right now it’s still warm and I’m sitting under the rotating ceiling fan and trying to feel cool.
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – I can’t say I was ever a Bond fan. I think a lot of the popularity was that it kind of played on the whole Playboy Magazine ethos. Maybe.
Maybe less ‘an education’ and more just life. In those times.
So, you have no postal scams, in Australia? 🙂 Ben Franklin was the first Postmaster General. There’s a lot of … sentimentality (?) attached to our postal system. But every time they try and institute cost cutting measures, it’s usually closing postal outlets like yours. Which are often the community center, for far flung and isolated places. I wouldn’t find two or three times a week delivery outrageous, at all. But then, I’m a patient person. I think you were sitting there, giggling maniacally. 🙂
Fernglade Tank Farm. Oh, well. Needs must. You can’t get along without aqua pura.
I was using medium eggs, for the veg mess. LOL. I like my patties to hold together.
I watched the Ernie Pyle movie, last night. The actor Burgess Meredith played Pyle. Robert Mitchum was the main supporting actor. It was Mitchum’s break out role. Boy, he led an interesting life. It was a pretty good movie.
A strange turn in the weather. The high yesterday was 55F (12.77C). The overnight low was 48F (8.88C). The forecast high for today is 56F. I woke up this morning, to fog and no rain. What? There is very little rain showing up on the radar. The rain chance for the next three days is only 10%. What happened to our apocalyptic atmospheric river? I can’t quit tell, but I think it might have shifted far south, or north of us. Prof. Mass may reveal all, eventually.
I delivered he lemon biscuits, last night. I might get a review, this morning. Lew