Comprehending human behaviour, in all its weird and grubby glory, is something of a hobby. We’re an interesting social species. The interest took shape after a bad employment experience around the turn of the century. Long hours, weekend work, cancelled holidays, you name it, they took me for a ride – and along I went, willingly.
Words are funny and powerful things. That employer kept asking for more. The Japanese have a cultural concept of the ‘hungry ghost’ and that was how they were – never satisfied. Coming off the back of 10% unemployment during the 1990’s recession that ‘we apparently had to have’, my error was that err, I was a bit needy for both the job and experience. Did some great work too. Even built a good team. But after after eighteen months, the tank was empty. They could ask, but there was simply nothing more to give.
In the aftermath, a dude can allocate a bit of brain capacity to developing a better understanding of our fellow man, or not. I chose to do so, and learned that first a person has to know thyself. And one of the things I make time for nowadays, is self care. Hard work is no issue, but it needs to be balanced and at the pace I set for myself. This suggests a lack of trust, and that observation would be correct. Don’t mind a nap to restore the social and work batteries. Eating good food. Getting Decent sleep. And spending alone time.
The more social elements of our species would probably find taking time out alone to be something of a suspicious activity! It ain’t, and conversely none of my friends are extroverts. Anyway, living surrounded by tall forest means that there’s plenty of opportunity and excuse to get out into nature and spend some quality time. A pleasurable place to cogitate upon all the different ways of the world, not to forget the shenanigans of my fellow humans.
Earlier today, Sandra and I did our own activities, and so I headed down to the forest edge to continue burning off the old loggers mess. Look what’s down there!
After spending hours with the chainsaw cutting my way in, it was quite confronting to be faced with yet another huge Meg tree stump to cut up and burn off. Luckily the chainsaw may be up to that job, and the machine is maintained to within an inch of its life. After fourteen years of use, the saw is like an extension of my arm, and any minor thing wrong with it gets addressed. Another hobby is watching videos of small engine farm equipment repairs. Boring to some, yet those judgemental folks are missing out, and let’s just say that I sleep well!
The now deceased farm machine equipment dude urged me to buy this particular saw. He claimed that design had been in constant manufacture for decades, and the machine would last a very long time. He was right too. It wasn’t my first chainsaw, which he also sold to me. Back then I thought of the machine as a series of parts. If something went wrong with the machine, well it must be the fault of some particular component.
Except that’s not true, all of the parts which make up the machine have to work in harmony. It takes a lot of experience to get a feel for how that should be. And that’s just a single machine. Think for a moment at how many machines surround us all in western civilisation. Do we really know all that much about them?
Almost four weeks to the day, following on from the winter solstice, the house batteries finally received enough charge from the solar photovoltaic panels to register as being full. That technology is another hobby. And I ask the hard question of it: Hey system! What are you trying to tell me? It’s taken fifteen years to get a feel for how that thing all works.
People talk about machines as if they were components and parts. Hardly a week goes by when someone randomly begins talking to me about ‘batteries’. Nowadays, responding to the discussion with economic realities is a bit of a buzzkill, but then as the old timers used to say: talk doesn’t cook the rice! Does it? What people are inevitably talking about is installing a small off grid solar power system in their home. How much could it cost? Trust me, it’ll cost plenty. But then on further consideration, everyone has a different expectation as to how much they can afford to throw at any one problem, whatever that means. Probably cheaper though to have a generator and some stored fuel, just saying.
Speaking of off-grid solar power we’re in the process of decommissioning the last of the lead acid batteries used here. The oldest is almost eighteen years old now, and has been in continuous use. You can tell when lead acid batteries are near the end of their life because the voltage shoots up and down rapidly. Technically this is known as ‘low internal resistance’, but could easily be explained using the other more technical term: Stuffed.
Turns out lead acid batteries are easily recycled, used lead being almost, if not, as good as new ore. The scrap metal recyclers pay good mad cash for the old batteries, for excellent reasons. We’ve been quietly ferrying them down to that business, and as you’d imagine the place is full of some characters. There’s probably enough fodder in the place to make a good sitcom.
Years ago I was a bit dubious about Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries, but no longer. They are a better battery technology when compared the performance of lead acid types, but it all depends upon who made the things. There’s a lot of variability in quality between brands. From hindisght, our first foray into this technology was a very poor choice. That’s the risk of the early adopter who has nobody to ask advice of.
As a technology, it’s worth noting that these things are also more complicated than lead acid batteries. Just like us humans, they’re not without their quirks. However, there’s risk involved with the older stuff too. The only thing which bothers me, is how will they be recycled / disposed of at their end of life? Might be a problem without a solution, and adding in the increased complexity of the things, that’s a great metaphor for our civilisation.
Anyway, earlier today I headed down to the forest edge to cogitate upon such deep matters, and tackled these monsters:
The chainsaw was working beautifully, and together we just began cutting away at the mess. The logs have been on the ground for so long, that the forest has grown up all around it. It’s also hard to see in the above photo, but in about the middle of the above image, there is a large tree stump which had been dumped there too by the loggers. That had to be dug out of the ground (which you can see encrusted at the base) and the thing was very heavy.
Fortunately the ground is sloping, and I’m able to push and roll the cut sections downhill into a fire. It’s easier to see the tree stump in the next image (which was by then cleaned of compacted soil) at the edge of the fire.
The first half of the days work involves cutting the logs. Then they’re rolled into an area which is ignited. Despite the material being rather damp, it burns readily. I’d hate to imagine what would happen if a bushfire had gotten into this area during the summer months. As the day goes on, and also once again in the evening, the logs are pushed into the centre of the fire. By tomorrow I expect that very little will remain.
In the above photo, you can clearly see that there’s heaps of old loggers mess left, but the clean up job is slowly getting done. Another thing you’ll observe is that the forest trees are quite densely spaced. Left to themselves, and excluding arson, lightning strikes, and general human stupidity, the Eucalyptus Obliqua (Messmate) trees can grow to 90m / 300ft, and live for four hundred years. Unfortunately, the aforementioned problems are a risk, and so we selectively thin the smaller trees for firewood – which we are allowed to do for personal use. Unless wind knocks over the larger trees, we leave them all well alone. Most of those bigger trees have hollows which provide housing for the many forest critters who also live on the land. Plus the increased spacing creates less competition for scarce resources, and the tall trees just grow healthier.
Observant readers will notice that the larger rounds in the above image have rotten cores. That’s because they were recovered from logs which were on the ground, and had been there for a long while. The dominant tree species here is a hardwood variety which takes decades to break down.
Another day’s work was done completing the rock wall and overflow rock spillway near to the house water tanks. For concerned readers, the rocks do not touch the walls of the tanks. I reckon the effect is quite aesthetically pleasing, and more importantly will be easier to use in extreme weather events. It’s worth mentioning that during torrential downpours (and 100mm / 4 inches in an hour is not unusual), the inlet filters to the water tanks can become blocked with gunk. It’s always best if those stainless steel filters are kept manually cleared during such dire weather.
It being winter, many of the fruit trees are deciduous, so we decided to relocate about seven trees to a better spots in the large citrus enclosure. They’ll appreciate the lower competition and increased sunlight. Digging out some of the large trees was hard work though.
This week’s video was on that work:
In breaking produce news…
We made another batch of canola oil soap, except this time using the tried and tested slower method involving multiple days of mixing the emulsion. The previous batch of canola oil soap used a sped up process which was advocated by random folks on the interweb. The results are inferior, and that outcome is obvious:
For those whom are interested, the white soap is the fully cured olive oil soap. The brighter yellow batch is a curing (not safe to be used at that stage) olive oil soap. It’ll eventually turn white when it is ready for use. The cream coloured batch in the foreground is the latest batch of canola oil soap – which other than the colour looks to be of the same quality as the olive oil version. Then there is the monkey shit brown lumpy soap. That’s the sped up version of the canola oil mix (it has a slimy texture and breaks down rapidly, so is no good). Our experience suggests that it is probably best not to speed up this process using a stick mixer on the emulsion. Brings to mind the old engineering adage: Good, fast, cheap – pick any two.
Most mornings this week, there has been a touch of frost on the plants, as can be seen on this Alkanet leaf (a form of Borage):
Light frosts are no problems for citrus, and we have a lot of lemons waiting to be squeezed for their useful juice.
The plants in the greenhouse are proving super productive, and we’re harvesting a lot of produce from there. A second greenhouse would be awesome.
And the Daffodils are almost about to produce their late winter flower display.
Onto the flowers:
The temperature outside now at about 11am is 6’C (43’F). So far for this year there has been 383.2mm (15.1 inches) which is up from last weeks total of 374.0mm (14.7 inches)
Comments
37 responses to “Scar”
Yo, Chris – Hungry ghosts. I’ve seen the phrase used when describing various addictions, of one sort or another. There’s even a book by that title, that describes harrowing tales of life on the streets of Vancouver, B.C.. I suppose the lust for power and control could be considered to be kind of an addiction.
There’s nothing like a good walk in the woods. Of course, it’s now been given a fancy name, by the net influencers. “Forest bathing.” There are books … 🙂 It’s a sad state of affairs when you need a prescription to get out in nature.
That is quit a Meg log. Watch the teeth! 🙂 It made quit a bonfire. Were there s’mores? Looks like you have a goodly deposit for the Firewood Bank of Fernglade.
Oh, the new battery is so clean and shiny! And, judging by the vast amount of soap you made, The Editor and you ought to be pretty clean and shiny, too! about how long will that lot last you?
The video was very good. If I ever have to move a Macadamia tree, I’ll be prepared. Or any tree, for that matter.
It looks like your daffodils will be putting on a show. We won’t see the likes, for months.
I read a very interesting article about underwater archaeology, up on your north coast.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-20/indigenous-rangers-join-underwater-archeology-project-wa-burrup/105422454?utm_campaign=abc_news_web&utm_content=link&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_source=abc_news_web
Another kind of archaeologist. Those that take to the water. Lew
Hi Lewis,
You know, Joseph Tainter’s theory of the Collapse of Complex Societies is no different really to an addiction. The old timers used to upbraid young children too stubborn to learn to bend with the winds, by suggesting that: They are a hammer which sees every problem like a nail. And it’s true too. More booze does not fill the hole. Or more video games for that matter! 🙂 And yeah, power and control certainly fits that world view. What I learned by Chris to get by in life: You need mates, hobbies and a sense of purpose. Why do people get really annoyed when I say that to them? 😉
Dude, I seriously need to tap into that income stream of ‘forest bathing’. You are joking, aren’t you? Hang on a second… … Oh my, you aren’t joking. When the time is right, we’ll do accommodation digital detox style. Why not? If they’re happy to pay… During the Great Depression, the state government made train travel free on the weekends so that people could go bush walking. Did you know, that the state government recently announced that they’d make public transport free for people under 18? Hmm.
Good pick up, yes the edge of the Meg is at the same level as my face. You do know I always wear a helmet and face shield, plus safety glasses? But your point is well taken, and trust me, on that Meg I will be very careful and hyper-alert. Not a job to do on a day when a person feels slightly off…
Plenty of firewood here. With at least ten thousand trees which all grow at about 3 foot a year, well let’s just say that there’s more than I can ever use. And truly, I’m too filthy to consider eating s’mores when working on a burnoff! 🙂 Anyway, I’d go for marshmallows instead. So tasty. Just went down to push the fire in together from today’s work, and there’s something really pleasant about a bonfire and a cold winters evening.
Oh! We began removing the many Echium plants from the garden beds. A lot of dead woody material, and some of it was slick with fungi. The fire ate it all. Interestingly, the plants produced some really nice soil. We intend to replace them all with Japanese maples.
All that soap will last many months. We use it for washing up the dishes (nicer on the worms and my skin) and everywhere in the house. Old school soap is a really decent cleaner, as is vinegar.
The tear down videos on utoob for the batteries show decent quality internals. Considering I’ve be burnt on that front and had to modify an earlier set of batteries (which now work fine), I’m more careful these days.
Looking into my crystal ball suggests that it won’t take too much more global warming for you to be able to grow citrus trees. Macadamia’s might take a bit longer… 😉 But your area will get there.
That’s a new one with the archaeologists, and thanks for mentioning it as I’d missed it. There used to be a land bridge between the mainland continent and the large island state of Tasmania. Sometimes it reminds me of the finds of Doggerland. The oceans rising would have been part of the folks oral traditions too.
Any news on the dodgy refrigerator? It would have been more convenient to have broken during the winter months… Like when the wood heater hot water pump decided to die on a particularly cold day. Hmm. Oh well.
Say, that’s a lot of recalls – and I’m not hearing anything similar going on down here. Wonder what it all means? Have their been any updates?
Man, I loved the idea of the Tardis, and hopefully it’s still blue? I heard that Torchwood (an anagram) was very good and used to work with someone who spoke highly of the series. My brain is not wired for anagrams. How’s yours on that front? The Editor destroys me in games of scrabble. I’m like a little baby harp seal at such moments looking up at the person holding the club and hoping a pleasant smile staves off the possible outcome. 🙂
Go the bumble bees! And may they take up the slack of the hard put to it European honey bee.
Hard to say who will take up the baton, and um, err, customs would probably jail me for the stuff the author was allegedly up to with the seeds. 😉 I’m serious too. They get really narky about such matters, probably for good reasons, maybe. Hard to say, but few will celebrate the seed wins, but far out they’ll remember the failures.
Learned anything interesting about David Byrne and Co? The band has been quite influential. And Dr Bryson is always a fun author to spend time with. I’m envious of your abilities to read more than a single book at a time.
Prof Mass has called it on your near term summer weather, and also the unusual northerly winds you’ve been enjoying recently. Interesting, and for the past few summers we’ve not had a day over 104’F, and some years we’ve had 10 of the rotten things. Oh! And there really does seem to be some big rains headed this way… Rain to soak every Australian state this week. Hard to ignore that I’m in a patch of deep red on that lead forecast image. Wonder what it all means?
Yup, Cayenne peppers are as hot as I’ll go too, and they’re pretty toasty. Any hotter and things will probably go badly, for either of us. Not good.
No way! Lewis, the bag of chips is a sign from above. Nice score too. Anyway, it’s a sign that you and H are in for a treat! Hope the movie was as good as the feed?
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – A lot of people are annoyed by truth. Especially when it doesn’t match their pre-conceived notions and world view. 🙂
Do I ever joke? I’m as serious as a stroke, 24/7/365. 🙂 A lot of our cities have free transport in their CBDs. Portland is one of them. They had a very progressive mayor, at one time. Neil Goldschmidt who developed a really nifty transportation system for Portland. He later went on to become Secretary of Transportation, under President Carter.
When wrestling with the Meg, you forgot the chaps. You gotta protect those tender bits! 🙂
Yes, you have plenty of potential firewood. All you have to do is process it. But, it seems you have that system down pat.
They’ve been doing some underwater archaeology off our coast, and up into British Columbia and Alaska. Looking for those sites that are now underwater. It’s looking more and more likely that even during the ice age, people managed to hop down the coast. As dates for the peopling of the Americas get pushed back, further and further.
The fridge saga is just beginning. I left the work order, last night, and I expect to hear from Little Mary Sunshine, today. I have two gallons of frozen water, in my chest freezer, I set up a cold box. A big banana box. I’ll swap out the frozen gallons, as need be. I wrapped the whole thing in a heavy blanket.
Usually, there’s no follow up on recall articles. Unless there’s a high body count.
Yes, my little plastic Tardis is blue. And they haven’t messed with the exterior in the series. But the inside … Constant upgrades to the decor. It’s got sweeping ramps, now.
In theory, our seed import laws are pretty stringent. In practice? Not so much. Our borders do leak like a sieve. As a for instance, when I ordered those seeds from the “Idaho Seed Company,” and they ended up coming from the Land of Stuff. It shot here with no stops along the way. Or, customs seed clearance labels.
I’ve just read a bit of the intro to the bio on “Talking Heads,” and a chapter or two. The author made an interesting point. A lot of bands, not just “Talking Heads” come from art school backgrounds. In fact, the original members all met each other at the Parsons School of Design. It was quit a long list. And, the author explained the difference between art schools in America, and in Britain.
Our high yesterday was 66F (18.88C). Our overnight low was 52F (11.11C). Our forecast high for today is 77F. Looks like you’ll be topping up those water tanks. You’ve got quit a jump on collecting a lot of water.
Master Gardeners should be here this morning. I should wander down and see what they’re up to. Also, see if Little Mary Sunshine has shown up. She has posted office hours, but they’re more like a suggestion. :-). Lew
Hi, Chris!
Now, where does “lack of trust” come from? Are you saying you don’t trust yourself? I actually spend a lot of time alone; my son and his wife have quite a different schedule from mine. I don’t mind it. I have friends that I see in town every week and that balances things out.
That’s a Meg among Megs! She certainly made a huge bonfire, but what a job to get to that point. When you say “which we are allowed to do for personal use”, as pertaining to thinning smaller trees for firewood, does that mean that someone is telling you which trees you can cut on your own property?
I learned to really enjoy the car repair shows that my husband and I used to watch. Small engine farm equipment would be fun, too. I guess that’s why I like helping my son on equipment repairs. Been doing so for 24 years (and still don’t understand a darn thing about it). That’s a very interesting viewpoint, thinking of all machine parts working in harmony – which is true.
Before I met you, I was clueless about solar power systems. I’m still kind of clueless – though not because you haven’t tried! But I do understand a few fundamentals and that it takes work, work, work and money, money, money and constant maintenance. No two ways about it.
Those were pretty large fruit trees to be moving. I mean, it’s a big job. This is a good time to move them, though they certainly don’t look dormant. I see in the video that you have a cattle gate like we do. Sadly, I do not have a Curious Kelpie.
What beautiful soaps and you were right – the canola looks fine.
Your greenhouse is a work of art. A second one would be awesome. Now, where will that come from . . .
From last week: I’ve always wanted to see a Plane Tree. Also a Lime Tree, the kind that’s not citrus. I never noticed if the Tree of Heaven put out much pollen. It would be hard to tell, the whole place is a fog of pollen in the spring.
Would could be wrong with using a blowtorch to light a wood heater? I would do so if I had one. But we’ve already discussed that . . .
One little geranium. What a brave one. Thanks!
Pam
Hi Pam,
Oh my! Extroverts view the world differently than you or I, and more social contact provides them with essential energy. That for me would be like experiencing the world through entirely different eyes. I love my social time (say like your regular interactions with friends in town), but require alone time to recharge the social batteries. Extroverts recharge their social batteries via way of lots interactions with other people, and the more the better. If I may add a further interpolation, as a person with a natural tendency to give, I set very firm and fixed boundaries around myself. Of course people have been known to test those same boundaries. This has occurred lately, and I’ve been on evasive manoeuvres. Here the ancient words of Sun Tzu are very much a guide. And exactly, balance is the sweet spot – respect to you.
That Meg has yet to be cut up! The bonfire was from other logs loitering around the old loggers mess waiting to be dealt to. 😉 And that is a very interesting question. Pam, there are a lot of folks with all manner of opinions when it comes to the subject of trees. And I stick to what the law says. Basically we’re prohibited from selling firewood, but personal use is OK. From time to time, some folks would like to put an end to the use of wood heaters for their own reasons, but that would make living in this location almost impossible. As a side story, the other day when I went to swap over a small gas bottle, they’d run out. Hmm. I smell change in the very air.
When I was a young adult, working on your own car repairs was considered the done thing, nowadays, things are different – probably in your country too? Maybe? The loss of the farm machine repair dude forced me to do all of the work on the various machines here, and it’s not so hard. That’s funny too, but the question I have for you is: Did anyone require you to understand and implement the machine repairs? 😉 Personally I believe the ladies have a better eye for machinery repairs, mostly because they don’t approach the issues with preconceived notions.
All very true about solar, and if there were another way. A generator and a good store of stabilised fuel is probably heaps cheaper.
Oh yeah, some of the trees moved were over eight foot. Hope they survive the harsh treatment… Ook! Yes, those are standard farm gates down under. Quite sturdy too if I may say so. And your words prove that it is a durable design.
And Pam, I know it’s just not the done thing, but wouldn’t Mr Baby enjoy the company of a puppy? Maybe a Kelpie, or even two? Of course, there’s every chance he would protest and be over stimulated by the high energy canines, so probably best if it doesn’t happen. They’d keep him warm when winter arrives again…
The newer batch of canola oil soap looks great and is curing fast. The old batch is not so good. I often wonder if people on the interweb give dodgy instructions so that it puts people off, or makes the process harder than it should be. Dunno. I’ve seen that with some recipes over the years.
A second greenhouse is some capital thinking! 🙂 Just need to sort of get it done. What’s your impression of your greenhouse for the figs?
The Fitzroy gardens in Melbourne has a fine avenue (a wide walking path to the Victorian era exhibition buildings) lined with some of the finest London Plane trees you’d be likely to see. What’s a non citrus lime tree?
Hehe! Clearly you are denied a blow torch! They’re very handy tools.
A very brave little lone flower last week. Today the weather was feral. An inch of rain fell, and that’s just the beginning.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
You’re not wrong about that, and I’ve heard it said that the ‘truth can set you free’. My observations are a bit different though, in that it really annoys the stuffing out of people. They don’t want to hear it, especially as you note if ‘pre-conceived notions and world-views are being challenged’. It’s a wonderful way to make enemies and alienate people! 🙂 Ask me how I know this! Oh well…
I’d say you also have the occasional flair for humour, and like you, my own attempts sometimes fall flat and earn stares of utter incomprehension. Pah! That’s someone else’s problem! 😉 Interesting. In the CBD the public transport is free, and everywhere it is free for people under 18 years of age. I do wonder if the ability to collect the fares was the core problem, which may have been escalating. Dunno how Portland is going nowadays, but the system down here looks at capacity to me. Catching a tram in the city is a squishy proposition, and the trains are usually very busy, even the country ones.
Dude, I never forget the chaps when using the chainsaw. 🙂 Very funny, but also true. That’s what happens when long ago a chunk flies out and strikes you in the shin bone. Ouch. Stars. Buzzing in the ears. Sweat. Probably a fracture. It hurt. Now I wear chaps. The old timer forestry bloke who trained me for two days out in the forest, and who was more like a drill sergeant actually, was very firm about using chaps. I even get the Editor wearing them when she’s using her little battery electric chain saw. Small the machine may be, but the thing can still seriously injure a person.
Firewood is a most excellent local energy resource. Probably the most sustainable.
If humans were on this continent 65,000 something years ago, well, it would have been heaps easier to have gotten to the America’s than here. Hope the underwater digs turn up something really interesting.
Nice thinking with the home made cooler. Good one. How long does the frozen water last? Any update on the refrigerator?
Yeah, you don’t often hear any follow up on such contamination issues down here either. The toxins from that bacteria can take people out for sure. I’ve had a few incidents with food poisoning over the years, and it’s never pretty. I can still recall that Club event you went to that knocked you out for a couple of days. Far out.
What? Sweeping ramps? Man, I’ve still got the 1970’s and 1980’s era Tardis internals in mind. Guess production budgets were more constrained in those days? Hang on, I’ve gotta check this out… … Thought you might enjoy this montage of internal images: TARDIS Interior and Console Rooms. The Fourth and Fifth Doctor was what I watched as a younger bloke. Alas that there are not more hours in a day.
I got that impression from the Seed Detective as well about such matters. Oh well. Things are a bit different down here like I mentioned. Long ago I had a job near to where the customs sniffer dogs used to be trained by their handlers. Efficient would express my thoughts of those canines in that role, and best to not be involved in their business. But then I’ve heard stories of people ordering in seeds through the post from overseas. Dunno.
Speaking of dogs, they’ve all got a bit of cabin fever today. We had both types of feral weather: Windy and Rainy! About an inch of rain fell, and this is a mere prelude to the main event. Ook! The forecasts continue to develop and they look err, intense, especially here for some weird reason: Heaviest rain and snow in years ahead for southern Australia, set to bring drought relief. They’re talking four inches, and maybe then some. As you note, should fill up the water tanks.
Why ever would there be a difference between art schools in America, and in Britain? Oh my, so many different opinions about the subject. Seems like murky waters to me, and my education has been purely vocationally based. However, I am aware of bands who’s members met up in art school. What’s the authors perspective (in brief)?
The high on Thursday here is not far off your temperature at all at 61’F. Are you sure that you’re in summer? 🙂
Nice for some. Hope there is progress on that problem.
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – I’m sick. Chills. Got a “loaner” fridge, yesterday. All the stuff in the cold box was still cold. Later. Lew
@ Pam,
Adults. I must agree. It IS hard to find adults. I was at the local hardware store earlier and they do not have “Adult Adaptor Kits”. 😉 Not even Amazon carries those. Fortunately, I have a spouse, several neighbors and a close friend nearby who all qualify as adults, surprisingly. Some of them would even be willing to supervise me on a ladder, if not actually climb the ladder themselves to keep me on the ground. But this is a rarity in this day and age.
When I was working, most of my bosses were a few years older than I am. I’d get home from the office, the Princess would ask, “Uh oh. What happened?” My usual response was that “The 55-year-old adolescents were out in force in the office today.” That was 20 years ago.
DJSpo
Chris:
Your first paragraph describes me to a T. Could it be you are my unknown twin brother?
There is change in the air. Here it was the very slight feel of fall early this morning, and a few yellow leaves drifting down. For you it is spring. But it is more than that; you are right. It’s the little things around us. One thing I really love about permaculture is that it teaches one to ALWAYS observe what is going on. That applies to all of life, especially when there have been drastic changes, so one knows something is up. I can’t help but think of Churchill’s book The Gathering Storm. That title seems to fit our times. Perhaps I am just being dramatic.
I think it is because the new vehicles are so very hard to work on. Just ask my son. No-one, thankfully, has ever expected me to understand – or implement – the machine repairs, but I have lots of advice! That’s not as ridiculous as it sounds because I have noticed that it helps to have someone to bounce one’s
thoughts off of in response to the so-called “advice”, even if the solutions offered are ridiculous themselves.
Here’s the problem: Mr. Baby would adore a puppy, but the last thing he needs is stimulation, with his bad heart. I was playing “stick” with him the other day and that’s about all he can handle.
Our fig greenhouse is nothing like your bijou resience for plants. It was bought as a kit (a very large kit!) and then put up. There are actually two of them. Even though it was pretty cheap, it has worked out well. It is not permanent like yours, but there are advantages to that for us.
“In London, the term “lime trees” often refers to common lime (Tilia x europaea), a hybrid between large-leaved and small-leaved limes, rather than the citrus fruit. These trees are frequently planted as street trees in London, especially in older, quieter areas.” Also known as linden.
I dug up my potatoes today. I was very leery of how they would do, being planted under black plastic and having had “Black Leg” fungus, but I was pleasantly surprised. I got a whole lot of “golden potatoes” (probably Yukon Gold) and a goodly number were much bigger than the ones in the store. I still very much dislike using plastic, but it turned out okay.
Pam
Chris,
The hand? It’s slowly improving mostly. The problem is the scar tissue from the injury/surgery site. It is taking a long time to dissipate, regardless of what I do. I knew that would be the biggest obstacle. However, heat and light massage several times a day, some of the therapy exercises they had me do, these all help. And the biggest surprise? Yoga positions with my hands flat on the floor bearing weight with the fingers spread wide. That seems to help most of all. Thanks for asking.
The recent carving project was to serve as a model for the class I taught. It ended up being a spoon carved from a large block of wood with only a single blade. No gouges, no swapping long blades with short blades. Supposed to be a functional spoon that could be carved with a pocketknife when the need for a spoon arose while camping. I have a bit more cleaning up of roughness to do, then this one can be used as a display item at the show this September. I might carve another one, hoping that it turns out better than the first one. If so, put it in as an entry to be judged. “Single Blade Functional Camping Spoon” is the title it would get. Judges will hate it, as it doesn’t look decorative enough. Then I can educate the judges a bit, to look at the title of the carving and the category it is entered in before judging the work. Being club President and Assistant Show Chairman lets me do that. 😉 Being mouthy when necessary doesn’t hurt either.
That new meg isn’t simply a meg. It’s a “Megatron of Megaton weight.” Some strategically placed explosives could hasten the “desizing” of the monster. Good to hear that you are still working with gravity after the meg has been sawn into big rounds.
Fire about 30km northwest of here. It is nearing 2,000 acres near the itty bitty (and now evacuated) town of Tum Tum. Very rugged terrain there. Thunderstorms expected throughout the region through Wednesday morning. Hopefully any storm the fire area gets includes a lot of rain.
A thunderstorm rolled through here earlier this afternoon. It rained hard for about 45 minutes. The heat returns Wednesday. There was about a half mm of measurable rain Monday, then whatever we got today, maybe 4 or 5mm? Happy to get whatever we can.
Remembering that my arsenal of swear words includes Shostakovich, Fibonacci, Toccata and Fugue…Rather than using that technical word “stuffed”, which is a correct and highly technical term, I prefer to say “fugued” in similar situations. Equally technical and also appropriately descriptive. I’ve gotten many strange looks when I’ve used that word.
Another good one, especially when a conversation is getting too intense, is, “But it IS okay to masticate in public.” People usually either mis-hear the word or don’t know what it means.
The battery you have pictured made me laugh. Why? LiFePO4 is why. I totally misread it as PO4Life, or “poor for life”.
Thank you. No machine is simply a series of parts. Two “identical” cars made the same time at the same factory. One works perfectly and only requires routine maintenance. The other needs work done on it all the time. Both passed all of the quality control tests, etc. Why? Unique personality and temperament. It just happens and there is no logical explanation. However, each machine is different, has its own quirks, and must be RELATED with as its own unique package.
I ran into this reprint of something Bruce Lee wrote back in the Dark Ages. 😉
https://www.jkdlondon.com/liberate-yourself-from-classical-karate/
I especially enjoyed this little gem “Remember that life is a constant process of relating.”
Nice soap pictures and discussion. I’ve not tried making soap yet. I’ve got candles to make first. We have a lot of wax for that purpose. I just need to get started. We made a lot of candles when I was about 10 years old.
Once again, your conditions have an overlap with mine. Most things have quit blooming here. Rephrased: “It’s been a tough week for flowers…”
DJSpo
Hi Pam,
It may well be, and stranger things have occurred. It’s nice to meet with people you just click with, and it’s rarer than you’d imagine.
The early tendrils of spring are really beginning to show themselves, like the Daffodils emerging from their dormant bulbs, or the chickens coming back on the lay after many fall / early winter months. You can even see the sap rising in the many fruit trees if a person knows what to look for. And I agree, it is a lovely space (and thank you so much for the most intriguing book referral ever) but in opening our eyes we see a larger cycle which contains elements which are both good and equally difficult for our senses to fathom. That reflects the nature of our existence. Absolutely not dramatic at all, but patently honest.
Hehe! A few years ago I had the opportunity to peer inside the engine bay of a performance car made in the late 1970’s, early 1980’s. It was a beast of a machine. What struck me the most, was how much space there was inside the engine bay. Cavernous! Modern engine bays are full of stuff, much of which I don’t comprehend.
Bouncing ideas off another person is a sign of having an open mind. I’ve observed that other people can get a bit, err, difficult, with such free-wheeling problem solving processes. You never know what issues can be resolved using that technique. It’s the stuff you think you know, that ain’t necessarily true, which gets us all into trouble, don’t you reckon? That last quote was attributed to Mark Twain, although there is much disagreement about this. Still, it’s a great quote.
Oh, Mr Baby lives in feline paradise. I get that.
Pam, it is a bit lux for the over wintering plants, yeah. 😉 Imagine if I chucked in a wood heater? Probably an expensive proposition. If it’s cheap and works at your place, that’s an awesome result, and doubly so because there are two of the structures. Like flat land, I dream of a second greenhouse. And if ever you moved on, the structures can be disassembled and carted away to greener pastures.
Ah, the common Linden tree. There’s one of those growing in the higher reaches of the mountain range:
Is it big enough for ya? 🙂
The soil diseases in your country give me an attack of the vapours. Good to hear that the harvest was decent. What do you do? Despite my best efforts, plastic arrives here. It’s our species burden.
It rained ferally this afternoon, but only briefly (thankfully). The noise was incredible and I was glad to be indoors at the time. A real heavy tropical downpour. At least the water tanks are fast filling up. Might have to transfer some water tomorrow.
Cheers
Chris
Hi DJ,
Very amusing, and unfortunately I’ve been on the other end of that experience by having to manage staff who were decades older. One of the perils of the career (at that time) as a young twenty and thirty something bloke. Like I mentioned to the young lady from the musical comedy show many years ago who’d decided it would be a really fun idea to perform part of the show whilst sitting on my lap (I get super grumpy nowadays when the Editor wants to sit in the front row) in the ‘Aspie Hour’ show, “That was as awkward for me as it possibly was for you” The other incident with the leaf blower just makes me blush. Man, it was all OK until the many incidents… Far out! Now I avoid comedy shows and the problems float away.
You had some grafts onto your hand for the injury repairs? Oh yeah, scar tissue is not flexible. Youch. And good to see that the rehab is proving effective, and that’s a great idea with the Yoga position. You hadn’t mentioned the hand for a while, and I’d been wondering. Such incidents do not heal quickly.
Sensei was a sports physio during daylight hours, and he was always banging on (and drilling us student remorsefully 🙂 ) about having a regular routine, but also varying it depending upon what needs attention. Of course that also meant listening, which I reckon is not for everyone. There’s a cost to being present and conscious don’t you reckon?
Well done, and the spoon sounds like a fine carving project. Actually it’s great that you’re back in the carving action. Such a spoon would have been dirigeur in the Dark Ages too, so it has a massively long history. Ooo, so have you figured out the category to enter it in, and I do like your style. A person must occasionally pull rank. Whether it works, well, who knows, but you’ve gotta be in it to win it. 😉
I like how your brain works, and way back in the day, an earthworks registered person could go and get some explosives off the cops – who stored and dispensed the stuff. In these more enlightened times, it doesn’t grow on trees you know! But wouldn’t it be fun to blow the stump up? The Editor put the stomp on blowing up a huge rock long ago. Nowadays, she’d do it for sure, but alas times have moved on and the opportunity has departed. I’ll have to be careful cutting the thing up in case it tips forward and squooshes me. I’d not appreciate that.
The stuff in the loggers mess is way too big to move without the assistance of gravity. Dude, it’s such a waste what they left presumably after ’83 fires.
Yikes! Always a nervous experience with a nearby fire. Did you get much rain or over that area? The rain was crazy heavy this afternoon, but brief. The noise was incredible. Might have to move some water around tomorrow to make some space for the rainfall over the next week or so.
You’ve got some great words for expressing all manner of emotional states. I’m trying to limit the number of times I swear, or at least use the expletives for a particularly choice moment. Took more of the batteries today to the scrap metal recyclers, and the trip went smoothly. A lot of characters in that place.
Of course people would misinterpret that word you used. 🙂 Shows what they’re thinking of. Freud might suggest that they’re casting the shadow, or whatever that means. Our language is becoming simplified.
That’s funny about the batteries, but also true. The things are actually becoming cheaper though, and perversely the quality is also improving.
Exactly too. We’ve got a utility mower which has a genuine Honda GX-160 motor, and the ignition system on it has been a constant headache from the early days. I pulled the machine out the other day to use in a bit of cleanup work, and it just didn’t start. The threads holding the ignition coil in place just can’t seem to be tightened enough to stay in place. I do have a tap and die set and maybe it’s time to use a larger and heavier set of bolts? Hmm. Engineering tolerances are a real thing, as you’d know.
What I’m guessing Bruce Lee was talking about involved setting boundaries and knowing how and when to respond. Seems like a clever bloke. The problem with responding by way of a set of patterns, is that the same patterns can be discerned in advance and neutered. What do you reckon about that? Sensei opened the Dojo on a Saturday to any and all comers to take him on. All they did was hone an already sharp blade. Could they all not see their folly? That’s what I’ve long wondered about.
No way! I’ve never made candles. Dumb question number one: How did you end up with the wax?
🙂 The peak of each year is equally tough on flowers.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
Oh man, that’s no good at all. And I extend my sympathies to you in this moment of horridness. And hope you are feeling better today. Candidly, I was a touch mortified that after recently discussing the food poisoning subject, that lead to an actual bout of the illness.
Nice to hear that the fridge matter was resolved at least to a minor extent with the loaner machine. The home swamp ice box contraption you came up with was a touch of genius.
What’s going on here today (to take your mind off certain uncomfortable personal moments): Did some paid work and again finished late this evening. Took a trip out to the scrap metal dealers to drop off some more batteries. Encountered lots of characters there and had some fun and brief chats. Because you’re not feeling well, I’ll neglect to mention the yummy lunch. It rained crazy heavily late this afternoon. It was so intense, and reminded me of tropical downpours in the Amazon. The noise was unbelievable. Had a yummy dinner (again scrupulously avoiding details).
Oh, and I began reading Jack Vance’s wonderful Dying Earth series, with the book: Cugel the Clever. I like Cugel, he’s the ultimate anti-hero who gets as good as he gives. Always on the make too, and thus is a decent representation of a society of limited means.
It’s cold here tonight, and may be dry tomorrow. The water tanks are getting to the point where the wet stuff needs to be moved about the place, lest there be any waste this season. Oh, and the Macadamia tree fell over (again).
Thinking of you, and hope you feel better.
Cheers
Chris
Chris:
Those open engine bays are a joy to behold. I have told my son – more than once – about your pit for working on the machinery. He wants to know how you keep water out of it and why the sides don’t cave in.
“It’s the stuff you think you know, that ain’t necessarily true, which gets us all into trouble, don’t you reckon?” That is a great quote of Mr. Twain’s (I like that he uses “reckon”, also). Goodness knows how many times I have put my foot in my mouth because of that. You’d think I’d learn.
Until you mentioned a woodstove in a greenhouse, I had forgotten that two portable gas stoves were used inside ours in the worst of winter. Usually just at night and they had to be checked quite often.
Yes! That linden is big enough for me! What a nice looking fellow. I wonder why he is standing on a table?
We now need rain, but I don’t see it forecast in the next week. Our last downpour, several days ago, was 4.5 inches (11.5cm), but it has gotten hot again. I have planted some bush beans (I planted them 4 times earlier in the summer). I have not seen the young Attila the Hunhog since I put wire on top of the cattle gate. It may just be a coincidence.
Pam
Yo, Chris – On the mend? My fever broke this morning. Now, my stomach is touchy. Two steps forward … Lew
Chris,
I always avoided going to comedy shows. Too many comics are rude and vulgar, or aren’t funny, or maybe both. And you never know when one of them is going to decide to use an unsuspecting audience member as a prop for a skit or something.
Yeah, I severed the nerve. The surgeon had to cut the finger back open to reconnect the nerve parts. That left a rather thick bit of scar tissue at the initial wound site.
Conscious and present does have a cost, but it has rewards also. I listen to what my body needs and do a yoga routine that matches that. Sometimes, I go back to some old martial arts warmups and drills instead, as that is what I sense the body needs. Diversification is a good thing.
Oh, I absolutely know what category for the spoon. There is actually a special category for tools and eating utensils. Not that the judges will necessarily notice. One show, there were several walking sticks that had extensive wood carving. They were in the carved walking stick section. I entered a wood burned walking stick, which was entered in a sub section of the wood burning category. The judge wrote one comment on the score sheet for my edification: “Needs more carving.” I actually had a good laugh at that.
I mean, “blowing up the stump” has a certain ring to it, right? It just SOUNDS fun when you say that phrase out loud. And a stump that has rotten bits on the inside, it could do weird things. And the grubs would all be freed up for instant consumption by the magpies and friends. Around here, it is possible to buy an old style black powder single shot rifle, similar to the ones the mountain men and fur trappers used in the early 1800s. Black powder could be adapted rather easily to use on big megs. What could possibly go wrong?
My sister’s husband was a logger for a year or two when he was young. Getting squooshed by a tree was at the top of his list of things to avoid. I can imagine getting squooshed by a tree, lying there helpless and in pain, only to discover that some of the local wildlife had gathered and was eying me much the same way that I eye a nice meal. Avoid getting squooshed, that’s what I say.
Looking at the ground this morning, I had to increase my estimate for the rainfall we got in the thunderstorm. Maybe as much as 6mm. The fire had some scattered sprinkles off and on, but not any real rainfall apparently. it was warmer today and will be warmer Thursday. The winds will return also. Pretty much everything west of the Cascade Mountains is seriously dry right now. Blink wrong and a fire might start, it’s that arid.
Yes, responding with set patterns gets to be predictable. Then your system becomes useless. The flexibility to change response patterns is also part of what Bruce Lee was getting at, I think. And clearly that using the same set of programmed responses is limiting. Learn. Expand your horizons. Think outside the box. Things are always changing, so one needs to be adapting constantly.
The wax? My cheeky answer is that I mined it from my ears. 😉 The truth is that we got this huge block of paraffin somewhere once, and it makes good candles. At least that’s what we used when I was young. Also, the commercial candles we sometimes use always have wax left over. Those leftovers can be gathered and used in a new batch of candles.
DJSpo
Hi Pam,
Hmm. The service pit is like all of the land here, on a slope, so there is no real pit – it’s open to ground level at one end (if that makes sense). It’s a U shaped pit. If you need a more detailed photo, please let me know? Water is not a problem, but if it was, there’d have to be some sort of drain at the lowest point.
The maximum weight I’ve placed upon the steel gabion rock cages on three sides of the service pit is 400kg / 880 pounds – and that is the big low centre of gravity mower (which is a beast of a machine). If it was for vehicles (or Mr Diggy), I’d probably make the gabion cages much stronger and also more densely packed in. Dunno. There are other retaining walls which may be more suitable for that purpose.
Reckon is a lovely word isn’t it? Not sure how you feel about the word, but to me it brings to mind the concept of using real world experience to bear upon a matter, as distinct from something a person has heard or read elsewhere.
Pam, that’s hard to avoid, and from time to time unthinkingly I’ve said some remarkably stupid things, and like you suggested: Have put my foot in my mouth. Just glad nobody was recording the conversation. 🙂 I have compassion for young folks who’ve grown up surrounded by devices which record the most inane of utterances for all posterity. Imagine an adult job interview when the interviewers scan back over years of social media and hone in on some stupid thing a person said when they were 16? Crazy stuff. At that age I was naive in the ways of the world.
The portable gas stoves are a great idea to stave off the worst of the winter weather (which wouldn’t have gone on for too long). The gas bottles don’t hold that much energy.
🙂 It’s a huge tree that Linden, and was planted as part of the grounds for a Tuberculosis sanatorium which existed in these parts way back in the day. I’ve never been able to discover where exactly that place was located, but the winter months in the higher elevations of the mountain range would have provided plenty of fresh air, but far out it would have been cold up there back in the day.
In between paid work today, I began cutting into that Meg tree stump. Oh my it’s big, and despite removing goodly chunks, I blunted three chains in quick succession. Might do a photo montage of the process for this weeks video. And fingers crossed that I finish the job tomorrow – there’s so much dirt on the stump. And soil is the killer for saw chains.
4.5 inches of rain would do here for a month. How hot are you talking about? Had to use the water pumps to move water around today so that there is enough space to collect the rain which is expected to fall over the next fortnight. By this time tomorrow night, it’ll be very damp outside.
Young Attila the Hunhog may provide a good feed for one of your garden predators. 😉 And go the bush beans. Hope you get an excellent harvest (and they do grow fast, so you never know). At night now I’m not seeing any rabbits or possums – the larder has been stripped bare by the owls and foxes. Shame that they didn’t get onto that work before all of the kiwi fruit were eaten. Trust me, discussions are already under way with the fox and owl night critters union and there’ll be no pay rise for them this year.
Cheers
Chris
Hi DJ,
Comedy shows are mostly good, although I’ve been to some which were flops and not at all funny. I guess they have to test material on live audiences and that can be a real trial by fire. Nowadays the Editor goes to shows with her friends, and I dodge the entire episode. No, don’t worry about me, you go with your friends and have a good time. Winning! Hey, the problem with having a ‘mostly harmless’ demeanour is that comedians can read that story. Man, what do you do?
Out of curiosity, given the nerve was severed, has the feeling returned to your hand/fingers in full? You’ve gotta admit, it’s amazing that such repairs can even be made.
Mostly did paid work today, but it was such a lovely day here at 16’C and sunny, that around early afternoon I headed down to the Meg – chainsaw in hand. Well, there’s a lot of compacted soil on that monster tree stump, and the dirt stuff rapidly blunts the cutting teeth on chains (in seconds). Went through three chains today and have reduced the size of the stump by maybe about a third. Ran out of time to do more than that, and will get back onto the job tomorrow. It’s so big and heavy that I have to be careful that it doesn’t tip forward and squoosh me, so I’m also keeping the escape route clear.
It’s funny (like in a good way) you mention stretching routines and martial arts (respect too). Sensei used to force us students to really bend the entire hand down / up so that it is at 90 degree to the wrists and then apply pressure. Being a young bloke, I had no idea, but as you get older you learn about carpal tunnel, and that stretch really fixes what is a common issue. Diversification is a very good thing, yeah.
Oh no! I presume that the judges are all volunteers? Well, it’s a truth universally acknowledged that not everyone is observant – or comprehends their role. 😉 Good luck, and hope the spoon carving is well received. Man, you have to laugh. I find myself saying: What the heck?
You know, lot’s can go wrong there for sure – that’s what! 🙂 Presumably the average person way back in the day of the Kentucky Rifle, would have been far more experienced in the use and handling of black powder? I’ve no experience (not good) and would leave such work to a person who does that stuff for a living – and you can get contractors down here to do jobs like blowing up rocks. Oh yeah. It’s a skill.
Trees occasionally kill people in these parts. I’m always respectful of the trees and try to do my best by them. All the same, a person can have a bout of bad luck, even on still days. I’ve seen trees fall randomly, and those are ones with termites. The ant nest expands just a touch too far, and then chunks (or the top) of a tree gets sucked to the ground by the force of gravity. There’s risk in many day to day activities. Glad to hear that your sister’s husband did a few years of work, and then presumably got out. Mind you, the logging industry is probably safer than people just giving the activity a bash. And rarely would such people work alone in the bush.
Ook! Good luck with those dry conditions, and hope that the rains return soon. The truly epic scaled north west cloud band will arrive late tomorrow afternoon and bring with it the previously missing winter rains. Might get off to an early start with the Meg. Moved some water around today so as to free up and even-out the space in the water tanks.
That’s what I believe Bruce Lee was talking about as well. It should be said that in hard times, the nimble and lucky are often rewarded. Sun Tzu actually recommended using a diviner to introduce a random element to campaigns, but such is true for hunting parties as well. To traverse the same ground / strategies is a dangerous activity, but also one which is subject to diminishing returns. The Neanderthal in me sometimes suggests that the ‘patterns aren’t right’ which is a great line and always earns a groan from the Editor, but if it doesn’t feel right, well that’s the gut saying something worth listening to don’t you reckon?
Say, that’s a lot of wax. Very funny too. 🙂 Interesting. Truthfully, I’ve no idea what paraffin even is. Hmm … … Guess in the far distant future we’ll have tallow based candles again.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
Sounds like good news, except the stomach bit, that’s awful to experience, and hope you do feel better soon. Thinking of you.
In the absence of other news from your shores, here’s what went down here today: No aliens or zombies were sighted. The sunny warm and calm winters day would have been perfect for the mother ship to land and take all of our jobs and women, but no, didn’t happen. Must have been elsewhere! 🙂
Spent much of the day indoors doing paid work, and it was all nicely paced. Had a break early this afternoon and took the chainsaw to the Meg. Cut off a number of chunks, and rapidly blunted three chains. Might have to take all ten (ready to go) chains down there tomorrow to finish the job off. Actually, I’m a bit wary of the hugely heavy stump lest it pitch forward onto me, so I’m cutting away mostly from the side of the beast. It’s an interesting activity the stump being so large and stuff.
Are you feeling up for reading or watching anything in your present condition? Hope it’s not too hot in your part of the world, that would add difficulties for you.
Did a bit more reading of Jack Vance’s Cugel the Clever book today. Such a fun read, and the pages sadly fly by as the anti-hero goes about causing absolute mayhem and giving as good as he gets.
Might finish off the Meg project tomorrow, but we’ll see. That big fortnight long storm is due to arrive later in the day. It’s one of those north-west cloud-bands we spoke a while ago, and it’s epic scaled. Fingers crossed the weather holds off a bit beforehand – the cutting job is dangerous enough without additional complexities. Already the wind has picked up tonight.
The dogs ran around in the sunshine today doing their thing, and they are wiped out tonight. Too tired even to demolish the rawhide chews.
Oh well, sending you positive energy and seriously hope tomorrow the guts settle down for you.
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – That was a cool article about the Tardis, over the years. Every new season (or at least new Doctor) seems to bring upgrades to the interior. But the exterior, pretty much remains the same. Nice to have some constants in life. 🙂
You missed an opportunity. You could have chain saw carved the Meg, into a giant spoon. 🙂 Another roadside attraction.
Our maintenance guy, Jeremy, brought up the “loaner” fridge. He’s a young fellow (from my point of view. Maybe, 30?) who is also a new father. I believe he has a few rentals, around town. Knows what he’s doing, as far as maintenance is concerned. He’ll also be doing the apartment inspections.
As far as the “loaner” refrigerator goes, it’s like this. There is a small built in cabinet, over the fridge. The new models they are using, are taller, and won’t fit. I’d guess Little Mary Sunshine will get a new model, and my “loaner” will be permanent. Temporary things seem to become permanent. 🙂 As far as the damaged floor goes, I may not get a replacement of that, either.
Back when I moved in, all I got (completely acceptable) was a good clean and a paint job. Now, as tenants move out, they gut the entire apartment. New appliances, cabinets, flooring etc.. I’d guess Little Mary Sunshine is consulting her actuary tables, to see if she can hold off making any major investments, in my apartment, til I shuffle of my mortal coil 🙂 .
I don’t know how long my stove and fridge have been in here. He did, however, maybe take care of one of the problems with my stove. I have to set the oven, for 15 degrees higher than whatever a recipe calls for. And, it takes forever to get up to that temperature. Long beyond when the bell dings. I have an oven thermometer, that I keep an eye on. Turns out, Jeremy recently discovered information (utub video?), on how to reset the oven, back to its factory settings, via a tap dance on the little control panel. We’ll see how that goes. Now if he can just find me some stove top drip plates that fit.
I asked him about the apartment inspections. He says it’s going slow, as he discovers things that need repair, does that, before moving on to the next one. But, I’d best be prepared.
I’m glad no aliens or zombies were sighted, in your area. How about vampires? The aliens might find a large part of our women, aren’t worth the trouble. High maintenance. 🙂
I didn’t feel like reading much, but did do a lot of watching. I watched the entire first season of a new series, “Fallout.” It’s 200 years after the bombs, and there are people living in “vaults” underground. They’re pretty unaware of what’s going on, on the surface (which is kind of like the Wild West, but with mutant bears) and are pretty unaware of who’s really running the show. I also watched a National Geographic documentary on Marco Polo.
I did read a bit more of “1927”. It was the era of the tabloid news. It kicks off with “The Sash Weight Murder.” And then segues into “flag pole sitters,” Lindberg’s flight to Paris, and Babe Ruth. 1927 was a busy summer.
I had two pieces of dry toast, yesterday, and a banana. Easy on the stomach. And a root beer float 🙂 . I’ll try more normal food, today. I’ve been taking the elevator, up and down to walk the dog. I’ll try at least going down the stairs, tomorrow. The night manager has been watering my garden, and it looks good. I think I can take over, tonight.
When I said I had a touchy stomach, I neglected to mention the spectacle. Early in my sickness, when I took the dog for a walk, I was suddenly taken with stomach spasms. The only handy place for deposit (luckily, only water), was the dumpster. So, there I was, gripping the edge of the dumpster, and heaving my guts out. Luckily there were no witnesses, to the spectacle. 🙂
I’m tempted to run to the Club for a cuppa, tonight, and do a little shopping. but I think I best stay in for another day.
I saw an interesting article on why the Amish have very few allergies.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/allergies-seem-nearly-impossible-avoid-183841687.html
Now, see, if your mother had kept a cow, when you were a wee small lad, you wouldn’t have problems with eczema. 🙂
Our high yesterday was 84F (28.88C). Our overnight low was 55F (12.77C). The forecast high for today is 78F.
July is National Ice Cream Month. Have you done your part? 🙂 I have. Lew
Chris:
Oh, yeah – now I remember the open end of the pit. And I forgot the gabion cages, too. That explains a lot. I daresay we have a slope around here somewhere. Thank you, I will let you know if I need a picture.
That’s just what “reckon” does. I hear it very occasionally around here, more when I was growing up in Texas.
Sometimes I reckon I could use a restful stay in a sanatorium. Best not to have tuberculosis, though.
You should have bought stock in a chainsaw parts manufacturer. Of course, you may not have met any Megs then.
Between 94F (34.5C) and 97F (36C), not even quite as hot as May was. Then after about a week, a whole lot cooler.
This was an enjoyable book I once had. I gave it away to somebody; kind of wish I hadn’t. You see, there IS a Foxes Union.
“The Foxes’ Union by James Kilpatrick 1977. Tall tales, and discursive reminiscences of happy years in Scrabble, Virginia.”
Mr. Musty has shrunk. My son has taken the bed off of him and is rebuilding the frame, that is, adding lots of heavy steel to it because it was about to break in half. He is also replacing brakes and the gas tank since they are so easy to reach at the moment. The funny thing is that he still drives Mr. M in beween the work. Mr. Musty is 31 years old and has had a hard life lately on this mountain farm.
Pam
Chris,
It’s just the one finger. Occasionally, I have almost complete feeling in it. Most of the time it’s got varying levels of numbness in the upper third of the finger. It’s simply a function of the scar tissue softening up at this point. It IS functional though.
16C and sunny? That is nearly perfect. It’s ideal for working outdoors. I can get a lot of work done in those conditions.
I agree with Lew. And I’m surprised that I didn’t think about it myself. The Megatron could have been chainsaw carved into a giant spoon. How cool would that have been?
I like that hand stretch you mentioned. I’ve used it over the years. It seems to keep the wrist more flexible. I think I read about it as an exercise for those who spend their lives at the computer.
Yes, the judges are volunteers. We pay them a stipend, but it really doesn’t cover their expenses these days. In theory, the judges are all accomplished carvers in several different carving styles. Also in theory, the judges will judge each piece on its own merits and very objectively. The reality is that most judges know little about wood burning, chip carving and a few other more specialized carving styles. And objectivity? No. Because the subject matters that I enjoy working with are outside the norm, I don’t expect to get better than a red ribbon no matter how good the quality of the piece.
One of our novice carvers carved a nice walking stick for the show last year. The quality was good for that level. The same judge who thought that my wood burned stick needed more carving (in 2018) gave this novice walking stick a red ribbon because the artist had not carved a head commonly called a “wood spirit” by carvers, at the top of the stick above where the hand would hold the stick. That judge has preconceived ideas of what a walking stick should look like and judges against his idea. That’s what you get with volunteers. I told the carver that there was nothing wrong with how she had carved the stick and that her work was very good and that a “wood spirit” is NOT a requirement for a good walking stick.
It must be said that upwards of 95% of what the judges do I happen to agree with. And this year, we might be able to bring in a judge who is not a carver but who is an accomplished artist in other areas. Comments from a different background would be welcome.
Yup, my sister’s husband got out of logging before he suffered any major accident. He came close a few times.
I enjoy when you point out some of the dangerous trees in your photos. And you explain that if you tried to cut that one, it might not work right and could kill you. I got several lessons in what to watch out for when cutting firewood, what to avoid. Falling trees and large branches are to be avoided. Getting squooshed is NOT on my list of things to do.
I’ve learned over the years to listen to my gut instinct. Ignoring it has always led to trouble. Following it has always been beneficial. “The patterns aren’t right” is one I’ll have to remember for future use.
Paraffin is a type of petroleum based wax. A lot of the commercial candles we purchase are probably paraffin based.
DJSpo
Hi Pam,
It’s a simple pit arrangement, and can only really work with sloping land – one of the undocumented features of hilly country! 🙂 Like your son says, on flat land a pit will fill up with ground water – and may need a drain and pump arrangement.
Interestingly, people don’t use the word ‘reckon’ around here much either. What they do say instead is: ‘I think …’, which sounds odd to my way of thinking. It’s like making a statement about brain processes rather than expressing a belief about a concept. Is that heard in your part of the world?
🙂 Nobody wants TB, and there are some forms that require pretty serious antibiotics. Wasn’t there some dark comedic book about the authors experiences inside a sanatorium from early last century? I remember someone here mentioning the book, but could equally be wrong in that belief.
Hehe! Pam, lead me not into temptation. For all sorts of legal reasons I’m unable to comment upon, or provide financial advice. Tackled more of the Meg stump today, and reduced its size by two thirds. You know I had this vague notion that today would be enough for that job, but no! The Meg won this round! Truly it is some of the hardest, and dirtiest timber I’ve ever encountered. No wonder the loggers left it there… Me tired. 🙂
It’s raining outside right now and not far off freezing, and your weather sounds so nice. But, glad to hear that the weather is beginning to cool (hopefully not too much as that would be hard on the summer plants). Rain is forecast every day for the next two weeks here.
Rappahannock County doesn’t look dissimilar from these parts, and the book received many a lovely review. The author appears to be most astute in being aware of a foxes union.
It’s feral outside. We’ve got both types of weather: Wind and Rain.
The steel worm never sleeps, and so Mr Musty has no exemption from that rule. I’ve known of people to replace the heavy steel plate with checker plate aluminium, and it looks really good. Mr Musty is a noble steed worthy of repairs. I mean, any car still in use after three decades is one hardy beast.
Cheers
Chris
Hi DJ,
Thanks for that description, and mentioning that the finger remains functional. I was wondering if the controlling nerves repaired differently to the feeling nerves, and turns out they did. Scar tissue rarely heals back to being as good as it was previously, and glad to hear that you’re back on the tools with carving / wood burning projects.
It was a pretty nice day yesterday, but all good things come to an end – particularly in winter. The proper word to describe today would be ‘gloomy’, like one of those horror stories set in the forests in the north east of your country. Late this afternoon as we were packing up the tools and equipment, the heavens opened. Quite unpleasant outside right now.
Given today was the last dry day in maybe the next fortnight, we decided to work at the forest edge on clean up duties. Tackled the Meg, and didn’t finish the job. You wait and see the footage. The thing is feral big and has some of the hardest and densest timber I’ve ever come across. During the work today I managed to blunt at least ten chains, and one bar is now a bit suspect. I reckon the original tree may have been at least 300 years old, and I see why the loggers left it there back in the 80’s.
I am so not carving that Meg into anything other than chunks to be burned off, but I do like both of your styles. 😉 To experience this dense and dirty timber is to know true pain.
Man, I’ve heard of keyboard warriors, and yeah, whilst they could benefit from the wrist stretch, the Neanderthal in me just thinks ‘Ugg!’ and wants to wield a club. Ugg! Ooo, where did that come from? I do those stretches every day.
Ah, thanks for the details of the judge story, and that makes a lot of sense. What your words suggest to me is that you create the works because they please you. A little flash of insight suggests that overt adherence to a particular form can stifle creativity, enjoyment and reduce membership. However, none of us ever operate in true isolation and so in many fields there is an historical weight hanging off paths which some may call tradition. This is a very complicated subject, and one in which I feel out of my depth, for from time to time I’ve tried to shake things up and introduce new energy into an activity, but a person is hard put to it trying to do so. It’s not unreasonable to suggest that our societal structures are becoming more constipated as time goes on.
The ‘wood spirit’ story is fascinating, and I’m going to cogitate upon the deeper meaning of it for a while – as clearly you are as well. However, I may cheekily suggest that wood spirits do not reside in walking sticks.
Hope the innovation works, and certainly it will stir the pot so to speak and create some discussion. I’m with you though, it’s an impressive achievement to agree with 95%, and that last 5% may not be possible to achieve.
Hmm, yes, motorbikes left me with a similar feeling to the realisation your sisters husband came to.
I have a deep respect for the trees and am constantly considering my personal safety. But even so, bad things can happen without warning. The clean up work is best not left for too many more years – I ain’t getting younger.
Hopefully you don’t confound your lady with such loose talk about the ‘patterns not being right’. The Editor always groans when she hears those words spoken, but dude, here’s the thing: The patterns aren’t right! 🙂 If the words need to be spoken, there’s some hesitancy coming from who knows where.
That’s what the descriptions were suggesting about paraffin wax. Seems like it can’t be made easily at home using stuff readily available. And tallow could be messy for a vegetarian. I’d imagine the deer would supply much tallow being all forest lean and stuff?
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
So happy to see that you’re back. 🙂 Hope you are feeling better today.
In a world of change, the external appearance of the Tardis is a nice constant over many decades. And it’s blue! Hey, it might be like the new CEO turning up wanting to make changes to the office – as they seem to do. I’ve fallen afoul of such office politics over the years, but then hey, I don’t much enjoy change for changes sake. Some folks want to leave a legacy (I’ve heard people say that). My expectations are somewhat less lofty, and am happy to be still kicking around the place.
Yes, you and DJ need no encouragement with the spoon carving idea. 🙂 Hmm. Went the hack on that big Meg today, and it is some of the dirtiest and hardest timber I’ve ever encountered. I blunted at least ten chains today. Hard work. Sadly, I reckon the tree would have been several centuries old, and I can see why they left the stump there. It’ll feature in this week’s video.
Ooo, the new maintenance dude shares the first initial of the predecessor, but not the same alleged attitude. That’s what I’d describe as a turn for the better. 30 year olds are young to me too. 🙂
Your guess as to the arrangement with the loaner fridge sounds about right to me as to how things may roll. And if the machine works and also more importantly, works for you, it’s a win. Water damage to timber flooring can sometimes be simple staining, but if the boards are spongy, that’s a whole different situation. The nice thing about timber flooring is that it always does have some bounce, unless it’s that veneer stuff they glue to concrete.
Budgets must be pretty good to be able to strip out all of the cabinetry, appliances and flooring, but then sometimes that’s a non negotiable proposition due to err, decomposition odours. Back in the day when we used to fix up houses, we’d come across a house where all of the soft furnishings had been removed. Seriously, could you work in crime scene clean up crews? It’d probably distress me that work.
The actuary tables suggest that you’ve got a ways to go yet. 🙂
Yes, the manufacturers are often really difficult about releasing those factory reset code procedures. After that 5.9 earthquake a few years ago, the front loader washing machine began playing up. Apparently the machine weighs the load, and let’s just say that like your stove and oven, it was acting a bit wonky. We phoned them up, and they wouldn’t give us the codes, because that involved a call out (with fee). Tried all the many different codes offered on the interweb for the brand, and one of them eventually worked, but we’re not exactly sure which one it was (we’re down to a choice of one of three options). A mystery, and should it really be that hard?
Looks like they’re doing the inspections for all the right reasons. There’s a lot to like about that don’t you reckon?
Far out! You’re right, I forgot to check for vampires. And as a young bloke I have dated some ladies who were rather high maintenance, but then I was probably highly strung back then too. Not a good mix. What an inexcusable oversight though with the vampires, and thanks for the reminder. That’s it, the dogs have to hang on to their wee this evening. Ollie barfed up on his bedding last night. A fun mess to clean up this morning. Actually the dogs have been restrained today. It would be a bit dangerous having them loitering around whilst working on the Meg. The chunks cut off were extraordinarily heavy.
How’s the weather at your place? It’s filthy outside tonight, cold, wet and windy. It’s the beginning of that fortnight of rain. Oh well, I’ll see what can be done in between the storms. The water tanks are fast refilling, and that’s a good thing.
Like the Wild West, but with mutant bears is one of the most unusual things I’ve heard in the past day or so. Got me wondering though, what are these mutant bears – gotta check that out. The trailer had bear, and it looked like seriously bad news. The dog was kind of fun, and what was with the hand hanging out of its mouth? And the guy with no nose reminded me a bit of Yul Brynner in Westworld. With no nose, how does he smell? Terribly! Sorry for the dodgy pun. Whoa, the wind has really picked up.
There was a lot going on in the late 1920’s. Not just a busy summer, but it didn’t end well.
Dry food is a good idea, and man sometimes there’s no good option. People would cut you some slack given the circumstances, and some people have sympathetic barf reflexes. Those folks might have run instead.
Did you succumb to temptation and head out? If uncertain, stay home and recover some more is not a bad option.
Hmm. Thanks for the article, and did you know that since living here, my eczema has simply vanished. The results do not surprise me at all, and I see people cleaning with ‘hospital strength’ cleaners and do wonder about the wisdom of that choice. 🙂 My mothers, mother, used to upbraid her for bottle feeding us kids. My mum was simply not programmed to care at all, and that’s how it rolled. When I was kid, you never really heard about people with allergies, although those with such, may have died.
Not yet! And the month is coming near to an end. I do wonder how the ice-cream shop in the nearby town handles these winter months, but have noticed that they advertise take away coffee.
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – Betty MacDonald, “The Plague and I,” 1948. She wrote a number of popular books, and is probably best known for “The Egg and I.” Which was made into a popular movie. She also did a series of children’s books. A Pacific Northwest author.
I had a pretty regular day, yesterday, as far as schedule and eating. I’m back to taking the stairs, again. I watered the garden, last night. I put off any extended trips. I’ll head to the Club for a cuppa, tonight, and do a bit of grocery shopping. I’m calling it, I had the flu.
Turn your back for a couple of days … there’s a pin hole leak in one of the hoses. Best patch it dry, so I took down some duct tape (the handyman’s friend!) this morning, and THINK I found where the leak was. I’ll have to remember to take down a felt tip pen tonight, in case I didn’t.
The pumpkin vines are lustily running up the slope. But, a complication. There’s a blueberry bush about a meter away. I don’t know why, but it’s been doing poorly, for the past couple of years. No berries this year, at all, and quit scraggly. Any-who, two of the pumpkin vines decided to climb the bush. And, they had some pretty healthy looking knobs on them. So, I preformed delicate surgery, disentangling them from the bush. All stickery and tendrils gripping any handy hold. I managed to bend one of the vines, and hope I didn’t do it much damage. Another vine is heading toward a near by rose bush.
Why I left B. Dalton Books. We got a new regional manager who had new (crazy) ideas. Just full of business buzz words. I knew I’d better bail.
The “loaner” fridge is noisy, and I’m going to have to figure out a better shelf configuration. But, hey, it keeps food cold. My friends in Idaho just bought a new fridge … $3,000+. Had to have an ice maker and cold water dispenser. I keep a mug in the fridge, with a saucer on top. For anytime I want cold water.
The flooring is veneer, but is tough as. Until it comes to water. The edges are peeling up a bit, but, as long as they don’t get worse, aren’t hard to live with.
Well, speaking of actuary tables, Mick Jaeger and I celebrate a birthday, tomorrow (he’s older.) 🙂 I plan to make a pizza. Pineapple and some sort of pork product. I’ll see what’s in the freezer.
Looking at my father and grandparents, I’ve got a ways to go. Maybe.
Be sure and let The Editor know, that if you come back from wandering around in the dark, and ask to be invited back into the house, not to do it. 🙂
Our high yesterday was 75F (23.88C). Our overnight low was 55F (12.77C). The forecast high for today is 72F. The temperature is going to slowly ratchet up a bit, over the next few days. It sounds like you’ll have no worries, topping up those water tanks.
The guy with no nose, is a Ghoul. He’s about 200 years old. Turns out, there was a war, and the soldiers were dosed with an anti-radiation drug that had some … side effects. As long as he gets periodic doses of something from what looks like an asthma inhaler, he displays pretty normal function. Otherwise, he descends into a kind of zombie state.
I just got to the part of Bryson’s book where four guys are getting together to “plant the seeds” of the Great Depression. I’ll report more on that, tomorrow. Lew
Chris:
Absolutely everybody says “I think”. Even me . . .
I don’t believe I’ve heard about that book, but just watch, it’s title will turn out to be something that is common knowledge.
What is checker plate aluminum? Surely it’s not sturdy stuff?
You might need to know this about Santa:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn0ql98x1nvo
Pam
Chris,
Gloomy is one of those words that sounds like what it is describing. I enjoy words like that. When asked how I’m doing, I usually answer “Good enough”. Sometimes, however, I reply, “Welsh has the perfect word for how I feel – gweddol.” (It is pronounced gwethol, with a soft
“th” like in “this” rather than in “the”. It means, well, “meh, so-so”. But it sounds sort of like what it is describing.
Funny thing. I grew up with both of my grandfathers occasionally using the word “reckon”. Dad’s mother, also. It’s a word I don’t hear too often now, but I was so used to hearing it that I never really noticed that you use it – it doesn’t seem different to me. Until you and Pam started discussing the word. Usually hear it in movies now, like in Clint Eastwood’s “Outlaw Josey Wales”.
That sounds like one tough meg! Blunt 10 chains? Easier to drill some holes, add black powder and fuses, then light the fuse and run away to a safe spot. Blow it up, in other words. No blunted chains. No bent bars. Smaller pieces much quicker. Fine thunderous noise that even Thor would approve of.
Those wrist stretches sure help. I do them most days also. Ugg indeed.
Yes! I carve and wood burn the things that interest me and that I enjoy. It’s my project for my enjoyment, not something to please the judge or anyone else. I came to that conclusion early in my time wood burning and carving.
I’m not alone in that. The fantastic carver that died last September, well, he pushed the limits with some of his projects. Always great quality craftsmanship, but sometimes the judges didn’t understand the overall work, marking it down as a result. More than once, he had a carving that would get the Best of Show award at one location, only to not get a ribbon in the next event. “You carve because you enjoy it”, he said, “and you do the projects that interest you, and you create them how you want to.”
“It’s not unreasonable to suggest that our societal structures are becoming more constipated as time goes on.” Great summary!
Yeah, wood spirits don’t live in walking sticks. When I first heard those heads atop walking sticks referred to as “wood spirits”, I shook my head and had a bemused expression on my face, I’m sure. An interweb author I’ve read, I first heard about due to his out of the norm opinions on early Anglo-Saxon religion in England. He has also carved a plethora of walking sticks which he’s published in one of his online books. Not many have a head or face atop them. Those that do? Well, they sure aren’t cutesy “wood spirits”. Some would often be described as “rudely rustic” or “unfinished faces”. His walking sticks, some of very good quality craftsmanship, would never do well at our carving shows. They are too different than what is expected. I’ve got the pictures somewhere on the computer, and plan to use them as general ideas for the next walking sticks I work on. I like his work.
I rode a motorcycle for a year or two when I was about 20. I had too many close encounters with cars in which the drivers made eye contact with me then tried to run me off the road while laughing. The motorcycle was fun, it got wonderful gas mileage, but the risk wasn’t worth it.
“The patterns aren’t right” would go over pretty well with the Princess, I reckon. The Native mind set differs from what I grew up with. That phrase fits the Native mind set very well, at least what I’ve been exposed to. There’s a much better balance between “listening” and “gut feelings” versus Western Civilization logic.
DJSpo
Hi Pam,
Hmm, you know what? Upon reflection I may also begin a spoken sentence with the words: “I think”. Please don’t tell anyone though that the ol’ brain works, they might begin expecting stuff. 😉
Lewis appears to have provided the answer in relation to the TB book mystery: The Plague and I – Betty MacDonald. You know, I’m genuinely intrigued and may nab a copy. How could anyone make TB funny?
I guess it depends upon the loads you intend to place into Mr Musty, but checker plate aluminium can be purchased fairly easily down under, although aluminium is produced in this state. And as a metal it looks nice and doesn’t rust.
They’re having the national Triple J radio hottest 100 of Australian songs, right now. Lovely to hear, and so many awesome tunes. How massive is this song from the local artist from the big smoke: Gotye – Somebody That I Used To Know (feat. Kimbra) It’s an interesting narrative because it shows first the BS, then the reality of their relationship. It’s a really visually beautiful film clip too.
30’C / 86’F is quite a pleasant summers day – if you’re used to it, which I’m now guessing folks in Finland aren’t. Not to forget about the reindeer. I have no doubts the other deer species will move further north, just sayin. Hope they comprehend that things will get warmer for them, but probably not too bad. It can occasionally reach 114’F here – which is a tad too warm for my tastes, but you know why would any of us expect anything different?
Ooo! Now they’re playing a song by Paul Kelly ‘How to Make Gravy’, which quite fittingly for down under (having began as an English off shore prison) is about a prisoner. A sad song, but with redemptive qualities.
The weather here is nuts. Two inches of rain have fallen recently. Oh well, rather damp outside.
Cheers
Chris
Hi DJ,
Funnily enough, I believe that if you respond to such enquiries with the response ‘Good Enough’, you may well suceed in training people not to ask as to your general well being. But! And here’s the kicker, other than people who we’re all, and here the English language struggles to define the relationship, but let’s use the words ‘friends / close relatives’, I doubt the sincerity of other people asking that question, and in the day to day world we only really provide formula answers to such questions. I reckon you could sum up the concept in a general theorem: Store greeters aren’t your mates. Feel free to quote me. 😉
Ooo, they’re playing the Triple J hottest 100 countdown of Australian songs. I’d say 2.6 million votes is statistically valid, yeah – especially from such a small population. We’ve got a thriving but not quite economically viable music scene: Powderfinger – My Happiness. What’s not to like about that song?
Western culture is a bit more combative and doesn’t really have a proper: Meh! Or does it?
Go Clint Eastwood and the spaghetti western. It’s a good word, and I don’t hear it used often enough. It implies a working knowledge of a subject rather than an abstract ‘book knowledge’. Although, we don’t really have a proper English word for that distinction either. A friend tells me that the German language does posit such a difference.
Dude, I like where you are going with that idea, but no. 🙂 I’m thinking I need to upgrade to the better made Japanese chainsaw bars because they’ll have less flex. Some jobs require the proper equipment, and that Meg certainly fits the category. Some timber species produce wood as tough as iron.
Before fetching wood and cutting water, strecth. Nuff said! Oh, and maybe afterwards as well. 😉 Sadly this getting older thing is a bit Ugg, still I have it on reliable authority that the alternative is a very different experience.
I reckon that is the way of the artist, if there is no economic dimension, do the stuff that you enjoy and get good at it. One of the songs early in the countdown is really quite beautiful, and the musicians said that they made the song for themselves and thought it might be a career killing move: Flight Facilities – Clair De Lune feat. Christine Hoberg It’s really very haunting and complex, and too long for radio. But struck a chord with listeners.
If you have an image of the faces in the walking sticks, please do let me know. When I was a kid I had this weird Polynesian carved cylindircal chunk of timber about half a foot tall, and the face peering out from the wood had pointy teeth and a leering angry expression. Can’t even recall where it came from. And the vertical edges below the face had wavy lines down to the bottom. It left me with the concept that the wood spirits shared different concerns from say you and I. Walking sticks are meant to assist a person in their forest (or other walking) journey, and it seems presumptious to expect them to lead us upon optimal paths .
And that’s what lead me on that motorbike experience – a desire to use less. But as you’ve noted, there are hidden costs. Man, down here bad roads, tram lines, and that ubiquitous slippery in the wet thick road paint – also added too much to that drama. I did a decade on that machine, and got the end and felt like I’d burned through the nine lives. Commuter traffic is no fun on a motorbike.
Interesting indeed! It’s a touch of arrogance of western culture to assume that all folks see the world through the same eyes, and for your info I rely very heavily on gut feelings to both alert me to mischief and provide guidance. Had lunch with friends today and we spoke about the continuum between feelings and intellect, and how that intersects with power and will. Plus there were some burgers. They were good too. 🙂
It’s rained here all day today. Filthy wet and cold. And that looks set to continue for the next two weeks.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
Ah, thanks for the reminder as to the book. As I remarked to Pam, and out of sheerest curiosity: How could anyone make TB fun? Have to chuck the book on the to-read list. 🙂 It interested me that the author recovered from TB, and I’m hardly surprised that the disease struck following WWII with prolonged stress and food shortages.
They played the countdown today for hottest Australian songs of the past fifty years, and I’d suggest that 2.65 million votes (clearly we love a good poll down here) is statistically accurate. Not a bad number for the small population size. Interestingly, it was the young adults (18 – 29 years of age) who voted the number one spot as a song from almost 35 years ago. That’s some staying power. As you’ve been ill recently, I won’t subject you to INXS’s song Never Tear Us Apart. A lovely string arrangement and good saxophone solo though. Guess 70 million albums has some weight to it. 🙂
That’s good news about being well enough to handle the schedule, food and stairs. Ah, the beast is now known and has been named. The traditional cure involved fresh air and sunshine, which you seem to be getting. Hope nobody hassled you in the garden? That would be a very unkind act.
Went into the city today to have lunch with friends. A lively discussion was had with much laughter and good burgers were consumed. A person could ask for a nicer day, but it’s highly probable the universe won’t deliver it. However, I should note that the rain continued all day here to today. Oh my, it’s incredibly wet outside now and all next week looks kind of seriously winter shaped (as in both wet and cold).
If the hose is only a few years old, the UV from the summer sunshine totally destroys those cheaper plastics. And they get cracks which produce fine jets of water, maybe like what you’re seeing? Hoses are generally sold down here with an expectation of life span and abilities to withstand developing kinks. As a guide it’s not a bad approach.
Out of curiosity, how do you go about repairing a damaged hose? I’d splice the hose at that point and add a joiner.
Go the pumpkin vines, and their Triffid like qualities are well known. Exhibit A: don’t lie down in the warm summer sunshine in a comfy spot near to the vines. You know what will happen. Nuff said. Interestingly, I grow the blueberry bushes near to the pumpkin vines as well, but have never seen the vines climb them here, they sort of sprawl in all directions instead. Aren’t they spiky too, the rotten things?
Hey, that’s wisdom to know when to run. Nice one, and sad to say, but some people never get that memo. Funnily enough we were talking about that very subject today. I tend to observe people closely, especially in situations where there is a power imbalance, and if they display a red flag, well that gets the ol’ brain working on overtime.
Bummer about the refrigerator compressor and plumbing being noisy. That’s not good, and it’s not like you can switch the machine off either. Fingers crossed that it does not become a permanent fixture. And I’d have to suggest that your fridge is not as expensive, and with those water systems, well, they always taste a bit not right to my palate. Of course, I may be being overly sensitive, but with the taste, I do wonder about what’s going on inside those machines. Funnily enough I tend to drink water from the tap, but then people can freak out about consuming rainwater. It’s all very complicated, but the up-shot is that the need for such a device is not in my consciousness, but if they’re happy with the thing, that’s cool.
Ah, yes, water can always be a problem with timber flooring. That peeling up a bit I’ve heard described as de-laminating. The laminated stuff down here usually has a strong backing of plywood. One of the to-do jobs here is re-oiling the timber flooring, and I keep putting that job off.
Happy Birthday, and you share the day with notable personages. Glad you’re feeling better for the day too. Was H on her very best behaviour today? Sir Mick has an enviable track record. Hey, flame wars on the interweb have been fought by valiant keyboard warriors over the issue of pizza and pineapple. They’re merely jealous they didn’t think of the combination themselves. Was it a decent pizza?
Ook! Mustn’t tempt fate lightly. My lot all died fairly young, except for one or two notable high achievers. Someone has to bring up the average don’t you reckon?
Talk about side effects, like no septum. 🙂 Man, that’s like having a pet bear – just keep the beast well fed is my thinking.
Look forward to reading your report from the bibliophile trenches! Reading is such a joy.
Cheers
Chris
@ Pam – Thanks for the article on Lapland. My people! One branch of my mother’s family, back a ways, were reindeer herders. Not talked about, much, as the Laps were indigenous people, and pretty much treated like indigenous people, everywhere. Lew
Yo, Chris – News of the World, up first, I guess. I saw a review of the new “Dexter: Resurrection.”
https://www.npr.org/2025/07/25/g-s1-78731/dexter-resurrection-review
I see you’re having a bad algal bloom along your coasts. Kangaroo Island was mentioned. 4,500 square kilometers (1,737 square miles) of ocean life wiped out … so far.
Just out of curiosity, I wondered if anyone else was interested in that documentary film I asked the library to purchase. “When We Went MAD!” They ordered six copies. I see there are already twelve holds on it. My hold is head of the queue.
I’m also at the head of the queue for a new book I see they’ve put on order. “The End of the World As We Know It: New Tales of Stephen King’s The Stand.” It’s a collection of short stores, by numerous authors. Introduction by King. Oh, my. I see it’s 800 pages! It’s being released the middle of next month.
A music countdown? I thought they only did those around New Year’s? Oh, I suppose it will perk up your midwinter doldrums. 🙂
Night before last, I had a veg and rice mix for dinner. Oddly, I was craving salt. So instead of sprinkling on the usual cider vinegar, I went with soy sauce. Seems to have done the trick. I usually don’t use a lot of salt. Must be a side effect of being sick. Last night, I just wanted a couple of fried egg sandwiches. There was some pretty good bread from the last food box. I had then with cheddar cheese. A little plane yoghurt as a spread, with Coleman’s powdered mustard, mixed in. Tasty. Simple.
Our high yesterday was 72F (22.22C). Our overnight low was 48F (8.88C). Hmmm. We haven’t seen an overnight low in the 40s, in awhile. The forecast high for today is 75F.
The hose is pretty old, and I just hope we can baby it along to the end of the season. I just try and find the puncture, and wrap it with duct tape. When the hose is dry. I missed the target. But marked where it is with a felt tip marker, and will give it another go.
I also drink tap water. Although I’ve recently purchased one of those water pitcher filters, that you put in the fridge. I’d guess people hesitate about the rain water due to the bird poop factor. 🙂
I’ll make the pizza, this evening. I’ve got everything lined up, though I was asleep at the switch and forgot to pick up Mozzarella cheese. it will probably be a mix of cheddar and Swiss. We went down to the Club for a cuppa, last night, and did some grocery shopping. Then I watered the garden. I felt pretty tired. I guess the trick is to push a bit, but not overdo to get back to standard operating condition. 🙂
Seventy-six is such an odd number, but sort of special. Other than my new age. There’s the “Spirit of ’76,” which refers to our country’s founding, in 1776. And, one of the petrol companies, here, was “Phillip’s 76.” I was doing a check to make sure I had the right company. They mentioned that they used to give out little styrofoam balls, to go on a cars whip antenna. Which came in very handy during Spokane’s blizzard of 1968, to locate cars in snow drifts. 🙂
I didn’t quit understand Bryson’s take on the setting up of the Great Depression. In 1927, a bunch of finance guys, quietly got together, at a posh estate in upstate New York. “…four international bankers were quietly laying the groundwork for the collapse of the stock market and the Great Depression that followed. That wasn’t their intention or expectation, of course, but that was the effect of it.” Sounds like a case of “Seems like a good idea. What could possibly go wrong?”
“…Benjamin Strong, governor of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; Sir Montagu Norman, governor of the Bank of England; Hjalmar Schacht, head of the Reichsbank in Germany; and Charles Rist, deputy governor of the banquet de France.”
The problem was, too much gold was piling up in the US, and that was slowing the wheels of international trade. Here’s where Bryson kind of lost me. The US Federal reserve bank agreed to cut its discount rate from 4.0 percent to 3.5 percent. To encourage holders of gold to move their savings to Europe, where they would enjoy higher returns. “…gambled that the American economy could absorb the stimulus of a small rate cut, without going crazy. It would prove to be a spectacular miscalculation.” “The result was the Great Market Bubble of 1928.” Did you get that? I think I got most of it. Sort of. 🙂 Lew
@ Lew:
I used to have a copy of The Egg and I; for some reason I liked the movie better. I had not heard of her other books, like The Plague and I. Thanks for mentioning it. I thought TB was mostly a thing of the past by 1948.
Pam
Hi Lewis,
Ooo, Dex is back! Darker than ever, apparently. Yes, it’s on the to-watch list. Peter Dinklage can only up the vibe. It’s a stellar cast, but put to good use doing what they do best.
It’s a massive algal bloom, no getting around it – and has wiped out an extraordinarily sized chunk of ocean. What did we expect? This is what living on a polluted planet looks like. The mouth of the mighty Murray River is not far from there and it drains a huge percentage of the eastern continent. A lot of agricultural land and maybe some waste from large towns and cities. Yup. What’s happening at the moment is that people are demanding the government do something about it.
Nice to be at the head of the queue, which is not always the case. Look forward to your review of the documentary. I’ve only got fond memories of that publication.
As a side story, that was also the title of a most excellent and rather aged now, REM song. The content was about a party the band went too, which must have blown their minds, and it’s a pleasure to hear the frenetic pace of those familiar lyrics belted out by Michael Stipe. Ah, fan-fiction is a wondrous thing, and I’ve enjoyed such a compilation. It’s a homage and nod of respect to the ultimate creator of the fictional post-apocalyptic world.
PS: I enjoyed the unabridged edition of The Stand. The additional 400 previously cut pages were a delight to roam the imagination amongst.
The usual countdowns are held near to, but no longer on, the Australia Day public holiday. This was a special countdown with only Australian songs from the past 50 years as a birthday celebration. The national youth broadcaster is only slightly younger than I, or Michael C Hall for that matter!
Mate, if I’d been barfing up my gut contents, then salt is definitely on the menu – a rehydration solution is not a bad idea at such moments as well. You’ve provoked memories of dunking handmade Dim Sim (the Australian variant of the traditional Chinese Dim Sum – and yes, we’re winning on that front) into Soy sauce and taking a big bite. So good, but yeah salty. Simple foods are best for you given the past weeks events. Hope you are feeling better today?
The year is moving on for you, and the days are ever so slowly getting longer here. Another filthy cold and wet winters day. It’s been an interesting week weather wise. By September, I reckon your growing season will be coming to a close. Please do tell your plants from me to get a wriggle on and do their thing, or else. 🙂
Hope the repairs to the hose work. At the very least, the duct tape will stop the worst of the fine leak. But those things don’t have the staying power they used to have.
How’s the water filter work from your perspective? Does it have some sort of disposable cartridge (presumably with a carbon filter)? Yeah, I hear that story about the bird poop, and retort with the naughty observation that fish do all manner of things in your water. 😉 Always gives me a laugh.
Given your week, the cheese lack is probably the least of your concerns – although H may be demanding some cheese tax which might not be forthcoming. Did the pizza turn out OK, mozzarella lack to the side? That’s good too, I like that line about standard operating condition. Very clever! But yes, there comes a time for a touch of self care. We’ve all been there. Had a long nap this afternoon, but wet winter weather is very much shaped as a time to chill out and relax.
Congrats on the achievement. It’s impressive and you’ve set the standard to which we can all aspire too. My lot didn’t get that far, but then there were let’s just say, some lifestyle issues there. Far out! Nobody wants to experience such a blizzard. Hey did you guys have the ubiquitous fox tails hanging off car radio antennas back in the day? The addition sends a strong message along the lines of a ‘devil may care’ attitude. Although sticking out of the snow would have provided folks with a mystery as to what happened to the rest of the fox.
Dr Bryson is an astute bloke. Cabals doing stupid things are always a problem at any point in history, but ordinary everyday greed has a lot to say about that historical event as well. When average income is so low that demand crashes, we’re all in for a world of hurt. Personal discretionary income is under attack from the same old forces of economics and society right now. Funny you mention that story.
I understood the story about as well as can be expected for a person living a century into the future. 😉 People and other entities will party, until they can no longer party. What happens then, will be interesting.
The weather was again filthy today, so we took it really easy. Decided to head north and grab a gourmet pie for lunch.
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – Well, I’m looking forward to the next chapter in the Dexter saga. No spoilers, if you watch it! I’ll have to wait until the library gets it.
We have dead zones, around the mouths of most of our rivers. Though with all the “clean water acts,” things on that front have gotten slightly better. Same with our rivers. Some have shown remarkable recovery.
Looking down the rabbit hole, to get more info on the new King book, I ran across references to the REM song. Which I remember. They did crank out some classics.
Ah, I see. An Australian only song countdown. None of those Yank ditties or British Invasion clap-trap. 🙂 If you’re going to theme a countdown, it’s a way to go.
I’ve also been hitting the yoghurt, pretty hard. I figure the illness probably disturbed the old gut biome. Although my digestion has been fine. By the way, the typing problems seem to have worked themselves out. I really believe I must have had some kind of a small brain “event.” But as I was hoping, other neurons must have picked up the slack, around any small injury. Other people might have run off and got brain surgery. 🙂 It’s kind of like the knee meniscus. Given time, other muscles around a meniscus injury will pick up the slack. Most people (as with my friend Scott), run off and get surgery.
Our high yesterday was 70F (21.11C). Our overnight low was 48F (8.88C). The forecast high for today is 77F. It will be warming, over the next few days.
I’ve got two zucchini developing. There may be a few more. Both kinds of runner beans are flowering, but no pods developing, yet. The cherry tomatoes are beginning to ripen up. Time to break out the dehydrator.
Up the sidewalk from where I sit with the dog on the garden wall, at the end of the block, all of a sudden a bunch of little flags were deployed. Stuck in the ground on wires. I wondered if it was some planned utility work. The night manager, revealed all. There’s a large, in-ground wasps nest. One of the landscapers was stung, 18 times. As to who, or when that will be taken care off, I don’t know. There have been more wasps around the gardens.
The duct tape slowed the hose leak, but didn’t entirely eliminate it. Good enough.
Yes, the filtered water pitcher has a cartridge in it, to remove impurities. Turns color when it needs a change. I got if for a couple of reasons. Besides my own health, or the dog’s. 🙂 If I ever get around to getting some sourdough started, filtered water would be a good idea. If I ever get around to starting more houseplants, ditto.
I’m pretty careful what I give H, for treats. Or, as additions to her diet. I thought cheese was off limits, but I see the low fat stuff, in moderation, can be beneficial. I’m always casting about for additions to her kibble … that she’ll eat. So far, mixed veg, reconstituted cranberries and rice are about all she’s interested in eating. I was thinking about how many fat dogs I see around. I think it’s due to all the drive throughs (among other reasons). Anytime H and I go through a drive through, dog treats are on offer. I manage to fend them off, by claiming allergies. Some people at the Club can be a problem. She’s maintained a svelte 12 pounds, since I’ve known her. She’s a lady who watches her figure. 🙂
Can’t say I’ve ever noticed fox tales, being a thing here. Back in the roaring 20’s, raccoon tales (and coats) were all the rage. Davey Crocket coon skin hats, in the early 50s. I had one. Edward Gorey, the artist, sported a raccoon coat, well after they had gone out of style. He used to wear it to the ballet and opera … set off with tennis shoes 🙂 .
In that chapter on the lead up to the Great Depression, Bryson also talked about the rise of installment buying. “Buy now, pay later.” That whole concept fed into buying stocks on margin. “Lay away,” was another vehicle. It’s never gone entirely away, but seems to be on the rise again. Even e-buy has some kind of a deferred purchase plan. When they’re not flogging their own branded credit cards. it’s all about instant gratification … which is a pitch they use.
There’s a new, potential Olympic sport developing. Competitive Table Setting.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/tablescaping
It sounds frighteningly competitive. :-). Lew
Yo, Chris – I forgot to mention the pizza! Well, I made my pizza, last night. I slipped up, a bit, but no harm done. I missed a step, in the recipe. Letting the dough sit for an hour, to get a bit of a rise. Which I did. By then it was getting pretty late. I was going to watch “Silent Running,” but opted for the final episode of “Grantchester,” season eleven. A British mystery. So, I made a 16″ pizza, with chopped up sausage and pineapple. Garlic. Fresh basil and cherry tomatoes out of the garden. I simmered some tomato sauce with Oregano. I’d forgot to get Mozzarella cheese, so used a mix of cheddar cheese and Swiss. It turned out well. Tasty. Plenty of leftover to have cold, for breakfast 🙂 . Lew