Storm clouds gathering. Carrion birds fighting over the carcass. An ill wind. A somewhat dark view of the future. The economic side of this here civilisational Greek tragedy, is impossible to argue against. In the 1970’s, my mother, who was single with three children, enjoyed a free-of-cost part time University degree, worked full time, with the employer even providing paid time off in which to study. There was also enough excess income in the household with which to purchase a house, pay utilities, and place three basic meals on the table each day. Sure, it wasn’t a flash life, and at one point I was attending a High School for disadvantaged kids, but none of that story is possible these days. Nuff said really.
‘But we’ve got so much stuff, dude! ‘will surely be the next rallying for a more favourable view. It’s true too, but some of that stuff is sadly not all that great. Sandra was recounting a story to me this morning she’d recently read about in the news. It was a sad tale about a bloke who was having troubles with his fairly new large car. Apparently the engineering tolerances for the machine in question were so tight, that problems occurred when it was being used for its intended purpose. Sucks to be him, and why do people want such big cars anyway? They cost more to purchase, run and maintain. I just don’t like that story, and instead prefer smaller Japanese built cars. That lot know what they’re doing when it comes to manufacturing.
Anyway, my best guess is that the engineering problems have something to do with Jevon’s Paradox. The astute gentleman in question was a 19th century economist, who basically noted that: technological improvements which increase efficiency leads to err, bigger cars. Well, he may not have exactly said that, but the gist of what he did observe. So more efficient engines and drive trains, explains the audacity of huge current vehicle trends. Well, that explains that, moving on.
This blog has never really been about ideas. Smarter brains than mine have pondered and written about these mysteries for longer than I’ve been around, and anyway, I’d have run out of ideas long ago, maybe even after a week or two! Pesky things. Nope. Instead, the stories as to how the ideas plays are far more interesting. And fortunately there are plenty brave enough to peer into the murky depths and likewise ponder the many curious events which make up our lives. The weekly stories hold a mirror up, as if to say, what does this here civilisation look like? Plus I’m inflicted with chattiness, so this forum is all very good therapy for me. Thanks for reading!
You know, yesterday I met up with a bloke in a small country petrol station (Gas station in US parlance), and exchanged a six digit number, for eight used solar panels. It was a remarkably unconventional transaction, which on reflection sounds a bit dodgy. Still, the whole thing was above board, and clearly the venue was chosen because the guy was perhaps simply anxious about me seeing his abode. Looking at the blokes online history, he makes his cash by selling scrap items. And yes, if ever there was a mad moment in a civilisation, it is one in which perfectly good solar photovoltaic panels are considered waste items with little value. That story is completely nuts.
Having lots of available roof space and land, there are a lot of solar panels installed here for various purposes. And, when the very first solar panel was purchased way back in 2008, they cost me $750 each. So, it is very difficult to comprehend how the purchase of the most recent 24 panels (yes, in English that refers to Twenty Four individual units) cost a total of $700. That story makes no sense to me whatsoever. However, I’m absolutely happy to assist with the societal waste problem in this instance.
Turns out, that when households upgrade a grid tied solar power system down under, they’re not allowed to use the existing panels, no matter how good they are. So the things automatically become scrap items, which are usually sent overseas. It’s complete madness given how extraordinarily difficult the panels are to manufacture in the first place. Whenever I hear politicians crying crocodile tears in relation to the environmental woes our civilisation is racking up, the words: “Yeah, sure”, spring to mind. Reuse should always be the first option, just like the serious old timer environmentalists used to say in the 1970’s: Reuse, Repair, and only then, Recycle. So glad that we live in more enlightened days where recycling is the perverted first option, but oh the waste!
Whatever. We do things efficiently. The plan that day anyway was to have an enjoyable day off work, which involved a drive an hours distance up north to grab a gourmet pie. Why not head fifteen minutes further up the road with the trailer, and load up on eight used solar panels? Why not indeed. Plus the pies were good, lamb and rosemary. Here’s a photo for your interest:
So tasty, and on the table is also a bottle of non-alcoholic Ginger Beer. Way back in the day, the bottle would have been returned for reuse, and a mercenary youth (such as myself) would have earned some mad cash. But no longer. It ended up in the trash. It wasn’t all that long ago when tomato sauce was served to all from a much larger bottle, but now there are these nifty plastic sachets, again disposed of in the trash. Forget about the paper plates, because the pie was awesome.
The drive back with the attached trailer full of solar panels was a bit slower than usual due to the load. Spare a thought for the Suzuki Jimny and it’s diminutive 1.5L / 92 cu in motor. It handled the extra weight with aplomb, but just took more concentration behind the wheel than in less laden circumstances. Hard work, so why not stop off at the nearby ice cream shop on the way home? The day was warm…
Observant readers will be just able to see the solar panels neatly stacked and securely tied down in the galvanised trailer, which is notably longer than the small car itself.
With the hunger sated, we continued on our way, and when about two kilometres (1.5 miles) from home on a forested track, one of the car tyres went rapidly flat.
Such moments are a good opportunity to meet locals, who’d I not previously encountered. They of course were wondering why I was parked near to their driveway, and even thoughtfully offered to assist – which was nice, but unnecessary. Fortunately they were not of the ardent gun wielding suspicious sort, which could have been an uncomfortable interaction. The tyre was replaced fairly quickly, but it’s possible that the chunk of rubber is a write off (Edit: It was). They don’t make them like they used to, but perhaps I expect too much.
It wasn’t long afterwards that we and the solar panels made it home again. All was good with the world, except maybe that earlier in the week was rather smoky due to all of the bushfires burning across the state. Made for some lovely sunsets though, like this one:
The lack of rain this month of January has really dried the place out, although from what we observed, things are drier in other parts of the state. The ground cover plants in the sunny orchard are drying out the fastest.
Still, regardless of the smoke and heat, work continues. The firewood job for the year has now been completed. Yay! It sure felt good finishing that annual task.
The last load of firewood we brought back up the hill only needed to be a half-load, so the large yellow power wheelbarrow was filled up with rocks for the gabion project. Why do less?
The summer warmth has caused the wild blackberry canes growing in the steep embankment on the uphill side of the house, to go feral. They were everywhere, and whilst they do produce some tasty berries, the thorns are wicked sharp and not fun at all. Here’s a small sample of them attempting a brutal take over:
It’s impossible to remove the canes from the steep bed once and for all. I’ve tried that, and learned the hard way that even the tiniest of missed root system, will produce a whole new plant. In these enlightened days, the canes are simply cut out of the beds, and at that knocks them back for the season. Like a zombie, those plants will come back. To cut the canes near to the ground level, I use the Stihl GTA 26 mini battery chainsaw on a long extension pole. Works a treat!
The steep garden bed now looks much neater. Hard to believe it was 42’C / 108’F last week, and those plants received no additional watering.
Whilst doing the clean up work, I noticed that many of the well established ferns had produced many fern babies. Here’s a couple of them:
The recent hot weather finally ripened the apricots which had survived a 0’C / 32’F frosty morning early on in the growing season. We harvested 5kg / 11 pounds of the tasty fruit, which will be preserved as an apricot jam.
The raspberry crop has about wound up for the summer, but ever so slowly the thornless blackberries are beginning to ripen. Those will also be preserved as a delightful jam.
The first of the seasons tomatoes have formed on the vines.
We’re growing tomatoes both in the open and also inside the greenhouse. Most days the tomato vines in the greenhouse are being slowly pruned and trained so that they climb up the sturdy fully synthetic, nothing found in nature, 3mm cord. The stuff is meant to be UV stable too, so hopefully we are able to use it next summer, maybe.
Apples and Pears are having their usual bumper season, and the trees are full of fruit, which may be used to make cider and peri. The many birds who reside here, have other plans, but we should at least get something to harvest.
It looks as if the local owls have cleaned up the possum population, hopefully! Regular readers will recall that last year, Kuato the Brush Tail Possum somehow managed to pack around 600 kiwi fruit into his gut. Then in a bizarre turn of events he became too indolent to protect himself from the owls. Let’s hope that situation doesn’t reoccur.
Onto the flowers:
The temperature outside now at about 11am is 23’C (74’F). So far for this year there has been 9.4mm (0.4 inches) which is up from last weeks total of 4.8mm (0.2 inches)
Comments
47 responses to “Utter madness”
Yo, Chris – So much stuff. When you look at interiors of homes, from the 1930s to beginning of the 1950s, they look to the modern eye, almost barren. And a lot of the decor (doilies and such) were homemade. Often, some of the smaller pieces of furniture, too. Even the people looked more … svelte.
Prices of some things seem to be down. My desk top computer cost half of what it did, 15 years ago. Prices of tech seem to fall. It’s the early adapters that pay through the nose.
Oh, don’t get me started on recycling. A lot of it is mostly theatre. Some smart boys and girls attached air tags to their recycling, and then tracked what happened to it. Most of it ended up in landfills. Recycling will not happen, unless someone can make money off of it.
Those lamb pies look fairly substantial. I was going to tweek you about the paper plates, but you fessed up before I had a chance. 🙂 And then ice cream on top? All a well deserved bit of celebratory tucker, given the completion of this year’s deposits to the Firewood Bank of Fernglade Farm.
Oh, what rotten luck. A flat tyre. A poor ending to an almost perfect day. I forgot to mention. I checked my tyre pressure, last week. Much to my surprise, they were all up to snuff.
That is a beautiful sunset. Pity about the source. I see Chili and Argentina are also beset by wildfires.
Oh, I’ve had my go-arounds with blackberries. Besides the roots, as you probably know, if the tip touches the ground, it takes root. Once they take root, they can be difficult to yank out. Twice I ended up flat on my back, staring at the sky, as I didn’t brace my feet right. Luckily, the last place I lived I had a couple of borrowed goats to help me knock back the blackberries. But the canes needed to be burned. Even goats have their limits.
Fernlits! Such pretty and interesting plants.
I’m sure the apricot jam will be quit yummy. Looks like you’re going to get all kinds of fruit, this year. 26 varieties of apples! Doing your bit to keep genetic diversity alive. An American grocery store only carries 6-10 varieties of apples.
Hydrangeas are quit lovely. Apparently, they’re harder to grow here. But not too much. They just seem to need constant attending. The Master Gardeners have a small grove of several species. They even do a yearly Hydrangea seminar for the public. But it seems like they’re always doing something to them. Lew
Hi Lewis,
Yeah, exactly, and news footage of crowds from fifty years ago is almost like looking at a different species. Did you note that the Land of Stuff is now catching up with your country on a health front. The latest craze there are voluntary food prisons. Australian woman documents her stint in Chinese weight loss ‘prison’. What a fun job that would be… My favourite quote from the article: “It was very crazy.” Whatever will they think of next?
That matches my memories of the 1970’s, there was just less stuff and clutter around. And furniture was expected to last. Given we’ve been discussing hoarders recently, is it a relatively recent phenomenon?
Yeah, the early days of going off grid was a very expensive experience. Everything cost more, and some of it still does. In fact if I did the lot all over again, and had the capital to do so, it’d be considerably cheaper, but still not as cheap as a grid connected electricity service. Say what you will, but that energy is dirt cheap compared to going off grid.
Hehe! A fine rant Mr Lewis, and one I enjoyed thoroughly, mostly because we are of one mind on this subject of recycling. Man, I never thought I’d get to the day where I’d suggest that it was better for the environment in the long run, to simply burn the plastic off and recover at least some of the inherent energy. So much (and please excuse the unintended pun) rubbish is talked about recycling. And ain’t that the truth? If it’s economically feasible to recycle rubbish, it’ll get recycled, but until then. There are allegedly subsidy and grant seekers hoping to tap into the solar panel recycling business. Now I’d like to be surprised, but my gut feeling is not all that good with that high tech stuff.
That’s a $12 pie, and absolutely, it is worth every cent. 🙂 Hehe! Nice one about the paper plates, and I do my best, and what you can’t see in the photo was that we took our own cutlery which was brought home and washed. They supply timber use-once knife and forks (which we don’t request), which end up in the bin, or during winter we bring the rubbish home, and burn it off. The summer months are a bit more challenging to manage waste burns in the brazier.
Oh yeah, the ice cream was superb. And they make the stuff on site. Looking at the building, I reckon it is an old dairy dating back to about the 1920’s. Those bricks used are known as “old red’s”, and are quite solid and expensive to purchase (second hand of course). I laid a brick wall once with those, and they’ve got a lot of character.
Full stores of firewood, is like mad cash in the bank, but better. 😉
Went to the tyre repair mob this morning, and I’ve known the bloke for at least fifteen years, and he looked after me. It’s great having that sort of long term business relationship, and we had some laughs, but just as importantly, I got some excellent advice in relation to the tyres – he’s a fan of the Suzuki four wheel drive vehicle. They’re also fixing up the flat on the mower tyre. I spent about half an hour yesterday scratching my head trying to comprehend why there was no simple replacement tube for the mower tyre, and now I know – there isn’t one, you use a slightly different size. Far out.
Are they? Oh my, Chile is doing it tough, and the photos of the town looked as though it’d been bombed – like as in what went on in Dresden during WWII. Yup, seems like Argentina is copping it too, as well as South Africa. There are some similarities with the latitude, lets put it that way. All the smoke particulates entering the atmosphere will cool the climate in the Southern Hemisphere over the next year or so.
Turns out that tyres, ain’t all the same, and it’s good that your lot has maintained their pressure. I’ve learned recently (and mentioned this) that people often purchase new vehicles, and then immediately replace the set of tyres – the suggestion there is that perhaps the manufacturers attempt to scrimp and save on production costs. Who knew? I ran the original set of tyres into the ground – and got my pound of flesh from them. Makes you wonder what happens to all of the collected civilisational tyre dust?
Did the goats consume the leaves of the blackberry plants and leave the bare canes? I’ve never seen how the animals deal with blackberry and always wondered what goes on.
The ferns give the place a lush and cool look, even when the environment is otherwise. Some species are tough as old boots too.
Yes, and hopefully in future years we’ll plant more apple and pear trees, but there’s work to be done before that moment. Dude, you’d be lucky to encounter three or four varieties of apples in a supermarket down here.
What? I do nothing to the Hydrangeas, and they come back year after year. Barely any water either, but they do thrive in near total shade here. I reckon they’d do poorly in the full sun.
How have I not heard of this lot before? But, the Hanseatic League merchants probably represented a threat to err, authoritas. I’m unsurprised they were dismantled over a long enough period of time.
Hardly surprising that tornadoes would be present on the old continent. Quite common down under, but usually forming in very remote and out of the way locations – like the minor one which ripped through here long ago. A regret is not taking a photo of the strange looking cloud heading up the valley.
Not sure that I’m competent to face a sand geyser. 🙂 Far out, who knew these monsters were a thing? Did you see the photo of the Martian surface? Talk about explosive.
Regrets, we’ve all had a few. We simply don’t have much choice about variable rates down here. It’s just life. There are many things in your country which are quite good.
Oh my gawds! There are two deer. Ollie and I just cleared them off. Talk about speed dating, what have these animals got – a deer interweb? Not happy. And a wallaby broke into the citrus enclosure last evening, so I spent a few hours placing sturdy rocks at the weak points in the fencing. It was a shandy day of paid work, and work around here, which also happened to be quite warm when out in the sunshine hauling rocks. Oh well, a couple of the smaller fruit trees were damaged by the wallabies.
Abby probably had good reason to see the postman drifter leaving town, things had probably gotten a touch hot. 🙂 A fun film.
Hey, spotted plenty of carob pods on the tree today. This year I’ll chuck the pods in the food dehydrator.
Inversion layers are a thing in the big smoke as well, thus the name. Strangely enough, the thick air doesn’t carry the odour of pollutants. It was windy here this morning, before easing off and it’s now calm.
Interesting that wildfire folks are part of the official brigades. There’s a separation of that down here between the big smoke, and everywhere else in the state. I see no reason why the big smoke folks won’t have a bushfire at some point.
🙂 None of us are perfect, and perspective upon our individual flaws is always of use. Oh yeah, the cast iron staircases are lovely, and way long ago could be bought in kit form. The individual treads were slotted into the central pole, and it was a nifty – but super heavy – staircase design.
Made it up, maybe.
Yeah, a bloke’s gotta know when to attend meetings, and when to run.
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – I saw an article this morning about a rediscovered Australian plant.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/plant-species-presumed-extinct-reappears-045816331.html
LOL. I hope that app is better than the one the Master Gardeners were using. It identified Fennel, as Dill. 🙂 Maybe your deer, are using a dating app?
That article about the fat prisons was interesting. Sounds like the author’s mother is an almond mom. We’ve had such facilities here, for a long time. In less enlightened times, we called them “fat farms.”
It’s speculated that hoarding has been around for centuries. Hoarders pop up in literature from the early 1800s. There were the infamous Collyer Brothers, in New York City in the 1940s. But it wasn’t listed as a definable psychiatric condition until the early 2000s. It sometimes tends to run in families. And recent genetic work has discovered a glitch in chromosome 14, that gives one a predisposition to hoarding.
Recycling: Forgot to mention I saw a Japanese toilet, with an interesting water recycling feature.
https://scoutmagazine.ca/we-want-this-ingenious-japanese-toilet-sink-hybrid/
And, from the humor magazine, The Onion …
https://theonion.com/mom-wants-to-know-if-you-could-use-grandma-s-antique-1-1831765783/
The ice cream building is a little gem. When I dropped off my electric bill at the local electric company, I noticed they’d finally torn down a nice little building, across the street. It was a one story, brick with terracotta trim, two store fronts. Probably, from the 1920s. Sad. But, apparently, the PUD needed more parking. 🙁
I’d cut a big bundle or two, for each goat, every morning. Of blackberries. By day’s end, all the leaves were gone and some of the cane. Those I’d collect and put in the burn barrel.
Of course, you’ve kept track of all 26 varieties of apples, in your orchard? 🙂 As to the varieties. Might even have them mapped?
Our high yesterday was 48F (8.88C). Our overnight low was 30F (-1.11C). The forecast high for today is 49F.
And, finally, the Amish are adopting solar technology.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/amish-communities-adapting-surprising-technology-123000079.html
Well, if it’s good enough for the Amish … Lew
Hi, Chris!
Thanks for being chatty!
We love Japanese cars and farm equipment, especially older (much older!) models.
Good score, those panels. My son (I occasionally do this, myself) meets up with people halfway between their house and ours, to sell or buy items that don’t need a trailer. It is customary around here. I was spraining my brain to figure out why people were ditching their solar panels and selling them so cheap. Well, you explained it: They aren’t even allowed to keep them in an upgrade. That’s shameful. My strained brain wonders if certain people in authority don’t own shares in solar panel manufacturing companies.
That is a tall pie, more like a tart, not like our short pies. Looks yummy. I used to earn money turning in aluminum (aluminium) cans. I think the tomato sauce is served that way because so many meals ordered are take-away.
What a charming brick building the ice cream shop is. I like that photo. The Jimny does look kind of small in front of it. Thank goodness you were off the main roads when you had the flat. In my experience, people are more likely to help than not. When I bought 4 new tires last summer, I had a flat on the 3rd day after I bought them. The fellow at the tire shop said it had a screw in it. Coincidence, or crapification?
Yay! the firewood bank is full! I hope that we are in the same position, as we are supposed to have a snowstorm Saturday and Sunday, with night temps around 10F for several days. And speaking of snow, this evening, my son was working on our gas-powered snowblower that a neighbor gave us years ago. I asked my son if he was being sure that it was in working order before the storm. He said: “Not for us! I’m going to sell it!” He says that this should be a good time. He has never liked that machine, though our neighbor did (he moved south).
Ha! My son just called out from the other room: A bunch of people have just listed snowblowers locally. Great minds, eh?
That’s why you are “Fernglade” – the ferns like it there so much.
11 pounds of apricots is really good. So, which tomatoes are doing better – in or out? Speaking of apples, I bought a Pink Lady today and tried it. It is very good. I may switch to that from Galas. You said TWENTY-SIX varieties?
Comfrey is like little bells; so sweet. Maybe I should try hydrangea, I see quite a bit of it in town. In fact, some are huge bushes. Wow! That globe artichoke gone wild is something else.
Thanks for the flowers!
Pam
Hi Pam,
🙂 My pleasure, and always up for a chat, and appreciate that you are as well.
Oh yeah, some of the old smaller Kubota tractors get refurbished down here and can be purchased at reasonable prices. You see them all over the place, and they’re a good size for smaller land owners, but at the same time are the real deal. Do they sell Kubota tractors in the US? And I’ve got nothing but praise for Japanese built cars. Back in the day, the locally built cars were pretty good too, and hey, Mad Max couldn’t be wrong! Mr Musty is a Toyota isn’t he? Respect.
Ooo! Thanks for confirming that such practices go on with the exchange of items. I’d not encountered that before and was a bit dubious but may need to get out more. It’s nice in bubble-land, don’t you reckon? 🙂 The bloke seemed quite genuine, although I sort of guess he was a bit anxious about the transaction early on, especially as I’d not understood the bit about providing a six digit code. Who knew? Easily found though.
Actually, I had a look into the subject, and couldn’t work out if the same situation with second hand solar panels was the same in your country for systems tied to the mains grid. Dunno. The practice seems wasteful, but my friend Simon tells me that one of the big issues in western civilisation is: what to do with over production. And he’s got a point, we do seem to create a lot of unnecessary waste. I do try to minimise waste as much as feasibly possible, but what do you? After a certain point, waste becomes a part of background stuff – like packaging. Presumably economics will sort that matter out, for a society can only produce waste when it can afford to do so. Oh well. This stuff strains my brain as well. 🙂
Interesting. It’s always fun to know the differences between countries, and a tart here would refer to a dessert. I’m curious, what is a short pie… … Ah, shortcrust. I believe they use ‘puff pastry’ for pies down under, or maybe even a combination of the two with shortcrust for the base, and puff pastry for the lid. An innovation!
Agreed, the tomato sauce is a takeaway individual serving size, which for your interest, were $0.50 each. I’ll bet those things would be cheaper in your country?
Hehe! Well done you, and yeah, they used to do the aluminium can collection thing down here as well. As a kid I’d scour local building sites for bottles and cans to recover for mad cash. There’s a system now, but it all looks very complicated.
Nice to show you around the area. That nearby town has a charming feel to it, but things are changing on the big smoke side of it with a huge housing estate. Once not all that long ago, it was a small town. Having a lot of commuters isn’t all that great for the local businesses which operate during the weekdays when commuter people are generally elsewhere.
It is a small car, and has quite the cult following down here. Other drivers of the machines wave to one another. Youch, the screw embedded in a tire can happen at any time, but with new tread, you’d at least hope to get some time before a puncture. At least with the tire staying inflated for three days, you know that it wasn’t a fault of the tire or wheel – those things can form cracks – I’ve experienced that. Mind you, I’m replacing the standard tires with thicker tires. It is crapification, and watching the deflated tire wobbling around is not an encouraging prospect. No wonder the car feels a bit sloshy on the road – keeps a person alert that aspect of the vehcile.
Oh my! Hope you’ve got a good book sorted out for the snow storm, and that Mr Baby behaves himself and does what needs doing outside quickly and speedily? It’ll get to 100’F again on Saturday, apparently. Must be something in the water…
Great minds indeed, and hope the machine gets sold, which it probably will. I’m sure that air conditioner sales go up down here, just prior to a run of hot weather. This week has been quite pleasant with most days hovering around the 86’F mark. Feels cool in the shade, but not out in the sun.
🙂 Happy ferns!
I’m pretty happy with the haul of apricots. A good year would see four or five times that amount of fruit, but one must be grateful for the harvest.
Interestingly, the tomatoes in and out are running neck and neck in the race. The ones in the greenhouse are slightly ahead, but they’re more mollycoddled. A second greenhouse would be nice. Every third day I wind the vines around the cords hanging from the ceiling. There’s green fruit too.
By the way. There were two deer last night, arriving from a different direction. Hmm. You were so right.
I like the Pink Lady apples more than the Gala’s, so glad you enjoyed them too. Yes, that’s right. Apples grow really well here, one of the biggest tree crops. They do need to be protected from the wallabies and deer, plus all the birds. Some Sulphur Crested Cockatoos had the hose turned on them this morning, and they flew off in a huff squawking all the way, but the smaller local birds rejoiced at their departure.
Out of curiosity with the Hydrangeas in town, do they cut the plants back hard prior to the winter months? They thrive here in full shade, and require very little attention.
It’s a beautiful colour, and the insects love those brightly coloured flowers. I’m still working out how to best manage the Globe Artichoke plants. Oh well always more to learn, isn’t there?
Got the house shields up this afternoon, and will probably only run the air con on the 100’F day. No need at this stage. 75’F indoors which feels nice.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
You’d hope the app was better, but sometimes a weight of opinion can misidentify a plant. 🙂 We’ve all been there, and dill and fennel flowers look sort of close-ish, but the aroma is very different. Man, it may have been arty-fish-al programs producing that incorrect identification? One must remain studiously sceptical with those programs, for they can make stuff up. Fennel grows wild here, as does dill, so they’re probably quite weedy, but in a good way. The insects absolutely love the flowers and sometimes I find myself in the garden munching upon fennel leaves. Quite tasty, although there’s some variety with the plants where one tastes better than another.
Man, walking past the Editor’s preserving shed an hour or so back, revealed the unmistakeable aroma of decomposition arising from under the floor. The dogs had been sniffing at the area for a few days, and I was mildly worried that there may be a snake under there. Not nice that stench, and hard to ignore in warm weather. 86’F here today, and that at least was quite pleasant. Anywhoo, I pulled the under floor panels off the shed and discovered the biggest dead rat that I’ve ever encountered. What did it die of? Old age! What a stink. It’s hard to avoid noticing that the more we feed the soil with minerals, the bigger everything is getting here. Candidly, it’s mildly disconcerting.
On that note, today I ventured into the big smoke to pick up the used coffee grounds and bean husks. There was no other reason to go, but they’re good soil minerals. Stopped off at the big box hardware store on the way home again to nab a large bag of blood and bone which will get mixed up with them as well as garden lime. A heady mix, which creates large rats – and other critters. I’ll mix it up maybe on the super hot day of Saturday which will crack the 100’F mark. Oh well, I mustn’t grumble as the rest of the week has hovered around 86’F with cool nights, and that is perfect summer weather. Albeit dry.
Have to laugh, when picking up the coffee grounds I had an amusing conversation. The bins had been moved to a new location, and with serious concern the question was asked: Am I OK with that? Occasionally being something of a cheeky scamp, I played along and pointed to a nearby plant and mentioned that there was discomfit at having to brush against the fronds of the palm in order to get to the bins – me pretending to be somewhat uncomfortable feeling at that. Cue actual serious sympathy for my plight, which I couldn’t allow to go on for too long before chiming in with the sharp retort: I’m just f#$^ing with you! We both burst out laughing, and I got her a goodie. Now, Lewis, all I have to fear is that revenge is a dish best served cold. 🙂 But for a moment there it was pure fun – over concern as a strategy can be taken too far. Hmm.
You’d hope that the deer don’t have a dating app, but I do try to err, urinate over their stool, which out-alphas the scent. But the herbivores are canny critters and they may win in the end. The deer scats are not dissimilar from the wombat equivalent in that territory gets marked out.
By the way, the wombats were seriously angry about the new rock fortifications for the fencing around the citrus enclosure. Those marsupials are like little armed tanks, and last night they broke in again – which I’m fine by. Where it went wrong was when the wallabies gained access. Now those are barred.
Oh my! Lewis, I so need to get into this fat farm industry. What an easy way to make mad cash, beats working for a living. 🙂 Of course a person would have to put up with a bit of whining and emotional manipulation, but what of that? Yeah, I could so do drill sergeant. You’re not paid to think soldier!
Ooo, interesting about historical hoarding. Ah yes, one must curb their enthusiasms lest they become a latter day Collyer brothers. Probably had enough mad cash to be considered eccentric.
The Japanese toilet is a very clever re-use of hand washing water.
And the Onion article, hmm. Talk about pointing out deliberate insensitivity to generational wealth inequality realities. Sorry man, but I got no laughs out of that one. You may wonder why I live a small life. Awareness is a thing you know! On the other hand, I have had people try to foist off inappropriate items onto me over the years. With your background in the tat trade, and my many attempts to sell things over the decades, we’ve long discussed that something is only worth in monetary terms, what the market will bear. And it’s so true. The original cost is incidental to that outcome.
The buildings I’ve tackled from the 1920’s were remarkably solid. Hope they enjoy the additional parking space…
Ah, thanks for the info with the goats and blackberry canes. I’d wondered how the animals consumed them, and the leaves are useful in all sorts of ways. Did a bit of hedge trimming this evening. It’s nice to head outdoors in the cooler air once the sun is headed down and has lost its sting.
Also chucked on the repaired tire for the low centre of gravity mower – and discovered why I now do all of the repairs myself. The tire was a perfect fix, but at some point in the past couple of years, someone used a power tool to drive home the bolts holding the wheel onto the axle. And they’d stripped the thread on a bolt – and never told us. What a nuisance, and fortunately I’ve got a tap and die set and could re-cut the thread on the bolt. Nobody is going to care more about this stuff than I will. Oh well. Serenity now! It’s an option…
Err, the tags for the apple trees blew away long ago. 🙂 Look, they seemed like a good idea at the time… Hehe! I kept a list and could probably identify the variety, maybe. Anywhoo, there’s a heritage fruit society in the big smoke, and one day I may add to the collection.
That lot are no fools, and benefited economically by not becoming a trail blazer like myself. I reckon that their systems will be small and with lots of scrounged parts. Respect. Very interesting indeed.
I noticed that the biggerest coal fired power plant in the country was granted another two years stay of execution until 2029. Probably a good idea. Serious idiots were in the media talking sadly about transition, without realising their goal would cause a lot of unnecessary mayhem.
Anyway, agreed, solar is now probably good enough for that lot! 😉
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – I see your rat story and raise you … I once moved a dresser, that had sat in the same spot for a number of years. When I finally moved it, I discovered a mummified rat that had bonded to the carpet. How it managed to do that, and not put up a stink, I’ll never know. Maybe your big rat was killed by a snake? 🙂
I presume the lime you picked up was the calcium carbonate? I consulted the list you posted, of the different limes. Which I copied and is safely in my garden journal.
Our high yesterday was 36F (2.22C). Our overnight low was 30F (-1.11C). Our forecast high for today is 46F. It’s been overcast, with no sun. But no rain either. At least not til the weekend.
Yes, I’d watch my step around the coffee shop. Avoid any offered coffee with a strong whiff of almonds. I’ve been watching too many British mysteries. Maybe they’ll just offer you a brew that’s been heavily salted.
So, the wombats have taken umbrage of your protective rock work. Maybe that’s why the wombat blocked your path, on the way to the chock house. The message might have been, “We need to have a talk.” 🙂
All this talk of fat farms reminded me of a true crime book, I read a few years back. Interesting as it was part of state history. “Starvation Heights.”
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/325148.Starvation_Heights
Oh, dear. My intent with linking to the Onion article was more about how antiques and collectibles are falling out of favor, due to smaller dwellings and people moving so much. Wealth inequality did not figure in.
But I agree about being “gifted” with inappropriate items. One of the reasons I dislike Christmas, so much. People leave stuff outside my door, and then I have to deal with it. If I were less neurotic, I’d just pitch it without a second thought. But I’m always miffed and agonize over what to do with whatever.
The gravity mower and the stripped bolts. Well, that’s a surprise no-one needs.
Your apple trees. Well, at least you’ve got a list. 🙂 Speaking of plants, last night I ordered some Yerba Mate and Yaupon seeds. They weren’t all that expensive. Being my usual arse-backwards self, THEN I looked into the cultivation from seed. Well, Yerba Mate can take a year to germinate and Yaupon? Up to two years. 🙁 I’m going to have to do some research, and see if there’s a way to speed up the process. I had a thought, thinking about how the birds spread those plants. Maybe if I ran the seeds through my digestive track … no, I don’t think I’ll go there.
I remember you’ve had plants that take forever to germinate. Japanese garlic? Turmeric?
The Amish are slow to move on new technologies. They examine it from all angles. They ask themselves hard questions, such as, “How will it impact the community?” “How will it impact the family?”
There’s an indigenous concept called the “Seventh Generation Principle.”
https://w.wiki/HYXE
Our Fearless Leader has put the kibosh on closing any coal electrical generation plants. Including our local one. Lew
Chris:
It’s funny that you asked if they sell Kubota tractors here – my son just bought a secondhand one. It is the medium size that he had needed. For tractors he now has: A tiny one (Yanmar), a medium one (Kubota), and a large one (John Deere), and the CAT.
Yes, Mr. Musty is a trusty Toyota.What did Mad Max drive?
I don’t understand about the six-digit code. What is that for?
“Presumably economics will sort that matter out, for a society can only produce waste when it can afford to do so.” I expect it is going to be rather painful.
No, I didn’t mean a shortcrust (had to look that up), just a pie with short sides, not tall like the ones you showed. Here’s a picture; I don’t think there is a recipe with it anyway.
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/chess-pie
Those tomato sauces are usually free here when you do take-away.
The snowblower has been sold. A fellow came by with a trailer to the house; no meeting in a parking lot.
The difference in tomatoes will probably be most noticeable at the end of the season.
I can’t recall what they do to the hydrangeas in town. I’ll keep my eyes open – if I can tell which shrubs are hydrangeas without their leaves on.
75F is nice for indoors. We are awaiting 9F (-12.8) next week.
Mr. Baby has big trouble. That squirrel that taunts him so much has built a nest in the wood pile on the front porch. Mind you, this is not stacked wood, we didn’t have time yet, just a really big pile. I have named this creature “Pickle” because my sister’s next door neighbor has a cat named Pickle who lurks in the shrubbery and rushes out at any dog that goes by; size doesn’t matter.
To add insult to injury, Pickle the Squirrel chewed up part of Mr. B’s blanket that’s on the table on the porch that is part of his drive-thru window, where he can exit and enter the house. I expect Pickle has heard of the coming cold.
You know how one says a “flock of chickens”? My sister says that Pickle is part of a “crock of squirrels”.
Pam
Chris:
Bad idea, building bigger rats.
Pam
Chris,
The Princess arrived home from the funeral and stuff in the wee hours the other morning. She rapidly held out her hand, grabbed my hand and shook it, then said, “Allow me to introduce myself. I’m your wife, the Princess. I’m home. Deal with it.” We had an enjoyable weekend just hanging out. She had to return to her brother today for the regularly scheduled trip.
She brought back two bags of goodies. I kept the dried deer meat. The dried salmon went to Killian’s human. Dame Avalanche and I arranged to meet Killian and human on a walk. And walk we did. We kept going and going and going. Down hills, then up, then down another, then up. Dame Avalanche slept very well that night!
Hmmmm, “High school for disadvantaged kids”. Having attended one of those that is a bit more than halfway to the OTHER extreme, and having one friend who went to a high school halfway between mine and yours, and being married to someone who went to one even closer to yours, I have a firm opinion here. People who attended high schools for less than moderately privileged people came out of high school with ACTUAL smarts. School of hard knocks type of smarts. Ability to actually think PROPERLY. Gratefully, I met the Princess and getting deprogrammed so that I could actually learn how to be a human being has been a great side benefit to being around her.
Think the first line of Paul Simon’s Kodachrome. “When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school, it’s a wonder I can think at all.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rlDTK6QI-w&list=RD8rlDTK6QI-w&start_radio=1
Thus, the Princess has helped me to realize that I’m simply a human being in the modern world and acting like a human being. The great tragedy of our time is summed up here:
“I’m just a HUMAN BEING trying to make it in a world that is very rapidly losing its understanding of BEING HUMAN.”
– John Trudell
Reuse. Repair. Only then recycle. Unfortunately, the modern way is to toss it away, recycle being one form of that. Things are built with planned obsolescence. Why? More money for the manufacturer. Which means more money for the owners and stockholders. Greed. Interestingly, many societies traditionally hold to the idea that the average individual in said society seeks to live harmoniously with others in that society, and with the land, critters, etc. One of the very first forms that “evil” takes in some of these societies is greed, as this greed takes one out of harmony and the greedy person then starts behaving in ways that disrupt the harmony and cause hardship and pain.
Those are PIES? They look like giant muffins. Malwort sells things like bran muffins and banana muffins that are shaped just like that only much smaller. I think one of those pies could feed both the Princess and myself. They’re huge. And they look good. Lamb and rosemary pie sounds scrumptious.
That’s a nice looking ice cream shop you stopped at. Those little holes in the wall in an old building are the best. Spokane has one, actually not too far from where I live. Fantastic ice cream.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doyle%27s_Ice_Cream_Parlor
We had been having a series of wonderful sunsets. Unfortunately, after last week’s freezing fog, we have become beset by clouds again. The winter grays. “Sky won’t snow and the sun won’t shine. Hard to tell the night time from the day.” Dame Avalanche has the right idea for days like these that hover right around the freezing mark: sleep more. Enjoyed the picture of your sunset.
After the Princess left today, it was time for errands. Then get a few things done around the house. Wednesday is more indoor chores. Thursday, maybe some carving, meet a friend for lunch, then several more days of reading and carving or pyrography.
DJSpo
Hi Pam,
I know! And surely I’ve brought this biggy ratty business down on my own head? Come to think of it, yesterday I nabbed another big bag of blood and bone meal to go with the used coffee grounds. Ook.
No way? What’s the chances of that happening, and hope your son is happy with the Kubota machine. I only hear good things said about them. A machine for every purpose yeah, and it’d be nice if there was one which could wear all the different hats required of it, but I’m yet to meet such a beast.
That film vehicle began life as a locally made 1973 Ford Falcon (XB) GT Coupe with a 351 cu in (5.8 L) V8. Too much information? 🙂 Those vehicles were pretty wild back in the day, and probably used a lot of fuel, but are quite mild relatively speaking given some of the things on the road these days. They’re quite small too.
Ain’t just you, I’d not been aware of the six digit code thing either. Down under, with eBuy (you know the one), all payments go through them. Presumably they can extract their payment and goobermint sales taxes from the funds. But! When you do a local pick up for a purchase, the system gives you a six digit code which you provide to the seller which they then enter into the system so asto get their mad cash. It’s a system which is arranged so as to stop many a naughty shenanigans, and everyone gets paid.
I’m with you about that. Sorry to say, but sometimes our species has to go through pain in order to change our ways.
I’m thinking shortcrust pastry, and you’re talking short sided pastry. Right. Language can be confusing at times! The Chess Pie looks superb, and chuck in some lemon and it’s not far off a Lemon Custard Tart. Also there is the fancier named Lemon Creme Brûlée which may indeed be the same thing as the tart!
What? Things are cheaper in your country. Probably priced into the item, maybe. I’d have to suggest that at $0.50, there’s a bit of margin on the sachets. 😉
Well done, and hope the snow blower is not required. I’ve never seen one used, but those things are not necessary here. Hey, does this sale free up some space for a new machine?
It’s interesting to see the difference in growing conditions between the greenhouse and outdoors. At the moment there is not all that great a difference with the tomatoes. The forecast for Saturday is for 104’F. Not looking forward to that at all.
Did a shandy day of paid work, and stuff around the property. Spent several hours breaking up boulders, and now have a good supply of large rocks to use on the new path project. 23 to be exact! Might do more on that path before the heat arrives.
I hear you about that, and it is hard to know what’s what when the plants are fully dormant.
It’s pretty nice that temperature, and the house works well when the air cools at night time. Sorry to say it, but 9F is not nice. Hope you stay warm in those freezing conditions. Like the summer heat here, it’ll pass, you just have to get through it first.
How’s this (and hope Mr Baby knocks some sense into the squirrel!)
Ah, Mr Pickle
You’ve done it again.
Holing up,
in an uncertain wood pile.
A smart move,
at first.
Firewood decamping,
a hapless squirrel,
exposed to the winter.
Once clever,
Mr Squirrel,
You’re now in something of a pickle!
Cats like that are brave beyond, and a long time ago, one such feline flipped a large dog upside down and pinned her down. I reckon we were all surprised by that unexpected turn of events. I had to rescue the dog…
Crock of squirrels indeed! 🙂 Fun stuff.
Cheers
Chris
Hi DJ,
Glad to read that your lady made it back from the funeral, in sort of stable winter weather. Would have made the drive easier. And that’s a very funny statement. Nice one, and it’s always good to share some friendly companionable time doing stuff.
Sandra went into the big smoke tonight for dinner with friends. Me and the dogs are chillin’ tonight :-), and this time around dinner is even pre-prepared, so it’s a super relaxed evening. Usually I cook up something when the Editor is elsewhere. Did a half and half day of paid work, and rock breaking today, so a quiet night is a thing of excellence.
The plan is to finish up the new path project over the next few days, and Saturday is probably a write off for work given the 40’C forecast. Might head out for an ice cream at some point in the day. It’s a plan…
We made 17 large rocks today, and with 6 already done, 23 rocks should do that job, maybe. Hauling them all back up hill will be interesting, and one of the boulders was a super hard granite. Carbon steel won the day though.
Out of curiosity with the deer meat, are you talking oven dried or smoke cured? Nice to share the bounty, and that is the stuff which friendship is made of. I’ve not tasted dried salmon, but certainly would if presented with the fish. Yum!
Tire the Husky!
Wear that canine out.
Up the hills,
Down them hills.
’round the streets.
Howling here,
howlin’ there.
Respected everywhere.
You go, little mini wolflet!
Then sleep the sleep,
of the tired.
What can I say, poetry don’t pay them bills! 😉 The dogs here are likewise knocked out. Ruby has sprawled out on the white couch behind me. I will point out for the record, that they weren’t breaking rocks on the chain gang today, were they?
Hehe! The Editor had a similar experience to yours, and interestingly she has a knack for aptitude tests. Way beyond my humble abilities, and could have easily gotten into one of the government select High Schools, if her parents had considered that option. Of course they did not do so.
Agreed, street smarts is an entirely different world. People smarts is another skill set. Trying to determine what a person will, or will not do, in any given circumstances, takes much experience. And yes, being able to ‘think’ clearly requires a person to look beyond the stories which they’ve been told.
We all get to be human, and isn’t it fun? Just to mess with my brain, my grandfather ripped me out of that school, and unceremoniously dumped me at year nine into a more English, than the English, grammar school. Hmm. Can a person swim in the waters before them, becomes an interesting question. Tell you what, the seas before us all now look very choppy to me, with hidden under currents.
Paul Simon, perhaps still crazy after all these years. I loved that song, and it breaks out into a full on country dance beat, as you do.
Thanks for the introduction to John Trudell. Bewildering incidents form the lines of some folks journey and story, and to get up again with what he went through speaks of character. He toured with the local band Midnight Oil. Their drummer Rob Hirst died a few days ago.
Sad to say, but much recycling involves an organised march into landfill. Agreed, attempting to live harmoniously with where one is to be found, is a worthy goal. It’s not a passive path either, but that of picking and choosing for a least-worst outcome. Evil is a multi-faceted beast which always seeks the base.
Holy carp! There’s a few drops of rain outside. I’d forgotten that the wet stuff can sometimes fall from the skies. Man, it’s been that dry of late, well, for here at least it seems dry. Hope some more of that stuff falls.
Hehe! Yeah, they’re pies. And I’ve got faith that you could demolish one. It is a bit of a trick of the camera angle that they look so large. After having taken so many photos over the years, and the Editor does most of them these days, what is shown in a photograph, is not necessarily what the eye sees. The ice cream shop is a good example, because it makes the Suzuki somehow look smaller than it is. Roast lamb meat is very sweet. Yum! I grew up eating lamb, and beef was almost never seen until I was maybe in my mid-twenties. But by then I was leaning towards a mostly vegetarian diet anyway.
Sorry, but the telco is upgrading the cell phone tower which I connect into, and links and the interweb in general is not it’s usual super fast connection. Oh well, only a couple of more days of this upgrade.
Hehe! Go Dame Avalanche, and winter, if I may say so, is a time for rest and recuperation. 🙂
What’s for lunch? I’m having Moussaka which is a Greek lasagne, but instead of using mince meat, I’m substituting the roasted vegetable and French lentil mix. Yum!
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
Ooo, you win! 🙂 Total yuk! Your rat story is a massive mystery, and their afterlife odour is unpleasant to behold. The reptile theory is startling isn’t it? The idea had occurred to me as well, although the rat was way too big for a snake, and pythons which could consume it, being found much further north on the continent where it is warmer. As something of an optimist, the old age rattus deadus theory has much to recommend it…
Yes, the garden lime is Calcium Carbonate. That’s my preferred lime, unless I’m starting off a brand new garden bed and the soil is compacted – then I’ll go for Gypsum, the supposed clay breaker. Adding lime all depends upon where you are in the world, and your area probably could do with the lime at a guess.
Winter is really settling in over your part of the world, and those numbers suggest a very cold day. You’re getting closer to some possible snow I reckon. It’s drizzling here tonight, which is a great thing – this month has been quite dry, and Saturday will reach 104’F according to the forecast. I will add that the forecast is jumping around a lot. Still, seeing the wet stuff fall out of the sky is quite pleasing.
Did a mixed day of paid work and breaking up boulders for the new path project. We’ve probably got more rocks than the project requires, maybe. Anywhoo, there are 23 large rocks and I hope to get some time to complete that path this week, or early next.
The annual music countdown is on Saturday (the super hot day), so hanging around indoors will be hardly the hardship it may appear! 🙂
Thanks for the good advice and we parted on good terms, but yeah, revenge, cold, dish etc… In those series, it’s always the one’s you don’t expect, like those lovely old ladies in Arsenic and Old Lace, irredeemable killers.
Why do the wombats have to be so grumpy? Surely, they can just – hey relax marsupial, and chill out! You’ve got a good point there though, and the whole fencing thing may turn into a grudge match. They’re tough, so I dunno about the outcome of that.
What a super creepy story retold in the Starvation Heights. The name of the doctor is perhaps something of a giveaway? Linda Hazzard has the look of the puritan about her. Oh my, the diet fed to one err, not sure what to call a person subjecting themselves to such torture, scared me silly. Strained soup sounds weird, like deeply very strange. Run!
I believe that the Onion folks had other tongue-in-cheek ideas with the article! 🙂 But also I totally agree with your observation. Nobody wants the second hand or antique furniture, and some people’s living spaces are remarkably small.
It is hard to know who you’ll offend, I get that. I remember reading in the Annie Hawes books on life in Liguria that the unopened boxes of Panettone (Italian sweet bread) travelled around. Mind you, as a kid I’m sure I wasn’t beaming with satisfaction at being handed a Christmas gift of a box of handkerchiefs, or a tea cosy. The expression was probably closer to baffled.
Once the stripped bolt was identified, a few choice curse words were uttered. Then stoicism kicked in and the thing got fixed. You kind of trust that people do the right thing. Oh well.
Hehe! Actually, I believe that there is a fruit tree list, somewhere. Oh poop. We may have read the same article, and six months to germinate (at low rates) and another six to produce a seedling – suggests that there could be a market for selling the plants? Think of it not as difficulty, but as an opportunity! Our fortunes could be made here?
Yes, turmeric was really slow to get started here. Doing fine now. They say it is cold tolerant, and the tubers are in the greenhouse, and I’d give them zero chance of survival outdoors here in winter. But they’re so slow to grow too that I’m almost uncertain about digging up a tuber to see what it is like.
Sound thinking – what is this technology going to do to future generations.
Well the big constant generators set the heart beat for the grid, and without them, things can get a bit strange with the voltage and frequency. Not good, so a bit of prudence until newer technology is installed is not a bad idea. My off grid system does that frequency trick nicely, but it doesn’t have to interact with other generators, which may have their own ideas.
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – I meant to mention, the lamb pie reminded me of a soufflé. I’ve hauled around a soufflé dish, for probably 50 years. Never made one. It’s on my bucket list. 🙂
Hold on to that old age rat theory. It’s comforting. 🙂
Our high yesterday was 39F (3.88C). Our overnight low was 28F (-2.22C). Our forecast high for today is 47F. Your Saturday temperature sounds ghastly. Not that it’s never happened, here. I wonder what our summer will be like?
Rocks are so much simpler and straightforward. As opposed to machinery with stripped bolts. I’m sure you’ll figure out a use for any excess rocks.
Panettone. Sounds like our dreaded Christmas fruit cakes. Probably the most regifted item, during the holidays. Edward Gorey did many Christmas cards. You can still buy assortments. I have a few of them. See, card number three. A fitting end for the dreaded fruitcake.
https://shop.nybooks.com/products/edward-gorey-holiday-card-assortment
Choice curse words. Relieves pressure. Keeps the blood pressure, down.
Well, Territorial flogs Yerba Mate seedlings at $25 per. Now I see why. It will be interesting to see if the seeds I ordered come with growing instructions.
I did battle (more of a skirmish) with my insurance company, this morning. My bill for the next 6 months was $366. I whittled it down to $160. They’re going to send me paperwork, as, an “electronic” signature was required, but we’re not going there. Am I underinsured? Probably. But, I meet the state requirements.
You know, I wasn’t very happy when the agency I dealt with, was sold, and they moved to Olympia. I just discovered this morning, that there’s an agent, for the same company, in town. Not that far from the Club. Next time I need a renewal, I’m going to see about switching agents. Gosh, an actual office where I could drop in and pay my bill by check! What a concept. No more robo man.
I watched a very good and interesting movie, last night. It was in that batch of uncased DVDs that were given to me. “Water For Elephants.” (2011). It’s set in 1931. A young man is about to take his final veterinarian exam, when circumstances derail that, and he, like thousands of others, is forced on the road. He falls in with a traveling circus. It’s well worth a look. I should have made popcorn, but settled for three English muffins, with parsley and green onions from the garden, tomato and cheese. Lew
Chris:
Say, I was just down in the basement tending to the lemon trees, when one bit me. That seemed kind of strange, so I looked at the branches of that tree – they have thorns. The other trees do not have thorns. I guessed maybe it isn’t a lemon and so looked at the tag: Bearss Seedless Lime. Are you familiar with that? It doesn’t have any fruit right now, but the lemon trees have lots of big fruits, also blossoms, but there are no pollinators in the basement . . .
No, I like the information. That’s a powerful car. I first I thought it might be a Charger like the Dukes of Hazzard car, the General Lee. That was a Charger. That was a fun show.
I don’t think we use a six-digit code; I’ve never encountered it. I guess it is a good security idea.
I’ll bet the recipes you mentioned don’t have cornmeal in them like our Southern Chess Pie, something I grew up with.
There is now room to spare for a new machine. 🙂 All of this driveway/road building/flat-space building – with gravel on it all -has made this a refuge for any and all lonely and unappreciated (and cheap) machinery of all sizes and ages.
Our forecast low for Sunday is now 4F (-15.5C). Not looking forward to that either.
What kind of day is “shandy”? 23 large rocks is a good start! Ha, ha!
Oh, Chris – how do you do it? Another fine poem, even if it is about a Pickle. Thank you so much. It joins my collection of Chris poems.
I don’t think the New York Pickle has figured out how to flip dogs yet. Don’t give him any ideas.
Today I saw a flock (crock?) of vultures in the cow pasture along our road. Couldn’t see if they had any dinner. They must have heard about the piles of deer (and other) bodies along the little highway. There were also a couple of vultures at our house. I hope they didn’t notice Mr. Baby. These invader Black-Headed ones will attack small animals (even new-born calves) if hungry enough.
I asked my neighbor who has a hydrangea if she ever prunes it. She says it is an Oakleaf Hydrangea and should not be cut back. That said, there are many varieties of hydrangea.
Pam
Chris,
Chillin’ with the dog is one of my favorite activities. In fact, that goes back a long time. When asked at some church thingy decades ago what we would do if money and time were both in abundance, everyone else answered with educational goals, or starting businesses and such like endeavors. I said that I’d “live in a tepee and chase buffalo and hang out with my dog.” They all thought I was weird. I thought my idea was better, just relax in nature. It still makes a lot of sense to me to do that. Chill with the dogs.
Oh, thanks for the poem. The Dame likes it too and says “Woof!”
And I l know why you worked hard on the rocks and the dogs are zonked out. Simple. They watched you or at least knew what you were doing. So while you were banging on rocks, they decided to do the HARD job of getting hot and tired FOR you.
OOK! Another 40C day in your near future? Condolences. I think maybe I’m happy with our clouds and light fog and Spokane grays and temperatures not quite reaching freezing. Avalanche likes it, and I like chillin’ with the dog. 😉 So I guess I’m happy with it. 40C is too hot.
The deer meat. I’ve seen two different processes used at the funerals and memorials. I was taught one of them, and the meat tasted like it was the process I learned. The fire group gets a large bed of coals going while the cutters begin cutting the deer into very thin slices. After the coals are set, the fire group puts a certain variety of green twigs and small green sticks atop the coals. These create a thick and fragrant smoke. The meat is then dried by both the heat and the smoke, giving the meat a very nice smoky flavor. The other method uses only heat from an open fire with less smoke flavor.
The dried salmon is awesome. I used to eat a lot of it. Also salmon cooked at the funerals and memorials, for some reason that is cooked just right. Can’t eat salmon any longer though. One bite and I can get a nasty migraine.
Yes, we seem to be in a time of very choppy seas. Who knows what nasty undercurrents flow beneath? About all I know how to do is slow down, relax observe, process, try to adapt.
John Trudell was quite the guy. Stood up for what he believed and paid a nasty price for it. But never quit. I’d forgotten he toured with Midnight Oil. He also acted in some movies. He had an important role in Thunderheart, loosely based on events in South Dakota in the 1970s. Trudell’s character had the line “Sometimes they just have to kill us. They HAVE to kill because they can’t break our spirits.” That quote is near the end of the song “Burn Your Village to the Ground”, which I think I’ve shared before. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNi__fnadTM
Yeah, a lot of our recycling stuff gets burned. At least Spokane has a waste to energy plant for that, rather than a landfill. Only waste to energy plant in Washington. However, the State wants the emissions to be reduced to a nearly impossible level. The cost to renovate might put the waste to energy plant out of business. Then our waste will get shipped about 75 miles to Adams County. Interestingly, a landfill emits a lot more carbon than does the waste to energy plant, but landfills are exempt from the law that might kill the waste to energy plant. And I would think that shipping the waste 75 miles, would emit a boatload of carbon also. Local legislators are trying to get the upcoming law to be amended to allow the waste to energy plant to continue operating as is.
Lunch today was nothing special. Corn tortillas filled with refried beans and jalapenos, then heated. Tea. Dinner was fried noodles, green beans and tomatoes with garlic and other seasonings. Simple but filling and tasty. Thursday lunch? Young Neighbor wants to meet for lunch again. I’ll probably have the “Meltdown Burger”, a regular cheeseburger slathered thickly with jalapenos.
DJSpo
Hi Pam,
Ooo, some citrus thorns have the look and spiky-ness of those most remarkable of trees: Black Locust. A bit weedy… 🙂 But useful. By the way, my Lemon Meyer has those thorns, which can be rather hazardous, not to mention painful. Hope the thorn didn’t dig into your skin, and that you washed the bite thoroughly? That’s my dad talk for the day! 🙂 Ouch. That lime you mentioned is meant to be a cross between a lemon and a Key Lime. I’d not realised that Key Limes are an actual variety of citrus. Who knew? Probably wouldn’t grow here given the winters. The fact sheets about your plant use the words: Nearly thornless. Not quite the same as thornless, is it? Your basement would smell pleasant with the citrus flowers, maybe?
Yup, citrus is a truly useful plant for its fresh winter fruits. Thus why I have planted a large number of them. Just went and watered them tonight. A bit over a tenth of an inch of rain fell last night, but err, heatwave alert. 104’F Saturday, then 108’F Tuesday. Oh Poop!
The Dukes of Hazard was a fun show, and if I recall correctly, many of the vehicle stunts seemed to involve the four wheels getting into the air! The show appealed to the larrikin Aussie mindset. The Charger was a venerable steed and once made by Chrysler locally – which at one point it was the fastest accelerating vehicle in the country, but for the six cylinder version, not the V8 – it was one crazy-as engine that six. Chrysler Valiant Charger
Sorry, I’m geeking out. Instead for Mad Max (the bad guys) we had the locally made Monaro, which you may notice sounds remarkably similarly named to the Comaro, but produced by the General Motors local mob, the now defunct Holden manufacturer. Again, probably too much information, but in the original Mad Max, the dreaded Nightrider character drove a Holden Monaro – HQ model.
Yeah, the general vibe down under is that folks want to be safe at all times, so we sometimes get overly complicated systems – like that six digit code. Leaves little room for error. I read an interesting article about people making claims with their banks that a credit card transaction was false, and then obtaining refunds, even perhaps when it possibly ain’t so. Small businesses losing thousands to fraudulent online chargeback claims. Long ago I saw that process occurring with absolute horror and the costs of fighting the possibly fraudulent claims was a real major hassle and headache. eBuy on the other hand clearly had had enough, and made the system water tight.
Pam, wheat flour at this location is very hard to grow, so I’m super interested in alternatives such as corn flour, or buckwheat. If cornbread was all I could grow and eat, trust me, I’d appreciate every single bite.
Knew it! 🙂 Your son has the gift of the language of physical machines, and it will serve you all well. When I was a young bloke, unless a dude was well financed, he’d have to know how to keep the old wheels spinning lest the pool of dates on a Friday or Saturday night suddenly dry up!
You’ve reminded me of a funny story from those days, which probably is in need of recounting. 🙂
Far out, Pam, I’m seriously not excited about this talk of 4’F. Alas we’re all at the extreme conjunction of the seasons, and Tuesday looks set to reach 108’F. Woe is all of us, and like a feared exam, all we can do is but show up and hope for easy questions.
A Shandy is an old timer drink of 50/50 Beer and Lemonade, and truly it’s pretty refreshing. But in the local lingo it also used to refer to a mixed day with a little bit of this, and a little bit of that, but not too much overall, if you know what I mean?
How do I do it? Try not to think about it too much. Type and see what pours forth! It’s a strategy you have to admit? The word ‘pickle’ has an odd work-related association which I’ve not previously mentioned.
Did you know that vultures are not present on this continent? The other birds and critters make up for the lack. Hope Mr Baby stays as sharp as his claws.
Never seen one of those Hydrangeas, but the local gardening club sells them.
Cheers
Chris
Hi DJ,
🙂 Man, I so get that aspiration. When working at the top end of town, way back in the day, I reached back into the old mind and asked the tough question: When was I truly happy? Turns out it was being a young rapscallion hanging out with my grandfather and his WWII drinking buddies way out in the remote mountainous parts of this state. Obviously, being that irresponsible is a time never to be recaptured, and the wilds come with challenges, but! Late this afternoon, Ollie and I sat on the front veranda, and the old dog and old bloke (me!), enjoyed basking in the warm sunshine and cool mountain air.
We better enjoy today too, for Saturday is forecast for 40’C with Tuesday an even toastier 42’C. Ook! But this afternoon barely made it past 17’C – go figure. A stable climate, what is this thing? The sun is still fierce feeling.
Got the tyres on the Suzuki Dirt Rat Jimny all replaced today (they were at the end of their lifespan of four years), and it’s a revelation. As a person such as yourself with a decent grasp on the subject of physics, you’d appreciate that the replacements have slightly lower height, thicker sidewalls, and a wider footprint. Hmm. The standard pizza cutter tyres never felt sure of themselves, put it that way!
My pleasure, and the words sure were flowing last evening. Possibly something to do with the 3mm of rain which fell? In between replying here, I was also burning off huge amounts of accumulated forest litter stuff in the corten steel brazier – and getting quite damp in the process -as were the dogs. Looking at the forecast for the next ten days, there is zero chance of that work being possible. It was do it yesterday, or not at all (for a while, at least). Had to get up at 5am this morning and make sure that everything was OK too – nobody wants to be the most hated person in the mountain range!
🙂 That was how things rolled with the dogs. And it happened again today with that lot. With all of the mucking around with the cars (it’s not a quick return trip into the nearest township), we had a couple of spare hours, and so did heaps of hedge trimming of the garden beds. It’s a rough-as job, but needs doing all the same. The pruned vegetation was dumped over a bare patch of soil, and then repeatedly run over with the Japanese super heavy duty low centre of gravity mower. With lemon scented geranium in the mix, it sure smelled nice, and the finely blitzed content still does many hours later.
Oooo. Thank you so much for the description as to how the smoky deer meat was cooked. Interesting indeed. And one good turn deserves another. I came across a third stone circle on exact contour recently, which had been somehow pulled apart. Should it be reconstructed? Dunno. I’m seriously internally debating that question. What do you reckon?
Ah, yes, you have an intolerance for salmon. Heavy use of mono sodium glutamate causes that same issue with me, although experts suggest I’m making it all up. I don’t think so, my brain and sinuses feel like it will explode with that stuff. Not a fan.
Relaxing and adaptability is from my perspective, the best approach. Why resist the seas, they’ll only swamp our best efforts? And rip tides can be survived by not panicking!
Yes, you have shared the music before, and what I take away from such messages is patience will prevail. Western civilisation have not been good custodians of the land, and as such, they’ll lose it. Culture is very much tied to country, although this has sadly been used to destroy. Conquerors cannot hold without being subsumed, and this is not the aim of western civ, is it? Look at what the Normans had to do, they had to become locals, and not the French they once were. There is no other way on a long enough basis.
It’s a good use for such energy intensive wastes. And yes, the recycling here now involves multiple diesel powered trucks. How can that possibly be OK? The whole thing defies common sense. Bizarrely, I reckon your current big chief would want to see the facility continued, just sayin’. There’s plans for a similar facility in a nearby town, and whilst locals are up in arms, they’re still all feasting on trash. Hmm.
Yeah, we do a veg filling with the enchiladas, and refried beans are OK, but hardly is it corn, mushrooms, carrot, capsicum and radish. Plus a bit of melted butter, tasty cheese (you may call that aged cheddar, yellow in colour too). Plain yoghurt. Yum! Dinner is similar to my sort of meal. Go the Meltdown burger! What the heck even is in that?
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
I see what you mean about the soufflé, especially with the flaky puff pasty lid. Aren’t those tasty concoctions the pièce de résistance, of the kitchen world? If I may cheekily add, many a soufflé has come unstuck when the impatient cook opens the fricken’ oven door too early. Patience, grasshopper! 🙂 Similar things can happen with the easy to bake meringue, but it is also a dish which is even easier to totally stuff up – for much the same reasons. Over the years I’ve consumed that tasty dessert served as an Eton mess, and it comes with all sorts of little qualifiers. Sometimes I feel like quipping, just admit it, you stuffed up the meringue! But then one would not be invited again in the future, would they? 🙂 Probably not a gentlemanly act. Is meringue even a thing in your country? A local traditional dessert is the super tasty: Pavolva, which is quite light too.
Well, if it’s on the bucket list… Sometimes I do stuff for that reason, and seeing the UK band, The Wombats perform a few months ago was for that reason. A fun night too. Do you reckon it would be fun making a soufflé?
Ha! Oh you’re good. Sometimes living here is not a comforting experience. With the, a bit over a tenth of an inch of rain, last night, I set the contents of the corten steel brazier off to burn (in between replying here) which was full of the accumulated forest litter and blackberry prunings – and there were a few piles to be fed on. There just hasn’t been another opportunity recently. Anywhoo, the wind was blowing a bit too, so last night was not my usual relaxed repose, no. One must studiously avoid becoming the most hated person on the mountain range! I was up at 5am in the dark, cold and damp poking at the remainder of the fire in the brazier. About 9am, I turned the hose on the ashes and put an end to it all. Spread the cold ashes a few hours ago as the sun was setting, it being good soil fertility stuff. All worked a treat, but like that snake concept you mentioned, hardly relaxing if it goes wrong is it? 🙂
You and DJ both get that sort of summer extreme temperature too. It happens from time to time. Tuesday is set to be slightly hotter again at 108’F, which will make four days over 40’C for the season – so far. Most of the growing season has been pretty nice, if somewhat dry. Who’s to know, but those LA fires sure pumped a whole bunch of particulates into the atmosphere in your hemisphere. Has it been wet since then?
Hehe! Funny you mention that, but there is one more path project after this current one is completed. Large rocks do not go to waste here. Actually, I’ve been making them slightly smaller recently on the basis that they’re less trouble to move and position.
🙂 See, some things are universal, like the re-gifting of Christmas cake, although if it was a goodie, I’d eat it, with either a side serving of custard, or maybe even some cream / ice cream. Yum! Oh no! They’re chucking the cake into an ice hole. What a travesty, but then based on the card, it’s hard to know if the dessert was any good. And candidly, given it looks like an oblong shaped Lamington (hardly the thing to dump in an ice hole!) it might be a tad rich for the Victorian gothic folks tastes? Usually Christmas cakes down here are round, but agreed, they’re not all good.
See what I mean about the fortune to be made in raising seedlings? 🙂 Hey, it ain’t as expensive as the American paw paw seedling I saw for sale locally at $125. Just say no, was my first thought. It’d grow well here too sad to say. Oh well.
Got the tires on the Suzuki Dirt Rat Jimny replaced today. It’s looking sharp, and the guy there provided an excellent recommendation for replacements. The short wheel base makes the car a little complicated feeling when at speed on the freeway, but that’s part of the excitement and fun of the thing, although the standard factory tires I now know, were not good. They never did wrong by me, but they also could have been better. Hmm.
In all of the running around today, we did a few hours of hedge trimming of the garden beds. It’s a rough-as-bags approach, but all the same, the plants regrow just fine. Some of the sets of concrete stairs in the garden had become over-grown. With enough time, they’d disappear under the jungle. I’ve visited a few ruins like that in far distant countries over the years.
That’s a pretty decent price for any insurance policy down under. They’re all getting up into the four digit category these days. Hmm. Yes, yes, but is it sustainable that direction? Maybe your lot has to use robo-assistant in order to keep prices down? Dunno. Sometimes meeting the state requirements is the minimum hoop which is required to be jumped, and I’ve got a few insurance policies like that – they’re mandated, as you do. Would robo-girl be more friendly than robo-man? 😉 Neither would be better in my books.
A tough time that period in the Great Depression. A lot of dreams were shipwrecked on the shores of a harsh reality. Out of curiosity, did the young bloke sit his final exam in the film?
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – Certain pies here, traditionally have a meringue topping. Lemon and chocolate come to mind. I’ve never had a problem with meringue. My go-to flash desert is making a “cup” with meringue, and filling it with lemon pudding. With a dot of meringue floating in the middle. 🙂 I got the idea from my old BC cookbook.
It’s either make a soufflé with that baking dish, or use it for a drip pan for a houseplant. 🙂 As I remember the souffle dish was made in France.
The last place I lived, I had a burn barrel. Here, you see a lot of those around. A 50 gallon steel barrel with one end cut off. An airflow flap or two, around the bottom sides. I always observed burn bans. And, I kept a garden hose, handy.
Our high yesterday was 39F (3.88C). Our overnight low was 28F (-2.22C). The forecast is for even lower temperatures, the next few days. Our forecast high for today is 47F.
Large rocks, small rocks. Lined up, along a path, you can play with perspective.
Most of the dreaded Christmas fruit cakes here, are oblong loafs. At least the commercial ones. Though I’ve seen some in round, fancy tins.
Gardening sticker shock! I went to the big box hardware store, last night, with a list. A young lady (lots of tattoos and piercings), got really excited when I asked about the mushroom compost. Took me right back to where it was. It turns out, she checked in that shipment, and a lot of other employees were giving her grief about “Who would want this stuff?” She mentioned that things in the gardening section ha really ratcheted up, the last couple of days. Also pointed out where the other things on my list were. If I had remembered to take my list. Which I didn’t. Why didn’t H remind me?
So the sticker shock? A three pound bag of blood meal is up to $13.47! A four pound bag of bone meal was up to $12.97! When I got home the night manager was out and about, and took way too much pleasure, consulting his dumb phone to announce that I could have gotten it for half that price, at the Store of Walls. Where I refuse to go. Him: “They’ll deliver.” Me: “That’s not the point.” 🙂
Spoilers. There’s a circus disaster, but our young hero, the girl and the elephant survive, and attach themselves to another circus. He sits his exams, and later becomes the vet in a city zoo.
I stopped by the library, yesterday. I picked up a couple of books and a pile of DVDs. Jackpot! One of the books is the cookbook of gravestone recipes. I took a quick look at it, last night. Wow. Some stones are quite elaborate. Most of the recipes are for baked goods. I also picked up the book on the LA fires. I read a couple of chapters, in that. I think it’s going to be a good read.
And, guess what I saw on the new arrivals list? I should pick it up on Saturday. Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War.” Wait for it … the graphic novel!
I watched a documentary, last night. “Nosferatu: The Real Story.” About the filming of the German silent movie, and the impact it had on films. Several talking heads state that it was really the template of all horror films that followed after.
I also watched the first episode of “RDFS: Royal Doctor Flying Service.” Season three. Once again, the rescues are engrossing and fine. It’s all the messy interpersonal relationships between the characters that drags. Who’s banging who. Who cares? Oh, well, that’s what the fast forward button is for.
Interesting news from the Club. They had the yearly membership meeting, and a new regime is in place. The first thing the new president decreed, was that the pantry was coming back. Not that anyone talked to me about it. Other people will be running it, but at least I’ll have somewhere to take my excess stuff. Lew
Chris:
No way is that lime “practically thornless”; there are thorns all over it. No permanent damage done to my finger; in fact I don’t think it broke the skin, Dad. I am having a heck of a time keeping those citruses watered as the basement stove is down there and it is very warm ( I mean REALLY warm) and dry and I suspect citrus with fruit might not appreciate that. The problem is that the closest water is an outdoor hose, but they are disconnected for the winter, so I have to carry water downstairs for 6 trees in giant pots, maybe every other day. And yes, the basement smells wonderful.
Big heat wave again – you are having a tough summer. As we have been preparing for possible power outages – we do stay quite prepared anyway, but it doesn’t hurt to take stock – I was evaluating the water we have and I thought about how you have to do that every day. That is an incredible amount of work and you deserve something great for keeping up with it.
That Valiant is a nice car. It’s a funny thing, my son’s old Chevy Malibu is a family sedan, but 6-cylinders, also, and it can really accelerate. I drove his original Malibu (the one that someone totaled a year ago) for 3 years when he lived in Europe and it was also super comfortable. No wonder he wanted another one.
The Monaro is not as flashy, but maybe because of that I like its lines better. Actually, looking it over, I like it better than the Valiant. Hey – I remember someone in my family having this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_Valiant
What a complex mess. I didn’t know there was so much online theft. That is why we get things like 6-digit codes and I guess it is just as well. People are trying so hard to run their small online businesses; it’s disgusting.
Yeah, but when you were a young bloke, cars were simpler to fix.
And let’s have the funny story.
When I was at the assisted living place visiting my friend last week, one of the male residents asked for an “Arnold Palmer” (that dated him – and me – right away as I knew who he meant). Turns out it’s lemonade and iced tea. Sounds very nice, and I’ll bet there is an alcoholic version.
You worked in a pickle factory? I worked in a spark plug factory.
Pam
Chris,
Oh yes, I remember being young with no responsibilities and being at what was then a remote area on a lake near mountains with a lot of nice forests. Sitting after breakfast and listening to the birds was always fun. And basking on the sandy beach, too. Mum’s dad visited from California once just in time to go camping with us at that place for a week. Those were fun times.
Now? Every morning is time with tea or coffee under the back patio roof, just watching the sky or clouds or rain, listening to birds and whatnot, watching the husky do husky things. Sitting outdoors like that is an important part of my day.
Dude, it’s winter here. The mind cannot comprehend 40C and 42C. We’re in a few more days, maybe a week, in which 0C will not be achieved, much less 42C of even 42F! When you’re experiencing the 40C and higher reaches, I’ll be cooling my heels with overnight temps nearing -9C. 😉 And to think that this has been a mild winter, with both Pam and Claire having experienced colder temps than I have.
Good job on the new tyres. Stronger sidewalls is always a good thing. I really appreciate somewhat wider tyres, too. Those pizza cutter/razor blade tyres don’t work very well in the snow. Like they are really horrid in the snow. Useless, actually.
The process the Normans followed to become localized was interesting. It took the royals until the late 1400s, if memory serves, before they began speaking English. The nobility that lived in the Welsh marches became extremely independent and had intermarried liberally with the Welsh rather quickly, although the leading families considered themselves to be Norman until the days of Henry Tudor (Henry VII of England.) The English/Welsh divide never really vanished. By the late 1300s, even such a Welsh icon as Owen Glendower had an “English” mother. however, his mother’s family, being lesser nobility, well, it was hard to tell if the recent generations were more Welsh or English. That seems to have been true of the lesser nobility throughout England, also. But the higher ups? They NEVER forgot that they were Normans.
Then there’s Ireland. In Scotland, the clans with Viking heritage were more Scottish than the Scots. (Think clans like MacDonald, and MacLeod.) Likewise in Ireland, the Normans who began conquering parts of Ireland starting with Dublin circa 1171 became more Irish than the native Irish within a very few generations. It becomes apparent to my eye, at least, that the further removed one was from the royal center, both geographically and in degree of nobility, the more readily the Normans became localized.
Alas! Young Neighbor had something come up and our lunch meeting was cancelled for today. No Meltdown Burger for DJ. Large beef patty, pickles, tomato slice, lettuce, pepperjack cheese and gobs of jalapenos all served on a standard hamburger bun. Very tasty. Very spicy for those not used to that amount of jalapenos. So it was a replay of bean and jalapeno burritos for lunch.
Finished off the list of chores the Princess left for me before her current trek to be with her brother. That leaves me with free time for carving and pyrography for a few days. And hang out with the husky.
Spokane can’t really open a new landfill. Any vacant areas large enough sit atop the aquifer. Not a good thing, a landfill sitting atop the only source of drinking water. So, either ship stuff away or cut a deal with the State or our garbage rates in town will double or worse. I’m hoping common sense prevails, but I’m not holding my breath.
Dame Avalanche has the right idea. Dinner eaten? Yes. Post dinner time with papa? Yes. Snacks and rawhide chew given to the husky? Yes. Said husky is stretched out on the sofa, sound asleep. Smart dog.
DJSpo
Hi Pam,
🙂 You should see how thorny the wild rootstock for citrus trees are. Feral. Hey, these days I’m super cautious because one of those black locust thorns stabbed me pretty hard long ago, it sure hurt, and bled. Youch. I never planted the thing either, it was the rootstock for a Robinia pseudoacacia, or otherwise known as a Robinia Mop Top tree. Also feral…
They might not appreciate the dry, but you never know. They’d appreciate being outdoors even more! I hear you about bucket watering up and down stairs, and do that for the tomatoes and beans growing on the garden terraces. It’s quite the climb. And with tomorrows hot forecast of 104’F, I might have to ferry a lot of buckets even further up hill to the fern gully. Been dry…
Agreed, making sure your systems work in the worst conditions is a worthy activity. Hope it’s not too cold in your part of the world, and at least this time with the heat, there seems to be only minor wind.
Thanks, and I went around today and checked on the water reserves. They’re dwindling, but that’s what they’re there for. So far this year, we’re doing OK, but strange things can happen and systems can fail, thus why water is something that is separated into about five different systems. A failure in any one doesn’t take out the household, if you know what I mean.
Speaking of work, the new path project now has all of its rocks in place. Yay! Despite the heat tomorrow, I might grab some crushed rock with lime and finish that job. It’s looking good, although the naughty unwelcome cockatoos are dropping half eaten apples onto the path. I clear those birds off when they turn up.
The Chevy Malibu is a potent beast, and interestingly not dissimilar looking to the locally made Holden Commodore (local manufacturing ceased in 2017). Yeah, a six cylinder can be a real kick in the pants accelerating machine, plus they’re a bit lighter.
🙂 Long ago I had a two door Monaro utility (i.e. it had a rear open tray) vehicle with a relatively small V8 engine. It was easy on the eye, yeah! By the 1970’s those Plymouth Valiant’s had decent styling.
The thing with those sorts of credit card protections is that if they’re abused enough, they disappear. The things I saw on that front would trouble most people, but there’s always dodgy folks out there. And it’s in the interests of online businesses to reply to those queries as soon as possible.
True about cars being simpler to fix in those days.
Thanks for the introduction to the golfer, and you’d imagine so, but lemonade and ice tea could revive a flagging person on a hot summer’s day.
Very funny, no, the pickle story went in other directions. Did you enjoy your time there? Factory work was quite fun, and I worked on one which made computer floppy discs, back when they were a thing.
Cheers
Chris
Hi DJ,
Spending time outdoors in a garden is such a nice grounding activity for me as well. And the dogs are again pooped out tonight. They were running around for many hours in the summer sun, and are now sound asleep. Whilst they were rapscallioning, the last of the rocks were hauled and positioned onto the new path project. During the digging, I discovered a cable in conduit for one of the extra low voltage solar panel arrays, which I’ll take a closer look at tomorrow. Seems OK, despite a bit of minor damage to the plastic conduit.
Still, the rock work on the new path project is now done. It’s going to be 40’C here tomorrow, but all the same I might pick up some crushed rock with lime for the path surface, then spread it around. The lime will set hard in the heat.
Candidly, -9’C is sounding pretty good to me right now. Although, this latest heatwave doesn’t seem to be accompanied by the crazy winds of the last one. Still, remaining vigilant is the order of the day.
Ah, thanks for the hint regarding snow and tyres – something which has gotten me into occasional trouble here – probably for that very reason. Ook! The new tyres are pretty good on the loose dirt too, and holy carp! The local council graded the main road yesterday. Did a good job too.
Never is a long time, but agreed, ruling by divine fiat is a crock of dog poop – which they’d mostly know. History suggests much changing can take place, and err, Charles II had a rough start to his rule don’t you reckon?
Becoming localised is a survival strategy for interlopers. Man, as someone who resides in a small remote hamlet, I’ve heard it said with seriousness, that a person is considered truly local, only after three generations. This of course would be difficult, nay impossible, for me to achieve. And truly, I’ve seen plenty of people come, stay for a short while, and then go here. Western civilisation is perhaps at its core, rootless, or at least it pretends to be.
In many ways, it’s a bit like the grammar school I attended, which amusingly is described as: more English, than the English. Dude, we even did cadets, which I quite enjoyed.
Oh poop, that’s no good, and plans do change. I’ve had that occur to me this month as well. It happens. Sounds like a decent burger, and I love a good chilli kick, although only at lunchtime. That stuff messes with my sleep – who knew? Burritos are OK too. We did the homemade veg Enchiladas for dinner this evening. Yum!
Respect the Husky, and how is the Dame enjoying the bout of cold weather? Ollie was alternating between finding things to put in his mouth, and sleeping in the sun, then the shade today. Ruby was crazy as usual, and is now fast asleep! Dame Plum takes a more measured approach, and will run around, lay out in the shade, and alternate with sitting on the veranda surveying her domain (and minions!)
Finished super late this evening as so many plants needed watering prior to tomorrow’s scorcher.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
Oh yeah, lemon meringue pie is a classic down under, but if I had to be picky, plenty of folks don’t get the lemon curd right. And there’s a cohort of evil doers which use, gasp, shock, horror – lemon essence. Unforgivable in my opinion. Lemon extract, yeah, squeezed lemon, excellent, but fake lemon, I don’t think so man. 🙂
Never encountered a chocolate pie / tart with meringue on top. Intriguing! Agreed, meringue works pretty good, but when baking it into a solid crust for say a pavlova, a person has to be careful with the oven. And your dessert is pretty flash indeed – and sounds super tasty. It’s a good idea too, and not an adaption I’d even have considered.
Err, hope you’re not offended but I’d go the drip pan route (what we describe as a saucer) for the soufflé dish. I know, shocking… Is all of the kitchen hassle for that concoction, really worth it? 😉
One of the neighbours has a burn barrel, which sometimes they neglect to extinguish. Always a bit exciting, and absolutely they would be in enormous trouble if it all suddenly went wrong. Total fire bans down here, encompass an enormous number of activities and not just lighting fires, and many a folk aren’t aware of that. The entire state is under a Total Fire Ban tomorrow, and it can mean a lot of things like not using certain machinery like mowers, welders, etc. Plenty of folks have scraped steel mower blades over sharp rocks and ignited a fire in dry grass. It happens, but on a total fire ban day would there’d be charges. From a tractor heading forward with a slasher behind, the operator may not even be aware of what just happened. The use of those are banned on such days.
39’F is sounding pretty nice to me. 104’F tomorrow and Tuesday was bumped up to 110’F. Oh poop!
Anyway, it was 81’F today, and we finished the rock work on the new path project. Might grab some crushed rock with lime and spread it tomorrow on the path surface, before it gets too crazy hot. At least in the afternoon I’ll have the national youth music broadcaster annual countdown to loaf around and enjoy. A bit of a local tradition.
Ah, have you just developed an oblong Christmas cake theory? I’m tending to prefer the round cakes, and my grandmother (the nice one) used to bake them, soak them in brandy, and then hang in muslin for about a year. The big shed guys did that, and I knew I’d been beat that day on a dessert front. It was excellent, and they knew it. 🙂 Back to the drawing board for something else which will win the annual (unofficial) dessert-off. 🙂
Hehe! Way back in the 1970’s we used to live in a very Jewish area of the big smoke, and my neighbour was an old bloke who fled Germany and was in the English navy during WWII. Lot’s of tats as you’d imagine, and even more war stories. Rough times and he was a straight talker too and didn’t dress up the tales, but seeing how tats fared over the years, kind of put me off the concept.
Oh no, mushroom compost is so much more! Good find too, and glad to hear that they’re onto it. Yeah, hard times definitely turn peoples minds back to edible gardening. Oh yeah. Like back during you-know-what, demand for garden things went through the roof.
Wise choice on other fronts too. You may recall that a month or two ago I was just about to purchase a bag of blood and bone meal (can’t be purchased separately down under – that I’m aware of) and observed that the larger and cheaper bag had only 1.5% phosphate content, which is pretty ordinary. The smaller 22 pound bag at least reported 4% phosphates. Cheap, sometimes isn’t a good buy. And years ago you could get 6% stuff. Hmm.
A dude has to set some boundaries, and respect for yours.
Man, talking about circus disasters, I still sometimes recall that big tent which burned down with people inside which you mentioned a while ago. An ugly business, and the fire in the bar a month or so ago, very much brought the memory to the fore. A nice ending for the story of the vet, girl and elephant.
Ha! You’ve got the gravestone recipe book. Nice. Are you tempted to try any of them? Was that the LA fire book written by the author who used to live in the same area?
To be honest, it’d work really well as a graphic novel. The book is less of a narrative and more of a collection of handy hints for the time when you’re chucked at the helm of a fighting force. But also the lessons are very applicable to the wider world. I’ll be very curious to hear what you have to say about the best maxims.
It’s a bit of a classic, which alas I’ve not seen. Although I have watched the 1979 Nosferatu the Vampyre film which was spooky, and almost ethereal. Creepy ending too.
Hehe! What are they all doing jumping in and out of various sacks, when there are patients in remote locations to be attended too? You could suggest that the characters are focused! Exactly, who cares.
Good to hear that the pantry is making a return for the Club. Many would have felt its absence, and its a bit cruel really in my opinion, to have removed it for apparently aesthetic considerations. Oh well, things change. How’s that dreaded register going?
Finished late tonight as I was watering here and there due to the impending heatwave. Oh well, like an exam that you can’t avoid, face it, and get on with life.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Chris,
It’s been awhile. I’ve been pretty successful limiting my time online which is why you don’t hear from me often. However since I’m pretty much stuck inside for 3 days due to the extreme cold I have the time to catch up. It’s 1 PM now and the temperature is -9 up from -16 earlier. Haven’t had a lot of snow but it’s been quite windy so it’s often blowing over the road. It hasn’t been this cold for 7 years but then a few decades ago this would have been a normal occurrence at least a couple times over the winter.
Yes, not much recycling done I’m afraid. The organization that owns the bookstores was collecting styrofoam for a long time and it was being recycled locally but now that facility is no longer operating. The organization, “Environmental Defenders of McHenry County” had a substantial recycling facility decades ago which was the source of much of their funding. They got an ordinance passed that required waste collection companies to provide curbside recycling and essentially put themselves out of business. They still collect a few things such as textiles, batteries and fluorescent bulbs.
We have a Toyota truck and my car is a Subaru Forester. We also have a Kubota tractor.
In other news, Cecily’s divorce became final on Christmas Eve. She’s moved to an apartment in the next suburb north of Chicago. It’s an old suburb so quite an interesting place and it’s right on the train line so I can get there easily.
Her now ex tries to put roadblocks where ever he can but that was to be expected. There’s still financial details to deal with. Right now she’s in Florida as she drove my sister and BIL’s car down for their annual 3 month trip. They didn’t want to make the drive anymore – it’s kind of stressful and they’re getting up there so they flew down. As Cecily doesn’t have to be back here she decided to stay with them for a couple weeks.
I don’t know how much I’ve told you about the bedbug situation at Marty’s facility which started right after Thanksgiving. They seemed to be eradicated from his apartment but right before Christmas he had them again so he couldn’t come to the family’s Christmas Eve gathering which was so disappointing for him but he took it well. Everyone’s afraid he’ll spread them to their homes which is a legitimate concern. Anyway they continue to treat and he continues to have them and he’s not the only one. We met with the director and she said that they are common and facilities like his such as nursing homes or even apartments have them. Believe me I’ve done much research and have learned more about bedbugs than I ever wanted to know. My daughter, Carla, has had experience with them working in group homes and has been a good source of information as well. She’s pretty paranoid about getting them. I’ve come to find out that they can harbor in especially wood furniture and he has old wood furniture in his bedroom which is where they seem to be concentrated. So just this week I’ve ordered almost all new furniture that is metal and non upholstered. Got a faux leather couch. A couple things I ordered and will bring over to assemble and the rest will arrive from the furniture store a week from tomorrow. There’s this company I used, 1-800 Got Junk, that I used to get rid of all his junk from his apartment last winter and I’ve arranged for them to come the same morning as everything really needs to be switched in one day. I am glad I was able to coordinate it all and hopefully there won’t be any glitches.
When I visit I now have dedicated clothes. I change in the garage, put the clothes in a bag and run down to the dryer as drying for an hour on high heat should kill any that may have hitched a ride. I spray my shoes and the seat of my car with 99% alcohol which I learned from staff also kills them. Some of the staff changes at work and washed their clothes at home or some change in the garage. It all depends on how careful they feel they need to be. They kind of take it as a fact of life which has popped up at times there. They said it’s a nice place to work so it’s okay that they have to take these precautions. One of the housekeepers said she’s been there 14 years and has never brought them home. I’ve placed traps under the legs of his furniture and they will always be there now just to monitor if they’re still there. So anyway that’s my bedbug saga.
Other than that I do a fair amount of visiting friends who have fallen and broken something and visiting my sister, Kathleen who is in hospice. She’s been holding her own but continues to slowly lose weight. She did have a period of time where she felt pretty good and was able to enjoy holiday festivities and a visit from her daughter and two of her grandchildren who live in Portland.
Sorry to hear about the lack of rain. We had quite a lot of snow early December but not much since then so we’re still in a deficit. You can send a little of your heat this way.
Till next time, whenever that end up.
Margaret
Hi Chris,
OK, I’m weird, but frankly I’ll take 104F over the weather we will have over the new several days. At least that’s assuming low humidity and 104F, which is not a safe assumption to make when it gets that hot here. But I prefer heat to cold, because for at least half the year I feel cold. Getting older is not improving that.
What we are about to get, starting tomorrow and continuing through Sunday, is a considerable amount of snow and daytime highs of 10F to 15F (-12 to -9C). It’ll be colder at night, closer to -17 to -18C. Oh, and did I mention it’ll be windy too? We are closer to the northern end of the big winter storm than the center, so the amount of snow we’ll get is hard to predict, but the local NWS suggests 6 to 11 inches. Thankfully, it will be all snow here, so we should have little trouble with the electrical lines. Pam is likely to have a worse storm experience than I do.
After the storm, the temperature will remain below freezing through at least next Thursday, so the snow will stick around.
Mike and I expect to remain inside the house, except for shoveling the snow, until at least Monday. We have wood sitting on the back porch for the wood stove and all the food and drink we’ll need for quite a long time. I’ll have time to clean the house!
I hope that you and Sandra don’t wilt in the upcoming heat and that you don’t have any trouble from fire.
Claire
Yo, Chris – I bake the individual lemon meringues on parchment paper .. or, a brown paper grocery bag works just as well. Hmmm. I wonder if biscuits could be baked that way? Save money on the parchment paper. But I digress … 🙂 I hope I was clear, there’s no crust on the meringues. You form the meringue into little craters, then bake.
I don’t know how they get the lemon into the pudding mix I use. But there are versions where you have to add egg yolks, and cook it. None of that “instant pudding” stuff, for me.
Well, I’d like to try a soufflé, at least once. Maybe, because it’s there? Like Mt. Everest. 🙂
Yes, the LA fire book is by a reporter, who grew up in the Pacific Palisades. All his childhood and young adult life was tied to that neighborhood. He still had relatives living in the area. The fire started, right up behind his brother and pregnant sister-in-laws house. At the first sign of smoke, they beat it.
The fire started at the site of a previous fire, a week or two before. There were probably still burning roots, underground. The incredible winds stripped the soil off the roots, and away they went. Once again, there was chaos, as there were very few roads out of the Palisades. People trying to flee, getting stuck in traffic, abandoning their cars (which didn’t help matters) and fleeing on foot. Meanwhile, firetrucks are trying to get in.
Our high yesterday was 43F (6.11C). Our overnight low was 30F (-1.11). Our forecast high for today is 44F.
I don’t know how you’d beat out the Big Shed folks Christmas fruit cake. Maybe something else with a high octane ingredient? I wouldn’t feel bad, though. With your Tiramisu, you can retire from the field, with honor.
I’d guess the Jewish sailor, wasn’t observant. 🙂 Tattoos are prohibited in that religion (Leviticus, 19.28.) Tattoo inks weren’t as stable, as they are now. Not as much “drift.” But, even the one tattoo I got in the late 1970s, shows a bit of blur.
I checked the bag, and the bone meal has 12% phosphate. The blood meal, none at all. Just pure nitrogen.
The 1944 Hartford circus fire. In “Water for Elephants,” the disaster is, someone lets all the animals out of their cages … including the big cats. There’s another kind of circus disaster. Back in those days, circuses traveled by train. There are several photographs of circus train wrecks.
Nosferatu was recently remade. Last year? The library has it, but I didn’t bother. The reviews I read couldn’t seem to get past how little clothes the heroine wore.
Last night I watched an older film, “In the Heart of the Sea.” (2015). About the wreck of the whaling ship, Essex, back in 1820. Which inspired the book, “Moby Dick.” The movie was quit good. Here’s an article on the Essex. If you look at the crew list, you can see who survived, who was lost and who got ate. 🙂
https://w.wiki/HaFk
Keeping with a maritime theme, dinner last night was fish fingers on sourdough muffins, with Swiss cheese and tartar sauce.
If I see something interesting, I may try a gravestone recipe, or two.
We got a food box, this morning. There was one pound of frozen ground turkey, A “bistro bowl” of “Santa Fe” chicken salad, that you mix up, an individual slice of frosted carrot cake in a plastic clamshell and a pack of four Hawaiian sweet roles. Even though we don’t have a food swap table, I can probably sneak the above, into the refrigerator and freezer in the community room.
There was a bag of “baked pretzel thins with cinnamon sugar” and two individual rice Krispy treats. I’ll take them down to the Club, tonight, and toss them on the counter. Someone will eat them.
There was a frozen box of pre-fried bacon, a dozen eggs, and a bag of seedless green grapes (from Peru!) that I’ll keep. Also, two little packets of chopped walnuts.
There was a pound box of butter “product,” 2 boxes of Mac & cheese, a jar of peanut butter, a one pound bag of spaghetti. Tins: One each of green beans, beef stew, corn, diced mangos and chicken noodle soup. Two tins each of salmon, collard greens (I think I keep those), and black beans.
I’ll check tonight, and see if they’ve made any progress on the Club pantry. The register seems to be working, now, but last week, the printer disappeared. Off for repair? The spring in the drawer must be wonky, as it doesn’t want to pop open. Has to be done manually. Lew
Chris:
I sure do miss our native Black Locust trees (also Robinia pseudoacacia). They have been missing from our neighborhood for 15 or 20 years, but I am sure they are still common elsewhere around here. They had pretty flowers, and the wood was used for fence posts. Once our neighbor’s dog came over to visit and found a Black Locust branch lying on the ground, picked it up, and started waving it wildly around with all those wicked thorns at our Bob the Tailless. Bob was no dummy and told her what for in no uncertain terms. She was just a young lass then.
“Lass” reminds me: DJSpo says you are a Viking.
I have always admired your divided water system; so smart.
Isn’t that the way of it. You get a new path all finished and pristine – and some cockatoo drops apple cores all over it. Branches fall on our new graveled area, and mud gets on it – what to do, what to do?
I don’t think I’ve ever even driven a car with a V-8 engine.
No way, I did not enjoy my time as a factory worker. It was noisy and the dustiest place I’ve ever been, and so monotonous. Nor was the pay good. It taught me a great deal of sympathy for people who work those jobs.
I made my weekly visit to my friend in the assisted living today, stopping in at a grocery store on the way. Mama mia! Almost all the produce was gone, all the raw chicken, a whole lot of the dairy, most of the bread, and all the gallon jugs of water. It’s a good thing I didn’t need anything; I had shopped on Monday.
Pam
Hi, Claire!
We are expecting some very ugly weather here because of forecast ice on top of snow. That happened here in 1994 and we had 2 solid inches of ice on the snow for a couple of weeks. I had a horse then and literally had to crawl across the icy slope several times a day to check on her in the barn.
Pam
Chris,
My dad’s brother did up a family history and genealogy book 30 years ago. He said something about my grandparents that I’ll never forget. “They didn’t care what they were doing as long as it was outside.” That seems to describe me pretty well also.
I’m watching the Australian Open tennis while writing this. It’s in Melbourne. You can probably guess how hot it is in the middle of the afternoon in Melbourne.
Vigilance in the heat is a good thing. Today almost felt hot here. The sun was shining and it got above freezing! I enjoyed the sun. Avalanche wanted more time outdoors, too.
Ugh. I looked at the forecast for Pam’s area. It looks downright hideous. Lots of snow, below freezing, freezing rain and snow and sleet freezing atop a nice layer of snow. And much colder than Spokane has been this winter. It’s the kind of weather that I never liked, thanks to the freezing rain and gawrshawful wintry mix. Hope she stays okay.
Oooh, freshly graded road. Cool. And your new tyres should help on gravel also.
I’ve heard similar things from various rural areas in the USA. You are a newcomer until about the third generation. The seeming rootlessness of Western civilization is weird. I know in this country, people are desperate for roots without even realizing it. There is a lot of search for meaning that peoples who are localized don’t seem to have. At least that’s an observation I’ve made here and other places I’ve been.
The Dame has been enjoying the cooler weather. However, the absolute gray days put her in hibernation mode too. She was much more active today with the sunshine, which should last for a few days.
DJSpo
@ Pam,
I just looked at the weather forecast for your area. Ick! Hope you get through the nasty storm unscathed. That freezing rain and sleet and ice can be horrid. I hibernate in that weather.
DJSpo
Hi Claire,
I’ll take that one, and no stress at all. 🙂 Hey, from my perspective, the weather in your part of world is zany. High temperatures are one thing, but chuck in some humidity, and it’s a doubly unappealing picture. But then you also get dry weather, plus now extreme winter cold. I doff my hat to you, and truly would consider leaving the area for a more mild climate. I’m summer soft…
But then everywhere has its good and bad sides. Here the climate is usually mild, corn failed to germinate this summer. What do you do? Forest fire is very serious risk, which I have to live with too. The thought of losing everything in fifteen minutes gives a person pause for thought – and also motivation to continue the winter forest clean up work. Let’s just say that I’m motivated!
I hear you about the winter cold weather with age. Hmm. Although by and large, I prefer the winter. Moved a quarter of a cubic metre of crushed rock with lime this morning, and placed it on the now completed new garden path project. Yay! It sure was hot work though… I’m indoors now hiding from the sunshine now.
Water is an issue this summer, but so far it’s sort of OK. I read an article this morning suggesting that the next big town an hour a quarters drive north, will outstrip its supply within 15 years. Hmm.
6 to 11 inches of snow would cause a mild freak out here. 🙂 I’d have no idea what to do. It barely snows here in recent years. Stay safe, and more importantly, warm, in those conditions. Thinking of you both. -2’C is as cold as I’ve experienced here, so -18’C is off the charts. Just for some mixed in general climate weirdness, it’s forecast for 43’C here Tuesday. Yikes! An extreme time of the year.
Good luck with the cleaning, and has a better time ever presented itself! 🙂 Hopefully you have a good book to enjoy as well? Always wise to have a stash of firewood and food for such moments, the electricity grid has been known to get pushed to its limits in extreme weather.
Fingers crossed with the fires. I worked outside until 2pm, and it’s just too hot. Sandra is / has been doing paid work, whilst I’m now listening to the national youth music broadcaster annual countdown. Might head out later to get an ice cream. Probably well deserved, although I’d like to think so. 🙂
Hope that conditions are OK in your wintry part of the world.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Margaret,
Respect for taking on the digital detox challenge, and there’s life isn’t there outside of the interweb? Although I’m preternaturally chatty, and do so enjoy sharing news from afar. Hey, I’ve got the flip side of the problem here today, and the thermometer is rising. Hmm. It’ll max out at 104’F apparently today, so I’m revelling in all this talk of snow.
A long time ago I used to ride a motorcycle, and extreme weather reminds me of that experience. Conditions are perfect less than a quarter of the time, anyway, I gave up that habit after too many close calls when commuting for about a decade. Sometimes a person realises the nine lives have been all used up.
And agreed, the climate has shifted. No doubts about it – look at the many citrus plants growing here outdoors. Hmm. Six years ago there were ten days during summer over 104’F, only four so far this year.
Oh no! Often that curbside recycling ends up in landfill. I always talk to the guys working at the landfill and you hear what happens to various items, such as glass. Landfill. Apparently too many different materials are used in varieties of glass, so a lack of standardisation becomes an issue – but you’d have seen that sort of thing.
Go the Toyota and Subaru. Both well deserved reputations, and reasonably price spare parts.
Hope that Cecily can now get on with her life, and few such break ups are amicable events, so yeah expected.
Sounds like dodging the winter. 🙂 Hey, driving further than an hour or two is not much fun, so anywhere taking a few days would be tough. Sounds like a good arrangement for everyone.
Thanks for the bedbug story, and hope Marty is doing OK now. Shame he didn’t make it to Christmas. What a nightmare, and I knew someone who encountered them in a city hotel, a bit yuk. The things bite apparently. I’ve never seen them, but there’s a lot of travel going on these days, and people bring with them (or discover elsewhere) all sorts of challenges.
How’s he enjoying it there? Last word was that things were going well.
Your friends should probably keep off ladders… 😉 Far out. Hope that they’re healing up well, and staying safe in the future. Sorry to hear that your sister’s health has declined further, may she find some peace and enjoy the visits.
Margaret, I’ll see what I can do about the heat. Like ex-Prime Ministers, we’ve got plenty of the stuff! It’s meant to reach 109’F on Tuesday.
Always a pleasure to chat with you, and hope you and Doug get through the cold spell without incident.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Pam,
Is there a story as to why the Black Locust trees were removed from your area? The thorns are wicked, but they pop up every year in different spots near to the Robinia mop top tree. The Black Locust rootstock is a super challenging tree. It’s like a game of whack-a-mole, and I reckon I’ll eventually lose that one. What annoys me is that they don’t turn up in areas where they’d be useful. No, they turn up in the grape enclosure of all places, and then in adjacent garden beds. I’d heard they have an excellent reputation for fencing timber.
Go Bob the Tailless, and that’s what not taking any stick looks like! 😉 It’s pretty clever.
Pam, I thought to myself that I deftly dodged that Viking reference too. Have you ever done one of those ancestry DNA tests? Some folks have concerns that the data will be misused, instead my worries are that the 10% or more Neanderthal will be confirmed. Could be embarrassing…
Thanks. Truthfully, I learned the water system lesson the hard way one summer long ago when I lost about 5,000 gallons foolishly. Thought it wouldn’t matter too, and that year the summer rains failed. It sure mattered. Actually, I was thinking today about whether the house water tank system needed topping up. The main tanks are at 50% now, with more than that still in reserve.
Hey, it is hot here today and earlier I bought a trailer load of the crushed rock with lime, and placed it on the new path project – which is now, done! Yay. Hot work…
How are you doing with the cold spell today? Hope you are all staying warm and dry.
The cockatoos have learned to fear me, and they’re providing plenty of throwing practice. The birds chuck the half eaten apples on the new path, and I return the favour. 😉 Those birds don’t live here, and use up resources that other more local parrots won’t have.
I know with the mud. Still, the surface will remain firm regardless, but what becomes difficult about the mud, is that it eventually turns into soil which grows the weediest of plants. Haven’t worked that one out yet.
Trust me, a V-8 engine is fun. The Dukes and Daisy looked like they were enjoying themselves… The fuel bills got a bit out of hand for my tastes, and so it had to go.
Ah, well the factory making the floppy disks was a clean environment. Dunno, I enjoyed the monotonous nature of the work which required only a fraction of the brain. The rest of the capacity could be used for other activities, which is something of an advantage… I get you, but to me, work is work is work, and I’ve not expected to be fulfilled by the experience. Mind you, I have little option and must always work, so perhaps my perspective is based on pragmatism and necessity? Dunno. Tell you what, some of the most unpleasant people I’ve ever worked with, wore suits in a transport biz. It may have been the culture there, dunno. An ugly business that.
Whoa! Yes, encountering empty shelves is a sobering experience. Hope things are doing OK in your area?
Got the shields (sun blinds) down now, but haven’t cracked on the portable air con yet. Almost 5pm, so might not use it today. 97′ outdoors and 75’F indoors. Might go and get an ice cream later. Yum!
Cheers
Chris
Hi DJ,
🙂 Your grandparents sound lovely to me. On that note, I brought back a trailer load of crushed rock with lime, and in the heat, placed it on the surface of the new path. A bit of water, and the sun has baked it dry. The cockatoos intermittently raid the apple trees looming over the path, and drop half eaten apples onto it. Not happy, but it is giving me good throwing practice sending them back into the tree canopy.
Sometimes I think about Lewis’s parrot defeating suggestion. Hmm.
🙂 We’re running about the same as the big smoke which is 36’C at 5pm, and will only get warmer. Put the sun blind shields up, or is it more technically down? I’ve been to the Australian Open years ago on a 37’C day. Left a lasting impression, and I was in a comfy seat in the shade.
Yay for some warmth for you and the Dame. It is a month past the solstice, and it’s a knock-out outdoors now, but earlier the sun didn’t feel as if it had the same bite of say a fortnight ago.
Ruby followed me around this morning whilst working outdoors, and is now sound asleep. Finished up around 2pm which is starting to get to the hottest part of the day. Dame Plum and Ollie wisely chose to stay indoors.
I get the impression that the north west of your country has a milder climate than the east coast. I’ve never really understood why that would be.
It’s lovely to see the main road graded, and done well too. The new tyres are awesome. Who knew the car wasn’t engineered to be floaty feeling?
Man, I’ve observed the same thing here as well. All of it surprises and seems weird to me as well. When I was a young bloke, people rarely moved far from where they were born. About thirty years ago, that all changed, and I can’t help but think that it was encouraged. People appear to be good with it too.
It’s true too, move to a new area in order to find something. That’s a thing too, and maybe what’s on offer there just isn’t all that great, so move on again. Still, recent events on the world stage suggests that the world is getting biggerer again.
🙂 I’d have thought that Dame Avalanche would have revelled in the cold weather regardless? The dogs here get a bit down on the really wet winter weather.
Might nab an ice cream. Hope you’re enjoying the tennis – those players deserve a medal, or a hug for surviving the conditions, or something like that.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
Not a bad idea at all for the use of the brown paper, although I tend to re-use parchment paper, but with different papers for the various baking purposes. The stuff doesn’t last all that long, and yeah, I buy the unbleached stuff – after a long discussion here a year or two back on the subject. It should be mentioned that visitors always score new parchment paper with their baked goods, and freak outs are craftily avoided.
Out of curiosity, what sort of base do you use for your individual lemon meringues? Like, is it a biscuit base etc.? No worries about the digression, it’s a lifestyle choice here! 😉
I see, the meringue in that instance is a filling. It’d be quite the nice surprise to bite into and discover. Makes sense that it’s a signature go-to dessert.
No! Instant puddings and/or cakes have no place in my kitchen as well. Oh, the humanity! 🙂 Far out, some of the cake mixes I’ve seen are a small box of flour (with some other stuff) at a pretty good mark up. Cakes from scratch are not difficult to bake.
Man, I get that aspiration. The challenge is there – can you pit your wits and skills against the demanding soufflé, and prevail? I often feel that way about just ordinary day to day situations: Sure, I’ve never dismantled a chainsaw before. How hard can it be? Let’s find out! And then that’s inevitably when the limits of one’s skills are found.
It’s always possible to extend knowledge from that point onwards, though. There are times I’ve baulked at the daunting road observed ahead of me, and playing music was such a moment. The road stretching out before me was dark with hidden nooks, crannies, and out right pitfalls. Sadly, urgencies pulled me in other directions, and whilst I love and enjoy music, creation is denied. But! The rhythms of the Honda, or Chonda (Chinese knock off Honda small motor) sing a song of harmony or urgent care! Not quite the same though, is it?
Nothing is as far removed from civilisation than the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and facing a choice between continuing the journey that the survivors of the Essex took, I’d have stuck with the island. The three who did, were eventually rescued. The open ocean is not a friend of mankind.
Well done with continuing the salty sea dog theme, and an excellent segue to boot with the description of your dinner! 🙂 Truthfully, it was a hot day here, and I worked outdoors completing the new path project up until 2pm. A goodly quantity of the crushed rock with lime was purchased, brought back up the hill, and then spread evenly on the clay surface, before eventually being hosed down. The stuff set rock hard in the strong sunshine today.
Had lunch, and then replied to comments whilst enjoying the countdown on the radio during the hottest part of the afternoon. The Editor did paid work for the entire day. About 7pm, we headed off to the nearby town and grabbed an ice cream. Next door to that shop is a roast chicken seller, and it truly looked appealing to grab a quarter chook and chips for dinner. Alas, we’re having salad instead.
If a recipe is deemed good enough for inscription upon a gravestone, then wouldn’t it be disappointing to discover that it was total rubbish – and may even have assisted the deceased person upon their way? Did they really need to add so much lard? Long ago, I heard an amusing interview with a dietician, who’s grandmother used to feed hubby with a lot of roast lamb, which she refrained from consuming. The observation was made that granny probably deserved to be up on murder charges for given all of the super fatty meals, he died at an early age with artery and heart issues.
Yeah, the very first paragraph of the descriptions of the food box would have been off loaded here as well. Not suggesting the stuff is bad, it’s just I have other preferences.
My mind is still attempting to discern why bacon would even need to be pre-fried. It is possible that the thin strips of meat have been glazed with sugars so as to produce a browning effect, but that is a wild guess. The eggs are a good score, as are the grapes. All the ones here have seeds. Hmm.
Walnuts are pretty tasty, yeah. The sad little walnut seedling here is struggling this summer, despite regular watering. I fed it a bunch of coffee bean husks earlier today so as to give the soil some insulation from the heat, but we’ll see. That tree just may be no good here.
As always, this talk of butter product is disturbing, especially since US stuff is an odd white colour due to I believe a lack of beta carotene due to stock feeding of grains, rather than grass. I’d retain the salmon cans as well. Yum!
Fingers crossed that the Club pantry has been restored to its former glory. What are your first impressions? Ook! That manual process kind of defeats the core purpose of the till, but you know, perhaps it is merely another stepping stone back towards more appropriate tech?
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – I don’t envy Pam’s, Claire’s or Margret’s upcoming weather. Or DJ’s for that matter. Or your heat wave.
I always make sure and get the brown parchment paper. I reuse it for batches of biscuits, but after that, it’s usually too greasy.
A picture is worth a thousand words. The first picture is the kind of individual meringues I make. Although when I bake up the shells, I also bake a little dab of meringue, to float in the center of all that yellow.
https://www.alaskafromscratch.com/2012/04/28/mini-lemon-meringues/#google_vignette
The history of cake mixes, is interesting. Back in the early 1950s, when they were developed, they did not sell well. Why? Because they were too easy. All you had to add was water. Housewives felt guilty (?). So the contents were changed so that you had to add an egg, or milk. I guess it gave the housewives more of a feeling of accomplishment. “We do the work, you take the glory?” 🙂
I thought it was interesting that the three guys that stayed on the island, weren’t from Nantucket. While all the guys that took to the boats were from Nantucket. In the movie, there’s a decided tension between those two groups. Even in their home port.
A lot of the grocery stores here, have big chrome boxes with rotating chickens on the roast. A whole chicken is relatively inexpensive. I think it’s the smell that gets you. 🙂 The same applies to in store bakeries.
The bacon? Speed and convenience. Also, no mess. I held onto it, because one of these days, I’ll make hot potato salad … which usually calls for bacon.
Our butter product is yellow, due to added colors. Back in the old days, you bought margarine with a little packet of coloring, to mix in yourself.
More on the resurrection of the Club pantry. I stopped in last night, and the guy who’s kicking it off (with some shelving) is Chad. I really couldn’t place him, but finally did. He’s one of the guys who’s in love with his own voice. 🙂 At first, I didn’t like him, but, he grows on you. He’s the Club vice president, and is married to the Club president. Not the first time we’ve had a dynamic duo, running the Club.
Our high yesterday was 46F (7.77C). Our overnight low was 25F (-3.88C). Our forecast high for today is 44F. It is frosty out, this morning.
I started watching Ken Burn’s “The Dust Bowl,” last night. I saw it when it first came out, but the library got fresh copies, so, decided to watch it again. What a story. There were many interviews with old timers, who were children or young adults, when it happened.
I got to thinking. If there’s an earthquake or a fire, you know in short order, what’s left and what’s not. With the Dust Bowl, it was a disaster that went on for years. Lew
@ DJSpo:
Thank you so much for your concern, DJSpo. I’ll be fine. It hasn’t started yet, 5:45 pm Saturday, and I am tired of hauling wood. We are ready, though!
Pam
Chris:
I have no idea why the Black Locusts disappeared, and I watched them do so. I expect they are pretty close to me somewhere, just not where I drive and walk.
No, no DNA tests. I know enough of the hodge podge that is me, and I am sure there is more hodge and podge, and I don’t care. It’s all fine with me. Personally, I think a touch of Neanderthal would be an advantage. Umm, for you – not me . . .
Yay! One more project down, 12 waiting.
Plenty warm, plenty dry, because it hasn’t started yet. We’ve been having beautiful sunsets lately, but none at all this evening as the sky is really glowering.
When I took the factory job for the summer, I had never had a real job, so I didn’t know what to expect at all. It was in Grand Junction, Colorado so at least I was in a fun place for my off time.
Just saying “ice cream” will keep you cooler. Ice! Ice Ice!
I have a small chore that I do occasionally: I use our electric document shredder to shred old documents when I clean out files and then that is saved to use as a fire starter. I did so this morning. That shredded paper is so great for getting the two fires going every morning (usually my job as I get up first).
Pam
@ Pam, I’m glad you and your family are prepared, and I wish all of you the least bad weather possible!
It started snowing here around 9:30am and hasn’t stopped since then, though it has waxed and waned. I shoveled snow once in mid-afternoon, after about 1 1/2 inches of snow had fallen. It was dry and fluffy, very easy to push off the sidewalk and driveway. Most of the snow will fall overnight and into tomorrow morning, and it will remain snow. Lots of shoveling ahead of us tomorrow. We have a fire going in the wood stove, so it is warm and comfortable in the house. Since we are only getting snow, I expect the electricity to stay on.
Claire
Hi Pam,
There are some species which deserve moments of brain cell concerns, but Black Locust is probably not one of those. 🙂 They’ll reappear when the time is right. They’re as tough as Eucalyptus species from what I’ve observed.
Hey, it’s probably not best to walk near to where those spiky trees grow anyway.
We’re all bitsa critters, being a bit of this, and a bit of that. Our continuing survival as a species, probably depends upon such vagaries. And err, Ugg! 🙂 It’s just dealing with the supposedly more intelligent Sapiens humans which gets me unstuck. But as the English are wont to say, Mustn’t grumble.
🙂 I’d be very interested to hear your sons opinion of that observation of yours? Is there ever really an end point with projects? And I’d prefer to leave something of value to the future.
Dark glowering skies may portend trials and tribulations. Fingers crossed. And Tuesday is now forecast to reach 111’F. Yay, down under! Pam, I’m truly glad that you and your son removed the big old oak near to your house. Houses and large trees do not interact well, despite the shade and aesthetic considerations.
Ah, I see. Pam, I’ve worked in the paid economy since being pre-pubescent, and poop, fulfilment of the soul, is to be found elsewhere. Sorry to say that. I have friends who want to experience that state in their jobs, and have raised the reality, but other folks have louder voices. What can you do?
Very funny. Yeah, Ice! Ice! Baby! 😉
Had the small portable cooling machine cranking all day, and set a new record for solar power generation today, despite one of the large arrays being off line for a few hours – err, more to come on that tomorrow. Totally my fault too.
Pam, we do that too with old paper which has to be disposed of confidentially. Is there a better use for the stuff? And it is a true skill to be able to light a fire in all conditions. Yup. Sometimes, even I stuff it up.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
Oh well, the weather and climate are what they are. I was sort of wondering whether it came across that in the comments I was whingeing about the heat, but no, it just is what it is and I was hoping to merely report upon conditions. Thus why I worked outdoors the other day that it clocked 104’F. Apparently Tuesday is set to reach 111’F, which is a bit nuts, but we’ll cope. Is there any choice in the matter?
Interesting about the brown parchment paper, and I’ve not experienced the greasiness. I buy a supposedly ‘Green Baking Paper’ and rather than getting greasy, after about maybe six uses, it tends to tear. Then it’s food for the worms.
Oh my gawds! Lewis, they look awesome. I’m in awe really, and have never seen such tasty looking petite meringues before. Yum! You’ve inspired me, and the Christmas dessert trophy must be re-won. You’ve given me an idea for that. I caught my friends out by surprise, and can do that again. What would Sun Tzu suggest? 🙂
No way! But that makes a whole bunch of sense about cake packets, which also interestingly are always sold in boxes. Yes, I can see that psychology working it’s dark magic. I just avoid those things and go to the raw materials, but then my cupboards and refrigerator may scare some folks. Have to laugh about that too, because I’m reading Mr Kunstler’s latest book: Look, I’m gone, and the young protagonist gets to peer into the slightly odd ball authors pantry and refrigerator. I was very much chuckling at the encounter.
Ah, that part of your country is remarkably affluent and probably always was, and I’m guessing also enjoys a mild climate all year around. Hmm. Elsewhere, things are different and more challenging, which can hone one’s sense of impending danger. I’d have stayed on the island for sure.
Way back in the day, such chicken roasting contraptions were seen in supermarkets, but dude, that was a long while ago. Even bakery sections are thin on the ground, and I’ve read alleged accounts that the dough for such goodies may have possibly been made in Ireland six months previously. To me, perhaps my standards are simply too high, but I think nothing of baking up a fresh loaf of bread.
Hot potato salad is a thing of excellence. Yup! Nice thinking, and my thoughts had not gone quite so far. Yum!
🙂 Stop it! Thanks for the laughs. Grass fed cows produce milk which results in yellow butter, without the need for the colouring. What the heck?
Go Chad, and respect for the formidable team bringing life back to the Club. Dude, some of the best people I’ve met are like that, you take a while to warm to them. The one bit of useful advice my nutso mum gave me was to be wary of the people who greet you in a new social situation. Look, that isn’t always correct, and sometimes, I’ve found that it is what you mentioned, in that you have to slowly get to know the person.
Hauled many buckets of water up into the fern gully today. Then fixed up the solar power cable inadvertently damaged when making the now completed, new path project. That was fun. Oh, and despite one solar power array being offline for about an hour and a half, we set a new record for solar power production today! 27kWh! Talk about letting loose.
Yes, the Grapes of Wrath did not paint a pretty picture of those days, and my grandfather grew up on a farm with his grandmother when down here was also in the grip of a vast drought. Times were super tough, and that reality spilled into the economy with a contagion.
Exactly! The hurt from that goes on for years.
Almost forgot to mention too, the neighbour in the 1970’s, I got the impression that he’d somewhat lost his religion, and took up with the folks as took him in, thus the tats. But he was old by those days, and I didn’t have the breadth of experience to discuss such matters.
Cheers and far out, I better get writing! 🙂 Always was it thus… Hehe!
Chris
Yo, Chris – Whinge on Garth! 🙂 A temperature of 111F is just nuts. Our high yesterday was 45F (7.22C). Our overnight low was 21F (-6.11). When H and I went out for our midnight stroll, it was down to 23F. The grass was crunchy. So clear I could see the stars. The forecast high for today is 44F.
I hope the stuff I ordered from E-Buy makes it out of the east coast and midwest before the storm clamps down. I think it will. The stuff from the west coast, showed up last week.
One thing about meringues is, you have to think ahead to transportation. They can be a bit fragile. Cake mixes: marketing. Adding color to margarine: marketing.
Yes, New England was pretty affluent (for the affluent), early on. All that natural resource extraction. 🙂
I finished watching “The Dust Bowl”, last night. It was really interesting.
H and I are headed down to the Club, to visit with Carl. I’ll probably have to scrape a bit of ice of my truck windows. I did yesterday morning.
I saw Scott, yesterday morning. His wife is getting bit better, and he’s out and about more. My friend in Idaho got really sick. They took her to the hospital, but didn’t keep her. Just rehydrated her and sent her home with a lot of anti-nausea meds. They didn’t think it was flu (not enough of the right symptoms), or, food poisoning. So, what was it? Another medical mystery, I guess. Lew
Hello Chris,
A busy week here, which was good. A lot of admin to finalize the books for our small family company.
Regarding tyre wear – the dust from tyres is the main source of microplastics all over Europe. City life is breathing synthetic rubber dust. Not so good for the lungs. Larger and heavier cars – more tyre dust. Another reason why I am not a fan of monster trucks.
Regarding recycling: I worked for a few years at a R&D center for a recycling company. It was amazing to see that some processes work great, like getting copper out of old cables. The copper grains are sold to smelters who refine and make new raw materials, and the price is something like 10 USD/kg. Every kilo counts and the process is tuned every day.
The copper process is often used in marketing – “99% recycling of your copper cables” and claims like that.
The not so sexy story is the other fractions. Toxic PVC insulation (often with now-forbidden phtalate softeners – endocrine disruptors) is a chlorine-rich burnable fraction that creates problems at incinerators.
The other fractions is a metal dust, with copper, tin, lead and all kinds of nasty stuff. Very toxic.
Both the chopped plastic and the dust is very sensitive to rain, since many of the toxins leach out in water.
For some reason, I have never seen those fractions in the advertising video clips promoting cable recycling.
Similar stories can be told about aluminium cans, plastic, electronics etc. The more complex product, the more diverse and often more toxic side streams. Simple technologies, like lead-acid batteries are much easier to recycle than the insanely complicated lithium-ion batteries.
Often the word “recycling” is used for “sorting garbage into different piles”. There is a long way from the plastic waste bin before you get a new plastic product. Almost no plastic can be used again in the same kind of product. The only plastic that is useful (=economic) to recycle is PET-bottles.
My opinion is that we should ban all products that cannot be recycled or composted.
There was a disaster political decision in EU last year, to mandate separate collection of clothes for recycling. Laws for the municipalities to collect used clothes separately. But no laws for clothing industry to take back fibres or mandating use of second-use-fibre in new clothes, so there was no pull at all. The municipalities were sitting with mountains of cloth. Disaster and abandoned after a year.
I think the laws should be much more strict towards producing industry, not towards individuals or municipalities.
Anyways, now I work with trees. Only some plastics in plant labels and plastic bags around the bare-root-trees. And some plastic water hoses and drip irrigation pipes and poly tunnels. I guess more than 95% of what I sell is compostable.
Yesterday we organized a seed-swap, which was good fun. Twelve people here, with all kinds of self-harvested vegetable seeds. It is so much fun to share seeds.
Peace,
Göran
@ Claire:
Did you continue to get just snow? We got 4 or 5 inches, and then the rest of the day tiny little ice BBs came down. Now, at 5:30pm Sunday, it is sleeting. Up till this point we had felt pretty lucky, but now wonder, since the temps will continue in the teens or less, if this will do the trees in. We’ve had power all along.
Pam
Chris:
“Supposedly more intelligent” – there you have it.
We don’t have to ask my son, as he – as you – will never run out of projects. I would say that it is in both of your DNA . . .
111F! Lordy, I’d rather be here in this ice belt. It has been convenient, also, for putting food on the back porch and freezing it; doesn’t take long at all. It is wonderful that you could keep the cool machine going, even if you did make a boo boo. I, too, have been thinking of that tree today.
One of the two hoop greenhouse collapsed with the snow/ice. Luckily, it was the one that doesn’t matter so much. Another project for my son . . .
Just before dark I heard one poor, lone bird calling in the woods. It sounded like a woodpecker.
Some of the firewood brought over to the house is almost the size of Yule logs, at least the sort that we do at Christmas here. For that I am very grateful, as I then don’t have to feed the fireplace so constantly. The woodstove takes a fairly long time to burn down, so that is nice.
Pam