Final Fence Prep

The last thing to do before having the fence installed was to move the firewood, and we dumped it to the ground this afternoon.

We put down a tarp with cardboard on top of it to try and prevent any of it tearing up the soft sod, and we just pushed it over.  It fell neater than I expected, so it was just a matter of moving the rack and bringing up the ends of the tarp where we could and covering the whole thing with other tarps, using some logs to hold it all in place.  Then just a quick rake of the lot line and we appear to be ready for the fence installation (tomorrow, as noted in the comments of the last post).  The rain should be mostly over for today, but we may get a little more overnight then a better day tomorrow for the installation, though I expect it to still be pretty muddy.

Now, my back has been an issue for the last few weeks, and this prep for the new fence hasn't helped any.  I don't have much time off at my new job but I'd like to be here when the fence is installed, so I think I will call in tomorrow for my back so I can be here to oversee and answer any questions they may have - and I do remember they had several questions when they did the back fence a few years ago.  It may be stretching the truth just a little bit to call in, but it's not a complete lie and I will feel much better being here to supervise everything.

Google calendar just now reminded me that tomorrow is my 15th blogday, too.  I'm hoping for a smooth fence installation and a better back for my blogday, please!

Happy Thanksgiving 2023

A welcome 4 day weekend and a happy Thanksgiving, everyone.  A quiet weekend around here, just rest and some chores.  The Packers were on early so sorry to get this posted a little later, but at least the Packers won.

There have been changes around here and I'm still not too sure exactly how I feel about it so I'm going to continue taking a break from blogging through the end of the year, I think.  Nothing for anyone to worry about, though.  I'll write more in due time.

Thank you.

It's Been Awhile...

It's been awhile since I've written much of anything online since I last posted here.  It was nothing I planned but just turned into a bit of a break, anyway.  Since then, I've had a vacation and a birthday, and, well, life just continues to happen whether we write about it or not.  Nothing bad, mind you, but I did want to break the seal and catch up with writing this weekend.  But now the weekend is almost over and truthfully I don't feel like much like writing much at the moment.

The Packers just won with a fourth quarter comeback, and you can probably tell from the picture that I was much more attentive to the game than Hamish.

My wife and I both did some baking today, and often my Mom and I text during the games so I was sending her pictures as I made baguettes.  They turned out pretty good though I've been experimenting with my technique, so I may share that here soon.  Otherwise, back to the grind in the morning and fiscal year is just a week away so the headaches are coming.  

We did go out for a fancy dinner with friends Terry and Becky last night.  The parking lot was between the restaurant and the lake, so we parked right up to the lake and I got pictures of when we arrived and when we left that we found interesting, if not quite level.  I'll put those after the break.  Cheers, everyone.

Dry Pink Sunflowers

Well, I don't feel like writing but I should at least draft some notes of what I've been meaning to write about.

Recently the trail camera pictures and video have had a pink hue.  Well, I finally looked it up and it is a filter used for night vision that is supposed to move over the lens depending on the light level, but gets stuck while over the lens even in bright light.  I tried the couple hints of what to do without luck, but the last time I unloaded the card there was a small section of files that were in true color, so it did work for a short time again.

Four sunflowers still alive (out of 50 seeds) and all in the corner of the house/porch/stairs.  The first round of planting was pretty willy-nilly, and most if not all of those seeds got dug up and eaten.  Second round of planting was a bit more thought out, but similar results.  The last 8 seeds then got planted in this corner, and I put a little fence around them.  From those, one came up in the corner by the porch, the biggest one currently.  One was coming up further away from the porch side, by the house, and from one of the prior plantings.  I soon got a fence around it, too.  And there were two smaller ones coming up in the corner by the house from the last planting.  There was one coming up in a perfect spot by the back corner of the garage, but that got eaten and dug up before I had the wits to fence it in.  I'll know better next time.

Two weeks with hardly any rain.  So I mowed first time this year back on May 13 and not again until June 4, and even then I only mowed the back yard.  So far without rain the back yard seems to be holding its own for now, while the front lawn is almost fully brown.  We have a sprinkler for such a situation, but it's way too early to panic.  The sunflowers and garden get watered, that's enough for now.

So much for not feeling like writing, I guess.  I'll grab a picture of the sunflowers to add and call it a post!

Spring Blogday This-And-Thats

It's starting to really feel like Spring around here.  Plants are coming up, trees are budding, and there is a new green hue starting in the lawn.  Even some crocus have survived the foot of snow and hungry rabbits.  I should really have been outside last night having the first fire pit of the year.  I can touch upon that in a bit, but I think there's a few different things in my head to come out.

• Allergy season is upon us, and after years of escalating allergies I'm using Flonase this year.  I started on it about a month ago and it seems to be working as my wife has mentioned her allergies several times recently and so far and I haven't noticed anything, really.  When I think of how miserable I got at times the last few years, well, I really hope this works well for me.
• A month or two ago I was notified by Google that I was halfway to my free storage limit.  A lot of storage left, but it has drastically changed how I take pictures.  I take much fewer and take the time to delete the bad ones now, when I just snapped away without a care before.  But I think my worry may be misplaced.  I'm years away from the current limit at this rate, and my time is finite.
• Okay, weather.  We've taken a turn for the best and will have temperatures up into the seventies later next week.  Yesterday was alternately clouds and sun and got into the fifties, today should be similar.  I considered having the first fire of the year last night but I was tired, it's still pretty damp out in the yard and firepit, and the wind was pushing my limit for a fire.  This evening looks to be better, but I might make other plans on the fly today.
• Also this morning, I'll be making baguette for the 3rd weekend in a row.  Good practice, and really good bread.  If time allows I'm considering making a second kind of bread, as well.  But it being early on Saturday morning it may not happen, honestly.
• And THIS was interesting recently.  First time that's happened to me, has it happened to you?

Oh, and as of today when this posts I've been blogging for 14 years.  In some ways it feels like longer, in others not so much.  I'm glad I still do it, I enjoy the outlet of writing and being somewhat creative at times, and I'm thankful for the few connections I've made that encourage and support what I do here.  After all, it wouldn't really be worth it if no one read or provided occasional feedback.  Thank you.

January This-And-Thats

Okay, it's high time I finally break the 2023 seal here on the blog.  Busy, didn't feel like it, not much to say, pick what you want, all are true to some extent.  Winter hit us hard and early this season, so there is that, too.  What matters is I'm here, now, writing.  So let's see if I have anything to say, shall we?

• Covid sucked, and right before Christmas.  It was a really miserable time, but my wife reminded me of how bad it could be and actually was for me the first time around back in 2020.  I seemed to have forgotten, or blocked it out.  So while very bad this time, yes, that was very much worse and serious.  I could breathe this time whereas last time just breathing was laborious for quite some time.  Yes, don't wish that upon anyone.  (This one, however...  ;))
• 
  I had last tested positive the Wednesday before Christmas, and had already decided it was just too close in time to see my Mom on Saturday.  Instead, I went down to see her after work on the following Tuesday to watch the late-starting Badger bowl game.  We enjoyed some barbecue takeout and enjoyed watching the game and other videos while talking until almost 2 in the morning.  I got a little tipsy but had a great time, and I think she did, too.  Better than Christmas any day.
• New Years Eve, as I mentioned last post, was spent getting all cleaned and dressed up for a fancy dinner out with friends.  It was a good time, then a quiet night in after that.  My wife's birthday is coming up fast, so we'll be doing something for her soon.
• Since this last bout of Covid I've gotten out of the habit of jumping on the treadmill after work every day.  I was doing 15 minutes or more at 3 mph at the time, now I've been on it just a couple times in the last week for about 10 minutes each time, I think for two reasons.  One, my knees haven't been the best lately, been pretty sore, especially since I was on my feet much more than normal one day recently and I do need to upgrade my leg pillow for sleeping.  And two, I have to start over with the balance issues I've had with walking on the treadmill.  Even though it got better the more I used it, it's never gone away.  I think I've said before, like slipping on a rug on ice!
• 
  I have a bunch of albums that I haven't even looked at in a long time, let alone played.  I keep saving leads on where I could sell them but I never follow up on it.  Is it laziness or not wanting to let go?
• I've been interested in making homemade bread for a while now, and I've finally started.  First with simple, no-knead recipes and working on getting to make what I want confidently.  I thought I took pictures of the earlier ones, but I only have pictures of my last two breads here.  They both tasted good, but my technique still needs improvement.  We have a stand mixer to help with the recipes that are needing kneading (I couldn't resist!).  I've also ordered a bun pan so I will make buns for when we make my 'famous' homemade smashburgers, but this weekend I will attempt to make baguette.  

I hope the new year is treating everyone well.  Overall, it's just a continuation of the same thing, isn't it?  But that's not a good attitude, they tell me.  Have I become more cynical with age?  I guess it's almost impossible not to.  Oh well, have a great week, everyone.

Happy New Year 2023

Happy New Year, everyone!  I wanted to have something ready to post, something poignant about the last year and hopeful for the new year, but, truthfully, I don't feel like writing at the moment.  We dressed up and went out for a fancy dinner with friends earlier tonight, now there's a good football game on and I'm tired.  I'll set this to publish around midnight so if I think of something then I have a few hours to come back to it.  If not, I hope you're enjoying the holiday and are safe and warm.  Cheers!

Early October This-And-Thats

It's jacket weather today, light jacket.  The air becomes crisp though the sun shines.  There's a bit of a breeze, but that's supposed to drop off in a couple hours.  I'm counting on it as I'm planning on a fire and having a friend over.

• Markings showed up around the tree stump in front of neighbor Jane's.  I'm not sure exactly what the colors mean, but interesting how they're so close to the stump.  I hope the stump-grinding crew is careful.
• The artificial intelligence that creates 'art' from your input had made the news a couple weeks ago.  I finally played around with it last night, and it's pretty neat but I want to play around with it more and get more creative with my input.  You have to create an account, but you can use your google account.  Check it out here.  If I get it to create something really cool or unusual I'll share it here sometime.
• I'd kept forgetting to mention it, but the blog emails finally stopped going out around the beginning of August.  I know many who read via the emails may not make the effort to come to the site to read, but I hope they do.  I never found a similar service for free, but TinyLetter is an interesting option.  It's more like a newsletter you sign up for, so I'd have to create that.  Maybe paste the blog into it or, more likely, send one out once a month or so with links to my posts.  Everything and nothing is on the table still, it depends on the effort I want to put forth.
• 
  I found poop in the back yard again today, and I don't have the trail cam back there.  I had it back there for a few weeks and all it caught was a whole lot of squirrel activity, no pooper.  Right now, it's on neighbor Jane's fence across from the back door, close to the ground.  My thought was to see what could be coming into the back yard down the driveway side, plus security for the garage and back door.  I've not checked those images and video yet.
• We had rain on 8 weekends in a row until last weekend.  Not washouts, but at some point every weekend.  And the porch roof started to leak a bit onto one of the new ceiling tiles.  I do have extra tiles but a little white spray paint will probably fix it fine, I did that to some of the old tiles more than once.  Several years ago I got up there and sprayed some of that flex seal stuff where the porch roof meets the house.  The porch is not the house, certainly not built to code, and will get replaced someday so we don't want to spend much, if any, money fixing it up.  So I crawled up the ladder a few days ago and gave it another good coat of flex seal.  Hopefully that will last a few more years now.
• The Green Bay Packers play in London on Sunday morning, 8:30 a.m. our time so I think 2:30 p.m. there?  The last NFL team to play a game internationally because they are one of the smallest markets so didn't give up a home game before and no other team would give up their home game against the Packers because their fans could fill any stadium ($).  Being one of the most popular teams, Packer fans travel well and are located all over the place, here and the world.  My wife is planning a fancy breakfast for us for the game and I'm really looking forward to it.  There's a lot I should get done later that Sunday, but I'm just going to enjoy the unusual morning game and we'll just have to see what happens.

I've been thinking lately that I want to post less more often.  Less words and topics in one post, maybe.  It's a thought, anyway.  Have a good weekend, everyone.

Hasn't that wind died down yet?

July This-And-Thats

Well, things happen and you get too busy or just too tired to write anything, then a day goes by, then a week.  Before I get any more backed up with thoughts let me try to get them in writing.

• The air conditioning was turned off yesterday, so back to windows open for what looks like a good stretch.  I took what was probably my longest single walk of the year so far, today.  I've been really good about walking this year more than ever, but my bike hasn't come down from the garage rafters yet.  I'll make that happen before summer is over, though.
• 
  Oh yes, I went to that creek thing a week ago Saturday morning and I had meant to write about that sooner.  Basically a volunteer couple comes out every month but winter and monitors the creek.  Other than them and me, two women showed up separately, so a small group.  They showed us how they check for volume, clarity, chlorides and oxygen.  The most interactive part was looking for different invertebrates he'd scoop up from the edges.  It was informative and kind of fun, but too much information about the creek's PFAS situation that I already knew, if not the exact numbers.  If you come and fish in a Madison lake, catch and release - do not eat.  Forty minutes after the posted 90 minute session and I thanked them and extracted myself to get on with my day.  Maybe that's why I put off writing about it.  
• Pics from that day aren't the best and it would take many to show full context, so here's some kayakers I caught on my walk today.  They're just about by the canoe slide on their left, but many trek upstream as far as navigable then turn around.  I think that's pretty much the road bridge at the top end of this stretch of the creek, but I've never specifically looked for that so will have to on my next walk.
• 
  Thursday was a bit stressful for us, though much more so for the cats.  It was time for the vet, and this time we tried taking them at the same time.  There was howling and hissing and the smell of pee, but the vet was very nice and very good with them.  Basil was a little bitch, but Hamish took it much better.  The rest of the afternoon and evening the cats didn't exactly get along.  No fights, but some hissing and growling if Hamish got too close to Basil.  Once they had cleaned themselves thoroughly things seemed to get better.  All in good health, Hamish at 7 pounds and Basil at 15!
• Friday was very stressful for me at work, having to perform a task for only the second time ever with no training just some written instructions that half didn't apply with other situations that arise and then an hour-long meeting about something else but same deadline.  In the end I got everything done on time with assistance from a coworker, and we pledged to overhaul the process.  That's been one of my roles at work, learn the task thoroughly and then improve it.
• 
  I was thinking that I may have started my walnut count a bit too early, but not after seeing neighbor Dave's yard.  He's still recovering from his torn achilles so can't pick them up, and son-in-law mowed over them so now you can see them all, just everywhere.  Dave told me he also complained about almost twisting his ankle at least 5 times as he mowed (Imagine that!).  I've been helping by getting Dave's sticks and bringing in his garbage cans, and I was hoping his kids would pick up the walnuts before they mowed.  They might not have a choice next time, though.  Dave agreed with me, it's going to be a banner season for walnuts this year.
• Not a walnut tree pictured here, but the base of the maple that will be coming down.  I realized that in front of neighbor Dave's house will be the last maple on the street, but my wife noticed a red maple toward the top.  How many years did it take to look like this, 50, 70, more?
  

Okay, that's enough typing.  It's Monday and I'm tired and want to move on to other things.  Have a great week, everyone.

Walnut count: 36

284-7624 and Nuts!

Cheers to everyone who can remember their childhood phone number!  I can remember this from very young when living in the 3rd house I remember growing up in, in Illinois.

There was a white house we lived in the upstairs, I believe - my first memory of a place I lived.  Then a pink house on a street called Steinman, small and one story with a separate garage and shared driveway.  Then a red house on the corner of Jefferson Avenue (1135 - still remember the street number, too) and another street, two stories with a big yard, huge willow tree, and a tire swing.  I think we moved there about 1973, so I was about 5 or 6 years old.  This is the house that I remember most and we had that phone number until we moved to Wisconsin. 

It was a party line when we first had the phone there, meaning the whole street shared the same phone line.  You could pick up the phone and hear a neighbor on a call so have to wait your turn.  I don't remember the party line lasting long, and then we had our own line and this was the number.  It was taught to me at that young age just in case I was abducted or, much more likely, gotten lost as an oblivious child sometimes will.  I've now remembered a phone number I've not had for about 44 years, yet I can forget why I entered a room a minute ago.

*          *          *

I found the above as an old draft from last year and figured why waste mediocre writing?  I just cleaned it up a bit and here it is.  I sat down this afternoon after work to write about the creek thing I did on Saturday morning and got distracted with finding that and another idea I had more recently, below, so I'll write about the creek monitoring later in the week.

*          *          *

The other day I cleaned up some downed live branches from one of neighbor Dave's three black walnut trees in his back yard.  At the time I noticed the walnuts were pretty much full size already, and I have a feeling this year is going to be a bumper crop, so I decided to keep a running total of the number of walnuts I pick up with my grabber and send to the corner behind the lilac.  I've done this before, informally, both daily and cumulatively one year but gave up at about a thousand.  This time I'll note the counts in my garage notebook and update the total here whenever I post.  As the count goes up, remember, these are just from my small yard, next to the yard with the walnut trees.  I'd imagine Dave gets at least 5 times as many as I'll get, and probably more.

And before you ask, no, I do not try to save them, shell them, dry them, crack and eat them.  I leave that for the squirrels, they don't seem to mind fattening up on them.

Walnut Count:  22

De-Horned

context

Lucky 13 and Spring Plans

My blog is now a teenager, this being my 13th year as of today.  In some ways it seems much shorter, in other ways much longer, and it has changed a bit over the years.  I used to have smaller, more frivolous posts, then I began writing less often but (hopefully) more thought-out posts.  I've had my moments of wondering what I'm doing still writing here, but the occasional feedback has been nice and I still appreciate this as a good record of major events and milestones in my life.  But, while inspiration comes and goes at times, I have no plans of stopping anytime soon.

We've not had as nice of a spring day since I last posted, which was on the first day of spring.  Since then, it's snowed more often than it had all winter (including today) and the number of days with snow in the last 3 weeks is probably only outnumbered by the amount of days with rain.  The sun has shown up a few times, but we've not come close to temperatures we had that first spring day.  By this time last year I'd already had a few fires and grilled dinners while neither has happened yet this year.  But, there I go talking about the weather again.

There hasn't been much other than the weather to talk about that's been happening recently, but I do have plans for when the weather finally does turn and my attention turns to projects around the house.  

First, I want to paint the dark paneling on the porch and possibly replace the ceiling tiles.  And if I replace the ceiling tiles I'll take a hard look at insulating the rafters to hopefully retain more heat in the early spring and late fall so we can have it open longer.  Not sure the color just yet, but perhaps use up some paint we already have.  With all the windows there's not much wall space so shouldn't take much paint to do it, but lots of taping on the trim.

Second, I want to somehow rearrange our computer room, the room I spend most of my time in - by far now that I work from home.  I'm thinking of moving the dresser and the file cabinet to at least give the illusion of more space, and I want to flip the rug around the other direction due to a small stain on it and so I'm not vacuuming against the grain, so to speak.  To do this I'll need to move those and more to the porch so it should be warmer out so we can leave the door open.

Another thing we've been waiting on for some time now already.  We've had a sofa and ottoman on order now since last August but due to the pandemic furniture just hasn't been in stock.  Currently it is expected to be delivered in late May, and I really hope this will finally happen.  We could look for something else, but availability is an issue everywhere.  The plan is to move the living room rug a bit to better fit the space with the new sofa and the new buffet table we bought a couple months ago that replaced our larger TV stand in the living room.  The old sofa will then be moved to the porch.

I have another vacation coming up in May so hopefully I can get at least some of this done then, but as long as they get done I'll be happy.  I took a half day off today so I think I'll go out to lunch and relax a bit.  Happy blogday to me and have a nice weekend, everyone.

Happy Thanksgiving Thoughts 2021

With what I've been going through with my health recently and work frustrations bubbling up again I've been pretty down and maybe even ornery lately.  As I sat out by the fire last night I thought it would be good to think of things I am actually thankful for, so I gave it some serious thought and started a list.  Let's see if I can expand on that this morning and maybe get to 10 good and meaningful things for which I am truly grateful.

1. My wife.  It's hasn't always been easy but I just can't imagine my life without her.  I don't know anyone stronger who could deal with me and everything else she's had to deal with the last several years and more.  I've been guilty of being self-centered, taking things for granted and not listening as I should, and improving myself will only help her, so I am determined to become a better person.
2. My health.  I've taken this for granted, too, for far too long and it seems to be catching up to me.  I need to eat better, drink less, exercise more and lose some weight.  Very much easier said than done, but increasing health issues is a good motivator.
3. Family.  My mother and sister, specifically.  I don't like my father and my brother has been pretty distant.  When my mother's husband passed and then the pandemic hit I started to get closer to my Mom and my sister is always there with a smile and encouraging words if I need her.  I love them both greatly.
4. Friends.  I don't have many left these days, more acquaintances than friends.  I want to continue to work on those relationships and in some cases not let the distance between us cause that friendship to wane.  It seems harder to make friends the older I get, but much of that may be me so I should work on that more.
5. Blogger friends.  Delcatto and Blue Witch have been friendly towards me for a long time now and I'm grateful they keep coming back.  I like to read their blogs about them and their lives, and have learned much along the way.  Knowing they are there has helped me try to write better and more interesting things here.  I've not reached out to other bloggers much in a long time now, but Nic has been a relatively recent breath of fresh air and as a bonus he creates music pretty consistently so I always look forward to his next song.
6. Our house.  When this blog started in 2009 we started looking, and originally didn't think we could afford a house right in Madison.  But the market was in our favor and we found a nice house with a nice yard close to whatever we could need or want, right here in the near east side of Madison.  Yes, it is very small, seemingly too small for us at times, but overall I think we found a good one and have improved it in many ways over the years.
7. Madison.  Related to the last one, we live in a good area and city with a majority of like-minded people as us.  That changes rather quickly and surprisingly when you get outside the county.  When we traveled to pick up our last quarter cow it was shocking the amount of pro-Trump flags and signs in the rural areas.  I don't remember such divisiveness before he came along and thankfully don't have to worry about that too much here in Madison.
8. Music.  Music continues to be a joy and an escape for me even as I get older.  I don't go to live shows as much as I used to and am pretty unwilling to travel longer distances for it anymore, but I still enjoy discovering new music and I'm always looking for my next 'latest-greatest,' even if at a lower volume these days. 

Well, 10 was an arbitrary number anyway and I don't want to add something lesser just to get to 10.  I may remember something good that I missed later, but I think I have 8 very good things to be thankful for here and it was good for me to consider and reflect upon these.  Now it's time for me to do some cleanup for Kate's family coming over to celebrate the holiday.  It's currently snowing big white flakes outside, and my wife has been busy cooking up the cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and other goodies while the turkey is already in the oven.

Happy Thanksgiving and a great long weekend to all!

May This-And-Thats

I have a few things on my mind, and it's too small to hold them for long, so it must be time to get them out.  Nothing very major, just some updates, thoughts, and an announcement to my email readers, so it's time once again to just start typing and see what happens.

• Blog emails are going away in July, they will no longer be supported.  I've been looking for another widget or service to do this, but I'm not going to pay for it so it may not happen.  I have over a dozen friends and family currently signed up and I'm afraid I will lose those readers when this convenience goes away.  If you are one, click the link to the site at the bottom of your email and save it as a favorite now!  I'll provide more updates when I have them.
• 
  Remember when I wrote about my site being probed?  Well, it's happened each month since.  739 hits on March 24 and 760 hits on April 26.  I have no idea why, who or what it is, but it doesn't appear to be doing any real harm, either.  We'll see how many hits I get for May in a couple weeks, I guess.
• The extra dirt and old grill are gone.  My wife put the dirt on the neighborhood farcebook page and in a day one neighbor picked up a couple big buckets and a day or two later another took almost all the rest.  The little that remained I found places for in the yard and gardens.  Also, the rotting wood that was the old gardens I cut up and took to the dump last weekend, so now I have my garage back.  And that old grill I put out to the curb a day early and it didn't take long for it to disappear, no sticker required.  Maybe someone will try to clean it up and get another year or two out of it, but more likely it will be sold as scrap metal.  But now I have a 35 dollar sticker that I don't need.  Maybe I'll pay it forward and have my wife put it on farcebook and give it away to someone with an appliance they need to get rid of.
• I mowed the lawn for the first time this year on Wednesday.  The front needed it more and the back just in places, typical for the first mow.  Thus begins a (mostly) weekly ritual that will last until late fall.  Thankfully, it's a small lawn.  It's also showing wear in areas that I'll need to get grass to grow again.  This is likely due to me spraying the weeds instead of getting down and digging them out.  Trouble is, my back is no longer built for all that low work.  The good news is last summer I got a tool that I can get the weeds out while standing up, but it does leave a divot.  I'll just call that aerating the lawn.
• 
  Remember the drawer that I built downstairs for the cat's litter box?  I still look at it and think of how nifty it is.  After using it now for quite some time, I really like how it contains the mess a whole lot better than when the litter box was on the floor.  Oh, litter still gets dragged out, but mostly only onto the walkway and a bit on the stairs, and I just sweep it into the drawer.  If anyone figures out how to get a cat to wipe their paws, please let me know.
• BW left a comment over at Nic's recently that got me thinking.  It's about getting used to music that's not on CDs or records.  To a certain extent, I have the same issue.  I do have many releases on digital only by now, but I also have YouTube Music as a premium member, so have been trying to use that more.  The issue I'm finding is it's geared more towards individual songs, not whole albums, and I am very album-oriented.  Are all music streaming services like that?
• I have my spring vacation in a couple weeks, and I expect it will be better than last year's.  I don't have any big projects in mind, but I'm sure I'll think of something.  Or maybe I'll just sleep until noon every day and have a fire every night.  It will be different because my wife will be here working from home all week, but I'll hit two weeks after being fully vaccinated so I do plan on going out and about.  We also want to start inviting friends over for firepits and outside socializing soon.  I know vaccination is no guarantee, but I feel the benefits will outweigh the risk, at this point.

Well, that was fun.  The weather has been seasonable and we're still getting overnight frost now and again, at least for this next week, it appears.  Might be a good night for a fire, tonight.  Have a great weekend, everyone.

Blogday This and Thats

I started this blog 12 years ago today, shortly before we bought our house.  It's kind of funny how I use this site to refer back to when we want to know when something happened.  Usually, if it's worth writing about, then I wrote about it here.  Of course, I've written a whole lot of nonsense, too!  Speaking of nonsense, time to type again and see what happens.

• I'm ready for spring, now.  I shaved for the first time since last October and got a haircut for the first time also since October - but 2019!  It was just time to shave off the winter face coat, and of course it was cool for a few days so my face got a bit cold, but I'm used to it now.  I'll probably grow my little chin beard again like I usually do.  And I remember starting to think about a haircut in March last year, but then everything got locked down.  Once I shaved, I knew I had to finally get that haircut.  It's as short as it's been in a very, very long time now, but it'll grow out.
• We got some rain last night and today, and there's some more in the forecast, so hopefully they will lift the local burn ban and I can have a fire this weekend.  As long as it's not raining.  That might also throw a wrench in proceeding with the gardens this weekend.
• I've been enjoying the concert livestreams since all this started.  No, it's not the same as going to a show, but for live music lovers it's at least something.  I've lost count of how many I've seen now; a few from Code Orange, Xordia, Richie Scarlet, Stephen Pearcy, Pain, Diamante a couple times, Steel Panther, Wednesday 13, and many others I'm forgetting now, both ticketed and free shows.  There's a couple more on my radar soon, Bruce Kulick on the 16th and Poppy on the 24th.  Rock on!
• Aside from the new car, we made another big financial decision recently and refinanced the house.  We've been paying off extra for some time now, but now we knocked off a third of the years left on the mortgage and have a much lower interest rate, which feels pretty damn good.  It was a good time to buy the house back when we did, and now it just keeps going up in value. So again, good for us!
• I get my first shot two weeks from today, the Pfizer vaccine.  I'm very much looking forward to it, actually.  Fully vaccinated, I will have much more confidence going out and about and getting some semblance of 'normal' back.  Live music, dining out, gathering with friends and family, shopping and even just stopping off for a drink somewhere has been missed greatly, but I'm hoping it all gets better as we go this summer.

Well, I thought I might have more but that's all I can think of at the moment.  The cat's have been well, and have been loving the few times we've been able to open the windows so far.  Here's a recent video of them and, if you couldn't tell by the coloring, they sure act like brothers here!

I've Been Probed!

After work this afternoon I sat back down at my desk for some relaxing on the internet.  Not every day, but every so often I look at my website statistics.  Today was one of those days and holy cow!  Per Google Analytics, I had 268 users for 274 pageviews yesterday?!  When I go into the details of the graph you see here, the 44 up top is searches of all my labels, then several for views of each month for certain years and some Latest Listening Pleasure posts, then the big bottom one is views for what seems to be all of my LLP posts!  

Curious, I looked at the Blogger stats and it showed 288 pageviews yesterday.  That's only a few dozen less than I normally get a month!  Oh, and notice almost all are from the UK?  What's going on over there, guys?  Could it possibly be Wargasm UK fans?  Or - probably more likely - just some 'bot checking me out?  What would you make of this?

Mr Chipmunk and Neighbor Dave

 We are entering the dog days of summer here.  We've had 7 days at 90ºF this summer, topping out at 92º about two weeks ago, though recently we've been a few degrees lower so just the afternoons and evenings get a bit uncomfortable without the air conditioning on.  Plants are still flowering but are past their peak and are starting to look a bit ragged.  And the lawn has brown patches, including all of the front lawn.   All in all, August in Wisconsin.

A year ago I'd have been writing about bicycle rides, Atwoodfest, live bands and other summer adventures.  This year, 2020, the year of the pandemic, there just has not been much going on.  We wake up, work at home all day then lay around home all evening.  Oh, we take a walk now and again (and picking up trash as we go has made that a bit more rewarding), run errands only as needed, and my wife still has all her 'dad' work to do all week.

I'd like to say I've gotten more accomplished than I have, but that doesn't seem to have happened.  I have a week vacation in a few week's time so my plan is to knock things off my list then, including the cat box area which has turned into a very long-term project.  I think the last I worked on it was my fall vacation last year.  It will be different as my wife will be working at home all day so I'll have to mind her schedule, too.

But today I have something else I can write about - a chipmunk.   I know I've written about their dens on the side of the house before, I even trapped and relocated one a couple years ago.  Well, that time came again.  I knew I had a little guy living in the corner since Spring.  In the first and second pictures the entrance to his den is on the top right, under the hosta.  My early attempts to capture it did not work, so I let it be for the time being and just kept an eye on the situation.  Today that situation changed.

What I saw today was one heck of a mess in that corner, like Mr. Chipmunk had cleaned house.  There was dirt all over and an abundance of black walnut shells strewn about.  Okay, Mr. Chipmunk, I got no time for your messes so it's time for you to leave.  I started with the hose, since it's right there on that side of the house.  Water kept pouring in, but no chipmunk came out.  Finally I turned off the water.  I know neighbor Dave, 79 tomorrow (see below), has air gaps under his concrete walkway right there so I didn't want to fill that up and possibly give him water in his basement.  Besides, the chipmunk seemed not to be home at the moment.

Next, I got some peanut butter and set my live trap.  I figured I'd check it now and again the rest of the night, and hopefully I could evict Mr. Chipmunk, the squatter.  In actuality, I was in the second bedroom about ten minutes later and heard a noise outside the open window.  Sure enough, Mr. Chipmunk was caught!  Well, that was certainly easier than it was in Spring.  After humiliating the little guy by making him pose for a few pictures, I walked down to the bike path to let him go.  Not only did I walk to the bike path, but followed it for a time to get more distance between home and where I released him so hopefully he will not be back.  Then I cleaned up that mess.

*          *          *

A couple weeks ago, Neighbor Dave told me he was planning on moving.  He was facing an expensive repair to the house and did not want to spend the money.  He told me all about how old all the appliances were, the furnace, and the myriad other things that were wrong with the place.  I didn't like to hear it, but supported his decision and offered my help with anything he needed.

About a week later, he told me he couldn't find a place to move.  He doesn't drive, so wanted to be close to the bus and a library, and rents were expensive and more so because he has a cat.  But mostly there wasn't much of anything available, and that's what I've heard recently that Madison currently has a housing shortage.  He discussed with his kids and they're going to do the necessary repair themselves, so he decided he's going to stay probably for the rest of his days in his house of over 50 years.

Before all this I figured I'd get him a birthday present this year, but now I really wanted to.  I noticed that I had it on a spreadsheet with other people we know, and then I remembered him telling me it a year or two ago and so I put it on there.  I just got him a card and a couple funny fishing t-shirts that I think he'll like.  Hopefully I run into him later tonight or tomorrow, now.


Now, to end, I only have one thing to say.  I really hate Blogger's new dashboard and template.  It's especially hard to strategically place photos within the text.  Much harder that it used to be or should be.  Happy summer everyone.  Maybe a firepit later tonight...

F-35s Coming To Madison

Yesterday the U.S. Air Force made it official, Madison's Truax Field was awarded a squadron of F-35 fighter jets.  This has been a long process with lots of controversy.  Opponents mainly cite pollution and the noise factor and how it will affect some of Madison's poorest neighborhoods by the airport.  Supporters cite the jobs and economic impact it will bring to the area.

We've seen the signs in yards for ages now, and opponents will surely not go quietly.  The Madison City Council even passed a resolution against having them here, but the decision on where to base 18 of the 100 million dollar F-35A fighter jets is solely up to the Air Force.  Of course they held meetings, did environmental studies, etc., but they seemed set on Madison from the start.  Montgomery, Alabama was also named as a base for the jets.

Right now, Truax Field, home to 1200 Airmen of the 115th Fighter Wing, has an aging fleet of 21 F-16 fighter jets.  The new F-35s are to start arriving in 2023.  These jets can provide air protection for anywhere in the Midwest and at 1200 m.p.h. can be there in minutes.

That's a lot of facts and numbers, you can click here, here or here for more details.

Personally, I think it will be good for the area.  We live in the main flight path, and we have jets now already.  Yes, they do get loud, but only for seconds at a time and I find them fascinating to watch.  They go by so very fast that by the time you look up they're almost past, thus I've wanted to get a short video but have always been unable.  They usually go in twos, but even knowing that I've not been quick enough when I've been outside.  The new jets will be louder and the amount of flights is supposed to increase, but again, it lasts for mere seconds.  I know the new jets have been in and out of here at times already and I've not really noticed any difference.  I look forward this summer to trying to get video of the jets, new or old, now more than ever.


On a similar subject, I noticed an email at my blog gmail account (top right of the page) from the other day with the subject line 'Dane County Regional Airport Guide.'  At first I thought it was one of those spam comments we get on blogger, like when I post something about plumbing then get a comment from a robo-English speaker complimenting me on my work then going into their agenda and spam links.  But this was not a comment notification, it was an email from the Media Relations Manager for the Dane County Airport.  In her email she noted my blog post that was probably found in a google search, a post from June last year.

Apparently they've updated their website and she was wondering if it was possible for me to include a link on my site.  Okay, here it is, an informational airport guide website, but the official website still appears to be here.  Look at me, now seemingly an actual member of the media!  Wait, now that I type that I'm not so sure that's a good thing...

Virus Update, Blogday

Tested positive, not an actual count.

It's been a week and a half since I started showing symptoms, and when this posts it will be 5 days since all doubt was erased from my mind that this is what I have.  I'm writing this on Tuesday night to post tomorrow, on my 11th blogday.  Happy Blogday to me.  Yay.

I contacted my doctor's office first thing Monday morning and they got back to me later with advice.  Fluids, rest, continue to monitor my symptoms and go to the hospital if necessary.  I did let them know that my wife is caretaker to her elderly father and saw him on Wednesday, they advised the same; keep monitoring their health.  My wife shows no symptoms though she has been cooped up with me this whole time, and thankfully her father shows no symptoms as well.  Testing was not mentioned, and I believe I will not be tested unless I get worse and have to go to the hospital.  From what I hear, only those that go and health care workers are being tested, which means you can throw all the numbers you see right out the window.  Real counts of those infected are probably much, much higher.  And my wife is no longer seeing her father, there are others who can fill in for a couple weeks.

Second thing Monday, after messaging my doctor, I messaged those I work with.  I let them know I was ill and that I believed it was this virus, but since I had nothing else to do I intended to continue to work as normal.  I put in a full day's work Monday, even signing off for an hour to take a nap at one point, but that still turned out to be too much.  Tuesday morning I messaged those I work with again.  Except for one part of my job that no one else can do at the moment, I relinquished all my daily duties.  I let them know the day before was way too much for me and I needed a lot more rest.  They do seem to understand and wish me well, and I know they will shuffle things around a bit and manage without me.  I wound up working less than half a day Tuesday and got some good rest.

I'm still getting headaches though not quite as bad (and I'm taking Menstrual Pain Relief pills because that's all we have that has acetaminophen).  I'm not coughing quite as much, and while I'm still expectorating yellow/green sputum it does not seem to be as much as a few days ago.  Even the shortness of breath seems a little better, or maybe I'm getting used to it.  The fever spikes and malaise continue and my appetite is not good.  I have to make myself eat, and it isn't much.

So, overall, I'm in no worse shape than when I wrote about it the other day.  Thank you to everyone who sent their well-wishes and offers of assistance.  We're otherwise still in pretty good shape at the moment, thankfully.  I just need to get better, and I think that will just take time.

Make no bones about it, this is a nasty, nasty virus.  My only solace is that when I get over this I (hopefully) will be immune.

Stay safe, stay in, and stay well, everyone.

Canoe Slide, Fall Fire, More

Here I go again, letting weeks pass with nary a word typed.  Yes, we've been a bit busy, and there are things happening that I'm not sure how to write about yet or even if I'm ready to write about yet.  But I do have some things to say today and the rest may wait for a while.

I was out for a walk the other day and I saw some new signs down by the Starkweather Creek canoe slide.  A warning about possible PFAS in the water - in 3 languages - and a small sign with instructions on how to use the canoe slide.  I still haven't seen the slide used, and I'm sure I won't until spring rolls around.  You can see the creek is iced over already.  We've not had a lot of snow since late October and early November, but we have had the cold temperatures with highs ranging from a bit above to a bit below the freezing mark, more below recently.  I'll put closeups of the signs after the break.

The last two Friday evenings it has been dry with temperatures right around freezing - good fire pit weather!  I had to start the fires about 4 in the afternoon as the sun goes down before half past these days.  And I noticed that rather than sitting I tend to stand around the fire when it's cold.  Closer to the rising heat, I guess.  Each fire may be the last for quite some time so I've been taking advantage.  One snowstorm and it will be months before it happens again.



We have a funeral to attend very soon.  My mom's husband passed away this week from cancer.  Quicker than expected, but probably for the best.  We're well, thank you, and my mom is holding up very good, but things will be very different for her.  Oh well, maybe more on this later.