I don't think I have many words to say, but I'm sure I'll think of something. I do have several pictures of our area from this past week that I'd like to share.
For the sake of keeping the home page tidy, see the rest after the break!
'Scoakat' rhymes with 'Snow Hat'! - - Just my thoughts on music, humor, our life in Madison and anything else I feel like.
I don't think I have many words to say, but I'm sure I'll think of something. I do have several pictures of our area from this past week that I'd like to share.
For the sake of keeping the home page tidy, see the rest after the break!
The old tree stump is starting to fall apart now, especially the front side. I actually tried to get less plants than I usually do so fewer pots on the stump, but not sure if I succeeded. We also normally get two hanging pots, one for by the front door and one by the back door, but the hanging pot in back is in full sun all day so plants there usually get pretty rough looking by the end of the season. I did put the yellow flowers you see on the stump in a pot that can be hung. Those and the purple ones like it are meant for full sun, so if it stays looking good it may get put on a shepherd's hook by the back door at a later time.
I also have some petunias in a long pot by the back door. Petunias are usually pretty safe and easy - when the rabbits aren't eating them, anyway. Several plants aren't really blooming here yet, but with time I'm sure the pots on the stump will get more colorful. You can ask me the names of the plants, but if it's not the petunias, marigolds or geraniums then I'll have to go look it up as I don't usually remember that kind of thing very well.Today is much cooler (currently 45ºF!), overcast and rainy, as tomorrow is expected to be, before we get back to seasonable temperatures. The big peony started opening its flowers on Sunday, and I worry because sometimes all it takes is one real heavy rain after the peonies open for them to go to shit, so you have to enjoy them while you can. At the back of the garage are two other, smaller peonies, as well. A white one left of the gardens and a pink one to the right (or opposite, I forget). Those aren't blooming yet, they're always a bit behind the big one by the house.
And just a quick back update, I have an MRI scheduled in less than 2 weeks. Hopefully I don't need to see the neurosurgeon or have surgery and can get the shot shortly after - and it works. This pain sucks, so wish me luck, please.
*Pictures of the peonies and other things I found interesting after the break!
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.
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.
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.
It took about as long to put all the gardens together as it did to get that protective film off. A couple hours, is all, and I did use a sealant between the pieces before screwing them together. Despite putting them together on a makeshift platform atop the bins, they seemed to be self-leveling because of the corrugation as I tightened the screws. I was planning on putting them together on the floor of the garage, sliding my chair along, but the state of my back recently made me try to get a big enough platform off the ground, and it seemed to work pretty good.
After the gardens were put together I started in on the deconstruction of the old gardens. I had only planned on removing the fence and railings today, but two boards on the west garden just basically fell off. For some reason the East garden has seemed to age better, but we'll see when it finally all comes off. I put many of the smaller pieces of wood in the garbage bin, but a pile has started in the garage next to the stored new metal gardens. Once I get all the wood removed I'll be cutting it all to a size I can transfer to dispose of it properly.
This was all done carefully today as my back has been acting up again, but I don't think I injured myself any further. It's manageable as long as I take my time and minimize the stress I put on my lower back, and I will definitely be taking a muscle relaxer tonight. I'm more sore than I care to admit since I've not had as much exercise this past winter as I normally would, but I'm hoping with spring and vaccination this will change and we can more confidently get out and about much more.But anyway, at this point we'll see what we can get done tomorrow, but it may not be as much as today.
We got the grill out and had burgers last night and it was delicious! I had really missed grilled food all winter. Later, I was out by the fire and we had a pretty nice and clear night sky so I managed to get a few shots of the easy to find constellations. Not a bad view for the trees around us and living right in the city, I thought. Of course, I had known the ISS was going to fly by but I totally forgot when I was out there so missed that opportunity. These pics were taken about an hour after. I'll also put a mystery picture after the break. I will entertain guesses as to what it is, but at this time I will neither confirm nor deny!
Facing SSW, Orion is partially behind the tree. |
Then facing NNW is Cassiopeia with the North Star in the upper right. And Cassiopeia always points over to.. |
...the Big Dipper, here in the NNE sky. And the top two stars of the Big Dipper always form a line that points back to the North Star, out of the shot to the left. |
I liked the reaction to the first snow removal time lapse video, so I did it again. It had been snowing since the early morning hours, light and fluffy with it being so very cold out. I went out to clear it a little after 2:30 this afternoon and the sun had come out nicely after the snow had passed. Too bad that didn't warm more than my soul - it was only 1ºF (-17ºC) when the video was shot. And sorry, the video's a little crooked, and I stopped recording before shoveling the front walk and stoop and cleaning off the car, so it's less than 75 seconds long.
We have a three day weekend due to President's Day on Monday and, while we'll have plenty of time for rest and relaxation, we do have a few things we want get done. First off is to get a load over to Goodwill, and we need to order a new clothes washer as the bearings are going in ours. Not unusual for bearings after almost 12 years, but the problem is they make it so to replace them is to replace most of the machine so it's just cheaper to buy a new one. The repairman said it could last another year like this but it sounds dreadful and now is the time of year those things are cheapest. Third, we want to get another quarter cow ordered. It will be at least a month until it will be ready and our beef supply is practically down to nothing.
The current forecast says salt won't melt ice until maybe Wednesday, and we might even get up to the freezing point in just over a week. Shorts and t-shirt weather! That's all for this weekend's weather report - other than one kind of funny thing to mention is that I had to buy ice yesterday. Our ice maker is on the fritz and that repairman won't be out for over two weeks yet, but I thought it was just odd to be buying ice in the middle of such a cold spell like I was going on a picnic or something.
For most of my life I've read the newspaper, and mostly that paper has been the Wisconsin State Journal. When I was young my parents were subscribed. In my young adulthood I usually picked up the paper on my way to work every day. I went through fits and starts subscribing for myself, but usually ended up cancelling due to issues, mostly that the paper would not consistently arrive early enough for me. This is also why I changed from subscribing 7 days a week to just getting the Sunday and Wednesday subscription option since we bought the house in 2009. Eventually I learned not to count on the paper to read before work, so I'm no longer concerned too much what time it arrives on Sunday or Wednesday.
This Sunday/Wednesday subscription to the Wisconsin State Journal consists of either 8 or 9 newspapers a month, 9 a month for 8 of 12 months in 2021, 104 newspapers a year. Keep in mind, these different days of papers are not created equal. The Sunday paper offers much more than a daily paper, though the Sunday and Wednesday papers are both loaded with ads, which is why you can only subscribe to the Sunday paper if you get Wednesday's, as well.
Last month they sent me a notice that my subscription price would be changing next month. They cite the online access and other perks that justify the cost, but really all I want is the newspaper. Thinking about this, I wanted to know what the newsstand price was for both, the Sunday and daily papers. You think you can find that online somewhere? Fat chance. I finally found an email for their customer service, and they replied that it is $2.50 for the daily paper and $5.00 for Sunday. (I remember paying only $0.35 for a daily paper on the way to work, years ago). I forgot to ask if these prices would also be changing soon, so I replied to ask and have yet to hear back.
So, at my subscription price of $37.50 a month, that is $450.00 a year and $4.33 a paper on average. The newsstand price would be $390.00, which is $60.00 to have it delivered for a year. And sixty bucks for 104 deliveries is probably worth it, I think. But is the overall cost for the paper itself worth it? I guess I've thought so for several years now.
Now, as I mentioned, they recently sent me notice that my subscription price is changing. It is going up to $43.00 a month starting in February. So let me look at those numbers again. $43.00 a month is now $516.00 a year and $4.96 a paper on average. That's $66.00 a year and $0.63 a paper more than I'm paying now.
Sure, I can afford it, but do I still think it's worth it? Do you?
Yes, it's been a bad year. Lockdowns, masks, sickness and death. But we made it this far and there is hope with the new vaccines, but that doesn't help us yet this holiday season. A basketball game on TV and a Zoom call with immediate family is pretty much all we have planned today. My wife will see her dad, but that's not unusual as she's pretty much his full time caretaker these days. Almost all our snow has melted so it's not even a white Christmas this year. But we must to try to stay positive, and I do have hope for a vaccinated future. It will take time and there will be more challenges yet, but we'll get there.
Wherever you are, I hope you're making the best of things today. Merry Christmas, everyone.
Welcome to winter. Forty-eight hours ago we were on our second 50ºF day in a row and I was out enjoying a rare weekday firepit. And today, well....
A winter wonderland, picture taken just a few minutes ago. |
Two days earlier, much more relaxing. |
I don't normally have a fire when I have to get up early the next day, but with sunset before 4:30 p.m. and a very mild December day I did just that on Thursday. I got off work at 2:00, had the fire going about an hour later, stayed out until after 5:00 and was inside in plenty of time for dinner. Then yesterday morning it started raining until turning over to snow in the early afternoon. Even then, it wasn't until evening that the snow started sticking. And it continued overnight and is still going, currently projected to finish in the next hour or so.
My back is still touch-and-go so there's no way I was going to pick up a shovel, but with a support belt and what turned out to be one more warm layer than necessary I was able to push the snow blower through the heavy and wet white stuff to get things cleared while my lovely wife used a shovel for the steps and more. We'll have to go out again later to clean things up when the snow is finished (and after the Badger game this afternoon) but now it will be much easier.
High temperatures for the next week are projected to be right around the freezing mark so not sure how long the snow will last. I guess it depends on how many of those days are sunny. But one of these days it will snow and stay until maybe March. I hope today is not that day.
Barring small mammals and firepits there's not been a lot to write about over here the last several weeks. One day blurs into the next as we work and rest while barely ever leaving the house. But life moves ever forward and I needed a vacation from, well, work. Not working for a few days will be the only difference as I still will barely leave the house. Good times, eh? Well, here I go typing again, so onward we go.
Before |
After |
Lazy fool, any excuse to get out of chores and have a fire! |
No leaves yet, but they're coming. |
Madison is in Dane County |