Showing posts with label pets/animals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pets/animals. Show all posts

Sunday, September 24, 2023

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.

Friday, August 25, 2023

100º Sunflower Baking

I'm not sure what the official numbers were, but I saw 100ºF actual temperature and 117ºF as the 'feels like' temperature on Wednesday.  It was over 90% humidity in the morning but was down to mid-40's at the hottest part of the day, which is still more than enough to be very palpable at that temperature.  It was our first 100 degree day since July 2012, in a worse drought that year.  Thursday was much the same, just a few degrees less.  Kate dug up an old pan to put out with water for the critters so we did that and I threw some peanuts on the stump area to help bring them in so I could put out the trail camera to see what happened.

This new trail camera shows the temperature on the pictures but not the video, which is disappointing.  I've searched through the settings a few times, but the option just isn't there.  The video below is clips with pictures here and there, all in timeline order, of that time of the week so you can take a moment to consider the temperature and time of day.  The water pan wasn't used a whole lot yet, but it was a new thing, too.

Other than that, last post was the sunflower at its peak.  I now have a bungee cord helping stabilize it as it appeared to be leaning more, and with the heat and heaviness of the bloom the top is looking a bit more droopy.  And if you look close, the small one does have an odd, small attempt at a bloom.

You can't tell, but yes, I've been watering.

I also did some baking today, trying a new recipe for the second time.  It's a very versatile French bread recipe and a full batch makes a lot of dough.  This batch I made into 4 burger buns with 4 pepperoni and cheese rolls below those, and hot dog buns and a baguette on the right.

Oh, I was off work for an appointment today, so I had the time.  Have a great weekend, everyone!

Thursday, August 10, 2023

Greenway Walk

I was this close to capturing the biggest poo bag I've ever seen.  From the horse, of course...

We took a walk through the Dixon Greenway on the way to try a new place for lunch on Sunday, but the mounted police picture is from a day or so later on another walk.  The native plant restoration project is coming along nicely with many beautiful wildflowers.  I'll put a couple pics after the break.    

Tuesday, July 18, 2023

New This, New Thats

I don't believe we've had any rain since I posted about it last, but we did have a couple minor air quality warnings that didn't amount to much.  Mostly in the 'Moderate' category so nothing like what we had a couple weeks ago.  It's still a thing and still affecting other areas too so we may get another bad spell, we'll see.  Anyway, a few new things happening around here lately.

  • A couple months ago we got a new vacuum, a Bissell Pet Hair Eraser, and boy does it get up the cat hair.  We've stuck with Oreck for a long time now, but I'm glad I decided to try another brand.  This small house, and I still have to empty it halfway through - and we only have the two rugs, no carpet!
  • Speaking of the cats, they got a new cat tree same as the old cat trees.  Availability of them have been sporadic, so a year or two ago when I saw it available again I ordered another.  We had a nice one when they were young that they outgrew, now we're on the fourth cat tree of this type, one of the few cat trees I've seen that I'd say is for adult cats.  They've not been as hard on them as they've gotten older, 11 years old last April, so not sure if we'll need another.  The old one from the front windows is now the porch cat tree, I disassembled it just enough to put it back together with the best of the used sisal rope pillars as I've done before.  The cat's don't care.
  • A few months ago my wife's phone, same as mine at the time, bricked.  She just woke up and the phone was dead, but luckily and thanks to Amazin we had her another phone late that very day.  Since then, my Pixel 3XL has had a couple hiccups.  Nothing major, just acting up slightly, and I was due for an upgrade so I got a new Pixel 7A.  Now, transitioning to a new smart phone is always a pain in the butt, right?  Not anymore.  First off, Google pretty much owns me - gmail, blogger, youtube, chrome, fitbit - all that and more.  Much of the reason I got us Pixels last time.  But upgrading from an older Pixel to a new one is the easiest transition you can imagine.  The new phone showed all the same backgrounds, and all the icons in all the same places like it was the same phone.  You have to download them again, but they make that really easy, too.  I think I'll be sticking with Pixels as long as I have a smart phone.
  • But, on September 14, 2022, Google notified me that I had used 50% of my 15GB storage.  Now last week they notified me that was up to 70%.  How?  I've deleted a ton of old emails and drastically reduced the amount of pictures I take since then.  Now I will go through my old pictures I have in Google photos and delete everything unnecessary - I'm up to January 2017.  I'd always taken many more pictures than needed so I could pick and choose the best ones, thinking it's all digital anyway, but that seems to have caught up to me.  And I DO NOT want to have to pay for storage.  The alternative is to just not back up my photos in Google, just on my hard drives.  Also a real possibility.
  • Not a lot to report on the new trail camera yet.  I tried giving it a go a few times with no success until I finally figured out the new SD card had a little switch to protect it that I must have nudged after the first use.  It's currently out in the garden watching over the pepper plants which have gotten munched on by critters, likely rabbits, due to how dry it's been.  The peppers are now caged again and I haven't had any other use for the trail cam yet so I've let it be for now.
  • Later this week I have new sandals coming, a new kitchen faucet, and a new baguette baking pan.  I found a new recipe for french bread that is supposed to be very versatile and it makes a lot of dough so I expect to have a couple baguettes, some buns or rolls, try my hand at pepperoni rolls, and maybe a round loaf.  So a day of baking coming up this weekend.

The garlic will be early this year due to the weather.  My wife checked it last weekend and it was almost ready to come out of the ground, so we'll be checking it again this weekend.  And the sunflowers are doing good.  Well, one is doing great, another not too bad, and two others seem stunted but so far I'm letting them grow to see if anything will happen.   I just went out to grab a picture, and it is now officially taller than me!  As you see here, the leaves always seem to get a bit droopy in the late afternoon sun, but they always come back.  Cheers!

Correction edit:  My wife picked all the garlic while I was on my walk this afternoon.  I just noticed now!

Monday, May 22, 2023

Vacation, Plant Day, Jets, Ducks And An Ex-Stump

It's been a pretty good vacation, a nice time away from work.  I had all of last week off and tomorrow yet, before I have to return on Wednesday.  No big projects but some spring chores done and much needed relaxation.  I have one day left tomorrow, and I've been trying to keep it pretty clear so I can just relax most of the day and do whatever I feel like doing, so today I feel like writing.

Every spring I've had what I called Plant Day, the vacation day that I get a bunch of plants to pot or plant them around.  This year has been a little different; I got a couple hanging plants for out front plus the big pot out front and planted sunflower seeds for the first time, but so far haven't potted anything for the decaying stump area.  That option is still open, just not so urgent this year.  And out of 50 sunflower seeds I'm seeing 6-8 coming up so far.  I could see that critters were sniffing them out and eating them almost as quick as I could plant them, but thankfully it looks like a few survived.  More on this later, I'm sure.

I got a couple short videos the other day of some of our new F-35s coming in for a landing, they always seem to go in twos.  I don't see that they're louder when landing than the prior F-16s, maybe louder when taking off but they're up and out so quick it doesn't last long.  And from before the eggs were ransacked I got an interesting - and common - duck scene on video, too.  It was fun to follow Mother Duck as she tried to have her nest under our stairs, but it's just too exposed to end well.  While I have the destruction and heartbreak on video I won't be posting it and hope they don't try to nest here again.  Watch this instead.  :)

And while I wanted to sleep in later this morning, instead I was roused by the sound of large equipment running nearby.  Neighbor Jane's tree stump was getting removed.  Shortly after taking pictures of the bird feeder, seen here recently, there was fresh paint and flags for the utilities, plus someone came out last week and dug some test holes to verify just how deep those utilities were.  I watched through our front window as removing the stump was an interesting process to see up close, and just took a few hours.  I guess some other crew will be by to seed it and lay the hay mat over it, we'll see.

I'll put a few more pictures of the stump to terrace renovation after the break.

Thursday, May 18, 2023

Probably Inevitable

 


Saturday, May 13, 2023

Cloudy But Happy

 It's not the warmest or brightest day today, but it feels good outside.  I made baguette this morning so the house smells like bread, and I just mowed for the first time so the outside smells like freshly cut grass.  Well, mostly mowed, as the duck is on her nest so there is a small patch in front and below in this picture that I'll need to get later this evening when she's off to feed.  The lawn looks sharp, freshly mowed, the hostas haven't fallen yet and the lilac is blooming nicely - and more purple than I remember seeing in recent years.

We found out that late neighbor Dave's daughter and her husband will be renovating the house next door and hope to move in come fall.  The house is in pretty rough shape and they outlined some big plans, admitting it is a daunting task, but they have a contractor friend that will be doing much of the work.  No small kids and no renters, so we're happy so far and hope all goes well for them.

There's a slight chance of rain and the wind is supposed to pick up this evening, so doesn't look like I'll be having a fire this weekend, but I'm on vacation this coming week plus a couple days after that.  I don't have a ton of plans, just a list of spring chores to do and I'll make a trip down to see my Mom sometime since Mother's Day is tomorrow.  Anyway, Kate is off caring for her Dad so despite the gloom of clouds I'm going to stay happy, get out of the house and go grab a bite to eat and see what's going on in the outside world.  Have a great weekend, everyone.

Oh, I also wanted to mention the cat's little present, a bird feeder just outside the front window for their entertainment.  I'll put couple pictures after the break.

Thursday, May 11, 2023

Duck Update

Well, so far so good, as far as I can tell.  I got a pretty good look in the nest today while the mother duck was elsewhere for some reason, and there's at least 6 eggs in the nest.  This picture was from an open window and I'm not sure why she left them uncovered for a bit.

After work today I brought in the trail camera to empty the SD card and see what's happened so far.  I saw all the critters previously mentioned poking around the nest area, some while the mother duck was right there.  Apparently squirrels are slightly afraid of ducks.  

But I did also see a mother opossum come around, which I was hoping I wouldn't as we suspect it was an opossum to get at the eggs the last time.  It doesn't appear she went after eggs this time, but there is a short period between when the camera will take these short videos so it's possible if she was quick about it.

But mostly so far has just been mother duck fussing about her nest.  I put a handful of dead plant I picked from nearby and she used that up quickly.  Later I put some of the failed nest from in back of the garage nearby and she's used some of that, too.  I'm not sure why the video is so pink/purple now.  I thought maybe because the sun was on it but that can't be all the time.  When I replaced it I put it under the other side of the steps so we'll see what it looks like next time.

The duck seems to leave the nest in the evenings before sunset and come back in the early morning to spend all day.  So later yesterday evening I was finally able to get out and plant sunflower seeds in that corner.  But now today I'm waiting for her to leave so I can water them.

Saturday, May 6, 2023

The Duck Is Back

We have a duck under our back steps again, maybe the same one as 5 years ago.  We knew that a duck had been there, but there were a couple times we accidentally scared the heck out of them so thought they had moved on.  But, weren't sure so I moved the trail cam to behind the first step and under the second step facing the area.  I've used the trail cam in a few areas since unloading the SD card, it began overlooking the firepit area from the corner of the garage, then I moved it under the step here, then used it for a timelapse of a firepit last night, and after that a timelapse of a nest that was being built on top of the bat house on the garage.  The nest failed, sparrows I believe, everything blew off in the wind.

We hadn't noticed any more duck activity in several days, until today Kate noticed a female mallard land in our back yard and sure enough, she made her way under the stairs.  Just a bit ago I went out and got the trail camera, unloaded the card, then put it under the stair again.  Very carefully, of course, as to not disturb her while sitting on her nest, and also there was a male around the other side of the porch that I didn't want to rile up.  I hope it's at a good angle, but it's there now.


I hate to bring it up, and I'm not hoping it happens again, but it did not end well last time.  While reviewing the video shots of that area just now I've seen a couple different kinds of birds, squirrels, chipmunks, a rabbit, and a cat investigating the area before I saw this clip of the duck waddling in last Tuesday morning.  It's illegal for us to disturb her nest, but eventually something will and it will not be good for the ducks, unfortunately.  I don't think there's eggs yet, but it looks like there will be soon.

Tuesday, April 18, 2023

Garden Trail Camera Video

I brought in the trail camera from the garden area to see what it may have captured, and it did capture a few interesting shots.  I changed the setting to just video hoping it would trigger better and it seemed to work.  So here's a few shots from the past week or so of critters small and big and other minor activity.

The squirrel at the beginning is just being very still, it seems the camera must make some small sound when activated as I've seen all animals notice before.  It didn't capture any of the snow the other day and the sun angle gives it a funky hue in the afternoons.  I didn't take any pictures of the firepit last Friday night, but the trail camera did.  The large flames are when I throw the black walnut leaf twigs on the fire, the same stuff I was raking up earlier in the video.  And it ends with an unknown cat on the prowl in the back yard early this morning.  I don't really like the background music, it seems to jump a bit for some reason between clips. But I'm no editor and don't want to spend any more time so it is what it is.

Now, where to place the trail camera next?

Thursday, January 19, 2023

Bake & Kate

I want to thank everyone for their kind comments on my baguette, including my wife who has been very encouraging.  We had some more last night and yes, it is pretty good if I say so myself.  But there's always room for improvement.  I've made baguette once now so will know better how to do things the second time around.  And I've ordered an 8 inch cast iron pan for the purpose of adding boiling water when I cook baguette again or other breads that call for it.  Just the latest baking purchase, aside from more expensive flour, different yeast and other ingredients, I've gotten new liquid measuring cups, dough scrapers, a bun pan and now the cast iron pan.  I'll have to bake more just to get back what I've spent so far!  Not sure if I'll bake anything this weekend, but we are out of buns so that is planned to be next.

I have no plans for this to turn into a baking blog, but I write about what I enjoy so you can expect more.  At least until I get tired of it, but I don't see that happening soon.  Everything in moderation.

My lovely wife Kate is 29 again today, though she hates having a birthday in January.  I can see why, we got 1.7 inches of snow early today for our first snow in 27 days.  Just her luck, I guess.  We went out and celebrated with friends last weekend, and she opened her present a couple days ago, so just a quiet night in tonight with her birthday wine.  Happy birthday, Kate. 🧡

I guess I thought I had more to say, but we have no real limits around here.  Cheers!

Sunday, November 20, 2022

The Demise of Jack O. Lantern

What a difference a week or two can make.  Three weeks ago I got a load of wood and thought the outlook was good for several more fires before winter would not allow it, and I haven't had a fire since.  Due to weather; first wind, then wet, now snow and cold.  I still have hope as it's early yet in the season.

Today I brought in the trail camera to go through the pumpkin-eating footage, and there was lots to go through.  It was triggered enough that it ran out of space early on November 14th, so no footage of the snow we had for days afterward.  The camera is low on purpose and crooked not-on-purpose, and shakes in the wind or if the squirrels shake the chain link fence.  Still, I was happy with the footage it captured this time out.  I have video evidence of a neighbor's two cats that appear to hunt in our back yard at night, the likely backyard shitters.  Now I want to think of a new place to put the camera for a while.  It's interesting to see what goes on in your yard when you're not around.

I narrowed down the 10-second video clips to 103, out of 482, which would still be over 17 minutes long - and no one wants to watch that.  I also wasn't going to mess with the chronological order or edit any of the clips, just stitch them together.  But, of course, it was my first time using Clipchimp software, so it was interesting going, but manageable.

Anyway, the next pare-down was to 27 of the most interesting clips coming in at less than 5 minutes, a more reasonable length, I think.  Enjoy!

Friday, November 11, 2022

Winter, Ducks, Dave and Jack

It was a nice day yesterday, getting into the low 70s ºF again.  Last night we went out for dinner and I wore just a tee shirt and jeans comfortably.  This morning I wore a winter jacket and gloves to go shopping as it was below freezing and hasn't gotten much warmer since.  Quite the temperature change in just a few hours, more evidence of climate change in Wisconsin, I guess.

The gutters are cleaned and the garlic is planted, so not much else to do yet for winterizing.  I still have leaves to deal with, but mowing to mulch the black walnut leaves in the back and being down to just one maple tree out front means there just aren't as many leaves to deal with as there used to be.  Depending on the weather, I may collect what leaves I can out front to mulch and put in the flowerbeds or I may just mow everything and be done with it.  There's not enough to worry about even if it snows and I don't see those leaves again until spring.  Things have certainly changed in the last decade or so.

The creek is low, but the ducks get fed by some neighbors across the creek.  I expect most to be on their way south soon, but inevitably some choose to stay the winter.  Why?  I just don't know.

Neighbor Dave called me over a week or so ago to catch me up on what's been going on.  This last summer he was laid up with a torn achilles which has since healed, but he still had that rattle in his lungs and lost breath easily.  The doctors have recently determined that he has lung cancer, though they won't do a biopsy to verify.  They've not given him a timeline, but he is now on oxygen and is in hospice at home.  He has a hospital bed in the front room he sleeps in now and needs oxygen 24/7.  I've agreed to help him in any way I can, but it sounds like he has good support with his kids, nurses, and meals on wheels stopping by almost daily.  Still, I will take care of his garbage, putting it out to the curb and bringing the bins back in, picking up his sticks, clearing his snow as I did last year, and anything else he may need.  Even watching for where his newspaper is in the mornings and putting it in his door if it's not put on his top step where he can reach.  He's been a wonderful neighbor to have and I don't look forward to losing him.

Mr. Jack O. Lantern is still around, but barely.  After Halloween I put him on the stump for the critters and they have been steadily eating him up.  Shortly after, I put the trail cam on the fence facing the stump so soon I will hopefully put together a video of it getting eaten up.  I've not checked any footage yet and probably won't until it's mostly gone, currently about halfway there so maybe next weekend.

Today is Veteran's Day here, so if you served then thank you for your service.  This hasn't been a day off for us in the past but work has changed up our holidays with more of the federal holidays off instead of the religious holidays, which only makes sense.  Some good games on this weekend and a trip down to Mom's again tomorrow to keep me busy.  Have a good weekend, everyone.

Friday, September 16, 2022

Vacation Wrap-up

 I still have the weekend but my vacation is essentially over.  All my vacation projects have been completed and I find myself today a bit bored.  I went for a drive, grabbed some food at a drive-through and parked by a lake to eat.  Then I went to a small mom and pop style tavern only to find it strangely closed, so I just came back home.  It's a beautiful day out, but I'm a bit sore so will wait for my wife to finish her workday then we can take a nice walk.

I'm glad I did the power washing early due to the rains that came after and the drying time needed before sealing the back steps.  I was mostly idle on Sunday and Monday due to that rain, and we did get some water in the basement for the first time in a couple years.  We didn't pick up the rugs in time so some got a bit wet, but as of yesterday everything was dry again and back to normal.  I had put the trail camera down there to see if the cats use the walkway so they don't have to step on the floor but it failed to capture the cats over several days but for a couple times when they walked right up to the camera.  Not sure why, and I don't see anything in the settings to fix that.  I may have to try again later from a different angle, but now I have the trail camera back outside on the fence by the wood rack facing the gardens.  I found poop back there again and want to find out what is doing that.

On Tuesday I edged all our concrete.  It had been a few years since I did it last and it was due.  I think a combination of the concrete sinking over the years and the sod rising from mulched grass has caused the front grass to be quite higher than the walk.  And I don't believe I've ever edged the curb side of the terrace before but you can see how much it was covering the curb.  It took about 16 five gallon buckets over 3 trips to the dump as it was just too much sod to compost here.  It was a bit of work, but it is very satisfying to see it all cleaned up and several inches of space reclaimed.

Wednesday was spent sealing the driveway seams in front of the garage.  I think water gets under it and when it freezes in the winter it makes one corner of a slab rise in front of the garage so hopefully this will help.  More of these seams will need to be redone in the future but I'll be looking into a different method.  I just did this area again to use up the crack filler left over from several years ago.  Other than that, just a few errands, can't remember what else so probably nothing.

By Thursday the wooden steps were dry enough to get sealed.  It was supposed to be mostly or partly cloudy out, perfect for the job, but I wanted to get an early start but not too early for the morning dew to evaporate.  Well, I overslept a bit so got a late morning start, then the water sealer I had must have been old as it had a cottage cheese consistency.  So I ran out to get more and in my haste got a slightly different version than I've used before - and learned that 'clear' and 'transparent' are two very different things.  I accepted my mistake and forged ahead, and it turns out it made the steps look pretty good.  Before the wood was a light gray but now, well, what do you think?  I'm calling it a happy accident.

So, back to today.  I guess today is turning out to be a pretty lazy day for me, and that's okay.  Soon here my wife and I will go on probably a 30 minute walk.  Later we're having Italian beef sandwiches for dinner (that's been smelling really good in the slow cooker all day!) but just a quiet night in.  Tomorrow we have a few things lined up but other than that I think I'm done with my vacation chore list and will just relax and try not to think about the shitstorm that I know will be waiting for me on Monday morning.

Walnut count:  My yard ~460, Dave's yard ~1320.  I expected these numbers to be higher by now, but we're not done yet.

Monday, September 12, 2022

Vacation, Rain, Birthday, and More Rain

I got a start on my vacation list after work on Thursday, getting the back steps fully power-washed and some of the driveway.  I was going to finish the power washing after work on Friday but the end of the garden hose popped off, so I took that as a sign that I was meant to relax that evening.  In the morning I took a trip to the big box DIY store, fixed the hose and completed the power washing.  The steps needed a thorough wash this year and once the wood has dried this week I'll apply a water seal.  I've never really power washed the driveway before, but the low parts down by and around the garage were looking pretty filthy with just dirt from rain and standing water over the years, but looks a lot better now.

That was done on Saturday morning.  On Saturday afternoon the Badgers played, and lost, and the rain moved in later that night.  Sunday, the Packers played, and lost, while it rained continuously all day long.  We did make a trip out for lunch before the game, but it was a miserable day for a birthday (55 this year).  While today, Monday, the rain has let up some but still a very cool, damp, and dark gray day again.  Makes it hard to get much motivation to do anything with weather like this, but the forecast is looking better for the rest of the week so hopefully I can start my vacation week properly tomorrow.

Not sure what day yet, but I do want to have at least one evening this week for relaxing by the fire.  I last had one the prior weekend and made dinner out there with our, well, I've heard them called different things, but little pie irons for camping to cook on the coals.  I burned the crap out of the first one, of course, but then made a couple perfectly cooked ones.  Overall, more work, mess and bother to cook this way, but it had been a very long time so was fun just the same.  There is also a bigger view of the sky over the house now.  Not so long ago there were 3 trees there, now just one. 

I didn't know that praying mantis lived in Wisconsin, but per Google they can be found here in the summer months, growing up to two inches including wings.  We had this one on our front window screen all day Saturday, from early morning until we shut the windows at night.  Not sure if it was resting after a big meal or what, but the rains that came that night surely made it move on to a more secure location.  And this one was at least 4 inches long.  I don't remember ever seeing one here before, so was interesting to watch and check on that day.

Well, tomorrow is a new day and we should see the sun and the temperature should come back up to shorts and t-shirt weather.  Most of my vacation to-do list is outside chores, and I need a good day to lift my spirits after the last couple.

Lastly, my condolences to my UK friends on the passing of the Queen.  In a world where public scenes and boorish behavior has become normal, she was always the picture of quiet dignity.  We need more of that again.

Monday, July 25, 2022

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

Thursday, January 20, 2022

Coldest Week?

I was outside this evening after taking out the recyclables, pondering a recent pile of poop on the snow that had already turned white and the tracks of the likely culprit.  No rabbit or other small animal, but larger and dog-like, judging by the gait.  My wife thinks it was a fox, and while the dog population in the area is much larger you rarely see one off-leash.  The tracks disappeared among the rabbit tracks back in the corner of the yard by the lilac.

Then my nose started to hurt.  It was maybe 2 minutes of being outside, but only 7ºF (-14ºC).

They said on the news this morning that this week is typically our coldest week each year.  Not sure how they determine it since weeks change a bit year to year, but okay.  I like my interesting facts to be more definitive, I guess.  Either way, it's cold.  There is no high temperature in the 10 day forecast that gets up to the freezing point.  As I write this it is already down to 3ºF.

Not a reason to like where I live, but we take it as it goes.

Here's a cool picture of Madison that I saw on this website.  Appears to be late in the day during a warmer time of year, looking northeast over downtown.  One of the best city regulations is a limit on building height on the isthmus and around the capitol building.  That's our house, top right.  ;)

Happy birthday this week to my lovely wife, who hates having it during the coldest week of the year.

Friday, September 24, 2021

Aw, Nuts!

It's not been an overwhelming year for black walnuts as only one of neighbor Dave's three trees is producing this year, but there's sure enough.  In the past there's been years now and again when it seems never-ending.  One year I think I stopped counting at a thousand, or maybe it was less, not sure.  But next time it's so plentiful I may continue the count just for fun.  Not sure how often they produce, whether every other year or whatever, I may have to look that up.

I just use my outdoor grabber (no bending!) to pick them up and toss them in the back corner behind the lilac bush, every day or every other day when the season comes.  The squirrels love it and are happily fattening up for winter, leaving black walnut litter everywhere, too.  And they stash them in the most odd places sometimes.  We've found them in the corners of the back steps and doorway, on the railing, and various odd places in the garage even, when I leave the door open.  In pots, in the gardens, and under leaves or grass like that's a good spot.  I even found one in the hanging plant out front.  Not sure how they got in there, but they did.  Bastards.  ;)

But how in the heck did they get one in/on the telephone wire that runs along the back yard property lines?  I thought I'd never be surprised where I find one, but I was a bit surprised at this one!

Happy Autumn, everyone.

Friday, August 6, 2021

Updates For Dog Days

We seem to be entering the dog days of summer now, and if I'm not mistaken the constellations agree.  When I posted recently and said it seemed like peak summer perfection at that time, I was correct.  The signs of a waning summer are visible now, but it's way too early to dwell on them.  Lots of good outdoor time yet to be had, thankfully.

The last several weeks have been pretty mundane around here.  We had quite the hot spell so spent most of our time indoors for a while, but have had lots of open window time, too.  Otherwise, it's been pretty routine; work all day and house chores and relaxing at night, not much socializing at all.  Where we live in Dane County we're sitting pretty good compared to other places.  We have a very high vaccination rate and things have been pretty relaxed for awhile here, but with the new variant we've started wearing our masks everywhere again and purposely not going out when we don't need, just to be safe.  We'll get there eventually, it'll just take more time - and vaccinations.

I know I've not written a whole lot the last several weeks, and my last couple posts have been mostly pictures, which actually prompted me to write more about them.  This may be like that, too, so sorry if you weren't a fan!  I just thought maybe I'd do a few updates on some varied things.

To start off, back in January I was considering whether getting the local newspaper delivered was still worth it to me.  Well, I kept getting the paper for a few months after, but canceled it at the beginning of May and I haven't looked back since.  I still get most of my news online, as well as sports updates.  The biggest change, really, is I saved one more daily cartoon to read online.  Money well saved, I think.

Update number two: Squirrels are still bastards.  This little bastard was just so picturesque this morning as he worked his way into a black walnut on our back railing.  I ran him off right after as I don't want any of that black walnut litter staining the wood, if I can help it.

All these pictures are from today, but most have a connection to past happenings.  See the rest after the break!

Wednesday, July 21, 2021

Wildflowers

Attention Email Readers!  The blog emails when I post are still going out, at least as of the last post, but the end of July is nigh and the emails will no longer be sent.  Go to the link at the bottom of your email and save as a favorite or shortcut on your phone now!  Thank you.

*Edit: Now Feedburner says the emails will be discontinued in August.

Inspired by the comments in the last post, I took my camera phone with me on a couple walks today along our section of Starkweather Creek and the bike path.  It can be hard to see even in real life, but there is a creek in there!  I'm tall, and many of the flowers are waist high to me but some get much taller than me.  I don't know all the names of them, I've just been admiring the view whenever I can.  Yes, I'm sure seeds were spread by people at times, but I still call them wildflowers.

More flowers plus other sights after the break!