This Week, In Pictures (Mostly)

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.

This is what's left of the potted plants on the stump, and it doesn't look too bad.  The rest had been ravaged by the rabbits.  Not pictured here are the flower pot out front and petunias on the back steps.  The only thing left out front was a green stalk of a yellow marigold that was still trying to live, everything else was devoured.  I moved a couple petunias out front and surrounded the pot with chicken wire and they seem to be doing well.

For the sake of keeping the home page tidy, see the rest after the break!

Solstice Plant Update

This has been a difficult spring, not being able to do all I want to do.  I've had to let things go for a later time, which is very much against my nature.  One of the things I've let go of is trying to keep protecting the potted plants, and the rabbits have gone to town on them.  Whether in the pots on the stump or the pot out front, they've just been eaten right up, even though other plants in the area were their favorites in years past. Only the hanging basket out front is doing well as it's out of reach.  And the petunias I moved onto the back steps about a week ago, so are making a small comeback.  We even put out a tray of water thinking they were eating them for the moisture during our mild drought.  Very discouraging, but I still will not be letting our cats out.  There are other neighborhood cats that roam free and they do come in our yard sometimes, but makes no difference.

Meanwhile, in the gardens, the strawberries and raspberries have been doing very well since being replanted.  The strawberries are winding down but the raspberries are just starting to ripen.  The (what I believe to be) cucumber vines have grown into monsters.  We've been trying to keep the vines on the fences but they are reaching in all directions and show no signs of slowing down.  If we don't start seeing some flowers soon we may start pulling them out, starting with the multiple large vines in the raspberries, but we'll give them a little more time.  The fence doesn't go all the way around the raspberries as I ran out of chicken wire, but it's working well enough as is.

Weather has been seasonable lately.  We've gone back and forth from air conditioning to windows open, and have had some rain lately with more called for here in a couple hours.  The front lawn had gone mostly brown so the rain is good, but we're still several inches below normal so far.

The view over the house is a little different now with one less tree, but it's still nice to look up and ponder life by the light of the fire.  Happy solstice, everyone.

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!

Friday Night Fire & More

 It was a dreary and overcast evening yesterday, but at least it was dry.  I went out to sit by the fire and decided to film a little and wound up taping the whole night.  Don't worry, this is only the first half hour.  After that I was on a video call with my mom for some time, then it just got dark.  Pull up a chair and relax by the fire with me.

I've gone through a lot of wood this year.  My previous face cord lasted me two whole years while this one, delivered in July,  has lasted about 3 months so far.  I'll have to get another delivery in the next couple weeks as last year I managed to have one more fire after the winter solstice but before the new year.  It's these pandemic times, I have nothing better to do and no other place to go, may as well do something enjoyable.

It only took the cats a few days to start using the walkway.  I had a brown stripe-y rug in front (see last post) and I had the thought would they rather jump down onto concrete or the rug?  So I moved the rug to the right a little bit two days in a row until I noticed there was very little litter on it anymore but there was more litter going down the walkway to the step.  The were using it!  So that rug has now been removed as it is not needed.  Now when I clean the box every afternoon I was sweeping up the walkway first and I had an idea.  I had bought two new mats for this, a big one and a small one.  The big one is in the drawer, the small one wasn't being used.  So I cut the small one in half, mostly, it's still connected in the middle, which was the open side, and I used two sided tape to hold it in place.  Hopefully this will catch most of the rest of the litter the cats track out of the box.  The mats are two layers connected on three sides, so to clean them you separate the layers and dump.  For the half mats on the walkway it looks like I can just put the walkway in the down position, maybe give it a little jostle, and sweep up the litter.  I'm not sure if I'll be putting the walkway down every day now or just pulling the box toward me in the drawer to clean.  Or if this will even work at all, really, but I'll know soon enough.

So the orange one finally got sick.  No, I'm not celebrating.  I don't like that anyone is getting sick and that some are dying.  What it comes down to is that it was preventable.  They were extremely careless, and they got the Covid.  It was just a matter of time, really.  The timing of his illness and the extent of how ill he'll actually get is very interesting, however.  Stay tuned on this one, folks.

Fall weather has definitely arrived here, and that brings outside chores that will need to be done soon.  I also have to get used to wearing long pants and socks again after several months of barefoot and shorts.  And non slip-on shoes seem like an atrocity now so I have been holding out still, even if that means wearing short socks with sandals, sorry.  But I don't hardly go anywhere or see anyone else but my wife these days anyway, so who cares?

Cat Box Area is Finished!

This afternoon I fastened the walkway to the drawer to finish the cat box area under the stairs.  Pretty much what I envisioned, but it took longer than it should have.  After considering it for years I got a start on it during my spring vacation last year.  It was a lot of trial and error as I cut and recut, screwed and unscrewed, and leveled the unlevel, but I did get to the point of getting the base installed - the base being the sides to attach the 32 inch, 400 pound capacity drawer slides I had already bought for the project.  And then when I thought I had finished, it still wasn't square.

So on my fall vacation last year I got a board cut and painted that would make it square, but as my back was giving me trouble then that's as far as I got and it sat for the winter.   Fast forward to my spring vacation this year, which was canceled as a couple weeks earlier I missed a whole lot of time from work trying to get over this nasty virus that's going around.  Yes, that one.  So the project sat and we and the cats just continued on as normal.  There was nothing wrong with how things were, I just wanted something better.

Pulled out for cleaning.

Recently on my fall vacation this year it was time to get this done.  I replaced the piece I needed to, built, fitted, caulked and painted the drawer, but due to the weather making for long drying times the project did drag on for a week and a half since my vacation now.  Not a big deal as it was mostly done and I was happy to enjoy the last of the work.  I didn't make any more trips to the hardware store for the last part and just used what I had, which is plenty, but the walkway is two pieces fastened together and I used screws that were a bit too long so had to grind down the points on the other side.  One thing I did order from Amazon is the folding brackets so the walkway will fold down.  I was searching Amazon for folding brackets and trying to figure out what I could use when I saw folding table leg brackets.  Odd, I thought, but they looked like they'd work and sure enough, they did.

So now the cats have a new area, including a brand new litter box, scooper and a mat that is supposed to catch the litter that gets dragged out.  There will still be some litter escaping on their paws as it's impossible to teach a cat to wipe its feet, but hopefully most of it will stay contained so I just have to clean the drawer once a week instead of sweeping the whole area every day.  I don't know if they will know to use the walkway or how long it will take them, but if they get tired of jumping up or we get water on the floor I think they'll figure it out.  So, regular readers have heard me mention this project at times for a long time now, what do you think?

A couple more views after the break!

Now, Mr Squirrel. The End?

Yesterday evening I noticed that something had been digging in the area of that chipmunk den, but did not dig around the brick I had covering the old hole, and I don't think it got in.  I knew I wouldn't be able to drive a chipmunk to another location until after work, so I waited to set the live trap.  After work I cleaned up the area again and set it with the usual peanut butter.

Maybe an hour later I heard it go off.  Nice to meet you, Mr. Squirrel!  Definitely not who I was after, so after a few pictures I let him go right there.  He scampered straight away to the back of the yard and under the firewood, I believe.

This live trap is just big enough, but not meant for a squirrel.  The damage to the trap that you see in closeups is mostly from last June when a squirrel would not leave the inside eaves of the garage.  I wasn't going to leave my garage open overnight, so I set the trap and closed it up.  The next morning there was a pretty ticked off squirrel.  I'm not sure how long he was in the trap, but a few more hours and he may have broken out.

So, that tells me that's enough of the live trapping of small animals until and unless there becomes another nuisance.  Let's hope that's not anytime soon.

Mr Mouse? And Mr Chipmunk II

 Yesterday I noticed there had been activity at the old chipmunk den, a day after I evicted the occupant.  Was this Mr. Chipmunk back to claim his homestead?  Or another wanting to take over some prime real estate?  Can never know for sure, all the damn critters look too much the same.

I set out the trap again but after several hours got nothing.  I was outside late by the fire so decided it wouldn't be cruel to leave it overnight as long as I check it first think in the morning, which I did.

Well, hello, Mr. Mouse.  I didn't expect to see you.  Just an ordinary mouse got trapped for a time, but he had a feast of peanut butter for his trouble.  It wasn't inside so I really paid it no mind and took it to the compost bin area to let it go.  I had the trap sitting on the bin and when I opened it the little squeaker ran straight forward down the lid of the compost bin and off the edge, his momentum bouncing his little body off the fence.  I'm sure he'll be okay.

After this there was still a little peanut butter in the trap so I set it and put it back.  When I came out later the ants had found it, so I hosed off the whole thing to get it all cleaned up and set it in the sun to dry.  A couple hours later I re-baited it with peanut butter and set it up again.  The second time I went to check on it I saw from inside it had been tripped, but could not see what was in it.  When I went outside it was Mr. Chipmunk.  Probably the same one, but can't be sure. Hello again, Mr. Chipmunk, shall we go for another walk?

This time I took him down to the bike path to the right, crossed the bigger road and kept along the bike path, veered off to the left and across a footbridge that goes across another arm of Starkweather Creek, and then about 50 feet further down a path.  There, I let him go.  This is about twice as far as I took him last time, which I should have went farther.  Starting my walk back, I took a picture from there and you can see it is a very clear area with shelter and water so he could do just fine there.

If you come back, Mr. Chipmunk, you will get a ride in the car.

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...

Tropical Puppy*

It's not often we get a tropical storm here in Wisconsin, but that's what's going to happen soon.  Pretty much straight up from the Gulf of Mexico.  I guess it's just called a tropical depression now, but it is muggy and overcast, and the rain is supposed to start in a few hours or so.  At least it looks better than yesterday when it showed Madison as directly in the path, now it looks like it will go west of us slightly, the center anyway.  I think the storm had a name but I can't think of it now for the life of me.*

Should be interesting, I like a good storm.  It seems the big thunderstorms often fall apart as they approach Madison, perhaps due to the lakes, I'm not sure.  I don't want to see damage or anything, but otherwise I hope it's a good show.

On a cuter note, last weekend our friend Terry stopped over for a bit with her brand new 8 week old puppy.  She named him Karma, and I can't help but hope that doesn't come back to bite her!  Figuratively speaking, of course.  Very small, very cute and very much not welcomed by Hamish the hissy cat!

*Former tropical storm Cristobal.  No wonder I forgot the name.

Hamish and the New Fountain

While the cats were napping yesterday their new water fountain arrived.  They get pretty finicky with their old water fountain when it gets the slightest bit dirty, and it's a huge, heavy, awkward ceramic thing, so I thought I'd try to find a cheap and lighter alternative that may also be easier to clean.  We do worry about them drinking enough water, and Basil has had all his urinary tract issues, so the hope is they will drink more water now.  I got it all set up, and managed to capture a very cautious Hamish as he discovered it.  So while I'm posting videos today, here's another.  I even added suspenseful music quietly in the background.



Both cats seem to have taken to it well, so it will be moved to the landing where the other one is now and the old one will be stored or donated.

Plant Day 2020

Yesterday was our annual spring plant day, when we get plants and fill pots.  With the current conditions we didn't want to go to a big place where there would be lots of people, so we went to a smaller, more local place and picked out a few things to fill the tree stump again this year.

Also, last weekend my wife planted several new plants, many in the tree stump area.  I'm glad we got the green coated chicken wire because it is much less of an eyesore, but if the plants will have any hope of surviving the rabbits they will need protection until they are better established.

Speaking of the rabbits, there's been a couple around (at one time I saw 3 at once in the back yard) but it still doesn't seem to be as many as last year - for now.  And I have chipmunks digging dens on the side of the house again.  I already trapped one (humanely) and let him loose down by the creek, but I may have to do it again.  Did I ever mention the time I trapped a squirrel?  Probably.

Several posts ago I wrote about the solar plastic owl I bought to hopefully keep the rabbits away.  Remember the clothesline post I was thinking of putting it on?  Well, I was out beside it and felt the top to make sure it wasn't rotted - and it snapped off in my hand.  The part that was in the ground was all rotten and just gave way at my light touch.  It surprised me when it happened, but not when I thought about it more.  I guess the surprising part should be how it stayed upright this long.  So far I have put the owl on a post of the back steps a couple times for a few hours, and it does seem to work.

So anyway, with nowhere to pull the clothes line to I took the old roll-up clothesline thing off the side of the garage.  It got used as a shelf more than anything, usually for a bluetooth speaker or just a place to put my phone.  The bolts are still there, maybe I'll put a little shelf there.  When it gets a little warmer it will be time to get going on the cat box area again.  This could be a quick little side project at that time.  Maybe.

The Cat Tree Shuffle

Our cats, Basil and Hamish, turned 8 years old on April 20.  We didn't have a party or anything like that, but they were due for a new cat tree.  We get them one for their birthday every couple of years but for some reason I dragged my feet on it a bit this time.  After the smaller, first cat tree we found a nice, sturdy, tall one and while that second one, with the lighter carpet seen here, seemed a little higher quality than the brown one they replaced it with, we haven't found anything better since.

This blog is older than the cats, here you can see cat trees number one, two and three when they were new.  And, of course, this is the fourth.

When the first one got old we put it on the porch and put the new one in the house, as we've done each time since. The very first one got trashed when we got number three, but this time I took both the old ones and put the best parts of each together to make a pretty good one for the porch.  I'm not sure the cats liked seeing their porch tree dismantled, but it's now much cleaner and most of the frayed sisal rope pieces have been replaced with at least better ones, and the crow's nest part is brown now while the rest is the lighter carpet.  I just couldn't get the lighter top part clean enough.

In the picture, left is the second oldest, middle is the new one (go figure with the cats on it) and on the right is the previous one.  I didn't notice at the time I took the picture yet, but I put it together as a mirror image of the previous two, so I disassembled to make it the same since I think it works better for the cats looking out the windows.  And I seem to remember having to assemble and reassemble the ones before so why break with tradition, right?

Not terribly exciting, but it gave me something to do for a couple afternoons.  Happy belated birthday, Basil and Hamish, welcome to middle age!

What A Hoot!

I bought an owl.  A plastic, solar-powered owl to keep rabbits away, and maybe squirrels out of the garden.  Every few minutes, depending on the solar charge, it moves its head around.  Kinda creepy, at least I hope the rabbits think so, too.  Directions say to move it around the yard and only put it out when the pests are being destructive.  I think the main spot will be on the post for the old, pull-out clothesline, seen outside right above the owl here.

This is right after I unboxed it and place it in the porch for the sun.  The cats were alarmed at first, and after only a few minutes the owl moved its head, but they soon dismissed it.  Let's hope the rabbits are a lot dumber.

Virus update coming in the morning.

Local Updates, More

Madison is in Dane County

It's been over a week since I last posted and it's still going to get worse before it gets better.  Since that time, schools have closed, retail has closed, restaurants are carryout or delivery only and gatherings of over 10 people is barred.  Now, as of tomorrow, all non-essential businesses in the state are to be closed.  Still not sure if that would only leave grocery stores open or what else.  We're one step away from a stay-at-home order.

The good news is we were finally able to get a grocery order in on Thursday, for Saturday morning delivery, and the toilet paper actually came.  Truthfully, we were still probably a week away from being out, but it was on our minds due to all the hoarding.  We're pretty set for food, if need be.  With the full freezer we could probably eat for months, but that's normal for us.

I forgot one key thing I needed for Friday to work at home so I had to go into work.  Today I went in for a little more than an hour then came home and worked the rest of the day - and made sure not to forget anything this time.  This was the first time I worked from home.  Tomorrow I'll have to go in again at least for a little bit to get others up to speed in the change of our procedures due to everyone working at home and not being able to print or scan anything.  (This is due to the nature of the work, not printing or scanning capabilities from home.)  Like today, I hope to be there for only a little while but it may turn into a half or all day as I know there are some things that need to be done that can't be done at home.  The good news is it's even more of a ghost town at work so at least there's much fewer people to come into contact with.

That's the state of things now and, like I said, it's going to get worse before it gets better.  Screenshots are from the site everyone has likely seen by now, CSSE/JHU.

On a different subject, I considered a fire on Friday and again on Saturday evening.  Friday was too breezy and Saturday was pretty cold.  Plus, the grass has not started growing yet and even though we got an inch or so of rain since my last post the rabbit pellets in the back yard are intact.  I think my only hope is for the grass to grow and hide the pellets until they can break down.  I've been yearning for good weather and a good fire but I think I need to put that hope back on the shelf until it is actually a more realistic time.

Overall it was a pretty cold weekend with highs just over freezing, but the extended forecast looks much better, thankfully.  Last night it snowed some, so I woke early to a light dusting still showing on cars and in grassy areas.  It may officially be spring but, indeed, winter has not left the building.  And neither should you, if you can help it.  Stay well, everyone.

Spring Poop, And More*

We're getting there!  It got up to 62ºF on Sunday, and this week is quite mild with only high temperatures in the 40's for the foreseeable forecast.  But that's above freezing and I'll take it!

The snow is slowly disappearing and while there's still time for more I'm hoping not.  The area around and in the firepit is melting away, fallen branches from neighbor Dave's trees have appeared on my woodpile, and there are starting to be signs of plant life.  Daffodils, one of the first plants we see each spring, are starting to come up in a couple areas.  Sunday evening we even got the grill out and had the first grilled hamburgers of the season.  This all spells spring to me, and I couldn't be happier about it.

Poop.  Everywhere.

Not poop.  Daffodils!

My only real issue at the moment is the rabbit poop.  I know I've complained about all the rabbits before, there don't seem to be any predators in the area so the rabbit population has seemingly exploded and they've been running amok for quite some time.  I could actually accept that, and keep them out of the garden and flowers, but the poop left behind after the snow melt is just unreal.  You can't take a step anywhere in the back yard without stepping on several of the little brown pellets.  Look close at the picture, each little brown dot is poop!

Thursday is the Spring Equinox here in Madison - 10:49 p.m. to be precise.  I'm hoping to have an equinox firepit on Friday night.  Sounds like as good an excuse as any, right?

*Update, 3/12.  I'm wrong!  The equinox is next Thursday, the 19th.  I've pointed myself to that moment for so long now I guess I want it sooner than later.  And windy conditions may halt firepit plans tomorrow night, unfortunately.  If we all even live until then.  COVID-19 post coming soon.  Maybe...

Leap Day This-And-Thats

Happy Leap Day, if you celebrate such things.  Today, while sunny, has only just reached the freezing point.  There has been some snow and some melting since I last posted two weeks ago.  You can just see the upper row of blocks of the firepit in the back yard now.  Spring should be so close, yet is still so far away.  I won't go into it again because I did that in my last post.  Since then, I've felt I should write something yet there really hasn't seemed to be much to share, so you know what that means - time to start typing and see what comes out!

• We ordered new phones from Amazon the other night.  I don't want to say much yet because it's a new brand to us, and my wife will get hers in about a week while I have to wait about a month.  If we don't like it then things might change.  What was shocking, was the same phone was $170 cheaper in a less attractive color.  My wife got the cheaper color, and I feel like I should have, too, but I spent the money for the vanity black one.  This will only be my third cell phone ever, and I had to spend the last several years with a white phone, so I spent the money for black even though I will have it in a case.  There may be more to come on this, or else no news is probably good news.

• Last Saturday afternoon I was sorely tempted to trudge a path to the firepit, empty the snow, melt what was left inside with the garden torch, trudge a short path to the wood rack and then start a fire.  The temperature was about 40ºF, the wood was dry and I just miss being outside.  But I didn't, and I can blame laziness and sanity equally.

• I'm almost afraid to mention it, but we've only had mandatory overtime once (a week ago) in the last several weeks now.  If you've been reading for a while, I'd been on mandatory overtime (as much as union rules allow my employer to mandate) for over a year and a half.  It is such a relief to only work 40 hours, only 8 hours a day.  I want a regular schedule again.  I want to sleep later again.  I want to not be tired all the time or just not have time again.  You know, I just want normal life back, but I'm still not at ease yet.

• I'm very aware that I've not had a Latest Listening Pleasure post since Alice Cooper last summer.  I've not attended any shows nor have I heard anything that really, really grabbed me in quite a while.  Oh, there's been good albums and good videos that I've heard and seen and enjoyed since then, just nothing that I really dug enough to overflow my musical joy and spill over to share here.  I came close once, but while I enjoyed them there were things that annoyed me as well.  Highlight right of the arrow, if you want to know the band's name. >  New Years Day

• There are two 1' by 2' boxes full of albums in my closet.  I do have a record player in the closet, too, but no place to set it up even if I thought I would actually play the records.  These are mostly the albums I grew up with, either bought new, traded with friends, or sought out and collected.  Most are from the 1980's, and I've not even seen them in years now.  I should sell them, but first I need to go through them.  I may not be able to part with them all, but I really should part with what I can.  It's just one of those things I know I should do but keep putting off.

That's enough brain spillage for one sitting.  I've not really taken a lot of nice pictures lately, but I took a look and here's some views from here at the desk from past pictures.  To everyone out there, it's just that time of year - I've not been very outgoing, social, or even healthy and happy yet, but Spring is coming, and it won't be a moment too soon!

Thanksgiving Weekend 2019

I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday weekend.  We enjoyed a very nice, homemade Thanksgiving meal with my wife's family at our house on Thursday.  My wife is a wonderful cook and she awed again for this feast.  It was good to see everyone, and especially the growing nephew.  The cats behaved, well, hid, which is good enough.  Basil gets scared and Hamish gets pissed when we have people over.  Not sure why, they were around people as kittens.

Weather-wise has been gray, gray and more gray, but I'll take the time away from work!  The rest of the weekend will be pretty easy, with football games this afternoon and tomorrow.  Otherwise, I've been doing what a holiday is for - resting.  I'll need it as overtime starts again on Monday.  It will last until the next holiday week and then for at least a time after that (sigh).  But better stop that before I get started on it...

I don't have a whole lot to say, but I do usually post for the holiday and I've not done that yet so wanted to check in.  Again, I hope you are enjoying the time off and are thankful for that which you should be thankful.  Cheers!

No Post November?

Hello everyone, and yes, I'm still alive.  My apologies for not posting anything in weeks.  It's been a pretty rough fall so far around here.  My last post was Halloween and it had snowed a couple times.  In the weeks since, we had a few more snows and even a week of bitter cold that is normally not seen until January.  Thankfully, I think it was the Wednesday after Halloween, I came home after a long day of work and cleaned the gutters and raked/mulched the leaves as it was supposed to snow that night again.  And it's a good thing I did as we've had standing snow and ice ever since up until a couple days ago.  If I hadn't gotten it done then I would have been doing it yesterday - and I did see others cleaning their gutters yesterday.  This past week it has finally gotten a bit more seasonable and the snow is almost all melted again, but the trees are bare, grass is dull and the days are pretty gray.

Last year my last fire pit was on the winter solstice, December 21.  Friday afternoon the conditions were well enough I had my first fire in a month and it very well may be the last of the year.  I already miss the quiet time sitting outside, staring into the fire.  But it's cold now and no longer ideal, yet if I get another chance I probably will.  Also, our grill is also out of gas but with the weather I've been in no hurry to fill it.

I've had a lot of thoughts lately about someone very close to the family that has been dealing with a terminal diagnosis.  I can't imagine the hardships they've been dealing with lately, but hopefully hospice care can help things become more manageable.  We will be making the short trip for a visit sometime soon in the coming weeks.  Until then, I hope they know we love them and are thinking of them.  Aside from grandparents I've not had anyone close to me die, so I guess I've been lucky so far, but that luck is running out.

Well, I don't mean to end on a downer but there's nothing else really happening around here.  We have the holiday season almost upon us, soooo, we got that going for us.  Yay.

The Starkweather Slide Step - Part III

Yesterday afternoon the sun finally came out, so after the Badger game I took the walk around our section of Starkweather creek to get a closer and different look at the new steps and slide.  I've never done this short walk before and this seemed like a good reason to get out and do it.  I start at the end of our street and walk north, crossing the bike path bridge then walking south to the Milwaukee Street bridge, and then back north a bit to our street again.  All pictures in this post, and there's quite a few here, were taken on this walk.

Google reminded me that a year ago today I posted about the creek and the flooding and the progress of the water as it was going down a bit.  Things look a bit greener this year than last, you can take a quick look at a year ago today here, and all my flood-related posts here.  While the levels look a whole lot better than this time last year, all the lakes are still well over their set summer maximum levels.  The creek empties into Lake Monona, which is still much too high so the creek is at least a foot and a half higher than it should be right now, by my reckoning.  Lake levels can be checked and animated here, at least until Flash Player goes away.

But enough of that for now.  Come and walk with me around this section of Starkweather Creek - after the break, of course.  And mind the ducks!