The Starkweather Slide Step - Part II

When I posted a week ago I didn't know it would be a whole week before I could follow it up with part two, but a busy week and required overtime and here we are.  I'll tell you right now there will be a part three because I do want to get out sometime this weekend to make the walk around and see the view from the other side of the creek to get a closer look at the steps and a different view of the slide.

But first things first, let's take a look at the completion of both projects, steps and slide - after the break!

The Starkweather Slide Step

I mentioned previously that the city was going to put in a canoe/kayak slide into Starkweather Creek at the end of our street and, further upstream on the other side, steps leading down to the creek.  I also said that I would post a pictorial of the process, which I found a little difficult because I have a whole bunch of pictures and needed to pare them down.  In the end, I decided to go in date order, only of the days I made the walk down to see, of course.  There's still a lot of pictures, but date order should help keep them in context.

The project started later than expected, it was scheduled to begin August 12.  We received a letter from the city earlier in August letting us know of the plans and the schedule.  I'm sure other projects were delayed, you can't really depend on timelines for these kinds of things as they are at the hand of the weather.  And it seems the contractor concentrated on completing the steps before fully starting on the slide.  At least they did not limit our parking as we were told would happen and all in all it was no bother to us.

So let's begin - after the break!

My Fall Vacation

Hello everybody, welcome back.  I hope you've been well.  I know I've been more absent than normal lately.  I had a vacation and, well, it was different for me so I guess I've just not been sure how to write about it.  But that never stopped me before, so here goes!

I took last week off as I've done for several years now.  Long after I had secured the week off my wife found out she was being flown out to the east coast for work for much of that week.  My first thoughts were that it would be kind of nice.  In actuality, I got kind of depressed and lazy.  Now, the weather had much to do with that, being overcast and/or rainy most of the time (despite the pictures I have here), and my back wasn't that good so I couldn't do much of what I had planned, but my mood certainly lifted when she got back home late in the week.

The weekend before was a pretty normal weekend, and I got up early Monday morning to take her to the airport.  That wasn't such a bad day, I made some rather large but necessary purchases (new bed and glasses) and grilled out brats for dinner, but scrapped plans for a fire due to impending rain.  Tuesday was much warmer and very humid, but the heat and humidity broke in the evening so I did spend a good amount of time by the fire that night.  Over the course of these two days I also got another piece of wood cut and painted for the cat box project downstairs, but with my back acting up I did not get any further on this project, disappointingly.  Wednesday was also hot and humid, even more so than the day before.  By this time I was sleeping about 10 hours a night and that felt good, but the weather was just so damn gloomy and if it wasn't raining then rain was coming soon.  I figured it was just a matter of time until water got in the basement, another excuse to put that cat box project off.  Thursday was pretty much the same, gloomy and wet, but the storms stepped it up a few notches that afternoon.  I felt pretty crappy that day, probably due to drinking too much and sleeping too much the previous few days.  I can see now I had fallen into a bit of a funk.

On Thursday night I was supposed to pick my wife up from the airport, but her first plane was delayed due to the weather in Chicago, then her next plane actually tried to get to Madison but the thunderstorms and lightning we were having here were too much and they had to turn back.  My brave wife ended up getting a rental car for her and her coworkers and made the drive from Chicago to Madison in the middle of the night and through the aforementioned severe storms.  The airline was of no help and the next plane was the next night so she didn't have much of a choice, unfortunately.  But thankfully she made it back safe and sound and the cats and I were very happy to see her.

All that, and before she could return the rental car and pick up her luggage on Friday a branch fell from a tree out front and smashed the rear window of the rental car as it was parked in our driveway.  Alas, just the icing on the cake of a very bad travel night and day for her.

Since then the weather got a bit nicer and I got a few more things accomplished, like power washing and water sealing the back steps and washing all the windows.  But the cat box project, the one I've been mulling for several years now and finally got a good start on, still stalled.  But that's okay, for now.  I have all the hardware, wood and paint that I need so I'm going to run out of excuses eventually!

So that was pretty much my week of vacation.  I wasn't at work and I got a lot of rest so it was still a positive for me.  One thing I didn't mention yet was the several walks I took up and down the creek as they worked on the steps and canoe/kayak slide.  It seems everything was completed on Saturday, so that will probably be my next post, with a pictorial of the process.  See you then!

Sunday Pictures

I don't know if this is a new 'thing' for me or not, but again I'm tired and I don't feel like writing a whole lot tonight so here are a few pictures I've taken since the last time.

 I should have more to talk about very soon as there are things that I want to do very soon, but if I promise I'll jinx myself.  How's that for a cliffhanger?

Labor Day and Packers

Tonight is finally the opening of football season with the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears - the oldest rivalry in the NFL - to start the NFL's 100th season.  The Packers played their 100th season last year, so they're older than the league, interestingly.  We've not seen much of what the Packers starters could do in the preseason, and they have a big challenge tonight playing in Chicago against the defending NFC North champion Bears.  After the off-season coaching change and all the speculation I just hope it's a good game that gives us hope no matter tonight's outcome.  Go Packers!

Last weekend we had a holiday fire pit with friends, only the second time this season we attempted this.  The first time was on Fourth of July weekend and only friends Terry and Becky came over and we didn't even have a fire because it was so hot!  Sunday night turned out much better and we enjoyed seeing friends that we hadn't seen in quite some time.  As summer wanes there will be more fire pit opportunities so we'll need to try and take advantage.

That should be all for now, I need a nap.  Since I get up at stupid o'clock every morning and it's a night game tonight I'll need to get some sleep.  Remember, the Bears still suck - Go Packers!

Sunday Pictures*

The lamp, he is angry.

I take a lot of pictures.  With digital being so easy and storage so cheap, why not?  I don't see myself as some great photographer or anything, but it is a nice feeling when you get a good picture.

I don't feel I have a lot to say right now, but I do have pictures.  This is just a few pictures I took over the last week.  Let's see how this goes...

*Picture links updated, thanks BW!

August This-And-Thats

Things have settled in to late summer around here.  Flowers are past their peak, football is starting and I've not been posting much of anything recently.  These are the times this kind of post is made for - with a twist this time.  This will be a more visual This-And-Thats than just a normal bullet-points rundown of different thoughts.  Just a few things I've been up to, so, with that, let's get on with it, shall we?

• I found the spider that had been making the massive webs between the garage and the porch.  After that picture in the last post we saw him working on another web, pictured here.  And the other day I happened upon his lair when cleaning up, so he had to go.

• A few weeks ago there was guano under our bat house behind the garage.  Our first sign of a bat using it since it was installed.  There's been none since, unfortunately, but I am encouraged as we are seeing more bats and more often this year than last in the evening skies.  This is a short video from Friday night by the fire showing some bat activity in the area - with an appearance from a plane taking off, of course.

• Yesterday I finished the edging of the walks out front.  Now, I know it's been a few years since I've done it, but the sod had already crept several inches over the pavement again.  It doesn't help that the walks in this older neighborhood are generally lower than the turf, especially for us.  Still, it was very gratifying to clean it up, even if it won't last forever.

• While taking pictures of the edging I took an inadvertent picture of the house.  This reminds me that I trimmed the arborvitae last weekend, and also swapped out the front light bulb.  The arborvitae has grown quite a bit in the last 10 years, and while I think it's kind of a pain to have I do like that it gives some character to the front of the house.  My (OCD) fear is that as it grows bigger it will get harder to keep looking good.  And for the light I got one that is LED and is supposed to not attract bugs, but what I really liked about it is that it has a sensor so it turns on and off at dusk and dawn by itself.  As for the bugs, it does appear there is less bug clutter on the front of the house now, but time will tell.

• August 20 will be one year since the great deluge of rain that gave Madison and western Dane County, especially Black Earth, all sorts of flooding issues.  The Yahara chain of lakes is finally closer to "normal" levels - except Waubesa - and still way too high for all, but that's where they've been kept for several years now.  If we receive any sort of deluge like last year the same thing would happen again.  I do know there are plans being made to help prevent all that rainwater being diverted straight to the lakes, and other plans like dredging to ease the flow of the Yahara River between the lakes.   Link for below screen capture is here.  Interesting article here, I've read it once quickly so I should re-read it soon.

I think that's more than enough for now, I've had my say.  Thanks for reading, see you soon.

Fungus and Spiderwebs

Just a couple recent and interesting pictures I happened upon.  First, the little ceramic gnome we've had for years holds a little ceramic mushroom in his right arm.  Here he is surrounded by a few other forms of fungus among potted plants showing signs of late summer on the large, rotting tree stump.

Also, when I went out to the garage the other day I almost ran into a rather impressive spiderweb, going from the garage to the ground and all the way to the house and/or porch.  I tried to get several pictures, but it's hard to get a spider web without a dark background.  I held my arms up high to get this one.

Atwoodfest 2019

Dancin' in the Street!

Last weekend was Atwoodfest, the largest of Madison's near east side festivals.  My wife and I spent about 4 hours wandering the streets, watching bands, eating foods and perusing the merchant's wares (and I got my 2019 Atwoodfest shirt!).  We got there relatively early in the afternoon, about 2 pm, and watched as the place soon became more crowded.  The weather forecast during the week called for Saturday to be in the mid-90's with scattered thunderstorms, thankfully that had changed by Saturday to partly cloudy and mid 80's.  Still plenty warm but not as hot as past years, though a cooling shower would have been welcomed a few times.

Believe it or not, I didn't take a whole ton of pictures like last year when I took way too many.  But I did get many interesting sights at the festival and along the way.  The bike path was repaved earlier this year, Goodman Community Center's newly refurbished Brassworks building is completed, Goodman's cow (by the Ironworks building - both locally historic) has been re-painted with an interesting design (my wife laughed at where the raccoons are), there were beautiful wildflowers and community gardens along the path, and that bike display that was new last year in someones front yard was still there, now with a basket of flowers and night lights.

Follow along with the pictures after the break as we walk to the festival and back.  It happens on the last weekend in July every year - make your travel plans now!

Planes, Trains and... Cicadas?

Earlier tonight I had a fire for the first time in a month, since June 29.  It was around 80ºF, which was the lowest temperature and/or driest opportunity on a weekend night since then.  We've been mostly very warm and humid this month, but for the last several days which we enjoyed open windows again.  And the next couple days will be very warm and humid with scattered storms again.  I won't complain, I hear the UK just had record-setting temps around 100ºF yesterday.  Anyway, though I was tired I built a fire and sat by it watching the Brewers game on my phone for a couple hours tonight.  Always enjoyable, but I did have to shower off the lovely combination of sweat, bug spray and smoke when I came in for the night.

While I was out there the opportunity arose for a short video featuring a plane and train, and the automobiles are in the background din even if you can't tell with the other two - circling back to a prior post. There's also a fourth noise here as the cicadas have been out in force lately.  The train tracks are a few blocks south and east.  We don't seem to get lots of trains, but I may just be used to them now.   And freight, not passenger, usually with lumber or coal or box cars with who knows what else.  Short video below.



An then there's the back fence.  Tell me, does it look terrible?

I've been trying to get some estimates lately on replacing it.  I researched online and found 4 places I wanted to get an estimate from.  I have two similar estimates in hand, one supposed to be emailed soon, and one place that I left a message and they never called back.  So far the two estimates are very similar at over $2000 to replace what we have with the same but new.  It's only 40 feet of fence, that's over 50 bucks a foot, is it worth it to replace it yet?  Affording it isn't the issue, I just thought that seemed a lot for only 40 feet, even for cedar.  Yes, right now the tops are dry rotting and it being a squirrel highway erodes them more and more every year now, but can we get a couple more years out of it or does it look that bad now?  Replacement would have to be in early spring or late fall as to not destroy the hostas, so I guess it comes down to how long do we want to wait to replace it.

A few more after the break.  And this weekend is Atwoodfest!