New Baguette

For over a year now I've mostly made the classic baguette recipe from King Arthur Baking Company.  Every now and again I tried a different baguette recipe, but some were better than others and I always went back to the original.  Over time, I refined that recipe and my technique to make pretty good baguettes every time.  Still, there were some characteristics I just couldn't seem to get, like bigger bubbles in the crumb and a nice ear on the cuts.

I tried a new baguette recipe yesterday and I was encouraged enough that I made it again this morning.  At first, I wasn't too impressed as I was making it and I was very unsure how they would turn out, but the oven rise and ears of the cuts were impressive and the crust was even better in today's batch since I added 1/2 Tbsp of the diastatic malt powder, which helps the taste of the bread, too.  I also used a homemade couche for the first time to proof them.  The classic recipe is a wet proof although I have tried dry proofing enough to know the cuts are easier that way though the oven rise was otherwise restricted.  The first batch of this new recipe yesterday had the bread exploding out of it's skin, to my surprise and delight.

Yesterday afternoon I also tried an interesting Peanut Butter Bread recipe from the great depression.  No butter, milk (sry!) or eggs, just peanut butter as the fat and lots of baking powder for the rise.  A pretty easy recipe I came across on the internet and while it's actually pretty good I'm not sure I'll have a need to make it again.

Back to baguette:  I also like the amount of dough this new recipe makes.  The classic recipe would yield 3 baguettes close to 300 grams so I had to make an effort to keep them short enough for the baking tray, while this new recipe is closer to 230 grams each so I can shape them as I want and still have the traditional pointy ends while easily fitting them on the 15 inch tray.

In some ways, the first batch is more what I'm looking for and the second I may have just thought about it too much though they still turned out very good.  I think this recipe is a keeper and I look forward to making it the best I can, as I did with the classic recipe.

WFW Part 4 - Final

I woke up at 3 a.m. this morning so looked out and saw it snowing, though less accumulation than before.  The snow petered out by 9 this morning, so about 9:30 we went out to clean it up again.  This time was 2-3 inches, depending where you looked, so I'm going to say we got a generous 12 inches from this storm.  I'll have to try and catch the news to hear the official amount since I still haven't found a good source on the internet.  Our official amount is taken at the airport, about a mile north of here, but we had high winds also so there was some blowing and drifting, so results may vary.

It cleaned up well enough again, I'll put more pics after the break.  The solar lights are still poking up but there is the gnome on the stump, now just a slight bulge in the snow.

WFW Part 3

I went out again about 7:00 and cleared around another 4 inches, making my guesstimate be 9 inches so far.  Keep in mind we had some inches on the ground before this started.  The tracks you see here are from taking compost to the bin, which was frozen shut so it got dumped behind it along the fence.  It has fallen slower than it did this morning, but we still have a ways to go.  I'm going to put it out of my head for the rest of the night and we'll see what we have when I get up in the morning.

I'll put some pics for more context after the break.

WFW Part 2

About a half an hour ago, just before I cleared snow for the first time.  There was about 5 inches so far, about 7 hours in and over 12 hours to go yet.  I'll have to clear at least once more today, maybe twice, then again in the morning.  But we'll see.

Winter Freakin' Wonderland

Well, winter finally caught up to us.  We got about 8 inches of snow on Tuesday and about 2-3 inches overnight last night.  There has been a white blanket on everything - and every branch of every tree and bush.  To many, it looks pretty as a postcard no matter where you look.  But enough is enough.

Tomorrow is due to snow all day long for a total of 8-13 more inches.  Local school districts already announced closures or virtual-only classes, just like they did on Monday afternoon.  My work goes by the Madison school district, so we will have our second snow day this week tomorrow.  It's nice to at least have the time off to deal with all that snow and not worry about driving anywhere (even the state police are saying to stay off the roads tomorrow), but we either have to use a vacation day or take it unpaid.  As I'm starting over in a new job I don't have much vacation time so I'm taking these days unpaid.

Then, to top it all off, on Sunday we begin a stretch of very cold temperatures with highs Sunday and Monday right around 0ºF (about -18ºC) and staying in the single digits for at least a week.  

Sure, we've seen these kinds of snows and temperatures before, but that doesn't make it any easier.  I'll try to post another pic on Saturday.  My guess is the fire pit and outlines of anything else in the back yard will be pretty much totally obscured.  I should have brought in the gnome and solar lights last weekend.  Oh well...

For Tuesday's snow day I made homemade cinnamon rolls.

Happy New Year 2024

Happy New Year!  I don't know if I'll be up for it so I'm writing this from the past and scheduling this for just after midnight.  By the way, Sunday's date was 123123, but mostly only in this country and not the rest of the world - 311223.

Last night my wife went out to a fancy dinner with her friend Terry and sister Becky.  I stayed in so I could catch the Packers/Vikings game.  Then later this new year's morning the Badgers play their bowl game against LSU.  I got my current list of chores done the last few days so aside from the game today it looks like it will be a good day of rest (with a little experimental making of pizza crust dough with 00 pizza flour) before returning to work tomorrow.

However you chose to ring in 2024, I hope you enjoy the holiday today and all my best wishes for a wonderful new year.

New Job

If you know me then you'll know I've not been happy with my job in a pretty long time.  New management came in after the beginning of the pandemic and there were many changes, not all for the better but square pegs were pounded into round holes anyway.  It wasn't the best employer to begin with (rated low on all job sites I've seen), and I had a hard time playing along with the new, ruthless management style.  I wasn't the only one; I watched as others in our department retired, found new jobs, got fired, or just rolled over and fumed in silence.

I got myself in trouble standing up to management in late 2022, which basically put me back on probation for a year.  I looked for another job on and off, but was unwilling to give up the benefits I earned over several years to start all over somewhere else.  But on October 16 that decision was made for me.  Rather than allow me to come off that probation, I was fired.  It was my own fault for staying too long when I could not get along with the management.

My health insurance would run through the end of that month, then my wife and I would be without (she is considered part time as she works less than 40 hours to allow her days to take care of her dad, so is not offered health insurance).  Since health insurance is very important in this country and is tied to employment, I needed a job ASAP.  I knew some people who needed help where they worked, so the day after I got fired I went there to apply and wound up getting the job.  I started work on November 1, but it would be at least a month until my new insurance started so I got an expensive policy through the government's marketplace (Obamacare).  Thankfully I was eligible for my new insurance to start on December 1 so only had to pay for one month of that expensive policy.  And while there were several issues with the new insurance they all got straightened out as of yesterday, so that is finally settled.

Meanwhile, I was working a new job unlike anything I had ever done before.  I'm not going to say where it is, I'll just say it is basically a daycare for adults with developmental disabilities.  I spend a lot of time playing as you would with kids, and also taking some to their jobs and coaching them throughout the week.  Overall, it's pretty easy and I'm growing to like it more and more, but it doesn't pay the best.  Still, I'm so much happier not working where I was, so it has advantages and disadvantages.

And nothing says I have to keep this job forever, but for now I will continue and see where this path leads me in the new year.

Merry Christmas 2023

Merry Christmas, everyone.  I hope you had a great weekend and are having a good day today doing what you wish with those you want to be with.  Or anything close to that is still pretty dang good.

We spent some time on Saturday with my wife's family and some time yesterday with mine.  Gifts were exchanged and holiday greetings and catching up were shared.  It's so much less about the giving and getting stuff than it is about the time spent, or should be.  It was nice to see everyone, including the nieces and nephews that we don't get to see too often.  And a shame we couldn't see the others, which seems to happen too often.

It's certainly not a white Christmas here this year with temperatures yesterday and today in the 50's with 100% humidity.  Outside has been overcast and very foggy for a few days now, but that's still lots better than if it was snow and frost.  We've had less than two inches of snow here this month when 12 inches is normal for December, and will get no more though we return to highs around the freezing mark over the next week.  But January is next, and January is, well, January.  Until it becomes February, normally another very cold and snowy month.

Warm bread helps.

Solstice Firepit

 Happy Winter Solstice, 2023.  Finally the days will begin to get longer, though winter has barely begun for us.  We've had a taste of snow and really cold, but mostly have been a bit warmer than normal (above freezing) and that is expected through the holidays.  There is plenty of rain in the forecast that would otherwise be snow, too.

I've not had that many fires this year, but I do like to have a fire on the winter solstice when I can.  This year, today was fully cloudy and damp but a few degrees above freezing so I made myself get out there for likely the last time until Spring.  We're in for a mild winter, they say, but we'll see.

Happy Solstice, everyone.

Concert Checklist Trend

Apparently, this checklist has been trending on social media of some sort, I read about it on a website.  Similar to the '50 Bands I've Seen Live' trend that I posted back in the first year of this blog, I felt the urge to give my two cents on this one.

1. First concert: Dio (w/ Dokken)
2. Last concert: ZZ Top
3. Worst concert: Tesla
4. Loudest concert: Ace Frehley
5. Best concert: Pink Floyd
6. Seen the most: Kiss
7. Most surprising: Beck
8. Next concert: ??
9. Wish I could've seen: The original Kiss in the seventies

Those are my answers.  It's hard to recollect them all, and now I've seen so many online it's hard to separate them from in-person sometimes.  At my age and after the pandemic now, I expect most of my live concerts to be online.  I'm not saying I won't go out to a show, just that it's going to take a lot to get me to do it.  Livestreams are easier, cheaper, more options and just more comfortable.

Care to share your list?

Happy Thanksgiving 2023

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

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

Thank you.

Saturday Night Fire

 Was a good night for it, but got colder soon after dark.  Here you can also see some of the work on neighbor Dave's house, where the inside is gutted and now a new re-pitched roof.  Lots of happenings around here, not sure how much I want to talk about it yet, though.  Real life needs doing, not writing.

Halloween 2023 and First Snow

Happy post-Halloween, everyone.  It was mostly a quiet night around here, so thankfully I got only about a third of the candy we had last year.  We got just 9 trick-or-treaters this year, but were only one of 3 houses on the block that I noticed had their lights on.  The last two kids were growing mustaches and it was pretty cold so I shut it down about 7:00.  It barely got above freezing yesterday with occasional light snow flurries off and on all day for our first snow of the year, though it didn't stick.  

I carved a pumpkin again to display on the front steps last night, and today it is on the stump in back waiting to be ravaged by the squirrels and rabbits.  I have the trail camera aimed in that direction but I got a pretty good video of it getting eaten bit by bit last year.  The mummy in the windows was showing wear on the fold seams, and I was getting tired of it so this was the last year for that.  I also pulled out the mask with the moving mouth LED lights to wear again but that wasn't working right so is also in the trash now.

We had a good run, but I'm not sure I'll do so much next year.  It doesn't seem worth it for just a handful of kids so maybe just candy next year, and maybe the flickering flame light bulb again, too, since I have it just for this holiday.  Hope you had fun if you chose to celebrate.

More Sidewalk Wisdom

 From today's walk, same place as last post.  It rained hard early today so this must be new.

And an interesting epitaph for this poor bloke, from a few blocks away.  Halloween's a-coming!

Good Timing

Saw this written on the sidewalk during a walk yesterday.  I needed the smile.

Cuts Like A...

I managed to bake two types of bread on Sunday morning, classic baguettes (left) and simple French bread (right).  Thankfully I was able to keep everything straight as, of course, the timing of the steps for each are different.  I think both turned out well but for the French bread getting maybe a bit overdone.  And while the demi baguette size is handy it is more of a pain to make.  I've tried making them from smaller cuts of dough and regular size cut in half, as here.  I think I may just stick to making the full size 15-inch baguettes going forward.

The last thing I really need to figure out is the cuts.

I started with various sharp knives that we have, settling on the serrated bread knife.  It does give some good cuts most of the time, though I don't really get an 'ear' on the cuts during baking.  It's also a pretty big knife for a small job and I wanted something better.

Eventually I bought a UFO lame - which is one of the most dangerous things I think I've ever had in my kitchen.  Two round pieces of wood that screw together with a razor blade between them.  One slip when tightening and your finger would go right into the blade, or if a corner of the blade is left peeking out, or if it loosens and the blade moves outside the wood - all of these can spell bloody disaster.  I tried it anyway but it seemed to grab the dough much more than the knife, resulting in ugly and ineffective cuts.

Recently I picked up a baker's lame, which has a curved razor blade that is supposed to help in creating that 'ear' on the cuts, those raised ridges on either side.  Similar to the UFO lame, I found it grabbed the dough more than the serrated knife and also resulted in ugly, ineffective cuts.

My wife says I'm too hard on myself, the cuts don't affect how the bread tastes, after all.  But I know it can be done so I will keep trying.  I do know that it should be sharp, quick cuts, so maybe I hesitate because I'm expecting it to grab.  I think next time when it's still early in the process I will practice my slices on raw dough.

In other news, we went from high temperatures in the 80's to highs in the 50's within a week, with a frost warning last night and tonight.  Autumn is definitely upon us.  Yard work beckons but this weekend will be cold and wet, and there still should be plenty of time yet.  I did mow again today, so now I think I've mowed the whole yard 5 times and only the back yard twice this year.  I'm losing track, not that it matters.  I just find it notable for how few times it's had to be done this year.

I'm planning on going down to my Mom's on Saturday in time for the Badger game that afternoon, then coming back Sunday to relax and fix the refrigerator.  I'll talk more about the refrigerator later as I'm planning on posting about it.

My work situation has not improved, but I just deleted the rant I wrote to spare you.  Suffice it to say I am not a happy camper, but you knew that.  So on that note, I guess that's enough writing for now.  I hope everyone is doing well!

Sunflower Seeds And #1 Neighborly

It was apparent by the mess outside the back door this morning that the sunflower had indeed gone to seed and those seeds had been discovered.  Squirrels had been getting at it this morning, while the cats watched diligently and silently from inside the porch and bedroom window, just feet away.  If I was going to harvest any seeds to plant next year the time seemed to be now.

Thankfully only a small part of the seeds had been pilfered so far, so I was able to get a good amount rubbed off into a small box.  They do seem a bit moist yet so I'll have to let them dry out before storing them until spring.  My mind starts to wander thinking about different places to plant them in spring, but no sense thinking about that as it is still about 7 months away yet before they'll be planted.

And while I'm thinking of it, I mowed the whole lawn today.  Only notable for the few times I've had to mow this year.  I believe it's only been: May, once; June, 1/2; July, 0; August, 1 1/2; September, once - today.  So I've mowed the whole lawn only 4 times and the back yard an additional 2 times through September this year.  Incredible, really, just absolutely incredible.

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In other news, Madison was fashionably ranked number one on yet another list.  This time it is for the Most Neighborly City in the US, 2023, after being ranked second last year by neighbor dot com.  Madison has consistently made these kind of lists and has often topped these kinds of lists in the last several years.  No matter where you live it's easy to take what is local for granted, but there are actually a lot of good things about this area.  I often seem to find more and more to take for granted around here.  More lately, I've been trying to make an effort to take more advantage of many local amenities, but there's always more that get missed.  We have a really good zoo in town that I haven't been to in years, and I feel bad about it every time I think of it, for example.

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Finally, it's the new fiscal year this weekend.  Normally not very notable but we're headed for another government shutdown at midnight due to the intellectual toddlers in Washington, and for the second straight year I have to work on a weekend.  Tomorrow afternoon I have to sign on for a few hours to get some end-of-fiscal-year work done and do some testing due to system updates for the fiscal year changeover, and I'm really not happy about it.  And since I work on government contracts but for a private company we will have business as usual if the government shuts down, but without funding it will be hectic catching up on payments once the in-fighting in the Senate and House gets resolved.

We all have to work together if we are to survive.  The way things are going now, we're doomed.

Gameday Baking

Kate made olive parmesan bread on Sunday morning.  It was a first try making it and it turned out very good.  She thawed the frozen white bread dough in the fridge overnight, then let it rise a bit more before cutting it into pieces, then mixing it with various sliced olives, shredded parmesan cheese and olive oil.  I suggested the square baking dish but next time I think she'll try it on a tray with parchment paper.

When I told my Mom some time ago that we were getting these loaves of frozen bread dough she reminded me of when I was young she'd make cinnamon rolls out of it.  I'm sure they were yummy so we may try that in the future.

Once Kate was done in the kitchen I began making baguette.  It was a couple hours before the Packer game at noon so I knew it would overlap but I can still hear the television from the kitchen.  And I often text with my Mom during the games so I texted her pics and kept her up with the process.  So, since I already have the pictures, I'll put that baguette process after the break with some narrative on the changes I made to my technique. 

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.

Exhausted Sunflower*

The sunflower looks exhausted.  This holiday weekend is the second heatwave since it was at peak bloom, here, and still not much for rain chances in the extended forecast.

I haven't mowed the front in a month, since August 4, but I have mowed the back since then, on the 17th.  There is still green in the lawn, though starting to tend brown in areas.

Otherwise, I worked a 12 hour day on Thursday to get some mandated overtime hours in so I didn't have to work on Saturday, only to have overtime canceled on Friday.  I still hate my job - my employer, to be accurate.  But, it is what it is for now.

I made baguette yesterday but inadvertently preheated the wrong oven, top instead of bottom, so it didn't turn out quite the same due to the missing steam.  Instead of 3 baguettes I made 6 demi baguettes to give some away, but we'll keep these.  They're still real good and I'll give it another go tomorrow morning.  It's hard to keep them short, and short enough for two per row on the tray, so the practice will be good for me.

Happy Labor Day weekend, everyone.

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!

Full Bloom

Eken Park Festival and 10 Foot Sunflower

We made our way to the Eken Park Festival for a couple hours yesterday.  Had a few drinks and tried to keep to the shade as it was pretty hot out.  Today is even hotter (currently 91ºF but feels like 100º with the humidity) so if it was today we wouldn't have gone.  In fact, most people at the festival were parked on the hillside in the shade, content to watch the band and other happenings.

Much smaller than Atwoodfest, but a nice local gathering, nevertheless.   It was within walking distance but because of the heat we decided to drive to a friends house a few blocks away then walk down to the festival together.

We're going to be pretty hot this week, up to 100ºF (~38ºC) actual temperature possibly, so I don't expect to be outdoors much, including my walks.  And while we had a couple rains recently there is nothing in the extended forecast.

But the sunflower is starting to bloom.  The two in the corner are dead and the one by the house may still get a small bloom, but I've loved watching this last growth spurt of the big one.  Vertically, it is just shy of 10 feet tall, but if you measure at the angle of the stem it is 10 feet tall, so I'm calling it a 10 foot sunflower.  Yes, only this one successful plant out of many seeds, but I've learned lots and the entertainment it's given me this summer is well worth it.  I look forward to next year.

San Damiano

San Damiano has been a Friary on the shores of Lake Monona since the late 1800's until 2001 when it was bought by the City of Monona.  Young seminarians stayed here to pray, study and recreate while attending the University of Wisconsin.  It sits on about 10 acres including Indian burial mounds and what is probably the largest undeveloped lakefront left on the Madison lakes.  It's interesting to look into, but I'll just leave this link and this link for you to see for yourself, if you wish.

I've been trying to get us outside for lunch on Sundays, whether it be al fresco at a restaurant or take-out food in a park, preferably on the water but not required.  Sunday we stopped and got some sub sandwiches and headed to San Damiano, a place we've driven by thousands of times but hadn't yet visited since the city opened it as a park while they figure out exactly what they're going to do with the property.

It was overcast, and sprinkling very lightly when we arrived but not enough to spoil lunch and a short walk around.  Eventually the rain got heavier, so we went on our way with our day but we do want to go back when it's a little nicer out.

I hope they keep it much as it is.  It's a very nice oasis in the middle of the city.  More after the break.

Low Creeks and Stubby Baguettes

The creek is well grown over, on the banks and in the creek itself as canoeists find as they go up the low, weedy creek.  Interestingly, the brown grass on the banks died early in the year from the drought.  Some of the first things to grow after the prescribed burn and before everything else filled in.

And I like the new baguette baking tray that I was originally hesitant to buy because of the rounded bottom (it flattens a bit on the cooling tray and is not an issue).  The tray seems to minimize the hot spot toward the back of the oven with the last row empty.  I'm foregoing any pointy ends and trying to make the baguettes more 14-15 inches instead of 16 so they can more easily fit in the bread bags I bought for freezing, as 18 inch bags appear to be standard. 

After the break is a preview of what I plan to post about next. ;)

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.    

Sunflowers Update

The big sunflower is over 8 1/2 feet tall now, almost as tall as me standing on the landing outside the back door.  Certainly taller than my lovely 5 foot 4 inch wife who kindly agreed to pose next to it for scale.  

All of the sunflower plants, even the smaller ones and the barely alive one behind the one in the corner, are finally starting to grow their flowers.  Whether they all come to fruition we'll find out, but I expect at least the big one to bloom eventually.  This has been an interesting experiment, and I look forward to growing sunflowers again next year, though maybe a different type.

Low Mow Summer

We got some rain early last week, some beneficial rains for a change.  The first things to start growing back were crabgrass and all the other weeds before the grass started greening up again.  Me, being pragmatic, first attacked the weeds by pulling and spray before attempting to mow for the first time in a long time.

To backtrack, this year I mowed the whole lawn for the first time on May 13, then mowed just the back yard on June 4.  So an unusually long time between mows with a one mow May, a half mow June, and zero mow July.

The state of the lawn yesterday.

After tending to weeds for a couple days and after a day grace period to give the spray time to work, I tried to start the mower and it wouldn't start.  It was really hot out, so I figured I'll try the next day.  The next day was the same.  It was even hotter out but I texted a mechanic friend who told me anything carbureted would run like sh - poorly in this heat, so I waited but was still unsure.  The following day, last Friday, I tried it again in the morning but it just didn't seem like it was getting any gas, so I called the service I've used to come out and tune up this and the snow blower every couple of years.  They came out on Monday this week, diagnosed the mower and tuned up the snow blower.  The mower went back to the shop and I hadn't heard back all week until this morning, and they delivered it back around midday.

A relatively simple fix, if expensive by having home service and delivery.  After 14 years a little dirt in the gas tank and carburetor and a pump that stopped working was preventing the engine from getting fuel, so a clean carburetor and tune-up and it starts on the first pull, as it normally has except for the first start in Spring.  I could have gotten a new mower for the price of this whole episode.  Not as good of a mower, but still my next mower may be electric to basically eliminate these maintenance costs.  No gas, no oil, no spark plug, so essentially no engine maintenance and I can sharpen my own blade.

So I finally got the lawn mowed this afternoon, after 61 days.  Pretty incredible for this time of year.

Atwoodfest 2023

With Kate having a 'dad' day on Saturday we went to Atwoodfest on Sunday this year.  Thankfully the heat broke right before the weekend so it was warm but not uncomfortable and the sky was blue with puffy white clouds here and there.  A beautiful weekend for a neighborhood festival.  We got there early today, shortly before noon, so we had to wait just a bit for the beer to be sold and the bands to start playing at noon.  On the main stage at noon was local band Steely Dane and they have a following so that crowd had their own area, with smaller stages at the top and bottom of the street of the few blocks closed off for the festival.

We got lunch from a few of the several vendors/food carts while making our way up and down the street a few times.  And we were surprisingly good at resisting the temptation to buy many, varied wares that we just don't need.  A nice outing, and a much needed walk for me after not walking much in the last week due to the heat.  Hope you had a nice weekend, too.

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!

Lakeside

There were several things I wanted to write about today, but after a visit to the lake for lunch the pictures have prevailed.  I can write about sunflowers and other things later this week.

A moored sailboat, rocking greatly in the waves and wind, framed nicely.

It's been a beautiful day today; sunny, not too hot and a good breeze - very nice with the windows wide open.  We took a short trip toward downtown, stopping off to pick up some sub sandwiches, and went to Tenney Park to have our lunch.

Random sunflower by the waves, kitesurfer top center, and a whipping flag on the breakwater.

Madison is the only U.S. Capitol built on an isthmus and one of two U.S. cities on an isthmus, the other being Seattle, Washington.  It's amazing and wonderful to live so near such large, beautiful lakes, and easy to take for granted.  It was nice, sitting there, and I have plans for similar outings yet this Summer.

The breakwater was much needed today, and the tiny red bit at right is where the lock is.

Today there were several fishermen scattered along the lakeside and on the breakwater.  A few families, some with kids swimming in the lake at the small beach area.  And a surprisingly strong wind whipping straight across the lake right at us.  It was bearable long enough to sit for a bit while we ate and take a short walk down to the lock, but we likely would have lingered longer but for that very strong breeze.  We certainly felt a bit windswept after we left.  But all in all, a good part of the day.

Rain!

We finally had some beneficial rain yesterday, and a couple more good, shorter showers today.  

Yesterday it rained pretty good most of the day from before midday to later in the evening, officially 1.68 inches in Madison.  And right now the second of two good scattered rainshowers is finishing up.  I'm not sure how this will affect our drought status of D3 (Extreme Drought) yet, but I'm sure we still need much more.  The site linked under the blue words in the last sentence (and now in the right column) reminded me of 2012, when we were even drier so far in the year, to the 2018 floods and high lake levels, and here now in 2023 a drought again.  

The pendulum swings...

Holiday Weekend Updates

Happy holiday weekend, everyone.  I know not everyone has today off, but I took it off to have a four day weekend with the Fourth of July tomorrow.  Anyway, so far I've had a one mow May and a 1/2 mow June; will I mow in July?  I only remember because I noted it here, but I first mowed this year on May 13, then mowed only the back yard on June 4, and it looks like it may be some time yet before I mow again.  The front yard is mostly brown while the back is mostly hanging on to green and all of it stopped growing long ago but for going to seed.

Raspberries are almost done and today I noticed the first several walnuts had fallen in the yard.  But where are the helicopters from the maple trees?  They normally fall like rain later in the spring, causing a cleaning of the gutters, but so far nothing.  I can't even be sure if I see them in the trees or not.  As dry as it's been it may be possible that there won't be any this year, or maybe a very few.  The humidity finally arrived last week, so temperatures that were more than bearable before now require the air conditioning on and outside chores planned around the weather.

All four sunflowers are still alive, two seem to be doing very well while the other two almost died but recovered though they seem stunted, so we'll see how they do.  But the other two are looking very promising.

The bird feeder now requires refilling once a day.  It's gone in less than a day but I will only refill it once a day.  I got the gardens cleaned up somewhat this morning, including digging up the monster oregano plant, leaving just a tiny sprig to live on.   We gave up on the strawberries, they exist only for the critters now.  And I have the new trail camera trained on the stump where I've been putting the extra peanuts from the bird food (since too many clog the feeder) so will have to bring that in soon and see what's been enjoying the feasts I put out.  And I've painted more doors.

Yes, after painting the front door there was still a lot of the quart of paint left over so we decided to paint the back porch door and the side garage door.  And there's still at least 1/3 of the quart left but I think that's enough painting for now.  Henceforth we may be known as the Purple Door House!

I'll put pictures of the doors after the break.

Smoke and Air Quality

Edit: Just noticed the Hazardous spelling :)

Tuesday morning our Air Quality Index number was 198, officially Unhealthy and bordering on Very Unhealthy.  This morning our air quality index number was 295, almost Hazardous  - per the Air Quality Index.

This is all smoke from some of about 500 current wildfires in Canada funneled down in circumstance of weather and winds.

According to the news, being outside here this whole 24 hour day today is the equivalent of smoking a pack of cigarettes.  The haze is noticeable and the air a bit thicker and with a smell of smoke.  The only escape other than quick travel far, far away is staying indoors with the windows shut and the air conditioning on, which we started doing earlier today.

I've had my own issues with it as a former smoker, but everyone will notice to some degree or another.  I took half a day off today, not fully because of this but we were slow and it was noticeable to the point of distraction for me this morning.  I have the time to take and I deserve it, so I did.  But while I took a walk despite the air yesterday I won't be walking today.  The recommendation is everyone stay indoors and use an air purifier if you have one, but I'm sure most people are continuing as normal and doing what they need to do, inside or outside.  Life goes on, just with a new topic of conversation.

Beautiful Day

 Not a cloud in the sky, totally sunny and clear... but for the smoke from Canadian wildfires.

It's been an issue lately, but the next few days are expected to be worse than ever.  Air quality is real bad and I find myself very phlegmy, and can even smell smoke when I step outside.

Just a quick post to share this, now back to work.