This morning, we prevailed upon the staff at a local restaurant to prepare our breakfast. No special reason; just an excuse to get out of the house on a weekend without a list of errands to distract. I actually ended up using the catch phrase “Who’s your father?” with some people, doing the kind of family based research that doesn’t require online access. Rare, for me.
posted in environment | Comments Off on Down a dark hole | 272 words
Another mystery solved. After watching the gang work to harrow “my field” into a ready state over the last couple of evenings, I wanted to know what the crop of the year would be. This afternoon, they brought in a trailer loaded with bulk bags (the kind you can lift with a front-end loader and suspend over the seeder before pulling the bottom drawstrings). From a distance, my best guess was some variety of grain.
posted in environment | Comments Off on The summer of oats | 263 words
Almost anything can provide an “occasion for learning”. This morning, although I awoke too early (no longer have an alarm clock sense), my arrival at the local garage was on time. I handed over the keys and headed off to wander the immediate area; a graveyard that I hadn’t entered in four decades served as a reminder that many have tred the path before me.
posted in education | Comments Off on Watch and learn | 263 words
I don’t care. Even if the probs announce frost in the next few hours, I’m through with the white season. The “all other seasons” tires are in the car, ready for the big change-over tomorrow morning. In the field below here, the disc harrow is turning those furrows from last season into something flat and filled with potential – clover, perhaps?
posted in media, Wx | Comments Off on Ready for the big change-over | 259 words
“We should get together sometime”. As a committed introvert, that phrase sends a small chill down my back. The concept is fraught with unknowns. Let’s try this in small numbers, shall we. Two of us, OK. Probably. A handful; better to be family, because we’ll have already drawn boundaries around the delicate matters (or not). But, what about a large group?
posted in humour | Comments Off on The politics of getting together | 259 words
Time to give special mention to “our” UPS driver. In a world where deliveries are all across the scale, in terms of quality, this fellow stands out. He delivers to the door; no searching around the deck or the shrub cover for an errant parcel. He is super polite about things, and he goes out of the way for the dog. Not “out of the way”; rather, he gets the dog to sit and shake paw, and then he digs into a side holster of biscuits and seals his pact with food. Our dog believes!
posted in economy, humour | Comments Off on A stormy day in retail paradise | 264 words
Finally, some rain. Enough that I can look out, and point with conviction, while assuring others here that we are not in a period of drought. Actually, it saves me dragging a double length of hose around the yard, trying to spot any flower that might be at a risk of drying out and requiring storage in one of those special books they used to keep for specimen collections.
posted in genealogy | Comments Off on Research in solo mode | 261 words
Slowly, I’m joining the birder gang. I find myself watching around the feeder for new colour schemes (aka paint jobs). Sent in my first “sighting” of a hummingbird, just because it seemed like the thing to do. My squirrel repel technique is improving, although his (her?) disdain is in lock step with my efforts. I now understand why the species has a niche in the cartoons.
posted in environment, humour | Comments Off on Blending my own seed mix? | 252 words
Today I learned an amazing thing: I can watch earlier episodes of Judge Judy on YouTube. If I find myself feeling blue, I can just call up one of those moments that remind me “Your life could be much, much worse”. Now, the availability does not correlate with intention, on my part (that’s fake legalese, since I have the JJ spirit inside me). It’s just good to know about it.
posted in environment | Comments Off on Cause and effect | 254 words
For the last twenty-two months, I’ve been involved in our house project. Some months were without any visible progress, while others seemed to rocket by. The whole thing continues to inch (centimeter?) forward; today, the builders finished installing the fancy fake stone facing on the lower back wall. A minor detail, but hey, it looks good!
posted in environment | Comments Off on A minor detail | 250 words
