Thx, judih *Welcome home
* It has been a l-o-n-g winterZuihitsu
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Re: Zuihitsu
* It has been a l-o-n-g winterDoll, you may have found a place of rest but I'm still on the trail.
Re: Zuihitsu
Wednesday, April 3 - morning
Warm sun, cool air, stiff breeze - perfect day to set laundry out on the line to dry. Washed my flannel shirts & bathrobe, and a couple of fleeces. But midway through the final spin cycle - the power goes out. Without warning. Without a flicker or sputtering brownout - one second I'm watching a video on the Pythagorean Theorem, the next I'm staring at a black screen. The electric clock stops at 10:05 a.m.
Whenever this happens, I like to suss out the extent of the outage. If it's just my road, it could be a long wait on a windy day, when there might be many such isolated outages - but if it affects a significant portion of town, the failure is likely to be at a major node, and addressed promptly. So I drive out, up to the lake, and take the long way around to the Depot. There are a few lights along the way that are always on - a few electric candles in windows, and a decorative lamp post in front of an antique shoppe. Today they're all dark. A good omen.
If the employees of the woodworking shop in the Depot are all lounging about outside, that'd be another. But there's no one in sight, and as I drive past I can see the fluorescent tubes illuminating the shop floor within. So they have power - but the question is: have they always had it, or did it just come back on?
So up the hill to the Common - where big orange bucket trucks are slowly pulling away, and workmen in hard hats and fluorescent green vests are tossing red "Utility Work in Progress" signs into the back of a pickup. An excellent omen!
I double back, noting that all the darkened lights I'd expected to be on are now aglow, and the exterior light I'd snapped on before leaving is lit as well. The washing machine is quiet, having completed its spin while I was on the road, and the digital clock on the nightstand is flashing 12:22 a.m., telling me the lights came back on 22 minutes ago. The battery clock on the mantle reads 11:25 - meaning the power was out for just under an hour - a planned outage, perhaps.
I empty the washing machine, haul the freshly cleaned clothes out to the backyard and pin them onto the line. They dance gaily in the breeze as if in celebration of the electrical restoration - but more likely their liberation from the soggy confines of the washer basin.
Warm sun, cool air, stiff breeze - perfect day to set laundry out on the line to dry. Washed my flannel shirts & bathrobe, and a couple of fleeces. But midway through the final spin cycle - the power goes out. Without warning. Without a flicker or sputtering brownout - one second I'm watching a video on the Pythagorean Theorem, the next I'm staring at a black screen. The electric clock stops at 10:05 a.m.
Whenever this happens, I like to suss out the extent of the outage. If it's just my road, it could be a long wait on a windy day, when there might be many such isolated outages - but if it affects a significant portion of town, the failure is likely to be at a major node, and addressed promptly. So I drive out, up to the lake, and take the long way around to the Depot. There are a few lights along the way that are always on - a few electric candles in windows, and a decorative lamp post in front of an antique shoppe. Today they're all dark. A good omen.
If the employees of the woodworking shop in the Depot are all lounging about outside, that'd be another. But there's no one in sight, and as I drive past I can see the fluorescent tubes illuminating the shop floor within. So they have power - but the question is: have they always had it, or did it just come back on?
So up the hill to the Common - where big orange bucket trucks are slowly pulling away, and workmen in hard hats and fluorescent green vests are tossing red "Utility Work in Progress" signs into the back of a pickup. An excellent omen!
I double back, noting that all the darkened lights I'd expected to be on are now aglow, and the exterior light I'd snapped on before leaving is lit as well. The washing machine is quiet, having completed its spin while I was on the road, and the digital clock on the nightstand is flashing 12:22 a.m., telling me the lights came back on 22 minutes ago. The battery clock on the mantle reads 11:25 - meaning the power was out for just under an hour - a planned outage, perhaps.
I empty the washing machine, haul the freshly cleaned clothes out to the backyard and pin them onto the line. They dance gaily in the breeze as if in celebration of the electrical restoration - but more likely their liberation from the soggy confines of the washer basin.
.
"If one could deduce the nature of the Creator from a study of creation, it would appear that He has an inordinate fondness for beetles." -- evolutionary biologist J B S Haldane, (1892-1964)
"If one could deduce the nature of the Creator from a study of creation, it would appear that He has an inordinate fondness for beetles." -- evolutionary biologist J B S Haldane, (1892-1964)
Re: Zuihitsu
Wednesday, April 3 - afternoon
Wednesday is my grocery shopping day - stores are less likely to be as crowded as on a Friday or weekend, and now that the cycle has been established, I tend to run out of everything on Tuesday. So after dog-proofing the house (a task that's a helluva lot easier now than when I first adopted him), I set out on my usual Mittwoch ritual - ATM, Market Basket, then a quick stop at Hannaford for the few items MB doesn't carry. From there I drop in on Mom to deliver her scones, English muffins & ginger ale, and to chat for a bit before heading home. There is no evidence of canine misbehavior apart from one of my slippers lying on the bed, which I silently dangle in front of him before unloading the car and stowing the perishables in the fridge.
The wind has picked up considerably, but the temperature has climbed to the mid 50s F (maybe 10 C), and the sun is strong, 2 weeks downstream of the vernal equinox - the same sun we get 2 weeks upstream of the autumnal equinox in September. So for our afternoon walk, I change from jeans to cargo shorts, and from a fleece to a sleeveless vest. One good decision, one not so good. I put the dog into his harness (a "no-pull" harness, ha, that's a laugh), fill his treat bag, and so attired and equipped we set out for the local school. There I park, leash him up, and we set out along the familiar road to Rhododendron State Park.
Even after the exertion of the initial uphill climb, I'm wishing I'd worn the sleeved fleece, but the cargo shorts were a good idea despite the wind. Still, I decide to cut this trek a little short, maybe to turn back after only a mile or so. Still give him plenty of opportunity to poop, and me a little aerobic workout, and we should get back to the car just as All Things Considered airs.
A car passes us from behind - I can usually hear them approach, but with the wind roaring in my ears I'm taken by surprise. The car slows, and an attractive woman behind the wheel smiles at us through an open window. "You're braver than I am!" she calls. I grin, and make some inane joke about going airborne. She gives an obligatory laugh and a little wave, then accelerates away.
We reach the one-mile mark, but I descend a little further downhill to give us a little more uphill on the return. Here I stop, slip him a treat, and together we downshift and chug back up the hill. He goes into Iditarod mode, which, in combination with the wind now being at our backs, reduces some of the aerobic benefit of the climb. Not that I'm complaining, mind you.
Another car catches up to us, in which another pretty young thing has rolled down her window to smile and call, "What a beautiful dog!" I smile back, thank her, and she continues on her way. I give him an unsolicited treat for being such a Babe Magnet (though in all fairness, these sweet young things were both well into their 30s and 40s - but girls, to me).
The only thing left to do at home prior to dinner prep is to get the dried shirts off the line - and to my dismay I see the wind has already taken care of this for me. All but the bathrobe have been blown off the line, and lay scattered about the backyard atop a rotting sheet of ice. They're all soaking wet, and the heavy fleeces have absorbed so much of the surface melt that they drip when I pick them up. "What the fuck," I mutter, though the situation is not without humor. Oh well. They'll just have to dry overnight on hangers from a shower curtain.
Wednesday is my grocery shopping day - stores are less likely to be as crowded as on a Friday or weekend, and now that the cycle has been established, I tend to run out of everything on Tuesday. So after dog-proofing the house (a task that's a helluva lot easier now than when I first adopted him), I set out on my usual Mittwoch ritual - ATM, Market Basket, then a quick stop at Hannaford for the few items MB doesn't carry. From there I drop in on Mom to deliver her scones, English muffins & ginger ale, and to chat for a bit before heading home. There is no evidence of canine misbehavior apart from one of my slippers lying on the bed, which I silently dangle in front of him before unloading the car and stowing the perishables in the fridge.
The wind has picked up considerably, but the temperature has climbed to the mid 50s F (maybe 10 C), and the sun is strong, 2 weeks downstream of the vernal equinox - the same sun we get 2 weeks upstream of the autumnal equinox in September. So for our afternoon walk, I change from jeans to cargo shorts, and from a fleece to a sleeveless vest. One good decision, one not so good. I put the dog into his harness (a "no-pull" harness, ha, that's a laugh), fill his treat bag, and so attired and equipped we set out for the local school. There I park, leash him up, and we set out along the familiar road to Rhododendron State Park.
Even after the exertion of the initial uphill climb, I'm wishing I'd worn the sleeved fleece, but the cargo shorts were a good idea despite the wind. Still, I decide to cut this trek a little short, maybe to turn back after only a mile or so. Still give him plenty of opportunity to poop, and me a little aerobic workout, and we should get back to the car just as All Things Considered airs.
A car passes us from behind - I can usually hear them approach, but with the wind roaring in my ears I'm taken by surprise. The car slows, and an attractive woman behind the wheel smiles at us through an open window. "You're braver than I am!" she calls. I grin, and make some inane joke about going airborne. She gives an obligatory laugh and a little wave, then accelerates away.
We reach the one-mile mark, but I descend a little further downhill to give us a little more uphill on the return. Here I stop, slip him a treat, and together we downshift and chug back up the hill. He goes into Iditarod mode, which, in combination with the wind now being at our backs, reduces some of the aerobic benefit of the climb. Not that I'm complaining, mind you.
Another car catches up to us, in which another pretty young thing has rolled down her window to smile and call, "What a beautiful dog!" I smile back, thank her, and she continues on her way. I give him an unsolicited treat for being such a Babe Magnet (though in all fairness, these sweet young things were both well into their 30s and 40s - but girls, to me).
The only thing left to do at home prior to dinner prep is to get the dried shirts off the line - and to my dismay I see the wind has already taken care of this for me. All but the bathrobe have been blown off the line, and lay scattered about the backyard atop a rotting sheet of ice. They're all soaking wet, and the heavy fleeces have absorbed so much of the surface melt that they drip when I pick them up. "What the fuck," I mutter, though the situation is not without humor. Oh well. They'll just have to dry overnight on hangers from a shower curtain.
.
"If one could deduce the nature of the Creator from a study of creation, it would appear that He has an inordinate fondness for beetles." -- evolutionary biologist J B S Haldane, (1892-1964)
"If one could deduce the nature of the Creator from a study of creation, it would appear that He has an inordinate fondness for beetles." -- evolutionary biologist J B S Haldane, (1892-1964)
Re: Zuihitsu
Sad story in the local paper.....
....Part 1 appeared several days ago. A 59-year old Marlborough NH man broke through the ice on a pond and drowned, apparently trying to save a dog. He failed to save the dog and himself.
Part 2 was last night's obit. The man was apparently a lifelong bachelor and lived alone with the dog, described in the obit as his closest and dearest friend - that one was rarely seen without the company of the other. And it hit home that I am he - we are they.
A few years ago, Kane broke through the ice on one of our treks, and I was frantic, looking for access to the water, looking for a way to pull him free. He made it out on his own, but...
Mortality - has a way of tapping us on the shoulder and reminding us with a wink that we are all mortgaged to him...... so live for the moment. Eat dessert first.
....Part 1 appeared several days ago. A 59-year old Marlborough NH man broke through the ice on a pond and drowned, apparently trying to save a dog. He failed to save the dog and himself.
Part 2 was last night's obit. The man was apparently a lifelong bachelor and lived alone with the dog, described in the obit as his closest and dearest friend - that one was rarely seen without the company of the other. And it hit home that I am he - we are they.
A few years ago, Kane broke through the ice on one of our treks, and I was frantic, looking for access to the water, looking for a way to pull him free. He made it out on his own, but...
Mortality - has a way of tapping us on the shoulder and reminding us with a wink that we are all mortgaged to him...... so live for the moment. Eat dessert first.
.
"If one could deduce the nature of the Creator from a study of creation, it would appear that He has an inordinate fondness for beetles." -- evolutionary biologist J B S Haldane, (1892-1964)
"If one could deduce the nature of the Creator from a study of creation, it would appear that He has an inordinate fondness for beetles." -- evolutionary biologist J B S Haldane, (1892-1964)
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judih
- Site Admin
- Posts: 13399
- Joined: August 17th, 2004, 7:38 am
- Location: kibbutz nir oz, israel
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Re: Zuihitsu
And beware of ice in all its guises.
Be alert and in touch with survival mode
Enjoy this moment and heed good advice
Be alert and in touch with survival mode
Enjoy this moment and heed good advice
Re: Zuihitsu
Yeah Roy, don't fuck with the ice - and don't let the dog fuck with the ice either - live long and propser - don't follow the lights
Doll, you may have found a place of rest but I'm still on the trail.
Re: Zuihitsu
Had a surprisingly fruitful meeting with Keith yesterday. He'd made vague references to "software upgrades", which at least three times in the past has meant he's moved the goalposts, necessitating a complete rewrite - so I was not looking forward to seeing him. But it turned out to be a request for an additional feature - one which I'd already felt was needed and had begun coding. He also pointed out an apparent bug - which turned out to be caused by him inadvertantly deleting one of the program modules. Jeez, there's only so much I can do to protect him from himself. Can't help but wonder if marketing a computer app is the best fit for someone as software naive as he.....
Returned to the rail-trail today! It's still a bit soggy in places (especially the cuts), but it felt sooo good to be back, and to let Herr Hund run off-leash. He found a few piles of fresh, delicious horse excrement, and all his old favorite mud wallows; but Scott Brook is running high, and he took a deep, cleansing dip just before getting back to the car. We've both missed this.
Returned to the rail-trail today! It's still a bit soggy in places (especially the cuts), but it felt sooo good to be back, and to let Herr Hund run off-leash. He found a few piles of fresh, delicious horse excrement, and all his old favorite mud wallows; but Scott Brook is running high, and he took a deep, cleansing dip just before getting back to the car. We've both missed this.
.
"If one could deduce the nature of the Creator from a study of creation, it would appear that He has an inordinate fondness for beetles." -- evolutionary biologist J B S Haldane, (1892-1964)
"If one could deduce the nature of the Creator from a study of creation, it would appear that He has an inordinate fondness for beetles." -- evolutionary biologist J B S Haldane, (1892-1964)
Re: Zuihitsu
my doctor failed to warn me about the side effects of prednisone, save for the ones that don't alarm patients much. so when these profound bouts of shortness of breath and "fight or flight" came suddenly I was thrown for a loop. Psychological issues can linger for months after your finished taking the damn drug that's supposed to make you better,. Doctors are cool rolling the dice. they never look at things holistically....few even know about Integrative Medicine or would consider East meeting West. I understand that often the value of the drug means we might want to take a chance with any other complications that arise, but this was proscribed prophylactically ....as merely a way to claim they did something when they really have no grasp of what was causing the problem in the first place. I understand diagnoses can be tricky....but don't much care for shots in the dark when the doc is basically giving me the bums-rush because he overbooked patients in case a few canceled, but they all showed up.
Yes Sasha...I believe I have a better chance of being healed by taking a hike deep into the woods at Loch Raven Reservoir or along the Gunpowder River
Susie and I went Tuesday and it was the best I'd felt in months...I do have some complex health issues at the moment, especially with my hearing that continues to befuddle the ENT's...Hell I might give the the fucking Veteran's Hospital a crack at it...I've been to Johns Hopkins...anyway the point of this paragraph is the magical recovery powers of the woods....I will up the dosage immediately
Yes Sasha...I believe I have a better chance of being healed by taking a hike deep into the woods at Loch Raven Reservoir or along the Gunpowder River
Susie and I went Tuesday and it was the best I'd felt in months...I do have some complex health issues at the moment, especially with my hearing that continues to befuddle the ENT's...Hell I might give the the fucking Veteran's Hospital a crack at it...I've been to Johns Hopkins...anyway the point of this paragraph is the magical recovery powers of the woods....I will up the dosage immediately
If you do not change your direction
you may end up where you are heading
you may end up where you are heading
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judih
- Site Admin
- Posts: 13399
- Joined: August 17th, 2004, 7:38 am
- Location: kibbutz nir oz, israel
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Re: Zuihitsu
the woods
feet kissing solid ground
each scented step
feet kissing solid ground
each scented step
Re: Zuihitsu
hiking with my daughter yesterday....oh yeah !
If you do not change your direction
you may end up where you are heading
you may end up where you are heading
Re: Zuihitsu
all that green!
the only green around here is my envy! soon, though....
the only green around here is my envy! soon, though....
.
"If one could deduce the nature of the Creator from a study of creation, it would appear that He has an inordinate fondness for beetles." -- evolutionary biologist J B S Haldane, (1892-1964)
"If one could deduce the nature of the Creator from a study of creation, it would appear that He has an inordinate fondness for beetles." -- evolutionary biologist J B S Haldane, (1892-1964)
Re: Zuihitsu
Vet proscribed prednisone for my beagle - three days after I began giving it to him his hindquarters became very weak & painful - I stopped giving it to him but he never got back the free use of his back legs - he got whacked by a car a few months later so it became a moot point.
You ever been strafed by barn swallows while out on a bike? If not ya just don't know what living is all about.
I just pulled a tick out of my chest. The little fuckers are out with a vengeance this year. I'm gonna have to get tick collars for all the cats and dogs here.
Sherlock Holmes and the Ticks of the Baskervilles.
You ever been strafed by barn swallows while out on a bike? If not ya just don't know what living is all about.
I just pulled a tick out of my chest. The little fuckers are out with a vengeance this year. I'm gonna have to get tick collars for all the cats and dogs here.
Sherlock Holmes and the Ticks of the Baskervilles.
Doll, you may have found a place of rest but I'm still on the trail.
Re: Zuihitsu
No green here yet either, Sasha - it's coming but no riot like saw has got going.
Doll, you may have found a place of rest but I'm still on the trail.
Re: Zuihitsu
No ticks on me yet, but I've pulled two off the dog, one of which was a deer tick, one of the Bad Ones. Last month I started up his monthly NexGuard tablet, which apparently renders him toxic to the little bastards.
I was dive-bombed by a chickadee once. They seem to congregate in clusters of hemlocks, calling the trees their own. I was hiking one of the rail-trails a while back, and passed by such a cluster. It was early spring, when the males (presumably) were in full display. I stopped to observe, and they were definitely checking me out as well. One in particular was fearless, hopping ever closer from branch to branch. When he was maybe 5 ft away, he launched himself toward me. I ducked, but when I stood he was nowhere to be seen - until I looked behind me. He was hovering a foot or two behind my head, getting ready to attack. I beat it out of there with a hasty apology.
Another time I was kayaking down the Millers River and passed under a nest of some kind. Mama took umbrage with my intrusion and informed me in no uncertain terms that my presence was NOT welcome. Unfortunately I had to pass by that same spot on my return....
I was dive-bombed by a chickadee once. They seem to congregate in clusters of hemlocks, calling the trees their own. I was hiking one of the rail-trails a while back, and passed by such a cluster. It was early spring, when the males (presumably) were in full display. I stopped to observe, and they were definitely checking me out as well. One in particular was fearless, hopping ever closer from branch to branch. When he was maybe 5 ft away, he launched himself toward me. I ducked, but when I stood he was nowhere to be seen - until I looked behind me. He was hovering a foot or two behind my head, getting ready to attack. I beat it out of there with a hasty apology.
Another time I was kayaking down the Millers River and passed under a nest of some kind. Mama took umbrage with my intrusion and informed me in no uncertain terms that my presence was NOT welcome. Unfortunately I had to pass by that same spot on my return....
.
"If one could deduce the nature of the Creator from a study of creation, it would appear that He has an inordinate fondness for beetles." -- evolutionary biologist J B S Haldane, (1892-1964)
"If one could deduce the nature of the Creator from a study of creation, it would appear that He has an inordinate fondness for beetles." -- evolutionary biologist J B S Haldane, (1892-1964)
Re: Zuihitsu
I've always been bewildered (and a little irked) by questionnaires that feel entitled to personal details of your marital status: Single/Married/Widowed/Divorced/Separated..... Despite feeling that you're either Married or you're not, I used to grit my teeth and check the "divorced" box like a good little citizen - until somebody pointed out to me that "divorced" is really just a state of mind. So as far as I'm concerned, I'm just an old bachelor with a dog, and it's nobody's fucking business if I made a bad decision 30 years ago. I'm Single, if you must know. Now get off my doorstep.
Has anybody seen the sun lately? I thought I noticed a bright spot in the cloud deck a day or so ago, but it could have been my imagination. Or wishful thinking. I'm starting to think that those stories of a great ball of fire in the sky are just ancient legends, or the foolish prattling of the old.
Has anybody seen the sun lately? I thought I noticed a bright spot in the cloud deck a day or so ago, but it could have been my imagination. Or wishful thinking. I'm starting to think that those stories of a great ball of fire in the sky are just ancient legends, or the foolish prattling of the old.
.
"If one could deduce the nature of the Creator from a study of creation, it would appear that He has an inordinate fondness for beetles." -- evolutionary biologist J B S Haldane, (1892-1964)
"If one could deduce the nature of the Creator from a study of creation, it would appear that He has an inordinate fondness for beetles." -- evolutionary biologist J B S Haldane, (1892-1964)
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