Sunny and cold today, clear and cold tonight, with the thermometer dropping, I predict, into single digits. That will make a lot of ice—more than the little skim seen below.
Ellie to horse-riding this afternoon, while Sue hung out with the boys. (Too much going on to remember to take a photos.) But they are getting big and very mobile, not to mention cute.
Not really cold, but we are not really ready. In February a day like this would go down as tropical. The lack of sun, I think, and the damp feeling, contributed.
Sue spent a bit of time cleaning up old computer files and came across this, below. Since there is little else to report or comment on…
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The plan was to help George move his Southcoast 22 across the Bay and help him haul it out and then store it away at Berry Boats. I was going to accompany George on the water, while John would meet us at the marina with his truck and George’s trailer.
George lives north-west of here, a brisk 10 minute walk along Serendipity Lane, on the end of Gray’s Point. Rather than walking there this morning I asked John to drive me down. I had my hat, my slicker, and John’s handheld VHF, and, of course, Pax. Pax always prefers to be part of things and today made sure he was not left behind.
So we drove down to the Griffith’s place, John and me up front, Pax in back. George met us at the turnaround on his driveway where I gathered my stuff and got out. John turned the truck and headed back home, with Pax now riding shotgun. John drove home, pulled in his drive, parked, and got out. Pax jumped out too.
George and I meanwhile walked around his cottage and down the path to the beach, and then waded out to the boat where we lowered the motor, started it up, and cast off the anchor lines. I walked us out to deeper water, and as George shifted into forward I climbed aboard, with the boat headed out of the cove and around the rocky spit of Gray’s Point. As we gained deeper water and were able to swing east and head toward the marina, George looked aft and said, “My God, something is coming after us.”
Absolutely right. Not a beaver. Not a muskrat. But a little head with a topknot and floppy ears, and most definitely Pax, swimming hard, swimming fast.
George cut the motor, and when Pax caught up I hoisted him aboard. I used the handheld to hail Kagawong marina and ask them to call John’s cottage and leave word that we had a dog aboard the boat.
When he got the word John gave up his Paxton search and drove over to the marina. Pax put his soggy head on my lap, endured the ride, and when we reached the marina went about his business. He didn’t help much with hauling the boat, but he definitely was part of the action…which was always his plan.
Today, garage cleaned and straightened, patio blown clear of detritus and tree droppings, several good dog walks, and a bike ride. Chilly, but sunny and above freezing.
Not in our yard.
Due to stupidity, I forgot to make notation of what vafiety these squash seeds were. Prolific crop, nonetheless. Tonight is the first taste test. Report to follow.
Update: the green squash is very good...light and delicate, but tasty. Lots here, orders now accepted.
...at American Players Theatre in Spring Green. Engaging Shaw. Clever, witty script, very well acted. Lots of fun.
Then surprisingly good dinner at the Plow restaurant in Cambridge on the way home.
Early onset winter.
Many sandhill cranes high overhead, riding a strong and cold north wind.
Pax loves this weather.
...at least on campus. Which means, I believe, that someone is expecting snow. It’s cold enough for sure.
Blueberry bush having turned red before turning white.
...but ultimately good.
The Walker, right wing cabal?
Basically, a good day for the country, and quite a good day for Wisconsin. In Wisconsin science will be back, public schools will no longer be under attack, the MNR will be reconstituted, millions of Federal Affordable Care dollars will no longer be rejected, the UW system will get a whole new set of regents, giant polluters will be held accountable, water will once again be considered valuable, roads will be fixed, modern transportation systems will be developed, solar and wind energy will come out of repression….and that sort of thing. And, the change was achieved in spite of millions of Koch dollars, and a sickening amout of nastiness, spent trying to stop it.
Hats, coats, and gloves the order of the day. Cold northwest wind. Could this be the onset of winter? A little snow in the forecast here later in the week, and seven inches or more possible on Manitoulin.
The most important outcome, the House, as source of happiness. Disappointment in the Texas, Florida, and Georgia tases. Still in agony over the Wisconsin governor outcome.
...to Democratic HQ, then to a rally for Tammy and Tony (Senator Tammy Baldwin & Gubernatorial candidate Tony Evers) at the University, then home for a mad-dash backyard rake and mow ahead of the next rain event. And we did it—the last of the heavy leaves are crammed into the trailer, covered with plastic, and ready for swift delivery to the compost site Saturday morning, which we can’t miss if we don’t want to provide these leaves a home for another year. Raining hard now, and a big cool-down forecast.
Difficult drive to Milwaukee in heavy rain, stiff crosswind, and near zero visibility, as Kate and Will were returned to the rental agency. And this after a morning of waffles and ping-pong!
Quite a variety of species here
Dark now, of course, as we have moved into the dark phase of the year, and yet the rain and wind continue—sometimes a light drizzle, and sometimes a heavy splattering, sometimes with hail.
Actually not feeling bad about missing today’s iceboat swap meet in Williams Bay.
...and afternoon too.
Trailer-full of leaves to the compost site. Water slide, lazy river, and water volleyball at the Aquatic Center. Ping-pong and poker. All topped off with Mary Poppins. Totally supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.
Sit a bit, type a few words, stare at the screen, type a little more. That pretty much sums it up for today, although Pax and I got in a couple of decent outings. Sue and I also got in a little pruning, and hoisted a hefty number of leaves into the trailer in anticipation of tomorrow’s trip to the compost site.
Load two of three.
BTW, a new big thing on social media is taking a photo of yourself voting. We missed out but think it is a great idea, if not illegal.
Oh, right, it is.
Low gray clouds over a penetrating chill. Sue down south doing her guardian work. Pax and I navigating the sidewalks around here, and grocery shopping.
More on that in a minute.
The new backyard apple tree. Can’t seem to resist planting trees.
So, gongoozling is the odd habit of watching English narrowboats as they ply the canals of the UK. Narrowboats are odd things in themselves, typically 50 to 55 feet long but only about 6.5 feet wide—with saloon, galley, head, bedroom, etc., all stretched out like a long hallway. The boats have to be narrow to navigate the narrow canals and the many, many locks on the English canal system. At present, there are about 30,000 of these not-inexpensive craft floating in ditches and trenches
Anyway, we were introduced to a vlog (video blog) by John (way back when we were on Island time) produced by a semi-retired, middle-aged English bloke who seems to have made cruising the canals a big part of his life’s work. And, as you can see from the screen shot above, I am up to episode 113 (which is I think only a small fraction of the sum total).
So let’s think about this. The typical vlog is, I would guess, about 12 minutes long. Using some form of higher math—12 times 113 equals 1,356 (minutes) which when converted, equals about 22 and a half hours. WHAT AN INCREDIBLE WASTE OF TIME!
And the sad thing is, every night, after dinner, when we think it might be fun to watch something but can’t come up with anything watchable, we watch another two episodes, and that is very much like watching grass grow. Narrowboats cruise along the canals at the breakneck speed of 2 to 3 miles per hour. This relaxed pace becomes obvious when, in the vlog, you see a jogger whip past on the towpath, in a blur.
One episode was devoted to opening up the day’s mail (a few packages potentially useful to cruising). Another focused on changing the engine oil. But perhaps most memorable of all was the episode on marine toilets.
Why do we continue to watch this!? Well, let’s think about it.
It’s mindless. It’s calm. It comes at you in clever and cultured English. It’s more watchable than just about anything else. It’s the perfect antidote to all the spirit-crushing news.
So, recommendation for anyone getting tired of watching paint dry: cruisingthecut.co.uk
And now I’m concerned that when the last trick-or-treater has left, we are going to be left with nothing to watch but episodes 114 and 115.
Got the heavy load of back-yard oak leaves concentrated into 3 piles, awaiting trailer for removal to compost site. Nice, warm day, until about 4 p.m., which is the start time of the Whitewater City Market, at which I was planning to pick up something suitable for supper. Then thunderstorms, which not only rattled Pax but washed out the market.
See today’s earlier blog, below, for a moving letter from Captain Sullenberger.
Moving op-ed in the Washington Post.
Fine day for yard work and two-wheeled vehicles.
Just hoping that enough Americans are awake enough and concerned enough to vote to save our country from its slide into totalitarianism. The future hangs in the balance.
We need to bring our thoughts and prayers to the voting booth.
Not a nice day. Luckily, the seven little tricksters went out in costume last night in Oconomowoc.
And here is the sacrilegious older trickster:
And, here is the whole team.
Last Saturday breakfast, and today lunch—pulled beef sandwiches, various salads, and chips. Calling potential voters and knocking on doors is not all that fun, so good food is essential.
Tempted to stay and chow down, but instead went for a walk along a Kettle Moraine esker.
I highly recommend watching the speech Obama gave today in Milwaukee.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-live-obama-to-campaign-for-wisconsin-democrats
We also helped out with costuming in Fox Point. Mimi made the Lego Joker costume from scratch.