Monday, 14 July 2008
“Mama, can we take the bunnnnneeeeeeees?”
This from a maybe five-year-old immediately in advance of a camping trip where we hiked in about two miles from the vehicles.
She was talking about flesh-and-blood bunnies, mind you, not the cement kind.
Sunday, 13 July 2008
Shasta daisy, The Botanist says, which apparently has a nasty odor, but I didn’t notice that….
I’ve been thinking about these vociferous charges of flip-flopping rife in the media, finding them ill-considered, over-simplifying, and unsophisticated. Then, today, on the George [Long Name] show, I heard, of all people, Arnold Schwarzenegger say:
Flip-flopping is getting a bad rap.
He went on to say it’s “wonderful” to change your mind after getting new data or thinking things through again.
Just what I was thinking.
Saturday, 12 July 2008
The spice rack in the cabin still harbors ancient containers. Some are less than about 30 years old or so (within my memory), and a few are older.
For some reason, this is the only food coloring that survives—maybe because (for historical reasons) we call this place the Green Cottage?
I am so not a baker these days, but I remember that Mom made lots of cakes and cookies (sweets are cheap calories?). She liked Jiffy mixes (Chelsea’s best!), but more often cooked from scratch.
I remember making cupcakes more than once, but I don’t remember making pies, or eating them, when we were up north—maybe because cakes and cookies are easier to make in hot, humid weather?
BTW, my quick Google of Smith’s Flavoring Extract Company, of Grand Rapids, didn’t turn up anything. I’m still trying to decide when this label was probably last used…. My guess is the bottle was probably purchased at Rahilly’s grocery, now an IGA….
Friday, 11 July 2008
You’ve seen this jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) before.
The first picture I posted of it was when it was in bloom. That was mid-May.
By mid-June, it had transitioned to a green fruiting stage.
Now, in (almost) mid-July, as you can see, the fruiting bodies are turning a brilliant red.
I am still mystified that this plant appeared in my untended flower bed in the backyard…. Maybe it’s only there because it’s rather untended?
Shortly after I made the post yesterday bragging about how much roof has been constructed, the heavens opened and the crew got soaked getting the tarp installed. I didn’t blame them one bit for knocking off early, although the rain didn’t last that long….
BTW, judicious water withdrawls and incremental additions from summer storms mean levels of Lake Lanier, Atlanta’s main surface water source, still 15 feet below the normal (or expected? or desired?) summer levels.
Thursday, 10 July 2008
The framing guys crack me up. There’s a singer (which might have annoyed me before I lived in Mexico), a quiet guy (the balance?), and the third guy, who seems quite normal.
This is the view from the framed in dormer looking up at the top of the roof. It doesn’t show how complicated the angles are on the back side, where lots of roof planes meet.
The second most exciting thing about what this photo shows, after the framing, is the tar paper, which means we have a much more durable roof than a flapping tarp provides—especially for summer southern pop-up afternoon rainstorms. The ones yesterday missed us to the north. There’s a cell to the south right now. Next? Who knows?
The Sheetrock™ you see straight ahead is in the interior stairwell (now with zipwalls top and bottom). You’re not supposed to see into the stairwell from here!
After the framers leave, we’ll be praying for sheetrock (well worth the read).
Thursday, 10 July 2008
Found this almost-drowned butterfly in the lake last week; I don’t think our rescue was enough for him/her to survive.
Under a grey sky, I might consider loon calls plangent, but probably not if it’s sunny.
A loud, reverberating sound considered melancholy. (From the Latin word for lamenting.)
Wednesday, 9 July 2008
Archive photo of the Fremont Troll, a famous denizen of Seattle*.
Without a doubt, there are myriad kinds and types of tyrannies out there, many of them petty.
Tyranny of the day: software that seems to work in a certain way merely because it could be written that way, not because it’s wise, or even particularly useful—judged by this Ye Olde Average User.
You do not want to know more.
* …a city known for its software, both good and not-so-hot.
Tuesday, 8 July 2008
MARTA is Atlanta’s public transit system, mostly buses and trains.
What’s up with public transportation in the US?
And the crazy-wildest thing? This isn’t the first time we’ve encountered MARTA cars riding on trucks on this stretch of I-75!
Perhaps they’ve been away on vacation?
Monday, 7 July 2008
’Twas good to see The Botanist out in the garden again. He was dumping compost and turning under the old strawberries.
Sunday, 6 July 2008
Elected and hopeful officials and local businesses comprised most of the Curtis parade, as near as I could tell. I saw two bands: Newberry High’s marching band (in matching t-shirts), and these folks from downstate….
Here’s a gem of a passage from Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Links, originally published in 1923 (this from a 1959 paperback edition I found stashed on a shelf in the cottage, page 54)….
“You do not play the golf, M. Poirot?” inquired Bex.
“I? Never! What a game!” He became excited. “Figure to yourself, each hole is of a different length. The obstacles, they are not arranged mathematically. Even the greens are frequently up one side! There is only one thing—how do you call them?—tee boxes! They, at least, are symmetrical.”
Take that, Tiger!
In the meantime, it’s breezy and sunny and did I mention breezy? The grass is sufficiently vanquished, the gas tank is refilled, and most of our food has been consumed. Guess what this means about tomorrow?