Friday, 11 September 2015
I’ve never seen anything quite like this…the water meter for a house in the neighborhood looks like it…overflowed with coagulating white…stuff. Strange.
Lots of rain lately, and that does alter the species assortment that is presently ascendant…also the dominant smells when there’s no breeze. Eau de decomposition.
I’m hearing duo iPhone purchase noises around here…the deals start at midnight! Must decide…what color?
Sunday, 6 September 2015
Yesterday was The Bridge. Today: a ferry—the shortest ferry ride I’ve ever seen…not that my ferry-riding experience is vast. Still. This one’s about four minutes, and the crossing is about a hundred yards. It’s the Valley View Ferry, crossing the Kentucky River south of Lexington. The first ferry was here before 1800. We were the only riders on our run, and the ferry was docked on “our” side, so we simply drove right on for regal service. Last time we did this run, the ferry was decorated with pots of geraniums; I didn’t see them this time….
On some ferries, you are required to leave the vehicle deck and stay away (see our recent Scotland ferries). On this one, riders were requested to stay in vehicles. I don’t know what they ask of pedestrians and bicyclists.
This ferry has these stylistic paddlewheel decorations, and a rotating fake paddle wheel. Retro.
Sunday, 12 July 2015
Let’s see. Where to start.
I went down to the beach and thought about how this camera is good at shooting fast, and crouched down and caught a few moments when the waves were coming toward the beach, to crash on the sand.
Now, there wasn’t that much wind behind the wave action, but it sure made for fun shooting.
Mind you, that isn’t the curvature of the earth (I’m pretty sure) recorded in the horizon, but the curvature the lens created….
I cleared out around the “wild” rose and it’s liberated (for the time being) from the grass…. I also found one (!!) foxglove in bloom (not enough light), and I think one neighboring foxglove plant, just leaves, no flower shoot.
Like the nearby rhubarb plants, they need more light.
Next garden chore…plant-liberation movement….
I also found this…well, in my insect-ignorance, I’d call it “a grasshopper.” Interesting color patterns on his/her “side.”
Parked on a mint plant.
Only it’s not my favorite mint for eating, but botanically it IS a mint….
Which means it has square stems….
Monday, 29 June 2015
Our very (cubed) kind neighbor tracked down a guy with a portable mill to cut up the trunks of the venerable white pine (over a century old) that have been on the ground for over a year. It’s time to make sure that the wood is not-firewood.
For some reason rooted his hazy memories, I expected it to be a variation on a chain saw mill. Instead, the cutting is done by a bandsaw, with hydraulics to maneuver the logs.
We will keep several slabs, and give them another year or so to dry out, then make them into tables (or something).
Sunday, 21 June 2015
Spotted this airplane-car with the lovely fender-fairings tucked back in this yard and had to smile—what dynamic design.
Monday, 25 May 2015
If you lived here, you’d be home now.
Needs work.
Ready to occupy.
We also took a ferry. Not too much open water….
I was expecting the horn to blow at any moment. I’m in the corner because it was rather cool and windy.
The crew loaded those large trucks first. They had to back on, and did it like they’d done it dozens of times before. The crew cinched the trucks down with big chains. No chance they’d shift during passage! For most of the trip, we were serenaded by several car-alarm horns; clearly they had not been calibrated for sea-worthiness….
Sunday, 1 March 2015
I’m not going to admit we went to the mall (to walk where it was drier and warmer). I’m not going to admit that there were fancy sports cars on display (this might be a Maserati). I’m just not going to admit it.
Wednesday, 28 January 2015
A localized drainage system (not as scenic as the snail spiral).
Out in the park to enjoy the late afternoon sunshine…I noticed many two-dog-walkers. Usually, solos predominate, but today I saw a lot of doggie duos—one was even a matched pair of sisters (or so they seemed…).
Monday, 19 January 2015
Apparently this model 101 coal chute from the Majestic company was a standard in its day (and its shipping weight was 45–50 lbs). This one is on an apartment building, but it was also used for homes.
The company was based in Huntington, Indiana, about twenty-five miles southwest of Fort Wayne, in the northeast quadrant of the state. The factory was east of downtown, on Erie Street between the railroad and the river. Where Erie ends at the river is an abandoned Erie Lackawanna Railway (as I understand it) bridge that’s in ruin.
Notables linked to Huntington: Dan Quayle lived there for thirty-five years; Mötley Crüe guitarist Mick Mars lived there for a while as a child. (Whatta pair, eh?)
Saturday, 17 January 2015
Such a lovely day to get out and enjoy the beautiful sunshine…. We were working up a plan when the phone rang and we went in another direction, quite happily.
Clue: the Beltline was PACKed!