an infrequent repository of mostly new stuff
Yesterday afternoon was warm rain and a walk in the woods in shirt sleeves. Overnight we got a foot of snow, so this afternoon was winter coats and skis.
Lots of trees down, roads blocked, power out, etc., but it’s lovely. I stayed out well after dark, coming home in snow fog under the stars.
Passed a couple of really big milestones this week.
1) Today I finally was able to bring the boats home.
The Melonseeds have been away rooming in Doug Lawson’s rented garage for well over two years – since a month after the house fire. We needed our shed to store what could be salvaged from the house while cleaning and construction progressed.
Even after the basement was cleaned out from two feet of sooty water, and purged and repainted, it was temporary storage when we moved back in, until remaining projects got sorted out.
So Doug gratiously offered to space with his boats about 20 minutes away. We’ve had four boats, plus kayaks, two or three lawn mowers and wheel barrows, etc., all crammed into that two car garage ever since.
Then, of course, we got hit with this little thing you may have heard of – a worldwide plague – which has lasted over a year.
So before I could re-home the boats I had to clean out the shed. To clean out the shed, I had to first clean out the basement. Done, and done.
Also, after a year of doing nothing, I’m out of shape, so this project required some concerted hammock time to finish.
2) And, fortuitously, I was able to schedule my first dose of the anti-plague vaccine last week. Apparently, I’ve been drafted by Team Pfizer. Put me in, coach, I’m ready to play!
Weather was great today, so Doug and I met over at the garage and extracted my boats. Looked just like we left them – a fine dusting of pollen the only sign they hadn’t been on the water a few days ago. And home they came.
It’s been a harrowing couple of years, no question. Today, for the first time, it’s starting to feel normal again.
And good.
Looking forward to time on the water again very soon.
Thanks Doug!
Swamps are such amazing places, and when not maligned and drained, are mercifully neglected.
CHASING GHOSTS | OFFICIAL SCREENER | © GRIZZLY CREEK FILMS from Grizzly Creek Films on Vimeo.
In their quest to identify the pollinator of the ghost orchid for the first time, a team of explorers, photographers, and filmmakers spent three summers standing waist-deep in alligator- and snake-laden water, swatting air blackened by mosquitoes, and climbing to sometimes nausea-inducing heights. They came away with a startling new discovery – and an even deeper love for Florida’s wildest wetlands – revelations that may help to conserve both the endangered orchid and its shrinking home.
WINNER, ‘ECOSYSTEM’ SHORT FORM – JACKSON WILD MEDIA AWARDS
WINNER, ‘SCIENCE IN NATURE’ SHORT FORM – JACKSON WILD MEDIA AWARDS
WINNER, ‘LIVING FORESTS’ – WORLD WILDLIFE DAY SHOWCASE
Produced by Grizzly Creek Films in partnership with bioGraphic:
https://grizzlycreekfilms.com/
https://www.biographic.com/
* Instagram: @grizzlycreekfilms @biographic_magazine @bendicci @carltonward @peter_houlihan @macstonephoto
Next up, tile backsplashes behind the kitchen stove and the sink.
Again, after figuring out the plan, it only took a weekend. One day to cut the tiles with a $100 diamond wet saw and attach them with mortar. The next day do the grout and clean up.
Now the spaghetti spatters won’t show.
You know the tropes:
take an umbrella = it will not rain
wash your car = it will rain
Two years ago, I bought some used cross county skis to replace my old ones.
It has not snowed since.
Until this weekend.
Some days you just get lucky.
I walked back in the field to look at the clouds. Set up the camera for a time lapse when a summer shower passed through, dragging a rainbow through her veil of rain.
Emily out in Oregon encouraged us to get out and look at the comet. It’s been beastly hot and buggy. We have not been enthusiastic.
But they just mowed the big hay field, making tick-free walking possible for the first time in months, so last night we took a stroll and it was well worth it. After a few minutes for our to adjust to the dark we could see it clearly, and it grew brighter as the twilight faded.
This photo was a 10 second exposure taken with my old Canon camera. I managed to save it from the fire, though it’s blackened all over. Couldn’t save the tripods, so I propped it on one of the hay bales and a bag of black beans.
Some more from the series:
