Reveille

Hey kids! I'm feeling much better...still a cough and a drippy schnoz...but much better.

And speaking of drippy...that remains the weather forecast for the foreseeable future. No big storms. No big wind. Just overcast and occasional rain...for the next week. On the other hand, I noted in the Oregonian this morning that Portland has got a wonderful warm weekend forecast. Hope you cats get out and enjoy it!

In other news, the hounds and I continue to get to know one another. Tucson is getting in shape. We travel a little further each day and he is no longer limping by the end of the walk. I have scrounged a bit of plywood to serve as a ramp to get him up the first couple of steps to the apartment. He is an old man with arthritis.

Tucson has generously taken it upon himself to let Jasper and I know when it's time to roll-out in the morning. His internal clock is very accurate. Tucson sleeps on an old comforter right beside my bed and he starts bathing himself promptly at 5:30 AM. Slurping, shaking of the jowls, and an occasional sneeze continue for about fifteen minutes at which time he rises and heads to the living room where I have placed the water dish. More slurping. A good shake and a sneeze. Then back to the bedroom for the main event.

Tucson is a very talented percussionist and the confines of my bedroom provide him with a near perfect venue. Every morning he demonstrates his virtuosity by beating-out a tatoo with his tail. This morning he was seriously into reggae - a remarkable steel drum solo accomplished using a brass bedpost as the instrument. Yesterday, he went for the traditional Japanese drum effect - the hollow core sliding closet door makes a nice BIG sound. Enough to wake the dead in fact. Reveille with Tucson.

Meanwhile Jasper and I have reached an understanding. He pretends to respect my authority and I overlook a number of his minor transgressions like his obsessive/compulsive harrying of his squeaky sex toy.

The three of us are very much enjoying our daily walks - usually on the airport dike trail. The wetlands are now fully greened and the Spring wildflowers are in bloom with the lupine and buttercups leading the show.

Less obvious, but very pretty in their own right, lots of other wildflowers can be found both on the dike and on the wetlands.

A Chocolate Lily on the Airport Dike Trail

I don't know what this is...almost looks like Astilbe. It's about 8 inches tall and quite showy.

Have a great weekend everybody!

A Day of Rest

I woke up about 2 a.m. with a sore throat and by breakfast time it had already progressed to a full-blown cold. I feel pretty crappy.

So...skipped the workout today and contented myself with some computer maintenance and photo shuffling. Note that most of the pics previously posted to the right are gone - however they are now on my Kodak website if, for some strange reason, you miss them. There are probably a few other pics posted there that have not previously been posted on the blog - so if you're bored, you can give them a look.

I do want to post a couple of new collages on the blog. The first, a happy 79th birthday present to Marian Harrigan and another of Terry and her best pal, Pogo the Irish Greyhound.

Terry and her beloved Irish Greyhound, Pogo. Seattle March, 2008.

The Harrigans - photos courtesy of Terry's Uncle Bob taken around 1959.

Well, I'm going to rally and take the hounds for a walk. They have been glaring at me for several hours. More later...

Let Loose the Hounds

On Friday morning I took Joan Kasson to the airport. She's spending a couple of weeks with her folks in the Boise area. I readily agreed to board her two hounds - Tucson, the Basset Hound, and Jasper, the Dachshund. I'm also stopping by her house daily to feed Skelter the cat.

The hounds and I are still working out the living arrangements. My apartment seems smaller all of a sudden. Jasper and I are engaged in a deep philosophical discussion regarding the nature and use of power and authority. Jasper thinks he is lead dog; and I feel compelled to differ. To date I have more-or-less prevailed simply by force majeure; but I suspect the coniving little bastard is plotting a break-out.

Above: Jasper searches for a weakness in the security fence. "The screws think this place will hold me - but it's just a matter of time before I'm on the lam"

I am a longstanding Basset Hound fan. And Tucson is a fine representative of the breed. Tucson is a live-and-let-live kinda guy. He is amiable. He is well behaved. He does not make unreasonable demands. In short, he is a gentleman - although perhaps not the brightest star in the firmament.

Above: Jasper is a bad influence on Tucson. "Tell me the rabbit story, Jasper!"

Dachshunds, or at least Jasper, has none of these endearing qualities. He pesters. He plots and schemes. He is self-centered to the point of megalomania. He wakes up his roomates in the middle of the night by noisily copulating with his squeaky sex toy. He's a pain in the ass.

Above: Jasper's squeaky sex toy.

Stay tuned for more on the adventures of Elmer, Jasper and Tucson!

Family and Felons

Sorry no birdie pics. I got carried away with the vin rouge on Friday night and was unwilling to muster for the dawn patrol. As pennance, I spent the afternoon working in Emilie's yard.

Yesterday, I played tour guide to my Seattle-based cousin, Anne Marie, and her husband, Gene. Dad came along for the ride. Both dad and Gene are deaf as posts and my ears are still ringing from all the shouting in the confines of my Jeep.

After the tour we convened at the elders for pineapple upside-down cake and coffee. And a serious airing of the grievances that included (but was certainly not limited to) George W. Bush, the price of gas, the price of food, immigrants, aches and pains, and other relatives (both living and deceased). I won't bore you with the details; but it was kinda like some bizarre mash-up of Archie Bunker and Hillary Clinton as might be produced by Judge Judy. There were just enough tidbits of family history to keep me in the room.

Today's schedule of events includes hauling and spreading another half-ton of gravel in the folks' yard.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Great Land a couple of items from the Anchorage Daily News.

Former State Representative and recently convicted felon Vic Kohring will be spending time as a guest of Uncle Sugar at a prison in Taft, California. Vic thought he was going to be at a Club Fed in Oregon and was outraged to learn otherwise.

"It's a real slap in my face frankly to send me to the desert of southern California," he said.

Online comments posted on this article by my fellow Alaskans suggest that Vic's outrage is not widely shared. Several express the sentiment that what Vic did figuratively to the Alaskan public he deserves to experience quite literally while in prison.

And in other news from Vic's hometown: "A Wasilla man described by acquaintances as 'psycho,' 'crazy' and 'not happy at all' shot and killed himself Sunday, ending a 23-hour standoff with Alaska State Troopers that began after the man allegedly killed a former neighbor"

What's truly appalling about this story is the underlying fatalism of everyone interviewed - this murder was about as surprising as the sun rising in the morning. Life on the Last Frontier. What a bunch of rubes.

Friday Already?

Where did the week go? A short one, admittedly...(at least for you working stiffs); but it seems like the week just flew-by.


Not much to report. I've been doing yard work every day. Today is "gravel day" at the Elders. The weather has been just outstanding.


Tomorrow morning I'm going to join Alison for an Audobon Society walk out at Eagle River. With luck, I will have birdie pics for Monday. That ought to keep you on the edge of your seats.


And I will be playing tour guide for my cousin and her husband on Sunday. They will be here for nine hours off one of the cruise ships.


In the meantime, I leave you with a couple of press clippings - one amusing and one sad.


Dispute over spilled Starbucks mocha ends up in Portland court

The Oregonian, May 30, 2007

The prosecutor turned toward the woman on the witness stand and began her interrogation: Is it or is it not true that you flung the iced venti mocha with extra hazelnut and caramel at the defendant out of anger?

No, answered the woman.

And isn't it true that you also lobbed a capful of whipped cream toward another employee?

No, the woman insisted once again.

In the end, the judge paused for three seconds before announcing that 38-year-old Latasha Curry -- a single mother and counselor for at-risk kids -- was not guilty of misdemeanor harassment.

Washington Post - May 30, 2008

Obituaries
Harvey Korman; Comic Known For 'Burnett,' 'Blazing Saddles'

Harvey Korman, the tall, versatile comedian who won four Emmys for his outrageously funny contributions to "The Carol Burnett Show" and played a conniving politician to hilarious effect in "Blazing Saddles," died May 29 at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. He was 81.

"It takes a certain type of person to be a television star," he said in the 2005 interview. "I didn't have whatever that is. I come across as kind of snobbish and maybe a little too bright. . . . Give me something bizarre to play or put me in a dress and I'm fine."

A Memorable Memorial Day Weekend

LOCAL Juneau Empire

May 25, 2007

Elmer Lindstrom, 93, left, and Ron Leithead spend a little time fishing Sunday at Twin Lakes. Lindstrom said he has lived in Juneau all his life.


A great Memorial Day Weekend. And as you can see, the Old Coot enjoyed it too. He and Ron have gone fishing at Twin Lakes several times this year and have limited-out each time (15 apiece). They have stocked the lakes with King Salmon - they're all pan size and the elders say they are delicious. The beach is about 20 steps from the car and with a chair and a fishing pole he is as happy as a clam at high tide. It appears he is wearing his slippers. And it looks like he has a fish-on.


My landlord has also given me fresh King on several occasions this Spring so the Elders are getting their quota of Omega 3 fatty acids. Dad would eat salmon every day of the week...unlike his son who thinks twice a year is just about right.

I've spent a lot of time fishing with him over the years and the thing that always amazed me is that he gets just as excited with a pan sized trout on the line as he does with a 30 pound King or a 100 pound halibut.

I, too, had a great weekend. The weather has been perfect - clear and a high in the low 70's. All the chores I had planned got done.

• The Saturday thatching bee was a success;


• More vegetation has been planted at my aunt's;


• Auntie's grass has been fertilized;


• The Elder's roof has been swept and the gutters cleaned; and


• Potted plants are sitting on all my dead relatives' graves.

In addition, I actually had some fun. I finally got to get the bike out and have been riding daily. I can bike from my place, to the glacier, then backtrack and take the loop road past the Mendenhall River, ride down the bike trail to Brotherhood Bridge, and back to my digs in just about an hour. It's a good workout and very enjoyable.

Yesterday, I hiked out to the Boy Scout Camp and spent a couple of hours roaming the beach and wetlands. Lots of geese but not much else in the way of wildlife. There were a ton of folks enjoying family picnics on the beach - most came in by skiff. I've posted a couple of pics at right.

Saturday night Alison cooked a particularly delicious supper and Eric and I were invited. Beef shortribs braised in Zinfandel and chicken stock. Risotto with peas and sauteed zuchini, summer squash, and other veggies. Very yummy. And we drank some wine.

Well, time to get dressed and head over to the Elders for coffee. This weeks activities include power washing the trailer and hauling some gravel. I may get today off, however, as the Switzer Village Maintenance Monkeys are supposed to be onsite to repair the fence that they demolished when they were attempting to repair the sewer line last Fall. Perhaps I'll take a bike ride out to Lena Beach...

More later...

Cats

Here's a collage I made for mom on Mother's Day. All her damn cats...both living and deceased.

Testing a new feature that allows me to imbed pics in the narrative of the blog...pretty cool; but apparently you can only have one pic per posting.