Just got home from cocktails with Jay Livey and Chris Ashenbrenner - good friends from my Health and Social Services Days.
Jay was Commissioner of the department in the waning days of the Tony Knowles Administration - he was foolish enough to make me one of his deputies. He had served as a deputy commissioner for many years prior to his elevation to Commissioner and he and I were noon hour gym buddies for a long time.
We were both pretty religious about our workouts - a well known fact which I'm sure was exploited by others who calculated that any 11 AM meeting was more than likely going to end promptly at noon if Jay and/or Elmer was presiding. Jay is leaving tomorrow for Seattle where he and his wife, Vivian, now have a home. He will be back in August - he's working off-and-on for Lyman Hoffman, one of the Co-Chairs of the Senate Finance Committee. I think the world of my former leader.
Chris just started (today) as the Juneau staff person for our new U.S. Senator Mark Begich. She was the Director of Public Assistance in the good ol' days and has more recently been working with the domestic violence community whose internal politics are even more convoluted than Alaskan fisheries politics. She is one GREAT gal.
But now to the REAL news. The weather. Next week is summer. We may get more...but I know better than to count on it. Highs near 80 FUCKING DEGREES! Whoo Hoo! Clearing off on Saturday night...good through Friday.
I am going to recreate 'till hell won't have it.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
A Day of Rest
Whew! Been busy the past few days. When the sun is shining I feel COMPELLED to be outdoors. I've actually run out of things to do in auntie's yard - unless I want to start defoliating the jungle in the back and build more rock gardens there - which seems pretty pointless since nobody would see it except me.
Mom has taken to going out and doing yard work very early in the morning...so there's nothing for me to do garden-wise when I roll that way between 9 and 10 AM. When I showed-up a couple of days ago she was just finishing raking the grass. She did let me put the mower away. She is enjoying herself and her garden so I do not chastise her for overdoing it. Hope to hell I'm raking the yard if I make 82.
I've spent a boatload of bucks at the various gardening establishments - lots of annuals and a few perennials for Emilie's yard and a couple of flats for mom as a belated Mother's Day gift - the flats filled to her exact specifications, of course. She has taken to rearranging the annuals in the various beds and planters on an almost daily basis - it's pretty funny - but what the hell? Like I said, she is really enjoying her garden.
I still need to replace some fence posts and boards at the elders - but for some reason that is the one project that does not move me. Maybe later this week... I did stack cord of wood #3 yesterday and split a number of rounds. Worked up a good sweat. By the time I was through it started to rain so went home and changed clothes and then had a good workout at the club. I am meeting my exercise quota.
I've also been walking the airport dike trail regularly and went out and wandered around the west side of Mendenhall Lake a couple of days ago. Quite a bit of ice on the lake.
I think I'm beginning to get the hang of taking pictures of warblers and other small tweety birds. The secret is to take LOTS of pics and then toss all but the one or two that are actually worth keeping. They are elusive little buggers. I have a 1.4x extender for my 70-200mm zoom lens - still marginal for this kind of work - but I have lots of time to devote to this silliness and am working on that patience thing.
Yellow Warbler doing the warbling thing
At least I'm pretty sure it's a Yellow Warbler. It's possible it is an Orange Crowned Warbler which looks quite similar. I have plumped for the Yellow Warbler because it's song was complex - unlike the Orange Crowned Warbler which makes a simple trill. My bird book says the song of the Yellow Warbler is "sweet-sweet-sweet-setta-see-see-whew." Huh? Not sure about that; but like I say the song WAS complex. Birders and their descriptions of bird songs are as punctilious as wine snobs describing the nose of a good cabernet.
Mendenhall Lake on a beautiful spring day
Well, it's raining today - so I think I'll take the day off - except for a workout, of course. I've got blisters on both hands and my feet are sore - the tribulations of manual labor. Sure could use a hot-rock massage...
Finally, for those of you who know my wonderful daughter, Amanda, here is a link to her new blog "Camp Campington" which she will use to keep us posted on what I'm sure will be an eventful summer as a counselor at one of Paul Newman's "Hole-in-the-Wall" camps for medically needy kiddos. http://amandakrafft.blogspot.com/
Mom has taken to going out and doing yard work very early in the morning...so there's nothing for me to do garden-wise when I roll that way between 9 and 10 AM. When I showed-up a couple of days ago she was just finishing raking the grass. She did let me put the mower away. She is enjoying herself and her garden so I do not chastise her for overdoing it. Hope to hell I'm raking the yard if I make 82.
I've spent a boatload of bucks at the various gardening establishments - lots of annuals and a few perennials for Emilie's yard and a couple of flats for mom as a belated Mother's Day gift - the flats filled to her exact specifications, of course. She has taken to rearranging the annuals in the various beds and planters on an almost daily basis - it's pretty funny - but what the hell? Like I said, she is really enjoying her garden.
I still need to replace some fence posts and boards at the elders - but for some reason that is the one project that does not move me. Maybe later this week... I did stack cord of wood #3 yesterday and split a number of rounds. Worked up a good sweat. By the time I was through it started to rain so went home and changed clothes and then had a good workout at the club. I am meeting my exercise quota.
I've also been walking the airport dike trail regularly and went out and wandered around the west side of Mendenhall Lake a couple of days ago. Quite a bit of ice on the lake.
I think I'm beginning to get the hang of taking pictures of warblers and other small tweety birds. The secret is to take LOTS of pics and then toss all but the one or two that are actually worth keeping. They are elusive little buggers. I have a 1.4x extender for my 70-200mm zoom lens - still marginal for this kind of work - but I have lots of time to devote to this silliness and am working on that patience thing.
Yellow Warbler doing the warbling thing
At least I'm pretty sure it's a Yellow Warbler. It's possible it is an Orange Crowned Warbler which looks quite similar. I have plumped for the Yellow Warbler because it's song was complex - unlike the Orange Crowned Warbler which makes a simple trill. My bird book says the song of the Yellow Warbler is "sweet-sweet-sweet-setta-see-see-whew." Huh? Not sure about that; but like I say the song WAS complex. Birders and their descriptions of bird songs are as punctilious as wine snobs describing the nose of a good cabernet.
Mendenhall Lake on a beautiful spring day
Well, it's raining today - so I think I'll take the day off - except for a workout, of course. I've got blisters on both hands and my feet are sore - the tribulations of manual labor. Sure could use a hot-rock massage...
Finally, for those of you who know my wonderful daughter, Amanda, here is a link to her new blog "Camp Campington" which she will use to keep us posted on what I'm sure will be an eventful summer as a counselor at one of Paul Newman's "Hole-in-the-Wall" camps for medically needy kiddos. http://amandakrafft.blogspot.com/
Monday, May 25, 2009
Dead Relatives Day
Happy Memorial Day everyone - although come to think of it - perhaps you are not supposed to be happy on Memorial Day. Given the nature of the holiday I would suppose somber, sober, and reverential ought to trump happy as the emotion of the day.
But that is not the AMERICAN way. No sirree. In the good ol' US of A we celebrate our fallen heroes the way THEY would like to celebrate - had they not had the misfortune of waking-up dead on some battlefield - by firing up the BBQ, consuming copious amounts of alcohol, and (in sunny climes, at least) ogling hotties in swimwear.
At least that's the way it works in families with members under the age of 65. Unfortunately, in my family in Juneau, I am the only one under that benchmark age and therefore we default to the somber, sober, and reverential approach.
Indeed, we celebrate the holiday one day early to avoid the crowds at Evergreen Cemetery. Last night we had a spartan pot roast dinner and immediately thereafter my sister Linda and I packed my jeep with potted flowers and gardening implements and headed to town for the annual visit with the dead relatives.
There are a number of them: Grandma and Grandpa Newman, Linda's late husband Russ, and Aunt Emilie's daughter Janis are all planted together near the Gross Mausoleum. My dad's father, Eli, and sister, Ingaborg, share a condominium headstone on the other side of the road that bisects the cemetery. The only one absent is Uncle Bud who opted to have his ashes buried and a big aluminum headstone erected down at the hunting cabin on Buck Island. Just to piss-off and inconvenience the Forest Service on whose land the cabin is situated, I'm sure.
But I digress. Back at Evergreen Cemetery headstones were scraped and brushed and holes dug to hold the potted plants. Respects were paid and we motored back to my folks' place.
This ritual has gone on for at least the last 35 years - since Grandpa Newman died in 1974. Grandma died the following year and before she passed made my mom promise that we would put flowers on their graves every Memorial Day - or she would come back and haunt us. Mom has been very diligent about keeping her word.
But that is not the AMERICAN way. No sirree. In the good ol' US of A we celebrate our fallen heroes the way THEY would like to celebrate - had they not had the misfortune of waking-up dead on some battlefield - by firing up the BBQ, consuming copious amounts of alcohol, and (in sunny climes, at least) ogling hotties in swimwear.
At least that's the way it works in families with members under the age of 65. Unfortunately, in my family in Juneau, I am the only one under that benchmark age and therefore we default to the somber, sober, and reverential approach.
Indeed, we celebrate the holiday one day early to avoid the crowds at Evergreen Cemetery. Last night we had a spartan pot roast dinner and immediately thereafter my sister Linda and I packed my jeep with potted flowers and gardening implements and headed to town for the annual visit with the dead relatives.
There are a number of them: Grandma and Grandpa Newman, Linda's late husband Russ, and Aunt Emilie's daughter Janis are all planted together near the Gross Mausoleum. My dad's father, Eli, and sister, Ingaborg, share a condominium headstone on the other side of the road that bisects the cemetery. The only one absent is Uncle Bud who opted to have his ashes buried and a big aluminum headstone erected down at the hunting cabin on Buck Island. Just to piss-off and inconvenience the Forest Service on whose land the cabin is situated, I'm sure.
But I digress. Back at Evergreen Cemetery headstones were scraped and brushed and holes dug to hold the potted plants. Respects were paid and we motored back to my folks' place.
This ritual has gone on for at least the last 35 years - since Grandpa Newman died in 1974. Grandma died the following year and before she passed made my mom promise that we would put flowers on their graves every Memorial Day - or she would come back and haunt us. Mom has been very diligent about keeping her word.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Birdies
The last batch of spring vacation pics has now been posted on my Kodak Gallery site. It was a great vacation. I would rate the cruise experience as a whole at 3 1/2 stars (out of a possible 5). The Zuiderdam sailed over 7,000 miles from Ft. Lauderdale to Vancouver. That's a lot of miles.
I had no problem amusing myself with 21 days on the ship. The only downside of a three week cruise is that the passengers are, on average, about 75 years old. Nightlife is not all that hotsie-totsie with the geezers. As an antidote, I heartily recommend getting to know the young theater crowd - you can find them in the disco after the second theater show. They party on the graveyard shift.
I will certainly cruise again; but have probably had enough of the Caribbean for the foreseeable future. I would not rule out a Baltic or Mediterranean cruise as early as next summer however. Down the road a bit, an Asian cruise would be fun too.
Meanwhile, time to think about this fall. I'm considering a New England leaf-peeping adventure and there's an interesting trans-Canada train trip that would take me from Vancouver to Toronto: www.canadiantrainvacations.com/home The damn choo-choo is way more expensive than a cruise; but it's something I've wanted to do for some time. Stay tuned...
First, of course, there's summer to enjoy here in the Great Land. And I will enjoy it - if the weather is as nice as it's been since I got back. I've been working outdoors almost every day. Thatched a number of yards. Emilie's place looks pretty damn good - if I do say so myself. And yesterday I hauled and stacked the second of what I expect will be eight or nine cords of wood.
This next week I will repair the fence at my folk's place and will make several garbage dump runs. And I need to plant more annuals at auntie's. And I'm looking forward to some hiking...
Day before yesterday I walked the airport dike trail. Took a bunch of birdie pictures - most of which were undistinguished. Except for the two below.
I believe this is a Yellow-Rumped Warbler.
Some sort of U.S. Navy spy plane
I had no problem amusing myself with 21 days on the ship. The only downside of a three week cruise is that the passengers are, on average, about 75 years old. Nightlife is not all that hotsie-totsie with the geezers. As an antidote, I heartily recommend getting to know the young theater crowd - you can find them in the disco after the second theater show. They party on the graveyard shift.
I will certainly cruise again; but have probably had enough of the Caribbean for the foreseeable future. I would not rule out a Baltic or Mediterranean cruise as early as next summer however. Down the road a bit, an Asian cruise would be fun too.
Meanwhile, time to think about this fall. I'm considering a New England leaf-peeping adventure and there's an interesting trans-Canada train trip that would take me from Vancouver to Toronto: www.canadiantrainvacations.com/home The damn choo-choo is way more expensive than a cruise; but it's something I've wanted to do for some time. Stay tuned...
First, of course, there's summer to enjoy here in the Great Land. And I will enjoy it - if the weather is as nice as it's been since I got back. I've been working outdoors almost every day. Thatched a number of yards. Emilie's place looks pretty damn good - if I do say so myself. And yesterday I hauled and stacked the second of what I expect will be eight or nine cords of wood.
This next week I will repair the fence at my folk's place and will make several garbage dump runs. And I need to plant more annuals at auntie's. And I'm looking forward to some hiking...
Day before yesterday I walked the airport dike trail. Took a bunch of birdie pictures - most of which were undistinguished. Except for the two below.
I believe this is a Yellow-Rumped Warbler.
Some sort of U.S. Navy spy planeThe navy bird is very mysterious. He shot a half-dozen touch-and-goes. Very odd. The only thing I could think of is that the Juneau terrain must resemble some other far-off place in which the U.S. Navy has an interest. Or maybe they were just out joyriding. Who can say?
Well...just googled U.S. Navy 707 and up came this on the E6-B Mercury, aka "Looking Glass."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-6_Mercury
Well...just googled U.S. Navy 707 and up came this on the E6-B Mercury, aka "Looking Glass."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-6_Mercury
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Panama Canal Pictures Posted
Hey kids! I just added pics of the Panama Canal to my Kodak Gallery site - click on the link on the right of the blog and away you go. There will be one more set of pics posted later in the week...
In local news, it's been gardening madness - the weather has been picture perfect and I've been working outdoors every day. Yesterday was the official end of the thatching season. I celebrated with a decent bottle of pinot noir and a Bullwinkles pizza while enjoying the sunshine on my deck. It's clouded up a bit; but it's still quite nice this morning. I will wander over to the elders and survey the fence that needs to be replaced.
In other news, I see that Terry's neighborhood of Ballard has made the paper a couple of times this week. The first story involves a black bear that has managed to wander through the Magnolia neighborhood, across Ballard and into the Shoreline district without being apprehended by the authorities.
Later kids.
In local news, it's been gardening madness - the weather has been picture perfect and I've been working outdoors every day. Yesterday was the official end of the thatching season. I celebrated with a decent bottle of pinot noir and a Bullwinkles pizza while enjoying the sunshine on my deck. It's clouded up a bit; but it's still quite nice this morning. I will wander over to the elders and survey the fence that needs to be replaced.
In other news, I see that Terry's neighborhood of Ballard has made the paper a couple of times this week. The first story involves a black bear that has managed to wander through the Magnolia neighborhood, across Ballard and into the Shoreline district without being apprehended by the authorities.
Though police and wildlife agents have glimpsed the bear at different points during their search, the bear dodged his would-be captors. "It was running down the roads, down through backyards," said Department of Fish and Wildlife officer Bruce Richards who tracked the bear overnight. "All of a sudden it would go over a fence."
Gee, imagine that. Guess Washington State Fish and Wildlife guys just don't get much experience with this sort of thing. The citizenry is offering lots of advice - my favourite being the following from a Seattle Times reader:
They must be using the wrong bait ... maybe they should try a pic-a-nic basket.
Jennifer Roach hasn't a drop of Norwegian blood in her, but on Sunday she donned a wool costume and whirled for an hour in the hot sun to Scandinavian folk tunes played Victrola-like through speakers on a Ballard street corner.I can't imagine what could be much more fun than twirling in the hot sun in a wool costume - so you can imagine my indignation when I received an email from Ms. Harrigan grousing about the traffic congestion caused by the parade. OOFTA!
Later kids.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Spring Clean-Up
Sorry I haven't posted; but I've been having a ton of fun working in my aunt's yard. By the end of day three I have completed general weeding and clean-up and doused the lawn with moss kill in preparation for thatching. God I love working in the yard! And the best is yet to come - serious plant shopping. Woohoo!
I have not made much progress on photoshopping - I attempted to download all my pics last evening and my ageing computer balked. In fact it just plain crashed. Plan B: I will download all the pics directly to my external hard drive. But that won't happen today.
Just finished a bottle of wine and a HUGE steak with a baked spud and a bunch of brocolli. Yum. I will now repair to the recliner whereupon I plan to devour a large bowl of popcorn and another glass of milk. I'm ALMOST glad to be home.
The weather has been great! Sadly it appears to be clouding over tonight.
Later kids.
I have not made much progress on photoshopping - I attempted to download all my pics last evening and my ageing computer balked. In fact it just plain crashed. Plan B: I will download all the pics directly to my external hard drive. But that won't happen today.
Just finished a bottle of wine and a HUGE steak with a baked spud and a bunch of brocolli. Yum. I will now repair to the recliner whereupon I plan to devour a large bowl of popcorn and another glass of milk. I'm ALMOST glad to be home.
The weather has been great! Sadly it appears to be clouding over tonight.
Later kids.
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