Fall Turns Cold and Wet

Ack.  We were about a week too late getting the grass replanted.   It has gone from being a delightful fall in the Inland Empire to being cold and damp.  Last year this time it was delightful, it was just a treat.  The wretched bird that lives in the big tree next to one of the grass sites has discovered the grass seed.  We put it down thickly, so hopefully he will not eat all of it.  It's always something.  The other grass seed site has a lot of original grass which is looking very happy and it's growing now that it is surrounded by composted steer manure.  It spreads by runner so even if the seeds don't come up, the original grass may spread and cover the bare spots. 

I realize none of you are particularly interested in this, but if I don't write it down, it fades from memory.

There has been riding to the lake, riding on the Aubrey L White parkway.  Things were looking particularly autumnal that day.

A rabbit has been visiting frequently.  He, at least, stays out of the grass seed.  He likes to sit in the shade of one of the cone shaped trees.  In the first photo, notice that his ears are up.  He's comfortable, and happy.  We were several feet away, using the telephoto setting on Jim's camera.

Here he's aware of us, ears are down, he's not moving.  They seem to think that if they're perfectly still, we can't see them.  Soon after, he made a run for the neighbor's yard.

The Rose of Sharon continues to grow too tall, bloom too much, and drop spent flowers everywhere.  Next spring we're taking four feet off it's height.  I hate trimming things with a hedge trimmer while standing on a ladder, it's too painful for the aged.

Here is a photo of the Japanese lantern, in the afternoon sun.

As you know, the UAW is on strike.  Politicians like Nikki Haley are saying stupid things like that if Biden is pro-union, the workers will start wanting things.  Things like a share of corporate profits, for one thing.  CEO payment in one of the car companies is 400 times the pay of the people who actually do the work that generates profit.  Tim Scott has come out with, if you strike you're fired.  The orange ectoplasm announced that he would skip the next Republican debate to go spend time with the striking workers.  I thought the UAW response was right on point.

So that's it!  That's all I've got.

Riding and Planting Grass

Greetings, Fellow Humans. It's nearly fall in the Inland Empire.  That's what it's called here, really.  It's not so hot as it was.  

There has been purchasing, in defiance of the non-acquisition fatwa.  Two new bikes managed to make their way into the house.  The first bikes we bought had lower end components to keep the price down.  We had wanted the bikes with the next level up of components, but the supply chain said no.  Anyway, after looking in to the cost of a new derailleur, and associated components, we decided it wasn't worth the cost.

So we bought new mid-level bikes.  The main attraction of two more bikes is that we can leave two in Tucson and quit towing that wretched trailer.  We'll leave the bike rack in Tucson for the day we decide we're too old to keep making the drive twice a year.  Look at the paint on these, it's really cool what it does in the sun.

There has been yard work.  Yay!  Grass lawns are a pain in the butt.  One corner of the yard had a crab grass infestation.  Do you know about crab grass?  It's an annual weed.  It puts out prodigious amounts of seed in the fall.  It chokes out the good grass by spreading along the ground, and in general looks bad.  So, we spent a few days digging it up.  You would not believe the roots they put out, reminds me of day lilies. A pitch fork was required to get under them and lift. There is sort of a trench running around the edge of the yard, caused by years of string trimmers edging.  That needed to be preserved, so we dug to within about two inches of the edge.  Then there was a fun part - a weed burner.

The crab grass is gone, the structural integrity of the yard is preserved.  Now there will be spreading of lawn dirt, seeding, raking and spreading of composted steer manure.

There has been riding out on the Aubrey White parkway.  In the pretty neighborhood there is road between the houses and the river.  The riverside part of the yards are very lush and green. 

We have turkeys.  These people have peacocks.  I think I'll take the turkeys, they make way less noise.

Oh yes,  there was scrubbing of the deck.  It's an annual event, beloved by all.  As much sun as it gets back there, I'm always amazed at the amount of moss and algae that grows out there.

So that's it; riding, scrubbing, and yard work.

Local Photos and Things That are Bad

Long time, no post.  My tendency towards procrastination is getting worse.  That's going to have to stop soon, because it will be time to pack and load the wagons for points south.  At least I will have something new to take pictures of.  Even I am getting bored with pictures of the rock. 

We've walked up the big hill a couple of times.  The weather has not been spectacular as of late, and between that and killing things in the yard there has been less riding.  We're going to have to buck up and realize that summer is on the wane and dress more warmly.  Here is said rock at the top of the hill.

We saw this deer a few times.  She would look at us for awhile, and then run ahead, then we'd see her again.  She has sort of a come hither look.

This is a younger deer in someone's yard.  Mom is in there but you can't see her because of the grape vine.

We were up there today and saw this addition to the woods.  It's a sea monster, I think it's made from vines.

Jim got a new compressor.  We have a tire that we thought had a slow leak.  Les Schwab says it doesn't, so I do not know why it keeps losing air.  Anyway, now there is a very manly way to inflate the tires.  Note the ear defenders, the thing is amazingly loud.

There was a gorgeous sunset the other night.  It was very close to being Tucson quality gaudy.

Rolling Stone has put up an excellent article on the lack of water in the west.  It's from a new book called River Notes.  It's very interesting and well worth reading.  Below is a paragraph that was particularly horrifying.

The future unfortunately is now. The entire story of the Grand Canyon is one of wind, water, silt, and sand. Since the Glen Canyon Dam went up sixty years ago, the equivalent of sixty-one supersized Mississippi River barge-loads of sand and mud have been deposited in Lake Powell every day. The total accumulation would bury the length of Manhattan to a depth of 126 feet — close to the height of a twelve-storey building. As the reservoir has shrunk, this silt, exposed to the sun, has formed what can best be described as mud glaciers. As lake levels fall, a gradient is formed, down which these massive sediment accretions are moving at a rate of a hundred feet or more per day toward the dam. Should they reach and plug the dam, threatening the integrity of the structure, the only option would be to bore tunnels at the base of the dam, allowing the sediments to pass, while killing for good the reservoir. “That natural sediment load,” notes Jack Schmidt, director of the Center for Colorado River Studies at Utah State University, “cannot be blocked from the sea forever.”

If they lose the reservoir, they can't generate electricity.  So, that's it then, the SW is going to die.  It continues to amaze me that so much manufacturing that requires water is being built in AZ.  The Saudis continue to grow alfalfa and pump ground water with wild abandon to do so. 

In other news, I believe Dr. Fauci has taken leave of his senses.  During the administration of the orange ectoplasm, Fauci was the voice of reason.  This has changed as of late.  In an interview with the BBC he said the following:"Even though you'll find the vulnerable will will fall by the wayside, they'll get infected, they'll get hospitalized, and some will die. It's not going to be this tsunami of cases that we've seen."  So, I guess it's ok if the vulnerable die.  If you want to watch the interview, it's on twitter here.  Later he was on CNN (also known as Fox-lite) and the talking head was discussing the Cochrane study that said masking did not work.  That study has been debunked from all corners of the scientific community, but Fauci just sat there and let him say it.

I am presently confounded by the Biden administration's approach to the current Covid surge.  The CDC continues to advocate for hand washing, but there is no mention what so ever about masking or clean air.  Waste water studies are showing it's on the rise, but no one seems to be taking it seriously or suggesting any kind of mitigation strategy.  Most likely there will be no real action taken until after the 2024 election.

For all of you punctuation people, and you know who you are, there is this.

That's it, that's all I've got.

This Plant Must Go

We're tired!  Tuesday we took out a giant Barberry that was intent on world domination.  I do not, and will not ever understand the thinking of the previous owners when it came to planting giant bushes and trees close to the house or to each other.  Our most excellent neighbor was out Tuesday morning pulling a tree out of his front yard with a webbing strap and his pick up truck.  I asked him if maybe he would like to pull out the Barberry, and he said sure.  It's pretty cool, put strap around base of trunk, let truck pull it out.  

It's been cut back twice this year, but it keeps on growing.  The wood is bright yellow, which is weird.  Neighbor came back with his chain saw and cut off the root ball, and then chunked up the top section of the bush.

There was a lot of vegetation to deal with.  We borrowed a neighbor's yard waste container and filled it and ours on Tuesday.

The two cans took care of about 2/3 of the bush, this morning yard waste was collected, and then we went out and cleaned up the rest of the corpse.  It is so nice to have this done and have that wretched bush removed.  Timing was good, it started raining Tuesday afternoon, all night, and all day yesterday.

So much better now that it's gone.

Last night was the first night we turned on the furnace.  It was really damp and cold.  Yes, I know cold is relative, but I was cold. 

I read an alarming article by Thom Hartmann this morning.  It's a really long read, but worth it.  He describes in detail what the orange ectoplasm has in mind to do if he's re-elected.  It is absolutely necessary that this does not happen.  A short form was on twitter today.

I'm not sure how they get around the fact that most of those federal workers are unionized, but I guess they believe they'll think of something.

Well, there is dinner to be made, so I think I will not talk about the trials and the fact that Mark Meadows perjured himself when he said he was not involved in the fake electors scandal and I really hope he gets charged with perjury on top of everything else.

Alleged Felons and Riding

Well, it's been a productive week.  The 19 people named by DA Willis in Fulton County have all had their mug shots taken, as well as their finger prints.  The truly sad part of the process is that they weren't weighed and measured.  Unsurprisingly, the orange ectoplasm claims to be 6 foot 3 and 215 pounds.  Right, then.  So far, Chesebro and Syndey Powell (she who released the Kraken) have requested speedy trials.  Orange ectoplasm will want to drag it out as long as possible, so they're effectively severing their cases from his.  Three of the fake electors in Georgia are now claiming they signed the paper work on direct orders from the president, so they were acting as federal agents, or something.  As was demonstrated in the D.C. case, he who flips first gets the best deal.  They're all a bunch of rats on a sinking ship.

Wednesday we got a ride in.  It was a chilly little ride, we were wearing vests and fuzzy arm warmers.  Out at the lake we saw this group of kids.  They're all been in the water, and now they're standing around wet.  Eventually, they would all be herded on to kayaks for more fun.

After riding, we drove up to Costco for TDaP boosters.  Our former PCP encouraged all of her patients to get boosted every 10 years.  This was relatively painless.  What with all of the anti-vax stuff going on, I do not ever want to get Pertussis from an unvaccinated kid that walks by me coughing.  If you're around children, it's a useful vaccination.  The pharmacist at Costco said he got RSV from another adult last Thanksgiving, and that it was pretty terrible.  I had been thinking that since we are not around kids we didn't have to do that one, but his experience suggests that maybe we should.  So, we've got three more needle sticks in the future, RSV, flu and Covid.  I'm starting to feel like a child getting back to school shots.

Today we rode back out to the lake.  It was warmer, but cloudy.  The ducks were out, begging.  People feed them.  Bad people.

MSNBC put up a schedule for upcoming orange ectoplasm events.  He's going to be busy.

So that's it!  That's all I have.

Rain and a Flipping Witness

We had another day of not riding.  This morning, it was raining.  After awhile it rained really hard.  Hopefully it rained on the local fires.  Apparently the fixed wing aircraft have not been able to get out and dump retardant and water, because the smoke is too bad.  It's the kind that stays lower to the ground and obscures visibility.  After the hard rain the new Red Twig Dogwoods looked like this.  They're never happy.

Today a key witness in the documents case, Yuscil Taveras, has recanted his previous testimony that there had been no tampering with evidence, and has now detailed what he saw happen at Mar A Lardo.

From the Daily Beast we learn the following: 

... after dumping his lawyer, Stanley Woodward, for another attorney offered up by the federal defender’s office in Washington, Taveras quickly reversed course.

“Immediately after receiving new counsel,” Smith’s office said in the filing, Taveras retracted his prior testimony and “provided information that implicated” Trump and his two alleged co-conspirators “in efforts to delete security camera footage.”

Sources familiar with the matter told ABC News that Taveras’ decision to switch lawyers and cooperate with Smith’s office came after he received a target letter from Smith in June, indicating he knew Taveras had perjured himself during his grand jury testimony, and warning of possible criminal charges.

So, did Woodward suborn perjury?  Was this obstruction of justice?  Inquiring minds want to know, and want the orange ectoplasm to go to jail for something - anything.  You can read more about this here.

That's it!  That's all I've got.