Today is just gruesome! The PNW is the beneficiary of yet another atmospheric river of water. On the west side of the Cascades, there is significant flooding. Spokane is in something of a rain shadow due to the Cascade range, but it's been pretty wet here. Today we had fog in the morning, and the later in the day it gets, the thicker it gets. This was taken around 8:30 this morning.
This week we took the bike rack off the jeep. It has to be lowered to get the lift gate up to put groceries and stuff into the car. It's not a big thing, but it's pretty clear outdoor riding season is over. The rack in the garage, so if a miracle occurs and we can ride, it can be reinstalled. I have to laugh at our new temperature cut off for riding, which is about 52F.
This photo was taken New Year's Eve 2006 when we lived in Bellevue, WA. That's Jim on the left, and my brother Laurence on the right. Jim was in recovery from shoving his femur through his acetabulum. Laurence was recovering from robotic surgery for prostate cancer. Both were well on their way to renewed vim and vigor. What we didn't know at the time was that Laurence had early onset Alzheimer's, he died in 2017. Anyway, the first trail we tried to ride that day was frozen over. I think it was this trail. Rather than going home and having hot cocoa, we went to a different trail at a lower altitude and rode there. It looks pretty dang cold. Back then we would ride down to 38, but I think those days may be over.
After removing the bike rack, we gathered up the bags of small styrofoam chunks and giant unbagged pieces of styrofoam and loaded them up into the Jeep. At the rate we were going with stuffing the backlog into the 68 gallon trash container, we had about four more weeks of non-recyclable material hanging around in the garage. We headed out for the transfer station. Ordering on line generates cardboard and styrofoam. I was really surprised to see how much cardboard there was in the trash at the transfer station. Recycling is free, I don't understand why people don't take it to the recycle section.
TDS is still out pulling conduit. I wonder if they will stop for the winter.
Wednesday was a beautiful, if chilly, day. We put on the warm hiking clothes and walked up the hill behind us. There are not a lot of trails up there, which is unfortunate, but it's good for a walk when one must leave the house. There are big rocks up there.
After the walk it was off to Home Depot for fourteen one square foot pavers. There is dry loose dirt along side of the house, and the neighborhood cats poop there. Hopefully the pavers will encourage them to go somewhere else. I am of two minds about cats wandering freely.
In news of the good, Steve Bannon has been indicted by a federal grand jury on two counts of defying a subpoena issued by Congress. I hope they send the US Marshals after him and take him out in hand cuffs on network news.
We have no date for when they will come out with the shower door. I'm getting used to the bath tub downstairs, so it's not the end of the world. It's a small bathroom, and it's actually pretty warm in there.
That's it! That's all I've got.
those rocks are hefty! What a glorious walk!
ReplyDeleteGood idea with the pavers and the cats poop. Our cats were always in and out cats. Freedom to roam but they always came home to use the damned litter box because that is what you do...Poo at home. They stayed close by until they got old and then they tried to die elsewhere. One succeeded.
I'm envious of your beautiful walk. We are indeed drowning over here on the west side. Ugh.
ReplyDeleteOur cats were always of the in/out variety,too, and if I ever got another it would feel odd to keep them trapped inside. They usually stayed right on our land and came in every night, but we did lose one to the big world beyond - likely to a fisher in the woods.
ReplyDeletePretty views when you get out and walk.
ReplyDeleteThose rocks are immense and very pretty in their own way. A walking path would be a good addition to the area.
ReplyDeleteMy cats are/were indoor cats. I always figured by the time I had them spayed and vaccinated they were worth too much money to allow them to roam free. Of course, I live in the city and the dangers of traffic are too real.
I admire the level of fitness you and Jim maintain.
ReplyDeleteYou just went from one extreme to another as far as climate goes. And people don't recycle the easiest things like cardboard because Americans are lazy and they just don't give a fuck. When I started volunteering at SHARE I was appalled that they put all the cardboard in the dumpster. I put a stop to that and take it to the recycling bin in town.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard the word "acetabulum." I had to look it up! I can't even imagine how painful THAT injury must have been.
ReplyDeleteWe recycle here but I was dismayed by a recent TV report that said a lot of our recycling goes to the incinerator anyway, along with all the rest of the garbage. Apparently there's just not enough of a market for the recycled products, or they're not "cost effective" or something. Drives me crazy.
I am also of two minds about wandering cats. When I had cats they stayed indoors all the time. Some people think it's mean, but the birds were appreciative.
So many Americans "try" to recycle cardboard, but refuse to break boxes down to lie it flat, or leave the plastic packaging inside, that it gets rejected by the recycling companies. As someone else said, we Americans are too damn lazy for our own good. We are absolutely killing the poor planet. Barry and I try to make up for the slackers, but one couple can only do so much, vs. so many who either don't try, or try but not hard enough, or just don't know enough to try. Makes me glad we don't have kids or grandkids -- what kind of world are we leaving to the younger generations?
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