Well, long time, no write. I'm forgetting things that I'm supposed to be recording here. First off are the ride temperatures and what we wore.
October 9: 11:50 am start, 61F. We wore the bandanas under our jersey, and the light weight black arm warmers. Starting out was chilly on the down hill section in the shade. The bandanas stayed on the entire ride, arm warmers came off at the lake.
October 13: 12:47 pm start, 64F. It felt colder, so we had on undershirts, the vests, and the light weight black arm warmers. The vests were really good on the downhill in the shade. Vests and arm warmers came off at the lake.
October 15: 12:40 pm start, 69F. Undershirts and the light weight black arm warmers. We had on way too many clothes. The undershirts and arm warmers came off at the lake.
Wednesday, October 12 - flu shots for all. I did not feel nearly so bad
as I did after the Covid booster. Science is predicting a terrible flu
season; you know what to do.
Other than riding and flu shots, there has been a bit of carpentry. The people who put up the sheet rock in the garage did not frame out the windows. They looked pretty awful, it's been bothering Jim since we got here.
We used PVC boards and deck screws. The manufactured wood like MDF will swell in a damp climate, like winter here, so we went with PVC. It's easy to work with and since it's white, did not require painting.
It's amazing to me how much better they look. No one would ever mistake us for finish carpenters, but they do look better.
We bought white vinyl blinds and will be putting them up tomorrow.
Halloween is popular here. Many people have those inflatable decorations set up in the front yard. These people are winning, so far. See the vulture in the back, with the pink head? It moves side to side. I don't really understand the popularity of Halloween, it feels like a Hallmark holiday to me.
There have been sunsets.
The milfoil is really turning green. Interestingly enough, none of the water fowl will eat it. They prefer the grass. Note that the work still has yet to start.
Scenic beauty in the PNW.
This article appeared in my news feed on my phone. It's about Japanese Knotweed, it's a lot of words, but it's an interesting story about how the plant originated on the slopes of a Japanese volcano, was collected by an English man, and is now running amok in the UK. Apparently its presence in the garden will decrease the value of your home by 5 to 15 percent. This was the most impressive factoid.
Removing the weed completely is extremely difficult, and essentially involves extracting the land itself – digging at least 5m (16.4ft) deep and disposing of the whole lot almost as if it were radioactive. If anything is left behind, it can return again and again – regenerating from the tiniest of fragments, and ambushing gardeners up to 20 years after it has seemingly vanished. One study found that Japanese knotweed could regrow from a root fragment that's just 0.3g (0.01oz) – around the weight of a pinch of salt.
This puts kudzu to shame. At the end of the article, they briefly touch on the horrors of Giant Hogweed. It's an interesting read about how planting things where they don't belong can be very bad.
The organization Mothers Against Abbott has a killer commercial out. Abbott would be the governor of Texas, one of the many states who have banned abortion. It's really worth watching. CLICK HERE to play the video. Make sure you stay until the end.
So, I will leave you with this photo of a hummingbird eating a bug on the wing.
That's it, that's all I've got.
Update to post: Jim Rae mowed 10/13 and that was the last time for the year. They quit after the second week in October. Please make a note of this.
That is an excellent video. Well done.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sick of the Men in Charge. And angry about how they think they should control us all. It feels hopeless sometimes. People love scary stuff, dressing up and candy! Halloween isn't my favorite but I can understand the appeal.
ReplyDeleteOh, I know all about Japanese knotweed. We fortunately don't have any in our garden but there's a house down the street that had some growing up in the driveway. It seems to have disappeared so they must have done something to get rid of it -- and they're about to dig out and repave the driveway so that should hopefully solve any remaining problem. It's also ALL OVER the railroad rights-of-way here.
ReplyDeleteI'm not big on holiday decorations in general, but yeah, Halloween is a bit of a mystery to me too. I think if you have kids it makes sense but otherwise -- why?! (We don't do anything at all for Halloween. Not even a pumpkin.)
That video is heart wrenching. One hopes that it sways enough votes to get Abbott out of office.
ReplyDeleteShaking my head over the lack of progress in the park. Surely they could have left it open a lot longer.
I have a neighbour who puts up lights and plays eerie music but so far he hasn't bothered with blow-up figures. I have seen a number of them though outside our neighbourhood.
Stay warm!
Abbott's political ads on TV are nothing but lies. Lies and fear mongering. They take a phrase out of a Beto speech completely out of context and then make preposterous claims about what Beto will do. Well, we know what Abbott has done and will do and we are sick of him.
ReplyDeleteI meant to add that I don't really care for those inflatable decorations for whatever holiday. They look ridiculous collapsed on the lawn and basically make it so your decorations are only viewable at certain times.
DeleteOne of our fall projects has been attempting eradication (Phase 1 of many, I suppose) of invasive Japanese stiltgrass, which covered parts of our 21 mostly wooded acreage. We have mowed, string trimmed, hand weeded, and sprayed (where there weren't other nice things in the way). Although it may not be as bad about the Knotweed, which I know nothing about other than what you have posted, apparently the seeds of stiltgrass can live in the soil for up to five years, and one plant can put out 1000+ seeds. So, we are hoping that in five years, we'll have much, much less. It's going to be an ongoing battle, I fear. Three things working in our favor: It's an annual, not perennial; it is easy to pull up (not deeply rooted); and finally, we are stubbornly persistent. Check back with me in five years, and I will let you know how it goes. ;)
ReplyDelete