Today, garage cleaned and straightened, patio blown clear of detritus and tree droppings, several good dog walks, and a bike ride. Chilly, but sunny and above freezing.
Not in our yard.
Due to stupidity, I forgot to make notation of what vafiety these squash seeds were. Prolific crop, nonetheless. Tonight is the first taste test. Report to follow.
Update: the green squash is very good...light and delicate, but tasty. Lots here, orders now accepted.
...at American Players Theatre in Spring Green. Engaging Shaw. Clever, witty script, very well acted. Lots of fun.
Then surprisingly good dinner at the Plow restaurant in Cambridge on the way home.
Early onset winter.
Many sandhill cranes high overhead, riding a strong and cold north wind.
Pax loves this weather.
...at least on campus. Which means, I believe, that someone is expecting snow. It’s cold enough for sure.
Blueberry bush having turned red before turning white.
...but ultimately good.
The Walker, right wing cabal?
Basically, a good day for the country, and quite a good day for Wisconsin. In Wisconsin science will be back, public schools will no longer be under attack, the MNR will be reconstituted, millions of Federal Affordable Care dollars will no longer be rejected, the UW system will get a whole new set of regents, giant polluters will be held accountable, water will once again be considered valuable, roads will be fixed, modern transportation systems will be developed, solar and wind energy will come out of repression….and that sort of thing. And, the change was achieved in spite of millions of Koch dollars, and a sickening amout of nastiness, spent trying to stop it.
Hats, coats, and gloves the order of the day. Cold northwest wind. Could this be the onset of winter? A little snow in the forecast here later in the week, and seven inches or more possible on Manitoulin.
The most important outcome, the House, as source of happiness. Disappointment in the Texas, Florida, and Georgia tases. Still in agony over the Wisconsin governor outcome.
...to Democratic HQ, then to a rally for Tammy and Tony (Senator Tammy Baldwin & Gubernatorial candidate Tony Evers) at the University, then home for a mad-dash backyard rake and mow ahead of the next rain event. And we did it—the last of the heavy leaves are crammed into the trailer, covered with plastic, and ready for swift delivery to the compost site Saturday morning, which we can’t miss if we don’t want to provide these leaves a home for another year. Raining hard now, and a big cool-down forecast.
Difficult drive to Milwaukee in heavy rain, stiff crosswind, and near zero visibility, as Kate and Will were returned to the rental agency. And this after a morning of waffles and ping-pong!
Quite a variety of species here
Dark now, of course, as we have moved into the dark phase of the year, and yet the rain and wind continue—sometimes a light drizzle, and sometimes a heavy splattering, sometimes with hail.
Actually not feeling bad about missing today’s iceboat swap meet in Williams Bay.
...and afternoon too.
Trailer-full of leaves to the compost site. Water slide, lazy river, and water volleyball at the Aquatic Center. Ping-pong and poker. All topped off with Mary Poppins. Totally supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.
Sit a bit, type a few words, stare at the screen, type a little more. That pretty much sums it up for today, although Pax and I got in a couple of decent outings. Sue and I also got in a little pruning, and hoisted a hefty number of leaves into the trailer in anticipation of tomorrow’s trip to the compost site.
Load two of three.
BTW, a new big thing on social media is taking a photo of yourself voting. We missed out but think it is a great idea, if not illegal.
Oh, right, it is.
Low gray clouds over a penetrating chill. Sue down south doing her guardian work. Pax and I navigating the sidewalks around here, and grocery shopping.
More on that in a minute.
The new backyard apple tree. Can’t seem to resist planting trees.
So, gongoozling is the odd habit of watching English narrowboats as they ply the canals of the UK. Narrowboats are odd things in themselves, typically 50 to 55 feet long but only about 6.5 feet wide—with saloon, galley, head, bedroom, etc., all stretched out like a long hallway. The boats have to be narrow to navigate the narrow canals and the many, many locks on the English canal system. At present, there are about 30,000 of these not-inexpensive craft floating in ditches and trenches
Anyway, we were introduced to a vlog (video blog) by John (way back when we were on Island time) produced by a semi-retired, middle-aged English bloke who seems to have made cruising the canals a big part of his life’s work. And, as you can see from the screen shot above, I am up to episode 113 (which is I think only a small fraction of the sum total).
So let’s think about this. The typical vlog is, I would guess, about 12 minutes long. Using some form of higher math—12 times 113 equals 1,356 (minutes) which when converted, equals about 22 and a half hours. WHAT AN INCREDIBLE WASTE OF TIME!
And the sad thing is, every night, after dinner, when we think it might be fun to watch something but can’t come up with anything watchable, we watch another two episodes, and that is very much like watching grass grow. Narrowboats cruise along the canals at the breakneck speed of 2 to 3 miles per hour. This relaxed pace becomes obvious when, in the vlog, you see a jogger whip past on the towpath, in a blur.
One episode was devoted to opening up the day’s mail (a few packages potentially useful to cruising). Another focused on changing the engine oil. But perhaps most memorable of all was the episode on marine toilets.
Why do we continue to watch this!? Well, let’s think about it.
It’s mindless. It’s calm. It comes at you in clever and cultured English. It’s more watchable than just about anything else. It’s the perfect antidote to all the spirit-crushing news.
So, recommendation for anyone getting tired of watching paint dry: cruisingthecut.co.uk
And now I’m concerned that when the last trick-or-treater has left, we are going to be left with nothing to watch but episodes 114 and 115.
Got the heavy load of back-yard oak leaves concentrated into 3 piles, awaiting trailer for removal to compost site. Nice, warm day, until about 4 p.m., which is the start time of the Whitewater City Market, at which I was planning to pick up something suitable for supper. Then thunderstorms, which not only rattled Pax but washed out the market.
See today’s earlier blog, below, for a moving letter from Captain Sullenberger.
Moving op-ed in the Washington Post.
Fine day for yard work and two-wheeled vehicles.
Just hoping that enough Americans are awake enough and concerned enough to vote to save our country from its slide into totalitarianism. The future hangs in the balance.
We need to bring our thoughts and prayers to the voting booth.
Not a nice day. Luckily, the seven little tricksters went out in costume last night in Oconomowoc.
And here is the sacrilegious older trickster:
And, here is the whole team.
Last Saturday breakfast, and today lunch—pulled beef sandwiches, various salads, and chips. Calling potential voters and knocking on doors is not all that fun, so good food is essential.
Tempted to stay and chow down, but instead went for a walk along a Kettle Moraine esker.
I highly recommend watching the speech Obama gave today in Milwaukee.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-live-obama-to-campaign-for-wisconsin-democrats
We also helped out with costuming in Fox Point. Mimi made the Lego Joker costume from scratch.
Actually, out to dinner with the Russo’s, long time Batavia friends, whom we haven’t seen in a long time.
Chilly, cloudy day. Got the garden tilled, and tanked up on 10 gallons of the world’s finest water at the Kettle Moraine ever-flowing well south of town. Can’t have good coffee without good water.
Homegrown, with onion, garlic, one apple, and lentils.
Here’s hoping it tastes good.
UPDATE: Chicken broth, of course, and half a cup of sherry—overall very high YUM factor.
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Extremely important election just days away.
Affordable healthcare, decent support for public schools, respect for the environment, protection of Medicare; also facts, science, truth, honesty, decency, fairness—all are on the ballot.
Here in Wisconsin:
Sentate: Tammy Baldwin
Governor: Tony Evers
Attorney General: Josh Kaul
Secretary of State: Doug LaFollette
State Treasurer: Sarah Godlewski
Each office is important in bringing our state back to health.
AND…there is the need to vote for the right person in each U.S. congressional district! (Here in Wisconsin’s 5th district, hope springs eternal that the ancient Republican toad will be put out to pasture.)
In Wisconsin, why not vote early? Just go to the Municipal Clerk’s office. Early voting lets you vote when it is convenient for you, and insures you won’t miss out if schedule difficulties arise on Election Day.
Early voting has started in Wisconsin and continues until November 2. Actual election day is November 6
If not registered, you can, in Wisconsin, register to vote in person up until Election Day. You can register to vote in person at the Municipal Clerk's office up until 5:00 p.m. or close of business (whichever is later) the Friday before Election Day (in this case, November 2). You also can register to vote in person at your polling place on Election Day.
Please talk with everyone you know, and make sure they are going to vote.
I just wish I could vote for Beto in Texas.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As Thomas Friedman says in the New York Times:
So, this year: No third party, no Green Party, no throwing up our hands and saying, “They’re all bad.” All of that’s for another day. For today, in these midterm elections, vote for a Democrat, canvass for a Democrat, raise money for a Democrat, drive someone else to a voting station to vote for a Democrat. It’s the only hope to make America America again.
Nothing else matters. Pass it on.