Readying For Winter…

…not that we really want to. Things went up and things went down. Bike batteries and bike rack—down. Snow shovels—up. Also coming up (to rest proudly on the rowboat), the refinished kayak. Meanwhile, garage rearranged into winter mode, apple and pear tree pruned. Also, since the geese are getting fat, some Santa workshop work.

Furthermore, because of a gentle reminder (in other words a little prodding) I finally got around to putting a few drone clips together of the Serendipity shoreline (Thomson’s and Ellen’s).

A Pint of Stain…

…and six screws comprised the extent of purchases here on this black Friday. On our walk, we did try to buy a late and a cappuccino at SweetSpot, but it was too crowded for our comfort. On top of that, the library was closed, so we came home empty handed.

About 100 cranes in one flock passed overhead as we were heading out for the walk. I’m guessing they are looking for a place not quiet so cold and cloudy.

Takeaway T’giving…

…with neighbors. This year in a house instead of, as last year, a back yard.

Full T’giving dinner from the Black Sheep, and it was good. However, rutabaga, old family-recipe dinner rolls, homemade cranberry sauce, and mincemeat pie (not to mention pumpkin) put it over the top.

Six rounds of Sequence and lots of talk.

Time Wasted

To various big box stores looking for a specific replacement table saw blade, to no avail. Much as I’m opposed to it, online shopping is the only kind of shopping I can really do. Meanwhile, in the phenology department—a cloudy, breezy, transitional kind of day, with the barometer dropping, and some drizzle, and then declining temperatures, in the offing.

So, to cheer things up, a photo from the file cabinet:

Won’t be long now.

Safflower Sucks…

…even squirrels won’t eat it.

So why is it an ingredient in most packages of birdseed? Same reason as cracked corn, which squirrels will eat in a pinch but birds won’t—heft, I say, bags sold by weight, not by volume. (Theoretically, cardinals will eat safflower, but, as far as I can tell, only reluctantly.)

Here’s what I think should be in birdseed mixes, in addition to sunflower and millet:
Quinoa, rice, barley, oats, farro, milo, soy beans, bulgar, field peas, triticale, spelt, dried crabapples, and peanuts.

That would make you want to be a bird.

Wrastling With The Dishwasher

The old machine, here pretty near as long as us, gave up the ghost, which generated, overnight, considerable removal dread and task avoidance fantasy. However, this morning we faced the monster, a thing seriously built in, including a floor excavated to accommodate our exceptionally low counters. Getting it out required removing trim (sawing, chiseling, prying), lifting the counter top (removing anchors, jacking up), and then heaving and hoisting (with a pitchfork using a big block of wood as a fulcrum), and a whole lot of yanking.

Oak Tree Planting

Six sprouted white oak acorns planted in home-made squirrel-proof cages by a few of us Urban Forestry Commission folks and one high school student! We consider one student a good beginning, with the hope that a year from now we will have dozens.

Forgot to bring phone/camera to the planting, so actual photos will have to wait until tomorrow.
Mighty oaks from little acorns grow.

We’ve enjoyed watching the Australian “soapy” TV series, Royal Flying Doctor Service, which we found on PBS of all places.

Below Freezing…

…almost all day.

But, kayak work continued, outside, though I had to come in to warm up every so often. Today’s project consisted of sanding down the epoxy and (minimal) glass repair completed a few days ago in the basement, where conditions are warm enough for epoxy to cure. Can’t sand down there, though. Tomorrow, the remaining outdoor work, and then it’s back down the basement for varnish.