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Rough drive in this morning as the rain was pouring down so hard. It did yesterday too when we got 2.5". I'll bet we get the same today. It's flooding a lot of roads & making the school bus drivers' jobs tough.Marg (my wife who is a school bus driver) only has one road that regularly floods & the only pickup on it is at the far end, so she can go up there & back down to the kid's house or else his parents have to drive him the 30 yards to the corner. (Don't ask or get me started on why.)
Other bus drivers aren't so lucky. Too many of them got part way down roads only to find they couldn't go on. That left them to find a place to turn around or a really long way to back up, often both, so the mechanics were rushing around the county along with deputies & everyone else they could find to help them get turned around. (No, kids can't get out to guide them. Ridiculous.)
Of course one bus driver managed to get a wheel off the road & get stuck. She does this at least once a year, sometimes twice. No one knows what she's thinking. Those buses are heavy so when a wheel goes off on to wet ground, it tends to sink to the axle. Takes a really big tow truck to get them out, but that was tough to get in because of the flooding.
It's a real mess. I wonder how they'll do today since it's even worse.
Seems like it's time to cancel classes, like a 'snow day.'
We only got 1" of rain today & the temp went back up to the mid 60s. It was a warm rain & suddenly things are popping. I've been seeing the daffodils & Naked Ladies coming up, but suddenly the crocuses bloomed today. Yay!
We live too far south for daffodils and crocuses, but I can remember at my mother's house the crocuses were the first flower of spring, along with redbuds and dogwoods. Our spring is marked by the cypresses beginning to green. I noticed it last week. In March, the caladiums start coming up, and in April the mahoganies drop their leaves.
We celebrated my daughter's birthday tonight, our annual fun at a Japanese steakhouse, The chef put on a good show. Everybody had a good time. I have yet to find a good Asian beer.
I didn't know daffodils & crocuses didn't grow down south. I thought everything did! Congrats to your daughter.We got another inch of rain last night. Ugh. Yesterday the fields & lawn were soup. Can't imagine what they'll be like today. This is really hard on my driveway, too. It's 6" of gravel over clay, but that damn school bus is so heavy that it pumps the clay up through the gravel. Watching Marg drive around the circle, I can actually see the ground sink & spring up around the wheels. I've had to dig it out in one place & put more gravel down. I really should have put sediment cloth over the entire thing, but it's pretty hard to do piece meal.
Next year might be the last year I'll have to put up with it. Marg is talking about retiring since she's in her mid 60s & getting pretty tired of the circus. The administration, parents, & kids seem to get worse every year - in that order.
My daughter is thinking about changing careers after finally getting a job as a teacher. She loves the subject & the kids, but the administration side is just too stressful.
Jim wrote: "I didn't know daffodils & crocuses didn't grow down south. I thought everything did! "The only native bulb flower I know of is a wild iris known as blue flag. It blooms for about a week in March. We've tried to grow bulbs. but they don't prosper and generally die out. I think maybe bulbs require a bit of cold to trigger their blooming. It doesn't freeze here.
We also don't get all the familiar backyard birds. The southern edge of the range of many birds is 100 to 150 miles north of us. We do get a lot of migrants passing through in the spring and fall, warblers mostly. And we get some winter visitors, indigo buntings for example, and lots of water birds from white pelicans to various sandpipers.
And of course, the snowbirds, e.g. the hairy chested nut scratcher.
Hah!My husband is retiring this week, and we're planning to live in different communities a year or so at a time. We'll try not to behave like snowbirds or any other invasive species.
Thanks, Buck. Funny last one.;)
That's a neat idea, Cheryl.
Cheryl wrote: "Hah!My husband is retiring this week, and we're planning to live in different communities a year or so at a time. We'll try not to behave like snowbirds or any other invasive species."
We have many invasive species here: Australian pines, Brazilian peppers, West Indian anoles, Cuban tree frogs, English sparrows, German cockroaches, Eurasian collared doves, and Midwestern retirees.
Don't forget pythons! I've read they've cleared the coons, possum, & fox out of the Everglades. They'll even take on alligators. Sheesh!
Our daffodils started blooming this week! I thought it was really early for them, but they came up on the 22Feb last year. In 2016, they didn't come up until the end of the first week in March, though.
Daffodils are just a dream here in Toronto. The crocuses haven't even dared to peek out yet, and snow is on the way-again.
It's been a great day here. The fields dried up quite a bit & I sold 50 bales of hay today plus got in a nice ride with the wife & kids. It's a lot better than my family on the East Coast is having. Mom in MD & James in RI have both been without power since Thursday. Soggy ground & really high winds knocked trees down all over so power lines are cut. Brandon, my youngest boy & the one with the grandmonster, is just 20 minutes north of Mom & has a generator, but they only lost power for a day or less.Mom (78 yo) doesn't have one & there's been no getting down her road. Maybe today. She has to take the Gator down to a pool to get water for the horses since the farm has a pump. For herself, she's just been filling a jug or two from another farm she can get to by driving across fields for a mile or so, but she still has to haul in a 5 gallon bucket from the stream to flush the toilet. No heat, either.
James has a generator which has his heat & Internet working plus a few lights. He's able to switch the refrigerator on to the circuit occasionally to keep the food cold. Internet is a priority for them since Lauren runs an in-house dog boarding facility & has to communicate with clients. Their phone runs on the Internet through servers that James built out of old iPhones with busted screens. James is a software engineer & programmer who works remotely. Anyway, they're doing fine & have no idea when they'll get power back.
Wow. And there are so many developers & planners who have no idea that there are people who have issues like that. Lots of ppl in positions of power seem to think that *everyone* uses a smart-phone 24/7.Clever James, strong Mom, etc., you've got quite the family!
I often go out in the morning before first light to enjoy solitude on the beach. I chose not to this morning because of the low temp. Later, I chatted with people from Toronto, Detroit, Minnesota, South Dakota, Massachusetts, Connecticut. They hadn't much noticed that it was chilly this morning. One guy had postponed his return to Boston because so many flights were delayed and was enjoying his "two more days in paradise." One fellow even told me he'd been swimming in the Gulf before sunrise. Brrr. Another couple said they were the only ones in the outdoor seating at a restaurant for breakfast. Guess it's what you're used to.
I never did get the pics, Cheryl. Sorry. I'm terrible at that.Buck, temps are what you get used to. I was out working in 45 degree weather today in just a shirt sweating, but we spent a lot of weeks below freezing, so it's all relative.
It was a gorgeous day out. I think it got into the low 60s. I mowed the lawn for the first time - a bit early, but a lot of spots needed it. I thought things would pop earlier than this, but we're still going below freezing at night pretty often. The forsythia looked ready to go 2 weeks ago, but still only have a few flowers on them. Just about none.I put up the Purple Martin houses. Kind of late. The first scouts have been seen here as early as 11Mar & if they don't see the house, it's unlikely to get used. We do have 8 or 10 pair that come back every year, though.
I fixed a lot of fence, just little stuff. I added some electric fence to the top of the wire in some places to keep the horses from leaning over & eating the grass which is greener on the other side. In some cases, literally. Did a few other chores, too. Never did get a ride in, but the girls went to Masterson, a big park that has a horse area, for most of the afternoon & didn't get back until 6:30. Late dinner.
Nice. We watched the snow melt and some of the puddles dry up. It looks like crocus time; wish I had some. Maybe tomorrow I'll go for a slow walk and try to spot 'em in neighbors' yards.
I was looking for crocuses in some of my neighbours who have south-facing yards and there is nothing yet. But I have seen two robins and the cardinals have been singing, especially early in the morning.The school kids had March break last week and the outdoor skating rinks were popular places.
In some years the ice has been long gone by this time.
Tor.com is giving away free e-copies of Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer on their websites. You just need to register. It is a very good novel, so do not hesitate.
Here is the web page: https://ebookclub.tor.com/?utm_source...
I'm not sure where this sort of announcement should go.
Thanks Marc-Andre. I signed up for the Tor.com Free eBook Club. The format is mobi for kindle and epub for apple or other devices. I also downloaded a SendToKindle app from Amazon that I didn't know about before. I'd much rather read on my Kindle than on my desktop PC or laptop.
Thanks, Marc-André. Here is OK. I get their newsletter, too.
Life's not fair."This offer is only available in the US and Canada. We apologize for the geographic restriction, unfortunately it is required for various legal reasons."
Bummer, Leo.I'm staying home today due to white ugliness on the roads. We were supposed to get 2"-5" of snow & it started last night about 5pm when the temp had been 34 degrees all day. It was still 33 degrees when I went to bed around 9pm. This morning it's 30 degrees & we have a couple of inches on the roads which haven't been touched, so it's a combination of ice, slush, & snow. Very ugly to drive on. Even in 4WD I was sliding trying to get up hills, so I turned around & came home.
It's supposed to keep snowing for a few more hours & get above freezing around noon. I doubt we'll get much more snow, thankfully. Nothing like the people east & north of us. They're getting a foot or more.
Eek. We're finally getting enough precipitation to alleviate a winter that was so dry it seemed a crisis. Last week's snow is virtually gone. But apparently none of my neighbors have crocuses! Or maybe it's early... I'll keep looking.
Good news is, I have very few books on hold at the library, have resisted adding more to that queue... so I can finally start working on the books that I actually own and am currently just dusting!
The roads were clear by the afternoon & I had to pick my car up from the shop, so Marg & I saw the latest "Death Wish" & went out to dinner afterward. It was pretty good, something I rarely say about remakes. Slightly different story without any reason for awful sequels. I wish the snow had held off until next week, though. The new Pacific Rim comes out tomorrow & I want to see it. I guess we could go see it. We were given $50 gift cards for both the movies & Cattleman's, the restaurant across the street, for Xmas & still have plenty left on both since this was the first time we'd been out to use either. We don't seem to go out very often.
;)
I'm really looking forward to Dead Pool 2. Just saw a new trailer for it. Looks like a lot of fun.
https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/22/17...
I replaced a pair of 8' florescent bulbs with LED bulbs in the barn today since the old ones kept taking forever to turn on in cold weather. Just had to cut the ballast out of the loop. They were a bit long, but otherwise seem OK. I got a pack of 4 delivered for $100, not a bad price. They seem to be as bright as the others, so I'll never buy another 8' florescent bulb. They may be half the price, but 2 of the 6 units are always a drag to turn on in cold weather & have been since they were installed 10 years ago. When we want light, we want it now, not in 10 to 20 minutes. These LED ones seem to promise that.
Terrible morning! Checked Microsoft patches that were 3 days old. No problems. Got in before 5am this morning & applied to one main server. Rebooted fine. Applied to the other... Down for 4 hours. Of course it's a main server with 4 virtual servers on it, so it took down a lot of company resources. At least email still worked. Kudos to Dell for their help, but I had to download the server OS from MS again, put it on another thumb drive, & then try the boot with it in another USB slot before it worked. Might have been the USB slot that goofed the boot the first half dozen times. Oy! All time consuming & nerve wracking. It's pure torture to sit there for 45 minutes watching a thumb drive get turned into a bootable one. Very long morning.
:(
At least all is working again now. Whew!
We had a (not) fun five hours in the emergency room yesterday. Took my husband in because he had one symptom of a heart attack... but we know he has a strong heart... but better safe than sorry.Well, several lab tests later, after the pain in his chest had subsided, it was figured out that he had an attack of acute pancreatitis. The only thing we can connect to it is that he has loss of function in his gallbladder, too, so despite no history of gallstones, no history of heavy alcohol use etc., we're going to follow up with the expectation of surgery to remove the gallbladder.
So, do any of you know anything about these issues and have any advice or comments?
And, lesson for those of you who don't, if you have pain on your right side "high on your stomach, below your ribs" get your gallbladder checked out. And if you have *any* symptoms of a heart attack, go to the emergency room and find out what is going on.
So sorry to read that, Cheryl. Hope all turns out fine.My wife had her gall bladder out as a result of a trip to the ER. She was in such bad pain she almost passed out. The ER did a CAT scan & found massive gall stones. This was after being scoped at both ends by her stomach doctor who told her when she asked that they don't do gall bladders. Yet he had recommended Malox which reduces bile & had been monitoring her intake of it. Needless to say, she dropped him & found a better doctor.
In his defense, I noticed the gall bladder wasn't mentioned in Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal & asked Mary about it. She couldn't find a good way to work it into the narrative & agreed that in her research she found it was indeed a forgotten step-child of the digestive system. Hopefully, if it is part of your husband's issue, it won't be overlooked.
Marg was in the ER earlier this week for heart attack symptoms, too. In her case, it was a change of medications that reacted badly with some over the counter cold medication & caused her blood pressure to sky rocket. She almost passed out, luckily after she'd dropped the kids off at school when she was taking her bus to get fuel. She called me at work & I had to leave early to feed the horses & get her out. Strong heart, no history of high blood pressure.
I hope Marg's recovery goes swiftly and smoothly! Gosh, we never knew, when we young, how many different things can go wrong with our bodies....On the plus side, the weather is beautiful, and Ralph feels fine and is again enjoying his walks.
Thanks. Marg was fine, for that ailment anyway, almost immediately once they figured out what drugs she'd taken & how they interacted. You're so right about the various things going wrong & they do with increasing frequency as we get older. Right now she's battling near constant headaches & has had a bad stomach for years. I feel pretty healthy, but found out the pneumonia I had at Thanksgiving wasn't. I've got a bacterial mass very high in my lung that had to be biopsied & there was a 30% chance they'd collapse my lung doing it. Then a 7 week wait while they culture enough to figure out what it is. My thyroid apparently has odd growths that a biopsy said isn't cancerous, but I still have to go see an oncologist this week & likely an endocrinologist next month - the soonest he can fit me in.
Old age isn't for wimps! Such is life.
;)
Thanks. Ditto. I wish our weather was nice. Our temperature is seesawing again & we're drowning. We've been in the 30s to 50s range, but today is supposed to hit 70 & then we drop to freezing each night with a chance of snow by the end of the week.It is so wet that I can't even plant my spinach or do any weeding. I put off moving hay from one barn to another Saturday since we weren't supposed to get more rain until late Sunday. We got 1/2" over night. Whoops! I was leaving mud tracks with the pickup in 4WD driving across the field. Not tearing it up, just pumping mud out of the ground. It's saturated.
My 94 year old neighbor was going stir crazy, so he decided to mow his lawn. When I saw he was stuck I went over to give him a hand. He'd made quite a mess of it, but we got his mower out & he put it away. I felt bad because I couldn't stick around for too long to chat. Didn't have much to say, anyway. We're both just edgy wanting spring to finally break.
Our weather is warm and clear. It's why people come here in the wintertime. The beach has been jammed, as it is every March - Spring break for the college kids. Easter more or less marks the end of the tourist season. The traffic this year seems to have been more congested than I remember in past years, so I'm looking forward to the end of tourist season. (They call it tourist season, but they won't let us shoot them.) On the other hand, I am a member of an artists' cooperative. I worked the gallery on Easter Sunday, evening shift. No sales. So, was it because it was Easter? or because the tourists are going back Upnorth? My grandchildren are visiting this week. They are on spring break. They live near Augusta, and always get spring break the week of the Masters. Their father, my son-in-law, is a golf pro - he stays there.
So, today is forecast to be in the upper 80's, about 5 degrees above normal. We have tickets to take the kids on a sunset cruise this evening.
I'm sorry you didn't have any sales. Your photos are awesome & really interesting. I particularly liked the difference between the ocean in your 30July2017 photos of the piers. The 13 second exposure evens out the waves & gives them a misty appearance. Those B&W clouds are stunning.I wish I could afford to put up a bunch of big photo frames that changed on my walls. I have several friends that are excellent photographers & not a lick of wall or storage space. Our spare room is stuffed with my own stuff that I'm stockpiling for the Renaissance Festival which starts in June. I'm hoping to sell most of it then.
There's a local artist cooperative near me & I looked into joining, but Kentucky makes it difficult to sell like that. I'd have to get a small business license & do paperwork & taxes. That sucks the fun out of my hobby. It pays for itself, but it will never make the money my day job does. I do it for a stress relief. Nothing ever changes in the server room, so woodworking, spinning, & such gives me the sense of accomplishment I need. Something I can actually touch & see.
I have paperwork and taxes - sales and income. I have to file quarterly. I filed late recently, after Irma, and had to pay a fine. So it goes. I've been self employed for most of my working life. I'm used to it - not paying fines, the paperwork.
I'm hopeless at paperwork, especially tax & medical forms. Actually, any kind of form just blows my mind. I read simple questions & go off on snipe hunts. Whenever possible, I get someone else to fill them out for me. My wife is particularly good at it, thankfully. Her father was a bigwig in Social Security, so I think she inherited the talent from him.
Not so much paperwork, but dealing with the inanities of government bureaucrats is what gets to me. I used to have an employee whose unofficial title was 'red tapist.'
Jim wrote: "I'm sorry you didn't have any sales. Your photos are awesome & really interesting. I particularly liked the difference between the ocean in your 30July2017 photos of the piers. The 13 second exposu..."Thanks, Jim
It was 45 when I went to bed last night & I heard it start raining, but it changed. This morning it's 26 with ice & a 1/2" of snow. Yuck. It's still snowing, but not much. Just a steady, light snow with very small flakes. It's spring! I have seeds for the gardens!!! Quit with winter already!!!
Had to stop this morning to help a guy drag a deer he hit off the road just about the same place where I hit one with my current car. Just about the same damage, too. Sigh.
I got a fair amount done today. The big project was a path from the back porch stairs to the backyard barn gate done in gravel. About 2/3 of it is topped with stone dust. That's so the horses are more comfortable walking on it as they're led from the barn to the trailer. I don't want the dogs & people tracking stone dust into the house, though.
Thanks! Yesterday was the first day in ages that I could get out & do most of the tractor chores since the ground finally firmed up. It's supposed to be nice again today, so I'm going to get the fields harrowed (chain drag), fish pond pump back in, plus a bunch of other stuff. Nice to be able to get out & get stuff done.
We had our first asparagus for dinner tonight. Love this time of year. Everything is growing & blooming. There's nothing like fresh asparagus straight out of the patch.
The Evolution of Science Fiction
Books mentioned in this topic
A History of the English Speaking Peoples, 4 Vols (other topics)Charmian Kittredge London: Trailblazer, Author, Adventurer (other topics)
A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through? (other topics)
Bleak House (other topics)
A Night in the Lonesome October (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Winston Churchill (other topics)Roger Zelazny (other topics)
Felix Salten (other topics)
Sam Kean (other topics)
Chuck Tingle (other topics)
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I would not want to be there in December!