While Busy Making Other Plans …

rDay Sixty-Three: The Valley, Pre-Dawn

Up at 4:30am. From Foothill Road.

rDay Sixty-Two: To The Post Office with Ivi

The highlight of the day is driving to the post office, plus stopping for a couple of other quick errands, while Ivi mostly attends to her phone.

rDay Sixty-One: Memorial Day

Taking a “rainbow” light spectrum display from the skylight onto my computer workbench as a propitious signal to go outside and make photographs, I was almost immediately derailed. Kim invited me to accompany her to Grandview Cemetery where she had. just after sunrise, placed flowers from our back yard at family gravesites and the VietNam Veterans Memorial. Due to the harsh, difficult lighting conditions, we may try to return later for a better go of all this.

Then, on the promise that we would be having a special meal tonight, I was induced to participate in a shopping venture, which turned out to also have a hardware research element to get hands-on with tools that Kim had been investigating online.

As consolation for the shopping effort, into the parking lot across the way cruised a pristine Washington-plated Model A Ford with a middle-aged couple and two dogs aboard. By the time I reached it, the associated humans had disembarked and I could not confirm some of my suspicions, as I would have sworn that I could hear a distinctly non-stock exhaust note from the distance, despite the remarkably original exterior appearance. (Wonder what it would take to lay in modern-era EcoBoost engine and other upgraded undercarriage pieces?) Did I ever mention that it was with a 1931 Model A four-door that I learned to drive?

Finally, I was able to drop by a potential customer’s facilities and venue, and grab some fast exploratory photos (not shown here). Then it was back to the ranch and Charlie and Ivi and Nik and the evening meal prep.

Most Distinctive Causes of Death

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (the highest level public health agency in the US federal government, under the Department of Health and Human Services) recently published a map displaying “most distinctive causes of death”, state-by-state.

rDay Sixty: ‘Shroom Quest

Almost four hours tromping about the mountains and forest this morning. Started with a jaunt up Looking Glass Hill Road, going as far as we could before 4WD was even inadequate to the task, spotting an old IH pickup and viewing the remote forest estate of Kim’s doctor along the way. Then Kim and Ivi decided we should revisit the Oregon Trail Pass area again for mushrooms. But this time we went up side logging trails, going deep into meadows and draws and dense foliage where we came upon exotic logging equipment, a few ticks and, yes, even some mushrooms. Charlie enjoyed every minute.

rDay Fifty-Nine

Beneath blue skies (and highline wires) we make a brief incursion into the local farmers’ market.

rDay Fifty-Eight: Weather Report

Walking downtown just before noon to confer with ex-colleagues, I encountered rich blue skies and white clouds of the highly fluffy variety. But as I was headed back an hour later, the blues were turning gray, then nearly black. Not long after my return, a thunderstorm burst forth, and — you guessed it — another gush of basement flooding.

Before …