For the first time in a while, no rain is forecast. It's a beautiful day with a predicted high of 80°.
Yesterday, there was a break in the storms. I took advantage of the lull to have a small bonfire, burning off all of the branches accumulated in the last three months. I burned for four hours. As I finished, the rain resumed, quickly turning into a torrential downpour that extinguished the bonfire.'
My wife and I decided to head out for dinner. On the way, we hit a huge traffic jam of perhaps twenty cars. That may not sound like much, but it's probably fifteen minutes worth of traffic halted on a country road. Emergency crews were standing in the rain, so we reversed course and took a different route to the restaurant. After dinner, we drove past the site again and the crews were still working. A telephone pole had snapped, with the upper half tipped at a 45° angle. As I said, it was a heck of a storm. I think it brought down a tree onto power lines and the weight snapped the pole.
The stairs of our 2nd story deck lead to a penned-in yard less than 20 feet on a side. I don't usually take the dog further than that since his running away episode left me disenchanted. He's going to have to get VERY good about coming when called before I'll take him on actual walks again. His loss.
While he was doing his business this morning and I was sitting on the deck, a ruckus came from just up the street. Yes, I do have neighbors - just 500 feet away in that direction, a couple thousand in the other. Chickens (which I rarely hear) were going absolutely nuts, cackling up a storm. Then some kids started yelling. They're pretty loud and I hear them regularly. The chickens stopped cackling and I heard a woman calling, perhaps to the kids. Then a man yelled something in response. They kept calling back and forth... I thought I heard someone say "There she is!" I should have had it figured out by now, but I'm obviously slow this morning. I was thinking that their dog had gotten loose. Then ka-BANG! Gunshot. Only silence after that.
No telling what they shot at. A fox? A raccoon? I saw a coyote crossing as I drove toward home a few nights ago. I'm sure I'll have similar episodes when I start raising chickens of my own. It's all part of country life.
My dog - who is afraid of everything else but has no fear of thunder, not even the nearby strikes that you feel in your chest - did NOT like that gunshot. His tail dropped tightly between his legs. He trotted back up to the deck and actually stood on his haunches before the sliding glass door (never touching it.) He usually races joyfully into the house once he's been outdoors, but today he only walked slowly back to his bed without the slightest wag of that tail.
It's a Sunday and my son needs a ride to work (Walgreens) in an hour. The supermarket is nearby and it has chicken leg quarters for 77¢/lb, so I think this will be a good day to do a barbecue. Most things in my garage are hard to access, but my big kamado pot barbecue (that resembles a giant ceramic egg) is right at the entrance, easy to pull out.
Did I mention that the Ace hardware store (in the college town 15 miles from here) carries "The Giant Egg" barbecues? They're very similar to mine, but $1,200. Unbelievable. I don't know what Ace is thinking. Amazon has a similar one (maybe smaller) right now for only $169. http://www.amazon.com/Aura-Outdoor-Products-Shelves-Large/dp/B017O7JNB8/ref=asc_df_B017O7JNB8/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198068685752&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1641107256602929244&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9002405&hvtargid=pla-381215293349&psc=1
And the brand/model I own (and strongly recommend) is $289. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Char-Griller-Akorn-Kamado-Kooker-Charcoal-Grill-in-Sapphire-Blue-56720/301919839?cm_mmc=Shopping%7CG%7CBase%7CD28I%7C28-22_BBQ_GRILL%7CNA%7CPLA%7CGeneral%7c71700000032300315%7c58700003837592913%7c92700030692496488&gclid=CjwKCAjwy_XaBRAWEiwApfjKHmq3RAXXTR7tEilG6Em1ODWgdUS_ON0jYTT9_h_1YOSD4qjw5j14oRoCByMQAvD_BwE&dclid=CIGZnf27xNwCFeK7swodJf4L3g
My wife's van began running rough last week so she took it to the shop and had it diagnosed. Piston #3 wasn't firing. She bought a set of spark plugs and I replaced #3. Problem solved. This would be a good day to do the other five, though.
Half of my garden fence has never been built. And I still have firewood to stack. There are always things to do!
Gold is $1,581/oz today. When it hits $2,000, it will be up 26.5%. Let's see how long that takes. - De 3/11/2013 - ANSWER: 7 Years, 5 Months
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