Aerie Evening Report: May 28, 2009

Not much to write about today (or yesterday for that matter).

I'd rather not discuss the news right now as so much of it is depressing. From the government takeover of GM and the total dissing of the bond holders in favor of the unions who created much of the problem; the no-pay, no-play choices being made in the closing of car dealerships--and the fact that closing the dealerships makes no sense to start with as they operate independently from the manufacturing wing; the nomination of a judge who has shown decided leanings in favor of discrimination as long as it's white males being hurt and who has stated that the 2nd Amendment doesn't mean what it says; a Speaker of the House who thinks it would be just dandy for the government to control our every choice as long as that saves the earth from the boogieman of global warming;.... It all just makes my blood boil.

Then again, I've come down with a bit of a summer cold or perhaps an allergic reaction to something in bloom. Although, the allergy pills I've been taking don't seem to affect my symptoms--**cough**cough** which include a cough and enough phlegm to refloat the Bismarck, I guess I should feel lucky that whatever is bugging me has not sunk to my chest but remains in my throat and above.

Today was overcast, dreary and muggy...which was better than expected. The temperature didn't get much above 65 degrees because the sun never did come out. The forecast T-storms stayed far to the west along the shores of Lake Erie as they headed northeast into New York.

Other good news: the truck got its overdue maintenance yesterday and the guys at the shop got to see what I was talking about when I said the windshield molding had blown away. They ordered the part after calling California to find out what part it was. (The darn thing is replaced so seldom that it is not in their handy dandy computer program! Yet I'd bet that every body shop and windshield installer could have told them what it was.) They told me it could be a couple of days before they get it in then called today to say they already had the part. (They must have sent it priority mail or FedEx.) I'm scheduled to have the work done on Monday.

Due to the truck work, I'll put off going to the Bolt Hole until at least Tuesday. I had planned on going up Saturday afternoon or Sunday but the truck comes first.

I did some repairs to two Adirondack chairs we have on the deck. They are made of 1x pressure treated lumber (not carried by Lowe's I discovered) and one seat slat warped quite badly and one leg split and broke in the area of a large knot. Both conditions are difficult to avoid in the pine they use in pressure treated lumber.

I also put up some poultry (chicken) wire fencing along the side of one of the vegetable beds. I thought a rabbit had gotten in to eat some of my bean plants, but upon closer examination I concluded it was just bad seed growth.

We had a visitor this evening after dinner. A solitary raccoon came up on the deck to help itself to some sunflower seeds. It's been to the feeders on the side a couple times just before sundown but today it was out on the deck a good hour and a half before dark. It lay out in full stretch and shovelled seed into its mouth as swiftly as it could. I snapped quite a few pictures of it through the front glass--some using the flash--and it never acted perturbed that it was on not-so-candid camera. I'll post one tomorrow after I've gone thorugh them all.

I finally decided to go out on the deck and scare it away. (If it didn't scare, I might have to shoot it.) As soon as it heard the side door open, it was on its way. That's a good thing. A diseased 'coon is nothing to mess with.

If the weather holds off tomorrow Terry and I may take a drive up along Saranac Seneca Lake (DOH!) and do some wine tasting and perhaps lunch/dinner.