Bringing Home the Tree

You'll have to start at the bottom and go up to view these photos in order.  
We went to a tree farm a few miles away and cut a Leyland Cypress tree down.  We got the next to cheapest one for $30.  It still galls me to have to buy a Christmas tree.  
Growing up in Tennessee, every year we would go out into the woods and cut our tree down.  In the first years                   of our marriage we did the same thing.  
Then we moved to South Georgia where white pines or cedar trees don't grow like weeds on the side of the road.  Our land is either open fields, pecan trees, or thick woods.  
So we have to go to a store and BUY a tree.  Going to a tree farm is a better choice to me.  At least we get to be involved in the cutting down process, and it's as fresh as it can possibly be.
And here's the real question of the day....does this jacket make me look fat?  Yes it does, so don't answer that question!

I'm Practicing

I got up kind of early and did a road ride yesterday. I figured I should start getting up early and practicing some early morning riding.
It was hot.
I did a little loop around here that we call the pinehurst loop. It's a favorite during hot weather. You're down in the canyon with all the pretty trees and it's nice and cool.
It wasn't early, early. It was an 8:30 a.m. ride. But that's early for me nowadays. Lately I don't get going on the bike till 11 a.m. or noon, after working on my part time gig.
I forgot how many more people are out riding in the morning. Aha, I thought, here they all are.
And then I spent the rest of the day at school, listening to a poetry slam, eating potlucked lunches, having cake, watching balloon tossing, saying goodbyes and so on. At the end of the day, we went home with a years worth of papers and stuff - it being the last day of school and all.

It's officially summer vacation here.

So in celebration of summer vacation, I decided to cook dinner. I'm not one of those who really likes to cook a lot. I will and I do because that's what moms do - but if I can get out of it I will. But I did, since it's now summer and all.
And I drank a can of budweiser while I was making dinner, because that's all we had down in the garage fridge.
And then the oven caught on fire.
And I realized I might be terrible in an emergency situation. Much like how I often stare at the toilet overflowing (i say often, because it's an event that occurs often in a household with children) in disbelief, I did the same with the oven while on fire.
At first I thought the oven light was on. And I looked in to see if the stuff I was cooking was cooking ok. And it took a few seconds to register that what I was seeing was fire. So I opened the oven and stared some more. And I was on the phone at the time, and had to tell the person I was talking to that I had to go and then I put the phone on the cradle.
And after staring some more and still seeing flames, I called Morgan. Who was in the shower having just arrived home from his bike ride. And he came out and put it out.
And then I said that I think we need to clean the oven.
At least I was calm. That would probably help in an emergency.

Cedar-apple rust

Extension agents probably hear it a lot this time of year: What the heck is that alien orange thingy in my cedar tree?!

Check out those gelatinous telial spore horns (noodly appendages).
It's Cedar-apple rust, and it's caused by the fungus Gymnosporangium juniperi-virginianae.
If yours doesn't look quite like this, it might be one of the similar (related) rusts: Cedar-hawthorne rust or Cedar-quince rust. Check the chart of rust differences.
Basically, the Cedar-hawthorne rust's noodly appendages are short and stubby (as opposed to the long and thin ones on the Cedar-apple rust gall shown here). And Cedar-quince rust is mainly just orange goo on bark and twigs. You can see pictures of the latter on my previous posts on the subject here and here. The photos at the first link also show how the rusts appear when they're not quite so wet.
I can't seem to stop writing about these rusts when they make themselves so obvious in the spring. The way they alternate hosts, and of course their appearance, is so unusual.
Fungi expert Tom Volk has written about Gymnosporangium juniperi-virginianae too, in a much more scientific fashion, here.

Retail comfort

When you open the door to a changing room in a clothes shop the last thing you expect to see is a fully made-up bed.

In a fully furnished bedroom.





This haven for weary shoppers is Jack Wills, in Edinburgh's George Street. In the British class system which still seems alive and well, the clothes of this brand are associated with well-off, upper class university students, not least by the company's own advertising. Think rowing sweatpants, padded gilets, checked shirts, retro woolies. While there is a certain clumping of the brand in this sector of the population, the appeal seems broader than that. My daughter is now a university student, but I wouldn't put us in the well-off, upper-class bracket. How comforting it is in Britain to know exactly where you come in the social scale. (Should I have a little pop-up here to say 'irony intended'?) It should be said that well-off and upper-class don't always go together, so it's less of a scale than a complex matrix.

I know that the price of the clothes (ouch!) is paying for the sumptuous changing rooms, but there is a certain relief to encounter a bed while accompanying an about-to-be student on a big pre-university shopping expedition. And yes, of course I lay down on it. Apart from the price tag at the end, I wish all retail experiences could be like this.

First Storm of the Season

Today California is being hit by the first storm of the season. After five months without rain, the wet season has finally begun. The powerful storm impacting the state today has the potential to drop up to eight inches of rain in spots. Here in San Luis Obispo, the rain is falling in drenching, wind-blown sheets.
The photos here show colorful poison oak leaves in Poly Canyon and the now-flowing Brizzolara Creek.

When you ride south on a leg eventually you arrive at the foot.

So I'm now at the bottom of the country and looking to make a jump to the next. Somebody looking to do this the easy or quick way would have been on a plane already. I on the other hand am floundering about looking/ waiting for a sailboat to Central or South America. Having a pretty good time in this lull but am more than excited about plowing on.

The Supply box for the next leg has arrived! Replacement parts, emergency supplies and things to get shipped further ahead.

Somebody has some damn awesome friends!

Paul and Lynne have just been amazing. We started out as strangers with a common interest/ obsession with bikes and riding but have grown to feel like old friends. Their niceness is truly unbelievable.

Davie Hogan at the end of boot camp. He came through his probation and shake down with flying colors. This bike is a man now. A culmination of years of touring and the want of something more has been funneled into this dude. I have enjoyed every pedal stroke of our first 2500 miles together.

I plan on heaving us into some seriously rugged country around the world, and I feel he and every main component of him is up to the test.

Tire wear is my biggest concern. But after 2500 miles (rotated front to back in North Carolina) These Origin8 (VeeRubber) "ultra light" series with 120tpi/ folding bead have held up fantastically. With a whole sale hook up these are stupid affordable. I won't be carrying spares with me but I will be sending replacements ahead. That said. You my see from the pics that I'm running the old school Large Marge rims (65mm wide). Man, I had to search high and low for them in the discontinued 36 holes. Anyways I can seat any 26x2.2 and up. So in an emergency case like a sidewall gutting, I can throw on any basic 26" tire and keep rolling towards myreplacements.

My hand-made (by me) racks and bags have been awesome. No peeps, mumbles or wiggles. Totally rock solid.

My lucky number is four billion. That doesn't come in real handy when you're gambling. Come on, four billion! F*k, seven. Not even close. I need more dice! Four billion divided by six. At least. -MHB

"Can I Recover Christmas?" ~ Our New Song

The unplanted bulbs and falling leaves will keep for another day!
Last year I wrote a Christmas song for Roots In Austin, using my power as the author to break up the character Caroline's romance shortly before a Christmas season began. That may not have been kind of me, but the breakup let Caroline sing a holiday song as the approach of Christmas reminded her of what's been lost rather than what she expected. The song was recently finished and I think it will work well for her lovelorn situation in the play. But undertones in the lyrics told me they had deeper meanings, for other situations. Over this long Thanksgiving weekend Philo and I added photos and turned the song into a video for our Station Kaefka on YouTube. So far the reception for our latest musical child has been very kind - thank you to all who have already watched it. To the rest of you - get out your handkerchiefs!

"Can I Recover Christmas" music & lyrics copyrighted. If the screen won't play, try this Link to YouTube.
Although "Can I Recover Christmas?" wasn't ready last year, another of our copyrighted songs was finished by the beginning of December ... It's a happy song about the lovely annual tradition of Spinning Under the Tree of Lights at Zilker Park in Austin. This year the tree will be lit at 6 PM on Sunday December 7th, with the rest of the Trail of Lights festival beginning on Sunday December 14th, running nightly through December 23rd. The Trail hours are 7 PM to 10 PM.
A few days ago I had a conversation with Laura Esparza from the Cultural Affairs Division of the Austin Parks Department. Laura told me that the Trail of Lights festival will be more environmentally friendly this year. The change over to LED lights is in progress and food service now emphasizes recycling. She also noted that the power for the lights comes from wind farms. I loved the tree and like having another reason to think Austin is cool! You can go to the Austin Parks Department if you'd like to find out more about Spinning under the Tree, or Walking the Trail of Lights. Now here's an encore of our Spinning Under the Tree song to get you in the mood. Either click the screen or try this link to YouTube.

The safe and general antidote against sorrow is employment. Samuel Johnson, The Rambler

Checking out Manawa

Nothing going on today needing my attention with the Adams Park work. After treatment, stopped for some shopping. Then attended my fraternity alumni luncheon. Brought my bike (Fuel EX7) on the car and my change of clothes for a ride.
Windy day for a bike ride. Decided it was a good afternoon to see how things are going at Lake Manawa.
Well, the river level is down. But still lots of standing water in the trail area. West Sidewinder is bone dry. Word is Longs Loop is rideable. Woodchopper is under water yet (see Photo). Ended up putting on only 3 miles surveying the situation.
Trail work planned Sunday and Tuesday. I was not making the Sunday work day, too much activity from the weekend.

...And Then There Was One

Poor Sick Chick died last night. She was a lovely old ex-battery hen, the most vocal, and gentle, of the original four. She liked nothing better than to scratch around and chatter to us as we worked. We shall miss her, so will Little Red Hen.
She lies buried in the middle of Owl Wood.
I realise that to non-hen people this is a fuss about nothing. Our rescued, rescue hens were great little characters who showed us that big personalities can also come in small, feathery packages.A hen is not 'just a hen'.