To entertain the cats, and because I’ve always been fascinated by birds, I have a birder feeder hung in front of the living room bay window, which I fill sporadically.   It was been a continual challenge to keep the various indigenous rodents from pilfering all the seed while keeping it available for the intended recipients. Squirrels, chipmunks ( Read more... )

This year we've been on the receiving end of a number of torrential downpours.  Prior to this year, there has only been one instance in the 11 years I've now been in my current abode that we have gotten water in the basement, but this year alone water has already gotten in THREE times, the last time being on Monday ( Read more... )

I did not do ANY work yesterday, so the streak is broken at last. I am back in the office today, however, often catching myself wistfully gazing out the window at the herd of puffy clouds ambling low across the sky.... I did finally made time to go to my favorite nursery though, where I bought a climbing rose for the arbor in my front yard (which ( Read more... )

Part I ( Read more... )

The marathon continues ( Read more... )

Happened to see my next-door neighbor (who we share a driveway with) as I was on my way out the door this morning, and he informed me that they had purchased a home in Springfield, about an hour's drive west, and would be moving out soon.  I was rather astonished by this unexpected news.  We have been living next to them for the ten years the Wife ( Read more... )

Work has been insanely busy as of late - had to be in the office Saturday and Sunday.  I'm treading water, but still around. Ugh, the house needs some tending to.  Here's a pic of me rooting about in the basement - there sure is some weird stuff  down there!
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With the Wife out of town a peculiar assemblage of clutter is beginning to amass on the dining room table - this bachelor living is starting to get out of control! Better start wiping things...

Would make quite the serviceable still life painting, though.

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I don't know if this is Belle's way of declaring a definitive end to the holiday season or if this is merely the culmination of many increasingly frantic attempts to sink her teeth into the poor snowman ornament, but it underscores the fact that we can no longer have nice things.

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Christmas was actually better than I expected this year (the past couple years have featured some rather awful ones, so expectations were low).  Everyone in the Wife's family got along, there wasn't any rushing around, didn't eat too much; I actually got some relaxation time.  There was but one fly in the ointment ( Read more... )