Almost New Year's

I've been a negligent blogger lately. Gotta get back in gear.

Stockbridge, Georgia

Picked up a cold. Probably from holding on to escalator rails in the airport.

Cape Girardeau, Missouri

I'm back. Fall is here but it's still hot!

East Brunswick, New Jersey

Getting a little behind in my blogging. Gotta catch up!

Sycamore, Illinois

Well, there is a good Mexican restaurant here.

Bumper Crop

T's garden has produced squash, tomatoes, jalapeño peppers and cucumbers. Later we'll have pumpkins, sunflowers and Indian corn.

I'll have to take some pictures and upload them -- I think she did pretty good for a novice gardener.

Cape Girardeau, Missouri

This week I'm in Cape Girardeau, very close to the famous New Madrid fault, site of the worst recorded earthquake in U.S. History. I'm only a little nervous.

I'm working one block from the Mississippi river. From the office I can see the levee, with pictures of all of the famous people who hail from Missouri.

Harry Truman, for example. And Rush Limbaugh.

Homemade Tortillas

Guess what I did today? There were no wraps in the house and I wanted fajitas.

I didn't feel like driving to the store, though.

So I found a recipe on the Internet for flour tortillas and gave it a try. They were perfect!

Plus I used fresh jalapenos from T's garden. I diced one and put it in the marinade and sauted two along the the onions and chicken.

I'm quite proud of myself! T doesn't like fajitas so she wouldn't be impressed. Lindsay would have liked them, though!

Too bad she wasn't here to share!

Dothan, Alabama

Dothan, where my hotel is, is in Central time. The bank where I'm working - in Blakely, Georgia -- is across the Chatahoochee River. In Eastern time.

So I'm flip-flopping back and forth, trying to stay awake.

Fireworks

Now that its hot we turn the horses out at night and keep them in the stable during the day. So they had a chance to enjoy the neighborhood fireworks on Sunday night.

They are used to guns going off at all hours, but the whistling explosions and flashing sparklers were new. Black Cloud worked himself into a frenzy. As self-proclaimed herd leader he had to take charge and save the rest. So he kicked and bucked all over the place, running up and down along the fence line and snorting.

In his fevered imagination, he took control of the situation, scared off the intruders and led the weaklings safety.

Actually Otis and Angel were fairly calm throughout the ordeal. They seemed more apprehensive of Black Cloud than of the fireworks. Angel squealed every once in a while, probably to egg Black Cloud on. She is a bit of an instigator. Nothing to do with her gender, of course.

After a half hour they all settled down, Black Cloud no doubt under the impression that he saved the others from certain death.

I think they all forgot the whole episode by morning. They're not very patriotic.

Bear Hunting

The other night we spotted a bear across the street. I saw a snake out back. Ferocious birds try to nest in our stable.

I've decided to get a BB gun.I have the right to bear arms. For self defense.

Don't tell T or I'll get in trouble.

Fort Wayne, Again.

 Hanging in the airport, 5:00am.

Defiance, Ohio

Back again, another summer visit!

Charles City, Iowa

Second time here. Great town, and both restaurants are good.

Tomorrow after work I zoom up to Burnsville, MN -- just a stone's throw from the Minneapolis airport.

Fort Wayne, Indiana

I was in Warsaw for the week -- now hanging in the Fort Wayne airport waiting for my flight home. Since we had a Monday holiday I ended up behind & had to work through Friday.

So I ended up in a Holiday Inn Express near the airport last night. Not too bad, though. There was an Outback Steakhouse next door and the pillows were fluffy.

I'll get home later today, in time to drag the riding ring, whack the weeds, mow the grass, cook the dinner, walk the dog...

...it's a wonderful life!

Juniata River - Millerstown to Amity Hall

First trip of the year on Memorial Day!

I got a workout -- a five hour float and I even fished for the first time in years! Got a for-real fishing license and everything.

I caught a fish, too, but I didn't take a picture of it. It was embarrassingly small.

The weather was hot. I had to slather sunblock all over my arms, legs and neck. It was buggy, too. I had to spritz insect repellent on my hat and rub it on my face. I was an oily, stinky mess.

T was nice enough to let me go and she shuttled me back and forth. So I treated her to grilled chicken in the evening.  I think she liked it. She doesn't always like my chicken and checks it carefully for any hint of bone, gristle or moisture.

If she finds anything suspicious she carefully moves it to the side of her plate. She gives it to Bonzi when she thinks I'm not looking.

In her family, you see, all meat is cooked dry. Bonzi's family tolerates a little moisture.

All things considered, it was a useful way to spend Memorial Day.

Abingdon, Virginia

Here for the week, with side trips to beautiful and bucolic Honaker.

Middletown, NY

Here for the week. Not many restaurants with free WiFi.

T says I have an Internet addiction.

No way!

Basement Office

I moved my office into the basement. It's cooler so we will save electricity this summer. It's not quiet, though. I'm next to the water treatment equipment which, I discovered, frequently pops, clangs and bangs.

It's also easier for people to sneak up on me and scare me, especially if I have my earphones in. But I like it overall. The Wilderness Room is right next to me in case I want to recline. Bonzi comes down occasionally to keep me company.

La Grange, IL

Chicagoland. I'm staying in Westchester again, and will eat at the Weber Grill tomorrow.

Yonkers, New York

Ahhh, no place quite like it!

Cross Fork, Pennsylvania

Easter Egg Hunt.

No kidding.

State College, Pennsylvania

I'm here for three days.

This is the home of Penn State University and the Nittany Lions. I kind of wish I had my Pitt cap with me. That would be sort of fun.

I came by the hat honestly since Lindsay goes to Pitt. She got me the hat as a present when she was a freshman.

And now she's graduating...

Ebensburg, Pennsylvania

Cambria County. Lots of coal trucks whizzing around.

I'm here for two days.

Barbeque Patio

It's still too cold to really have fun outside, but being from hardy Irish stock, I managed to hang out down by the shop for a couple of hours on Saturday.

Braving temperatures in the low 40's, I prepared the BBQ Patio for the spring season.

That's the Camp Chef range on the left.
In the middle, the dutch oven table.

The Weber Performer (blue blob) is on the right.

I made country style ribs yesterday. Not bad, a little tough. I'm working on the menu for next weekend.

It should warm up and be considerably greener by the weekend. It was actually in the twenties the past two nights, which isn't fair.

Grilling Weather

Looks like sunny skies and 60+ degrees by the end of the week.

I'll have to break out the Weber.

Gotta go grocery shopping first. Wings, a roasting chicken & maybe a porterhouse.

Wilderness Room Fire

Nice & toasty in the WR tonight. T is in Florida and I'm in charge of the ranch.

I'm working very hard.

Back on the Tidewater Trail

Tappahannock, Virginia. I'm headed back on Friday; if I get out early enough I'll hit the parts of Booth's trail that I missed when I was here last year.

The Garrett farm. Dr. Mudd's farm. Surratt's Tavern.

A Blogging Year

Hey, guess what? I started blogging on March 7, 2009. One year ago tomorrow.

Amazing that I've kept up with it all this time!

Here's a link back, for anyone interested in time travel: SJC's first blog post.

Charles City, Iowa

The Charles City Web site (here) says the population is 7,812. Make that 7,813 since I'll be here for the week.

I drove down from Minneapolis this afternoon. Lots of snow and bright sunlight. It's been a while since I've visited the Great Plains; it was a nice drive and I didn't hurry. Miles and miles of drifted snow sculptures.

I passed a huge Cabella's store in the middle of nowhere, kind of like the one in Hamburg, PA. I was not tempted to stop. I have enough stuff.

I haven't been downtown yet -- I'll check that out tomorrow. Maybe I can find a barber and get a haircut.

Jackson, Mississippi

I'm in Mississippi, reading a book about Mississippi. The book is The State of Jones, about a county that is reported to have seceded from the Confederacy after the Confederacy seceded from the Union.

The book is well researched and provides a good description of what life was like in the rural south for the families of soldiers. Sort of like Cold Mountain, but without the romantic emphasis.

I'm reading the electronic version on my netbook.

I like electronic books except that you can't read them on an airplane during taxi, takeoff and landing.

Also, if you fall asleep reading, the "book" could fall on the floor and break. Or you could roll over on it.

Oh, and sometimes you press the "next page" button the wrong way and you end up on page 1,764.

Come to think of it, I hate electronic books.

Icicles

We have big icicles hanging off the back porch roof. T wants me to knock them off. By getting up on a ladder I suppose.

I am considering possible outcomes. One involves me falling off the ladder. On the way down the biggest icicle breaks off. I hit the ground first. The big icicle is close behind.

Since the pointy end of the icicle is facing downward, I get speared to the ground. It is uncomfortable, painful, embarrassing. No one notices until Spring.

I'm not sure this icicle thing is a good idea.

Moorefield, West Virginia

Whether or not I could live in a place depends on how comfortable I feel walking into the local barber shop.

1. There has to be a barber pole out front. A functional one that twirls.
2. No more than four chairs. Actually 4 chairs would be pushing it.
   
3. No appointments accepted. I am wary of men who have to schedule haircuts. More wary of barber shops that tolerate them.
4. Under $20. Way under.
   
5. Average time per haircut: 10 minutes or less.
6. No styling. I don't want to wait 45 minutes behind some metro-sexual who wants to look like something out of GQ. No shampoos, either.
7. Barbers and waiting customers engage in a lively and pointless banter, usually at the expense of an elected official.

All things considered, I could live in Moorefield.

More Snow.

Tonight we're supposed to get 3 t0 6 inches. But I don't care. I'm going to West Virginia tomorrow.

I'll be driving a rental car. Someone will clean it before I pick it up. They'll clean it again after I drop it off.

I'll be staying in a hotel. If it snows someone will plow the parking lot and shovel the sidewalks while I'm sleeping.

When I get hungry I'll go to a restaurant. A nice person will take my order, bring the food when it's ready, and take the dirty dishes away when I'm done.

What a country! I can't wait...

Blizzard #2

Yesterday we got about 12 inches of snow on top of 18 from the weekend, for a total of around 30 inches. Plus drifts.

I wanted to just sit and look at it but T said we were out of butter, so I fired up the John Deere and cleared a path out to the road.

We can escape now if we have to. But I kind of miss the excitement of being snowed in.

It was like being in the Donner party, except with a freezer full of food. Plus some canned stuff in the pantry.

And of course we have Bonzi as a last resort.

Otis is not impressed.

Otis doesn't mind a dusting of snow but he is more than a little annoyed with the 16" we got last night. He is a Mediterranean Mini Donkey, after all.

His ancestors were conditioned to enjoy much warmer climates.

Black Cloud is more philosophical about the whole business. As long as he can get to his hay he doesn't care whether it snows 2 inches or 20.

Of course his belly doesn't get wet dragging across the top of the snow drifts. To say nothing of his...well, never mind.

He is a wimp when its raining, though.

Groundhog Day Redux

I got an email message from my friends and clients in Missouri today. They told me that they would have to endure six more weeks of winter this year, and that it was my fault.

After all, they reminded me, I was the one that murdered their groundhog! Check out the original Ground Hog Day post from December in the (likely) event you haven't been following the Ranch adventures closely.

Who says bankers don't have a sense of humor?

T's Punch Bowl Cake

T made a Punch Bowl cake for today's Secret Sister Luncheon. I kept calling it a "dump cake" and she got mad at me.

Bonzi & I will go down to the garage and cower until the luncheon is over and our transgressions are forgotten.

Fall River, Massachusetts

Lizzie Borden put Fall River on the map, so to speak. So far none of the locals here have mentioned her or the murders that made her famous. They're probably bored with the whole business. Maybe because it happened back in 1892.

But I enjoy a good murder mystery so I Googled Lizzie and read a bunch of the original newspaper articles, located here. The chronology is interesting -- you can see that Lizzie wasn't a suspect at first.

Eventually she was arrested, tried and acquitted. I guess they couldn't quite believe, in that day, that a young lady was capable of an axe murder.

Today we know better.

Anyway, I'm in Lizzie-land for the week.

Charcoal & Trash Bags

We went to Home Depot today. We looked at flooring for the tack room.

Rather, T looked at flooring and and I looked at the grills. They actually had my grill (a Weber Performer) on display as a special order item. It was more exciting than the flooring.

We bought two bags of charcoal, a box of contractor style trash bags (real thick plastic) and some light bulbs.

Winter sure is boring.

Cabin Fever

T has it worse than me. I am more capable of sitting around doing nothing than she is. Actually I'm quite busy. but to uninformed outsiders it looks like I'm doing very little.

I'm doing lots of work-related research, which doesn't require much physical movement:

• Fiddling with Web applications, stealing all ideas that I can.
• Playing with Twitter, Evernote and ReQall.
  
• Looking for a cloud-based network/file backup solution.
• Work, work.

The good news is that Ranch Chores this time of year are minimal. One of the benefits of deep winter.