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Posts Tagged ‘Sunset’

Diary #843

Posted in Diary, tagged on August 25, 2026| Leave a Comment »

We didn’t have a bumper crop of plums this year, but the ones we got are plump and juicy.  I made a plum pie, and though Jae loves plum pastries I find them more tart than I care for. I do like plum bread, though, and plum sauce, so I think I’ll make some this week.  The tomatoes are just about big enough to make fried green tomatoes; this year I bought only two of a cherry-tomato variety and four of a table-tomato variety, but the former grew so quickly and so large they’ve really overwhelmed the latter, so next year I’m only going to buy one and plant it in a separate planter so the table-tomato plants have more room to grow.  I’ve never had a green thumb and I don’t particularly like digging in the dirt, so my gardening is limited to plants I can basically ignore other than ensuring they get enough water.  And that typically works out just fine for me.

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Diary #842

Posted in Diary, tagged on August 18, 2026| 2 Comments »

One really nice thing about the climate here at Sunset is that when I pick blackberries, I can wear a long-sleeved top to protect my arms from the thorns; in Louisiana and Oklahoma it’s much too hot for that.  So when I noticed late last week that there were plenty of ripe blackberries, I put on this old work shirt of Matt’s that I have used as a light jacket for almost 15 years, and in half an hour I had what you see here.  And this represents only about a third of what was there; because I’m the only one eating them I didn’t bother with anything but the biggest, nicest ones.  Another nice thing was that, since it was overcast (as it so often is here), I was not fooled into picking some of those that were still somewhat red, as happens regularly when it’s very sunny; as you can see, all of these were at the peak of color, which is also the peak of sweetness.  On Saturday I made a blackberry pie, and it was one of the best ones I’ve ever made, as sweet and flavorful as one could wish.  There are also lots of plums on the trees, and it looks like I’ll be getting enough tomatoes and apples for my needs as well.  So because I know this year’s weather was a fluke of the changing climate and it may not be this way next year, I’m going to enjoy it while it lasts.

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Diary #841

Posted in Diary, Miscellaneous, tagged , , on August 11, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Chekhov and Yellowbird gave me this cool egg rack last Christmas.  Typically, I use it to hold regular “large” size eggs (and put the extra-large and jumbo ones in the basket at the bottom).  But right from the start I realized that it would be an excellent way to hold undersized pullet eggs once the young hens started laying.  And as you can see, they have!  When I first started keeping chickens 20 years ago, I realized that when a recipe calls for x number of eggs, that meant large-grade eggs, so if I wanted to use pullet eggs in a recipe more would be required.  So while I still had my last carton of store-bought eggs around, I measured the volume of a typical egg and discovered it to be 1/4 cup.  So if a recipe calls for 3 eggs, that really means 3/4 cup of eggs, and if I want to use pullet eggs I just crack them into a measuring cup until I get to the right amount.  If I’m cooking something less finicky (for example, just regular scrambled eggs) I just use 2 for 1 at this stage, then later when they are just small rather than tiny I move to roughly 3 for 2.  And if I want to use normal-sized eggs for whatever reason (or give them to friends), the eggs from the mature chickens are still stored in the cupboard like usual.

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Diary #840

Posted in Diary, tagged on August 4, 2026| Leave a Comment »

I reckon it’s a good sign that one of the buds of my magnolia has already opened, considering that I only planted it two weeks ago.  Though it has been unusually cool this summer, it has also been sunny, with an unusual number of rainy days; even though I’m not much of a gardener, I would think that’s a good combination for young plants.  It certainly seems to be good for the tomatoes, too; by the end of the month I should be able to make fried green tomatoes, a treat I missed out on last summer due to weird weather killing the plants early.  I also couldn’t make much salsa last year, and in June I used up the last of the batch Grace and I made together two years ago, so I’m hoping this year I can make at least enough to last a whole year.  I don’t know about the other fruit yet, but I should be able to tell in a few weeks; the return of autumn feels even better to me when I have enough fruit to make the autumn recipes I enjoy.

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Diary #839

Posted in Diary, Philosophy, tagged , , on July 28, 2026| Leave a Comment »

When we buried Jonathan in the pit near the propane tank, I decided to plant a tree over him, but I couldn’t decide what kind of tree I wanted.  I really miss the crepe myrtles which are so commonly seen in the New Orleans area, and I’ve seen some beautiful ones in the nearby town of Hoquiam.  But when I talked to a nursery about it, they told me it takes about three years for them to get established, and even a single hard winter in that time can stunt or even kill them.  The lady told me that if I wanted a southern flowering tree that would grow well here, I should consider a magnolia.  Grace liked magnolias very much, and when I mentioned to Chekhov that I was thinking about getting one for the spot, he immediately told me that he had seen them at Home Depot in Aberdeen and offered to buy one for me.  So on Sunday the 19th he brought it in his van and we planted it together; it wasn’t difficult because the soil over the grave was still very loose, and it only took a few minutes of fairly light effort to clear a properly-sized hole for the root ball.  Yellowbird is an avid gardener and advised me to water it every day without rain until the rainy season starts again in October, but luckily we’ve had several rainy days in the past week (unusual for this time of year) so that took care of the watering on those days.  Then on one of the days I was watering it last week, it occurred to me that the area beneath the tree would be a fitting place for most of Grace’s ashes; I’m going to give the tree a few months to be sure it’s taking well, then I’m going to do a little ritual on the Day of the Dead to bury the ashes.  And from now on, I will think of her every time I see it bloom.

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Diary #837

Posted in Diary, tagged , , on July 14, 2026| Leave a Comment »

I wanted to show y’all how big the turkey has grown; remember that when he arrived he wasn’t much bigger than the other chicks.  That’s one of the other chickens who were still inside when he arrived in front of him in the video, so you can clearly see the difference.  Of course as soon as I came outside with my phone he refused to either strut or vocalize, despite doing both regularly nearly every time I go into the coop; maybe I’ll get a video later so you can get the full effect.  Just before I took this video I found the first pullet egg inside the henhouse, so all four of the new arrivals should be starting soon.  I’ve already got lots of little green tomatoes, and it looks like my fruit trees and vines will be productive this year; given the forecast for the rest of this month, and the fact that we’ve only had a couple of days that could be called “hot” this year, it looks like it’s going to be a cool summer, more like the prevailing norms for the last few centuries.  And I’m quite content with that; given the troubles of the world at large, it’s comforting for at least the natural conditions to be normal.

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The Slaughter of Throwback Thursday

Posted in History, Miscellaneous, Philosophy, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 9, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Scientists who create weapons of oppression…are moral imbeciles.  –  “Welcome to the Future (#1252)”

The best thing schools could do to help the US political situation would be to actually start teaching basic math again.  –  “Readin’, ‘Ritin’, and…um…”

I’m only just beginning to internalize that yes, it really is okay to keep slowing down, rather than just saying it aloud but not really believing it.  –  “Fourteenth Anniversary”

Chatbots in computers can appear to the ignorant like djinn in bottles, and instead of correcting this irrational belief with scientific fact, tech company marketers are telling people, “YES, this really is a djinni who can grant wishes!”  –  “Aladdin’s Satellite”

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Diary #836

Posted in Diary, tagged , , , on July 7, 2026| Leave a Comment »

My friend Sophie is very ill, so a little over a week ago she asked if I’d sit her dog Hallie.  Though Hallie is a great big bitch and has a few odd personality quirks, she is a frequent visitor to Sunset and mostly knows how to behave herself out here.  Also, Axel is her buddy and she generally follows his lead, so sometime after sunrise I let them out, then go back to bed and let them in again when I get up around 9.  They’re both older dogs (Axel is 10 and Hallie 11 or 12), so about three hours of running around in the dewy, dewy grass is generally sufficient exercise, and they mostly just lounge and nap the rest of the day.  Alas, it was different on the night of the 4th; though Trip prefers to spend 95% of his time outside, he is terribly afraid of fireworks, so as soon as they start he wants to be inside.  But even inside, he gets spooked when the noise peaks, so on Saturday night the only way to keep him from running around, knocking breakables over, was to invite him onto the couch where I could pet him while assuring him that Danger Man would protect us from the scary noises (in all seriousness, I think the TV sound helped drown out the pops, cracks, and booms).  Axel jumped up right beside him, which meant Hallie spent the next several hours in an elaborate dance: stand around looking forlorn until I tell her to lie down, then look at me as though she doesn’t understand until I point to the easy chair.  Then get in the chair; lie contentedly for about 15 minutes; get up to wander around aimlessly until I tell her to lie down; lie on the floor for about 10 minutes; get up again and wander around aimlessly a bit more; then go back to looking forlorn and start the cycle again.  Oh, well, it was only one night; the rest of the time, dogsitting is an easy way to help a friend, and barely even impacts my schedule.

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Diary #835

Posted in Diary, tagged , , , on June 30, 2026| Leave a Comment »

I’m pleased to report that Axel is completely off of the trazodone which the shelter had him on.  When I first got him at the end of November, he was on 400mg/day, an immense dose for a 20kg animal.  So I immediately started weaning him off, at first reducing the dose by 50mg/day every week, then once we were down to 100mg/day slowing the reduction to 25mg/day every few weeks.  At the end of April he was down to 25mg/day, then for all of May 12.5mg/day, and then at the beginning of June I started skipping days between doses; since I saw no difference in his behavior between med days and no-med days, his last dose was a week ago, Monday the 22nd, and he’s just fine.  He no longer chases the cats or snaps at strangers, and he isn’t nearly as high-strung as he was just a few months ago; about the only relics of his former problems are a tendency to eat cat shit (I know it isn’t an unusual dog behavior, but I’ve never owned a dog that did it before) and some separation anxiety.  He no longer gets upset when he doesn’t see me, unless I go off in a car; when I get back, even if I’m only gone for a couple of hours, he cries and runs around when I return until I pet him and calm him down.  Given that I was told his first owner died when he was seven, my guess is that the owner went off to the hospital in a car and never came back, so he is afraid when I leave in a car.  But other than those comparatively minor issues, I’d say he has passed his good boy tests with flying colors, and demonstrated that he was exactly the right choice to bring into our Sunset family.

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Diary #834

Posted in Diary, tagged , , on June 23, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Well, I was wrong about the daisies two years ago, because though there are only a few this year, my allergies still reappeared the night of June 1st and have continued since.  Fortunately, I got help last year to figure out a proper over-the-counter meds regimen, so within a week or so I had it mostly under control (though my eyes were still bothering me pretty badly until the latter part of last week); I’ve stopped trying to figure out what exactly is causing it and just resigning myself to this being another reason to dislike summer.  Usually, I can start stepping down the meds in August, and be back to normal by September.  Alas, “normal” ain’t what it used to be; one of the reasons I’ve stopped trying to figure out what environmental factor I’m allergic to is that I’ve had to recognize that my body is aging rapidly, as I always expected it to.  What I mean is, I enjoyed excellent health through my forties and the early part of my fifties, then about four years ago that started to change; I figure the allergies are just a part of the whole constellation of physical ailments that have now become part of my life, including anemia, fatigue, diminished physical strength and flexibility, and increased back pain.  Given that the latter is due to five fractured vertebrae incurred in a severe car accident in April 1995, and that I learned to manage it well enough that it was only an occasional problem for the past 30 years, I really can’t complain that is finally returning in the last act; I just have to accept it as another way that my body is not merely suggesting I slow down and take things easier, but rather leaving me no other options.

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