“All the noise in my brain. I clamp it to the page so it will be still.”
— Barbara Kingsolver
Daily Journal – Wednesday – 15 May 2024
Light rain today, mild temperatures. It was a good morning for my “puzzles”. It took just three easy steps to solve Wordle, 1:47 to solve the Mini-Crossword and perfect scores with Connections and Waffle. Do you play any (or all) of these games? Supposedly it is good for the brain, quiets the noise. As I was enjoying my victories I noticed that I was being mocked by a chipmunk. He was chowing down on my expensive safflower seeds which is not supposed to be palatable to his kind.
Salvage Work
I finally got the opportunity to take apart my old microwave. I was going after the high voltage transformer. I also salvaged two very nice alnico magnets from the magnetron. I learned there was some risk to this after learning that it the insulators are made of beryllium oxide. If broken beryllium dust can cause lung cancer and other nasty diseases. I managed to get it apart without breaking the insulators. I will not go to the trouble to cut into the copper cavity with a dremel tool even though it looks really cool inside. You can see that on YouTube videos.
Manchester VA
I had my yearly visit with my PCP at the VA Hospital in Manchester, NH. I had just learned that the hospital was built on land donated by the widow of Frederick Smyth (March 9, 1819 – April 22, 1899). On the grounds is a tower which was built in 1888 based on a “folly” that Frederick had seen in Scotland. I’ve visited the hospital many times and didn’t even know it existed. Today I walked behind the building and there is was, right next to the water tower.
Daily Picture Theme
The Daily Picture Theme on Spoutible is on hiatus, should return in a couple of days; Everyone needs a vacation, even social media sites.
On This Date
Seeing a Trillium in the woods is always a treat. They are long lived so once you’ve seen where they are growing you can revisit them each year. This photo was taken in New Ipswich on 11 May 2017.
On this date (May 15th) in 2020 I got a chance to see some cultivated Trilliums at the Mason Hollow Nursery. They are not a typical item one would find at a Nursery but Mason Hollow is not a typical Nursery. They have many unique plants.
I couldn’t resist buying a plant. It is growing alongside my Helleborus but no signs of flowering yet. Anticipation is part and parcel of gardening.
