Tire Blowout and Requiem for Worms
I was driving back from my morning Tai Chi class on a back road when I had a message appear on the console about a tire.The message asked if I needed to call anyone. I noticed the tire pressure warning symbol was illuminated. I figured I would top it off when I got home. The only problem was that the car was wobbly on the road. The tire was completely flat. I hadn’t changed a tire in decades and certainly not for this vehicle. I need to read the manual to figure where to place the jack and had a bit of panic finding the jack. It was upside down in a black plastic holder and was almost invisible. I have a plugin hybrid which like all EVs is much heavier than “normal” cars. Jacking up the car with the scissors jack was a real workout. Luckily I knew where the locking pin adaptor was located. The tire had a split on the wall so it couldn’t be repaired. Thankfully I had paid for the road hazard warranty so I only had to pay for the pro-rating for wear. The technicians told me that it must have been a bubble that finally burst. I was just grateful that I was not on a highway.
Urban Worm Bag
For several years my Urban Worm Bag was home to my red wrigglers. I would unzip the top and drop in avocado skins, coffee grounds, crushed egg shells, banana peels and other delicacies. Every so often I would poke around to see how they were doing. I thought everything was okay…. Only it wasn’t. The bag was almost filled to the top, extremely heavy. The bottom chute is used to release finished compost. It contained dry compacted material. I never added water because most of the material was sufficiently wet. I started digging in from the top. No worms were spotted. It would have been easier if they had skeletons.
I could start over but i decided that this project has run its course. The worms have been good to me and now they have crossed the rainbow bridge.
Word of the day – DESCANTED
Everyday I post a newletter of New Ipswich history for our Historical Society Substack Publication. I transcribe much text from news clippings which gives me the opportunity to see the writing style from earlier times. This snippet was written in 1909 and describes a speaker at a class reunion.
“James G. Ramsdell of Philadelphia, dwelt mainly upon his school days at Appleton, while his home was in Rindge. He emphasized the fact that he boarded himself in 1856, that woman is divine, but man fails to divine her that his mother intended him for a minister, but he missed the cue that he early worked in the field and mill. He had vivid memories of the outlook from his windows, where the shades and shadows of tombstones in the cemetery entered his suite of rooms, and played upon the plates and platters of his culinary department. His gambols were sandwiched with mirth as he descanted upon past scenes.“
I had to look up descanted which means to talk tediously or at length. Imagine what it must have been like to sit in the audience and listen to this guy drone on about shadows from the graveyard on his plates, Reminds me a bit of a certain candidate for President. I think language usage was richer then. less acronymns, catch phrases and certainly no emojis
Referenced Newletter Posting
The Garden At Elm Bank
The weather was wonderful on Saturday. We visited The Garden at Elm Bank which is part of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society followed by lunch at an Irish pub in Newton.
Fall Foliage Art Tour
The Fall Foliage Art Tour is held each year on Indigenous Peoples Day weekend. I only had the opportunity to visit The Torch and Palette Gallery in New Ipswich, NH. I wanted to see “The General” a new sculpture by Gerry Friedman constructed from chair parts. It was everything I hoped it would be. My sister accompanied me on this trip.
Have You Ever Seen the Rain
I’ve been having some fun playing guitar using the app Chordify. It is a clever piece of software that analyzes YouTube music videos and produces a running display of the chord changes. I cannot read music and rely on song sheets with chord notations. The problem with these is that the chord changes are usually in the wrong location. I can usually “hear” where the change is supposed to occur but it is nice to get a visual cue, especially on instrumental tunes.
This song was written by John Fogerty and I love the CCR version. However Willie Nelson and his daughter sing it as a ballad which is worth a listen. Easy to play along.
Daily Picture Themes
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Can we talk?
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