Whitetail Buck

 I'm blaming it on my brother-in-law Dan.  He was trying to explain last night the kind of Christmas cookies he liked and both Connie and I thought he was referring to Spritz.  Later he said that wasn't the one he meant but by then the idea of making Spritz cookies was stuck in our head.  I didn't have a spritz cookie maker and neither did Connie.  She knew of a store where they sold baking accoutrements so we took off shopping.  The place even had a 'Sprinkle Bar' where you could mix and match different types of sprinkles in a bag.  They had three different types of spritz cookie makers.  Connie got one brand and I another.   As an impetus to actually use what we purchased, we promised once we made cookies to e-mail/text pics to each other.   Then we went to a restaurant where the soup of the day was Lemon Rice.  A lot of saltines and some pepper later ... it was palatable.  Lemon rice soup will probably be a one-time experience.

Thanksgiving at the Library

 

I was in the car when I got a call back from the plumber's administrative assistant.  She wanted to see if she could fit me into his schedule next week.  I explained quickly I was driving on a freeway in an unfamiliar area.  She said to call her back later.  Unwilling to possibly lose the chance of having a plumber visit my home, I asked she could just give me a date and time and I'd make sure I was home.   She added "I'll also need a credit card number."   "You were correct.  I'll call back later."  I said and hung up.  Later, after I'd reached my destination, I called back and gave her all of the information she asked for.  I thought this is more info than I am asked for when booking a hotel room.   Finally she said I'd be his first call on Thursday.  Might be the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

Pileated Woodpecker

 Excerpts from the Sheriff's Report:

8:45 a.m. - Officer at elementary school talked to a juvenile who was punching other juveniles.  Juvenile informed officer he was out of control.  He took a break and talked to officer and staff.  He had been having a difficult time outside of school due to homelessness and not getting rest.  Six family members and pets live in their van and do not know when they will find housing.

10:08 a.m. - Caller who had been allowed to hunt on property states land owner is not allowing him to hunt there anymore.  Caller wants to get his hunting stands.  Landowner states caller has no claim to the stands and it was his friend 'Scott' who helped him build the stands.  Caller states he was adopted by 'Scott' so the stands are his.  Deputy asked caller to provide documentation of legal adoption and inheritance of the stands.

11:50 a.m. - Caller reports their daughter works, parks her car at their home, and carpools to work.  The vehicle is gone and their daughter is still at work.  The keys are always left in the vehicle so property owners can move it.  Deputy called vehicle owner.  OnStar requests confirmation of VIN.  They located the vehicle in another county.  The county's officials notified of stolen vehicle.  Vehicle recovered and owner en route to pick it up. 

1:47 p.m. - Multiple calls reporting a vehicle in the ditch.  One caller reported male was cleaning out the car and to check the other side of the fence.  Deputy in contact with male driver who admits throwing illegal substance over the fence.  Female cited for illegal substance.

2:12 p.m. - Caller reports a vehicle vs. lawn mower accident.  Lawn mower driver airlifted to regional hospital.

2:35 p.m. - Caller reports their neighbor who just moved in stopped by and asked for their telephone number.  Caller refused to provide the number and neighbor said "Well when your house burns down I won't call anybody."  Caller advised deputy that neighbor did time for arson and were advised by his probation officer to call law enforcement so the incident could be documented.

4:20 p.m. - Call from Native American Reservation conservation warden.  They want to speak with someone that was trespassing earlier today on private property and request assistance.  Deputy reports person in question had been on tribal land and took a piece of historic military plane at a crash site.  Item was recovered by tribal police.  they will issue a tribal citation for trespassing.

5:14 p.m. - Call from female reporting she can hear people talking in a secret room above her apartment.  Also there is a foul smell coming from that area.  Officer spoke w/ female who said this has been occurring for three days and she believes someone is living in the ceiling.  Caller asked officer to push open one of the tiles in the ceiling.  He did not.

9:00 p.m. - Complainant reports she was scammed out of $6,000.  Reporting party states she received a call from what she thought was a friend in jail who needed financial help.  Complainant took out $6,500 to get her out of jail, put the cash in a magazine, and someone named Emmanuel came to her residence in a white vehicle and took the magazine.

10:06 p.m. - Call regarding a person laying on their back on the corner.  Officer in contact with individual laying on the sidewalk who stated he is staying at the motel.  He walked downtown to do some laundry and was walking back to the motel when he stopped and laid down on the sidewalk to take a break.

Autumn gone to seed

I was walking out of Gateway Gourmet w/ my latte when Town Supervisor Roger stopped me.  One of the permit requestors the Town Planning Commission had OK'd last week had asked him if they could get started on the foundation before the Town Board gave their official okey-dokey to the permit.  Nights are regularly below freezing now and the ground will soon freeze.  If would be easier to break ground now.  He'd given them a go-ahead and just wanted me to know in case I noticed work had begun before the permit was signed.  There had been no concerns w/ the permit so it seemed like a good call on Roger's part.  "Besides" I smiled, "the board will OK it even if we denied it."  I was referring to the permit the commission had denied but the town board had OK'd recently.  Roger took the comment well and replied, "We deserved that one."  Made a mental note that I had made my point and not to belabor that issue anymore.  I was on my way to the County Seat to the first meeting of the County Board of Adjustment as a newly appointed member - albeit as an alternate member.  Besides the board, the clerks office had sent someone to take the minutes, a County Zoning rep, a DNR rep, and someone from the lawyer firm representing the County.  The land owner presented his case for why he should be allowed to bring in a pre-built shed and put it less than 75' from the high water mark of the lake.  His presentation was complete and concise.  Zoning provided an excellent map of the area w/ lot lines drawn in along w/ where the shed would be located.  Zoning went on to suggest approving the variance.  The DNR merely pointed out that the shed would be within 50 feet of the high water mark and didn't comment on if the variance should be given.   Since the whole board was able to vote on the matter, I wasn't called on as part of the decision making.  This one I'll have to think about.  Personally I don't know why a new shed is a requirement to usage of the land.  Pragmatically, the houses up and down the peninsula are closer to the water than this new shed will be.  Privately, I wonder how the landowners think a fire engine and ambulance will be able to quickly maneuver the one lane private road w/ no setback rules.

Big Bluestem

 

We are off Daylight Savings Time.  I'm still getting up before sunrise and going to bed after sunset.  The only benefit  is it gives me a chance to use my problem solving skills.   Changing the clock in the car is not intuitive.   By the time I've gone through all of the machinations the time is off by a minute or two.  Then there is the tall clock in the living room.  Easy to change the time but doing so without affecting the chimes is the trick.

Bald Eagles at Dawn

Library Volunteer Bev wanted a display for Thanksgiving.  I had been quizzing Librarian Trevor on what he would like in the display cases over the Christmas in the Village celebration in December.   If he wanted something 'Christmasy' in at least one of them, I would ask that either the 4H space display or the Gone With The Wind memorabilia be removed.  That's when Bev spoke up and said she wanted a display for Thanksgiving 'cause it's skipped over too often.  Trevor was cool w/ that so I told Bev if all of the volunteers  got together, we could probably find enough things to put in a display cabinet.  Somewhere along the line things changed and when I went in to work on Thursday the 4H group were taking down their display and Trevor said the GWTW display would be taken out by it's owner tomorrow.  Yikes!  Both displays would be vacant.  This morning, I decided to embrace the Thanksgiving season.  Walked out to the apple tree and picked off some apples.  The type is 'State Fair' which doesn't look as good as 'Delicious' and isn't as sweet as 'Honey Crisp' but is firm and juicy and a nice combo of sweet/tart.  I made a puffy German pancake in the oven while cooking the apples along w/ butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and a touch of orange rind.  Made for a delectable start to the day and the house reeked of autumnal smells.   I gathered together a bunch of Thanksgiving/Autumn decorations from around the house and drove to the library.  Volunteer Bev was on duty and said she and the others would work on the back display case if I could fill the front display.  I put in colored leaves made from glass, Indian corn, strings of artificial flowers/leaves in gold and orange, pilgrim figurines, etc.  Surprisingly a display just for Thanksgiving is a nice touch- even for only the month.

Not impressed w/ her bumblebee costume

One last horror flick and I'm sated for the season.  That doesn't mean I'm ready to start watching Hallmark Christmas  movies - just that I'm hoping the TV channels run other genres for awhile.   

 

Autumn gold

Before picking up groceries, I stopped at Bath and Body Works.  Two of my scent experiments have worked well.  The other one is a lost cause so I've terminated it.  I picked up two types of scents.   A few bottles of  'Fresh Laundry' for the utility room.  I've got a scent dispenser in there that lights up.  It works as a night-light for the cats to see their way to food bowls and litter boxes.  'Fresh Laundry' seemed the most innocuous and mild of the scents offered so hopefully it won't bother the cats.  Most of the bottles I purchased were 'Eucalyptus & Spearmint.'  The store, as it almost always does, was offering a sale if you bought at least 5 bottles.  For once I actually could use a lot.  The two experiments were to see if (1) 'Eucalyptus & Spearmint' would keep mice out of the garage over winter and (2) it would cut down on the number of flies in the apartment.  Last year was the first year w/ no mice in the garage and the number of flies is a tenth of what I had last fall.  While I can't prove yet how much of a factor scent was in those outcomes, I'm keeping the dispensers filled.  At checkout, the saleslady, making small talk, remarked at how many I'd picked up.  Figuring the store didn't want their product associated w/ pest control, in sotto voce I said, "It keeps the mice out of the garage."   She brightened up.  "Oh, I've heard that many times before."  Guess the store doesn't care - a sale is a sale.

Sunrise over a dark landscape

Planning Commission meeting tonight.  Went through the outstanding permits pretty fast.  Could have gone through faster but one member or another would have an anecdote about the person or the property under consideration.  We adjourned within a half hour of starting.  I then asked the question.  "Who do you call for plumbing jobs?"  I had finally connected w/ a company in Churchville who would put me a list for two weeks from now but I wondered who 'natives' used for plumbing jobs.  Member Jim said, "Well, the plumbers are really busy right now.  They are trying to put in sewer systems and drain fields before the ground freezes."  New building projects and fixing existing plumbing systems would be much easier during the summer and fall months when the ground isn't frozen.  I did get the names of two local plumbers.  One actually works for a larger firm in Collegetown but lives nearby.  The other plumber has a van w/ his name on it but needs no other advertising to get all of the work he wants.  Both came highly recommended. I'll try calling them.  I swear when I finally do get a plumber to come to the house I think I'll bake cookies and even put on lipstick.

Ian

Nephew Ian came in 10th place at the Marine Corps marathon in Washington D.C. on Sunday.   That's out of 30,000 runners. It's the largest marathon without prize money - just honoring the courage and commitment of the runners.  Ian said this one went better than the Boston Marathon earlier this year 'cause he didn't upchuck at the end.  

Picture from Rebecca Webb.

Whip and I took Jormungandr out for a few things I still wanted to get done before the ground freezes.  Then I traded the UTV for the car.  The Planning Commission meets tomorrow and we have three building permits plus one driveway permit to consider.  I wanted to check out the locations before we met.  The driveway was easy.  It already exists - the owner wants to replace the culvert.  The building sites were no brainers too - no where near lot lines and fairly well back from the road.  The last site I checked was on the same road as the driveway the Planning Commission had recommended last month that the Town Board reject.   Instead the Town Board had objected about as much as a wet noodle before approving it.   It was a temporary driveway for logging.  I wanted to see it again.  The loggers had added a culvert, taken out the ruts, and there were freshly cut logs lined up on either side as far back as I could see.  As long as we don't get a significant rain should be OK.  If we do get a downfall, water is going to cascade down that steep dirt driveway and wash across the gravel roadway.

Ring-necked Pheasant

 

I was in the library alone this week when the 11 year old boy came bursting through the front doors, ran up to the desk, and asked how much the library pays me.  I'd seen him before.  His mother had come in a few weeks ago and signed him up for a library card.  He'd been in every Thursday since then to use the computers.  "I'm a volunteer.  I don't get paid."  I told him.  That stymied him for a moment.  "What do the other people get paid?" he asked.   "We are all volunteers.  Only the librarian is paid."  I said.  "Whose the librarian?"  Thought I'd seen them talking together before but maybe he didn't realize, "Trevor is the librarian." I answered.   Surprised, the boy said, "That old guy that sits in the back room?"   Librarian Trevor is at least 20 years my junior - hate to think how this kid refers to me.   "How much does he get paid?"   I knew the answer when I was town clerk and the town signed off on the library budget but that was years ago.  "I don't know but ..." a couple of quick keystrokes "... the average pay for a librarian in our state is $68,000."  "How old do I have to be to be a librarian?"  the lad asked.  Just as suddenly as he came in, he bolted out not even waiting for an answer.   Well, at least I didn't have to explain the training and certification that goes into the job.  About fifteen minutes later he was back again.  "How do you pay rent if they don't pay you anything?"  I opened my mouth to speak but he said, "You must own your own house."  I just nodded.  Saved me explaining the various types of funding for retirement.  He then raced over to the stacks and picked out three books.  He wanted to check out those books and use a computer.  I took his library card and told him to go ahead and use a computer.  I'd bring over his books once they were checked out.  He did that and then looked over at me and said, "If my mother ever calls don't tell her I'm on the computer."  I gave him my best angelic smile and said, "I won't do that."  Again, that stymied look on his face.  He'd picked a computer where his back was to me and I could easily see what was on the screen.  I don't look at what people are doing on a computer unless they call me over for help w/ something on the screen.  I was now concerned that the boy didn't want his mother to know he was on the computer.  I watched for a short while what he was looking at.    It actually was age appropriate and kinda educational from what I could tell.  All in all, I'm very glad I'm not a pre-teen teacher.

Bluebird stretching a wing and a leg

 I've done the checklist for before first frost and the one for before the killing frost but there is also a checklist for before first snowfall and I'm working that today.  Needed a boost to get started so first Whip and I went downtown for a latte.   

• Put the sheets in the washer.  Not something on the list but needs to get done anyway.
• It's going to be above 50 degrees for the next few days so decided to mow the lawn - probably for the last time this season.  At least one year I did mow into November but the forecast looks like it's only going to get colder.   
• Hung the sheets out on the line.  Not much of a breeze.  
• If there wasn't much of a breeze it's a good time to do the burning I needed to get done.   Spread out the 2013 documents up the sides of the wicker basket and set it ablaze in Ragnarök.  Wicker makes quite a pretty fire.  I've always had a pyro streak.
• I removed the markers showing where the peonies and lilies are along the edge of the deck.  Then made a pass w/ the lawn mower and finished up w/ the trimmer.  Replaced the plant markers.  
• Put the trimmer's battery on the charger but it showed a full charge still.  I love this  trimmer!
• I'd pulled out all of the solar lights showing the edge of the deck earlier.  Half of them no longer worked.  The local recycler said they would take them along w/ the tubes they sit on.   I had saved the others in a bucket so replaced them around the deck and then replenished their number w/ two boxes of new solar lights.  They will shine through even a snow cover as long as it isn't too deep.
•  The sheets were dry - I brought them inside.  
• I watered the plants in Sleipnir - a little early but they are still adjusting to reduced temps and light.
•  Then I started refilling the water container I'd moved inside.  It will take two buckets for each month I need to water the plants.  I've filled it to 'January' so far.  
• The thermostats in both of the outbuildings require batteries.  Something I didn't realize until one winter Mjolnir's temp dipped below what I'd set it at.  Now every fall I put in fresh batteries in all three thermostats in the autumn.  Both buildings were in the 50's.  I turned on their heating systems and set the thermostats.  
• Composted the strawberry plant I decided not to overwinter.

The nice thing about being in and out today is I saw the bluebirds come through.  They are saying goodbye before taking off for warmer climes.  Must remember to add mealworms to my fall checklist for next year.

Autumn Color

Called up the Optometrist's office in Churchtown to make an appointment for an eye exam.  I used to do it once every two years but a yearly checkup is part of my health insurance now.  I'd been putting it off most of the year but then a friend said she'd seen some flashes at the side of her vision (in her case it turned out to not be a problem).  If the doc could find something going on before it got worse that would be a good thing.  They happened to have a cancellation at 2 p.m.  Suppose I could get there and back in time for library duty.  I drove over via the highway and came back through the hills.  We are past prime leaf color judging by the number of leaves falling off and blowing across the road.  Still quite pretty and now the last trees to turn - the tamarack - are putting on their display of gold.  They prefer swamps and form brilliant yellow clusters when the sun spotlights them.  Neighbor Doug and I had disagreed on which way was faster - the highway or the back roads through the hills.  I decided to time my trip through the hills.  I had a big advantage this time.  I was following a truck that obviously knew the way.  With the truck in the lead I didn't have to watch quite so closely for deer and the truck only slowed enough on the curves to be able to navigate them on all four wheels.  Turns out Doug is correct.  The route through the hills is faster.

Christmas Cactus (in autumn)

I was recently appointed to the county's Board of Arbitration and just got paperwork on a request for a building variance.  The meeting is in two weeks.  I read through the request, why it was denied, and the land owner's response to why they should be allowed to build anyway.  I checked out the property via Google Maps and Zillow/Reality.com.  It was a rainy day so decided to take a drive and see the property myself.  When I got back home my news feed showed machinery eating through the East Wing of the White House.  Yikes!  Thought this was the People's House.  How could this happen w/o at least as much review as putting up a shed in the country requires?  I have only seen what the massive 1000 person ball room will look like.  Wondered where all of these meals are going to come from.  Are there also plans for new kitchens below it?  The current White House kitchen only has capacity for around 150 plated meals.  It could handle appetizers for 1000 people.  Maybe the plan is to cater in the meals.  This president does love McD's food.  Buffet?  Tricky w/ 1000 prima-donna guests.  I know, the army can provide MRE's (Meals Ready to Eat) just as they do for our troops.  Guess I should have known the President planned massive renovations.  In 2017 he referred to the White House as "a dump".  While this summer he said publicly the new ballroom would not affect the East Wing, suddenly now the East Wing is ugly and intimated he's doing us all a favor by getting rid of it.  It's when the president said no worries about the cost of this new building - it will be paid for by donations - that the alarm bells went off in my mind.   He also said a border wall would be paid for by Mexico (that didn't happen).  He said other countries pay tariffs (but the cost is passed down for the U.S. public to pay).   Hopefully, the cost will be paid for by donations - but what then will those companies making the huge donations expect in return?