From what I understand, he was a well-liked, successful young man from a reputable local family, and he was not known for repeated incidents of this type of behavior.
The town and community lost a good man to a slip in judgement.
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Nothing to Do With Building a Dome
I understand that the minister at the funeral spoke directly to the pall bearers, the friends and fellow partiers, of the victim. He pointed out the stupidity of mixing booze and autos, and not having a designated driver. I believe he included the folly of not wearing a seat belt--the victim was thrown from the vehicle and...
Springtime, 2015
You probably can't see, but on the far side of the water is Mamma Duck and her four or more littles swimming along behind.
Then there are the hummingbirds. Of course, they don't hang around long enough for a picture. However, this is what they check out quite frequently. These are the brackets that will hold up the second floor of the garage. I painted them bright orange so I can see them when I drive a loaded pickup in.
The hummingbirds fly up to the bright red brackets as if looking for food.
Then there is the robin's nest on a ledge over the garage door--complete with hungry mouths to feed and an angry mamma who doesn't like me hanging around. I hope to add a picture later.
I did take a picture of a broken egg and the nest it slipped out of during a storm, but neither the picture of the egg, nor of the nest turned out.
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
It's Not Nice to Complain About Mother Nature
I don't think Mother Nature appreciated last night's comment about her wimpy storm. At 9:30, weather forecasters predicted the storm would not reach into Minnesota. Well, bully on them!
At around midnight, I awoke to lightening so continuous that it seemed to be a spotlight flickering off now and then, not the occasional flash of light or streak across the sky one normally expects. Soon the thunder caught up, a steady drum roll, just as persistent as the lightening.
Next, the wind and rain arrived and for a half hour or so, the noise was so loud that I couldn't distinguish between thunder, rain, or wind. The bright light continued to shine from all around, still flickering, though now to the beat of the drum roll.
The county to my west, south, and eash had hail, and the county to the north received flash-flood warnings for this morning.
The rain gauge this morning seemed to chuckle, "So it was a wimpy storm?", as I emptied out the half-inch plus of water.
I looked at my check list. It doesn't say anything about how to move from my trailer, through the lightening, wind, and rain to get to the basement...
At around midnight, I awoke to lightening so continuous that it seemed to be a spotlight flickering off now and then, not the occasional flash of light or streak across the sky one normally expects. Soon the thunder caught up, a steady drum roll, just as persistent as the lightening.
Next, the wind and rain arrived and for a half hour or so, the noise was so loud that I couldn't distinguish between thunder, rain, or wind. The bright light continued to shine from all around, still flickering, though now to the beat of the drum roll.
The county to my west, south, and eash had hail, and the county to the north received flash-flood warnings for this morning.
The rain gauge this morning seemed to chuckle, "So it was a wimpy storm?", as I emptied out the half-inch plus of water.
I looked at my check list. It doesn't say anything about how to move from my trailer, through the lightening, wind, and rain to get to the basement...
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Hang On!
I just saw the following Hazardous Weather Outlook that came in this morning from
http://forecast.weather.gov/showsigwx.php?warnzone=MNZ015&warncounty=MNC119&firewxzone=MNZ015&local_place1=Fosston%20MN&product1=Hazardous+Weather+Outlook&lat=47.5713&lon=-95.7291#.VW3tfNJViko
Hmmm...What to do? What to do?...Ah-ha! Make a checklist!
___1. Park vehicles in garage and shed
___2. Early supper
___3. Camera handy
___4. Move comfy chair, table, light, and entertainment into basement
___5. Hang up checklist
___6. HOLD ON!
I suppose it would be clever to keep a cell phone handy, too
Hazardous Weather Outlook
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS ND 603 AM CDT TUE JUN 2 2015 MNZ001>009-013>017-022>024-027>032-040-NDZ006>008-014> 016-024- 026>030-038-039-049-052>054- 031200- WEST POLK-NORMAN-CLAY-KITTSON- ROSEAU-LAKE OF THE WOODS- WEST MARSHALL-EAST MARSHALL-NORTH BELTRAMI-PENNINGTON-RED LAKE- EAST POLK-NORTH CLEARWATER-SOUTH BELTRAMI-MAHNOMEN- SOUTH CLEARWATER-HUBBARD-WEST BECKER-EAST BECKER-WILKIN- WEST OTTER TAIL-EAST OTTER TAIL-WADENA-GRANT-TOWNER- CAVALIER- PEMBINA-BENSON-RAMSEY-EASTERN WALSH COUNTY-EDDY-NELSON- GRAND FORKS-GRIGGS-STEELE-TRAILL- BARNES-CASS-RANSOM-SARGENT- RICHLAND-WESTERN WALSH COUNTY- 603 AM CDT TUE JUN 2 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA...WEST CENTRAL AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SCATTERED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY ACROSS EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND ADJACENT PORTIONS OF MINNESOTA LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND INTO THE EVENING. THE MAIN THREATS WILL BE HAIL UP TO 2 INCHES AND DAMAGING WIND GUSTS...AND PERHAPS AN ISOLATED TORNADO. HEAVY RAIN IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME IS ALSO POSSIBLE.
Later that day (9:30 p.m.)...
What a boring storm--sun is breaking through, 25-30 mph wind is now only a slight breeze, no rain. Hmmmph!
So, I check with Valley News Live and find that the storm does not seem to have enough oomph to cross out of the Dakotas into Minnesota. I guess I can go to bed and plop my head down onto my pillow.
Saturday, May 30, 2015
Hummingbirds
ll
My First Day back at work:
Worked hard. Decided to take a little nap in the rocking chair I
brought up with me. So, there I am in the machine shed, on a warm day with a nice, cool breeze blowing through, snoozing, when I hear
a bird chirping and a bumble bee buzzing. No! Not a bumble bee--too loud--a humming bird?.
A humming bird being chased by two swallows. I’m not sure why, but it's
possible that the hummingbirds had taken over the nest that the swallows built
last year.
I didn’t like the big guys picking on the little ones, so I chased
them out and closed the door. I went looking for the hummingbird. These
things are small and quick. I finally spotted one at the very peak of the
building.
 |
| The hummingbird is the small V-shaped object in the opening. (The darker objects are structural components of the building.) My little promotional-gift camera couldn't zoom any more. |
Now, remember, the peak of the shed is about 25 feet up and my
camera is one of those promotional give-a-ways, so getting a clear picture is
nearly impossible at that distance, but I tried.
The little bird, with outstretched wings, just floated up there--frozen. Not a twitch nor a buzz. It just hung there, an exhibit at the finest museum. I thought maybe it had died and was caught up
in a spider web or something. For five minutes, I watched. Finally, I walked away and
came right back—Gone!--only to be seen flying around the rafters again a bit later.
The shed has a ridge vent running the entire length of the
building. This happened early afternoon on a very sunny day. Were the air currents from the warming building enough to hold the bird up there?
Thursday, May 28, 2015
Speaking of Critters
They like the dome and they do not like that I try to keep them out.
The first time I went into the basement I saw a chipmunk scurry across the floor. I searched everywhere for the entry point. Finally, this is what I found:
I put a metal trowel across the opening and that settled that...Hah, so I thought!
The next morning I came to work to discover the sound of running water. The garage floor was covered and I could see that water was spraying out of the hose that comes from the pressure tank in the basement. I thought the sharp edges of the hole in the wall had worn through the hose, so I replace the hose with a heavier one.
The next morning--same thing. This time I saw bits of hose on the floor and teeth marks on the hose. The critters we not able to get into the house because the water pressure kept them out, but they made a mess for me.
The first time I went into the basement I saw a chipmunk scurry across the floor. I searched everywhere for the entry point. Finally, this is what I found:
They chewed an opening through the bottom of my make-shift door.
I put a metal trowel across the opening and that settled that...Hah, so I thought!
The next morning I came to work to discover the sound of running water. The garage floor was covered and I could see that water was spraying out of the hose that comes from the pressure tank in the basement. I thought the sharp edges of the hole in the wall had worn through the hose, so I replace the hose with a heavier one.
The next morning--same thing. This time I saw bits of hose on the floor and teeth marks on the hose. The critters we not able to get into the house because the water pressure kept them out, but they made a mess for me.
Basement Windows
They are in! Three windows. Sure, the finishing work still need to be done, both inside and out, but they are in--they open and close letting in both light and fresh air, but they keep out the critters.
I guess I need better pictures as well as one from the outside.
Putting in windows has changed a bit
since I last did it. Back in the day, the windows came with brick molding (the
decorative trim around the outside of the window) already attached. The window
was then set in the opening, squared and plumbed, then nailed to the wall
through the brick molding. That is what held the window in place.
Now, they come clad in plastic/vinyl. The vinyl extends out beyond
the window and is perforated for nails which hold it in place. This system
helps seal the window better from Mother Nature and gives the builder or home
owner more options for the style of trim to use. The window is shaped such that
no additional trim is necessary—siding or other exterior wall covering can come
right up to it, just leave enough space for expansion and sealant.
My work did not go unnoticed. One critter, a chipmunk, noticed that he could see into the basement so he joyfully jumped into the window well only to learn about glass. Unable to get into the basement, he turned to run out the tunnel that he normally used only to find that it was buried under a pile of pea rock that was moved back to make room for the window.
A rather new 2X6 was put in for a ramp, but it proved too slippery. So, a weathered peace of plywood became the ramp material of choice.
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