Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

Thursday evening by the fire. The day started out nice. I mowed my lawn, raked out some moss and reseeded and wed some flower beds. Remember, my lawn is not very big. Hopefully the reseed will fill in where the moss was and not just have the moss coming back. I would really like to see mostly grass in my 10 x 15 lawn, not weeds and moss. Oh well, time will tell.

Last night I was sitting in a chair out near the fire pit, no fire though, I was just sitting there. I must have been thinking very heavy thoughts because the next think I knew, I had settled into my seat. 

 

I stood up and thought, boy it’s a good thing someone a lot heavier didn’t sit in it. 

Then I had another thought that if they were a lot heavier than I, they would probably possess a larger caboose than I carry around as well. That may have saved them. The chair is headed to the dump tomorrow. That in itself posses a conundrum, do I replace the chair with another much like it? Or do I wait until another one or two others die, then rethink what I want for chairs and maybe get something more comfortable. I guess we will have to wait and see. (That’s much like time will tell.)

A couple of my short lilies are in bloom. You may remember winter mice or voles ate most of them a couple years ago. 

We have at least one pair of cat birds frequenting the feeders and hunting around the yard. We believe they are nesting in the trees along the fence. I have watched as one caught a dragonfly and was knocking it against the pavers to get the wings off. I thought it made sense, I doubt there is much edible in the wings. I saw a luna moth with much the same result. The body of the moth was gone, just the wings were left. 

I suppose you do what is needed to make a living and support the family.

Quite a bit cooler today. On the hot day, Tuesday, on my way out at supper to test the pork tenderloin I was grilling, I laid the thermometer on the blacktop. It was still fairly warm out at suppertime. 

In the studio I have problems this time of year. I like to stick my head out the window and get some fresh air and to hear the owls and the occasional coyote. Unfortunately more owls than coyotes of late. More coyote would reduce the overpopulation of deer. 

The problem I have is insects. Little small flies. They swarm on the windows, they can go right through the screens. (The picture is about the bugs, pay no attention to the old geezer taking the picture.)

Therefore, I can not open the window even to take a picture without swarms of insects coming in. I use a bug catcher that utilizes a light and a sticky pad to catch the wee beasties. It works well, but I have filled two of them in an evening and had I not found some inexpensive replacement pads, that would get very expensive quick. 

Inside the studio there has been progress with #18 for 2025. Remember this one will be constructed in columns like a couple recent tops were. I have not framed any of them yet but I have a few more than enough 4” for two columns and a few more than needed for three columns of 6” blocks. My math says that is less than half of what is needed for the quilt top. I now am faced with having to make a choice. Do I continue with the small pieces and make more 4” and 6” blocks or move up to 2-1/2” and 3” units and make larger blocks. You got it, time will tell.

The mosquitos drove me inside and away from the fire. I managed to get this sunset picture from the studio before the insects showed up. 

I have not paid much attention to the forecast but I heard we are supposed to get rain on Saturday. What it is. Stay safe and enjoy your weekend.