Sunrise over Kent Narrows

This is the view I get some mornings when I arrive at the park-and-ride to catch the commuter bus to DC. As the days get shorter the sunrise will fade until it is eventually just dark at 6:20 AM. I have noticed that the water of the bay is as muddy as I have ever seen it during my 11 years of commuting over the bridge. A hurricane and a tropical storm on top of already saturated ground has allowed acres of New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland to wash into the bay. Not a good sign for plant and animal species in the bay already under attack. It will be interesting to see how long it takes the course of nature to clear the waters.

12 day recap

Irma and I got home at 10:00 last night after visiting my Aunt and them meeting Greg and Pinky for a nice dinner out. We were checking out a restaurant for Ben and Emily's rehearsal dinner in December. They are getting married December 28th. So that will make 2 years in a row of Christmas weddings. I didn't sleep that well thanks in part to the annual September cricket invasion. Those critters like to party at night. So I got up at 6:00 thinking I'd relax on the couch, but the dogs had other ideas.

We all headed outside into a shroud of thick mist. It was a damp quiet, even Patton couldn't locate a sound to bark at. After the required chuckering, we headed back in. I was looking forward to coffee and some quiet time.

I looked at the calendar and realized that I haven't made any blog posts in 12 days (Sorry Mom).

Truth is, the past 12 days have pretty much just been rain and work. The week after Hurricane Irene, Irma and I spent every night after work cleaning up the tree trash that was all over our 2 acre yard. We started Tuesday and she finished it up with the mowing on Saturday. I got about 50 nasty chigger bites to show for it. I should have doused with bug spray like Irma did.

Then came labor day weekend, and we just labored. All weekend. I spent all three days in the "project room", the bathroom I'm renovating, hanging insulation and sweating.

12 rolls of R-19 later, it's finally done. Almost ready for drywall.

Then came the week of rain. All week it rained....and then it would stop raining...and start pouring. Then when the pouring stopped, it would start raining again. They say tropical storm Lee was to blame for this. But whether you believe it's caused by us humans or not, I say the climate is changing.

So today is Sunday, the start of a new week. I think I'll finish it with a bike ride. If nothing else it will give me something worthy to blog about.

Goodbye Irene

First of all this isn't me. But I give this rider a lot credit for having guts, if not intelligence.

With Marty Bass (local weatherman) beating the calamity drum and three really huge trees within pulverizing distance of our house, we had decided ahead of time that we were going to leave our home and take the dogs and stay at the Holiday Inn Express on Saturday night. HIE gets my vote for their pet friendly policy.  

Around 3:00 PM, the rain was starting to come down in buckets and the wind was picking up.We were finishing up our dinner of pork roast, vegetables and white wine and decided it was time to go. The car was already packed and the dogs jumped in like desperate refugees fleeing an invading army. They knew what was up. We locked the house and left not sure what we would find upon return.

 The HIE was already mostly occupied by other hurricane refugees and their numerous pets. Keeping 2 on edge dogs quiet in a hotel room is not easy but they did pretty well. They had a few barking fits when the people next door banged doors or talked too loudly. Eventually I think our neighbors got the message that quiet dogs resulted from quiet boarders because they stopped banging doors and talking loudly. The Inn lost power about 10:00 PM as we were looking out the window watching the rain blow sideways in pulsing sheets and the trees sway like someone shaking out a big paint brush. I took each dog out for relief separately, resigned to the fact that there was no use trying to stay dry in the process. Then we went to bed.

The light finally pried through the rubber hotel curtains about 6:30 and I looked out to see a gray sky and a stiff wind but no more rain. It was time to venture home to asses the situation. I left Irma to stay with the dogs and headed through town. As I drove I felt more encouraged, finding a few large branches down and even a couple trees but not the widespread destruction that was predicted. Coming down our lane I found the three giant oaks still standing. Tree trash everywhere but no damage. Even the satellite dish was still on the roof. I returned to the hotel and we packed up and headed home. Irma made the observation that all the hurricane did was ruin the weekend. And thankfully that was pretty much what happened.

Sunday afternoon the sun came out and it was a beautiful day.

The mother of all Projects

Remember Irma's Law of Real Project Time? Well ever since the curse of the black mold destroyed our bathroom 2 years ago (and almost killed me says Irma), this project has validated her prediction of project time over and over. So I'm happy to report that progress is being made! I'm building up in the visible sense, not just infrastructure like reinforcing floor joists, plumbing, electric and laying plywood sheathing on the floor. I think we'll be ready for the drywall guy in 2 weeks. Provided I can get in touch with him. I've been calling him for 2 weeks and his answering machine is always full. I won't bore you with excessive detail, but below are a series of pictures of the area where the tub was and the new one is. Scroll to the bottom for a picture of my latest handiwork. I set the new tub (a big thanks to Randy for hooking me up) last Saturday and framed out the end wall. It was a long day of sweating in a hot room but I got it done around 9:00 PM.

This was the shower area after the mold guy did his thing. The whitewash is the mold block he sprayed on. Cost us over $3000 to get the mold cleaned up. Never ignore a moisture problem in your house.

Then I went ahead and tore some more out. Sealed and vapor barrier-ed the crawlspace.

Floor replaced and hardibacker laid for tub floor. Hardibacker is a waterproof cement board.

New Tub installed finally. Irma helped me set it. I mixed a mortar base to set it in and shimmed and glued the wood feet. It's nice and solid, which is important for an acrylic fiberglass tub if you want it to last. Next up: install the hardibacker around the tub where the tile will go. My goal is to have the whole thing complete by Christmas. It takes a while when you only have 3 -4 days a month to work on it.

Evening at the Fish Whistle

There's a nice restaurant on the river near us called The Fish Whistle. I'm not sure who came up with the name but it seems like alcohol might have been involved. Do fish really whistle? Can you whistle for fish like you can a dog? Anyway, nice summer evenings are a great time to enjoy the deck on the water with a drink and the crab chowder, crab on pretzel bread or scallops wrapped in bacon.

You get a great view of the water and boats

You can watch the ducks swim by. 

Reminds me of Mitch Hedberg's great joke line: "I find that ducks opinion of me depends on whether or not I have bread"

Just enjoying the evening!

A picture goes to the dogs

I was outside last night after work chuckering* the dogs. As any of you that have read my blog on a regular basis know, chuckering is an activity with one soul purpose in mind, wring the pent up energy out of the canine companions as fast as possible. And if they experience some enjoyment in the process all the better. Lately Reilly the crazy shepherd has been living up to her breeds reputation as a TIRELESS companion and worker. If I could just find her a job that pays and tires her out. Maybe she could be trained to dig ditches.

After about 45 minutes of constant exercise......

....the sun was setting through the trees casting it's rays into the damp air. I rushed inside for my camera.

This would be better with 2 subjects in the foreground.

I can make them do better than that....

Ok, that's nice, but I think you both are capable of a better pose...

Now that's a nice shot!

* Chuckering  [Chuhk Ər ing)   present participle of "to chucker" (verb) meaning to propel or cast a dog toy attached to a rope in any manner but especially over a house in order to elicit maximum distance of travel and energy expenditure of the canine object (one being chuckered).

Wet and muddy bliss

 My cheap Trek 820 bounced like a check from a government in default as I navigated the roots and potholes of Sam's woods. The air was thick with moisture and the lush grass on the path was covered with plump drops of the days rain. As I pushed through the thick eastern shore vegetation the water on the leaves exploded towards my feet and legs drenching them in minutes. But I didn't care, June and July had been so hot and dry that I was relishing in the swim.

Today was the day we were supposed to go to the beach. We've been vacationing all week with our son and daughter-in-law. The weather reported partly cloudy and when the alarm went off at 7:00 it was still overcast. Sitting on the wet sand in the clouds didn't excite us so we postponed the trip until tomorrow. After accomplishing all the inside tasks I had lined up, I was ready to get out for a while. With a good drizzle starting I decided it was time for a woods ride.

Sam's woods is not that big but with some imagination, you can combine a variety of circular routes and still feel like you've ridden a good trail. Wildlife is abundant, I scored a meeting with 7 wild turkeys, a groundhog and more than a few deer. It supplied me with gulleys, large roots, fallen trees and numerous mud puddles.

Sam is a conservationist. He could easily sell the property for houses but prefers to maintain it for the benefit of hunters and outdoor enthusiasts. He manages a healthy game population and provides a sanctuary for birds and other wildlife species. Today I was grateful that he allowed me to add my mountain bike tracks to the muddy trail.