‘Stray Dog’, ‘The Real Dirt on Farmer John’, ‘The Battle of Algiers’, grey fox sighting
(posted from home)
(This post covers 14 – 19 January, 2009)
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Monday, 19 January-
I spent the day researching the estate and responding to questions from the lawyer in preparation for an upcoming tax deadline.
We had a light snow overnight and that made my four-miler a pretty one. On the way back I heard an odd sound coming from the woods on the other side of the creek. It was an odd, strangled barking sound—not really a bark but bark-like. And just one at a time. The sound drew my attention to a movement and it was a grey fox! The sound was a lot like the sound in this Youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irk6acsIyyU
(the barking you first hear on this video is a neighbor’s Chihuahua but if you wait, you’ll see and hear the fox barking. This is very close to the sound I heard. Apparently it’s a territorial bark.)
The fox had only barked once in drawing my attention but after it walked out of sight it barked again. As I continued my walk, I heard it three or four more times. I love it!
The barking reminded me of something which happened earlier this Fall, also involving a fox, I believe. In the wee hours of a very rainy night we heard what I can only describe as a dog-crying sound. It was just at the edge of our yard. I turned on the floodlights and very briefly saw the side and a bit of the tail of the animal. The color was the same as this grey fox—and then it was gone and we heard it no more.
That evening we watched the extras on the ‘Farmer John’ DVD and then watched ‘The Battle of Algiers’, a 1966 film about the struggle for Algerian independence from France. I see RT rates it a 98 and that’s fully deserved. Viewers today will recognize parallels with recent political news of the Iraq war. Amazingly, the film does not use archival footage—the scenes are all created for the film. Incredible!
----------------------------------------------
Sunday, 18 January-
In late morning I drove to Chambersburg to pick up some info from Maypo. Labashi was busy installing cornice boxes above the windows in our offices so didn’t want to go. She built the boxes over the last few days using her new sliding miter saw. Compared to the cost of buying commercial cornice boxes, she paid for the saw with this project alone. The boxes enclose the very nice cellular blinds she put up last week. Very cool!
I had a late-morning start so didn’t make it to the ‘Burg until 1300. Maypo and I sat around chatting for a few very enjoyable hours before I headed home late in the day. I had come via I-81 but decided I’d go home via US30. I was driving beat-up old Cherry Larry and didn’t want to travel interstate speeds. And I also wanted some new scenery.
That evening we watched an excellent documentary, ‘The Real Dirt on Farmer John’. RottenTomatoes summarizes it like this: “Ostensibly a bio about an eccentric farmer, The Real Dirt on Farmer John also doubles as a stirring exploration of man’s common struggle with loss and prejudice.” Highly recommended.
No walk today.
-----------------------------------------------
Saturday, 17 January-
I spent the morning going through old books and magazines and deciding what to throw out. I’ve accumulated two book-cases-worth of books and newletters on sailing, private flying, and scuba diving which I’m now ready to toss. I thought I’d someday start selling them off on Ebay but book prices are so low it’s hardly worth the effort to list and the trouble to pack and ship them, much less the hassles of dealing with questions and the occasional deadbeat buyer.
While working today I’ve had President-elect Obama’s pre-inauguration train trip on the tube. I’m amazed how much effort CNN is putting into this—what will they have left to say on Tuesday?
Late in the day I walked-four. Weather is again very cold today. It was 18 degrees as I left for the walk. But I see it’s 63 in Tampa!
That evening we watched ‘Stray Dog’, a 1949 Japanese film directed by Akira Kurosawa. The plotline is about a young police officer who frantically searches for a pistol stolen from him and used by a criminal. But we loved seeing the background—the intimate view of a small part of Japan just a few years after the War.
----------------------------------------------
Friday, 16 January –
I spent the working part of the day responding to a letter from my lawyer for the estate. By 1400 I was ready to get outside and bundled up for the sub-20 temperature and then walked two hours on my six-mile loop.
That evening I decided to check out the instant-viewing function on Netflix. Last week I had ordered a cut-back on the speed of my internet connection to save a few bucks. Fortunately, we can’t really tell a difference.
I watched a promotional pilot for ‘The United States of Tara’ coming up for its premiere this weekend on Showtime. We don’t get Showtime but hopefully this series makes it to DVD sometime next year and I’ll then be able to get it.
I also watched two episodes of ’30 Rock’, Season 1 to see if I want to get the Season One disk set for us to watch. I liked it and think Labashi will too.
I’m reading William Least Heat Moon’s ‘Roads to Quoz’. I’m not sure yet. The author likes to use uncommon words and sometimes they seem to get in the way. Maybe I just need to go with the flow and enjoy the exercising of the linguistic muscles.
----------------------------------------------
Thursday, 15 January –
Labashi and I went into town for a lunch date today. She’s a fan of Chili’s fajitas and today’s were extra-good. Afterwards we hit the nearby Lowe’s to try to find a replacement screen for our storm windows. They had nothing available but on the way home Labashi remembered we had replaced a kitchen window years ago and she had put the old storm window in the barn. Excellent—that saves $40 for a new storm window assembly and a lot of messing around on a ladder to install and paint it.
Late in the day I walked-four. We spent the evening on the web.
-----------------------------------------------
Wednesday, 14 January-
I’d better get busy. My winter trip is coming up quickly. This morning I ordered a replacement ball for the trailer hitch. With the van loaded last year the fishing boat trailer leaned down a bit. That’s not a big deal for trailering but when it rains the boat collects water and it won’t drain out without my intervention. I either have to unhitch the trailer and crank up the front or find a fairly steep hill I can drive up. So I bought a ‘tall-ball’ or ‘hi-ball’ with a 2-inch rise so the trailer will naturally sit slightly up in the front. I saw several other solutions but they’re all more expensive than just replacing the ball.
I also bought minutes for my Tracfone. I’ve not bought minutes for nearly a year so had to re-learn the process. I found a promotional code via Google which added 60 free minutes to a 60-minute purchase so that helped out.
That afternoon I walked the six-mile loop and we spent the evening on the web.
========= END OF POST =======
(posted from home)
(This post covers 14 – 19 January, 2009)
---------------------------------------------------
Monday, 19 January-
I spent the day researching the estate and responding to questions from the lawyer in preparation for an upcoming tax deadline.
We had a light snow overnight and that made my four-miler a pretty one. On the way back I heard an odd sound coming from the woods on the other side of the creek. It was an odd, strangled barking sound—not really a bark but bark-like. And just one at a time. The sound drew my attention to a movement and it was a grey fox! The sound was a lot like the sound in this Youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irk6acsIyyU
(the barking you first hear on this video is a neighbor’s Chihuahua but if you wait, you’ll see and hear the fox barking. This is very close to the sound I heard. Apparently it’s a territorial bark.)
The fox had only barked once in drawing my attention but after it walked out of sight it barked again. As I continued my walk, I heard it three or four more times. I love it!
The barking reminded me of something which happened earlier this Fall, also involving a fox, I believe. In the wee hours of a very rainy night we heard what I can only describe as a dog-crying sound. It was just at the edge of our yard. I turned on the floodlights and very briefly saw the side and a bit of the tail of the animal. The color was the same as this grey fox—and then it was gone and we heard it no more.
That evening we watched the extras on the ‘Farmer John’ DVD and then watched ‘The Battle of Algiers’, a 1966 film about the struggle for Algerian independence from France. I see RT rates it a 98 and that’s fully deserved. Viewers today will recognize parallels with recent political news of the Iraq war. Amazingly, the film does not use archival footage—the scenes are all created for the film. Incredible!
----------------------------------------------
Sunday, 18 January-
In late morning I drove to Chambersburg to pick up some info from Maypo. Labashi was busy installing cornice boxes above the windows in our offices so didn’t want to go. She built the boxes over the last few days using her new sliding miter saw. Compared to the cost of buying commercial cornice boxes, she paid for the saw with this project alone. The boxes enclose the very nice cellular blinds she put up last week. Very cool!
I had a late-morning start so didn’t make it to the ‘Burg until 1300. Maypo and I sat around chatting for a few very enjoyable hours before I headed home late in the day. I had come via I-81 but decided I’d go home via US30. I was driving beat-up old Cherry Larry and didn’t want to travel interstate speeds. And I also wanted some new scenery.
That evening we watched an excellent documentary, ‘The Real Dirt on Farmer John’. RottenTomatoes summarizes it like this: “Ostensibly a bio about an eccentric farmer, The Real Dirt on Farmer John also doubles as a stirring exploration of man’s common struggle with loss and prejudice.” Highly recommended.
No walk today.
-----------------------------------------------
Saturday, 17 January-
I spent the morning going through old books and magazines and deciding what to throw out. I’ve accumulated two book-cases-worth of books and newletters on sailing, private flying, and scuba diving which I’m now ready to toss. I thought I’d someday start selling them off on Ebay but book prices are so low it’s hardly worth the effort to list and the trouble to pack and ship them, much less the hassles of dealing with questions and the occasional deadbeat buyer.
While working today I’ve had President-elect Obama’s pre-inauguration train trip on the tube. I’m amazed how much effort CNN is putting into this—what will they have left to say on Tuesday?
Late in the day I walked-four. Weather is again very cold today. It was 18 degrees as I left for the walk. But I see it’s 63 in Tampa!
That evening we watched ‘Stray Dog’, a 1949 Japanese film directed by Akira Kurosawa. The plotline is about a young police officer who frantically searches for a pistol stolen from him and used by a criminal. But we loved seeing the background—the intimate view of a small part of Japan just a few years after the War.
----------------------------------------------
Friday, 16 January –
I spent the working part of the day responding to a letter from my lawyer for the estate. By 1400 I was ready to get outside and bundled up for the sub-20 temperature and then walked two hours on my six-mile loop.
That evening I decided to check out the instant-viewing function on Netflix. Last week I had ordered a cut-back on the speed of my internet connection to save a few bucks. Fortunately, we can’t really tell a difference.
I watched a promotional pilot for ‘The United States of Tara’ coming up for its premiere this weekend on Showtime. We don’t get Showtime but hopefully this series makes it to DVD sometime next year and I’ll then be able to get it.
I also watched two episodes of ’30 Rock’, Season 1 to see if I want to get the Season One disk set for us to watch. I liked it and think Labashi will too.
I’m reading William Least Heat Moon’s ‘Roads to Quoz’. I’m not sure yet. The author likes to use uncommon words and sometimes they seem to get in the way. Maybe I just need to go with the flow and enjoy the exercising of the linguistic muscles.
----------------------------------------------
Thursday, 15 January –
Labashi and I went into town for a lunch date today. She’s a fan of Chili’s fajitas and today’s were extra-good. Afterwards we hit the nearby Lowe’s to try to find a replacement screen for our storm windows. They had nothing available but on the way home Labashi remembered we had replaced a kitchen window years ago and she had put the old storm window in the barn. Excellent—that saves $40 for a new storm window assembly and a lot of messing around on a ladder to install and paint it.
Late in the day I walked-four. We spent the evening on the web.
-----------------------------------------------
Wednesday, 14 January-
I’d better get busy. My winter trip is coming up quickly. This morning I ordered a replacement ball for the trailer hitch. With the van loaded last year the fishing boat trailer leaned down a bit. That’s not a big deal for trailering but when it rains the boat collects water and it won’t drain out without my intervention. I either have to unhitch the trailer and crank up the front or find a fairly steep hill I can drive up. So I bought a ‘tall-ball’ or ‘hi-ball’ with a 2-inch rise so the trailer will naturally sit slightly up in the front. I saw several other solutions but they’re all more expensive than just replacing the ball.
I also bought minutes for my Tracfone. I’ve not bought minutes for nearly a year so had to re-learn the process. I found a promotional code via Google which added 60 free minutes to a 60-minute purchase so that helped out.
That afternoon I walked the six-mile loop and we spent the evening on the web.
========= END OF POST =======
posted by Bezabor&Labashi | 23:59
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