58 bar falls 29.74 10mph E dew-point 56 Beltane, cloudy and raining
First Quarter of the Flower Moon
Since this has been and will be a traveling month, I’ve been attentive to weather nation-wide. It’s amazing to sit here looking outside at my garden where the vegetables are slow to mature because of cool weather while the east, south and southwest have had hot hot hot. The red looked like a child had decided to color the U.S. by starting down the eastern seaboard and then moving along the bottom of the map, went up a state or two, then went on west. Red all the way.
The automobile is my primary mode of transportation. Train second. Air a distant third and then only for speed or an impossible distance. The former is the reason for air to Texas in July, the latter found me in a plane for Hawai’i.
When I travel by car, I pay attention to the Weather Channel like a pilot watches the isobars. It looks like my luck will be good. The very hot weather system seems ready to break up into more seasonal summer temps. I’m glad.
Took the little red car into the dealer today for an oil change (they like me, they really really like me) and discovered that the head gasket seep has become a full fledged leak. That means a head gasket and head grinding when I return plus I have to check the oil every other gas stop. Even though I repaired my air conditioning after 5 years without it (kept thinking I’d get rid of the Celica, but it kept working.), the heat still makes travel uncomfortable and it does reduce gas mileage.
I told Scott at Carlson Toyota I don’t begrudge the Celica few repairs at 240,000 miles. Still a hell of a lot cheaper than a new car and I get 30-32 mpg on the road.
While we’re on the subject of mechanical devices, my computer now makes a reluctant noise when I boot up, as if it doesn’t want to get up yet. At first it made me think: Hard drive! Bad. Even though I back-up daily. Then, on the web I found that it’s probably not the hard drive, but the cooling system. Time for a little fresh air in the old computer case. I like this machine. It’s just right for my needs even though it is now 3 years old. Like the Celica I feel I may have it a while.
